Emily and I went to see a taping of Wait Wait—Don’t Tell Me this past Thursday. It’s worth every penny of the admission price.

The Wait Wait that you hear on the radio is roughly 47 minutes of witty and informative games and banter. I hadn’t realized how much didn’t make it past the editors into the show.

For as charismatic of a host as Peter Sagal is on the radio, he’s twice as much so in person. He’s able to think on his feet and charm an audience all while maintaining the poise and clear delivery that one expects from NPR. He also bears little semblance to his caricature on the Wait Wait home page.

The panel was also a source of great entertainment. PJ O’Rourke was his cantankerous self, and Adam Felber provided even more comedy relief. All three panelists gave the “Not My Job” guest (Steven Cohen) a good ribbing during his valiant effort to defend soccer in an environment filled with us poor heathen Yanks.

As for Carl Kasell, yes, he really does sound the same in person as he does on the radio.

To top it off, they had some neat swag. I was sorely tempted to get the long-sleeve T-shirt they were selling. Who wouldn’t want a shirt that says “NPR without the dignity”?