Speaker 1: Hello Puzzlers, Welcome to the Puzzler Podcast, the delicately folded
Speaker 1: puzzle Pastry at your Corner Bakery. I am your host,
Speaker 1: AJ Jacobs, and today's guest is the delightful James Altacher. Author.
Speaker 1: He's a friend of mine, host of the James Altager Podcast,
Speaker 1: not your average podcast. Welcome James Altager. Aj.
Speaker 2: I've been marking the days down on my calendar until
Speaker 2: coming on the Puzzler Podcast. I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 2: Thank you for inviting me. And I've even been training
Speaker 2: all morning in anticipation of this. I did word all
Speaker 2: on the New York Times. I did spelling beyond the
Speaker 2: New York Times. I did about sixty chest puzzles. I've
Speaker 2: got my puzzle mind going.
Speaker 1: I like that. Thank you for getting warmed up. We
Speaker 1: are excited to have you for several reasons. First, you're
Speaker 1: a great podcast or great writer. Second, we have known
Speaker 1: each other, we're longtime friends. And third, you have a
Speaker 1: great name for wordplay. I don't know if you noticed,
Speaker 1: but you have know this. You have not one, but
Speaker 1: two hidden words in your name, James Altager. Do you
Speaker 1: know them well?
Speaker 2: I mean, there's lots of words potentially right, So.
Speaker 1: Not mixing it up, just reading with the words. Well,
Speaker 1: letters just as they are. There's one o them. Oh,
Speaker 1: that's true, there's three. I was looking at the ones
Speaker 1: that span the two words.
Speaker 2: Oh, let me see, let me see.
Speaker 1: So there's one at the end.
Speaker 2: Well, there's there's mesa, you know, like, yes, mesa exactly.
Speaker 2: I've never thought of this before. This is really interesting.
Speaker 2: So do they have to span both words?
Speaker 1: Well, these two happen to span both words. Okay, right,
Speaker 1: jam is in there? H so mesa you have? Oh,
Speaker 1: there is a salt exactly, salt like.
Speaker 2: I've never thought of that before.
Speaker 1: Well, that's why we're here to help you, so you
Speaker 1: can know something to talk about at boast about uh
Speaker 1: at parties. I don't think I only have one. Maybe
Speaker 1: I'm wrong, Jake Cobbs, CEO bo.
Speaker 2: Wait, what's your first name?
Speaker 1: Well, my first real first name is Arnold. I'm trying.
Speaker 1: Oh Old, I'm an old. Oh I'm growing into my name.
Speaker 1: All right. Well that said, our actual puzzle has nothing
Speaker 1: to do with the hidden words in your name. I
Speaker 1: just wanted you to know, but it does revolve around
Speaker 1: your name because we love your initials. JA the mirror
Speaker 1: image of my initials. So we thought that this puzzle
Speaker 1: would be about other people and things that have the
Speaker 1: initial JA and what their podcast might be called if
Speaker 1: they had a podcast. So, for instance, if there were
Speaker 1: a podcast hosted by the second President of the United States,
Speaker 1: it would be the.
Speaker 2: John Adams John Adams Show.
Speaker 1: The John Adams Show exactly. Apparently he was a bit
Speaker 1: of a cantankerous pill, so might not be popular. Are
Speaker 1: you ready for the real ones?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: All right?
Speaker 2: Oh, I thought that was I was hoping that was
Speaker 2: a real one. I'm like, oh, this is easy. Give
Speaker 2: you more presidential trivia. Presidential trivia for two hundred aj we.
Speaker 1: Are gonna give you that one. We are just because
Speaker 1: we like you. That counts one for one. All right.
Speaker 1: This is a podcast hosted by a woman who was
Speaker 1: famous for her British novels featuring single men in possession
Speaker 1: of good fortunes and the ladies who loved them.
Speaker 2: Nineteen already a podcast? Oh Jane, Well, okay, Jane Austen probably.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the Jane Austen Show exactly. I don't think. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's probably podcasts about Jane Austen, but she doesn't host.
Speaker 2: It was there any current podcasts involving this, but I
Speaker 2: couldn't think of a British there's I couldn't think of
Speaker 2: a British female author with JA.
Speaker 1: There's JK by the way. J One side note, Andrea
Speaker 1: Schomberg wrote this puzzle, but I tried to add to
Speaker 1: it by asking chat GBT for some other jas, and
Speaker 1: among their suggestions were Jimmy Hendrix and Jean Michel Basquiat.
Speaker 1: So I love that because it means we still have
Speaker 1: like six months before it takes over. All right, you're
Speaker 1: ready for your next podcast. This is a podcast about
Speaker 1: the era, the era of Flappers, Prohibition, speakeasies, guests like
Speaker 1: Duke Ellington and Elphitzgerald the JA. So it's not a person,
Speaker 1: not a person, It is a phrase this time.
Speaker 2: So it's like a Roaring twenties kind of thing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, Duke Ellington and el Fitzgerald, they're more than
Speaker 1: Roaring twenties there.
Speaker 2: Right there, like Jazz the Jess Podcast exactly. Okay, I
Speaker 2: don't have to use JA as initial as abbreviation.
Speaker 1: It's just no no you jay no, no, it's jazz
Speaker 1: something the era, it's the era jazz.
Speaker 2: Hold on, hold on the jazz alternatives.
Speaker 1: Or the jazz it's the time period of.
Speaker 2: The jazz and alcohol prohibition period, Jazz and alcohol podcast.
Speaker 1: Jazz, the time period, the jazz age, the jazz age.
Speaker 1: You got it. We like to see you struggle a
Speaker 1: little humanizes you. By the way, this I didn't know
Speaker 1: until researching. Do you say era or era? Which do
Speaker 1: you say?
Speaker 2: Well, it's funny you asked that. So when I wrote
Speaker 2: the book Choose Yourself, the original title was to Choose
Speaker 2: Yourself Era, And I noticed whenever I said the title
Speaker 2: to people who were asking, oh, what's the title of
Speaker 2: your next book, everybody kept squinting and saying, did you
Speaker 2: just say that choose yourself? Error? Like? So, so that's
Speaker 2: when I I so, I think ERA sounds too much
Speaker 2: like error.
Speaker 1: Right, especially if you have like a Boston or Brooklyn
Speaker 1: accent the era era? So did you switch to era?
Speaker 2: No? I just took out the word, said choose yourself.
Speaker 1: There you go, and it was a hit.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, I think books that sound like a call
Speaker 2: to action.
Speaker 1: Do well, oh interesting, just ordering people around. They like
Speaker 1: being told what to do. All right, Well, next one,
Speaker 1: just so you know, era is correct. It's the British pronunciation,
Speaker 1: and era is the American. So I guess I'm an
Speaker 1: Anglo phile because I say.
Speaker 2: Yeah, why did you say correct about the British pronunciation?
Speaker 2: Why is that correct?
Speaker 1: I have a soft spot? All right? Are we ready
Speaker 1: a couple more? This is a podcast where you interview
Speaker 1: athletes who play a high speed ball game beloved by gamblers.
Speaker 1: It's played by with wicker baskets on their hands. You
Speaker 1: ever see that often in Florida?
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, the Highlight podcast?
Speaker 1: Exactly, the Highlight Show. All right.
Speaker 2: At first I was thinking lacrosse, but the wicker basket.
Speaker 1: Uh yeah, yeah, that lacrosse has an a in it.
Speaker 1: But but no, Jay, all right, all right, this is
Speaker 1: this one is hard. I actually didn't don't think I
Speaker 1: would get this. But this is a show about a
Speaker 1: type of candy consisting of a certain nut covered in
Speaker 1: colorful hard candy shells.
Speaker 2: It's to wait, say it again. This is a show
Speaker 2: about a candy that's covered.
Speaker 1: In hard candy shells and they're like different pastel colors.
Speaker 1: I did not really. I don't think I knew that
Speaker 1: it rang a bell when I heard it, but I
Speaker 1: wouldn't have been able to come up with it. That's
Speaker 1: why I decided to give it to you, because I.
Speaker 2: Kind of forget like jelly beans and all almond.
Speaker 1: You got Almond. Now, the first word is sort of
Speaker 1: like the uh Chicago Bulls, Chicago Bulls basketball player Michael.
Speaker 2: Oh, I don't.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't know the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael,
Speaker 1: that one. You do know? You know, I happen to
Speaker 1: know Michael Jordan, right, So you put them together, Almond
Speaker 1: and Jordan, and you've got the Jordan Almond Show, the
Speaker 1: Jordan Amend Show.
Speaker 2: Oh, I would not have known that. There's no they
Speaker 2: are the only what is the Jordan Almond?
Speaker 1: You will definitely recognize that if you see it, it's
Speaker 1: like it's very eastery. I feel it's it's like pastel
Speaker 1: pinks and yellows. But I get the feeling that most
Speaker 1: other people know Jordan Almend's all right, Well you did
Speaker 1: very well except for the Jordan Almond. But I didn't
Speaker 1: know that either, So thank you, Jameon.
Speaker 2: It's good puzzles, good puzzle making. I didn't really know.
Speaker 2: I sometimes trivia is a little hard. It depends if
Speaker 2: you like are an expert in that area.
Speaker 1: That's right, exactly we try to veer more towards puzzles
Speaker 1: than trivia. But I guess there's a little crossover. Where
Speaker 1: can people find more James Altacher content?
Speaker 2: You know, I think they should listen to any podcast
Speaker 2: episode that includes both you and me. So we've done
Speaker 2: a bunch of We've done like twenty podcasts together, and
Speaker 2: now they can listen to the Puzzler and hear us.
Speaker 1: On this show exactly. And we did a special series
Speaker 1: called Good or Bad Like our dogs overall good for
Speaker 1: the world are bad for the role. I voted good,
Speaker 1: but which is a hot.
Speaker 2: I voted bad? And now I have two dogs, a
Speaker 2: tiny one and a German shepherd.
Speaker 1: So, yeah, you doomed yourself. It was fastiny Hubris.
Speaker 2: Probably everything I said was bad. I probably now have
Speaker 2: I sent kids to college. I said college was bad.
Speaker 1: You did argue colleges I.
Speaker 2: Own a home. I said owning a home was bad.
Speaker 2: You are full of such a hypocrite.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's terrific. All right, Well, thank you, James, And
Speaker 1: as always, before we wrap up, we have an extra
Speaker 1: credit for the puzzlers at home. This is a podcast
Speaker 1: where the host reads resumes of those seeking employment. You'll
Speaker 1: get the answer to the extra credit next episode and puzzlers,
Speaker 1: please don't forget to subscribe to the Puzzler Podcast. If
Speaker 1: you're enjoying it, tell your friends, maybe even rate it
Speaker 1: even five stars, and we'll meet you here tomorrow for
Speaker 1: more puzzling puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Speaker 2: Hello puzzlers. Greg Klisker here with the extra credit answer
Speaker 2: from our previous episode we did food Charades with Dan Pashman.
Speaker 2: Your extra credit clue was this product made by maiden Form,
Speaker 2: dog Breed, border Blank and football player Gronkowski.
Speaker 1: Those three parts are ra Collie and Rob and you
Speaker 1: put them together and you get broccoli Rob.
Speaker 2: Enjoy your broccoli, Rob, and come back here and enjoy
Speaker 2: more of the Puzzler Podcast with AJ Jacobs