August 4, 2025 • 18 mins
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Hello, Puzzlers! Puzzling with us today: playwright and actor Jonathan Marc Sherman!
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 AI” and audio rebuses.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello puzzlers.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Before we start puzzling today, I wanted to let you
know we are cooking up some big plans for the
puzzler community, and in order to ensure that it's what
you want, we need your input. So we've put together
a short survey, which you can find in the show notes.
It's really quick, just three minutes, but it will be
(00:23):
a huge help in letting us know what you want
so that we can deliver just that. Thank you, Hello puzzlers.
Maybe we should start with a warm up puzzle. So
today's challenge is, can you name three movies with the
number three in the title? And I am sorry, I
(00:45):
am not going to allow trilogies. No Rocky three, Toy
Story three, Godfather three. I am looking for movies with
legit threes, like the Three Musketeers.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I am.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
However, I am a lenient guy, so I will accept
up to movies with thirty or thirty two or three thousand,
anything with a numeral three except for that. Part three,
some of the answers and more puzzling goodness after the break,
(01:18):
Hello puzzlers, Welcome back to the Puzzler Podcast, The Sucker's
Mill and your Puzzle gold Rush I'm your host, AJ Jacobs,
and I'm here, of course, a chief puzzle officer, Greg
Leiska Greg. Before the break, we challenged readers to come
up with movies that, oh I should have said, we
chose we wanted three movies. I forgot to say that.
But you get the idea, three movies with the number
(01:39):
three somewhere in the title.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Do you have any thoughts?
Speaker 3 (01:42):
You know? Well, as always, you give away the one
I thought of right away? Really, but three Musketeers come on?
You're like, for example, I mean.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
No, don't give an example. No it don't do it.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
And then you eliminated all sequels, so that already you know,
I ruined a bunch of them. But I have three
men and a baby good and three amigoss And then
I wrote three on a Match, And I'm like, is
that a movie?
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Was that a TV?
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Show?
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Did I make that up?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I've never heard of it? Did you?
Speaker 1 (02:13):
IMDb?
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Well, when did I have time to do that?
Speaker 1 (02:16):
We're talking three on a match?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Three on a Match is a nineteen thirty two classic
film with Betty Davis and Joan Blundell and Humphrey Bogart,
And I am not making it up.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
All right, Well, then you get it nicely done, going
for a classic. There's also three Billboards outside Eving, Missouri,
which is a great title, so crazy three Days of
the Condor. Then there's three hundred and thirteen going on thirty,
So there are a bunch. All of this talk of
three will be relevant to both our guest and the puzzle,
(02:51):
as you're about to see. I like that and our
guest today, I'm very excited. He is an actor and
a playwright. He has written far more than three plays.
His plays include Things We Want and Clive and so
many others. He's a frequent collaborator with Ethan Hawk, a
good friend of a friend of the show, Michael Showalter.
(03:13):
Please welcome Jonathan Mark Sherman.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Hello, Hello, very very honored to be here.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Well, we have lots to discuss about puzzles, about the
puzzles of writing and plays, but let's start the puzzle itself.
So today's puzzle is entitled three words and not a
single word more unlike this title, which is nineteen words
if you are counting. So that's the title. But as
the title indicates, this is about three words. So all
(03:43):
the clues are going to be three words and all
of the answers are going to be three words, So
it's going to be people sort of like Celebrity, you
know the Round and Celebrity where you give three word clues.
So an answer might be Billy Bob Thornton and the
clue might be French fried potatos.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
I don't know if I remember that. Do you remember that?
That's going way back?
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Did you just play a recording of Billy Bob?
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Thank you? Exactly?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Jonathan Mark Sherman, Jordan, exactly.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
We just hear you say it again.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Nope, that's the one thing the rewind you aren't. Yeah,
Barney Stintson, actor is Neil Patrick Harris? You got by
the way Jonathan Mark Sherman. Is that because there are
other Jonathan Sherman's out there? Or has he always been
Jonathan Mark Sherman.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
What's very good?
Speaker 4 (04:35):
Well, it's my I mean, I it is both. Actually
it's I have been Jonathan Mark Sherman since birth. But
when I had to join the union, which was I
had to join both SAG and Equity as a teenager,
woll SAG which is now SAG after of course, but
(04:56):
and uh SAG was right before, for they were in
the same year and so going to join zag you know,
they said, oh, there's another Jonathan Sherman. You know, so
you've got to be somebody else. You got to throw
in a twist, right, And I was thankfully with my
(05:18):
amazing late father and I at the time wanted, you know,
said oh God, I hate you know, as a short kid,
and I hate having this long name. And I said,
I was just going to say, you know, is there
John or Johnny Sherman, whatever fate I was creating for myself.
(05:40):
And before I could say that, my dad said, can
you see if there's another Jonathan Mark with the C
as he spells it Sherman in the you know union.
They said, shockingly, there isn't and and I was like,
what are you doing. You're lengthening my name like I
in school? You know, it was always people I you know,
(06:02):
knew in grade school name is John Sherman. And he said,
I think you have a beautiful name. You know, your
mother and I give you a beautiful name. And by
the way, it'll also take up more space on a marquee.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
It was his only Mama Rose moment. He worked at
Bell Laboratories from nineteen sixty five to till he retired
in two thousand. He was not a vaudeville parent, or
he's a parent of any kind, but he but that
moment I still sort of remember being like, more space
on the market. Where did that come? And indeed takes
(06:39):
up a lot of space on them.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
I love it. Good for you.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
And do you know who the other Jonathan Sherman.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Is or was?
Speaker 4 (06:46):
I have actually since sort of not sort of, I
virtually encountered a couple of the others. One we were
applying to graduate school. I ended up dropping out of
graduate school before I even finished a semester. But we
(07:07):
were applying to the same dramatic writing graduates at the
same time.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
It's confusing.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
I went to Bennington. He went to Stanford. This was
before the internet was, you know, And he wrote a
thing for the Stanford student newspaper about flying across the country,
going to n YU for an interview and being told,
wait a second, now, we thought you were the other guy.
(07:37):
We have already rejected you.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Holy moly.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
Wait from Bennington had a news clipping service, so they said,
because he mentioned Bennington, and they said, we have a
story you're going to want to read. Oh my and
my brother had it pinned to his bulletin board for decades.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
And did you get into n YU? So you were
I got into.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
I applied to five graduate schools for playwriting. I got
into all five, and then I dropped out of going
to the Yale School of Drama and dropped out before
the end of the first semester. You realized, looking back
on it, all I wanted to do was get it.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
I got it, you know.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Well, yeah, I hope you've sent him a refund on
his on his airfare. But that's an awesome story. Okay,
are you ready for your three word clues?
Speaker 4 (08:28):
We shall see? All right?
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Well, good point.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
And these clues, since I only had three words, they're
often a little incomplete, so you're gonna have to do
some inferring. So, for instance, let me start with sex
and the that's all I got.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
I only have sex and the those are the three words.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
My mind would go to Sarah Jessica Parker.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
And that's the right place for your mind to go.
That's a correct answer.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
All right, We got luke I am luke I am.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Luke I am so so it's going to be Star Wars.
I's gonna father it's going to be it's going to
be James Earl Jones there.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Got it very well done.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
That clue is so weird because it's like the way
Yoda would say something.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
I was like, Luke, I am that that could be
a very like hip music reference to something that I don't.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Oh no, will I am?
Speaker 4 (09:30):
And Luke I was like, So I was like, but no,
I think I'm going to stay with Star Wars.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Well we're correct. How about this?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Oh say can and I could sing it, but I'm
just gonna see now, just oh say can h.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
You see by the dawns early light? So that's it,
but so proudly we have trying to say so my goodness.
But now my Now, in my brain, I like Stephen Foster,
I no idea I have, but my brain is being
crowded by rather than Francis Scott Key who that's it?
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Look at that.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
It's that rusty fifty six year old brain. You know
that almost it came through for you.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
It came.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
Sometimes sometimes eventually it kicks into gear.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
How about this? We have nothing? We have nothing.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
We have.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
No you have nothing. That's what's ironic. We're appropriate. We
have nothing. It's the three first words of a famous phrase,
the first words of famous quote, right.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
A famous quote? Not a cat came a catchphrase.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
I I should be ashamed that that took me.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
We talked about this, Jonathan.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
There's no shame as a child. Whenever one could choose
the president you wanted to do a report on, I
chose a man named Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
That is it.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
And we have nothing to fear but fear itself. And
boy did I fear. We have nothing. Without the rest
of the phrase, it just says we have nothing. It
sounds like Beckett staring into the abyss does change the
vibe of that that quote when you stop it, we
(11:46):
have nothing at we have nothing? What if I mean
it's I certainly been thinking if you just stopped there
and walked off.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
That would be interesting exactly. That would we get out
of the depression?
Speaker 1 (12:00):
If he just said we got I love that.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I would walk to you all see, I'm gonna go
have my martiniz or whatever you have? All right, got
a couple more we got? Don't cry for Oh?
Speaker 4 (12:17):
I mean this again, speaking of my father. I got
into the theater because Sweeney Todd and Avita were playing
on Broadway when I was in the sixth grade, and
I saw Sweeney Todd nine times in a Vita five.
So let's go, Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
You got it absolutely all right. By the way, I
just watched the movie Cats. I hadn't seen Cats since
I was in about and that was Yeah. I don't
think what was weird was I thought Andrew Lloyd Webber
wrote the lyrics. But they are all just Ts Elliott.
So the lyrics are actually quite witty. And I wonder
(12:56):
if ts Elliott is looking down and like this is
my legacy, like these depressing modernist poems and it's all
about these sexy cat costumes.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Well, I mean, I would highly recommend there's an I
will send to you this. There's a clip of hel Prince,
the late Great Hal Prince.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Right, a producer of legendary Broadway director direct the original
Levida Well director and produce he was, and he was,
you know, beautifully directed Avita was offered Cats to direct,
(13:39):
and h he, as he tells the story, said, he goes,
you know, Andrew ashamed to admit this, you know, but
I am.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
You know, I'm clearly missing some great political metaphor here
because I'm not British, and so like, you know, one
cat must be Disraeli and one I just the Queen,
you know, I just so so just break it down
because I'm missing something here. And as he tells it,
you know, Angela Ande Webber sort of sheepishly said, she said,
(14:14):
uh no, they're they're they're just cats. How said, well,
you know, I'm really more of a dog person myself,
and never spoke about it again. And then of course
Trevor Nunn directed had no problem with them being just cats,
(14:36):
and you know, bought some country estate off having that.
You know, like but like that that. But I've never
I've never watched the movie. Uh is quite a viewing experience.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Yeah, it wasn't my cup of tea.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
But but you know, there are a lot of talented people.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
That's uh that, a lot of talented people.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Just like I have.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
We have nothing, I mean nothing. All right, I'm just
going to give you two more.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
How about their eyes.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
Were If I were to say Zora and Neil Hurston
in the ballpark, it would be.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
At home plate, my friend, you would not be in
the ballpark.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
You would be right there, Well done.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
All right?
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Last, would their eyes were watching God.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
The full title just thank you, Yes, thank you, a
great book. Yes, all right, last one. This is a
bit of a historical reference. So it's a hit or
miss whether you know it. But I wanted to bring
it up because it's so interesting to me. Mister Watson,
come miss, it's an interesting place to stop. Mister Watson
(15:56):
come yes.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
That is uh. And I have always loved that because
it is not because it's actually what he said, I believe. Yeah,
so uh. And as a child of lumin Industries a
KA Bell Labs, I'm going to say, Alexander Graham Bell,
(16:19):
you are going.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
To say, right, the inventor of the telephone that was
the first successful telephone call to his assistant Thomas Watson,
who was in another room, and he said, famously, mister Watson,
come here. I want to see you, like the exact
opposite of what you're supposed to use a phone for.
Like I'm like, you may have been smart, mister Bell,
but this is that's not how you use a phone.
(16:42):
The whole point is you don't have to see him.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
You can talk to him.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
Listen. He was a learning curve figured it out eventually. Well,
thank you for I've invented it you You people must
learn how to what to do with it until it's right.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Well, I do remember, I may be a misremembering that
originally they thought it was going to be like a
broadcasting thing, like radio, more than a one to one thing.
All right, well you did fantastically excellent, excellent, excellent, and
luckily we get you back for more puzzling tomorrow. In
(17:19):
the meantime, I'll give a little extra credit for the
folks at home. How about this one. It's a little challenging,
but I think you can do it.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Once upon, once upon, and it is a famous writer.
I'll give you that. Well, thank you again, Jonathan. We'll
see you tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
And in the meantime, folks, check out our Instagram feed
at hello puzzlers, lots of fun original puzzles, and we'll
see you here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles that will
puzzle you puzzlingly
Hello puzzlers.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Before we start puzzling today, I wanted to let you
know we are cooking up some big plans for the
puzzler community, and in order to ensure that it's what
you want, we need your input. So we've put together
a short survey, which you can find in the show notes.
It's really quick, just three minutes, but it will be
(00:23):
a huge help in letting us know what you want
so that we can deliver just that. Thank you, Hello puzzlers.
Maybe we should start with a warm up puzzle. So
today's challenge is, can you name three movies with the
number three in the title? And I am sorry, I
(00:45):
am not going to allow trilogies. No Rocky three, Toy
Story three, Godfather three. I am looking for movies with
legit threes, like the Three Musketeers.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I am.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
However, I am a lenient guy, so I will accept
up to movies with thirty or thirty two or three thousand,
anything with a numeral three except for that. Part three,
some of the answers and more puzzling goodness after the break,
(01:18):
Hello puzzlers, Welcome back to the Puzzler Podcast, The Sucker's
Mill and your Puzzle gold Rush I'm your host, AJ Jacobs,
and I'm here, of course, a chief puzzle officer, Greg
Leiska Greg. Before the break, we challenged readers to come
up with movies that, oh I should have said, we
chose we wanted three movies. I forgot to say that.
But you get the idea, three movies with the number
(01:39):
three somewhere in the title.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Do you have any thoughts?
Speaker 3 (01:42):
You know? Well, as always, you give away the one
I thought of right away? Really, but three Musketeers come on?
You're like, for example, I mean.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
No, don't give an example. No it don't do it.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
And then you eliminated all sequels, so that already you know,
I ruined a bunch of them. But I have three
men and a baby good and three amigoss And then
I wrote three on a Match, And I'm like, is
that a movie?
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Was that a TV?
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Show?
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Did I make that up?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I've never heard of it? Did you?
Speaker 1 (02:13):
IMDb?
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Well, when did I have time to do that?
Speaker 1 (02:16):
We're talking three on a match?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Three on a Match is a nineteen thirty two classic
film with Betty Davis and Joan Blundell and Humphrey Bogart,
And I am not making it up.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
All right, Well, then you get it nicely done, going
for a classic. There's also three Billboards outside Eving, Missouri,
which is a great title, so crazy three Days of
the Condor. Then there's three hundred and thirteen going on thirty,
So there are a bunch. All of this talk of
three will be relevant to both our guest and the puzzle,
(02:51):
as you're about to see. I like that and our
guest today, I'm very excited. He is an actor and
a playwright. He has written far more than three plays.
His plays include Things We Want and Clive and so
many others. He's a frequent collaborator with Ethan Hawk, a
good friend of a friend of the show, Michael Showalter.
(03:13):
Please welcome Jonathan Mark Sherman.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Hello, Hello, very very honored to be here.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Well, we have lots to discuss about puzzles, about the
puzzles of writing and plays, but let's start the puzzle itself.
So today's puzzle is entitled three words and not a
single word more unlike this title, which is nineteen words
if you are counting. So that's the title. But as
the title indicates, this is about three words. So all
(03:43):
the clues are going to be three words and all
of the answers are going to be three words, So
it's going to be people sort of like Celebrity, you
know the Round and Celebrity where you give three word clues.
So an answer might be Billy Bob Thornton and the
clue might be French fried potatos.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
I don't know if I remember that. Do you remember that?
That's going way back?
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Did you just play a recording of Billy Bob?
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Thank you? Exactly?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Jonathan Mark Sherman, Jordan, exactly.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
We just hear you say it again.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Nope, that's the one thing the rewind you aren't. Yeah,
Barney Stintson, actor is Neil Patrick Harris? You got by
the way Jonathan Mark Sherman. Is that because there are
other Jonathan Sherman's out there? Or has he always been
Jonathan Mark Sherman.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
What's very good?
Speaker 4 (04:35):
Well, it's my I mean, I it is both. Actually
it's I have been Jonathan Mark Sherman since birth. But
when I had to join the union, which was I
had to join both SAG and Equity as a teenager,
woll SAG which is now SAG after of course, but
(04:56):
and uh SAG was right before, for they were in
the same year and so going to join zag you know,
they said, oh, there's another Jonathan Sherman. You know, so
you've got to be somebody else. You got to throw
in a twist, right, And I was thankfully with my
(05:18):
amazing late father and I at the time wanted, you know,
said oh God, I hate you know, as a short kid,
and I hate having this long name. And I said,
I was just going to say, you know, is there
John or Johnny Sherman, whatever fate I was creating for myself.
(05:40):
And before I could say that, my dad said, can
you see if there's another Jonathan Mark with the C
as he spells it Sherman in the you know union.
They said, shockingly, there isn't and and I was like,
what are you doing. You're lengthening my name like I
in school? You know, it was always people I you know,
(06:02):
knew in grade school name is John Sherman. And he said,
I think you have a beautiful name. You know, your
mother and I give you a beautiful name. And by
the way, it'll also take up more space on a marquee.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
It was his only Mama Rose moment. He worked at
Bell Laboratories from nineteen sixty five to till he retired
in two thousand. He was not a vaudeville parent, or
he's a parent of any kind, but he but that
moment I still sort of remember being like, more space
on the market. Where did that come? And indeed takes
(06:39):
up a lot of space on them.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
I love it. Good for you.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
And do you know who the other Jonathan Sherman.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Is or was?
Speaker 4 (06:46):
I have actually since sort of not sort of, I
virtually encountered a couple of the others. One we were
applying to graduate school. I ended up dropping out of
graduate school before I even finished a semester. But we
(07:07):
were applying to the same dramatic writing graduates at the
same time.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
It's confusing.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
I went to Bennington. He went to Stanford. This was
before the internet was, you know, And he wrote a
thing for the Stanford student newspaper about flying across the country,
going to n YU for an interview and being told,
wait a second, now, we thought you were the other guy.
(07:37):
We have already rejected you.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Holy moly.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
Wait from Bennington had a news clipping service, so they said,
because he mentioned Bennington, and they said, we have a
story you're going to want to read. Oh my and
my brother had it pinned to his bulletin board for decades.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
And did you get into n YU? So you were
I got into.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
I applied to five graduate schools for playwriting. I got
into all five, and then I dropped out of going
to the Yale School of Drama and dropped out before
the end of the first semester. You realized, looking back
on it, all I wanted to do was get it.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
I got it, you know.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Well, yeah, I hope you've sent him a refund on
his on his airfare. But that's an awesome story. Okay,
are you ready for your three word clues?
Speaker 4 (08:28):
We shall see? All right?
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Well, good point.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
And these clues, since I only had three words, they're
often a little incomplete, so you're gonna have to do
some inferring. So, for instance, let me start with sex
and the that's all I got.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
I only have sex and the those are the three words.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
My mind would go to Sarah Jessica Parker.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
And that's the right place for your mind to go.
That's a correct answer.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
All right, We got luke I am luke I am.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Luke I am so so it's going to be Star Wars.
I's gonna father it's going to be it's going to
be James Earl Jones there.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Got it very well done.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
That clue is so weird because it's like the way
Yoda would say something.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
I was like, Luke, I am that that could be
a very like hip music reference to something that I don't.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Oh no, will I am?
Speaker 4 (09:30):
And Luke I was like, So I was like, but no,
I think I'm going to stay with Star Wars.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Well we're correct. How about this?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Oh say can and I could sing it, but I'm
just gonna see now, just oh say can h.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
You see by the dawns early light? So that's it,
but so proudly we have trying to say so my goodness.
But now my Now, in my brain, I like Stephen Foster,
I no idea I have, but my brain is being
crowded by rather than Francis Scott Key who that's it?
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Look at that.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
It's that rusty fifty six year old brain. You know
that almost it came through for you.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
It came.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
Sometimes sometimes eventually it kicks into gear.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
How about this? We have nothing? We have nothing.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
We have.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
No you have nothing. That's what's ironic. We're appropriate. We
have nothing. It's the three first words of a famous phrase,
the first words of famous quote, right.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
A famous quote? Not a cat came a catchphrase.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
I I should be ashamed that that took me.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
We talked about this, Jonathan.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
There's no shame as a child. Whenever one could choose
the president you wanted to do a report on, I
chose a man named Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
That is it.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
And we have nothing to fear but fear itself. And
boy did I fear. We have nothing. Without the rest
of the phrase, it just says we have nothing. It
sounds like Beckett staring into the abyss does change the
vibe of that that quote when you stop it, we
(11:46):
have nothing at we have nothing? What if I mean
it's I certainly been thinking if you just stopped there
and walked off.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
That would be interesting exactly. That would we get out
of the depression?
Speaker 1 (12:00):
If he just said we got I love that.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I would walk to you all see, I'm gonna go
have my martiniz or whatever you have? All right, got
a couple more we got? Don't cry for Oh?
Speaker 4 (12:17):
I mean this again, speaking of my father. I got
into the theater because Sweeney Todd and Avita were playing
on Broadway when I was in the sixth grade, and
I saw Sweeney Todd nine times in a Vita five.
So let's go, Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
You got it absolutely all right. By the way, I
just watched the movie Cats. I hadn't seen Cats since
I was in about and that was Yeah. I don't
think what was weird was I thought Andrew Lloyd Webber
wrote the lyrics. But they are all just Ts Elliott.
So the lyrics are actually quite witty. And I wonder
(12:56):
if ts Elliott is looking down and like this is
my legacy, like these depressing modernist poems and it's all
about these sexy cat costumes.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Well, I mean, I would highly recommend there's an I
will send to you this. There's a clip of hel Prince,
the late Great Hal Prince.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Right, a producer of legendary Broadway director direct the original
Levida Well director and produce he was, and he was,
you know, beautifully directed Avita was offered Cats to direct,
(13:39):
and h he, as he tells the story, said, he goes,
you know, Andrew ashamed to admit this, you know, but
I am.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
You know, I'm clearly missing some great political metaphor here
because I'm not British, and so like, you know, one
cat must be Disraeli and one I just the Queen,
you know, I just so so just break it down
because I'm missing something here. And as he tells it,
you know, Angela Ande Webber sort of sheepishly said, she said,
(14:14):
uh no, they're they're they're just cats. How said, well,
you know, I'm really more of a dog person myself,
and never spoke about it again. And then of course
Trevor Nunn directed had no problem with them being just cats,
(14:36):
and you know, bought some country estate off having that.
You know, like but like that that. But I've never
I've never watched the movie. Uh is quite a viewing experience.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Yeah, it wasn't my cup of tea.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
But but you know, there are a lot of talented people.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
That's uh that, a lot of talented people.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Just like I have.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
We have nothing, I mean nothing. All right, I'm just
going to give you two more.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
How about their eyes.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
Were If I were to say Zora and Neil Hurston
in the ballpark, it would be.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
At home plate, my friend, you would not be in
the ballpark.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
You would be right there, Well done.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
All right?
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Last, would their eyes were watching God.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
The full title just thank you, Yes, thank you, a
great book. Yes, all right, last one. This is a
bit of a historical reference. So it's a hit or
miss whether you know it. But I wanted to bring
it up because it's so interesting to me. Mister Watson,
come miss, it's an interesting place to stop. Mister Watson
(15:56):
come yes.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
That is uh. And I have always loved that because
it is not because it's actually what he said, I believe. Yeah,
so uh. And as a child of lumin Industries a
KA Bell Labs, I'm going to say, Alexander Graham Bell,
(16:19):
you are going.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
To say, right, the inventor of the telephone that was
the first successful telephone call to his assistant Thomas Watson,
who was in another room, and he said, famously, mister Watson,
come here. I want to see you, like the exact
opposite of what you're supposed to use a phone for.
Like I'm like, you may have been smart, mister Bell,
but this is that's not how you use a phone.
(16:42):
The whole point is you don't have to see him.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
You can talk to him.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
Listen. He was a learning curve figured it out eventually. Well,
thank you for I've invented it you You people must
learn how to what to do with it until it's right.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Well, I do remember, I may be a misremembering that
originally they thought it was going to be like a
broadcasting thing, like radio, more than a one to one thing.
All right, well you did fantastically excellent, excellent, excellent, and
luckily we get you back for more puzzling tomorrow. In
(17:19):
the meantime, I'll give a little extra credit for the
folks at home. How about this one. It's a little challenging,
but I think you can do it.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Once upon, once upon, and it is a famous writer.
I'll give you that. Well, thank you again, Jonathan. We'll
see you tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
And in the meantime, folks, check out our Instagram feed
at hello puzzlers, lots of fun original puzzles, and we'll
see you here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles that will
puzzle you puzzlingly
Hosts And Creators
Greg Pliska
A.J. Jacobs
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