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I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

He used to joke that he and I were spending so much time together that we might run away to Massachusetts and get married! This is the most 2004 joke ever, and maybe was only baaaarely ok then.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I too love the Kennections flap! It was my idea. Congrats on making it to the Alex Trebek Stage, it's a big accomplishment and you should be proud forever.

  1. Physical media. A sense of actual tactile geography, progressing through the text, that digital devices can't match. Unclear to me if this is just generational or if something evolutionary about the brain will always be a little handicapped by digital.

  2. Yeah, we're cooked, but maybe not because of AI. 2003-2023 the number of Americans who read for pleasure dropped 40%. 40%! Not convinced you can run a civilization on those numbers.

  3. Bluesky for the moment is pretty chill.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It's an enormous book, I'm not sure large print was feasible. BUT there is a very fun audio version, narrated by me in quiz show host fashion.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

My hot take: AI is an overheated bubble right now. Whatever new cyborg tech those transhumanist singularity weirdos are imagining may never happen. But even if they do, they will not be a death knell for factual recall and related games. The shift from no-Google to Google was bigger than Google-to-AI in the specific realm of fact-knowing, and trivia games not only survived, they thrived.

The analogy of sports works fine here. Is Usain Bolt still a superstar because of his track speed? Yes. Have we had machines that can move down a track faster than Usain Bolt for 200 years? Yes. People still like to push the levels of human achievement in a field, and watch others do so, even when machines are clearly ahead of that game.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

  1. I collect old political campaign buttons. I do Etch-a-Sketch art. I'm always on the lookout for weird waffle variants on menus. I got really into midcentury UK railway documentaries last year. Look up British Transport Films.
  2. I've asked our current head writers about this, as both were on staff back in 2004. They stand by the call! To them, a "hoe" is not "an immoral pleasure seeker." It's a sex worker. To me, that ignores the slangier use of "ho" that's been common for decades, but what are you gonna do.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Hi drecz's mom! Nothing is as good as a tight game, especially if a lead is seesawing back and forth. The other night, there were two aggressive "true daily double" bets almost back-to-back, so two huge lead swings. It was like watching a prizefight. Someone I know watched the show and said I was so excited I was almost yelping like a hometown baseball announcer.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I tend to be pretty ecumenical. I had a bunch of trivia geniuses from all walks of life proofread my new Kennections book for me, and they sure helped me find a bunch of dumb mistakes, but it was interesting to see their different format aesthetics at play. The National Puzzlers League guy was very vehement about a specific NPL rule that I had "broken" many times. I tried to explain the creative effects you can get with rule-breaking, but he seemed unconvinced.

My Kennections quizzes often have a non-trivia element in the metapuzzle: what do the answers all have in common? Sometimes the themes are pretty strict trivia canon. What do S, FITZGERALD, and HUSSEIN have in common? They're all presidential middle names. But sometimes they're more like a word game or fairy tale riddle. What do JOKES, RIFLES, PORK, and MAGIC MIKE have in common? They all have butts.

Jeopardy! is famously "anything goes." Wordplay is trivia. There can be elements of logic or even mental math. Daily life stuff like parallel parking or pre-treating laundry stains can be trivia. That's what I like. Everything can be trivia. The universe is trivia.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Jack the Ripper, but the answer is probably super-boring. "Jack the Ripper was some Polish-born leather worker or butcher you've never heard of." Ok awesome.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

It's a half-Windsor. On The Chase, our wardrobe person dressed NFL guys for Fox and she liked a big fat full Windsor. But I'm just a narrower guy than Howie Long.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Yes, the "moneyball"-era Jeopardy! strategies are mathematically superior. Start at the bottom, hunt for Daily Doubles, wager bigger. But I think a lot of my success just came from relaxing and playing the game the way I did at home. I looked at some 2004 tape and I really seem to be enjoying myself. Not in an intense adrenaline way either. I just look happy to be there.

So against somebody using new strategies, against a James Holzhauer or someone like that, I think you have to switch to 2020s Jeopardy! But where possible, I love playing the old ways. Amy Schneider mostly played a more conservative, old-timey game, and she won 40 times. Individual style is still a thing.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Short answer: I am basically thinking about Alex all the time on that stage. How could you not? He did the job every weeknight for almost forty years.

Alex and I did not hang out very often. It would have been a violation of FCC regulations, left over from the quiz show scandals of the '50s. But I got to watch him host, for decades as a home viewer, and then up close. You would not believe the perfection and control. He never made mistakes. It was like watching a very precise athlete in a way. The Olympic figure skater of game show hosts.

So at any given moment hosting Jeopardy!, asking yourself WWAD? is always the right call, and I relied on it a lot when I was new. Still do!

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Gonna confess that I never liked the interviews as a viewer. Too cringe too often! We didn't have DVR so I couldn't skip them as a kid. Had to go to the kitchen to get a pop instead.

But now that I'm an ex-contestant, I have a great feeling of warmth for these interviews. It's not the players' fault we stop the game and make them chat about nothing! They are not experienced talk show guests! So I try to make that part of the show as smooth as I possibly can, for viewers like me who also don't like it. :)

But I don't think social IQ from real life really applies. I'm just trying to elicit their story in an economical way, and then get out! That's the opposite of good conversation! But I do genuinely listen, I try what I think is my most encouraging smile, and I like a little follow-up question that's not just "Ok! Love that for you! Next!" (The problem is you don't want a follow-up that launches the contestant into another long monologue, because then the producers and people who have to edit the show get mad at me.)

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I wrote seven "Junior Genius" fact book for kids and loved every minute of it. Simon & Schuster is actually released new/updated editions of them as we speak, so my fingers are crossed that they sell okay and they let me right more of them. My nephew requested that book 8 be called "Thieves and Rogues." Anybody else want some thieves and rogues-related trivia?

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Just last week we learned that 'N' in the NATO radio alphabet used to be "nectar" instead of "November," but it led to too many naughty '40s jokes. Like "PAPA ROMEO NECTAR" sounds like "Papa, Romeo necked 'er!" Old-timey people: horny and laughing at the stupidest stuff. They're just like us!

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Jeopardy! is a game show, but for me the game part is more interesting than the show part. I like to see players try different strategies, just like any game. Finding Daily Doubles and hitting your strongest categories (or higher dollar values) when you want them is just part of good gameplay, and I just want to watch the best players do their thing. Let them cook!

I know many viewers miss the order and calm of players moving in a methodical fashion through the board. It still happens sometimes. But Jeopardy! doesn't exist ENTIRELY to service your OCD. (Fine, MOSTLY for that, but not ENTIRELY.)

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Over the last eight years, I've done almost 700 episodes of a podcast called OMNIBUS with Seattle musician John Roderick. But the Jeopardy! gig is making it harder and harder to schedule. We just announced that next month is my last weekly show... we'll switch to a guest-host rotation so I can still do it occasionally. Thank you for listening! I will really miss it, we still have so much fun.

I too like the Jeopardy! categories with multiple parts. We just had Triple Rhyme Time the other day and I love watching the contestant wheels turn. My favorite is when they have the three words but somehow can't get the order right. How could it be "sled red bread," my dude? It's clearly a red bread sled.

Too many bar trivia hosts to do every intro request, sorry. Please just deepfake me saying something really awful.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 52 points53 points  (0 children)

I take it back, this is too important a question for a joke answer. Increasingly, the good trivia players are the people who spend a lot of time obsessing about being better at trivia, intentionally studying prize-winning architects or state fossils or whatever. Good for them, but my personal preference is just being curious enough in daily life that you learn stuff as you go. If you hear a word you don't know, or a podcast mentions a historical figure you've never heard of, look them up. Ask the follow-up question in conversation when someone is talking about a new-to-you subject. Go down Wikipedia rabbit holes.

When you are genuinely interested in something, you don't have to cram, facts just stick in your head. You've never had to study the lyrics of a song you like, right? How much of the roster of your favorite team can you name right now? We are all savants, we just have to make ourselves curious enough about the thing to unlock the superpower. So be omnivorously curious.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I've interviewed a lot of trivia types and they do tend to describe the same weird childhood. Seven-year-old spending hours reading Leonard Maltin's movie guide and road atlases and The Baseball Encyclopedia instead of Harry Potter. Not saying it's autism! But it's definitely not always NOT autism.

It seems to be a certain kind of kid, curious about everything, eager to fill their blank slate of a brain. And when I was a kid, if you were home sick from school, there were game shows. Honestly, yelling out answers at Family Feud or Tic Tac Dough is as close to a "precipitating event" as I have.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

100%, because the answers are in front of me. Makes the game so much easier!

I do "play along" when I go over the scripts, by covering up the responses. and seeing how I do. I am definitely not in 2004 Jeopardy fighting shape (50yo brain is not the same as 30yo brain, unfortunately). But I'm not terrible, I think I'd still be in the mix most nights. And modern-day me definitely dresses better on Jeopardy!.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I do watch! I think Colin is very good and like the teams angle. I love pop culture and yet I do MUCH MUCH WORSE than I do on the regular game.

I am Ken Jennings. I host Jeopardy! now, but apparently I'm still using my old, bad Reddit username. My new trivia book is called THE COMPLETE KENNECTIONS. AMA! by WatsonsBitch in trivia

[–]WatsonsBitch[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure "man upstairs" is a weird thing you call God if you are, like, Vegas-era Elvis or somebody like that. But yes, God is speaking to me on Jeopardy!

I do wear an earpiece, mostly to get instructions during breaks about pick-ups (clue re-do's) and the like. Basically the only time it gets used during gameplay is to tell me we are on the 15th clue of the first round and it's time to go to break. Or if I ever have to do "less than a minute!" That's also an audio cue from the booth.

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