Wait Wait Quiz from NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me

Timeline of the creative process

Inspiration: This wild, new medium gives us the chance to merge the content of our show and invite our audience into the conversation.

Workflow: We dedicate the early part of the week to the writing and producing the quiz.

Results: When the quiz is released Wednesday afternoon, we don’t think about it again until next week.

You can do it too with monday.com!

Webby Awards partner monday.com is so impressed with Wait Wait Quiz from NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me that they created a workflow inspired by the project!

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Inspiration

As smart speakers were becoming more common household items, we jumped on the opportunity to sneak into our listeners’ homes.

What was your inspiration?

As smart speakers were becoming more common household items, we jumped on the opportunity to sneak into our listeners’ homes.

This wild, new medium gives us the chance to merge the content of our show and invite our audience into the conversation. They aren’t just listening to the radio program, they’re playing along. We were further fueled by the programming know-how of Vayner Media; It was inspiring to work with a different kind of nerd than ourselves. They brought new terms to our table like “VUI” and “CMS” and let us play with new toys. Plus Bill Kurtis and Peter Sagal relish the chance to spend more time together.

How did you approach this challenge?

“We don’t see making the quiz as a creative “challenge” as much as a creative “opportunity” to have a lot of fun.

We try to keep quiz questions varied; a fresh balance of front page news and goofier, smaller stories about Prince Harry and grandmas floating away on icebergs (she’s fine!). Our radio show is centered on our host Peter Sagal, so we wanted to use this avenue to instead expand on the voice and personality of our scorekeeper Bill Kurtis. He’s got a strong, serious voice and a newscaster’s reputation for gravitas. Finding various ways for him to say “yass queen” is a top priority.”

Workflow

Since we can’t see our audience on the voice quiz, we assume they’re not there. Our only job then is to make each other laugh.

How does your team work across capabilities and disciplines?

We have a collaborative and streamlined process to make the quiz: three chums write it, then one of the chums does the editing and deployment. For us, it’s important that the process is collaborative in the truest sense. We don’t have unlimited time, but the time we do have is as relaxed and free flowing as possible. We get on a video call and work in a shared document. Every joke and question is read out loud and we can write over each others’ work in real time. We frequently boo as part of the editing process.

How does your approach adapt to the needs of a project?

We dedicate the early part of the week to the writing and producing the quiz, when the work load on our regular job–the Wait Wait radio show/podcast–is lighter. When the quiz is released Wednesday afternoon, we don’t think about it again until next week.

While the quiz changes every week, the process and format is always the same. It’s extremely adaptable, and has become a trusty old friend. Sometimes we want to add a limerick, or make the whole quiz food themed. With our collaborative method, no matter what adjustments we make, it comes out feeling fresh, but familiar, each week.

Was there anything out-of-the-box about your approach for this project?

Since we can’t see our audience on the voice quiz, we assume they’re not there. Our only job then is to make each other laugh. We know if we’re having fun, our users will too. If not, we can’t see them not having fun. Our out-of-the-box approach is to never leave the box.

How do you digitally manage your projects?

The three writers mess around in one Google Doc, and final scripts are sent to the hosts separately and edited and deployed by the designated Lillian.

How is the pandemic and remote working impacting your team?

Our process has always lived online, so the process of working remotely has been relatively seamless. Like everybody, we’re adapting to working from home. Our writing process has remained the same, but now we make fun of Mike’s home office more.

Results

If you keep the technical parts solid, your base is strong enough to experiment and have fun with.

Any advice for creative teams looking to make great digital work?

Have fun with it! If you think an idea is too dumb to work, do it anyway and see what happens! Use the smart speaker as a platform to try out things you might not otherwise try. If you keep the technical parts solid, your base is strong enough to experiment and have fun with.

What does being named "best of the Internet" mean to you?

It means nothing. The Internet is a terrible wasteland.

You can do it too with monday.com!

Webby Awards partner monday.com is so impressed with Wait Wait Quiz from NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me that they created a workflow inspired by the project!

Try this template

Expand the Board