UChicago students will be able to hear Carl Kasell’s inimitable voice echo through Mandel Hall when it hosts a taping of Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! (WWDTM), NPR’s weekly current events quiz program, on Thursday, January 30.
The show, based at Chicago’s NPR affiliate WBEZ, is typically taped at the Chase Bank Auditorium in the Loop, but the Institute of Politics (IOP), which is spearheading the event, invited the show to venture south to Hyde Park for a taping on campus, according to IOP Executive Director Darren Reisberg.
“We reached out to WWDTM about the possibility of having a taping down here on campus. While WWDTM does invariably go on the road outside of Chicago to do tapings, they generally do not do tapings anywhere in Chicago other than at the Chase Auditorium. That said, they were really intrigued by the idea, and after some back and forth about scheduling, we were able to land on the January 30 date,” Reisberg said in an e-mail.
Hosted by Peter Sagal, the show invites listeners to call in and answer questions about the week’s news. Radio veteran Carl Kasell is the show’s official judge and scorekeeper, and participants can win a recording of his famous voice for their answering machine or voicemail.
In addition, a panel of comedians discuss and joke about the newsmakers and headlines of the week. The January 30 show will feature three of the show’s regular panelists: comedian Faith Salie, author Tom Bodett, and humorist Mo Rocca.
According to the show’s website, tickets to the regular tapings cost $24.75. However, in this case, University organizations, including the Logan Center for the Arts, the Office of Campus and Student Life, and the Office of Civic Engagement, subsidized the cost and made the event free for all attendees.
“It was important to us and our campus partners to be able to offer this incredible opportunity to students and community members at no cost,” Reisberg said.
Exclusive tickets for UChicago students will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at the Logan Center for the Arts box office beginning at 8 a.m. on Friday. After that, remaining tickets will open up to members of the public, beginning at noon on Saturday.
