The World Cup, Trad Wives, and the Wedding of the Century

Episode of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! · June 20, 2026 · 47 min

Peter Sagal and panelists Karen Chee, Peter Grosz and Shane O'Neill joke about World Cup visitors and Taylor Swift's wedding, and quiz Yesteryear author Caro Claire Burke.

Summary

This live edition of NPR's news quiz, taped at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago with host Peter Sagal and announcer Alzo Slade, opened with a listener game covering foreign World Cup fans marveling at American abundance, Taylor Swift's reported plan to hold her wedding at Madison Square Garden, and parents who track their adult children's phones. Panelists also discussed a study finding that stolen French fries taste better, and a Bluff the Listener round about the band A-ha, whose real story involved a woman discovering her late grandmother's binder of celebrity crushes naming Morten Harket the most attractive.

In the Not My Job segment, novelist Caro Claire Burke discussed Yesteryear, her bestselling book about a trad wife influencer transported to 1855. Burke said she had been inexplicably obsessed with trad wife videos despite being a secular working woman, that she endured roughly a decade of rejections before the book sparked bidding wars, and that her protagonist was not based on any single influencer. She then answered questions about yearbooks, including Neil Gorsuch's 'Fascism Forever Club' joke, getting two of three right.

Later segments covered reading-focused vacation packages, a home-organization expert's concept of 'nice trash,' a lab-grown T-Rex leather handbag, search data showing snakes are the most common dream subject, and humans' tendency to veer left. The Lightning Fill in the Blank round touched on a Trump peace plan with Iran, the Knicks' championship parade, the Obama Presidential Center opening, Tom Holland marrying Zendaya, and a UK social media ban for under-16s; Karen Chee and Shane O'Neill finished as co-champions. The panel closed with joke predictions about surprises at Taylor Swift's wedding.

Chapters

  1. 0:28

    Opening and introductions

    Alzo Slade introduces host Peter Sagal, who previews the interview with Caro Claire Burke.

  2. 1:47

    Who's Alzo: World Cup, Swift wedding, phone tracking

    Caller Alicia Booker identifies three news quotes about World Cup visitors, Taylor Swift's Madison Square Garden wedding, and parents tracking adult children.

  3. 8:44

    Stolen French fries study

    The panel riffs on research showing stolen fries taste better than one's own.

  4. 13:38

    Bluff the Listener: A-ha

    Panelists tell three stories about the band A-ha, and the real one concerns a grandmother's celebrity-crush binder.

  5. 21:03

    Not My Job: Caro Claire Burke

    Burke discusses writing Yesteryear, trad wife influencers, rejection, and her next novel.

  6. 26:49

    Yesteryear Meet Yearbook quiz

    Burke answers questions about yearbook controversies and scores two of three.

  7. 32:23

    Reading vacations and nice trash

    Panelists discuss vacation packages for readers and people who can't throw away attractive clutter.

  8. 36:33

    Listener Limerick Challenge

    Kansas City caller Andrew completes limericks about a T-Rex leather purse, snake dreams, and people veering left.

  9. 43:22

    Lightning Fill in the Blank

    Each panelist answers rapid-fire news questions, ending in a tie between Karen Chee and Shane O'Neill.

  10. Linked moment · 49:10Skip to 49:10 using a listen link in the info box.

    49:10

    Predictions and credits

    The panel predicts surprises at Taylor Swift's wedding before the show's credits.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

  • Peter Grosz

    Peter Grosz said he was pleased that foreign World Cup fans came to the U.S. and liked it, having expected them to stay away or be upset.

    “I'm just thrilled that people come here and like us. Yeah. I thought that they were going to either not come or come and just sort of be really upset”

    Listen from 3:26 · 2026 FIFA World Cup

  • Peter Sagal

    Sagal said a Boston bar owner reported that visiting Scottish fans drank all the liquor in his bar.

    “He said they literally drank all the liquor he had in his bar”

    Listen from 4:36 · 2026 FIFA World Cup

  • Peter Sagal

    Sagal reported that Swift is apparently planning a 1,000-guest wedding at Madison Square Garden.

    “Apparently, she's going to have 1,000 guests, right?”

    Listen from 5:53 · Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce wedding

  • Karen Chee

    Karen Chee said she tracks her parents' phone locations while they do not track hers.

    “I do the reverse, which is I track my parents, but they don't track me”

    Listen from 7:34 · Parental location tracking of adult children

  • Peter Sagal

    Sagal summarized a study finding that fries taken from others were rated crispier, saltier and more enjoyable.

    “And they said these stolen fries were crispier, saltier, and overall more enjoyable”

    Listen from 9:40 · Stolen French fries study

  • Caro Claire Burke

    Burke said the novel began from a simple elevator pitch followed by the title Yesteryear.

    “I mean, I'd like to sound smarter, but that's exactly what happened. It was that elevator pitch. And then it was the title yesteryear”

    Listen from 22:15 · Yesteryear (novel)

  • Caro Claire Burke

    Burke said she became obsessed with trad wife videos despite being a degree-holding, secular working woman, which prompted her research.

    “I think that I was kind of obsessed with the videos, and I didn't get why, because I have a degree, I'm a working woman, I'm secular”

    Listen from 22:32 · Trad wife influencers

  • Caro Claire Burke

    Burke said she was rejected for about a decade before Yesteryear's success, which built a thick skin.

    “I think that it's good to build a healthy skin when you're a writer, and I certainly did so by just applying to everything and always getting told no”

    Listen from 23:41 · Yesteryear (novel)

  • Caro Claire Burke

    Burke described the publishing and Hollywood bidding wars as surreal and said she still does not fully believe it.

    “Oh, it's psychotic. I still don't fully believe it. And I think that's probably a good thing”

    Listen from 24:27 · Yesteryear (novel)

  • Caro Claire Burke

    Burke said the book is largely about misinformation and that she did not model her protagonist on any single trad wife influencer.

    “a lot of this book is about misinformation. And so part of the, without giving any spoilers away, I didn't really take much time to try to embody any one trad wife influencer”

    Listen from 25:09 · Yesteryear (novel)

  • Caro Claire Burke

    Burke said she is working on her next novel and will keep writing regardless of her current book's reception.

    “I'll keep writing long after people aren't reading my book. I mean, I've always been a writer, so yeah, I'm working on my next novel”

    Listen from 26:27 · Yesteryear (novel)

  • Shane O'Neill

    O'Neill said a friend and his husband have long taken two vacations a year, one adventurous and one devoted to reading.

    “My friend Eric, he and his husband have been doing this for years, where they go on two vacations a year”

    Listen from 33:37 · Reading vacations

  • Peter Sagal

    Sagal explained the purse was made from skin synthesized in a lab from protein found in a T-Rex fossil.

    “they grew synthesized skin in a lab from some protein found in a T-Rex fossil, and then they took that synthesized skin and made a purse”

    Listen from 38:48 · Lab-grown T-Rex leather handbag

  • Shane O'Neill

    O'Neill said he believed the T-Rex leather purse sold for far below its asking price.

    “I think they priced it at like $600,000 and it sold for like $32,000”

    Listen from 39:21 · Lab-grown T-Rex leather handbag

People

In the conversation

  • Peter SagalHost of NPR's news quiz Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
  • Alzo SladeJournalist serving as the show's judge and scorekeeper
  • Shane O'NeillPanelist; writer of the Seriously Pop Culture newsletter for The Washington Post
  • Karen CheeComedy writer who translated Yang's Kim Jong-un lines into Korean
  • Peter GroszComedian who recruited Meyers to Boom Chicago
  • Caro Claire BurkeAuthor of the bestselling debut novel Yesteryear

Discussed

Topics

More from Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

From the publisher

This week, Caro Claire Burke, the author of book of the summer "Yesteryear", joins panelists Karen Chee, Peter Grosz, and Shane O'Neill See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 29, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Comedy·News Commentary·Books