Tom Papa
Appearances
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Wow. My son is a huge fan of yours, and by that, of course, I mean because of your Ice Age movies and TV shows.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
So you play, for those unlucky not to have seen the 4,000 Ice Age movies and TV shows and video games, you play Sid the Sloth, a prehistoric sloth, and we read that you actually got really deep into the research for his voice. Is that right?
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
In November this past year, we talked to ultra runner Tara Dower. She had just become the fastest person to ever complete the Appalachian Trail, having hiked all 2,200 miles in just over 40 days.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
First question, did we get the numbers right? About 2,200 miles, end to end, Maine to Georgia, and you did it in 40 days, 18 hours, 5 minutes. Is that right? Yes.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
So break that down. To travel that far in that period of time, how far did you have to travel per day and how much time did it take to travel, to run every day?
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
17 and a half hours. Okay. That's kind of amazing. And how much were you able to sleep? On average, about five hours. And at what point, I mean, I guess you ran from Maine to Georgia. So were you starting to hallucinate by the time you were in New York, say? Yeah.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Yeah. They have bathrooms in the trail. That's nice. And so, so when you say you're eating, so you're just like, she thought it was a bathroom. You may have been hallucinating a bathroom in someone's car. You can't guarantee that was a bathroom. So you're right. So I'm trying to feel that you're running along and like your friends are with you. You have a lot of support.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
I know in order to do this and they run up to you and they give you, hand you a banana or whatever it is you're eating and you just stuff it in your face as you keep running.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
A couple more questions. First of all, I understand that you said once that you have decided after lots of experiences, negative, positive, but you've just decided that you're done with toenails.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
You were done with them. You were tired of them getting bloody and coming off. Oh, yeah.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
What's next? What's the next achievement? And when are you going to be ready to do it?
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Now we're talking. Now we're talking. Well, Tara, we are delighted to talk to you. And we have Astrid here to play a game that this time we are calling Try a Stroll Down These Appalachian Tales. So you ran the whole Appalachian Trail, but you went through it too fast this last time to hear any of the myths and legends of that particular region.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
So we're going to ask you three questions about folk tales from the places you ran through. And if you get two right, you'll win our prize for one of our listeners, the voice of anyone they like on their voicemail. So Joshua, who is Tara playing for? Sarah O'Dell of Redmond, Washington. Okay. Thank you. Here we go. Here's your first question about Appalachian tails.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
In West Virginia, they still celebrate the Mothman. That's the mysterious creature that first appeared in 1966 near Point Pleasant, West Virginia. What was the headline in the Point Pleasant Register newspaper the day after the Mothman's first sighting? Was it A, insects seem to be rather large this year, B, couples see man-sized bird, creature, something.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Or C, annual rummage sale draws record crowds. Oh, I'm going to have to say B. You're going to go B, couples see man-sized bird, creature, something. You're right. Yeah. Yes. To be fair, it was something, and there is now an annual Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, if you want to go down there and find out all about it. Oh, so cool.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
All right, here's your next question. Now, while Mothman is probably the most famous Appalachian cryptid, he's not the only one out there. Next time you run the trail, you might also run into which of these? A, the phantom trucker who stopped to use the bathroom at south of the border and never returned.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
B, the lost hiker and angry ghost who died of starvation and demands trail mix from every passerby. Or C, a Bigfoot-like creature called Wood Booger.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
I'm going to have to say B. You're going to go for the lost hiker, the ghost that demands trail mix from every passerby? No, it was the wood booger. Yeah. Yeah, he's called the wood booger because he's like the boogeyman. Not because of his, you know, texture. He's the boogeyman. Okay, last question. If you get this one right, you win. You've heard of Sasquatch, right?
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
There are stories of Sasquatch in the area. But in West Virginia, there is a terrifying beast that, unlike Sasquatch, walks on all fours, right? Sasquatch stands up. What do they call this mysterious creature? A, the sheep squatch. B, Big Feet, or C, independent Senator Joe Manchin? I would say A. You're going to do it for A. Sheep Squatch. That's right, Tara.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
It's called Sheep Squatch because of its thick white fur, or so they say. Joshua, how did Tara Dower do in our quiz?
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
And get some rest. Take care. Bye-bye.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
When we come back, one of the most fashionable people to ever walk a red carpet and the actor who made jury duty look fun. That's when we come back with more Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Thanks, Jokey. This week, we're honoring President's Day by listing as many executives-in-chief as we can.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
We'll keep working on our list. In the meantime, here's some great guests from the recent past. In February of 2023, guest host Peter Gross talked with Tony, Grammy, and Emmy winner Billy Porter, who became iconic for his amazing, elaborate red carpet looks.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Yeah. Next time I'm sitting watching the movies with my son, I'm going to say, you know, that's historically accurate. Among the many, many things you do, you've done these one-man shows where you play all these characters. And as you just demonstrated, you're really, really, really good at voices. Have you ever used that power for evil?
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Did your mother know you were doing that?
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
You mentioned your mother. We also read that like your mother to this day sees like everything you do and offers a critique afterwards.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
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Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Yeah, I know, man. I'm telling you.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Thanks, Chioki. And thank you, everybody. This week was President's Day, and we're honoring George Washington's 293rd birthday by trying to bake a cake you can safely eat with wooden teeth.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
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Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Is she going to critique this? Is she going to listen and go, oh, I don't think you talked about me enough? I'm not going to tell her about this. Okay, yeah. All right, that's fine.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
B.J. Letterman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornbos, and Lillian King. Special thanks to Monica Hickey and Hannah Anderson. Peter Gwynn is the only chief we hail to. Our vibe curator is Emma Choi. Technical direction, Lorna White. Our CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chilag.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
The executive producer of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is Mike Danforth. Thanks to everyone you heard, to all our panelists, Chioki Ianson, and all our guests. And thanks to all of you listening. I'm Tom Papa, and we will be back next week. This is NPR.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Well, John Leguizamo, it is such a pleasure to talk to you again, and this time we have asked you to play a game that we're calling Can We Fix It? Yes, We Can. So this year, as I'm sure you know, because everybody's been celebrating, this year marks the 25th anniversary of Bob the Builder. Oh, wow. The beloved kids show about a British contractor whose trucks are alive.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
So in honor of that, we're going to ask you three questions about, I guess we'd call him Mr. Builder. Get two out of three right, you'll win our prize. One of our listeners, Bill, who is John Leguizamo playing for?
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Here's your first question. Ready? Ready? No, go for it. I'll do my best. Bob the Builder is popular around the world, but some changes needed to be made internationally to show there, including which of these? A, in France, they had to add clocks to the background to prove that no one goes over their 35-hour approved work week.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
B, in Canada, Bob always includes maple syrup as a construction material in his projects. Or C, in Japan, they had to add a fifth finger to his animated four-finger hand so that kids did not think Bob the Builder was a member of the Yakuza. Oh, shoot, that's... I'm gonna go with Canada and maple syrup, because it sounds ridiculous, but plausible.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
So you think that Bob the Builder in Canada, they just cut into things and says, now, to make sure this sticks, here's some maple syrup. And they go, eh, sorry, eh? Oh, wow. That was amazing. I thought I was in Toronto. No, the answer was actually C. You see, as is well known in Japan, if you're a Yakuza member and you displease your boss, they cut off one of your fingers.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
So a four-fingered animated character would have unpleasant connotations. That's dark. It is. It really is. I didn't want to go that dark. All right. Here's your next question, John. You have two more chances. Bob the Builder is more than just a very popular kids' TV show. Which of these is another example of Bob's cultural dominance?
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
B, Alexander McQueen had an entire runway show of Bob the Builder-inspired designs. Or C, he had a best-selling cookbook called Can You Bake It? Yes, You Can. Man. I'm going to go with A. You're going with A. You're right. Yes. He did a cover. Finally. Mambo number five. What a relief. All right. You have one more question. If you get this right, you win.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Bob the Builder popped up in a surprising place a few years ago when people browsing the on-demand menu of Britain's Channel 5 saw a picture of Bob as the image representing what show? A, the season premiere of Britain's Got Talent, B, a documentary about 9-11, or C, the movie Eyes Wide Shut?
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
And since we're already celebrating, let's keep the party going with one of our favorite guests from the past few years, actor, writer, and comedian, John Leguizamo.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Just imagine Bob the Builder wearing one of those weird masks that Tom Cruise was having, you know? I won't picture that, so I'm going to go with A again. You're going to go with A again. Britain's Got Talent. The idea of like, oh, this guy's got talent. He can build stuff. Yeah, he can build things, right? Yeah. Sadly, the answer was B, a documentary about 9-11.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
He meant B. Let's give it to him. Okay. I'm sure, I mean, I thought I misheard you. And of course you were right. I have an accent, I have a New York City accent.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
A, B. Yeah, exactly. You know, apparently, the way it worked was if Channel 5, you know, and this is how it works. You turn on your streaming service. There are these icons indicating the shows you could be watching. And with Channel 5, they didn't happen to have a picture to go with any given show. They just plugged in a picture from Bob the Builder.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
So Bob was the image for this 9-11 documentary and also something called Murdered by My Daughter. So, Bill, how did John Leguizamo do in our quiz? Two out of three.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
John Leguizamo is an actor, writer, and producer whose new series Voces American Historia, The Untold History of Latinos, premieres on PBS September 27th. John Leguizamo, what a great thing to talk to you again. Thank you so much. Good luck with the show. We'll see you next time. Thank you. Thank you. So fun. Thank you. Bye-bye.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Before we wrap up this segment, here's a fun moment with some of our panelists.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Paula, one of the most famous prehistoric animals was the saber-toothed tiger. Sure. A fierce and deadly predator. Oh, yeah. And scientists now believe they know why they went extinct. What was it? Because they weren't procreating.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Why? The tooth. Exactly. They went extinct because of their very big teeth.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
A saber-toothed tiger, formerly a smilodon, informally, Bernie.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
If you talk to a paleontologist and say, oh, do you work with saber-toothed tigers? They'll go, there's no such thing as a saber-toothed tiger. They're called smilodons.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Because I have been reading a lot of books about old animals with my son.
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
So this series, American History of the Untold History of Latinos, I understand was inspired by one of your many one-man shows. In this case, your own personal examination of Latino history, right?
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WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
When we come back, super producer Mark Ronson and ultra runner Tara Dower. One of them had their toenails surgically removed, but you're going to have to wait to find out which one. That's when we come back with more Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
Thank you, Chioki. This week, we're celebrating President's Day by building our own team of rivals with some of our favorite guests from the past few years.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Billy Porter, Mark Ronson, Tara Dower, and more!
While we prepare for that, here's our interview with Grammy-winning producer Mark Ronson. When he joined us in August of 2023, guest host Nagin Farsad asked him if he remembered the first time he heard the mega hit Uptown Funk in the wild.