What Is...? A Jeopardy! Podcast

Harrison Whitaker is a joy to watch play Jeopardy!, but he also makes our job very hard this week, as his constant parade of correct answers makes it hard to make fun of anything. But comedy finds a way, as we have Jeopardy! fans fuming over something that makes no sense at all, we learn Harrison and John have a shared experience with the elderly, and we dive deep on Nikola Tesla. If you want some more ELECTRIC content, head on over to our Patreon to support the show! For just $5/month at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, you'll get a new bonus episode every month, access to our Discord, and much more! Don't hesitate! SOURCE: Tesla Universe: "A Story of Youth Told By Age" by Nikola Tesla Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

Now that we have your attention, it's another episode of our Jeopardy! podcast! Googling ourselves leads to some mixed results but there were no mixed results for new champ Harrison Whitaker this week, as he steamrolls the competition on his way to a fantastic week and perhaps superchampdom. Plus, we wonder about his British accent, we dive deep on Queensland, and a contestant gets absolutely brutalized by Ken in the anecdotes. If you wanna get brutalized by more of our content, you can head on over to patreon.com/jeopardypodcast and donate to the show! You'll get a new bonus episode every month, access to our entire back catalogue immediately, and access to our very cool Discord, where we're always talking Jep! (and other stuff). Join today! SOURCE: The Moreton Bay Courier: "The Arrival and Reception of His Excellency Sir George F. Bowen"; Brisbane Times: "Proclamation Day, When Queensland Became a New Colony" by David Gibson; Queensland State Archives: "The Birth of Modern Queensland" Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

That's the type of hard-hitting question we answer on the show this week, as John returns from his one-week layoff to tell tales about visiting Reno, Nevada and Emily buys a hat that prompts said conversation. Emily also narrowly avoids jury duty, we meet a potentially very strong champion in Allegra Kuney, and a Jeopardy! clue has us pondering everything we ever knew about The Flintstones. Plus, we dive deep on Pong. If you want even more of your bold J! questions answered, head on over to patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, where $5/month helps support the show AND gets you a new bonus episode every month, including the most recent, where John trains on a movie board with our friend, comedian Josh Gondelman. Plus, you'll get immediate access to our entire back catalogue AND access to our Discord. Fun! SOURCE: The Week: "Pong at 50: The Video Game That 'Changed the World'" by Julia O'Driscoll; IGN: "Al Alcorn Interview" by Cam Shea Special thank you as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

It’s fun careers week on Jeopardy! John is off licking his World Series wounds, so Emily is joined by Jeopardy! Master & 9-game champion Isaac Hirsch. We discuss Aaron Levine’s run, the history of Martha’s Vineyard, and Isaac’s short-lived career as a fake elevator operator. Jeopardy! fans fume about the one question they’re sick of answering, so we ask some others, like: how many head injuries should you claim on the Alex Trebek stage? Did Bakersfield ever have an apostrophe? And, oh my god, is Diana Nyad a fraud?? If you want to help support the show, consider donating at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, where $5/month gets you access to a new bonus episode every month PLUS access to our entire back catalogue, our Discord, and MORE! Last week, John went back into the dojo to train on a movie board written by our friend Joel Bergen and our other friend, comedian Josh Gondelman, also comes along for the ride. You don't wanna miss it! This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

Apologies for the delay but John was up late watching the Blue Jays game because he is an idiot!!! No idiots on J! this week though, as we watch two very good champions dominate the proceedings over the course of a great 5 days of J! including an EPIC game. Plus, Emily gets fooled by a JFAF headline, we get a Response of the Year candidate from Tom, and we dive deep on the Algonquin Round Table. Want to be part of a brilliant and progressive club yourself? Join our Patreon! For just $5/month at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, you get all of our bonus episodes (including a new one every month), access to our Discord, and more fun stuff! This week, John is back for some training as our friend Joel gives John a movie board to help him out and our friend Josh Gondelman comes along for the ride. You won't wanna miss it! SOURCE: New York Times: "The Algonquin at 75" by Arnold W. Erhlich; "Wit at the Round Table: Was It, Er, Um, Square?" by William Grimes Special thank you as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Art by Max Wittert. Music by Nate Heller.

We are back and we are delirious as John is coming off of a work trip and the fact his Toronto Blue Jays just minutes prior to recording clinched a spot in the World Series. But hey, we have a fun week of one-day champs concluding with Dargan Ware, a guy that you simply have to see. Elsewhere, we get a very charming Jeopardy! anecdote, John very much agrees with what the fans are fuming about this week, and we dive deep on Agatha Christie. Donate to the show! We had Paolo Pasco on a bonus episode last week and he was delightful and charming and made some puzzles for us. Plus, you get immediate access to our entire back catalogue and access to our Discord! Join now: patreon.com/jeopardypodcast SOURCE: The Home of Agatha Christie: "About Agatha Christie"; Irish Times: "Agatha Christie: A Realist Writer Who Created True Literary Magic" by Jan Carson Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

TJ Fisher makes it to the Tournament of Champions and we learn about the duality of Jeopardy! headlines as the US Mirror goes wild over his victory (and defeat). We go wild for this great week of games too as Ken gets a Trebek-like slam on a contestant's anecdote, we go heavy on Wager Talk™, we get a "Name of the Year" candidate, and we dive deep on VeggieTales. Speaking of tales, we spin a few in our brand-new bonus episode out this week as 7-game champ Paolo Pasco joins us for an interview and for the first edition of "Paolo's Puzzle Corner", as he runs Emily and John through some of his famous puzzles. It's only available at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, where $5/month gets you access to all of our bonus episodes, access to our Discord, and lots of other fun stuff. Join today! SOURCE: Yahoo!: "Secret DIY Origins of 'VeggieTales' Success"; DigitalMediaFX.com: "VeggieTales: What's the Big Idea?" by Noell Wolfgram Evans Special thank you always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode was producer by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

The Ghost of Merv Griffin is here and so is the ghost of John and Emily's 30s, as Emily finally hits the big 4-0 and John is soon to follow. We discuss the feeling of getting older, Emily's big birthday bash that was attended by some high-profile J! contestants, and a suspect gift that was given to Emily by one of those very same contestants. Oh, and a week of Jeopardy! happened in where we get a couple Response of the Weeks from the same player in the same category and the Jeopardy! fans fume and fool Emily over a RARE Final Jeopardy! occurrence. Plus, we dive deep on Secretariat. If you want to be a generational talent, you can sign up for our Patreon and help support the show! It's just $5/month for a bunch of additional content, access to our Discord, and more fun stuff! Give it a whirl at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast! SOURCE: Sports Illustrated: "Pure Heart" by William Nack. Special thank you to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

We say goodbye to one great champion last week and welcome another this week as Steven Olson has a great run and comes up with a couple Responses of the Week along the way. We also get some wagering controversy in Friday's game, Ken reflects on his fashion choices during his 74-game run, and we dive deep on Occupy Wall Street. If you want to dive way deeper into our show, help support it at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, where $5/month gets you our entire back catalogue of bonus episodes, access to our Discord, and a new bonus episode every month. Or two, if we are super busy and can't record one in time because we are stupid. SOURCE: The New Yorker: "Pre-Occupied: The Origins and Future of Occupy Wall Street" by Mattathias Schwartz Special thank you as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Art by Max Wittert. Music by Nate Heller.

Obviously if there is a Final Jeopardy! about Borat, we are going to discuss Borat. And we talk about some other stuff this week too, as Paolo Pasco continues his fantastic run all the way to a Tournament of Champions berth, we have a new player in the JFAF game (The National Enquirer!) and a contestant has a reaction to missing a clue that greatly tickles us both. If you want to be tickled by more content, head on over to our Patreon at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast and support the show! You'll get a bunch of bonus episodes, access to our Discord, and more fantastic bonus content on the way. Don't miss out! SOURCE: NPR: "Kazahstan Embassy Responds to Borat" by Phyllis Fletcher and "'Very Nice!': Kazahstan, Outraged No More, Embraces Borat In New Slogan" by Bill Chappell; BBC Culture: "What Kazakhstan Really Thought of Borat" by Yerlan Askarbekov This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. Special thank you to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.

That's right, your very favorite comedy podcast about America's Favorite Quiz Show is BACK for Season 3 of our show and Season 42 of Jeopardy!'s. And we go all the way deep on this one as we reconnect with Jonathan Hugendubler, we meet a few listeners of our show who find success on the J! stage, and the week proves ripe for anecdote and response of the week candidates. Plus, J! fans are fuming over Ken becoming an empty nester and we dive deep on the Spelling Bee. For our patrons, of course, our show never stopped, as we did bonus episodes all summer long over at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, and had a blast doing it. John got a crash course in Broadway from Louis Peitzman, we watched Matt LeBlanc's porno, and we got lots more where that came from. Join today and never miss a new bonus episode PLUS hang out in our Discord with our very cool listeners! SOURCE: The Outline: "When Spellers Became Athletes" by Ann-Derrick Gaillot; The Boston Globe: "At This Year's Spelling Bee, Make Way for Meaning" by Ben Zimmer; New York Times: "Frank Neuhauser, A Speller's Speller" by Margalit Fox This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. Special thank you to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.

The most prestigious night in show business is here, it's the 2nd Annual Jeoppy Awards, presented by What Is...? A Jeopardy! Podcast. All the stars are out as we hand out the coveted awards to the surprise of the season, the Ken's Korner Award for Ken Jenningsism, and of course, the legendary Anecdote and Response of the Year. Plus, we introduce a few new awards, get our first-ever live acceptance speech, and we start the show with a monologue, featuring jokes about this past season of the show, written by professional TV writers! And John. The show will return for Season 42 next week, and our podcast will return for Season 3 on September 16th. Until then, join our Patreon, won't you? It's a great way to support the show and catch up on all the bonus episodes you missed before a new season gets underway. Head on over to patreon.com/jeopardypodcast for all the details! This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. Additional material by Peter Miller.

The most prestigious awards season in television is here, as we kick off the 2025 Jeoppys with an interview with our second-ever Player of the Year, Drew Goins! From a tough loss in his initial game against David Erb to a surprise entry in the Tournament of Champions, we talk to Drew about it all. We learn how he has become friends with Lisa Ann Walter, how he monopolizes the children's section of his local library to prepare for the show, and of course, the Tinder/Grindr thing. Plus, we give Drew the chance to play everyone's favorite WIAJP Game: Jeoparedemption!, where he gets a chance to right some of the wrongs from the Alex Trebek Stage. And of course, we will return later this summer with the rest of the 2025 Jeoppy Awards, but until then, you can subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast. $5/month gets you access to our entire back catalogue of bonus episodes and every new one, including last month when Louis Peitzman and Blocked Party co-host Stefan Heck joined Emily and John to help John prep for the ATS stage himself. And as you know, our first-ever live episode is fast approaching, as we will be watching Matt Leblanc's softcore porno and the only way to get in is to be a patron! So join today! This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

We made it! It's the final week of Season 41 of Jeopardy!, and the first FULL season of WIAJP is in the books with this extra-long episode as Scott Riccardi aims to keep his superchampion streak through the summer break. Can he do it?! We find out here, as we definitely do impressions of Andrew Dice Clay, Scott definitely runs out of anecdotes, and Jeopardy! fans are fuming about the IRONCLAD LAW of the show. Plus, we dive deep on William Randolph Hearst. Please support the show over on our Patreon. It's just $5/month at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast for a bunch of bonus episodes with new ones coming up, access to our Discord, and access to our first-ever Zoom live show in August. We can't wait! Join today! SOURCE: Biography: "William Randolph Hearst"; American Aristocracy: "William Randolph Hearst" Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

It's another huge week for Scott Riccardi on Jeopardy! as he becomes a super-champion and looks to carry his run all the way into Season 42 as we head into the final week of Season 41 gameplay. We have a fun time getting sidetracked on this episode as we discuss Love Island, Emily's stoned journey in Las Vegas becoming a reality, and the show's continued insistence on shoehorning Harry Potter content into so many clues, week after week. But we leave room to discuss the show too, as Scott is stretching for anecdotes, we get a Response of the Year candidate from Dave, and we dive deep on Disneyland. Support the show at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, where $5/month gets you a new bonus episode every month! We have some live play coming up as John tries to brush up on some weak areas in his own J! play, and August will see our first-ever Zoom live episode, which will be a ton of fun and patrons-only. So join today! SOURCE: The Walt Disney Family Museum: "The Genesis of Disneyland" by David Mumford and Bruce Gordon. Special thank you to the Jeopardy! Fan and the J-Archive. This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

It's Scott Riccardi Week on Jeopardy! as the champion goes on a wildly impressive run, winning every game and racking up a very impressive money total. And the games are great too, with some more excellent competitors with even better names lined up to play against Scott. Plus, we get a Jeopardy! poem, a guy who hates music, a Justin Bieber lyric mishap, and we dive deep on the Hope Diamond. If you want to feel as rich as owning the Hope, donate to the show! Head on over to patreon.com/jeopardypodcast and for just $5, get all of our bonus episodes as well as a new one every damn month! This month, John gets his J! prep put to the test with some fresh boards created by hosts and guest hosts of this show, and next month, we have our first-ever live Zoom show planned. You won't wanna miss it! SOURCE: Smithsonian: "The Hope Diamond"; Forbes: "The Secret History of The Hope Diamond: How Pierre Cartier Sold A Cursed Jewel" by Francesca Cartier Brickell Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

That's right, it's the first edition of Jeopardy! Couples Are Fuming, as the claim made by several news outlets that Jason Singer and his wife Susan McMillan were the first married couple to both win on Jeopardy! causes a stir between former players, J! fans, and the news outlets themselves. It's a dramatic week on the Alex Trebek Stage as well, as we tie the one-day champion streak, Jason's expressiveness leads to some wonderful "we feel you" moments, and we dive deep on the calamity that was Bush v. Gore. Speaking of calamities, you can donate to our Patreon and support the show! Just kidding. It's not a calamity. It rules. At patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, you can support us AND get at least one bonus episode every month. Last month, it was TWO as we recapped Masters and did a wonderful interview with Victoria Groce. You'll also get access to our very fun Discord, all of our back catalogue, and more fun stuff, so don't miss out! SOURCE: Vanity Fair: "The Path to Florida" by David Margolick. Special thank you as always to J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

It's a milestone week in Jeopardy! history as a Final Jeopardy! clue asks a contestant about her great aunt, whom she is also named after. It's serendipitous for that one-day champion who shares a theme with every other champion this week: they win one game. Jeopardy! closes in on the longest such streak in the show's history and we continue our streak of being stupid about this show as we discuss a few tricky Finals (and the fans who fume about them), speed stacking, a potential Response of the Year candidate, and we dive deep on Henry Clay Folger. SOURCE: Folger Shakespeare Library: "Our Founders"; Smithsonian Magazine: "How the Soon-to-Reopen Folger Shakespeare Library Came To Be" by Andrea Mays and James L. Swanson. Special thank you as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

Don't worry, we aren't tired of Jeopardy! at all. But we are life-tired as John is still jet-lagged from his trip to Iceland and Emily is shaking off the effects of a long weekend camp reunion. And of course, that means this episode is as chaotic as Thursday's Final Jeopardy! was, as we have tons of bleary-eyed laughs covering a wild week of games and one of the most memorable FJs since we started doing the show. Plus, J! fans are loving Phineas & Ferb, Dan captures our attention with some very funny anecdotes, and we dive deep on the Biltmore estate. If you want to dive deep on our Masters coverage, there's only one way to do it: our Patreon! Head on over to patreon.com/jeopardypodcast to support the show and you'll get last week's episode recapping the entire Masters journey, and this week's episode, our exclusive interview with the Queen herself, Victoria Groce! It's so good and you will not wanna miss it, so join today and support the show! SOURCE: The Biltmore: "Our Story" by Bill Cecil. Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

On this very special John-less episode of WIAJP, Emily is joined once again by writer, podcaster, Jeopardy! fan, and certified good driver Louis Peitzman. We recap a fun week of runaway games and enjoy Matt Massie's 3-game run. Matt, are you listening?? One contestant's anecdote has us saying mazel tov and the fans speculate about Ken's star meter rising. Plus, in lieu of a deep dive, an extremely shallow dive as we dream-cast our favorite Jeopardy! players into various reality tv shows.  You should dream-cast yourself as a patron of our very own podcast! Not only do you get the joy of knowing you're supporting us, but you also get bonus episodes! At patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, with a $5/month donation, you'll get immediate access to our full back catalogue of bonus episodes plus our 2-part Masters recap coming this week and next and featuring an exclusive interview with Victoria Groce. You can't miss it! This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.