Pittsburg, PA
Review | ‘Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!’ in Pittsburgh and a love letter to NPR – The Pitt News
From a young age, I’ve found solace in the Pavlovian pleasure of the brassy “All Things Considered” chime. While other kids were begging their parents to turn the dial to Top 40 pop radio, I preferred to hear two old brothers banter about auto maintenance on “Car Talk.” NPR has been an omnipresent voice in my ear, whispering tidbits of worldly happenings, accompanying me on my walks, drives, rows and rides. The centerpiece of NPR’s catalog is the witty weekly news quiz show “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!”
Last week, I was listening to the sweet sounds of “Wait Wait” when host Peter Sagal, seemingly jumping out of my phone and speaking directly to me, said the cast would venture from their home base in Chicago to record a show at the Benedum Center in downtown Pittsburgh. I studied up on all the headlines until I felt like a news know-it-all walking down Penn Avenue towards the theater.
As I settled into my seat on Thursday night, I realized I had no idea what the cast looked like. They were always just little voices that live in my headphones and gab about Boeing and fiber supplements during my bus rides to Aldi. I don’t know how I expected Sagal to look — I could’ve imagined him as some mousey bespectacled variant on the dad from “Caillou,” but instead he more closely resembled Michael Stipe from R.E.M. with a liberal arts degree.
Hearing Bill Curtis speak sounded like God himself had taken an earthly vacation to Pittsburgh and stopped by the Benedum Center to host a quiz show. I can only compare the sensation of hearing Peter Sagal’s voice come out of Peter Sagal’s body to the uncanny feeling of seeing Tom Kenny do his SpongeBob voice in real life. Likewise, hearing Sagal drop an f-bomb in his opening monologue felt like hearing that SpongeBob voice narrate a reproductive anatomy chart.
The audience was what you might call an “NPR crowd.” These folks love a good charcuterie board and live for Shakespeare in the Park. They sip their coffee over the New York Times crossword on a Sunday morning after posting their Wordle on Facebook. Earlier that day, each one of them had told someone about an article they “read,” although in reality, they just saw the headline on their phone. These were my people.
Before the recording began, Sagal addressed the audience to mark the show’s return to Pittsburgh and lament the change from Heinz Field to Ac — Acri — sorry, I’m so bitter that it pains me to even type the new name. I resent that our sports writers have to call it that A-word, like how news publications are gradually warming us up to calling Twitter “X.”
Contestant Maeve Higgins said Pittsburgh reminded her of home in Ireland because everyone was pale and it was raining. And boy, did it rain — at one point in the show, a jarring flash flood warning alarm erupted from every iPhone in the audience. I figured that if the 71B washed away into the Monongahela on the ride back to Oakland, at least I heard the voice of Bill Curtis in person before I drowned.
Only once the game began, with Sagal and Curtis standing at name-tagged podiums sitting a disco ball away from the three headphone-clad contestants, did I breathe in the absurdity of this show’s premise. A troupe of nerds and news junkies yap about Ozempic and cicadas while some consultant from Connecticut sits on the phone and tries to get a word in edgewise. I love it. I could’ve been born a 12th-century feudal peasant shoveling pigswill until I died of the bubonic plague, but instead I’m lucky enough to live in the same time and place as “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!”
The special guest for the evening was legendary Steelers coach Bill Cowher. A Crafton native, Cowher riled up the niche of NPR Yinzers in the theater with stories about being trapped on the Gateway Clipper cruise and winning the Super Bowl. When Sagal confronted him on Heinz Field’s transition to Ac — nope, still can’t do it — he said in his mind, it was still Three Rivers Stadium.
As contestants pored over the topics and trends of the week, I came to appreciate how much the producers polish each episode before it hits the air. There are so many line rereads, gaffes, awkward pauses and off-color quips that escape the final product. Contestant Mo Rocca even got up to use the bathroom mid-show, sneaking offstage with a Grinch-like gait before reestablishing his presence with a silent ballet routine. These weren’t just disembodied voices emanating from a podcast app — they’re real people who went to the Pittsburgh Banjo Club from their hotel last night and can hear your phone ringing in the mezzanine.
Perhaps the most potent auditory set piece of the show was the audience. When Sagal mispronounced “Primanti,” the crowd chastised him with an instantaneous nasal “a.” Two men presented Sagal and Curtis with hand-drawn parchment portraits. The woman sitting in front of me stood up for an impromptu audition to take Sagal’s job, handing him her heartiest “This is NPR.” I feel like I’ve left a little legacy in my laughter and applause, lost in the sea of sound splashing at the stage, immortalized over the airwaves.
Pittsburg, PA
4th egg in Pittsburgh peregrine falcon nest has failed to hatch
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — While four eggs were laid in the peregrine falcon nest on top of Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning, it looks like there will only be two chicks this year.
The first egg hatched on April 22, and the other two eggs quickly followed. The aviary on Monday pointed out that dedicated viewers of the Peregrine FalconCam may have noticed that the fourth egg hasn’t hatched.
National Aviary Ornithologist Bob Mulvihill said an egg fails to hatch for several reasons. It’s possible the embryo wasn’t being successfully fertilized, there was inadequate incubation or a defect interfered with development.
That leaves only two chicks in the nest after the third egg to hatch died last week. The aviary said the chick struggled during feedings and showed other signs that it wouldn’t survive.
“It’s important to remember that the Peregrine FalconCam gives us a view into the wild world of birds, and while it’s not our role to intervene, we can learn a lot from studying these behaviors,” the aviary wrote in Monday’s update.
It was a sad season for Pittsburgh birdwatchers. The Hays bald eagle nest is empty this year after the couple’s single egg broke in March. The eagles in the nest at U.S. Steel’s Irvin Plant laid two eggs, but only one, named “Lucky,” hatched.
People can still watch Carla and Ecco’s other two peregrine falcon chicks grow up. They’re expected to fledge the nest in June, the aviary says.
Pittsburg, PA
PTL Links: May 6, 2024
Visit the links below for more on today’s guests & topics
Pittsburgh Today Live on Social Media
Pittsburg, PA
4th grader from Mars Area School District finishes inside top 10 of Pittsburgh 5K
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A 4th grade student from the Mars Area School District ran quite the race over the weekend during the Pittsburgh 5K!
The school district shared on social media that 10-year-old Ellie Spaulding ran the race in 20 minutes and 49 seconds, good enough to finish inside the top ten of all contestants in the female division!
More than 2,500 runners competed in the female division and Spaulding’s 20:49 was good enough for the 69th best among all runners in all divisions!
Last year, Ellie completed the race in just over 25 minutes, improving her time this year by over 4 minutes!
It was a busy marathon weekend as 20,000 people raced across Pittsburgh in the marathon, half marathon, and relay.
-
News1 week ago
Both sides prepare as Florida's six-week abortion ban is set to take effect Wednesday
-
Politics1 week ago
Columbia University’s policy-making senate votes for resolution calling to investigate school’s leadership
-
Politics1 week ago
GOP Rep. Bill Posey won't seek re-election, endorses former Florida Senate President as replacement
-
World1 week ago
Brussels, my love? MEPs check out of Strasbourg after 5 eventful years
-
World1 week ago
Russian forces gained partial control of Donetsk's Ocheretyne town
-
Politics1 week ago
House Republicans brace for spring legislative sprint with one less GOP vote
-
World1 week ago
At least four dead in US after dozens of tornadoes rip through Oklahoma
-
Politics1 week ago
Anti-Trump DA's no-show at debate leaves challenger facing off against empty podium