February 1, 2024 • 9 mins
Hello, Puzzlers! Puzzling with us today: journalist, author, and cultural pundit, Joel Stein!
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.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello, Puzzlers, Welcome to the Puzzler podcast, the Caramelized Onion
Jam accompanying your daily puzzle burger. I am your host,
AJ Jacobs, and I am here with our guest, the
wondrous Joel Stein, author, journalist and host of the excellent
(00:27):
podcast Story of the Week. Welcome Joel.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
How nice, what a nice intro? Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
I love your podcast, and not just because I've been
on it twice.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Yeah, you're the only one.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Yeah, we're gonna have you on a third time to
do an intro, so that'll be by far the record.
Ooh well, I'm honored and a little nervous to be
on your podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
But the premise of your podcast is that you find
an amazing story in a magazine or newspaper and then
you interview the journalist. So in honor of your podcast,
we actually have a magazine themed puzzle today.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Wow from the nineties or is this a current magazine themes?
Speaker 1 (01:08):
I think all of these are still being published. I
know it's shocking. There's not a lot to choose from,
so maybe that makes it easier.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Than New York The answers than New Yorker every time.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
That one is not an answer, thank god. The puzzle
is called magazines literally, and the idea is that we're
in an alternate universe where magazines are much more literal.
They run articles exclusively about the literal meaning of their name. So,
for instance, what magazine might run an article entitled size
(01:45):
doesn't matter Why the world's second biggest ocean is the best?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I see, I see. So that would be the Atlantic Magazine.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
The Atlantic Magazine.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
But that one's much easier than the ones you're going
to give me.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Now, that's about the same, about the same. There are
a couple, I think towards the end.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
As you know, I don't do like crosser puzzles. I'm
not a puzzler, so I'm very nervous.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
I know.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
But you were on the New York Times celebrity puzzle podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
The Crosser Puzzle. That's right. Yeah, that was hard for
me for a week.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Okay, all right, So what magazine might run an article
entitled the view from the top Robert de Niro's Greenwich
Village rooftop apartment.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Oh my god, Okay, so it's in tripe, Becca. That's
not going to help me at all. So he lives
in New York there's a lot of magazines with New
York in the title, but it's the view particularly were Okay.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
The keyword is rooftop apartment.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Oh, Penthouse magazine that still exists, That still exists.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
I actually they excerpted one of my No, they did
something with which order reviewed the weirdly The Year of
Living Biblically about the Bible. I appear it appeared in
Penthouse Magazine and Relevant Magazine.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Which one liked it more.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Weirdly? I think they both liked it.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Oh, it's a great book. No matter where you are
in the sin spectrum.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Okay, what magazine might you find an article entitled Relevant?
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Relevant Magazine?
Speaker 1 (03:27):
It's my favorite evangelical But no, the article is called
the fifty Coolest Workers at Amco. And here's another article
from the same magazine, The Golden Boy, the miightis worker
with a thousand friends.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Wait, what was the first one?
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Again, the fifty coolest workers at Amco? Am COO like Aamco?
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Wait?
Speaker 1 (03:53):
I got a third article?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
If you're struggling, jeez, okay, thanks, I'm struggling.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Grease monkeying around How to have fun when you hang
up the wrench for the day. So what are all
those have in common? Them Amco, Midas, Grease Monkey.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
The mechanic, Popular Mechanics, they're all the friends.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
They're popular popular Mechanics. You got it?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
That was yeah, but it took me three.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Artiks stressed out. I don't mean to stress you.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Out, so I'm sweating so much.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Okay, all right, here's another one.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
The speed of this is incredible. Okay, all right?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Where might you find these great pieces of journalism? Falling
water and food? A deep dive into Frank Lloyd Write's
GI tract.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Okay, give me a second, give me it's an architectural digest.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Got the actual digest. You didn't even need the second one? Beautiful?
All right?
Speaker 3 (04:50):
All right?
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Two more? All right? And this magazine does still exist,
I think because I saw a leg on my corner newsstand,
which also still exists. The most underrated adages ever.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Oh oh, I know it's I want to say, Readers Digest,
but it doesn't make sense ten most underrated adages. Why
I'm repeating what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
It's good, good for I've got another article if you want.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Oh man, I guess.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
I mean I wrote them. That's why I kind of
want to say them.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Oh oh sure, Okay, now I feel better about this. Yes, okay,
I'm ready for.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Saying all right, this is not your grandfather's proverb. The
best new aphorisms for twenty twenty three. You have a
third one, right, well, I do, but it's you know,
it's not nothing great say say sayings one hundred sayings
you can't live without.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Well, I'm looking for a word that means like an
adage exactly, that's it. But I'm trying to think of
a magazine that has Google.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
No one's going to know.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
No, I don't need Google, I need you. So these
are wait, so there are two things going on. I
needed a word that means adages, and then I needed
what was the other part of it?
Speaker 1 (06:00):
That was it? That's all you need a word that
need proverb, aphorism, sayings, adages. I think that there are
a couple more. I can't remember. Idiom now sayings. Well,
i'll tell you this, I'll tell you this.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Tell me yeah, Jesus you the listener knows it. And
they're mocking me. And that's the fun of the show, right, Okay,
they're screaming, so let them have their fun.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
This was well, you and I I mean, some of
our listeners may not even know it because it was
sort of a nineties no, no, an early two thousands phenomenon.
There was f hm, there was stuff and there.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Oh there was Maxim. You Maxim.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
I'm looking for Maxim.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Oh I was looking for a second word. Okay, Maxim, Okay,
max Good. I believe the editor of Maxim is now
the incredibly popular, the number one late night host in America.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Right, he was editor of Stuff. I don't know, he
might have been at Maxim.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
But Stuff definitely not Maxim. So he never made it
to Maxim. He stuck. He was stuck.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
I don't know if that's true, but I know he
was editor of Stuff.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
So yeah, Stuff they were similar, right.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
They were remarkably similar. All Right, so there you go.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
I remember time Ink was interested in maybe launching or
they bought they bought one of those companies, and then
they talked to me about it, and I was like, I.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Don't want to that's smart, that is very smart. Yeah,
all right, last one? Are you ready for your last one?
I ran out of time, so I only have one article.
So I'm hoping that you you don't.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Have to tell people that I'll just I'll just know.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Okay, ready this, uh, What Magazine might feature an article
called not just for roof shingles and blackboards, ten other
creative uses for our favorite great rock Slate, Slate online
magazine that was the only purple. Well, thank you, Joel,
(07:58):
despite your fear, you did wonderfully.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
So you're not scoring this.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
I give you four out of five. I mean, did
you get maxim? No, I feel you did.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Really I don't think so either.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Yeah, I'm sorry, but you did have maxim trivia. So
that's something. So Joel tell us where we can hear
more original Joel Stein content.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Oh well, if you're a podcast listener, apparently you are,
go over to Story of the Week when you're done here.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
It's a great I love it. It's a great aj.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
I'll probably be on it.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
And before we wrap up, as always, for puzzlers at home,
here's your extra credit puzzle. What Magazine might feature in
an article called short and Sweet, why five minutes of
quiet is the best way to discipline children?
Speaker 2 (08:50):
So I shouldn't say, even though I know you.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Shouldn't say, even though you might have worked at this
magazine as a matter of fact. All right, So puzzlers
please don't work. We got to subscribe to the Puzzler
Podcast and I'll meet you here tomorrow for more puzzling
puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Hello puzzlers, this is Greg Pliska up from the Puzzle
Lab with the extra credit answer from our previous show.
We played a game with Joel Stein involving naming fanciful
mating calls. In this case, this was the mating call
that we gave you, and you have to guess what
animal this is. Have you lost weight? You look like
(09:35):
you're barely two hundred and fifty pounds. That's right, that's
the mating call of the humpback whale. Thanks for playing
along and we'll see you next time on the Puzzler
Podcast
Hello, Puzzlers, Welcome to the Puzzler podcast, the Caramelized Onion
Jam accompanying your daily puzzle burger. I am your host,
AJ Jacobs, and I am here with our guest, the
wondrous Joel Stein, author, journalist and host of the excellent
(00:27):
podcast Story of the Week. Welcome Joel.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
How nice, what a nice intro? Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
I love your podcast, and not just because I've been
on it twice.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Yeah, you're the only one.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Yeah, we're gonna have you on a third time to
do an intro, so that'll be by far the record.
Ooh well, I'm honored and a little nervous to be
on your podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
But the premise of your podcast is that you find
an amazing story in a magazine or newspaper and then
you interview the journalist. So in honor of your podcast,
we actually have a magazine themed puzzle today.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Wow from the nineties or is this a current magazine themes?
Speaker 1 (01:08):
I think all of these are still being published. I
know it's shocking. There's not a lot to choose from,
so maybe that makes it easier.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Than New York The answers than New Yorker every time.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
That one is not an answer, thank god. The puzzle
is called magazines literally, and the idea is that we're
in an alternate universe where magazines are much more literal.
They run articles exclusively about the literal meaning of their name. So,
for instance, what magazine might run an article entitled size
(01:45):
doesn't matter Why the world's second biggest ocean is the best?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I see, I see. So that would be the Atlantic Magazine.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
The Atlantic Magazine.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
But that one's much easier than the ones you're going
to give me.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Now, that's about the same, about the same. There are
a couple, I think towards the end.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
As you know, I don't do like crosser puzzles. I'm
not a puzzler, so I'm very nervous.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
I know.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
But you were on the New York Times celebrity puzzle podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
The Crosser Puzzle. That's right. Yeah, that was hard for
me for a week.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Okay, all right, So what magazine might run an article
entitled the view from the top Robert de Niro's Greenwich
Village rooftop apartment.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Oh my god, Okay, so it's in tripe, Becca. That's
not going to help me at all. So he lives
in New York there's a lot of magazines with New
York in the title, but it's the view particularly were Okay.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
The keyword is rooftop apartment.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Oh, Penthouse magazine that still exists, That still exists.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
I actually they excerpted one of my No, they did
something with which order reviewed the weirdly The Year of
Living Biblically about the Bible. I appear it appeared in
Penthouse Magazine and Relevant Magazine.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Which one liked it more.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Weirdly? I think they both liked it.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Oh, it's a great book. No matter where you are
in the sin spectrum.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Okay, what magazine might you find an article entitled Relevant?
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Relevant Magazine?
Speaker 1 (03:27):
It's my favorite evangelical But no, the article is called
the fifty Coolest Workers at Amco. And here's another article
from the same magazine, The Golden Boy, the miightis worker
with a thousand friends.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Wait, what was the first one?
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Again, the fifty coolest workers at Amco? Am COO like Aamco?
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Wait?
Speaker 1 (03:53):
I got a third article?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
If you're struggling, jeez, okay, thanks, I'm struggling.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Grease monkeying around How to have fun when you hang
up the wrench for the day. So what are all
those have in common? Them Amco, Midas, Grease Monkey.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
The mechanic, Popular Mechanics, they're all the friends.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
They're popular popular Mechanics. You got it?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
That was yeah, but it took me three.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Artiks stressed out. I don't mean to stress you.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Out, so I'm sweating so much.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Okay, all right, here's another one.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
The speed of this is incredible. Okay, all right?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Where might you find these great pieces of journalism? Falling
water and food? A deep dive into Frank Lloyd Write's
GI tract.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Okay, give me a second, give me it's an architectural digest.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Got the actual digest. You didn't even need the second one? Beautiful?
All right?
Speaker 3 (04:50):
All right?
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Two more? All right? And this magazine does still exist,
I think because I saw a leg on my corner newsstand,
which also still exists. The most underrated adages ever.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Oh oh, I know it's I want to say, Readers Digest,
but it doesn't make sense ten most underrated adages. Why
I'm repeating what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
It's good, good for I've got another article if you want.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Oh man, I guess.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
I mean I wrote them. That's why I kind of
want to say them.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Oh oh sure, Okay, now I feel better about this. Yes, okay,
I'm ready for.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Saying all right, this is not your grandfather's proverb. The
best new aphorisms for twenty twenty three. You have a
third one, right, well, I do, but it's you know,
it's not nothing great say say sayings one hundred sayings
you can't live without.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Well, I'm looking for a word that means like an
adage exactly, that's it. But I'm trying to think of
a magazine that has Google.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
No one's going to know.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
No, I don't need Google, I need you. So these
are wait, so there are two things going on. I
needed a word that means adages, and then I needed
what was the other part of it?
Speaker 1 (06:00):
That was it? That's all you need a word that
need proverb, aphorism, sayings, adages. I think that there are
a couple more. I can't remember. Idiom now sayings. Well,
i'll tell you this, I'll tell you this.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Tell me yeah, Jesus you the listener knows it. And
they're mocking me. And that's the fun of the show, right, Okay,
they're screaming, so let them have their fun.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
This was well, you and I I mean, some of
our listeners may not even know it because it was
sort of a nineties no, no, an early two thousands phenomenon.
There was f hm, there was stuff and there.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Oh there was Maxim. You Maxim.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
I'm looking for Maxim.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Oh I was looking for a second word. Okay, Maxim, Okay,
max Good. I believe the editor of Maxim is now
the incredibly popular, the number one late night host in America.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Right, he was editor of Stuff. I don't know, he
might have been at Maxim.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
But Stuff definitely not Maxim. So he never made it
to Maxim. He stuck. He was stuck.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
I don't know if that's true, but I know he
was editor of Stuff.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
So yeah, Stuff they were similar, right.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
They were remarkably similar. All Right, so there you go.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
I remember time Ink was interested in maybe launching or
they bought they bought one of those companies, and then
they talked to me about it, and I was like, I.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Don't want to that's smart, that is very smart. Yeah,
all right, last one? Are you ready for your last one?
I ran out of time, so I only have one article.
So I'm hoping that you you don't.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Have to tell people that I'll just I'll just know.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Okay, ready this, uh, What Magazine might feature an article
called not just for roof shingles and blackboards, ten other
creative uses for our favorite great rock Slate, Slate online
magazine that was the only purple. Well, thank you, Joel,
(07:58):
despite your fear, you did wonderfully.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
So you're not scoring this.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
I give you four out of five. I mean, did
you get maxim? No, I feel you did.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Really I don't think so either.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Yeah, I'm sorry, but you did have maxim trivia. So
that's something. So Joel tell us where we can hear
more original Joel Stein content.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Oh well, if you're a podcast listener, apparently you are,
go over to Story of the Week when you're done here.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
It's a great I love it. It's a great aj.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
I'll probably be on it.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
And before we wrap up, as always, for puzzlers at home,
here's your extra credit puzzle. What Magazine might feature in
an article called short and Sweet, why five minutes of
quiet is the best way to discipline children?
Speaker 2 (08:50):
So I shouldn't say, even though I know you.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Shouldn't say, even though you might have worked at this
magazine as a matter of fact. All right, So puzzlers
please don't work. We got to subscribe to the Puzzler
Podcast and I'll meet you here tomorrow for more puzzling
puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Hello puzzlers, this is Greg Pliska up from the Puzzle
Lab with the extra credit answer from our previous show.
We played a game with Joel Stein involving naming fanciful
mating calls. In this case, this was the mating call
that we gave you, and you have to guess what
animal this is. Have you lost weight? You look like
(09:35):
you're barely two hundred and fifty pounds. That's right, that's
the mating call of the humpback whale. Thanks for playing
along and we'll see you next time on the Puzzler
Podcast
Hosts And Creators
Greg Pliska
A.J. Jacobs
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!