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This, That Or The Other V

OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:

We've got our next two contestants settling in, Jaime Green and Paul Griffiths, ready to play our next game.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: Jaime, your hobby is astronomy. I want to know what you do with this hobby. Do you hang out with people and talk stars? Do you drive to a location?

JAIME GREEN: I write about it.

EISENBERG: You write about it?

GREEN: Yeah.

EISENBERG: Alone.

GREEN: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: Okay. Paul, do you have any smart nerdy hobbies?

PAUL GRIFFITHS: I like to listen to NPR.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

GRIFFITHS: That was just too easy.

EISENBERG: That was too easy. Anything else?

GRIFFITHS: I have two kids that I like to play with. They're both mine.

(LAUGHTER)

GRIFFITHS: They actually encouraged me to come on the show.

EISENBERG: All right, two amazing people here. Jonathan?

JONATHAN COULTON: Yes?

EISENBERG: What are we going to do with them?

COULTON: We're going to play a game called "this, that or the other." The way this works is we are going to name an item and you tell us to which of three categories that item belongs. Today's categories are pastas, operas and characters from "The Sopranos."

(LAUGHTER)

COULTON: So, to be clear, a type of pasta, the title of an opera or a character from the TV series "The Sopranos." For example, if we said pappardelle, you would say pasta, because that is a kind of pasta. We're going to alternate questions between you, so you don't need to buzz in. We're going to start with Jaime.

"Don Giovanni."

GREEN: Opera.

COULTON: Opera is correct.

(APPLAUSE)

COULTON: Paul. Fusilli Bucati.

GRIFFITHS: Pasta.

COULTON: Pasta, yes.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: It's like we're playing this in Venice.

COULTON: That's because of my rich accent.

EISENBERG: Your Italian accent is phenomenal.

COULTON: I took Italian in college, so, you know.

EISENBERG: Finally, you're using it.

COULTON: It's the language of love, I think.

(LAUGHTER)

COULTON: Okay, Jaime, Occhi Di Lupo.

GREEN: Pasta.

COULTON: Yes, it is a pasta.

(APPLAUSE)

COULTON: The literal translation of that is "Wolf Eyes," because of course, as you know, the eyes of a wolf are large and tube-shaped like the pasta.

(LAUGHTER)

GREEN: And delicious.

COULTON: And delicious. Okay, Paul, Mezzi Bombardoni.

GRIFFITHS: Pasta.

COULTON: It is a pasta. You are right.

(APPLAUSE)

COULTON: Jaime, "Arianna in Creta."

GREEN: "Sopranos."

COULTON: No. Sorry, it's an opera. It was Handel. Paul, this one's for you. "Beatrice di Tenda."

GRIFFITHS: Pasta.

COULTON: No, also an opera. Although, here's maybe what confused you - this is true - the title role was originated by an opera singer named Guidetta Pasta.

(LAUGHTER)

GRIFFITHS: That was it.

COULTON: Was that what you were thinking of?

GRIFFITHS: Totally.

COULTON: It's true. That is a true fact. Okay, Jaime, peletoni?

GREEN: Pasta.

COULTON: Pasta, yes.

(APPLAUSE)

COULTON: It is sort of a super spaghetti. Paul, Feech Lamanna?

GRIFFITHS: "Soprano."

COULTON: Yes, indeed, "Soprano."

(APPLAUSE)

COULTON: Played by character actor Robert Loggia. Okay, this is your last set of clues. Jaime, Domenica Baccalieri?

GREEN: "Sopranos."

COULTON: "Sopranos" is correct.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: You can really feel the tension. Like, this is intense. I just saw Jaime, like, put her hands on her face, like, just, yeah. It's intense, very intense.

COULTON: The stakes are very high.

EISENBERG: I know. I mean we're talking "Sopranos" and spaghetti. Things are crazy.

COULTON: Paul, this is for you. Soprazi leche?

GRIFFITHS: Pasta.

COULTON: It is a pasta.

(APPLAUSE)

COULTON: It actually means, the literal translation of that is smooth surprise.

(LAUGHTER)

COULTON: Which happens to have been my nickname in high school.

(LAUGHTER)

COULTON: Will, that is the end of the game. How did they do?

WILL HINES: We have a tie right now. We have a tie between these two contestants.

COULTON: Oh my goodness.

HINES: So I will say this clue and then we're going to buzz in. Furio Giunta.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

HINES: Paul?

GRIFFITHS: Opera.

HINES: That is not right.

(LAUGHTER)

HINES: Jaime?

GREEN: "Sopranos."

HINES: That is correct.

(APPLAUSE)

HINES: So the winner of this round is Jaime.

EISENBERG: Great contestants. Congratulations, Jaime, you will be coming back at the end of the show. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.