PETER SAGAL, HOST:
Now on to our final game, Lightning Fill In The Blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which to answer as many fill-in-the-blank questions as they can. Each correct answer now worth two points. Bill, can you give us the scores?
BILL KURTIS: I sure can. Rox has two. Negin has two. Mo has three.
SAGAL: Oh, my gosh - very good. All right, Rox and Negin are tied for second. And I'm going to arbitrarily choose you, Roxanne, to go first.
All right. You're up first, Roxanne. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court said that blank must give his tax records to New York prosecutors.
ROXANNE ROBERTS: President Trump.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Tuesday, Facebook announced they were banning all accounts associated with conspiracy theorist group blank from their platform.
ROBERTS: Q-Anon.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged with killing blank, was released on bail.
ROBERTS: George Floyd.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, a CNN reporter's confrontation with blank at the White House went viral.
ROBERTS: The raccoon.
SAGAL: An angry raccoon.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Thanks to a hiring slowdown, blank claims this week were worse than expected.
ROBERTS: Job numbers.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Known as one of the greatest rock ’n’ roll guitarists of all time, blank passed away at the age of 65.
ROBERTS: Eddie Van Halen.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, British lexicographer...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...Susie Dent had to apologize after her new book, "Word Perfect," was blank.
ROBERTS: Had all sorts of typos.
SAGAL: Exactly right, Roxanne.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Susie Dent, who also happens to be the honorary vice president of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading...
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: ...Says that the errors were the result of her publisher using an early draft of the manuscript. She promised a reprint would be error-free, or her name isn't Sushi Damp (ph).
ROBERTS: (Laughter).
MO ROCCA: I'd like to think that she spelled word W-E-R-D - werd.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Bill, how did Roxanne do on our quiz?
KURTIS: She's off to an early start. Roxanne, seven right, 14 more points. She now has a total of 16 and the lead.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)
SAGAL: All right, Negin, you're up next. Fill in the blank. On Tuesday, President Trump said he was suspending blank talks until after Election Day.
NEGIN FARSAD: COVID relief.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Thursday, President Trump announced he was un-suspending blank talks before Election Day.
FARSAD: (Laughter) COVID relief.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, two members of blank were charged for their involvement in the murder of journalist James Foley.
FARSAD: ISIS.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Wednesday, blank said it would block all political ads through Election Day.
FARSAD: Facebook.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, a former employee of Texas Public Libraries was charged with stealing $1.3 million worth of blank.
FARSAD: Binder clips.
SAGAL: So close - printer toner. On Wednesday, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna became the first woman to share the blank prize for chemistry.
FARSAD: Nobel.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: May the sexiest candidate win.
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: This week saw the release of 2020's hottest Halloween costume, the sexy blank.
FARSAD: COVID virus.
SAGAL: No, the sexy mail-in ballot. From Yandy, America's leader in making inanimate objects slutty, comes the sexy mail-in ballot costume. Technically, it's a sexy mail-in ballot envelope - a white pull-on tube dress with two strategically placed I voted stickers, proving that, despite what The Washington Post might say, democracy also gets a little freaky in darkness.
FARSAD: (Laughter).
SAGAL: Bill, how did Negin do on our quiz?
KURTIS: Well, she got five right, 10 more points. She now has 12, but Roxanne still has the lead with 16.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)
SAGAL: All right. And how many, Bill, does Mo need to win?
KURTIS: Seven. Count them, seven.
SAGAL: Here you go, Mo. This is for the game. Fill in the blank. On Thursday, the FBI said they'd thwarted an attempt to kidnap the governor of blank.
ROCCA: Michigan.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Tuesday, it was reported that the amount of early blanking had already broken records.
ROCCA: Voting.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, the FDA released their official standards for a blank vaccine.
ROCCA: Coronavirus.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Monday, Justices Alito and Thomas criticized the Supreme Court decision that legalized blank.
ROCCA: Same-sex marriage.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Monday, the CDC revised guidelines to confirm that coronavirus spreads through blank transmission.
ROCCA: Airborne.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...Scientists announced they'd found a cure for tinnitus. To stop the ringing in your ears, you just need to blank.
ROCCA: Oh, and I have it. It's really bad. You have to meditate. If you meditate...
SAGAL: No. No, Mo, you just need to give your tongue electric shocks.
ROCCA: OK.
SAGAL: Tinnitus is a chronic ringing in your ears. It affects 15% of humans and 100% of Kamala Harrises trying to debate Mike Pence. Fortunately, doctors say that targeted electric shocks to your tongue can cure the condition for over a year. Now they just need to find a cure for chronic buzzing tongue, and we'll be set. Bill, how did Mo do on our quiz?
KURTIS: He did five right, 10 more points. That gives him a total of 13. But with 16, Roxanne is this week's champion.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)
SAGAL: Congratulations, Roxanne.
ROBERTS: Yay. Victory. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.