PETER SAGAL, HOST:
Now onto our final game, Lightning Fill In The Blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which they answer as many fill-in-the-blank questions as he or she can. Bill, can you give us the scores?
BILL KURTIS: Faith and Paula each have two. Peter has three.
SAGAL: Well, we flipped a coin. And Paula has decided to go second. Faith, that means you're up first. Here we go.
On Monday, President Trump said he would formally end the blank trade deal.
FAITH SALIE: NAFTA.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Sunday, law enforcement in Israel recommended the indictment of blank on charges of bribery and fraud.
SALIE: Netanyahu.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: After losing the governorship of their estate, GOP leaders in blank passed measures to weaken the executive branch's power.
SALIE: Wisconsin.
SAGAL: It would've accepted Michigan, as well.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: In response to protests, French President blank scrapped plans for a fuel tax increase.
SALIE: Macron.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, police in California engaged in a high-speed chase with a Tesla driven by blank.
SALIE: Elon Musk.
SAGAL: No, the Tesla was being driven by itself because the driver was so drunk he passed out.
SALIE: Oh.
SAGAL: On Thursday, the president of Ecuador said that blank could leave the embassy if he wished.
SALIE: Assange.
SAGAL: Yes, indeed.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, the president of Nigeria was forced to send out an email...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...Assuring his constituents that he was not a blank.
SALIE: He was not an alien.
SAGAL: No, he sent it out to tell everybody that no, contrary to rumor, he was not a clone.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Due to medical issues - or so he says - the president of Nigeria disappeared for several months last year. He traveled to London for treatment. Since returning, rumors have been circulated that he is not the real president but actually a clone created in a lab to fool people.
PAULA POUNDSTONE: (Laughter).
SAGAL: The conspiracy theory has gained so much traction, the president was forced to send out an email this week affirming that he is who he says he is. And this, of course, put the rumors to bed because if there's one thing you can trust, it's an email from someone claiming to be a powerful Nigerian.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Bill, how did Faith do on our quiz?
KURTIS: Got five right. Ten more points. A total of 12 gives her the lead.
SAGAL: All right. Very well done, Faith. We expected no less.
(APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: Paula, you're up next. Fill in the blank. According to new data released this week, global blank emissions rose 2.7 percent this year reaching a record high.
POUNDSTONE: Carbon emissions.
SAGAL: Yes, carbon emissions.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Following a briefing by the CIA, many senators say they're certain that blank played a role in the death of Jamal Khashoggi.
POUNDSTONE: The Prince of Saudi Arabia.
SAGAL: I'll give it to you. It was Mohammad bin Salman.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Thursday, recreational blank officially became legal in Michigan.
POUNDSTONE: Oh, pot.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Monday, celebrity scientist blank denied allegations of sexual misconduct.
POUNDSTONE: deGrasse.
SAGAL: Yes. Well...
POUNDSTONE: Neil deGrasse Tyson.
SAGAL: Neil deGrasse Tyson.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Thursday, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and "A Star Is Born" lead the nominations for the 2019 blank awards.
POUNDSTONE: Oh, we were just talking about it.
SAGAL: We were.
POUNDSTONE: The global - the.
SAGAL: You almost said global warming.
POUNDSTONE: The global warming awards. The...
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Oh, let's just give it to you. The Golden Globes Awards.
POUNDSTONE: That's what I meant.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: In response to concerns about kids eating Tide Pods...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...A grocery store in Colorado has decided to remove them from blank.
POUNDSTONE: The candy section.
SAGAL: Exactly right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: For months, the supermarket in Greeley, Colo., has stuck their Tide Pods right next to their candy instead of with other detergents, which are located a few miles, a few aisles away.
POUNDSTONE: A few miles.
SAGAL: A few miles away, no.
(LAUGHTER)
POUNDSTONE: A big store.
SAGAL: Located a few aisles away.
POUNDSTONE: It's the Giant in Greeley.
SAGAL: Yeah. Following complaints from several parents, the store announced they'd be moving the Tide Pods - meaning that now nothing in the stores candy aisle will pose a risk to kids health except for literally everything else in the candy aisle.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Bill, how did Paula do on our quiz?
KURTIS: Paula may think she didn't do well, but she got six right for 12 more points. Now she is in the lead with 14.
POUNDSTONE: Woo-hoo.
SAGAL: Woo-hoo.
(APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: All right. Then how many does Peter need to win?
KURTIS: Six to win.
SAGAL: Here we go, Peter, for the game. This week, investigators found more evidence of voter fraud in the recent election in blank.
PETER GROSZ: North Carolina.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Tuesday, the looming threat of a global trade war caused the blank to fall by over 3 percent.
GROSZ: Dow Jones.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, representatives from over 200 countries met for the largest conference on blank since the Paris accords.
GROSZ: Climate global warming.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Tuesday, it was reported that hackers stole thousands of emails from blank's Congressional Committee.
GROSZ: The RNC. The Republican Congressional Committee.
SAGAL: Yeah, good enough.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: After keynote speaker Steve Bannon was forced to withdraw, organizers announced they were canceling the blank conference.
GROSZ: The scruffy white supremacist fat guy conference.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: No, once Steve Bannon was forced to withdraw, they canceled the conference on love and sex with robots.
POUNDSTONE: Oh.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: According to a report released Thursday, social media site blank gave user information to its advertisers.
GROSZ: Facebook.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Over the past week, Alaska has been struck by over 200 blanks.
GROSZ: Earthquakes.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Wednesday, dozens of cops in Virginia were called in...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...To help quell rioters trying to get blank.
GROSZ: Out of Virginia.
SAGAL: No, they were trying to get free cheesecake. To celebrate its 14th anniversary, Cheesecake Factory was offering free slices to customers. But a location in Arlington County ran out before 2 p.m., and angry customers lost their minds.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Twelve police cars were called to the scene. One firetruck and also an ambulance, though that was just there for the one guy who actually managed to eat some of the cheesecake.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Bill, did Peter Grosz do well enough to win?
KURTIS: He got six. He needed six. He ties - a total of 15 for the win.
(APPLAUSE) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.