Peter Sagal
A native of Berkeley Heights, N.J., Peter Sagal attended Harvard University and subsequently squandered that education while working as a literary manager for a regional theater, a movie publicist, a stage director, an actor, an extra in a Michael Jackson video, a travel writer, an essayist, a ghost writer for a former adult film impresario and a staff writer for a motorcycle magazine.
He is the author of numerous plays that have been performed in large and small theaters around the country and abroad, including Long Wharf Theater, Actors Theater of Louisville, Seattle Repertory, and Florida Stage. He has also written a number of screenplays, including Savage, a cheesy vehicle for obscure French kickboxer Olivier Gruner, and Cuba Mine, an original screenplay that became, without his knowledge, the basis for Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.
Among Sagal's honors in the theater are a DramaLogue award for directing, grants from the Jerome and McKnight Foundations and a residency grant at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France. He has been commissioned to write new plays by the Seattle Repertory Theater and the Wind Dancer Theater and has been invited to work on his plays at Sundance, the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and the New Harmony Project.
In 1997, Peter joined the panel of a new news quiz show on NPR, co-produced by WBEZ-Chicago, that made its debut on-air in January of 1998. In May of that year, he moved to Chicago to become the host of the show. Since then, Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! has become one of the most popular shows on public radio, heard by nearly three million listeners on 520 public radio stations nationwide, and heard by a million people every month via podcast.
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In the 16 years they worked together, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! host Peter Sagal can't remember the longtime NPR newscaster having a sharp word for anyone. Ever. Kasell died Tuesday at age 84. -
For this week's Sandwich Monday, we introduce our non-Jewish colleagues to the wonders of the Passover lunch. Manischewitz rules this meal. -
For this week's Sandwich Monday, we try the YUMBO. It's a Burger King sandwich with ham and cheese recently pulled out of retirement. -
For this week's Sandwich Monday, we make our own holiday turkey — out of hot dogs. -
For this week's Sandwich Monday, we try the Pizza Cake, which is a fancy way of saying "a bunch of pizzas stacked on top of each other." -
For this week's Sandwich Monday, our non-Jewish colleagues get an introduction to the wonders of the Passover lunch. Manischewitz rules this meal. -
For this week's Sandwich Monday, we try a dish that combines the magic of poutine with the magic of a brown bag lunch you ate a lot in second grade.
