The Puzzler with A.J. JacobsHello, Puzzlers! Puzzling with us today: longtime Simpsons writer and producer and author of What Am I Doing Here?, Mike Reiss!
Join host A.J. Jacobs and his guests as they puzzle–and laugh–their way through new spins on old favorites, like anagrams and palindromes, as well as quirky originals such as “Ask Chat GPT” and audio rebuses.
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"The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs" is distributed by iHeartPodcasts and is a co-production with Neuhaus Ideas.
Our executive producers are Neely Lohmann and Adam Neuhaus of Neuhaus Ideas, and Lindsay Hoffman of iHeart Podcasts.
The show is produced by Jody Avirgan and Brittani Brown of Roulette Productions.
Our Chief Puzzle Officer is Greg Pliska. Our associate producer is Andrea Schoenberg.
Hello, Puzzlers, Welcome to the Puzzler Podcast, the Vibrato and your Jennifer Hudson Puzzle Solo. I am your host AJ Jacobs, and I am here with the great Mike Reese, longtime Simpsons writer, author of the new book What Am I Doing here? Welcome Mike.
So great to be here. When I'm not on your podcast, I listen to it. I'm a genuine fan.
Thank you. Actually, I should not have given an intro to you because I already had an intro written. So let me read that intro with words that kerflopp and bizzle and bop. Mike Reese's jokes spin like a top, from Marge's tall hair to wee Maggie's peep. He's a master of chuckles, never missing a beat. How do you like that intro?
It's pretty good?
Good.
I liked it very Doctor SEUSSI, well that's it.
Yes, you cannot like it because I didn't write it, and neither did anyone at the Puzzler. It was chat gpt. Really, I'm afraid.
Wow, he will replace us all all right? Yeah, gee, that's pretty good for chat chept.
Yeah it's not bad. I mean a little hacky. I don't think it would be allowed in the Simpsons room.
Well no, but you know I write children's books. I don't know if this has come up in the in the piece, I've written twenty one children's books, and publishers hate books in verse because everyone's so bad at it and the rhythm is always off. And chat gpt nailed it. There was no it was perfect. And you know that puts them head of ninety five percent of the submissions that people are doing for kids' books.
Okay, so that's the first to go, that's the first industry to go robotic children's book authors. Well, you kind of mentioned it, but what do you think I asked chat chept to do to get that results?
You said, write something in doctor Sue's style. What about the Simpsons?
No about Mike gre Well, it said Mike Greese's joke spin like a top pop. Okay, so that is a little taste of the puzzle. I'm going to give you a couple of sentences, and your job is to figure out what did I ask chat gpt to write? What was the prompt that resulted in chat gpt writing those sentences? Okay? So are you ready?
Not really, but let's do that?
All right?
What did I ask chat Chept that resulted in this? See Dick, Dick has friends. Dick is planning something. It's a secret. See the hotel. It is night. Dick's friends go inside. They do not want to be seen the police. Fine, Dick's friends. I have some more you got?
Is it? I mean? Is it? Write a children's book about Watergate?
That's it? Exactly right?
Okay, right?
A Watergate scandal in the style of Dick and Jane children's books from the nineteen fifties. And it's actually it's very good at writing the Dick and Jane. I think you know the short sentences We're all friends?
Here is it? Did you? Is this literally the work of chat Gpt? Or you're yes? Taking okay? Great? Good? All right? I want people to learn from them.
It is genuinely chat Cheept. I could not have come up with that brilliance myself. Are you ready for number two? This cat stalks with intent, buzz saw emerges from floor, blood spurt marks the end.
Oh well, I oh? Is it is that a haiku? It's iku about itchy and scratchy or Tom and Jerry's.
It is itchy and Scratchy yeah, it's a little more hardcore than Tom and Jerry. So it is Hitchy and Scratchy, which are the cat and Mouse on The Simpsons, the cartoon which, yeah, I've always assumed based on Tom and Jerry.
Based on Tomas. You know what Matt Greening says on Herman and Catnip. Herman and Catnip was a rip off of Tom and Jerry. And they're just these much more violent, ugly, low rent cartoons from the fifties.
Really I never seen them, all right.
Said, look them up. They're just awful.
So they didn't think Tom and Jerry was violent enough, so they're.
Like, you know, it shows you there's no you can see them being done with no finesse. And but just for the word fans out there, Sam Sining, one of the creators of The Simpsons, he'd be writing Itchy and Scratchy and he'd always go, which one's the cat? And finally I said, Scratchy has the word cat in it. That's how you go.
Oh, that's good, all right, I like it all right. Third and final one from chat Gpt. What did I ask chat Gpt to do that resulted in this work? Hoist the Sails ye mates on this revolutionary tide, with Captain Carl and Friedrich as your guides, workers to the deck, they shout with glee, cast off the chains in every sea.
I have no idea how good is this Simpsons related?
Is it not Simpsons related?
Okay Carl and Friedrich?
I mean it wrote like ten verses, So I'm only I'll read you one more. Seize the helm of industry, no more private berths. Share the cargo for what it's truly worth. From every mast. Let the red flag fly under the worker's son in the proletariat sky.
So what is it like writing the Communist manifest though as a sea shanty?
That is literally what I typed. That is exactly it. That is exactly it. You got it. That was impressive, well done. So uh Kate, thank you. It's been a joy to have you. Where can people find more of you before you're replaced by chat ChiPT?
Yes? The people must be sick of me plugging my book? What am I doing here? So instead I'll plug my book Santa's Brother Sandy Saves Christmas. It's a new children's book. It's it's sort of a cross between How the Grinch Stole Christmas? And The Big Lebowski. So that's available on Amazon. Santa's Brother Sandy Saves Christmas.
All right, I'm in that elevator pitchwork for me all right. As always, for the puzzlers at home, we have an extra credit What did I ask chat Chi to result in these three sentences? Ready, Courtney and the sorcery of social Media, Kylie and the lip gloss of doom Kendall and the runway of shadows? What was my prompt? Chat gpt? And you will find out next time on the Puzzler. Puzzlers, Please don't forget to subscribe, Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, and I'll meet you here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Hello, Puzzlers, this is your chief puzzle Officer, Greg Pliska, happy to be here to share the extra credit answer from our previous episode. In that episode, we played a game where every character on The Simpsons was turned into a longer word or phrase using the letters in their name. The clue we gave you was a school prank. Comes with a certain amount of this, seeing as Principal Skinner might catch you and the key there of course is the letters in skinner, which can be mixed around and using as many of them as you want give you the answer. Riskiness a school prank comes with a certain amount of riskiness. There's no risk in listening to the puzzler, and we're glad to have you with us. Take care now,
