00:00Now it's a sit down with Ken Jennings. Hi, Ken!
00:03We can't wait. A new season of Jeopardy! Masters starts August 25th.
00:07What can we expect?
00:08You're going to see the most daring wagers.
00:11You're going to see the most obscure fact.
00:13You know, the hottest brains in America.
00:16And, you know, and it's Jeopardy! It's wholesome. It's comfort food.
00:20We love when we get to hear a bit from each contestant.
00:23So, Ken, what's your advice for the perfect anecdote?
00:26That a good Jeopardy! anecdote is a little bit like a Mad Lib.
00:29Something like, you know, it says here that you have, even though you're in your 30s, you own two tricycles
00:36and they're both orange.
00:38You know, like, on paper, that's kind of a boring story.
00:42Somebody has two orange tricycles, but when you think about it on Jeopardy! that's kind of the perfect thing.
00:45What's the most embarrassing anecdote you gave during your run as a contestant?
00:50I didn't feel like I had a great story in game number three, much less game number 73.
00:55So, a lot of my stories are, and I've confessed this before, not 100% true.
01:01It's just, you know, something that you and Alex can chat about for 25 seconds, like, mission accomplished.
01:05So, I told him once that I liked airline food.
01:08That's not really true.
01:10He asked me if I had any dark secrets, and I told him.
01:12I killed a man down south once.
01:14Also, not true.
01:15Just, I want to say that for the record.
01:16So, we don't fact-check.
01:18We're not the New Yorker on Jeopardy!
01:20If you don't have a story, you know, just juge something a little bit and you can probably get away
01:25with it.
01:26If you never become a Jeopardy! champ, never went on to become host of the whole thing, what do you
01:31think you'd be doing right now instead?
01:33I was, like, pushing 30 when I went on Jeopardy!
01:35So, we were kind of doing okay.
01:37Like, my wife and I had just had our first baby.
01:39We just bought, like, a little starter home right outside Salt Lake City, Utah.
01:43I was a computer programmer.
01:45It was going okay.
01:45The only thing was I didn't really love my job.
01:48Like, I wasn't a very good programmer.
01:50My wife reminded me I had this idea that I would, like, start, become a mural painter.
01:54I would paint murals on kids' walls because I like doing that for fun.
01:59But all these ideas, like, never happened because I got lucky and I got to go on my favorite show.
02:04So, there is a world out there where I lose my very first game, you know, which is one daily
02:09double goes the other way.
02:10That can happen.
02:11And now I'm a zero-game Jeopardy! champion.
02:14And maybe I'm painting Winnie the Pooh murals in a daycare somewhere.
02:18And I'm very happy.
02:20And Aaron Rodgers is hosting Jeopardy!
02:22I'm not sure.
02:23I mean, he was pretty good.
02:26He was a solid guest host.
02:27He was my wife's favorite, actually.
02:28And when I tried to figure out why, I was like, honey, you know, I was a guest host, too.
02:33And she was like, well, he's very handsome.
02:34Quick little rapid fire, what famous thinker from history do you think would do best on the show?
02:39Like, do you think Einstein would fare well?
02:41Maybe that's like a Benjamin Franklin type, you know, who's like, he's an inventor, but he also, like, knows all
02:47the French dance crazes because he's a womanizer.
02:50And he also, you know, he knows science, he knows politics.
02:54It's got to be somebody like that.
02:55Is it being smart or is it paying attention in school?
02:58I would say it's paying attention all the time.
03:00Like, if you're, it's not like you're a genius if you're on Jeopardy!
03:03You're just very curious about everything.
03:05What percentage of the questions in one show do you usually know the answer to?
03:09Oh, it's declined over time.
03:11But then there's so many times where I'm like, oh, what's her name?
03:15And finally, who's been your favorite Jeopardy! winner of all time?
03:19And why is it Jamie Ding?
03:21You know, as the host of Jeopardy!
03:23I can't show any favoritism, but obviously when a player goes for a while, you know, I'm like the audience.
03:29I get invested too.
03:30Not because I'm rooting for or against them, but just, you know, I can't wait to see how long it'll
03:34go.
03:35Like, Jamie was the guy, the first person in a few years that I thought, like, this guy could beat
03:40my record.
03:41And, like, he's such a sweetheart too, and so I'm glad that, like, the viewing audience, like, picked up on
03:46that.
03:47It ain't over till it's over.
03:48Jamie, and I'll stand and run for you.
03:49And then it is over, but.
03:51I think the magic of Jeopardy! is how it makes learning and being smart cool.
03:55Why do you think the show has such staying power?
03:58For young audiences, old audiences, red states, blue states, it doesn't matter.
04:02Like, this is a place where America comes together and, you know, facts actually matter.
04:07You know, it doesn't matter what your opinion, if there's a clue about the moon landing, you can't say, what
04:12is, that never happened, Ken.
04:13You know, that's just not how Jeopardy! works.
04:16You know, there's expertise and scholarship on Jeopardy! and that's how it should be.
04:22It's a hopeful sign for me.
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