OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:
Let's meet our next two contestants. Alex Whittenberg, you work on the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular show.
ALEX WHITTENBERG: That is correct.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Did you also want to be Indiana Jones growing up, like me?
WHITTENBERG: Well, you know, it's funny. I would watch that show as a kid. I came to Disney a lot as a kid. And I was always more interested in sort of being in the production team than "Indiana Jones." So I think I might be the one kid out in the audience that was always watching, you know, everything happening...
EISENBERG: All the different moving parts.
WHITTENBERG: ...Behind "Indiana Jones." Right, exactly.
EISENBERG: Yeah. So when you got that job, what is the most surprising thing about putting that together?
WHITTENBERG: I think just trying to get used to the fact of rolling a 400-pound boulder up a Mayan temple ramp every morning was kind of...
EISENBERG: Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITTENBERG: You know, it was unique.
EISENBERG: That seems like something you want to make sure you have a couple of coffees in you, - that you're...
WHITTENBERG: Absolutely.
EISENBERG: Has it ever just rolled down at the wrong time?
WHITTENBERG: Well, knock on wood, not yet.
EISENBERG: No. Good, excellent. Do you get tired of the tourists at some point working in a theme park?
WHITTENBERG: I don't interact with the guests directly on a daily basis. But for the most part, it's - they're why they're there. So it keeps us going, you know? Gives us energy.
EISENBERG: Got it. You will keep your job another day, my friend.
WHITTENBERG: Right on.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: (Laughter) Sean Rice, you're an engineer for Walt Disney World.
SEAN RICE: Yes.
EISENBERG: Interesting.
(APPLAUSE)
RICE: Yep.
EISENBERG: What are you working on?
RICE: So I'm an industrial engineer at Walt Disney World...
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Yeah.
RICE: ...Which for any other engineers means I don't really do engineering work.
(LAUGHTER)
RICE: It's more like statistical analysis - that sort of thing - so getting people through lines quicker, making processes better.
EISENBERG: Oh, that's great. That's like human engineering.
RICE: Yeah.
EISENBERG: OK.
RICE: That's exactly what it is.
EISENBERG: And you consider yourself, I quote, "a realistic optimist."
RICE: (Laughter) Yep.
EISENBERG: OK.
(LAUGHTER)
RICE: Yep. I was...
EISENBERG: So how - the point of view of a realistic optimist, how do you think you're going to do in this game?
RICE: I will win.
(LAUGHTER)
RICE: But...
(LAUGHTER)
RICE: That's one of those - that's one that works both ways.
EISENBERG: (Laughter) I like it. I like it.
JONATHAN COULTON: (Laughter) No offense, Sean, but that sounds just like a regular optimist.
EISENBERG: Right, exactly.
RICE: Yeah, right.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: I know. Where's the realistic part?
COULTON: I don't get the realism part of that.
RICE: Yeah, well, we're all winners, right?
COULTON: There we go. There we go.
EISENBERG: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: I was raised - I'm older than you. I was raised with failure.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: Well, you're going to love this game because your game is called Fantasy Sports. We're going to ask you to identify sports franchises that share their names with things found in fantasy literature. So let's go to our puzzle guru, Art Chung, for an example.
ART CHUNG, BYLINE: So if I said this Florida basketball team is named for the supernatural art studied at Hogwarts, you would say, of course, the Orlando Magic.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: And because of this is public radio and sports are hard...
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: ...If you only know the fantasy word, we will give you the points.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: You can also give us the place where the team plays, but it is not mandatory. OK. Here we go. These enormous creatures won three World Series in five years, but they had to climb down a beanstalk to do it.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL RINGING)
EISENBERG: Sean.
RICE: The Giants?
EISENBERG: (Laughter) Yes, that is correct.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Correct. Do you know the place?
RICE: San Francisco?
EISENBERG: Yeah, there you - see?
RICE: I didn't want to risk it.
EISENBERG: Oh, wow.
RICE: Well, there's a New York Giants, too. I...
EISENBERG: Sure, it's all good.
RICE: Yes.
EISENBERG: Yep.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: Cronus and Hyperion were among these parents of the Greek gods, which would make them excellent lineman for the Volunteer State's football team.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL RINGING)
EISENBERG: Sean.
RICE: The Tennessee Titans.
EISENBERG: Yeah, that's right.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Gandalf the Grey, the Great and Powerful Oz and Merlin might all be found levitating to a 30-inch vertical on this D.C. team.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL RINGING)
EISENBERG: Alex.
WHITTENBERG: The Wizards?
EISENBERG: The Wizards is correct.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Do you know the place?
WHITTENBERG: I can't say I do.
EISENBERG: That's fine. I did say this D.C. team.
WHITTENBERG: Oh, there we go - D.C.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: This Newark hockey team has been the perpetual villain from "Paradise Lost" to "Rosemary's Baby." At least their pointy tales and pitchforks don't impede them from skating.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL RINGING)
EISENBERG: Alex.
WHITTENBERG: The Devils.
EISENBERG: The Devils is correct.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Johnny Depp lead these scallywags out of the Caribbean Sea and down the Allegheny River to play baseball in Western Pennsylvania.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL RINGING)
EISENBERG: Sean.
RICE: The Pittsburgh Pirates.
EISENBERG: Yeah, that's right.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: In Dungeons and Dragons, the fighter and paladin are part of this physical combat base class that also shoots hoops in California.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL RINGING)
EISENBERG: Sean.
RICE: The Warriors?
EISENBERG: The Warriors - yes, exactly.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Minnesota nice doesn't apply to these seaborne marauders who don't just tackle their opponents, but also burn down their villages for the glory of Odin.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL RINGING)
EISENBERG: Sean.
RICE: Minnesota Vikings.
EISENBERG: Yeah, that's right.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: This is your last clue. Aragorn, Arthur, Joffrey and Mufasa are starters for this Southern California hockey team.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL RINGING)
EISENBERG: Alex.
WHITTENBERG: The Kings.
EISENBERG: The Kings is correct - the LA Kings. That is right.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Excellent game. Puzzle guru Art Chung, how did they do?
CHUNG: Congratulations, Sean, you're moving on to the final round at the end of the show.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Coming up, we'll talk to two NASA scientists about how they're planning on faking the Mars landing.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: I'm Ophira Eisenberg, and you're listening to ASK ME ANOTHER from NPR.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUPERSONIC ROCKET SHIP")
THE KINKS: Let me take you on a little trip. My supersonic ship's at your disposal if you feel so inclined. My supersonic rocket ship.
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