Ask Me Another

(Rebroadcast) This week, we revisit the 20th century with Billy Joel, write novels the Robert Ludlum way, and catch words with a subtle silent "t". Plus, we talk "Fifty Shades of Grey" with our V.I.P. (that's "Very Important Puzzler"), superstar sex doctor Dr. Ruth Westheimer.

The "Frankenstein-Dracula," the "King's Indian" and the "Fried Liver" are all famous ways to do what? As this week's V.I.P., International Grandmaster of chess Maurice Ashley, knows, they're all strategies to begin a chess match. In this episode, Ashley divulges his own chess-playing strategy that combines Zen-like meditation with CIA-like mind games. Plus: anagrams for foodies, cartoon characters with speech impediments, and gender-bending pop songs. Ready to play? Check and mate.

This week, Ask Me Another goes celluloid by revisiting some favorite movie games from the past two seasons. We'll mash up plots, contemplate why some films have such ridiculous titles, and even get a little Randy. That's right: did you know that any movie can be Randy Newman-ized with a jaunty tune? Plus: overseas American films get lost in translation, and monsters and villains attempt online dating. Celebrate your inner cinephile, you connoisseurs of IMDB...

Science takes center stage this week as we play games about scientific discoveries both intentional and accidental. We'll get brainy with our Very Important Puzzler, Radiolab host Jad Abumrad, as he talks about his quest to become a science vampire. Plus, we roll the dice on clues about our favorite board games and find out the premises of fake TV show adaptations, from Finding Emo to Oy! Story.

(Rebroadcast) What famous fantasy novel follows a group of rabbits in search of laundry detergent? How about Watership Downy? This week on NPR's hour of puzzles, word games, and trivia: famous works of art and literature are slapped with product placement, we honor "Weird Al" Yankovic's timeless tunes, and one of Ask Me Another's own puzzle gurus challenges the puzzle world master, Will Shortz, in an anagram showdown for the ages.

In the Ask Me Another justice system, contestants are quizzed by two separate yet equally important groups: the puzzle gurus, who investigate pop culture and word oddities, and the score keepers, who prosecute the answers. This week, hear their stories as we test our V.I.P., political pundit Keli Goff, on her favorite series, Law & Order. Plus, celebrate history's greatest thinkers, from Confucius to Carly Rae Jepsen.

You may know this week's V.I.P. (Very Important Puzzler) Steve Guttenberg from such iconic films as Diner, Cocoon, and Three Men and a Baby. But he wears plenty of other hats: author, reality show contestant, even Guinness World Record holder. In this episode we'll explore all things Gute. Plus, we'll dine out on some soft rock, give movies the Randy Newman treatment, and find out that Mark Twain isn't all he's cracked up to be.

(Rebroadcast) If you love playing around with palindromes, quoting Downton Abbey's Dowager Countess, and spotting factual errors in the news (Editor's note: "What factual errors?"), then this episode will make you so happy, you'll want to clap your hands. Plus, this week's hilarious V.I.P., Baratunde Thurston, has some advice for the Area Man or Woman in all of us.

"Shake it like a polar bear ninja!" If you suspect that these are not the correct lyrics to Outkast's "Hey Ya!", then this week's game of mondegreens (misheard lyrics) is for you. We'll also visit the world of late-night infomercials, learn how to tell the difference between Michael Caine and Anthony Hopkins, and root for our favorite gluttonous, envious, lustful basketball team: the Phoenix Sins. Plus, V.I.P. David Rees teaches us how to sharpen pencils the artisanal way.

This week's versatile V.I.P., Rosie Schaap, has had spells as an author, an ordained minister, a fortuneteller, and a bartender — which serves her well during a delectable drinking game. And with quizzes covering highfalutin children's literature, crossbred celebrities and a geologist's favorite Queen song, this week's contestants show a little versatility, too.