Code Switch

In this podcast-only extra, hear actor and Broadway star Cristin Milioti reflect on a family game night gone horribly wrong; it involved Texas Hold'em, an unspeakable insult, and a possibly-drunk Dean Martin. Hear the entire episode with VIP Cristin Milioti in Ask Me Another #202, available starting September 19, 2013.

Do you like trivia? Do you enjoy food? This week, you can have your cake and eat it too. Two professional competitive eaters square off in a music round inspired by a certain Twisted Sister song. Our Very Important Puzzler, Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport, dishes about culinary trends, the scourge of Yelp reviews and why he hates giving wine advice. Plus, trivia rounds about nursery rhymes, bad spelling and ironic facts. Find out who's the cream of the crop, and who'll be mincemeat.

If you're crazy about public radio game shows (and who isn't?), prepare yourself for a double dose of NPR hosts. This week's Very Important Puzzler, Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me! host Peter Sagal, gives you the inside scoop on his show's zaniest moments. Plus, shop for famous homes that were once featured in films and TV shows, put your knowledge of card games to use, and shake up a classic Beatles tune to shine the spotlight on animals other than "The Walrus."

In this podcast-only extra, Peter Sagal, host of NPR's "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" reflects on riding a hog, disappointing his father and sharpening his own parenting skills. Hear the entire Peter Sagal episode of Ask Me Another #222, available starting September 6, 2013.

In this podcast-only extra, Peter Sagal, host of NPR's "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" defends his nerd status, claiming he's not an International Grandmaster Nerd, but more of a Regional Competitor Nerd. Hear more from VIP Peter Sagal on Ask Me Another #222, available starting September 6, 2013.

Our first ever Really Hard Edition revisits some of the trickiest games played on Ask Me Another. Yes, this episode is full of subjects known to put fear (or, for some, joy) into your hearts: philosophy, history, math. But fret not. We’ve put our own spin on them, and injected healthy doses of comedy, music, pop culture and puns. Amid these grueling rounds, get into the head of puzzle editor Art Chung, who reveals the process behind creating the show’s games...

If you believe in magic, then this week’s show is for you. We’ll play word games based on Missy Elliott lyrics, do our own version of a TED talk, and brush up on our foodie lingo. We’ll also learn about irregular plurals, and take a thesaurus to the Oscars. This week’s V.I.P. is comedian and podcaster Julie Klausner, who dishes on pop culture and her love of The Monkees.

(Rebroadcast) For our first-ever show on the road, we chose a city near and dear to our hearts: Boston. In this rousing hour, taped live at the Wilbur Theatre, we poke a little ‘pun’ at the local accent, imagine famous songs as if they had been written about Boston neighborhoods, and sing everyone’s favorite Fenway Park anthem...

(Rebroadcast) 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.

Strap on your safety goggles: we’re turning up the Bunsen burners for a special math and science-themed episode, recorded at the 2013 World Science Festival. Play games that contain a Periodic Table spelling bee, turn pop songs into algebraic equations, and imagine if Greek goddesses had their own franchise of Real Housewives. Plus, our Very Important Puzzler, Cornell University math professor Steven Strogatz, is on a mission to prove that math isn’t scary, but actually joyful.