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 he or she can. Each correct answer now worth two points. Bill, can you give us the score?
BILL KURTIS: All our panelists are tied at three.
SAGAL: Wow.
(APPLAUSE)
MO ROCCA: This is nice.
SAGAL: All right. Well, I'm just going to arbitrarily choose who goes first. Peter, you're up first.
PETER GROSZ: Wonderful.
SAGAL: The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, the House Intelligence Committee announced plans to investigate whether blank has any leverage over President Trump.
GROSZ: Any foreign country?
SAGAL: Yeah, I'll give it to you.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: They were looking...
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: ...Actually, they were looking at Russia, but they also said other foreign countries.
GROSZ: Yeah, I thought that was it.
SAGAL: A new report released on Tuesday said that ISIS is likely to regain territory following Trump's decision to withdraw troops from blank.
GROSZ: Syria.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, the governor of New Mexico withdrew most of her state's National Guard troops from the blank.
GROSZ: Southern border.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Wednesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced plans to roll back Obama-era restrictions on the blank industry.
GROSZ: The stupid payday lending institution.
SAGAL: Exactly right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: A man in Florida caught breaking the windshields of multiple cars in a parking lot said he was only doing it because he blank.
GROSZ: Because he hated cars.
SAGAL: Almost - because he was really angry that he could not remember where he had parked.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: This week, it was revealed that some apps for the blank may be recording users' screens without their knowledge.
GROSZ: iPhone.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week it was confirmed that the blanks would go on without a host.
GROSZ: Oscars.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Hoping to do its part to manage the gray squirrel population...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...In the U.K., a business in London is blanking.
GROSZ: They are having their employees kill squirrels at lunchtime.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: No, they are serving customers gray squirrel lasagna.
(GROANING)
SAGAL: Gray squirrels are considered an invasive species in the U.K., so to help do their part to cull the population, a restaurant in London called Native came up with a brilliant idea - gray squirrel lasagna or as it's more commonly known - no thanks, I'll just have the linguini.
(LAUGHTER)
GROSZ: Also, by the way, that now makes me doubtful of any lasagna that I'm getting.
SAGAL: Because who knows that it is?
GROSZ: Yeah, because they're, like, oh, what's the perfect food to hide squirrel meat?
SAGAL: Exactly right.
GROSZ: Give them lasagna.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Bill, how did Peter Grosz do on our quiz?
KURTIS: Well, Peter get six right for 12 more points. He has a total of 15 and the lead.
SAGAL: That was very strong, Peter.
GROSZ: Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: Roxanne, you're up next.
ROXANNE ROBERTS: OK.
SAGAL: Fill in the blank. On Tuesday, President Trump announced he would hold a second summit with blank in Vietnam in late February.
ROBERTS: Kim Jong Un.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Thursday, the German government announced plans to limit the data-gathering abilities of social media site blank.
ROBERTS: Facebook.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, a humanitarian aid convoy bound for blank was blocked by the country's military.
ROBERTS: Venezuela.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Thursday, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unveiled details of the so-called blank.
ROBERTS: Green New Deal.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Wednesday, podcast giant Gimlet Media was purchased by blank.
ROBERTS: It was Spotify?
SAGAL: Yes, it was Spotify.
ROBERTS: OK.
SAGAL: With just 16 points scored Sunday's game between the Patriots and Rams - was the lowest scoring blank in history.
ROBERTS: Super Bowl.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: With Valentine's Day approaching, Potbelly Sandwich Shop...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...Announced a new special offering - free blanks on February 14.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Free heart tests.
SAGAL: No.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: They will be offering one free cookie for single people.
GROSZ: Oh, wow.
ROBERTS: Oh, that's sad.
SAGAL: Anyone who comes into the store on Valentine's Day without a significant other gets a free cookie of their choice. That's great news.
ROBERTS: A cookie of shame.
SAGAL: A cookie of shame.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: It's great news for any single person who's looking to lessen the sting of Valentine's Day with something sweet. It's even better news for couples who can get two free cookies by splitting up and going to two different Potbellys.
(LAUGHTER)
GROSZ: Just a bunch of people outside, like, taking their wedding rings off.
SAGAL: Exactly.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Bill, how did Roxanne do in this?
KURTIS: Well, the game continues. She got six right, 12 more points like Peter - a total of 15. So they're tied.
GROSZ: Oh, my goodness.
ROBERTS: Mo, you have to get six.
GROSZ: You've just got to get six.
ROBERTS: You've got to. You've got to.
(CROSSTALK)
SAGAL: So how many then does Mo need to win?
KURTIS: Well, he can tie it at six - win it at seven.
SAGAL: Here we go. All right.
ROCCA: Thank you.
SAGAL: All right, Mo, this is for the game. Fill in the blank. On Monday, federal prosecutors in New York sent subpoenas to President Trump's blank.
ROCCA: Subpoenas - oh, my God, I'm already falling apart.
(LAUGHTER)
ROCCA: He sent subpoenas to the president's - it wasn't his personal lawyer.
GROSZ: Go back to the beginning.
ROCCA: Inaugural committee.
SAGAL: The inaugural committee. Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Sunday, the White House announced plans to keep troops in Iraq to monitor activity in blank.
ROCCA: Oh, they've been monitoring activity.
(LAUGHTER)
ROCCA: In Syria.
SAGAL: No, in Iran.
ROCCA: Iran. In Iran.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Keep this rolling. This week, Nancy Pelosi said she would back any deal on blank that bipartisan negotiators might reach.
ROCCA: Immigration.
SAGAL: Yeah, border security, immigration. I'll give it to you.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: The CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, revealed in a post that AMI, the publisher of blank, had attempted to blackmail him.
ROCCA: The National Enquirer.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Why are we whispering?
ROCCA: Because audio is an intimate medium.
SAGAL: All right.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: After it was discovered that its accelerator pedal often got stuck, a recall warning was put out for blank.
ROCCA: For a car.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Specifically for the power wheels Barbie Dream Camper.
ROCCA: Camper.
SAGAL: On Wednesday, NASA announced that 2018 was the fourth blankest year on record.
ROCCA: The spaciest year.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: No, it was that, but it was the hottest year on record. Cryptocurrency investors in Canada are unable to withdraw...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...Over $140 million of investments because the investment company's president blanked.
ROCCA: Because the investment companies - he lost it. He misplaced it. He..
SAGAL: No, he died before he told anyone his password.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: It's always sad when somebody dies, but it's even sadder when you can't send the family flowers because all your money is tied up in bitcoin, and somebody didn't take the time to write down their password on a sticky note like a normal person and put it on the monitor.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: It's expected that the man's funeral will be attended by several thousand people, all of whom will console his grieving mother and ask her what her maiden name is.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Bill, did Mo do well enough to win?
(LAUGHTER)
KURTIS: He got three right, six more - total of nine. Our winners this week are Roxanne and Peter.
(APPLAUSE) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.