We skip the salad bar and have a banana instead

Episode of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! · July 18, 2026 · 47 min

Guest host Tom Papa and panelists Alonzo Bodden, Helen Hong and Dulcé Sloan quiz the week's news, and the Bangles' Vicki Peterson plays Not My Job.

Summary

In this episode of NPR's news quiz, recorded at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, comedian Tom Papa hosted in place of Peter Sagal, with Alzo Slade as announcer and panelists Alonzo Bodden, Helen Hong and Dulcé Sloan. Opening segments covered a cyclospora diarrhea outbreak linked to bagged salad, a report from the book Regime Change that Donald Trump and Melania Trump sleep in separate White House bedrooms, a banana-flavor food trend, and people giving up deodorant.

In Bluff the Listener, panelists described novel funeral services; the real one, identified by caller Brendan, was Sloan's story of a service that sends a mysterious weeping woman to funerals. Guest Vicki Peterson of the Bangles recounted the band's early names, filling in for Charlotte Caffey in the Go-Go's, how Prince offered the band Manic Monday and joined them on stage, and her childhood certainty that she would marry John Cowsill, with whom she now tours. She then answered three questions about mummies correctly.

Later rounds covered orangutan mothers arranging play dates, Hamptons parties serving chicken nuggets with caviar, adult Play-Doh, sniffing dark chocolate before workouts, and a Chanel hay jacket. In the lightning round, Bodden won with 13 points, and the panel closed with joke predictions about the World Cup final.

Chapters

0:49
Opening and Who's Alzo
Tom Papa introduces the show and caller Luke identifies quotes about a cyclospora outbreak, Trump's separate bedroom, and banana flavor.
10:22
Panel questions: deodorant
The panel discusses a trend of Americans giving up deodorant during a hot summer.
14:55
Bluff the Listener: funeral services
Panelists describe new funeral businesses and caller Brendan correctly picks the mysterious mourner service.
21:20
Vicki Peterson interview
Peterson discusses the Bangles, the Go-Go's, Prince and Manic Monday, and her marriage to John Cowsill.
27:25
Not My Job: Lie Down Like an Egyptian
Peterson answers three questions about mummies and gets all three right.
33:25
Panel questions: orangutans and nuggets
The panel covers orangutan play dates and a Hamptons chicken nugget trend.
36:53
Listener Limerick Challenge
Caller Katie completes limericks about adult Play-Doh, chocolate before workouts, and a Chanel hay jacket.
43:45
Lightning Fill in the Blank
Each panelist answers rapid-fire news questions and Alonzo Bodden wins.
49:46
Credits and predictions
Credits are read and panelists make joke predictions about the World Cup final.

Key points

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

Alonzo Bodden
Bodden joked that the official responsible for monitoring such outbreaks had been fired as part of DOGE cuts.
“the guy whose job it was to keep an eye on this, you know, he was fired as part of the Doge thing”
Listen from 4:07 · Cyclospora outbreak
Tom Papa
Papa relayed the report that Trump carries furniture and art from elsewhere in the White House to improve his bedroom.
“He's taking furniture, lamps, artwork, and carrying it into the room himself”
Listen from 6:39 · Regime Change (book)
Tom Papa
Papa said he and his wife began sleeping in separate bedrooms, blaming her snoring.
“My wife and I started sleeping in separate bedrooms. We don't start off that way. She snores a lot”
Listen from 7:11
Dulcé Sloan
Sloan argued that artificial banana flavor does not taste like real bananas, comparing it to grape flavor.
“Banana flavor don't taste like the actual fruit. Banana tastes like yellow, right?”
Listen from 9:12 · Banana flavor trend
Alzo Slade
Slade noted that the weekend marked one year since Congress eliminated federal funding for public media.
“This weekend marks one year since Congress voted to eliminate federal funding for public media”
Listen from 12:31 · Federal funding of public media
Vicki Peterson
Peterson said the Bangles began in Los Angeles as the Bangs and went through other names before settling on Bangles.
“We started off in L.A. as the Bangs. We were the Colors, the Supersonic Bangs, and then we just shortened it”
Listen from 22:45 · The Bangles
Vicki Peterson
Peterson recounted that Charlotte Caffey asked her to fill in with the Go-Go's for a tour Caffey could not play while pregnant.
“Charlotte couldn't tour that tour, and she called me up and asked me if I would step in for her”
Listen from 23:52 · The Bangles
Vicki Peterson
Peterson said Prince approached the band with a cassette containing Manic Monday after seeing their Hero Takes a Fall video.
“He saw our video for Hero Takes a Fall, which was off of our first album, and he approached us with a cassette tape”
Listen from 24:51 · Manic Monday
Linked moment · 25:29Skip to 25:29 using a listen link in the info box.
Vicki Peterson
Peterson described Prince joining the Bangles on stage to sing Manic Monday.
“He just wanted to sing on Manic Monday with us. He grabbed a tambourine and sang”
Listen from 25:29 · Manic Monday
Vicki Peterson
Peterson said that as a nine-year-old Cowsills fan she knew she would marry John Cowsill.
“when I was nine and got that first electric guitar, I knew that I was going to marry John Cowsill”
Listen from 26:11 · The Cowsills
Vicki Peterson
Peterson said hearing her and her husband's song on the radio was as thrilling as first hearing Manic Monday.
“it was as exciting as the first time I heard Manic Monday coming from somebody's car”
Listen from 27:15 · The Cowsills
Alonzo Bodden
Bodden characterized upscale chicken nuggets as a scam by chefs to charge far more for a cheap food.
“you know how much money we can make on chicken nuggets if we just call them something else and then just charge ten times as much?”
Listen from 36:30 · Chicken nuggets in the Hamptons
Tom Papa
Papa said he would criticize a Chanel hay jacket as absurd but still buy it for his daughters.
“It's so opulent and disgusting, and then I would go get it. Because I can't say no, they're my daughters”
Listen from 41:35

People

In the conversation

Tom PapaAmerican comedian and guest host filling in for Peter Sagal
Alzo SladeJournalist serving as the show's judge and scorekeeper
Alonzo BoddenAmerican stand-up comedian and panelist
Dulcé SloanAmerican comedian, panelist
Helen HongAmerican comedian, host of Go Fact Yourself, and panelist
Vicki PetersonAmerican rock guitarist and founding member of the Bangles

Discussed

Donald TrumpPresident of the United States whose conduct of the Iran war is the episode's main subject
Melania TrumpFirst Lady of the United States who condemned Kimmel's joke
PrinceAmerican musician who wrote Manic Monday for the Bangles
Charlotte CaffeyGo-Go's guitarist for whom Peterson filled in on tour
John CowsillMusician of the Cowsills and Vicki Peterson's husband
Lionel MessiArgentine footballer and World Cup winner
Lamine YamalSpanish soccer star who scored his first World Cup goal
Peter SagalHost of NPR's news quiz Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Topics

Cage Match Inside the White House
Pod Save America · Jun 12, 2026 · 1 h 41 min
Jon Favreau and Alex Wagner discuss Trump's Iran deal claims, inflation remarks, White House infighting and the Epstein saga, then Ron Brownstein analyzes the 2026 midterm map.

From the publisher

This week, special guest Vicki Peterson joins panelists Alonzo Bodden, Helen Hong, and Dulcé Sloan 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 30, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Comedy·News Commentary·Music Interviews