Our (early) endless summer with Lucy Dacus and more!

[MUSIC] From NPR and WBEC Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, don't tell me the NPR news quiz. I'm the only man still allowed to wear white after Memorial Day. [LAUGH] Bill Curtis, and here's your host at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building should go with an eye. Peter Segal. >> Thank you, Bill. Thank you, everybody. As you know, every summer has an official theme. So we're taking the week off to wait until this year's theme is announced. So Bill and I don't get it wrong again. >> We were so embarrassed during hot girl summer when Peter and I showed up as lukewarm boys. [LAUGH] >> So while we wait for the official announcement, we're here to offer you some delightful things we did over the last year or so. Let's start with an extended version of our interview with actor and comedian Tiffany Haddish from November of 2025. >> Peter, ask her, what jobs she took to support herself during her early years? And one answer was a little surprising. >> An energy producer at bar and bot mitzvahs? >> Yeah, bar bot mitzvahs executive parties, Christmas parties, and funerals, you name it, of my job, produce amazing energy. >> So wait a minute, so you were kind of a hype woman, you were like at the crowd hyped up? >> I wouldn't call that a hype woman, but I call it as an energy producer. >> Okay, I got you, I got you, so I'm just, I'm just flashing back. >> You calling a hype woman, that felt like flavor, flavor, flavor to me, no. >> No, that's not it. >> Okay. >> Amazing energy. >> All right, let me try this. >> This is my grandma, grandpa, get up about the cheer, the energy's so good, they gotta start dancing. >> All right, so yeah, so like, I do, actually. So I'm thinking back many, many years to my own bar mitzvah. This was a very long time ago, and I did not have an energy producer of any kind. >> And it was a boring party weapon. >> It was pretty dull. >> It was pretty dull, it's too late now, it's too late now, it's too late, throw you at a 67th birthday point. >> We can do that, and thank you for that estimate of my age, it crippled me, but first of all, so if you had been at my bar mitzvah many years ago, how could you briefly demonstrate, how you would have energized the party, so it was not the drab synagogue assembly room experience that it was. >> First, I would go to you, and I would go, young Peter, please take my beautiful brown hand and follow me, darling. >> And I would lead you out to the dance floor, and I would stand you right next to me, and I would say, follow my lead, do whatever I do, okay? And smile the whole time, no matter how it feels, just smile the whole time. And I would start with a side-to-side step clap, right? On your side, the side-to-side step clap with me. >> Peter, do it. >> That's what I mean, that's what I'm talking about. -Here we go, "Oh, fuck it up, fuck it up, fuck it up, fuck it up, fuck it up, fuck it up, fuck it up, fuck it up -She's got that hair. -Yes, she just -- -And then it just draped all around. -This is him. And you did this for how many years? -For 11 years. -11 years. -Oh, wow. -That was just -- It was one -- It was one really long bar mitzvah. -No. -No. -No, no. I did 500. -Oh, 100. -Oh, my God. -Oh, there are a lot of fluid out. I got fluid out. I got fluid out. I got -- You got to get fluid out. -Float out. -Hold on. -No, it's fluid out. It's fluid out, man. -It's fluid out. -It's fluid out. -Float out. -Float out. -Will you fluid out in a private jute? -No, no. It was definitely a public transportation. -Okay, yeah. -How come, for way, way, don't tell me. We didn't fluid her in. -I should have. -I -- I -- I -- -We can't afford it. You can't afford it. -I will. -All right. I got it. -That's sadly true. But you recently had your own bot mitzvah, right? -It was a few years ago. -Who did you hire? Because we have convinced me of the usefulness of this. Did you hire your own energy producer for your bot mitzvah? Or did you handle that yourself? -I hired the same company that I used to work for. I hired them. And we brought in younger, more vibrant energy producers. And then -- And then, like, Billy Crystal did my Aliyah. -No kidding. -No kids over men's sister. Did she, you know, officiated my whole bot mitzvah, Susan Silverman? Like, it was the most beautiful -- it was beautiful. -I want to ask you -- One of the things I also learned is that during your years of struggle, you still had ambitions. You knew, and you said sometimes, in public that you were going to make it, you were going to be big. Now that, well, you have, you became incredibly famous with girls tripping many stuff since then. What is the, like, the first thing you did when you started making real money? -I bought a microscope. -A microscope? -Yeah, I bought a $359 microscope that took pictures of bacterias. And I could upload those bacterias to Google, and I could find out exactly what it is. For me, okay, so in my mind, it was me developing my relationship with God and just seeing all the things he created. -And did you know that some bacterias look just like people? -And. -Really? I mean, I thought there were, like, some of them were, like, rod shaped, and some of them were squiggly, but you're saying that you look at that. -Yeah, and some of them is ugly. It's just ugly. -Right. -And I'm like, "Oh, God, God, I see what she was doing. This guy's a bacterias like this, right? Like this Candida." -And I know that. -And I'm just curious about all of the stuff God does. Like, that's why I'm like swimming with sharks and stuff. Because you see all the plant lights and animal lights down there. And he's just like, "Look how creative he is." -Yeah, he's so creative. -That could be your last thought. Just before one of the sharks eats you. -I know. -I know, right? -You know what I'm saying? You're going to think. Sharks don't really like people like that. That's why they bite them and spit them out, because we chew esthetic. So as long as I keep drinking some of the girl I'll do it. [ Laughter ] -Tim and he had it. It is a joy to talk to you. But we have invited you here to play a game. And this time, we are calling it. -Girls Trip. Meet Girl Stripp. -You started Girl Stripp, so we're going to ask you about comic strips about girls. Girl Stripp. Got it? -Yeah. -Okay. -Oh, I thought it was going to be something else. -I know. I know. -I'm not like the boy strip clothes. -I bet you do. But no, I wanted to clarify. That's what we're doing. We're a weekend show for family. -Okay, cool, cool, cool. There you go. -Okay, Dan, I'm going to show. Let's go. -Here we go. Here's a answer. Two or three questions, right? You'll win our prize for one of our listeners, Bill. Who is Tiffany Haddish playing for? -Liz Patterson of Atlanta, Georgia. -All right, here's your first question. The most famous Girl Stripp is of course Kathy, that long-running strip about a single woman with issues. Kathy ended its run in 2010, but it left its mark on the comic strip industry. How? A, the strip in which he married her boyfriend Irving was so bad, the phrase marrying Irving now means ruining your comic strip forever. B, whenever a comic strip writer can't think of something for a character to say, they just say, "Ack." Like Kathy did, or see the highest praise, one comic artist can say to another is, "I thought I was reading Kathy." -Two. -You're going to go for B, a comic strip writer can't think of anything for a character to say, they just say, "Ack." [ Applause ] No, I'm afraid it was marrying Irving. -Marrying Irving. -Marrying Irving because people believe that that completely ruined -- that's like the comic strip equivalent of jumping the shark. Here's your next question. The Barbie doll was, in part, originally inspired by a German newspaper comic strip called Lilly. Who was Lilly, the character Lilly? Was she, "A," the beautiful wife of an ugly bricklayer named Kenneth, "be a quote high-end call girl, or see a beauty pageant winner who became a surgeon, an astronaut, and an Olympic gymnast?" [ Laughter ] -Well, I would like it to be "C," but I feel like it's, especially when Barbie came out and all of that, and around the time, I would go with "A." -You're going to go with the beautiful wife of an ugly bricklayer? -Wait, wait, so what was the second one with "B?" -The second one was that Lilly, the character on whom Barbie was partially based, was a quote high-end call girl. -High-end. -More of an escort, yes. -Well, then I'll go with "I'll go with "B." [ Laughter ] -You're going to go with "B." -Yeah, because the way her makeup was and stuff, and she always had her boobs out. -That's right. You have figured it out. That's what Lilly was. So Lilly was a -- you got it right. Lilly was a risqué comic for adults in the '50s in Germany, and the company started making dolls of Lilly, and the wife of one of the founders of Mattel was in Germany, saw one and said, "Hey, I can work with that." All right, here's your last question. The comic strip "Little Orphananny" ended its run in 2010. What was the adorable Orphan's fate in the very last "Little Orphananny" comic strip? Was it "A"? She was being held captive by an Eastern European war criminal. "B." She discovered her real parents were the Romanovs, making her heir to the Russian throne, or see she instantly aged the 90 years that had passed since the first strip and crumbled into dust. [ Laughter ] -Like Thanos? -Very much like Thanos, yes. -What was that again? And again was that she was being held captive by an Eastern European war criminal. "Ben, I'm gonna go with, she got kidnapped, and that's how they came with the movie Taken." That's exactly right. "Wow!" In fact, I believe in the final frame of the final strip, Daddy Warbox is saying it to a phone, I have certain skills. No, in the very last strip, Annie, who by the way, during her life in the comics, was constantly being kidnapped. Annie is being held in Guatemala by a man known as the Butcher of the Balkans. And as far as we know, she is still there. Okay. I'll sit. I'm riding the letter. Alright. Bill, how did Tiffany Haddish do on our quiz? Are you kidding? She rewrote the quiz. Here's a winner in everything. You have, you have bought the energy in this. I told you. I told you. You told me. You did not exaggerate. I see you. She's still going. She's still going. Ryan was your advanced man, Tiffany Haddish is an Emmy and Grammy winner. You can see her in her new show. Tiffany Haddish goes off it is streaming on peacock now if it is a quarter as fun as talking to her in real life. It will be amazing. Tiffany Haddish, thank you so much. Thank you. You're being with us. You're the best. Thank you. Thank you. Bye-bye. When we come back, we revisit our trip to Hawaii with a master of the ukulele and talk to a woman who set a record by swimming there. That's when we return with more, wait, wait, don't tell me, from NPR. From NPR, N-W-B-E-C Chicago, this is, wait, wait, no, tell me the NPR news quiz. I'm Bill Curtis and here is your host at the Studebaker Theatre and the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Peter Sego. Thank you, Bill. Thanks, everyone. Thank you so much. So we are spending the week preparing for summer, getting a base layer for our tans and working on finally achieving that beach body. Did you know they make suit jackets with matching speedos? So while we desperately hit the gym, here's some more delightful interviews from the past of year to entertain you. In October of last year, we all went to Hawaii, where we talked to one of the great living masters of that island's traditional instrument, the ukulele. Peter's first question to Taimane, how the hell do you pronounce ukulele? Ukulele. Ukulele. Ukulele. Ukulele. You got it. How about if you give it the appropriate respectful name and I just continue to skewer it up? You know, we could do that for probably like 10 to 15 minutes. We can do that. That's really great. So you and I mentioned this, started playing the ukulele at a very young age, right? Yes, I started when I was five and it was just the instrument that I grew up learning how to express myself. And I so happened to love classical music, metal music, but it's all played on this instrument. Well, I want to get to that because that's one of the things you're known for. But you were busking, you were out on the streets at five, you went out with your father? I started actually when I was seven, a little bit more mature, but- That's a very reasonable age to send your child out onto the streets to try to make money. Yes, I had a hard work ethic back in the day and so I started playing on the streets of Kolakawa Avenue. Right. That's the big commercial district in Waikiki with all the big shops on it and restaurants tourists walking up and down all night. Exactly, exactly. I loved it and I kept doing it until the age of 13. Wow. That's where one of the singers from the Don Ho show saw me playing was on the streets of Waikiki. And so I got to meet Uncle Don. I like to call him Uncle Don. Sure. Right? Uncle Don. He really, you know, he took me under his wing and, you know, really showed me the ropes of how much it takes to put on a show. Right. And so I was with him for five years until his passing and he really just introduced me to Waikiki and then from there I started touring all over the world because the ukulele, everyone loves the ukulele. That's absolutely true. So it is true that one of the things you've done is you've really expanded people's understanding of what a ukulele can do and I was hoping you could kind of demonstrate. Because you're known, for example, for some remarkable covers. You just put out a cover of Joni Mitchell's Bigilla Taxi, right? And so is there like anything like people would not expect to hear somebody play really well in a ukulele that you love to play for them? Yes. I'm just going to go ahead and play it. Go ahead. And for those of you, yes. For those of you listening at home, this could be any of the panelists. You can't see this. Yeah. All right. Here we go. [MUSIC PLAYING] [LAUGHTER] Christian. Yeah. [LAUGHTER] [APPLAUSE] Yeah. Yeah. [APPLAUSE] Wow. That's amazing. I was a-- [APPLAUSE] I just-- I was a little bit rusty. But once I got gone, no. [LAUGHTER] I thought we were going to do like smoke on the water or something. But no. Some-- Can you do that? [MUSIC PLAYING] [LAUGHTER] Yes. [LAUGHTER] Yes, stairway. Wow. Well, Taimane, we have asked you here to play a game we're calling mini-gitar, meat, mini golf. So-- OK. You like smaller instruments? We thought we'd ask you about the tiny version of golf, miniature golf. Answer two or three questions correctly. You'll win our prize for one of our listeners. Also, who is Taimane playing for? Jim Joplin of Lawton, Oklahoma. All right. All right, Oklahoma. And you know, they just love the ukulele in Oklahoma. So here's your first question. Most historians agree that miniature golf was invented in Scotland in the 1860s for one very specific reason. What was it? A, it was made for women who weren't allowed to play real golf, because it was considered improper for them to raise their arms above their shoulders. B, a local aristocrat said, love the game. But we-- can we do without all that walking? Or C, so a notorious sports gambler could win a bet that he could finish a whole round of golf in half an hour. Oh, gosh. You know, I'm not much of a walker myself. So I would love to say b, b, b, maybe not the vibe. No, not the vibe. You know, there's other, you know? I'm just getting this feeling of a, a, a, a, a, a. It is a, yes, it's a, a, a. Yeah. Thanks a lot. Apparently back in Victorian Scotland, you couldn't have ladies scandalizing society by showing their pits. When in doubt, go with misogyny. Exactly. Always. Got it. All right, that was very good. Now back in the early days, mini golf courses used to be different than they are today. How so was it A, instead of mechanical obstacles like windmills, children were hired to leap onto the course and swat away your ball? B, instead of hitting your ball into the mouth of a fake clown in the last hole, you do it to a real clown. Or C, instead of turf, the surfaces were made of goat hair dyed green. You know, I just keep getting these feelings. Finally, the eye of these feelings. Where did it come? You know? The spirit of a loha. You know, I'm going to go with like the ocean, like the sea. The sea wise choice being this being a wise yes, and the sea dyed goat hair with the surface of choice. This was before astroturf, of course. Last question. You can play thousands of mini golf courses around the world, including in some unusual places like which of these. On the lip of a volcano in Stromboli, Italy, with real lava providing some of the obstacles, B, 400 feet underground, and an abandoned Transylvanian salt mine, or C, on the roof of the second to tallest building in Dubai, where if your ball goes out of bounds, it really goes out of bounds. I'm going to go with B. You're going to go with the Transylvanian salt mine. You're right. Oh! It is calm. Wow It is called Selena Turda and it's got a whole amusement park down there along in the mini golf It's the most popular underground tourist attraction in the world. What's it called Selena Turda? No smart remarks Paula Also, how did Taimane do on our quiz? She's got the vibes three out of three There you go Taimane is a singer songwriter in one of the world's most celebrated ukulele players for tour dates head to taimane.com slash live Taimane So when we went to Hawaii, we of course took a plane, but champion-long-distance swimmer Becca Mann saved on baggage fees and Swam there in addition to swimming across the Maui channel and back Becca is a two-time national champion in the 10 kilometers swim and when she joined this last year guest host the guide for sod Ask her what's spending that much time in the water does to a person So you know, what are the things that I thought about like when think about these these adventures that you go on is that You're in the water for a really really really long time So what are some of the weird kind of physical side effects of this kind of swimming? So when you're in saltwater You will start swelling so like about nine hours in my nostrils We're swollen together and then when I got out of the water my uveola was hanging on to the back of my tongue and I couldn't Oh god, this is where I pretend to really know what a uveola is Hangs in the back of your throat either way. I sense that this is bad I that this again kind of conjures the question of like why do you do this to yourself? But what is your like what's your big goal now? I mean you've already done so much is there another like a record you want to set? Yeah, so I actually took after that swim I took five years off of swimming That was like the last thing that I wanted to do with my career because I just narrowly missed my third Olympic team And I didn't want to end on a failure so I love swimming and I figured why not just see how long I can love swimming for in one period and then After that took five years off and I was just really missing swimming so I got back into it a year ago and then Made the national team again after five months of training. So Now I'm just kind of taking it six months by six months and seeing what happens from there And as long as I keep enjoying getting into the pool every day to train I'm gonna keep sticking with it When you're in the open water, are there people that are like watching you or tracking you in some ways? You're not you're not completely by yourself, right? Yeah, so there was a kayak that was probably like five to ten feet away from me the whole time and then a boat that would stay like 200 meters ahead and then every like 20 minutes I'd swim up to the boat and my mom was actually on the boat and she was violently seasick the whole time Never doing this again And she'd throw me a feed. We call them feeds. They're basically just like liquid fuel So like a gatorade with like some sort of energy gel melted into it. So Yeah, I wasn't fully alone even though like I couldn't touch the boat nobody was allowed to touch me Because then you're just qualified if that happens, but there were people nearby in case I need help or anything Okay, so there are people nearby. My question is what's the most incredible thing you've seen in the open ocean because I won't be going I need to live vicariously through you I think I've seen three sharks and I really love sharks all of them were it was two black tip reef sharks And then one white tip reef shark and I think that they're just such beautiful creatures all of them were like very peaceful and Yeah, I love They're probably surprised to see you. Oh, yeah, they have they have a real they have a real reputation for being peaceful Those ones in particular. I'm at some nice ones. Well, so speaking of like fish Have you ever like had a relationship in with a fish in this style of my octopus teacher? I can't say that I have I Mean are you open to that? I'm open to everything. We'll see will you like take me? Do you ever like swim in a hotel pool and just like casually do laps but also smoke everybody and show Off Definitely Depending on what kind of mood I'm in oh Becca man, uh, well, we've actually asked you here to play a game. We're calling Thanks for joining us So you know all of you know is right You know all about open water So we're going to ask you about closed water aquariums Answer two out of three questions correctly and you'll win our prize for one of our listeners the voice of any of us on their Voice mail bill who is Becca playing for Ryan Campbell of Houston, Texas All right, all right. I won't leave down Ryan Here's your here's your first question the San Antonio Aquarium has a touch tank Which can provide guests with unique experiences like which of these is it a an archer fish spinning water directly into your boyfriend's eye Is it be an octopus grabbing your six-year-old by the arm and trying to climb out of the tank to get the rest of her? Or is it see the can you handle a lion-fish sting challenge? I'm gonna say see just because I don't know if the aquarium would be able to get away with the first deal Oh, it is B they got away with an octopus grabbing a kid Don't worry the kid is fine, and it only took three adults armed with ice packs to make the octopus let go All right, here's your next question the San Antonio Aquarium had another situation in 2018 When one of their sharks went missing Fort yeah, fortunately they were able to track it down quickly because security footage showed what was it a One shark was hiding on the bottom of its tank while another shark buried it in the sand Was it be the shark jumping a barrier into the blue go whale tank where it was now playing with a whale like they were best friends? Or was it see two people lifting the shark out of its tank putting it in a baby stroller and Walking out of the Aquarium Okay, I feel like it could be any of these three things. Okay See seems like it would be the most fun, so I'm gonna go with see you're right It is oh my god. I can't believe you got that Police recovered the shark from the guy who wanted it for the quote extensive Aquarium habitat in his garage I really see a lot of myself in that guy All right, here's your last question According to a 2017 interview when the sharks at one aquarium wouldn't mate the staff solve the issue by doing what? Was it a piping salt and pepper's push it into the Was it be putting jasmine oil into their water as an afro deesiac or was it see putting lipstick on the female shot? Yeah What is it okay? What's the audience thinking hey? Okay, I can't say no to that then it has to be a oh my god That's right Push it is a cross-species sexy song Wow Bill how did Becca do on our quiz well, she did swim a very long way So we're gonna call her a winner two out of three. Yeah All right, I think he's gonna call the audience the true winner Well Becca man is a champion open water swimmer and a writer Becca man, thank you so much for joining us on a way When we come back our panel continues to do anything other than study for our quiz and singer songwriter Lucy Degas tells us how she started her career in music as a Favorite to a friend that's when we come back with more weight weight. Don't tell me from NPR From NPR and WB easy Chicago. This is weight weight. Don't tell me the NPR news quiz I'm Bill Curtis and here is your host at the Studebaker Theater and the fight arts building in Chicago Peter Segal. Thank you, Bill. Thank you everybody Hey, if you want to come see us in person we're here most weeks at the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago you can can catch us on the road as well will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 9th, and in Sonoma, California, on July 30th. For tickets and information to all our live events, go to nprpresents.org. Right now, Bill and I are busy getting the playlist, just right for NPR's annual beach limbo party. - Everybody is surprised by how low I can. (audience laughs and applauds) But I'm gonna be honest with you. I hope our panelists are spending their week off studying the news, because apparently, some of them haven't figured out that when they appear in our show, I might ask them about it. Here's some of our panelists covering up for their ignorance by being funny. Eugene, don't be alarmed, but this week we were sure that your airplane is not actually outdated and old, just because it still has what. - No engine? (audience laughs) - No, that would be a problem. - Oh, okay. - It should be alarmed. - That it still has no smoking sign? - Close. Not only does it have no smoking signs, which it shouldn't have, because nobody smokes in airplanes, but it also seems to have still what? Oh, the ash trays? - Ash trays. - Yes, people have been saying ash trays in the laboratories of planes and thinking, oh my God, how old is this plane, right? You think, oh no, was this plane built in the '60s? And then you think about how well us people who were built in the '60s are holding together right now and you start to panic, but you can relax. The Washington Post reported this week that the FAA still requires that all airplane bathrooms still have ash trays. That way they can guarantee that the dirtiest thing in there is not the toilet seat. (audience laughs) - Why do they have them? - The idea is, you're not allowed to smoke on airplanes, and they tell you when they give the announcement, if you smoke detectors in the bathrooms, if you smoke in there, it's a crime, don't do it. But what if somebody does anyway? And they wanna make sure that if somebody does break the law and lights a cigarette in there, they want a safe, fireproof place for them to put the cigarette besides a trash can, say, full of paper. And you especially don't want them flushing them down the toilet because that blue stuff in there, that's left over jet fuel. (audience laughs) Wow. So then what happens to the cocaine that I have in there? Well. (audience laughs) - I can snort that right off the toilet seat. (audience laughs) - Also, people are upset about a lot. - It's true, yeah. Actually, I wasn't even a questioner, so people are upset. No, people are upset in Thailand after a parade there went by this museum full of priceless cultural artifacts, and then what happened? They broke in and sold them. - No, no, I'll give you a hint. We don't know why they routed the annual Subwoofer Celebration Parade by the National Museum of Typical Objects. - Oh wow. - Yes. I grew up in the south and dudes have these woofers in their car and they drive by and they rattle every dish, every window in your house. And so they just rattled those artifacts and destroyed them. - That's exactly what happened. - The loud music from the parade, shattered priceless artifacts. The parade celebrates this particular province's unique contributions to Thai culture, including Rod Haye, which is the relatively recent tradition of modifying cars and trucks with yes super powerful loudspeakers. Okay, bad enough, but why did the parade also follow those with floats filled with those sopranos singing so high they shattered lives? (audience laughs) The noise was so loud it knocked several priceless pieces of historical pottery off their shelves onto the floor where they shattered. What's the problem? Now there are a bunch more objects and there are much more reasonably priced. - Yeah, it's gonna say it was priceless before. Now they have a price. - Exactly, now we know capitalism. - For for a dollar. - I think it's great. More destructive, more destructive parades. I wanna see like a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade where a wind gust makes Snoopy take out the entire metropolitan museum. (audience laughs) - You know what? - What? - I used to have this picture that I got from a newspaper and I had it on my notebook for the longest time. It was one time at the Macy's Day Parade. You know, they had a underdog inflatable. - Yeah. - And he had like a menacing look like his eyebrows were. - Yes. - And he was pointing and a gust of wind caught it and it went like towards people and the people scattered. - Sure. - And it was such a great, so that's actually how, I mean, it didn't destroy a museum. But I do feel it's a similar story and that's why I told it. - Yeah. (audience laughs) - Katie, according to The New York Times, contrary to the popular belief held by many pet owners, all dogs are what? - Ooh. - The popular belief is that they're all lovely, so I would say me. - What are we even, what are we even asking before? (laughs) - All dogs are destined for hell. (laughs) - I'll give you a hint, maybe it'll narrow it down. These are the creatures that literally chase their own tails. - So actually, they're all really dumb? - Yes, dumb. - Tell me, I knew that, I knew that about my dog. - Yeah, I do. - Mine's very dumb and she's loud about it. - Yeah. - The New York Times wants you to know your dog is most likely not a genius, which is weird because they're always trying to get my dog to sign up for the wordle. (laughs) Opening word, girl. Josh, you have a pug. - I do. - Smart or dumb? - She's so dumb, we bought her a step so that she can hop up onto the couch 'cause the couch cushions kinda high. She sits on the step. (laughs) - I was like, come on, get me the rinse to my leg. - I have a pug too. - Is your pug smart? - No. - No, so dumb. So dumb. What is your dog smell like? Your pug smell like. - She doesn't smell great. - Mine has a very distinct smell, I wanna know if this is just a pug thing. - Is it, 'cause we've had moments of the Frito smell. - Frito, yeah. - Yeah, that's all dogs, I think. - That's all dogs. - Frito. - Frito, you smell like Frito's. You're like, this dog isn't that bright. And then you smell 'em and you're like, "I just wanna meet your Frito." (laughs) (upbeat music) - Finally, Lucy Dacas is one of the most popular singer-songwriters working today, both on her own and with the Supergroup Boy Genius. When she joined us in December, I asked her if it was true that she put out her first record as a favorite to a friend. - Yeah, he had a school project to do and my friend was working at Reba McIntyre Studio, and he was like, "No one's scheduled "on this Saturday should we sneak in." And so the whole record we recorded in one day, illegally, I don't know if it's illegal, but without approval. - Right, and I guess the first question is, did he get a good grade? - I never asked him that. - Really? (laughs) - He didn't like, he didn't fail and have to have you record another record, did he? - Yeah, and that's what historian is. - Yeah, exactly, it was a second project. - Yeah. - So that's an amazing story. You started playing guitar, I'm told, at 12 years old. - I would say the correct answer is yes. - The correct answer is yes. I like the fact you're already getting to the quiz aspect. That's good. - I'm still like not the best at guitar. I feel like guitar at that time was hardly listable. - Really? But you're actually quite an accomplished guitarist. You were on a list of some, one of the greatest of all time I saw. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Wow. - Do you remember, I'm always curious about this, artists like yourself, like what your first songs were like when you first wrote a song? Do you remember what it was? - I had a song called "Supercupid", which was like, "Why won't Cupid come to me?" I was probably like seven years old. - What? - Yeah, I know. - You already like pining for a partner at seven? - Yes. - Yeah. - I mean, I also had a song that was about people who are upset when someone cheats on them. But it's probably their fault because why would they cheat on you if you weren't hard to be with? Like again, I was probably like eight years old. - Oh my goodness. - Wow. You were eight years old. - What was happening at your elementary school? (audience laughs) - I'm glad I don't remember. - Yeah. - You also, in your early days before you recorded that school project and began to become very popular, you worked at a, I didn't even know that these still existed within a young person's lifetime, but a photo processing shop in Richmond, where you grew up, wow. - Richmond, camera. - Richmond, camera. Did that experience inspire any of your writing? - Well, it was still mindless and it was eight hours a day. And so I would sit and do my like do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do, and then I had a pot of paper and I would write songs and I'd get home and I'd get on the guitar and write like a song a day at that time, which is not like what I do anymore. - Wow. Have you considered, I mean, you seem to be nostalgic for when you were that productive have you considered taking on like a mindless day job again just to reignite the creative spirit? - Yeah, I think you're being funny, but I feel like we've thought about that. - Yeah. - Yeah. I'm ready. - You're ready. You're ready. Somebody higher this woman for drudge works so you can reach the photo counter at Walgreens. I think that's exactly how you drive. - Why not? In 2019 you released a song on certain holidays throughout the year and then put out a record of them all called holidays and I love this record. How did you decide which holidays to do? The real truth is that I had recorded a bunch of things for no reason because it's fun to do and I was like, when are these going to see the world? And so I realized that some of them have like a holiday aspect, others I kind of could make it up. Like dancing the dark, we just said that Bruce Springsteen's birthday is a holiday. Which I stand by. And then like in the air tonight like that was kind of eerie so we did it for Halloween. I also wanted to ask, as you say, one of the holidays, Bruce Springsteen's birthday and you do think that's a holiday or a big fan, right? It wasn't my house growing up. I mean it was written out we had like a big calendar in the kitchen where we put like, you know, fastball practice, church, Bruce Springsteen's birthday. Please tell me you called it. Please tell me you called it the Springsteen. The Springsteen? The Springsteen. The Springsteen. The Springsteen. I have to call my dad. I saw a picture of you with Springsteen. So you didn't meet him, right? Did you tell him about the Springsteen? No. I already knew. Like I'm not that like saved when I meet people, but he like is so important to my dad and to me. And I like showed up at a friend's birthday party and like saw him and I was like, I need to go. I'm about to make a fool of myself. And so I was crying at the party when a friend was like, this is weird. And I should go. And so then I turned around and he was right there. And he actually like knew me and knew my music already. So I was just like, I think you're the best. I like, yeah. And he was, he was very gracious and he kind of, he seems to be like the guy that you want him to be, which is not always true. Well, Lucy, because it is a pleasure to talk to you. And we have invited you here to play a game we're calling Boy Genius Meet Boy Geniuses. So your band is called Boy Geniuses. So we're going to ask you three questions about geniuses who are also boys. Answer two or three. Well, you're okay. You're rolling your eyes. I did warn you earlier. It would be dumb. I mean, you can be geniuses. It's awesome dumb. So let's go. Let's go. All right. I appreciate it. That was very charitable. So as I was saying, answer two to three questions correctly. And you'll win our prize. One of our listeners. Also, who is Lucy playing for? Kimberly Ramos of Chicago, Illinois. All right. Here's your first question. Math Genius Suborno Bari started at NYU last fall at the age of 12. When a reporter asked him, do you sometimes wonder at the fact that you're only 12? What was his response? A, quote, why wonder at that when there's dark matter to wonder about? B, quote, not really, I've seen my birth certificate. Or see, quote, yes, mainly when my classmates go to a bar without me. I'm going to say the second option. I think it's two. You are right. It was B. Yes, he was. He said, yes, I've seen my birth certificate. He is a math genius. He can count to 12. All right. Dougie Hauser was a fictional boy genius who, in the show, completed med school at the age of 14. But the actor who played him, Neil Patrick Harris, was not a medical prodigy. So how did he get through the scenes where he had to spout a lot of medical jargon while performing surgery? Was it A, he recorded each big word just one at a time and then the editors would just cut away to the nurses a lot to make it sound like he was saying it all at once. B, he put a card with his lines written on them inside the surgical wound he was supposed to be operating on. Or see the actor playing the patient in the operating table would whisper the lines to him, taking advantage of the fact he couldn't see his mouth under a oxygen mask. I was going to say B because you're right. It was. All right. Here is your last question. Get this right. You'll be perfect. Boy geniuses from around the country were once invited to participate in a game show called Our Little Genius where prodigies answered nearly impossible questions in the pursuit of winning $500,000. But the show the recorded never aired. Why? A, the network had said people already feel dumb watching game shows. Now we're going to make them feel dumber. B, the phone a friend featured failed when every single contestant asked does my mom count or see it was shut down when it's revealed the kids weren't actually geniuses producers were just feeding them the answers right before they filmed. I feel like we live in the world of C. We do sadly. It is a fallen world that we live in and you are correct. It was. All thing was a scam. There's never broadcast. Also, how did Lucy do in our quiz? She did great. Three out of three. Well done. Lucy Dacus is a singer, songwriter and won the third of the Supergroup Boy Genius her new album forever is a feeling is out now. Lucy Dacus, thank you so much for joining us. I'm way, way from time to time. Thank you for loving me. It was a pleasure to talk to you. Take care. Bye bye. Bye bye. That's it for our spring is the best time to prepare for summer edition. We'll be back next week with beautiful new tan lines. But first let me tell you. Wait, wait, don't tell me. It's a production of NPR and WB Easy Chicago in association with urgent haircut production and Doug Burman, Benevolent Overlord. Phillip Gautica writes our lemrex, our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. B.J. leader and composed our theme by program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornblass and Lillian Gang. Special thanks is always to Monica Hickey, Peter Gwynn is helping us get sunscreen and that hard to reach spot on our backs. Our visual host is Emma Choi, our ops manager is just Sierra Vardak, technical director of some more in a wider CFO's column Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse, our senior producer is Ian Chilig and the executive producer of Whitway, don't tell me that's Mike Danforth. Thanks to everybody you heard on this week's show. That would be all our panelists, all our fabulous guests, our guest scorekeeper Alzo Slay. And of course, Bill Curtis. And thanks to all of you for listening, I'm Peter Segal, and we'll see you next week. This is NPR.