OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:
Our next game is about fictional drugs like runner's high.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: We're going to get a lot of mean mail...
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EISENBERG: ...From marathoners. This audio quiz is called Side Effects May Include, and the points are doubled. We produce drug commercials for fictional mind- and body-altering substances from books, television and film. Ring in, and identify the source material. Here's your first ad. What book is this from?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Whether you're an alpha, beta or gamma, social anxiety touches everyone in a genetically modified society. Ask your doctor about soma. It relieves stress so you can relax and have government-controlled sexual relations. Side effects include escapism, conformity, dystopia, rhyming words with Porgy and unbridled worship of a Model T Ford.
EISENBERG: OK, does anyone - all right, all right. That's OK - good way to start.
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EISENBERG: "Brave New World" is what we were looking for.
SARAH FAVINGER: OK.
EISENBERG: OK. Everyone feels weird right now. That's fine.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: Let's hear your next ad.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Is your journey home after a 10-year war and the fall of Troy feeling a little too epic? Does everyone think you're dead? Try lotus flowers. Side effects may include amnesia, apathy, lotus flower addiction, uncontrollable weeping, speaking in dactylic hexameter.
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EISENBERG: Sarah.
FAVINGER: The "Odyssey."
EISENBERG: The "Odyssey" is correct.
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EISENBERG: This next drug is from a television show.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Keeping up with the cascade of cliffhangers and red herrings in a CW teen drama is a lot. Fortunately, there's Jingle Jangle. Side effects may include bloodlust, heightened thirst for violence, associating with people named Sugarman and being drawn to a hunky redhead.
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EISENBERG: Tatyana.
TATYANA VEGA: "Riverdale."
EISENBERG: That is correct, yeah.
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EISENBERG: This drug is from a movie.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Sick of looking in the mirror and seeing just an average bad guy? Get into supervillainy fast. It's easy to terrify Gotham with Scarecrow's fear toxin. Side effects may include chaos, rioting in the streets, seeing bats when there are no bats and convoluted villainy.
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EISENBERG: Tatyana.
VEGA: "Batman."
EISENBERG: Can you be more specific?
VEGA: "The Dark Knight."
EISENBERG: That's not the one we were looking for. Sarah, can you steal?
FAVINGER: "Batman Begins."
EISENBERG: Yeah, that's the one we were looking for.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: You guys kind of worked together on that one. This is your last clue.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Forgot to eat before hopping on a boat for a really messed-up chocolate factory cruise? Pop a piece of three-course dinner chewing gum. May cause body to balloon and turn violet. If blueberry juice inflation lasts longer than four hours, consult your local oompa loompa.
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EISENBERG: Tatyana.
VEGA: "Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory."
EISENBERG: That's right.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Turns out after two games, Sarah is going to our final round.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Coming up, we have comedian Michael Ian Black. He rose to prominence on MTV, which puts him in the esteemed company of Puck, Tila Tequila and Johnny Bananas.
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EISENBERG: Oh, yeah, back then, MTV didn't have staff meetings - more staph infections.
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EISENBERG: I'm Ophira Eisenberg, and this is ASK ME ANOTHER from NPR.
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