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 is worth two points. Bill, can you give us the scores?
BILL KURTIS: Tom has three points. Joel has three. And - get this - Tracy has three.
TRACY CLAYTON: Yay.
SAGAL: Oh, my gosh.
JOEL KIM BOOSTER: Wow.
SAGAL: Oh, my gosh. All right. I'll just arbitrarily pick Joel to go first. Here we go, Joel. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said most administration officials believe the explosion in blank was an accident.
BOOSTER: Beirut.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Monday, Novavax announced encouraging early trials for their blank vaccine.
BOOSTER: Coronavirus.
SAGAL: Yes, coronavirus.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: For the first time ever, blank removed a post by President Trump citing coronavirus misinformation.
BOOSTER: Facebook.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Tuesday, activist Cori Bush beat out longtime incumbent Lacy Clay during primaries in blank.
BOOSTER: Missouri.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Thanks to a technical error, almost 200 people in Rhode Island receive tax refund checks signed by blank.
BOOSTER: Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney.
CLAYTON: (Laughter).
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Tuesday, it was announced that the live-action version of "Mulan" would skip theaters and premiere on blank's streaming service.
BOOSTER: Disney's.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, an author known for his...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...Historical accuracy was called out for including a recipe for red dye containing ingredients that can only be found in blank.
BOOSTER: In present day.
SAGAL: No, in the Legend of Zelda video game.
CLAYTON: (Laughter).
SAGAL: After being informed of his mistake, historical novelist John Boyne admitted that he had done a quick search for red dye ingredients and didn't realize the instructions he were copying were from a video game website. This is easily the most embarrassing slip-up from a historian since Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team Of Rivals" said that Lincoln's secretary of state was Sonic the Hedgehog. Bill, how did Joel do on our quiz?
KURTIS: He did very well. He had six right for 12 more points. He now has 15 and the lead.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)
SAGAL: All right. Tracy, are you ready to do this? Because you're up next.
CLAYTON: No, but let's do it.
SAGAL: OK. Here we go, Tracy. This week, blank announced he would accept the Democratic nomination remotely.
CLAYTON: Biden.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Wednesday, Iowa ended the lifetime voting ban for blanks.
CLAYTON: Felons.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, the National Park Service advised that you shouldn't blank if confronted by a bear.
CLAYTON: You should not run.
SAGAL: No, you should not push your slower friend down in attempt to save yourself.
CLAYTON: Disagree - I disagree.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: This week, the city of Houston passed a $250 fine for anyone not wearing a blank.
CLAYTON: Mask.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, a woman in Oregon got famous...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...After she was caught by Google Street View after she had just blanked.
CLAYTON: After she had just shoplifted.
SAGAL: After she had gotten her head stuck in a trashcan.
CLAYTON: Oh, that was my next guess.
SAGAL: I bet it was. The Google...
CLAYTON: Darn it.
SAGAL: ...Street View camera snapped a picture of the woman with her head fully inside an overturned garbage can. Now, we obviously can't show you the picture, but don't worry - just imagine what it would look like if Oscar the Grouch had a sister who was born breech.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Bill...
CLAYTON: Who amongst us...
SAGAL: How did Tracy Clayton do on our quiz?
KURTIS: Tracy had three right for six more points.
CLAYTON: Yay.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)
KURTIS: She now has nine, but Joel still has the lead with 15.
SAGAL: How many, then, does Tom Bodett need to win it all?
KURTIS: Six to tie, seven to win, Tom.
SAGAL: All right, Tom. This is for the game. Fill in the blank. On Sunday, the White House announced it had no plans to delay the blank.
TOM BODETT: The election.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Tuesday, President Trump encouraged voters in Florida - but only Florida - to request blank ballots.
BODETT: Mail-in ballots.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, Tropical Storm blank moved up the East Coast, leaving over 2 million people without power.
BODETT: Isaias.
SAGAL: Isaias, right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: According to a report, Deutsche Bank complied with a subpoena and handed over blank's financial records.
BODETT: President Trump's.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, a man in England accidentally burned down his apartment when he blanked.
BODETT: He tried to roast a pig in his...
SAGAL: No.
BODETT: ...Living room.
SAGAL: When he lit 100 candles to propose to his girlfriend in a romantic setting. She said yes, though. On Monday, the U.S. blank confirmed it was ending its 2020 count a month early.
BODETT: The Census Bureau.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Following outbreaks in the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals, blank sent out new revised protocols to teams.
BODETT: Major League Baseball.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, a plane carrying...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...Illegal drugs from Indonesia to Australia was intercepted by authorities after it blanked.
BODETT: It made a completely incomprehensible radio call and ordered beer to meet them when they landed.
SAGAL: No. They...
KURTIS: (Laughter).
SAGAL: Authorities were able to intercept the plane because it crashed at takeoff because it had way too many drugs on it. The plane was smuggling over a thousand pounds of drugs and crashed almost immediately after taking off. Don't worry - everybody is fine. Well, actually everybody is in jail, but no one died. Police suspect the plane was carrying mostly cocaine because it's such a coke thing to fly really high and then crash really hard a few minutes later.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Bill, did Tom do well enough to win?
KURTIS: He did well - six right for 12 more points. That means with a total of 15, he and Joel are tied this week.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)
KURTIS: They are co-champions.
SAGAL: Congratulations. Your prize, Joel, is you get to go on a cruise. Your prize, Tom...
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: You don't have to. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.