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April 25, 2024 12 mins

Hello, Puzzlers! Puzzling with us today: hosts of "How Did We Get Weird?", Vanessa and Jonah Bayer!

Join host A.J. Jacobs and his guests as they puzzle–and laugh–their way through new spins on old favorites, like anagrams and palindromes, as well as quirky originals such as “Ask Chat GPT” and audio rebuses.

Subscribe to The Puzzler podcast wherever you get your podcasts! 

"The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs" is distributed by iHeartPodcasts and is a co-production with Neuhaus Ideas. 

Our executive producers are Neely Lohmann and Adam Neuhaus of Neuhaus Ideas, and Lindsay Hoffman of iHeart Podcasts.

The show is produced by Jody Avirgan and Brittani Brown of Roulette Productions. 

Our Chief Puzzle Officer is Greg Pliska. Our associate producer is Andrea Schoenberg.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello, Puzzlers, Welcome to the Puzzler Podcast the balsamic Glaze
on your puzzling Cupraise Salad. I am your host, AJ Jacobs,
and today's guests are the awesome Vanessa and Jonah Bayer,
multi talented siblings. Jonah is a music writer and musician.

(00:30):
Vanessa is a writer actor, former cast member of Saturday
Night Live, and together they host the delightful podcast how
Did We Get Weird? Right here on iHeart? Welcome Vanessa
and Jonah.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Hey, j thank you.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Great to have you. And today's puzzle is actually brought
to you by Chief Fuzzle Officer Greg Pliska, and he
has emerged from the Puzzle Lab to deliver it to
you only. Welcome Greg, Thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
I get out once a week and it's so nice
to see new faces to it. Thank you guys for
being here. I don't know. You guys seem to get
along so well when you were growing up. Was there
a lot of rivalry?

Speaker 3 (01:13):
We were into very different stuff as kids. I was
very into music. I'm nasa was more into studying. But
I think as adults we've gotten closer. What do you think, Vanessa?

Speaker 4 (01:23):
You know Jonah used to sort of make fun of
me a little bit, like there was a little bit
of like back and forth, like our mom would say,
you know, if you don't have anything nice to say,
don't say anything at all, And then Jonah would just
look at me and he'd be like, aha, I'm just
thinking in my head of all the mean stuff I'm
saying about you. They're like little jabs like that, but

(01:46):
nothing too serious. And if I ever seemed like I
was upset by any of them, he would immediately apologize. So, oh,
pretty nice dynamic between us.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Well, we're going to try to ruin that right now
because we've alway have a little head to head game,
a game of categories, and we're going to use your
last name as the letters in the in the category.
So if I give you a category, you have to
come up with things either are in that category that
start with B, A, Y, E, and R. And we'll
play it round robin, so you'll take turns and you

(02:18):
can answer with any of the letters. So for example,
if Vanessa went first and I said colors, you might
say red, and then Jonah you get a turn with
the remaining letters and you might say yellow. So now
it goes back to Vanessa and you've got the A,
the E, N, the R to work with. And if
at any point you're stuck, the other person gets to
steal a point, and the person with the most points

(02:40):
per category wins that category and bragging rights at least
until the next episode. Okay, okay, that makes sense. Name
exactly you're going to think of. I'll give you a category.
You got to think of something in the category that
starts with B, A, Y, E, and R. So once
a letter is used, then you only have the other

(03:00):
ones remaining.

Speaker 4 (03:01):
I see.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
So all right, here we go. Your first category is
bands musical acts. I was going to actually make this
bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because
that's a little more contained. I think it was Jonah
who said on another episode, like all the band names
are taken, so probably anything could be a band you
could justify, but let's try to go with well known

(03:24):
bands that start with B, A, Y, E, or R.
And Jonah, since we introduced you as the musician, you
get to lead. You had to pick a band that
starts with one of those five letters.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
So I just name one.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
The name of a band that starts with any one
of those letters.

Speaker 3 (03:40):
Okay, I'm going to go with yes, no.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
But yes, but name a band. Thank you for participating. No,
I got it. Yes, in fact, the band that's in
the rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That's the why.
So Vanessa, we toss it over to you.

Speaker 4 (03:51):
You got do they have to be in the rock
and Roll Hall of Fame?

Speaker 2 (03:54):
No, they don't. We're letting it be ba okay, rancid, rancid, okay,
very good. Not in the rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
They should, they probably should, they will be someday, someday.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
I feel that's one you've written about a lot.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
Jonah.

Speaker 1 (04:08):
Did I make that up.

Speaker 3 (04:10):
Late Spin? Very great in ninety six?

Speaker 2 (04:14):
All right, so back to you, Jonah. You've got the B,
the A and the E left. Bad religion, bad religion.
Also not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
But we'll take that for the version. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (04:28):
I like this because you know it's not the Beatles.
It's like a right, you are creative.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
All right, Vanessa? What do you got? A and E
are left?

Speaker 4 (04:38):
Does your your rhythmics count well?

Speaker 2 (04:40):
Yes, you rhythmics absolutely count.

Speaker 4 (04:42):
That count well because I don't know if they have
the before that they actually don't have the they don't,
and I know that.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
If you were stuck, we'd allow that we could ignore
the leading article like the Everly Brothers would be acceptable.
But your rhythmics is perfectly good and in the rock
and roll Hall of Fame. All right, So Jonah, it's
back to you. Your chance to win this round with
three points if you have an a.

Speaker 3 (05:05):
Not a band I listened to, but Ace of Bass
game to mind.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
Ace of Bass very good. There's that one song that
you probably can't get out of your head whenever. Yeah,
now it's stuck in our heads. Thank you for loving
all right? Good, So that excellently. You guys got through
those five technically three points to two for Jonah, but
he did get to go first. So next category, Vanessa,
you get to go first. Great, And the category is sitcoms.

(05:34):
Oh great again it's a huge category. There are a
lot of sitcoms.

Speaker 4 (05:37):
Yeah yeah, but okay, Brady Bunch.

Speaker 2 (05:43):
Brady Bunch very good, a classic when old school. I
like it, all right, Jonah, what do you got a
Y E and R left?

Speaker 3 (05:51):
This is a show we talk about a lot on
the podcast Empty Nest.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
Empty Nest very good. I like it.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
It's true.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
You got all in the family, all in the fa Vanessa,
you can keep going further back in time. I like this,
we going we had all the contemporary bands, and then
for sitcoms, we're just going old school. All right? Good,
so you have two left. You got the Y and
the R. Jonah, what do you got stuff?

Speaker 3 (06:18):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (06:18):
Man?

Speaker 3 (06:18):
I keep thinking of the show's not saycoms, though I.

Speaker 1 (06:22):
Might, well, are they dramedies? Would you accept dramedies?

Speaker 2 (06:25):
Greg depends? Maybe you know there are plenty of sitcoms
that start with these letters.

Speaker 1 (06:32):
He's top.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
I was thinking, like, you can't do that intelevision, not
really a sacom at all or dramed.

Speaker 4 (06:36):
I was thinking that too.

Speaker 3 (06:37):
I was thinking that I'm gonna have to tap out.
I don't know if I have an R Y.

Speaker 2 (06:42):
All right, Vanessa, you got an R or Y for
the steal Roseanne? Roseanne very good a classic, right, all right?
So that gives Vanessa the win on this round. But
to anybody got a Y, I.

Speaker 4 (07:00):
Was thinking, you can't do this on television too. I
couldn't think of another why.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
There's a I think the easiest one to get is
a spin off of the Big Bang theory. It's on
now or on more recently.

Speaker 1 (07:13):
Oh, that is always popping up on my Netflix algorithm,
even though I have no desire to watch it.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
It's about one of the characters, Oh, the young Sheldon,
Young Sheldon exactly. There were a couple other I found
on the list.

Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yes, dear, I remember, yes, dear, anyone remember that.

Speaker 3 (07:34):
I don't remember that one.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
I worked at Entertainment Weekly, so I kind of had
to know sitcoms and that.

Speaker 2 (07:42):
All right, Well, it looks like we're tied up for
the final round a j You get to decide who
goes first.

Speaker 1 (07:49):
That's too much pressure and I don't want that.

Speaker 2 (07:51):
Flip a blanket in the closet, whatever you want to do,
I didn't.

Speaker 1 (07:55):
All right, I'm clipping my cell phone. That's the only
thing I okay, all right, Face up is Vanessa, Faced
down is Jonah? Jonah goes?

Speaker 2 (08:04):
All right. So we flipped the coin before the episode,
and Jonah won the toss. So the category is articles
of clothing, things that people wear. Boots, Boots is a bee, yes,
Afghan Afghan very good? Okay, I like that.

Speaker 3 (08:27):
Ear muffs.

Speaker 2 (08:29):
Ear muff's also very good for wintertime. I like that.
If you got a y and an R raincoat. Raincoat
also very useful. All right, so it's down to the
why something you wear?

Speaker 1 (08:43):
So wait, what's the score?

Speaker 2 (08:44):
Why? It's tied to too.

Speaker 1 (08:46):
If Jonah gets us win.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
This is this is first time on the Puzzler Podcast
we've had a categories head to head final round. It's
a tie. If you don't get this, we go into
a penalty shootout where you throw things at each other
until you hit it.

Speaker 3 (09:04):
Yeah, this is how I keep thinking about a yak People.

Speaker 1 (09:07):
Were yacks jacket. Yeah, what do you think Greg does he?
Does he get?

Speaker 4 (09:18):
I think I could steal what do you guys can
steal here?

Speaker 1 (09:21):
Yamaica?

Speaker 2 (09:22):
Oh oh that is a good I didn't even have
that on the list. That is an excellent answer because.

Speaker 1 (09:30):
We were talking about Jacob the Barnitspa boy the other day.

Speaker 2 (09:34):
Yeah, fit's right. In the other one I had was
yoga pants. That's like a thing that people. Yeah right,
but yamaka is excellent. Well well done you guys. That
was fantastic.

Speaker 4 (09:47):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (09:49):
I guess I won.

Speaker 2 (09:51):
And you can play it at home with any five
letter word you want.

Speaker 1 (09:54):
So fun. How does this work with the puzzlers at home?
Can they play with their siblings?

Speaker 2 (09:59):
I I think what I'll do. I'm going to give
the puzzlers at home an extra credit category. Okay, so
your extra credit category, still using the letters B, A, Y, E, R,
is fruits and vegetables. I have a big list here
that i'll you know, give on the episode next episode

(10:23):
when I give people the answer question.

Speaker 4 (10:24):
I have a clarifying question. Okay, yeah, do legoomes count?

Speaker 2 (10:29):
You know? I chose fruits and vegetables to avoid the
question of whether, like tomato is a fruit or a vegetable? Right,
and I didn't expect trouble from the legume camp.

Speaker 4 (10:41):
Oh, I guess I'm thinking of tubers. Oh too, I
think I'm thinking of tubers. Legomes are like peanuts, right.

Speaker 1 (10:47):
Yeah, something like that.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
Yeah, we accept tubers on this show. Tuber friendly podcast
we love.

Speaker 1 (10:54):
Okay.

Speaker 4 (10:54):
I'm so sorry for the legum controversy. It was unnecessary.

Speaker 1 (10:58):
I'm glad we cleared it up. Also, night shades are allowed.
Night shades are fine.

Speaker 4 (11:03):
Okay, Okay, now there's a major night show.

Speaker 2 (11:06):
Said puddlers were pedantic.

Speaker 1 (11:08):
Come on, Well, thank you Vanessa and Jonah. You did
great and your I love that your relationship survived this
this very difficult competition, and uh, thank you all for
tuning in and remember to come back tomorrow. And also,

(11:28):
you know what, tell us what your vegetables, tubers, night shades,
and fruits are at the puzzler dot com. Go to
the puzzler dot com and we'll meet here tomorrow for
more puzzling puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly.

Speaker 2 (11:49):
Hello Puzzlers.

Speaker 5 (11:50):
Chief Puzzle Officer Greg Pliska here with the extra credit
answer from our previous show. We played Really Weird Stuff
with Vanessa and Jonah Bayer. Every clue gave you a word,
include its anagram.

Speaker 2 (12:03):
Your extra credit was these really weird salesmen came to
my door the other day. They insisted on remaining anonymous.
You're looking for an anagram of salesman that is synonymous
with anonymous and that would be nameless. Well, you're not
nameless to us. You're our favorite Puzzler listener. We'll catch

(12:24):
you next time.
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Greg Pliska

Greg Pliska

A.J. Jacobs

A.J. Jacobs

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