Episodes
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It's Liam Starnes week on Jeopardy! as the 20 year-old goes on a run for the ages, and we love every second of it, from his Jeopardy!-themed birthday party to his endearing lack of knowledge about anything pop culture. John and Emily are reunited as Emily is on the mend from surgery and John is back home, and we revel in each other's company with the usual cavalcade of dumb jokes and observations. Plus, we get a contender for Response of the Year from Liam, Jeopardy! fans are very upset with a particular category, and we dive deep on the League of Nations.
Join the Patreon! For just $5/month at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, you'll get a new bonus episode every month, access to our Discord, and MORE! This month, we had Isaac Hirsch and Juveria Zaheer join us for some pre-Masters prep with our first-ever Live Play episode. It was a total blast. We also announce on this episode that all of our Masters coverage is going behind the paywall. Can't hear it if you don't have a membership! Join today!
SOURCE: The US Office of the Historian: "The League of Nations, 1920"; History Channel: "The League of Nations"
Special thank you as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.
This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. -
With Emily continuing to recover from ass surgery, it's the famous "Wife of the Pod" Becca who joins the show to break down the week that was, from Andrew Hayes locking up a ToC berth to Steven Hoying wearing perhaps the brightest sweater in Jeopardy! history. Becca tells us her history with the show and how it's been woven into the fabric of her relationship with John, and John gets so distracted having to do the episode write-ups for the show, he forgets to do the Deep Dive. Oops! Meanwhile, Becca takes the reins of JFAF to review a tough Final and she relates to one of Andrew's anecdotes in a sincere and adorable way.
Join the Patreon! This week, we released our latest bonus episode at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, and it was our first Live Play edition of the show where Masters contestants Juveria Zaheer and Isaac Hirsch join us to warm up for the big tourney! John writes two boards for the occasion, and the episode is a ton of fun, as you'd expect with those two on tap. Plus, the episode is available in video so you can play along! That's available now along with our entire bonus episode back catalogue, access to our Discord, and more. Join today!
SOURCE: National Geographic: "Jane Goodall" by Sarah Appleton.
Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.
This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Art by Max Wittert. Music by Nate Heller. -
Missing episodes?
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On a very special John-less episode, Emily is joined by a friend of the pod & true hunk connoisseur: Handsome Kevin Seccia™️! We recap an exciting week of games as we bid goodbye to Mike Dawson and say hello to Andrew Hayes. We also succumb to Anise’s charms, finally find out how tall Mike is, dive deep on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and set the record for most wrestling analogies ever made on this show. Do you smell what the pod is cooking?
Join the Patreon! We've got a new bonus episode coming this week that you're going to love! For $5/month, you'll get all our bonus episodes, access to the Discord to hang with John and Emily and talk J!, and lots more! Head on over to patreon.com/jeopardypodcast and support the show!
Special thank you as always to J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.
This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Art by Max Wittert. Music by Nate Heller. -
Look, past guest host of this show and our great friend Guy Branum was on Jeopardy! this week. In theory, some other stuff happened too, but we are mostly focused on Guy's Friday appearance, as he does battle with 4-day champion Bryce Wargin and Mike Dawson in a fantastic game. Elsewhere, Mike and Conner give us some great "bad date" anecdotes, JFAF sees the online J! community curious about Guy's bonafides, and we dive deep on Louis Braille. But mostly, Guy was on the show this week, and we just think that's neat.
Join the Patreon! For just $5/month, you'll get a bonus episode every single month, access to our Discord, and way more fun stuff. This month, we have a very unique and very special bonus episode coming you won't wanna miss! Plus, your money goes directly to supporting the show and helping us to keep it going. patreon.com/jeopardypodcast today!
SOURCE: Duxbury Systems: "Louis Braille and the Braille System"
Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.
This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. -
It's Josh Weikert week on the show, as he goes through a series of Final Jeopardy! misses but it doesn't matter, as a combination of lock games, weird wagers, and good ol' fashioned luck conspire to make him the latest entrant into the 2026 Tournament of Champions. And what a week it is, as Jeopardy! continues to get even hornier with some wild anagrams, we get two insanely nerdy anecdotes, J! fans are fuming about the Masters lineup, and we dive deep on the nicknames of North and South Korea.
Join the Patreon now and support the show! It's easy! Head on over to patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, where your donation will get you access to our bonus episodes, our Discord, and more fun stuff. You simply won't believe the very cool bonus episodes we have coming your way, and as announced on the pod today, Masters content will also be exclusively behind the paywall. Help out the show and help yourself by improving your life with some sweet content now!
SOURCE: "Corea: The Hermit Nation" by William Elliot Griffis; New York Times: "Exploring 'The Land of Morning Calm'" by Adam H. Graham.
Special thank you as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.
This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Art by Max Wittert. Music by Nate Heller. -
Yes, this is a Jeopardy! podcast, and yes, John reminisces about the old softcore pornography show "The Red Shoe Diaries", which yes, does have an episode with Matt Leblanc in it. But enough about that, it's Alex DeFrank week on the show as the former Sports Jeopardy! champ goes on an excellent run and Ken really lets loose this week with multiple interjections including allowing Alex the joy of doing a Butt-Head impression on the Alex Trebek stage. Plus, a Joanna Newsom anecdote leads to follow-up from Mr. Joanna Newsom himself, Andy Samberg, J! fans are upset with clues about Kanye, and we dive deep on Copenhagen the Horse.
Donate to the show at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast to not only support the show, but also to get our latest bonus episode: an interview with Alison Betts! One of our fave players from the last year, Alison tells us all about her initial J! run, her ToC prep, and the whole Foghorn Leghorn thing. Plus, she gets a chance to play the Redemption Game and we have a whole ton of fun. You also get access to the Discord, all previous bonus episodes, and more. Join today!
SOURCE: The Pall Mall Magazine: "Copenhagen and Other Famous Battle-Horses" by Archibald Forbes.
Special thank you as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.
This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Art by Max Wittert. Music by Nate Heller. -
We are back, baby! After Emily needed a week off to deal with a butt issue, we have returned and not a moment too soon, as we have an absolutely stellar week of games to recap that had a tournament feel and some very memorable contestants. The H-Bomb looks like he's going to blow up the Jeopardy! stage before running into James Corson, who starts a little run of his own, before the third podium changes hands a few times before the end of the week. We also include some JIT coverage too, so don't fear, as we include Juveria's run-in with Cocaine Bear and Matt's attempt to be the next J! villain. Plus, the very same Jeopardy! insider is once again claiming Ken is threatened by Colin Jost and we dive deep on Twister.
Donate to the show at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast! Our bonus episode for March drops soon, as Alison Betts joins us for an exclusive interview! You also get access to our Discord and we have way more fun stuff coming, so help support the show today!
SOURCE: History: "How Johnny Carson Saved Twister" by Christopher Klein; Smithsonian: "When Twister Was Too Risqué for America" by Michael Waters; The Guardian: "How We Made Twister" by Nancy Waters
Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.
This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. -
The JIT continues as we wrap up the quarters and find our way into the first semifinal with some awesome games featuring some of our favorite sweeties! Some of John's favorite Canadians are here too (ooo OOOO) and we have a blast recapping an epic battle between Ben Chan and Shane Whitlock, a buzzer masterclass from Luigi de Guzman, and Ken really having a lot of fun with a category about fascism. Plus, J! fans aren't really fuming but we do get the first instance of a J! player blaming their tiny hands on a loss and we dive deep on Harry Houdini. Or do we? It's magic!
Donate to the show and get our first-ever bonus episode the second you do, plus access to our Discord! patreon.com/jeopardypodcast! Support your favorite J! recappers!
SOURCE: The New Yorker: "Harry Houdini and the Art of Escape" by David Denby; Appleton Post-Crescent: "When Harry Met Edna: 115 Years Ago, Two of Appleton's Most Famous Residents Crossed Paths" by Shane Nyman; Wisconsin Life: "Harry Houdini and His Unbreakable Chain to Appleton" by Corinne Hess; History: "What Killed Harry Houdini?" by Evan Andrews
Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.
This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. -
Your two favorite JIT-heads are BACK as the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament rides once again. We have a couple of stunning upsets, the return of many of our sweeties from years' past, and we get very distracted talking about the television show Reacher on this podcast about the television show Jeopardy!. Plus, Roger Craig returns in a big way with an ode to his legendary ToC moment and some news about his love life (which Jeopardy! fans also find a way to fume about, as is their wont), we get some very nice updates about our contestants' lives (Hannah Wilson owns a yarn shop! Troy is a dad now!), and we dive deep on a very unfortunate part of America's history, the Plessy v. Ferguson case.
A reminder you can now donate to support the show and get our first-ever bonus episodes for your troubles! Head on over to patreon.com/jeopardypodcast and you'll get us talking about the first two weeks of this year's Celebrity Jeopardy!, access to our Discord, and more fun stuff. See you there!
SOURCE: National Archives: "Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)"; Legal Information Institute: "Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)"
A special thank you as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.
This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. -
It's the Tournament of Champions FINAL week and we crown a brand-new champion! We also watch a weird exhibition game for some reason. The games feature some really great play, some real nervous energy, and without spoiling anything here in the synopsis, one of Adriana Harmeyer, Isaac Hirsch, and Neilesh Vinjamuri hoists the ToC crown, winning $250,000 and the right to compete in the J! Masters. It's also a masterful week for our show as Isaac tells an anecdote that was a story he FIRST TOLD on this here podcast, and we get a potential Bat Signal from Ken Jennings himself that maybe, just maybe, he listens to this podcast. Speaking of Ken, Jeopardy! fans are fuming about him yet again, and we dive deep on the Burghers of Calais.
It's also a HUGE week for our podcast as we are OFFICIALLY launching our PATREON! It is live now and THIS THURSDAY we will drop our first-ever bonus episode, covering the first two episodes of this season of Celebrity Jeopardy! You won't wanna miss that, plus all the other goodies you'll get from being a patron like access to an exclusive Discord with us, maybe some live hangouts, and MORE! Donate now at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast and get ready for Bonus Episode 1 this Thursday, of which there is a 10-minute SNEAK PEEK on this episode!
SOURCE: Parisian Fields: "The Story Behind the Sculpture"; The Met: "The Burghers of Calais"
Special thank you as always to J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.
This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. -
It's a whiplash week of Jeopardy! as we go all the way from the Tournament of Champions quarterfinals to the finals, ending up with a three-way clash for the belt between Adriana Harmeyer, Isaac Hirsch, and Neilesh Vinjamuri. But we have to get their first as Drew gets a few more good bits in, Jeopardy! once again FAILS to beat the horny allegations in their most serious tournament of the year, and we dive deep on the French monarchy. Plus, we discuss the just-announced lineup for this year's JIT and Jeopardy! fans once again point out an Isaac wagering mistake.
SOURCE: Biography.com: "Louis XVI"; History Channel: "This Day in History: Louis XVI Executed"
Special thanks as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.
This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. Follow the show on Instagram at @whatisajeopardypodcast. -
After weeks of Second Chance and Champions Wild Card play, the long-awaited Tournament of Champions is finally HERE! And it immediately breaks our hearts, as some of our faves go home early and we are treated to one of the harshest Final Jeopardy! judges' rulings in recent memory as CWC champion Mehal Shah bows out. We also see one of the strongest games of the season so far from Neilesh, and Amy escapes a wild game with a W, thanks in part to one of the toughest FJs we've ever seen. Plus, Jeopardy! fans fume about the games being too "modern" (they must hate our show) and we dive deep on the annis horribilis speech of 1992 (which is how Mehal will probably describe his 2025 moving forward).
SOURCE: History.com: "'Annus Horribilis': Why Queen Elizabeth II Called 1992 a Horrible Year" by Jessica Pearce Rotondi.
Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.
This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. -
John was away for work this week and got sick so this is his "Flu Game", as we recap the final week of the Champions Wild Card, and what a week it was. The week featured one of the games of the year, a wonderful two-game final between three of our favorite competitors in the tournament, and another beautifully connected anecdote and response from Drew. Plus, a successfully pulled-off Arrested Development gag, Jay Fisher cementing his place as one of the best anecdotalists in the show's recent history, and we dive deep on the USS Nautilus–how appropriate.
SOURCE: Naval History and Heritage Command: "Nautilus (SSN-571)"
Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.
This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. -
The Second Chance Tournament is over and now it's time to revisit some of our favorite champs from the past with the Champions Wildcard Tournament, and much like the Second Chance, it does not disappoint. Both Second Chance winners Will and Drew make a good impression, John and Emily imagine what their dream Jeopardy! response would be if they were ever on the show, and Adam Hersh has the most "What is You Doing, Baby?" moment of the season so far. Plus, Emily is fuming at Drew's Instagram (though we still love Drew), Final Jeopardy! clues get tough, and we dive deep on "Silent Spring".
SOURCE: NRDC: "The Story of Silent Spring".
Special thanks as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.
This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. -
It was a tough week for the world and California especially, but it was a great week for Jeopardy! fans as we were treated to a fantastic second week of Second Chance play. A bunch of our faves are back and we have a host of good anecdotes including a rare triple crown day where all 3 were actually good, we dive deep on rhesus monkeys in space, and Drew makes up with the Swifties in a Response of the Year candidate.
SOURCE: Space.com: "Monkeys in Space: A Brief Spaceflight History" by Mike Wall
Thanks as always to the Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.
This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. -
The Second Chance Tournament is BACK and with it comes a whole host of our favorites from Season 40, including our man Will Yancey, who we were pulling for back in his first appearance on the show and we pull for him this week as he makes it to the finals. Can he hold off Kaitlin Tarr and Colleen Matthews? We find out here as Kaitlin has a potential harbinger of doom for an anecdote, Colleen becomes a master of wrong answer adlibs, and we learn that David Madden isn't the only Jeopardy! contestant to own several parrots. Plus, J! fans are fuming about the Jeopardy! calendar and we dive deep on Ulysses S. Grant's prolific smoking habit.
SOURCE: Grant Cottage: "Champion of the Weed: A Study of the 'Legendary' Smoking Habit of Ulysses S. Grant"; Oral Cancer Foundation: "Political Figures: Ulysses S. Grant"
Thanks as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.
This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.
Instagram: @whatisajeopardypodcast
Bluesky: @jeopardypodcast -
We got to celebrate Christmas with our listeners, and now it's time to celebrate New Year's, with this NYE episode that has us feeling great about 2025! And it must have Laura Faddah feeling great too, as she retires for a few months a 7-day champ with a little bit of luck and some very timely responses carrying her to a ToC berth as we head into the J! post-season. It was a fun week all around as John vibes with a Québécois contestant, Emily vibes with a particular Daily Double response, and we dive deep on Smokey Bear (not Smokey THE Bear, as you'll learn). Plus, Emily herself fumes as this week sees a near-record number of unread clues.
SOURCE: Alta Journal: "Smokey Bear: More Than an Icon" by Joshua Wheeler; Smokeybear.com: "About the Campaign".
Special thank you as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.
This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Art by Max Wittert. Music by Nate Heller. -
An episode of your favorite Jeopardy! podcast on Christmas Eve?! What a gift! Emily and John share some memories of Christmas past as we also share some memories of this week of games which see Ashley Chan fall just short of the ToC threshold, but as Ken says: we'll see her again. We also get another couple of NASTY Final Jeopardy! clues that leave J! fans FUMING about the writers maybe being on VACATION (but still writing the clues while doing so apparently), we get some strange wagers from the contestants, and John helps Emily avoid jail time by diving deep on the RICO Act.
SOURCE: Federal Criminal Appeals Law Firm: "What is the RICO Act?"; TIME: "Law: Showdown at Gucci" by Alain L. Sanders and Priscilla Painton
Thanks to the Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.
This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. -
Look, sometimes we get things wrong. Ok, we get things wrong all the time. But we were very surprised Dave Bond didn't go deeper, as we say goodbye to him on Monday and hello to Bill McKinley and Ashley Chan, who both have a nice week. And we have a nice week too, as John coordinates a Jeopardy! surprise for his Blocked Party cohost Stefan Heck, J! continues their run of Final Jeopardy clues that swing wildly from quite difficult to dead easy, and Emily is really, really committed to getting out of PE. Plus, we dive deep on "I Dream of Jeannie" and its creator, Sidney Sheldon.
SOURCE: Forbes: "'I Dream of Jeannie' Home, A Jim Beam Whiskey Bottle, Expected to Fetch $100,000 At Auction" by Roberta Naas; New York Times: "Sidney Sheldon, Author of Steamy Novels, Dies at 89" by Margalit Fox
Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan.
This episode is produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. -
John is back and we have an absolutely fantastic of week of games, as we fall in love with Evan Jones and then fall in love all over again once Stevie Ruiz is introduced. And by the end of the week, it's Bond, Dave Bond, who runs roughshod over the competition and looks like a potential ToC contender while giving us another contender for Response of the Year. Plus, we get an anecdote that makes us feel stupider than some of the clues do, Jeopardy! fans can't believe a clue uses the word boob, and we dive deep on the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who apparently might have been a real guy (???).
SOURCE: BBC Magazine: "On the Trail of the Real Pied Piper" by Lizz Pearson; Medievalists: "The Pied Piper of Hamelin: A Medieval Mass Abduction?"
Thanks, as always, to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive.
This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert. - Show more
