What is...? A Jeopardy! Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The 2024 WIAJP Player of the Year: Isaac Hirsch Aug 06, 2024

Show notes

Jeopardy! is off for the summer, but we aren't! At least not yet, as we crown our first-ever Player of the Year, Isaac Hirsch, and sit down for a lengthy chat with the 9-game champion. We ask about everything you've been dying to know, including his Tournament of Champions preparation, his bad math that cost him his 10th win, and how it felt when Ken said he had sex appeal. Plus, we commiserate about our comedy careers and IBS, discuss some of Isaac's more memorable anecdotes, and finally get the answer to the question everyone has been dying to know: how did it feel to become a gay icon? And lastly, everyone's favorite WIAJP game returns: do you remember the questions you got wrong on Jeopardy!?

We will be back at some point in the next few weeks with our Season 40 Awards, and then the show won't return until regular play resumes in the fall. So stay tuned for that and in the meantime, follow the damn show! We are on Instagram at @whatisajeopardypodcast and on Twitter at @jeopardypodcast.

Week of July 22: The Leftovers Jul 30, 2024

Show notes

It's the final week of Season 40 and everyone has Senioritis, including your hosts! It's a strange week of games that sees a couple runs end just when they looked like they were heating up, some weird clues have us a bit confounded, and Ken gets just a little bit horny. It is brat summer, after all. Plus, we discuss WikiFeet, Jeopardy! fans are upset about a Carol Burnett Show Triple Stumper, and we go deep (no pun intended) on the life and times of the Unsinkable One, Molly Brown.

Please follow the show on Instagram at @whatisajeopardypodcast and on Twitter at @jeopardypodcast.

SOURCE: Molly Brown House Museum: "The Many Myths of Molly Brown" by Heather Pressman, National Endowment for the Humanities: "Beyond Unsinkable" by Laura Harbold, and Kansas City Times: "Deeds of Heroism Seemed the Natural Action of 'The Unsinkable Mrs. Brown'" by Gene Fowler.

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.

Week of July 15: The Tournament of Sweeties Jul 23, 2024

Show notes

We don't have too many good ideas on this show, but we may have stumbled upon one this time around, as we demand the J! producers bring back all the contestants we think are the nicest and gentlest to play their own, quiet version of the game without being pestered by all the brash trivia mavens that grace the Alex Trebek Stage. Make it happen, Davies! Plus, Micah Had F, we say goodbye to Isaac Hirsch, J! fans are upset about math, and we dive deep–like way deep, man–on the life and times of Timothy Leary.

Please follow the show on Instagram at @whatisajeopardypodcast and on Twitter at @jeopardypodcast.

SOURCE: Vice: "Timothy Leary Turns 100: America's LSD Messiah, Remembered by Those Who Knew Him" by Ed Prideaux, and Wired: "Timothy Leary's Transformation From Scientist to Psychedelic Celebrity" by Greg Miller.

Special thank you to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.

This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

Week of July 8: Three Kinds of Joshes Jul 16, 2024

Show notes

Which kind of Josh are you? It's the question on everyone's mind this week as John records in a foreign land (his parents' basement) and we see another man added to the Tournament of Champions invite list as Isaac Hirsch punches his ticket with another delightful week of play. Isaac also continues his great run of anecdotes and we get a surprise contender for "Anecdote of the Season" when Stephanie describes her unfortunate run-in with glow sticks. Plus, Emily has a unique week ahead at work due to being close to an adult toy trade show, we dive deep on the tales of Sinbad the Sailor, and Jeopardy! has a major scoring correction moment that leaves John and Emily dizzy with excitement.

Please follow the show on Instagram at @whatisajeopardypodcast and on Twitter at @jeopardypodcast.

SOURCE: Britannica: "Sindbad the Sailor", and Library of Congress: "The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor" by Anchi Hoh.

Special thank you to J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.

This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

Week of July 1: Turns Out, Karma Isn't Real Jul 09, 2024

Show notes

Isaac Hirsch tempted fate with a Wednesday anecdote about his Jeopardy!-losing father, but it mattered not, as he rattled off three straight wins and has the look of a potential ToC entrant, leisure suit and all. It was a fun week on the show as Emily wonders if Canada Day is real and John is furious when the contestants treat a Canadian category like it isn't. We also get one of the responses of the year in a French slang category, Parade Magazine enters the fray in the J! Fans Are Fuming segment, and we dive deep on the "Most Beautiful Woman Slayer", Beulah Annan.

Please follow the show on Instagram at @whatisajeopardypodcast and on Twitter at @jeopardypodcast.

SOURCE: Chicago History Museum: "True Crime in the '20s: The Beulah Annan Story" by Jojo Galvin, and Chicago History Magazine: "Jailhouse Makeovers" by Douglas Perry.

Special thank you to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.

This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. Additional content by Chris Thayer.

Week of June 24: Not Just the Name of a Cake Jul 02, 2024

Show notes

It's a full week of Drew Basile on the podcast, as he wins his way into the Tournament of Champions, finds himself exhausted on Friday and his streak ends at 7 days. But what a week it was, and we run it all down here, from Jeopardy! clue writers picking a hilarious category name to John learning that Duncan Hines was a guy who did some other stuff also. Plus, J! fans are upset and just a little bit pedantic about a clue, we hear a perfect Jeopardy! anecdote, and we dive deep on the legend of Colonel Harland Sanders.

Please follow the show on Instagram at @whatisajeopardypodcast and on Twitter at @jeopardypodcast. And if you like the show...tell a friend!

SOURCE: The New Yorker: "Kentucky-Fried" by William Whitworth.

Special thank you to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.

This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

Week of June 17: John Meets Fred Durst Jun 25, 2024

Show notes

John is BACK from his European vacation where he gets revenge on Katie and Emily making fun of him by actually meeting Limp Bizkit's lead singer Fred Durst, and having a lovely time seeing them in Belfast. We go super long on this one as the week has so much to offer, from the end of Adriana Harmeyer's run to a potential new streak as Drew Basile stacks up three wins. One of those wins? It's in a TIEBREAKER, folks. What a week! Plus, John finds some commonality with one of Drew's anecdotes, Emily finds some more J! fans FUMING over the use of new slang, and we go deep on Wagner's Ring Cycle.

Please follow the show on Instagram at @whatisajeopardypodcast and on Twitter at @jeopardypodcast.

SOURCE: Music History Monday: "The Miracle at Bayreuth" by Robert Greenberg.

Special thank you to The Jeopardy! Fan and the J-Archive.

This episode is produced by Rob Pera. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

Week of June 10: TMI? w/ Louis Peitzman Jun 18, 2024

Show notes

Surprise! In more ways than one. With John still away on vacation, writer, editor, Jeopardy! fan, Ken Jennings twitter mutual, and friend of the pod Louis Peitzman is formally invited to guest co-host the show. We recap another week of Harmeyer dominance, only slightly overshadowed by the best anecdote of the season. All my IBS girlies, rise up! Plus, famous fingers and nipples get discussed. And we were so busy incepting ourselves into the JFAF segment that we didn't even notice a huge change to our favorite show!

Special thanks to J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan for the data.

This episode is produced by Producer Rob. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

Week of June 3: Kippers on a Limp Bizkit w/ Katie Nolan Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

While John's away for not at all embarrassing reasons, Celebrity Jeopardy! finalist Katie Nolan steps in to fill his shoes. We hear some juicy BTS gossip about her time on the Alex Trebek stage, before celebrating the (so far) unstoppable force that is Adriana Harmeyer. Some absolute cuties got fed into the Adriana wood chipper this week, and we try to give them their due. Emily did some killing this week, and not in the comedy way. And did you know you can negotiate with your dentist? Katie tells you how! Plus: what *is* chili? And where *is* Detroit? Special Hot Dog Correspondent Jamie Loftus helps us out via text to set the Jeopardy! fans at ease.

Special thanks to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.

This episode is produced by Producer Rob. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

Week of May 27: It's Awesome to Have a Potato Jun 04, 2024

Show notes

We're back to our regularly scheduled programming with our weekly recaps and the season of the just-shy-of-five-day champions continues, as we wave goodbye to 4-day champ Amar Kakirde and say hello to current 3-day champion Adriana Harmeyer. It's a very fun week on the show as Emily forgets to provide an anecdote so John gets to freelance, Jeopardy fans (and John!) are fuming about the attribution of a song, and we learn a bunch about Magellan's death at the hands of Lapulapu.

Please follow the show on Instagram at @whatisajeopardypodcast and on Twitter at @jeopardypodcast.

SOURCE: History Extra: "Dire Straits: The Story of Ferdinand Magellan's Fatal Voyage of Discovery" by Pat Kinsella.

Special thank you to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.

This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

What is…? A Jeopardy! Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected