News Release

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC will present two live performances of National Public Radio’s "Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!" at Memorial Hall on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus Thursday (Sept. 15) and Friday (Sept. 16). The fast-paced quiz shows will be taped for national broadcast.

"Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!" takes an irreverent look at the news of the world – the weird. Now in its eighth year, the show offers a modern and sometimes raucous twist on the old-time radio quiz show, mining NPR news stories for quiz questions. The host is award-winning playwright Peter Sagal. NPR newscaster and North Carolina native Carl Kasell is the show’s official judge and scorekeeper.

One of the show’s most popular segments is "Who’s Carl This Time?" in which Kasell, a UNC alumnus, recites quotes from the week’s newsmakers as contestants guess whom he is impersonating. This is the only show, producers say, where listeners will hear NPR’s most senior newscaster impersonate Britney Spears.

Another signature "Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me!" game, "Not My Job," invites well-known local and national personalities to answer questions that are out of their area of expertise.

A trio of panelists completes the show’s team. They include author and humorist Roy Blount Jr., Boston Globe writer Charlie Pierce and Washington Post columnist Roxanne Roberts, who will be on hand for the Chapel Hill appearances.

"Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!" is a co-production of NPR and Chicago Public Radio. The program debuted nationally in 1998 and quickly established itself as a public radio staple.

The local performances will benefit North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC. Both begin at 7:30 p.m. The Sept. 15 show will air the following week. Tickets are $35 and $25 and are available through the Memorial Hall Box Office at (919) 843-3333 and online at www.wunc.org.

"Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!" airs Saturdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m. on WUNC 91.5 FM.

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WUNC-FM contact: Katherine Gizzi, (919) 966-5454 x 235 or kgizzi@wunc.org
News Services contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 962-2093 or lisa_katz@unc.edu