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Consider the best of podcast comedy game shows.
Podcast: Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me and Ask Me Another
Avg. Episode Length: Approx. 50 min
Genre: Comedy, Trivia
Content Warnings: Episodes are aired on NPR, appropriate for all ages unless marked otherwise.
If you ask someone what podcasts they like to listen to, chances are one of these is on the list. For several years now, NPR has produced two of the best trivia game shows for radio, and you can download them in podcast form for listening to on your own schedule.
Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me is a weekly release with a panel of writers, comedians and NPR voices playing trivia games based around the week’s news. Contestants call in, including whoever the guest is for that week—anyone from famous actors to astronauts. If you pride yourself on being that person in the office who always knows what’s happening in the world, this is the podcast to test your merit!
Ask Me Another is less news and more word games, puns and useless trivia. If you’re like me and play way too much Scrabble while dreaming of game show fame, Ask Me Another occasionally sends out the call for contestants, and you can test to be on the show. For both of these shows, it’s all about the hosts—they keep the shows fun, upbeat and (in Ask Me Another’s case) musical.
Where to start?: Because each episode is based around current events, try the most recent episode for Wait Wait. For Ask Me Another, scroll through the archive, and pick an episode featuring a guest star you enjoy.
