THE NEWS OF THE DAY CAN BE TOUGH.

BUT FOR 26 YEARS, PETER SALE HAS BEEN MAKING IT FUN FOR AUDIENCES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

AS HOST OF NPR'S WEEKLY RADIO SHOW.

WAIT, WAIT.

DON'T TELL ME.

THIS WEEK HE'S OFFERING FANS A LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN SHARING TAKEAWAYS FROM HIS MEMORABLE JOURNEY.

JOINING US NOW IS WRITER AND HOST OF NPR'S WAIT, WAIT, DON'T TELL ME, PETER SAGAN.

WELCOME BACK.

GOOD TO SEE.

IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE BACK.

THANKS FOR JOINING CHANGE.

THE PLACE A LITTLE BIT OF REDECORATING.

WHAT HAPPENED?

ALL THE TRASH TO CHICAGO SOME PEOPLE ARE VERY SAD ABOUT THE CHILD OK, WELL, I'LL TELL YOU ABOUT AND SCHOOL I MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE A COUPLE OF THEM IN MY LET'S TALK ABOUT YOU.

YES, PLEASE.

HOW DID HAD TO WAIT?

WAIT, DON'T TELL ME.

COME TO BE IN FRONT OF A LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE.

CAME TO BE IN FRONT OF A LIVE STUDIO BECAUSE IT WAS SUCH A STUPID THING NOT TO DO IT IN FRONT A LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE THAT EVEN WE EVENTUALLY FIGURE THAT SHOWS LAUNCHED.

AS YOU SAID, 26 YEARS AGO, WHICH IS INCREDIBLE.

I LOOKED PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS THEY DO NOW IN WBZ IN THEIR STUDIOS.

AND THE NOTION WAS, YOU KNOW, WE DO IT AND REMOTELY THIS WAS SORT OF IF YOU WILL.

AND THE IDEA WAS, I WOULD BE AS THE HOST IN CHICAGO OR PANELS, PAULA POUNDSTONE IN LOS ANGELES AT INFO NEW YORK.

ROY BLOUNT JUNIOR, WHEREVER YOU WANT.

HERE'S THE THING.

IF YOU HAVE PEOPLE IN FRONT OF YOU LIKE AUDIENCE MEMBERS JUST.

AND YOU SAY SOMETHING FUNNY.

THEY MIGHT LAUGH.

AND IF THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO MIGHT LAUGH, THEN THE COMEDIAN'S MYSELF MIGHT ACTUALLY TRY HARDER TO BE FUNNY.

IT'S AN INCENTIVE SYSTEM.

SO EVENTUALLY WE FIGURE THAT OUT AND STARTED DOING IT LIVE EVERY WEEK, STARTING BELIEVE IN EARLY 2005 AND I GOT TO TELL YOU, WHEN WE HAD TO GO BACK DURING THE ZOOM, IT WAS TERRIBLE.

IT WAS LIKE HAVING 2 MOVE BACK INTO YOUR CHILDHOOD HOME AFTER LIFETIMES THINKING YOU'RE GETTING AWAY AND IT STILL WAS KIND OF, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T I DIDN'T WANT THE POWER RANGERS POSTERS ANYMORE GOING BEYOND THAT.

WELL, WE I THINK WE ALL MOVED MOVED ON.

BUT AS WE ALL GREW INTO DIFFERENT PEOPLE.

SO LISTEN TO THE SHOW, OBVIOUSLY.

EVERYONE IS QUICK AND FUNNY AND WITTY AND YOU REALLY HAVE TO KIND OF BE ON YOUR TOES KEEP UP WITH YOUR TITLE EVERY JOKE.

YES.

DO YOU MEAN OBVIOUSLY YOU PREPARE FOR THE SHOW ALL WEEK JUST AS EVERYBODY DOES, BUT HOW OFTEN, YOU KNOW, GET LIVE RADIO.

YOU'VE GOT FUNNY PEOPLE OVER HERE AND YOU'VE GOT PANNELL IS CALLING IT AND YOU JUST KIND OF ABANDONED SCRIPT ALL THE TIME.

ABSOLUTELY.

ALL THE TIME RECOMMENDED BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, YOU SO MY MY MY COLLEAGUES AND I WITH WHOM I WORK, WE PREPARE A SCRIPT RESEARCH STORIES AND FIND SO YOUR STORIES IN THE NEWS.

WE THINK ABOUT THEM TO MAKE JOKES ABOUT THEM.

WE TRY THEM OUT VERY LATEST 5.

AND SO WHEN I GO IN FRONT OF THE WHENEVER THANK GOT TO LIKE, RIGHT.

MEAN, I WAS ABOUT TO SAY I AM TERRIBLE ON LIVE TV.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE.

GOD KNOWS WHAT IS GOING TO COME OUT OF THE SOUTH WITH THE POINT OF THE STORIES THAT WILL BE TAPER SHOWS GOT THAT SCRIPT.

BUT YOU'RE RIGHT.

WE'VE GOT THESE PANELISTS.

THEY'RE NOT.

THAT'S NOTS.

AND SO THERE EVEN IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE DRIES, LIKE PREPARING ON A ROAD TRIP AND YOU'VE MAPPED OUT THE DESTINATION AND THEN YOU DECIDE TO SHARE THE WHEEL WITH FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHERE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE GOING AND THEY'RE NOT LOOKING AT THE MAP.

NO, THEY'RE NOT.

AND SO THEY ALL OF A SUDDEN GO LEFT SAYING INTO A DITCH WHICH IS MORE LIKELY THAN GOING RIGHT.

THIS IS NPR.

CHANCES ARE I'M MY JOB IS JUST TO GO WITH THEM BECAUSE POTENTIAL OUT OF THE CAR AND THAT THAT WAS REALLY AN EXTENDED METAPHOR, WASN'T IT?

IT WAS OKAY.

IF IT DOESN'T, WE CAN JUST EDITED OUT IN POST, RIGHT?

EXACTLY.

AND THEN THE PEOPLE WHO WILL NEVER SEE IT AND TAKE WILL NEVER KNOW ABOUT IT.

BUT THE POINT OF THE STORY IS YES.

AND I THINK PART OF OUR SHOWS APPEAL IN AN ERA WHERE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING REALLY, REALLY WELL LIKE JOHN OLIVER AND STEPHEN COLBERT AND THE LATE NIGHT HOST.

ALL THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE DOING AMAZINGLY WONDERFULLY PRODUCED SHARP COMEDY AND SATIRE.

WE'RE JUST KIND OF MAKING IT UP AS WE GO ALONG ULTIMATELY.

AND AND THAT HAS SOME APPEAL AS LONG AS YOU CAN EDIT OF THE DUMB STUFF, WHICH IS WHAT WE DON'T DO A LOT THAT SHOWS A NEWS FEWER AND FEWER PEOPLE ARE CONSUMING NEWS.

WE OUGHT TO KNOW BUT WHERE WE'RE WORKING ON THAT, HOW DO YOU KEEP THE NEWS FUN?

INTERESTING IN THIS DAY AND AGE OF.

WELL, I SEE IT FAKE NEWS.

I KNOW.

WELL, WE CAUGHT WE KIND OF HAVE A NEW WE KIND OF IGNORE FOR THE MOST PART, ALL THE MAJOR NEWS, THE DEPRESSING STUFF, THE SERIOUS STUFF AND JUST DO THE FRONT PRETTY WHAT WE COVER FOR ARTS AND YOU ELIMINATIONS PROCESS OF EXTRA TORY.

THINK IT'S A VERY WELL, NO, I WE NUMBER THAT YES, BASICALLY ANY BODILY FLUID.

THAT'S IT'S GETTING A LITTLE GROSS.

KNOW WHAT PEOPLE LIKE ABOUT US IS AND TO BE SERIOUS FOR A MINUTE IS IS WHERE THE NEWS THAT WON'T DEPRESS.

YOU WERE THE NEWS THAT WILL AMUSE YOU.

WE ARE THE NEWS THAT MIGHT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW.

MAKE YOU WONDER ABOUT THE VAST BREATH OF THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

AND WHEN WE DO TALK ABOUT THE SERIOUS NEWS, WHICH WE DO, I MEAN, WE'LL BE TALKING, FOR EXAMPLE, ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW ABOUT THE PARENT DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE KAMALA WHEN WE DO TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE THAT, WHAT OUR MOTTO IS, WE SAY THE THINGS ON THE RADIO THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE REDUCED TO SHOUTING THE RADIO.

SO IF YOU'RE WONDERFUL REPORTERS, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU JUST HAD ON THE SHOW, PROBABLY THINK THINGS BUT CANNOT SAY THINGS BECAUSE THEY'RE SERIOUS REPORTERS.

WE ARE YOU CAN THEY AND I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE APPEAL AS WELL.

THAT WERE SORT OF THE LEAST ID LOOKS LIKE LIKE AN ANGRY TRANSIT.

NO, AND WE WOULD WAY.

IN FACT, I'M THINKING LIKE OF MOVIE INSIDE OUT RIGHT NOW WITH THE HELP WHICH I, THE WAY, I WAS IN A CAMEO IN THE BUT IF YOU THINK LIKE IF IF NPR THE BRAIN AND I WAS LIKE, IT'S ANGER.

IT WOULD LOOK LIKE ME, DON'T YOU THINK KIND OF GET IT KIND PR ZANGERLE INVOLVED.

THAT'S BASICALLY THAT THE TOTAL GET TRACKS THAT, YEAH, I GET IT.

SO YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE BEEN SOME CONVERSATIONS A CONVERSATION IN PARTICULAR IN CHICAGO THIS WEEK.

YOU'VE GOT A FEW OTHERS AROUND.

I'VE BEEN I'VE BEEN GOING AROUND THE COUNTRY.

IT COULD BE AFTER AT THE TIME I THOUGHT OF THIS.

25 YEARS A QUARTER CENTURY OF DOING THIS JOB, WHICH BY THE WAY, I NEVER EXPECTED TO DO BE CAREFUL.

YOU MAY NEVER LEAVE THAT CHAIR.

I DISCOVERED THAT I'VE WATCHING THE WORLD TO THIS VERY STRANGE LANDS AND I MIGHT HAVE PICKED UP SOME STUFF ALONG THE WAY BECAUSE I'VE GOT PERSPECTIVE, RIGHT.

SO I'M TRYING TO USE THAT PERSPECTIVE AND COMING UP WITH SORT OF FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, WORDS OF WISDOM OR AT USING OBSERVATION ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT I'VE SEEN.

AND I HAVE TERRIFYINGLY SEEN A LOT.

WE STARTED WITH THE BILL CLINTON'S WHISKEY SCANDAL NEED TO WE NEED A BETTER NAME FOR THAT.

IT REALLY WASN'T HER FAULT, IT WASN'T AT FAULT.

BUT THAT SCANDAL, THAT'S WHEN WE STARTED.

AND, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE WHO WERE BORN AFTER THAT, WHO ARE ADULTS AND DRINKING ADULT BEVERAGES AND PAYING RENT.

I MEAN, WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR A WHILE.

DON'T KNOW WHO THOSE CHILDREN ARE.

YOU KNOW?

YEAH, OKAY.

WE CAN COME BACK TO SO WEAK YOU.

TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT HOSTING THE SHOW SINCE IT WAS CREATED.

26 YEARS AGO YOU WEREN'T QUITE SURE OR NOT, WE'RE QUITE SURE.

BUT DID YOU EVER SUSPECT IT WOULD LAST THIS LONG?

NEVER FOR A MINUTE.

I HAD A LOT OF WHEN I WAS A YOUNG PERSON IS AND PEOPLE TEND TO DO A PLAYWRIGHT AND SCREENWRITER SITES IMAGINING IT WOULD BE THE FIRST PERSON TO WIN, NOT JUST THE OSCAR EMMY, TONY AND GRAMMY, BUT ALSO A NOBEL.

I'D BE THE TO BE THE NEED.

GOT RIGHT?

THAT WAS AMBITION.

WHEN I WAS A OR EVEN OLDER THAN A KID.

AND WHEN THIS WONDERFUL JOB AT NPR, WHICH I KNOW IS LOVED AND HERE WAS A FOR MANY, MANY YEARS CAME UP.

I SEE MOST OF NICE LITTLE STOP AND THEN CONTINUE TO MOVE ON.

GET TO ONE OF THOSE LETTERS AND INSTEAD HERE, WHICH SOMETIMES IS A LITTLE STRANGE AND SURPRISING.

BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S BEEN GRATIFYING OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS IS BECAUSE WE DOING IT SO LONG.

THOSE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO I MENTIONED, THEY GREW UP WITH US.

I'VE BEEN A PART OF THEIR LIVES, WHICH IS FLATTERING.

SOMETIMES BEEN A PART OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS.

A LOT OF WOMEN IN THEIR 20'S BRING THEIR DAD WHO'S IN THEIR 60'S.

AND HE SAYS, WELL, WE STILL LISTEN TO THIS ONE.

WE WANT TO SOCCER PRACTICE.

IT WAS A BONDING THING.

AND NOW I'M TAKING HIM HERE AND THAT'S FABULOUS.

SO I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD EVER BE A PUBLIC RADIO INSTITUTION.

YET.

THAT'S WHAT THE DOOR.

THAT'S WHAT IT I ADDRESSED OR PUBLIC LIKE PUBLIC MONEY WAS USED DURING PUBLIC RADIO INSTITUTION RADIO INSTITUTION, EVERYBODY.

PETER YES, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING IT'S A REAL TREAT TO