PETER SAGAL, HOST:
Now onto our final game, Lightning Fill In The Blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which to answer as many fill-in-the-blank questions as they can, each correct answer now worth two points. Bill, can you give us the scores?
BILL KURTIS: Helen has 4. Adam has 4. And Josh has 5.
SAGAL: Helen and Adam are tied. So I will arbitrarily choose for no reason at all. Helen, the clock will start when I begin your first question. Please fill in the blank. On Wednesday, President Trump urged North Carolina to test the mail-in voting system by blanking.
HELEN HONG: By mailing something.
SAGAL: No, by voting twice, which is, of course, illegal. For the first time since World War II, the federal blank is set to exceed the size of the economy.
HONG: Oh, the deficit.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: According to a new report, President Trump did not want to go visit a military cemetery in France because he said blank.
HONG: They're losers.
SAGAL: Exactly.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: We also would have accepted suckers. This week, a woman in Australia discovered the reason her toilet was clogged was blank.
HONG: There was a snake in it.
SAGAL: There was a family of snakes living in it. I'll give it to you.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Wednesday, social media site blank said it would limit political ads the week before the election.
HONG: Facebook?
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon's blank, was named the world's richest woman.
HONG: Jeff Bezos.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, police were able to easily...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...Identify a man who robbed a Pizza Hut because he blanked.
HONG: He stole the sign that said Pizza Hut.
SAGAL: No, they easily identified him because he filled out a job application before robbing it.
HONG: (Laughter).
SAGAL: And I can tell you after hosting this show for more than 20 years, this is not the first time this has happened.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: According to employees, the man entered the Pizza Hut location, asked for an application, filled it out and then grabbed the tip jar and made a run for it. In addition to including all of his personal information on the application, the man also left behind his backpack, which had his ID in it. Regardless, the pizza place is still considering hiring him. They're just waiting to hear back from his reference, a Burger King he robbed last week. Bill, how did Helen do on our quiz?
KURTIS: Well, look out for Helen. She had five right for 10 more points. She now has 14 and the lead.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)
SAGAL: Whoa, well done. All right, then.
KURTIS: Wow. Nicely done, Helen.
SAGAL: Adam, you are up next. Fill in the blank.
ADAM FELBER: OK.
SAGAL: On Wednesday, Joe Biden called for charges against the officers who shot blank in Louisville, Ky.
FELBER: Breonna Taylor.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Sunday, the governor of blank urged President Trump not to visit the state.
FELBER: Wisconsin.
SAGAL: Yes. He went anyway.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, Dr. Fauci rejected the White House's idea to pursue a herd immunity strategy to combat blank.
FELBER: Coronavirus, COVID-19.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Sunday, thousands gathered in the streets of blank to call for the removal of President Alexander Lukashenko.
FELBER: Belarus.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: During a raid in Michigan this week, officers arrested three men for possession of cocaine, ketamine and blank.
FELBER: Ring Dings.
SAGAL: Two arctic foxes. On Thursday, private aerospace company blank launched 60 satellites into orbit.
FELBER: SpaceX.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Wednesday, actor and former professional wrestler blank became the latest celebrity to reveal he had contracted COVID-19.
FELBER: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson...
SAGAL: Indeed.
FELBER: ...Cannot smell what he's cooking.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Ha.
HONG: (Laughter).
SAGAL: As if it weren't hard enough to find people to help you move...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...A couple in England are looking for people to do it while blank.
FELBER: Naked.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Very good, Adam. The couple are nudists themselves, and they posted an ad saying they were searching for a, quote, "naked mover to help them out of their old home and into their new one." They have no takers so far. But a bit of advice for whoever moves into their old place - definitely spring for the professional cleaning.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Bill, how did Adam do on our quiz?
KURTIS: We've got a game. Adam had seven right for 14 more points. He now has 18 and the lead.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)
SAGAL: Well done, Adam. All right then. How many does Josh need to win?
KURTIS: Josh needs seven to win.
SAGAL: All right, Josh. Here we go. This is for the game. Fill in the blank. According to a report released Thursday, the Justice Department is preparing antitrust charges against search giant blank.
JOSH GONDELMAN: Google.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Sunday, the head of the FDA said he might approve a blank before human trials have ended.
GONDELMAN: A vaccine?
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, President Trump ordered federal agencies to cut funding to cities run by blanks.
GONDELMAN: Democrats?
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Wednesday, Germany's government said that a Soviet-era nerve agent was used to poison Putin critic blank.
GONDELMAN: Oh, gosh. Navalny?
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Alexei Navalny, very good. According to a new memoir by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, onetime White House communications chief Anthony Scaramucci bragged about doing something he'd always wanted to do blanking.
GONDELMAN: Skydiving.
SAGAL: No, pooping in the West Wing. On Sunday, United announced it would be dropping blank fees for all passengers.
GONDELMAN: Baggage fees.
SAGAL: No, ticket change fees. Best known as one of the greatest pitchers of all time, Hall of Famer blank passed away at the age of 75.
GONDELMAN: Tom Seaver.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Saying the city has a chance to be a social leader...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...A man in Nebraska pleaded with the Lincoln City Council to ban the misleading term blank.
GONDELMAN: Boneless chicken tenders.
SAGAL: Exactly right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
GONDELMAN: Or boneless chicken wings. Boneless chicken wings.
SAGAL: Good enough. He said that - one of his arguments was they're really just chicken tenders.
GONDELMAN: They're chicken tenders.
SAGAL: The man begged the city council to, quote, "remove boneless wings from our menus and our hearts because, clearly, they're not boneless chicken wings - they're just chicken tenders." No word if the council will take action. But in response, KFC has introduced their new product - bonefull (ph) chicken wings, which is just a plate of bones covered in buffalo sauce. Bill, did Josh do well enough to win?
KURTIS: Well, he had six right for 12 more points with a total of 17. But guess who had one point more? Adam is our champion.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)
SAGAL: Another win for Adam. Congratulations.
FELBER: Thank you. I want to share this win with my fellow panelists.
HONG: I'll take it. I'll take it (laughter).
GONDELMAN: Yeah, I'll take what I can get.
SAGAL: Absolutely.
HONG: Yeah. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.