List of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! episodes (2024)

The following is a list of episodes of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, NPR's news panel game, that aired during 2024.^[1] All episodes, unless otherwise indicated, feature Peter Sagal as host and Bill Kurtis as announcer/scorekeeper, and originate from the Studebaker Theatre at Chicago's Fine Arts Building. Dates indicated are the episodes' original Saturday air dates, and the job titles and backgrounds of the guests reflect their status and positions at the time of their appearance. On some occasions, member stations alter the episodes for their donation drive breaks, which only impact the show's airing within their broadcast area.

Contents

• Top
• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December

January

Date	Guest	Panelists	Notes
January 6	Wait Wait 25th anniversary "best of" episode part 10, with encore segments including interviews with musician Brad Paisley and basketball star Damian Lillard Previously unaired segments, including interviews with television journalist Bob Woodruff,[2] and news commentator Rachel Maddow[3]		Guest host Negin Farsad
January 13[4]	Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell	Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Maeve Higgins, Peter Grosz
January 20[5]	Actor David Oyelowo	Faith Salie, Tom Bodett, Helen Hong
January 27[6]	United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen	Shane O'Neill, Dulcé Sloan, Tom Papa	Guest judge/scorekeeper Chioke I'Anson

February

Date	Guest	Panelists	Notes
February 3[7]	Kristen Kish, former chef and host of Season 21 of Top Chef	Brian Babylon, Josh Gondelman, Joyelle Nicole Johnson	Show recorded in Milwaukee, WI (Riverside Theater)[8]
February 10[9]	Actress/producer Lena Waithe	Adam Burke, Negin Farsad, Maz Jobrani
February 17[10]	Musicians Corin Tucker & Carrie Brownstein of rock band Sleater-Kinney	Amy Dickinson, Hari Kondabolu, Dulcé Sloan	Guest host Tom Papa
February 24	"Best of" episode featuring actors Ray Romano, Rosie Perez, & Nick Kroll, musician Steve Earle, and Vanity Fair magazine editor Radhika Jones		Guest announcer Chioke I'Anson

March

Date	Guest	Panelists	Notes
March 2[11]	Rapper/singer Danny Brown	Karen Chee, Alzo Slade, Peter Grosz	Show recorded in Austin, TX (Bass Concert Hall)
March 9[12]	Economic historian Claudia Goldin	Josh Gondelman, Maeve Higgins, Roxanne Roberts
March 16[13]	Actor/comedian David Alan Grier	Adam Burke, Paula Poundstone, Mo Rocca	Guest announcer/scorekeeper Andy Richter
March 23	Business executive and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs	Adam Felber, Helen Hong, Hari Kondabolu
March 30	"Best of" episode featuring actors John Stamos & Gabrielle Dennis, education activist Malala Yousafzai, political consultant David Axelrod, and beatboxer Kaila Mullady

April

Date	Guest	Panelists	Notes
April 6[14]	Actor Chris Pine	Emmy Blotnick, Alonzo Bodden, Adam Burke
April 13[15]	Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach/CBS NFL studio analyst Bill Cowher	Negin Farsad, Maeve Higgins, Mo Rocca	Show recorded in Pittsburgh, PA (Benedum Center)
April 20[16]	Philosopher/gender studies scholar Judith Butler	Faith Salie, Maz Jobrani, Roy Blount Jr.	Guest announcer/scorekeeper Helen Hong
April 27[17]	Actress/singer Renée Elise Goldsberry	Alonzo Bodden, Shantira Jackson, Jason Isbell[18]

May

Date	Guest	Panelists	Notes
May 4[19]	Gum wrapper sculptor/animator Lyndon J. Barrois Sr.	Josh Gondelman, Joyelle Nicole Johnson, River Butcher
May 11[20]	Singer/songwriter Chappell Roan	Tom Papa, Brian Babylon, Meredith Scardino
May 18[21]	Actress/singer–songwriter Maya Hawke	Faith Salie, Adam Burke, Negin Farsad	Guest host Alzo Slade
May 25[22]	Chef/food writer J. Kenji López-Alt	Jessi Klein, Shantira Jackson, Luke Burbank	Show recorded in Seattle, WA (Paramount Theatre) Guest host Tom Papa[22]

June

Date	Guest	Panelists	Notes
June 1	"Best of" episode featuring musician Bob Seger, actresses Dakota Johnson & Michelle Rodriguez, filmmaker John Wilson, and long-distance runner Molly Seidel
June 8	Radio host/comedian Charlamagne tha God	Shane O'Neill, Alzo Slade, Karen Chee
June 15[23]	Singer/actress Michelle Williams	Alonzo Bodden, Helen Hong, Paula Poundstone	Show recorded at Chicago's Millennium Park (Jay Pritzker Pavilion)[24]
June 22[25]	Disabled adventurer Erik Weihenmayer[26]	Maz Jobrani, Adam Felber, Negin Farsad
June 29[27]	Bassist/composer Christian McBride[28]	Peter Grosz, Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Dulcé Sloan	Show recorded in Philadelphia, PA (The Mann Center)[29]

July

Date	Guest	Panelists	Notes
July 6	"Best of" episode featuring actors Ellie Kemper, H. Jon Benjamin & Richard E. Grant, director Rian Johnson, and costume designer Ruth E. Carter
July 13[30]	Journalists Zach Stafford & Sam Sanders	Paula Poundstone, Emmy Blotnick, Tom Papa	Guest announcer/scorekeeper Chioke I'Anson
July 20[31]	Track & field athlete Allyson Felix	Shantira Jackson, Hari Kondabolu, Roy Blount Jr.	Guest host Karen Chee[32]
July 27[33]	Singer/musician & punk icon Kathleen Hanna	Meredith Scardino, Mo Rocca, Peter Grosz

August

Date	Guest	Panelists	Notes
August 3[34]	Anthony Fauci, physician/immunologist & former director of NIAID	Negin Farsad, Tom Papa, Karen Chee	Show recorded in Vienna, VA (Wolf Trap) Guest announcer/scorekeeper Chioke I'Anson
August 10	"Best of" episode featuring musicians Jason Isbell & Josh Homme, Broadway actress Patti LuPone, news commentator Rachel Maddow, and author James Patterson		Guest announcer Chioke I'Anson
August 17	"Best of" episode featuring former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and actors Chris Pine, David Oyelowo, Natasha Lyonne & Zazie Beetz
August 24	Actress Diane Lane	Adam Burke, Adam Felber, Dulcé Sloan
August 31[35]	Interior designer Nate Berkus	Bobcat Goldthwait, Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Josh Gondelman	Show recorded in Minneapolis, MN (Orpheum Theatre)

September

Date	Guest	Panelists	Notes
September 7	Comedian/actor John Leguizamo	Tom Bodett, Helen Hong, Hari Kondabolu
September 14[36]	Comedian Jay Pharoah	Adam Burke, Negin Farsad, Roxanne Roberts
September 21	Actor Gary Oldman	Karen Chee, Brian Babylon, Peter Grosz	Guest announcer/scorekeeper Ayesha Rascoe
September 28[37]	Singer/actress Dionne Warwick	Shantira Jackson, Paula Poundstone, Josh Gondelman	Show recorded in Kansas City, MO (Municipal Auditorium)

October

Date	Guest	Panelists	Notes
October 5	Kara Jackson, singer/songwriter & former National Youth Poet Laureate	Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Scaachi Koul, Alzo Slade
October 12[38]	Actor/comedian Eric Idle	Eugene Cordero, Shane O'Neill, Negin Farsad
October 19	"Best of" episode featuring actor David Alan Grier, chef/food writer J. Kenji López-Alt, singer–songwriter Chappell Roan, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
October 26[39]	Former professional women's basketball star Sue Bird & former women's soccer star Megan Rapinoe	Alonzo Bodden, Adam Burke, Helen Hong	Guest host Dulcé Sloan[40]

November

Date	Guest	Panelists	Notes
November 2[41]	Actor/comedian Brian Jordan Alvarez	Luke Burbank, Emmy Blotnick, Brian Babylon
November 9	Ultrarunner Tara Dower	Negin Farsad, Faith Salie, Peter Grosz	Guest announcer/scorekeeper Joshua Johnson
November 16	Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer[42]	Hari Kondabolu, Roxanne Roberts, Josh Gondelman	Show recorded in Detroit, MI (Fox Theatre)
November 23[43]	Actor/comedians Jeff Hiller & Bridget Everett	Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Maz Jobrani, Tom Papa	Guest announcer/scorekeeper Tim Meadows
November 30	Previously unaired segments, including an interview with weightlifter Mary Theisen-Lappen Encore segments featuring disabled adventurer Erik Weihenmayer, actress/singer–songwriter Maya Hawke and gum wrapper sculptor/animator Lyndon J. Barrois Sr.

December

Date	Guest	Panelists	Notes
December 7[44]	Comedian/actor Jim Gaffigan	Negin Farsad, Adam Felber, Adam Burke
December 14[45]	U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson	Paula Poundstone, Mo Rocca, Joyelle Nicole Johnson	Show recorded in New York City, NY (Carnegie Hall)[46]
December 21	Actor/filmmaker Ben Falcone and actress Melissa McCarthy	Dulcé Sloan, Roy Blount Jr., Hari Kondabolu
December 28	"Best of 2024" episode featuring singer/actress Dionne Warwick, actor Gary Oldman, comedian Jay Pharoah, track & field athlete Allyson Felix, and interior designer Nate Berkus		Guest announcer Tim Meadows