Today Rob Cesternino and Stephen Fishbach welcome Survivor 45's Drew Basile to talk about Drew's hot streak on Jeopardy![00:00:08] Hey everybody, what's going on? Rob Cesternino back here and we got a special podcast Here for you today Because we have got a special Know-it-all's edition of a deep dive with a recent Jeopardy champion aka
[00:00:26] Dream blunt rotation here for you today back with us Stephen Fishback. Stephen. How are you? Yes, yes, this is about me me oh so great to be here Rob. Thank you. I have so many opinions and thoughts about Jeopardy Yes, all right. Well, we are very
[00:00:43] excited to be here with a recent several day champion here he is Coming fresh off of his Jeopardy success. It's Drew Basile Drew, how are you? Thank you, Stephen. It is so good to be here and I'm honored, you know, I feel like this forget Jeopardy forget survivor
[00:01:01] This is kind of the conclusion of my know-it-all's arc. Mm-hmm No, that's right was a know-it-all on survivor and then I got to prove it a little bit in Jeopardy here
[00:01:09] I am inducted, you know inducted into the know-it-all Hall of Fame. So it's well in honor. It's really a pleasure Yeah, not me. Oh, wow. Look at you. You're repping the merch. Do you get you know?
[00:01:19] They give it to you when you finish but it's actually it's too small for me. So maybe I'll give it away on Twitter Wow You Jeopardy a big head or huge noggin, you know
[00:01:30] Hydrocephaly as a child or it's the brain power, but it's just it's really it's it's a large one. Yeah Not a know-it-all because you actually managed to win a few episodes, that's true Such a fun exciting run. It was like such a
[00:01:46] You know so rare to get to see you know someone who we you know, I knew do do really well on Jeopardy and of course like seeing someone from the survivor community just Prove their intellectual bona fides. It was really really just thrilling to watch
[00:02:01] Yeah, I think that's a good way of putting it which is that like survivor, you know I feel like we're known for being a little bit more cerebral dare
[00:02:08] I say more, you know tasteful and some of the other shows and so I was I was honored to be one of that You know the emissaries the diplomats sent across to kind of prove that message you represented as well. We appreciate it
[00:02:19] Very excited to have the chance to talk with you about your experience. We're live here on Wednesday afternoon So the chat is welcome to post their questions or should they have to give us answers and then you can respond with the questions from the chat
[00:02:35] We'll think about it Jeff so drew a big big question I think the one that everybody sort of had, you know now given your experience and insight who is more intimidating Ken Jennings or Jeff Probst Dude, okay
[00:02:51] Jeff is so much more intimidating cuz like cuz like Jeff has been doing this stuff for like two cat cuss on your I always Forget sure. I swear we were cool. All right, Jeff has been doing this shit for 20 years. So he it's like, you know
[00:03:04] He is condensed himself like it's his whole life and Ken is like a regular guy. He's just got brought on I mean Ken is great but like I feel like talking with Ken I'm like talking with like a regular dude and like Jeff is like
[00:03:15] Jeff is well oiled Jeff is Jeff is a machine. So it's a little intimidating It's kind of a pleasure to joke around with Ken after you know, it's like you're being with Jeff's there He's like you're at the principal's office
[00:03:27] Try your best to say the right thing a tribal council no detentions Yeah, I think I'm the survivor Jeopardy podcast that we had a couple of weeks ago I think that this was where that conversation was when you popped on in the beginning talking with
[00:03:41] Javari did a great job about you know Ken Jennings as the host is a little bit sort of like if Jeff ultimately, you know steps away from the show and like Boston Rob a surrey a parvity ends up like becoming the host of the show, you know
[00:03:55] I think it'd be a definitely a different vibe. Oh For sure, you know, I mean and part of it is it's just like LA is the whole thing
[00:04:03] You know Hollywood is a scene and you and you and you go there and you kind of get pulled in and it you know And so I think when people are fresh, you know, they're still You know, they're fresh and so we'll see maybe after survivor 50
[00:04:15] We'll be able to welcome someone like Rob sestern, you know Someone like Boston Rob and we'll get that new angle But I have I've gotten those vibe from Ken like when he doesn't think it's going well
[00:04:25] You can kind of sense that he's a little disappointed, you know, like and he did it, you know Like he was he's obviously the best to ever, you know play. Oh, yeah And so like, you know
[00:04:34] Sometimes when like that it's like kind of people are missing a lot you kind of get the sense that like dad's disappointed in you I mean just as a viewer like did you feel that like he will obviously your episodes like we're so exciting
[00:04:43] You know you had the best game of the whole season. So he clearly never felt that about you But did you like ever find yourself wanting to impress Ken? Oh Yeah, I mean like this the way it is with Jeff too
[00:04:52] It's like you you've put so much hard work to get on this show and like by God you gotta get some approval out of It somehow like yeah win the money or you got at least yeah, you know, I've been liked it's gotta be a positive experience
[00:05:02] So you definitely work to impress Ken like I think that's really what the stories are You know, it's like you're like pleading this this minute elevator pitch like oh, you know, I'm allergic to gluten or oh
[00:05:12] I got stuck in an elevator one time, you know, there's not an interesting story But it what it really is. It's just it's just a begging like can love me please, you know, except me
[00:05:20] But they I would actually I do want to ask you about like awkward story time. Um, which is yeah But Rob you do first because I mean That you know that I of course like I've watched Jeopardy for many many years
[00:05:34] But Steven is a diehard Stevens watching it, you know every night if you're on it or not Yeah, that's right. That's right so like Listen I I was like there was a day there was an era when I like dreamed of getting on Jeopardy
[00:05:47] But like now that I'm a father of two kids Like my processing speed is so slow and I'm curious about that from your perspective to like like I like It would take me fully a minute
[00:05:56] I think maybe I could come up with some of the answers but it would like what what for you is I mean, well, let's go. I want to get to this later But like the first question I think is like the most interesting question Which was you know
[00:06:05] The big moment for you. The first big moment was that ten thousand dollar double Jeopardy question And so I wanted to like hear your thinking in that moment, you know, you're up against this absolute like
[00:06:16] Like triple super champion with Adriana a total beast of the game, you know, you get this double Jeopardy question It's competitive. You have a chance to like turn it into a runaway like what give me your thought process
[00:06:29] Yeah, so my thought process was basically this and you set the stage Well, which is that I'm going as Adriana who was one win away from becoming I think the tenth most successful Contestant in history. So like I'm really I'm playing a heavyweight
[00:06:43] You know someone who could go on to continue to win and win and win the amazing thing about Adriana Was her accuracy like I was I wasn't gonna be able to count on a mistake, you know
[00:06:52] It needed to be conclusive and I knew she was gonna come through a final Jeopardy just cuz you know her stats So I was facing this daily double and this is an opportunity to really pull ahead. It's a close game
[00:07:01] It's an even game and I and this the prudent thing to do would be that like 3k 4k and I just I was about to say that and I just sat there and thought to myself like
[00:07:09] You know if you try and grind it out against this woman who is like proven so competent, you know Such a wide base of knowledge. You'll probably lose like do you really want to take the chance?
[00:07:20] I just thought to myself that probably would be better off putting everything on the line, you know betting on black You know spinning the roulette wheel and just like hoping it worked out. So I said 10,000
[00:07:30] I probably should have said true daily double to make it a little more glitzy But I you know, I wasn't that's not what the headspace was Um naval ships not something or whatever. The category was it was shipped something not something I felt strongly about
[00:07:41] I mean my stepdad was in the Navy, but I couldn't tell you They've been up, you know a frigate and a whatever. The other ships are called a Corsair and and then the question pulled in and for me I
[00:07:55] Feel like I probably play a little differently than most people do and I played trivia for years in like high school But I buzz in when I know that I know the answer and then and then I have to pull out what the answer is
[00:08:07] You know, I'll know that I know it and then you know I buzz and I have a second to like, you know gather myself and recall what it is
[00:08:13] So midway was kind of like similar situation where it's so much pressure and like I have a glimmer. There's something in my wheelhouse So I'm running through the ship names and I'm like the question just for the viewers is it's a it's a battleship or an aircraft
[00:08:26] Carrier from World War two named after a battle in 1942. So obviously you get up read all the state names It's not the Indian and Indiana, whatever it is Indianapolis And I just settled on Midway. It was the only battle I could think of so
[00:08:38] It's fortunate enough to get that right to win and it was like this huge moment of relief Steven because it was a recognition that I just won the game, you know, I put all the chips on black At the beat unnecessarily, you know kind of a
[00:08:50] People don't play Jeopardy that way but but I did and it worked out so but and watching it like both my wife and I Were like, oh no, he doesn't know it
[00:08:59] Like was there a moment while you were kind of going through it when you're like, I don't have it Like was there just like instantaneous fear or panic or were you like I can get this
[00:09:07] No, I mean the number one is I didn't I didn't know it for sure So I knew I had to make an educated guess and as soon as you kind of recognized it Like, you know, you're not on that straight and narrow sure path road
[00:09:18] There's an immediate level of nerves and pressure that hits you because you know, obviously you're self-conscious You're aware that you've just staked your entire, you know 10,000 bucks which is you know a lot of money in my book on this one thing. Um, you have to guess
[00:09:32] But but I mean realistically that's kind of a question where there's like how many if you know what Midway is how many how Many possible guesses are there? There's like late Eagle off whatever. That's not there's no aircraft carrier named after that. So
[00:09:43] It was probably an easy question I think my reaction which was totally genuine on the program was a Reflection of like I have to make an educated guess under an insane of my pressure Yeah
[00:09:52] and what and then you you get it right and then like what is that is like how you compare the euphoria of Knowing you've won Jeopardy. It's like winning an immunity challenge. Is it like is it you know, how way more way more?
[00:10:04] I mean like the thing about an immunity challenge is like it's nice but like most the time are you sure you need it? You know, it's a nice little cushion, you know You get to be the king of the king of the sandcastle for a day
[00:10:14] But but it's it's just kind of it's it's it's nice Jeopardy is life or death You know, it's it's like a Hunger Games thing Like I live I get to continue playing if I win this challenge. So the stakes are a lot higher
[00:10:25] Um winning the winning that question. It was stunning because I knew that I had won the game I mean technically there was some some, you know openness I could have lost whatever to the third person which you know reddit loves to remind me of but but
[00:10:38] Functionally I'd won the game and I had beaten someone who was a big deal And I knew that because I had been on survivor there would be more press around it I knew that I had just done something like big, you know
[00:10:46] So that was like a whoa and it really took me out of the game Like if you watch the rest of the game, my play is a little bit worse Like I get um watching back
[00:10:53] I was stunned at some of the questions that didn't buzz in because I was I was just you know I was just really you guys know from watching survivor I'm not a great liar, right?
[00:11:00] Like sometimes if I if I'm not prepared for something if I don't have a plan I I tilt a little bit Oh And I very much it was the same reaction winning jeopardy is a rush for
[00:11:12] People who are not super familiar with the jeopardy production schedule. Do you play multiple games in a day? You do so you play Between five and six games a day Wow a lot Yeah, and it is and I'll tell you there's an underrated difficulty factor of jeopardy
[00:11:29] Which is the physical game the physical component of the game because you're standing on a huge stage like It's certainly bigger than like the base area of tribal council a massive stage and you've got to look and read the clues on these
[00:11:44] Tiny, you know one foot by two foot television screens may be that big probably smaller across the stage So you're really squinting you've got to stand up straight, you know, but posture back Um, you've got to have your reaction times to like a you know quarter second for
[00:12:00] For hours and hours and hours on end. It really begins to fatigue um, I ended up losing on my the last game of the day my second day of taping because I Had you know, it couldn't remember basic answers
[00:12:12] I had struggled a single jeopardy and I got to a final jeopardy answer That was obviously Helen Keller and I knew it and I couldn't come up with her name, you know
[00:12:19] I just it just wouldn't come you did seem tired that last game and I mean you had said I saw about an interview review You also felt like Adriana was tired in her last game We're like so you basically it was like two days two consecutive days
[00:12:31] And you've just gone through all of these like emotional highs and you know highs and lows in that period No, it wasn't two consecutive days. So it was um, I Had flown in from England for my first day
[00:12:43] So I'm just totally jet-lagged and I've been able to win through that and then I had like four days off Maybe like I had to fly home for the weekend and come back
[00:12:51] So I had flown to Philly and I'd seen my girlfriend and visit all my friends and I had come back So I was a little bit more well rested the second time
[00:12:58] Like I don't think I could have I could have gone five games the first the first day. I was I was exhausted Just because the jet lags was kind of an unfortunate timing and like I'll be honest Robin Steven
[00:13:07] There is like it, you know, obviously whenever you play a game like this There's a what-if factor there's definitely a what-if because it's like You know if I had been based in the u.s
[00:13:15] If I hadn't been hurrying back to finish my masters, I had to be there in a specific day I had to get it all done. I hadn't started, you know I probably could have done a little bit better, but there was just a lot of compressing factors
[00:13:25] Well, I mean you pretty good pretty exceptionally. It's hard to do like too much better than you know, the the seven the seven wins I guess I guess there's always 74 but but other than that, you know, it seems like Qualify, so what um?
[00:13:37] I am curious about the fatigue component and just like like how that kind of factors into it What or just the general kind of like so you're you're filming five episodes in a day
[00:13:45] You have five outfits. Like are you packing for like it's a kind of a reverse Ponderosa, you know When you like prepare pack for a survivor, you're like, I don't want to bring too many outfits cuz I don't want to jinx it
[00:13:54] You know, I don't want to be there for a long time Is this sort of like you're packing do they tell you how many outfits to pack? Like do you put like five in because you're like, I'm a champ. They take you shopping at some point
[00:14:05] Yeah, no, no, no, you know Credit to the survivor production and like they They treat you like a king, you know They fly you out to LA for finals and then they put you up in a nice hotel and they order you all this fancy
[00:14:17] Food, maybe it was different for you guys this time I mean, you know Rob, I remember you saying you got to stay at like Michael Bolton's Villa or something like that Well, that was Panama. Yeah, it was fine in Los Angeles
[00:14:29] Okay. Well, anyways, we'd know nothing like that, but they really treat you nice and with jeopardy It's kind of a thing where there are so many people who come and play and most eat Most of them are kind of like dime a dozen. They're not gonna win
[00:14:41] You know, they're not gonna do particularly well So you have to pay for some of your accommodations and stuff there get a pay for your flight At least if you're not a returning champ, so I had um, I'd flown in from England an expensive flight as long
[00:14:55] It's like 12 hours and they ask you to bring five outfits and in my head. I was kind of like, okay, you know Let's be honest. There's not you're not gonna win five games. You need to bring five outfits
[00:15:04] I brought like two shirts my set my first day. I just figured like, you know, we'll go lucky. We'll get two games and then I We ran out of clothes so they were like next time you got to bring more
[00:15:14] So yeah, I brought more but um, but what do you mean? You're wearing clothes like you obviously wore clothes. So like do you like go buy them like
[00:15:23] You just commit the sacred wardrobe sin of wearing the same I didn't even notice did you wear the same item multiple times Yeah, I mean like if you go watch I've got like three shirts and I just like put a lucky shirt
[00:15:32] You put a sports coat on you take a sports coat off. You got like, you know six permutations But yeah, the way it works is in a very different from survivor. You're sitting in a green room with everybody
[00:15:43] Everybody's nervous. You're kind of just doing there and you're watching the games. So for our case, you know, we're watching Adriana Dominate her first two games Adriana 15 game champ
[00:15:54] And it's really I mean, there's really a Paul and in the in the green room because we're all like, oh my god We're just getting screwed You know, we're like we're like lowly like foot soldiers in the way of like Alexander the Great, you know
[00:16:06] We're gonna get stepped on. Um, so people were people were like You know saying their prayers But but and then the champ comes back in the champ has their own dress dressing room You know
[00:16:17] So they get to change in the dressing room just to kind of you know Press upon you the fact that you are nothing Come out and you do a little like wardrobe type stuff like makeup a little bit which I gotta tell you
[00:16:28] I'm into the makeup. I can't believe the girls had a monopoly on this. This is great. Oh, no touched me all up I like it I gotta get onto that
[00:16:36] But anyway, so then you do that and then it's your it's your day in the Sun you get to come out onto the stage And there's a there's a studio audience maybe a hundred people maybe 150 a decent crowd and they're all huge Jeopardy fans They're very invested
[00:16:52] And yeah, that's the that's what the production side of taping looks like And it's kind of unusual for the person to eliminate who eliminates a super champion to then go on and become like a Five a five game champion themself, right?
[00:17:04] Like it seems like it's usually a one-hit wonder like are you do you know? Like what the stats are like how many people who eliminate these like great players then become, you know, great players themselves Yeah, there's like a there's like a giant killer or whatever statistics
[00:17:17] I haven't I haven't really been deep into the Jeopardy lore. I gotta tell you I didn't really watch Jeopardy before going on Wow Yeah, so I didn't really I didn't really know a lot of the strategy of the game but I
[00:17:28] Think there was one guy who like beat a super champ and then similarly went like 10 days But it's very uncommon And the reason why is that there are like Titans in the trivia world and you can only go on Jeopardy once so that you
[00:17:41] Know don't get on at some point and they'll basically go until they lose on a fluke You know, they'll get the daily doubles wrong. They'll get the final double wrong though. That's kind of what happened to Adriana
[00:17:50] I mean I had a little bit more substance than your typical giant killer But uh, you know, she encountered somebody who was willing to play a lot more aggressively in a high-risk higher, you know, I reward
[00:18:00] Fashion and and she what she went down. So no, it's definitely unusual and I think they've uh, Think they've been I think they've bought into that. You know, I think I think Jeopardy likes likes that
[00:18:10] So it's a book and boat well for my future. Well, that was my next question So like, you know, you're eliminated by a cat and then were you rooting for cat to be eliminated quickly?
[00:18:20] Or do you want her to do well because you know that if she's eliminated quickly like oh my gosh It was some crazy fluke, but you don't want her to get more games that you've got, you know Like no, you don't want to get more games No way
[00:18:30] But I mean, I'll be honest which is that I kind of felt in that last game like I had eliminated myself You know, like all my mistakes were self-inflicted all it was nags. It was
[00:18:41] Losing Final Jeopardy and so I kind of felt that made the cat had not you know Maybe not but as good as some of the other people I played that day
[00:18:48] So I thought that maybe she could win another game, but but there was probably like a hard cut Super nice though, obviously For me though. You don't really care I mean it's if you if you come if you win four games instead of five, you know
[00:19:01] And you're not gonna make the tournament champions. You're not gonna play again Then there's probably like a situation where you're you know desperate and you're like scrounging for like personal victories
[00:19:09] You know, you're like I learned something about myself, you know, at least I got a daily double right? Oh Whatever, you know, but winning getting the tournament champions like that's that's the next level
[00:19:20] You know that's going from triple a to major league. So I mean, I don't need to search for consolations and concessions, you know, we're already you know, it's the Concession is ahead
[00:19:32] Drew that gets into like the next obviously so like, you know both obviously now obviously you're preparing for the tournament of champions So I kind of had a two-part question then like a like how did you prepare for your first time on and you said?
[00:19:43] You know, you hadn't watched a lot. So maybe you're you know, you put was your preparation sporadic Did you have like specific mnemonics? Did you try to memorize facts? And now how are you preparing for the TOC? Yeah, so great questions. Um
[00:19:58] It all goes back to my my Jeopardy casting journey, which is that they put the tests online called Adam Klein I Did I call that I might send send all your trivia notes
[00:20:11] He was not much help. I hear he's great on survivor though, but but you know Jeopardy his business is expanding as early stages So so he didn't have much for me
[00:20:20] So I took the college online test and I was able to make it to finals and they chose some some You know woman from my college to go instead of me who I didn't like
[00:20:28] I'm taking classes with before and then she sucked and so I was kind of like god damn it, you know Like I was robbed And but then they had been like, okay go take the adult test to you know, you're you were good enough on college Jeopardy
[00:20:40] I got to work on your personality, but that's all right So I took the adult test I made the finals of that and I can remember the day I made the finals of adult Jeopardy I had been studying abroad in Belgium and I had this apartment
[00:20:53] Outside of Brussels that I hadn't been there in months and I had to move out It was the last day my lease so I flew in from Italy, which is where I was, you know I'm doing my other study stuff
[00:21:03] And like 4 in the morning. I moved all day You know one of the most office mail everything through stuff out and then at like 10 p.m Central European Central Europe time like I had my thing so I was exhausted and I didn't do great honestly and
[00:21:20] And then it then the camera turns off and I'm like well shit. Okay, there we go I gotta wait another like three years before before doing the test again
[00:21:27] Then survivor happened and I was kind of just like, okay, well, you know, I've I've I've gotten married right now, you know, I'm Monogamous we're gonna do survivor. That's it And then it was a funny thing is the Jeopardy texted me like are you still interested?
[00:21:40] They didn't even call it was just a text and I said sure what I have like horrible news. Yeah. Yeah, it was like that It was late. It was like maybe like 1030, you know in England and I was like, I have horrible news guys
[00:21:50] Like I'm a survivor now, you know, I've been I've committed, you know, I've joined I've joined the frat I'm not a you know, no rushing any longer. They were like, okay, we'll talk with our producers and get back to you
[00:21:59] Yeah, I didn't hear anything for about a month. So I was like, alright, well that's you know, that's your answer This is the sad thing about reality TV guys in the comments Rob Steven, you know, but but you know
[00:22:10] It's kind of like if they're interested they'll call you and you know, they're gonna ghost you if they're not, you know It's no buddy buddy. So I just thought I'd been ghosted and then they hit me up again They're like our producers are great totally shocking
[00:22:23] You have like four weeks you have like three weeks So I didn't have much time to prepare Steven building to your point And additionally, I didn't go on vacation during those weeks. I was like, oh geez, you know Like I'm really not gonna have much time to study
[00:22:35] What I did is there's a website called J archive I basically went through and I figured out there are like certain key areas where I'm weak. I don't know any liquor I don't know food. I don't know popular culture. I don't know music
[00:22:46] So I went through and I would search like keywords and I would make Flashcards of like all the important information things that would come up and they were shockingly helpful I mean the thing for me in my real asset
[00:22:59] In just like intellectual settings and certainly, you know on Jeopardy is that I have great retention You know, like I can my recall is really sharp And so it compensates for the fact that like I'm not the most analytical. Um
[00:23:11] And basically these these flashcards ended up being a huge boon with just like two or three weeks of work on them like I Would say I probably got 3,000 extra dollars three to four thousand extra dollars per game 4,000 probably a little much but three thousand extra bucks per game
[00:23:28] On average from stuff I had prepped just in advance like specific pieces of knowledge that like you had seen in the past Jeopardy questions That that popped up again and new Jeopardy questions. Yeah, like like Toby Keith red solo cup
[00:23:40] That was something I learned. I remember when you got Toby Keith, you're almost like surprised You seemed like almost surprised to have gotten yeah Cuz I you know, it was just it was it was the only fact I remembered about the guy
[00:23:49] I didn't even know he had died recently rest in peace Toby Keith, I guess although I don't like his music but Controversial I mean part of the chat of your Toby Keith fan. I don't he's gonna say anything
[00:24:02] Or like, you know the monitor even these ships that had been on there So, yeah, the studying was extremely helpful and I think I foresee a similar program coming
[00:24:12] In the future. I actually have some tips. I was looking through what people suggested. I had some new stuff that really worked I found some resources, but I'm just gonna make a YouTube video talking all about him
[00:24:22] And now though since I'm playing again, you don't give it away. I can't give away my secrets So maybe like, you know in a year, I'll post all that my top Resources that really when is the Tournament of Champions?
[00:24:36] It's very unclear. You know, they're not they're not they're not telling me even they can't tell anybody yet No, it's fairness things but the do the writers strike The season kind of got bumped back
[00:24:46] So I'm expecting the Tournament of Champions to be in like March or February of next year Which gives me eight solid months of study haven't done much studying Since since since taping jeopardy, but it's hopefully gonna get into gear coming up It's very exciting additionally
[00:25:02] There's something called sporkle con. I didn't know anything about this. It's like a con Yeah, it's like sporkle, you know, you know this this thing Rob. It's like online. I know sport. Oh, yeah All right. This is very telling But they have like some sparkle Okay
[00:25:20] And then it's like trivia questions. Okay, I guess I got a research about it So I'm gonna go I'm gonna go to that. I got asked by like the inside jeopardy podcast
[00:25:29] So now right now you're like, you know a big figure in the jet in the in the trivia. I think so I think so. I think they've really enjoyed doing this like survivor cross promotion Yeah, they put like a Instagram post up with survivor Yeah
[00:25:41] and like I just gotta say, you know, I'm kind of a kind of a kooky guy and a little bit of an oddball and Like so on survivor. I'm like that, you know, I'm a weirdo but like on jeopardy right now
[00:25:55] Yeah, exactly exactly, you know finally I discovered the secret to getting you know, Basile out was just to find like, you know Sure people that nerds to hang around the coolest guy at Jeopardy con
[00:26:07] Exactly. Exactly. That's what I was building towards Rob obliquely. But yeah, so anyways, that's been a pleasure. It's been quite fun Yeah Jeopardy producers are survivor fans. There's very frequently like survivor categories on jeopardy. Like yes, did you um
[00:26:20] Like did that do you think that helped you like I was I'm almost surprised that it was like I thought maybe That you were gonna say that, you know They were excited when they learned you were on survivor rather than it being a tough
[00:26:29] You know a tough question of whether they could bring a former reality contest in fact Like a do you think that like so that but that didn't that didn't lead to them actually reaching out to you It was just a coincidence that you happen to be on
[00:26:41] Like, you know, obviously there are people on the jeopardy produce, you know production team who are awesome and our big survivor fans But like bringing somebody on from a different show right issue because they're under exclusivity, you know, there's an issue of
[00:26:55] Branding so that you know, it's a lot to toy with and like, okay. Yeah, we can be a fan of this this person But ultimately I'm just a you know, time doesn't reality TV star. So it's like, you know, don't say that
[00:27:05] How do you does this open the door to other? Survivor contestants do you think or do you think this is like we've had our survivor guy on we don't need another one Well, and they just had doors open
[00:27:15] Why sorry and they just had and on the heels of Javaria to yeah Yeah, true and they loved you very Javaria's is beloved there. She's like one of the house tastes old gods So I think I think the door is wide open for someone like say Stephen Fishback
[00:27:30] I'm very sure we will do look at all those books, you know, look Those are just spines they're not even books The no, but like truly like I would not be I think I would do very badly just because of like processing speed now
[00:27:43] It's like oh, yeah, look at one time I knew that question but like I don't think there's that there's some like people who could be great Brian Corden You know is a very avid trivia
[00:27:53] Oh, he'd be great. I hear that you guys have such a nice little or maybe formerly you're not in New York anymore But there was like a really, you know survivor Like bar trivia community in New York once upon a time. They still do it
[00:28:05] I was never a part of that but like yes, I think Brian is and I think Eliza are still are still quite active Drew speaking of the crossover on one of the awkward Conversations or not awkward conversations awkward facts
[00:28:19] segments that Ken brought up that he had been in Communication with Jeff Probst about your survivor and Jeopardy experience. What was that like to hear about?
[00:28:32] That was stunning, you know, I'll tell you and I actually I think I mentioned this to Stephen once before but a lot of survivor Players, they come back from playing survivor and they're like, they're like a little jaded, you know
[00:28:43] It's like you come back from summer vacation. You're like, oh, yeah, I'm too cool or like, you know, you know I got issues now with the administration. I know how this you know
[00:28:53] For me, I really am blessed because I still feel like so naive about survivor. Like I had this wonderful experience I was treated, you know, very respectfully or as you know as respectful as you can be And I you know, I look back on the whole thing positively
[00:29:07] But it's kind of tough because it's like it's like going on a great date and then you like never see the person again Like Jeff is off like doing his thing, you know, and I'm just like I'm like, you know
[00:29:15] Sitting with my hat in my hands like okay, you know, hi guys. Have fun I'll keep up with you on the news But so to hear it to hear that from Jeff was actually really nice because I really I really I admire Jeff even one
[00:29:26] I'd say I think he's a great guy. He was very good to me And so it was really nice, you know It's kind of like a part of my life that I potentially thought you know had closed a little bit was it was back open
[00:29:35] It was great to hear. So this is gonna catapult you to season 50 is what you're saying. I I really don't know like The thing is guys everyone is taught ever so they're so cagey. It's so coy about season 50, you know
[00:29:48] We're like are we pre-gaming? No, everybody's pre-gaming. We're not pre-gaming nudge-nudge So I just like say it I think there are so many qualified people from the new era and there's so much competition in the nerd archetype
[00:29:58] I'd be surprised if I got the call. Well, you know that I think you're competitive Yeah I think I look and I think that like if any other people in your archetype had like a fall from grace in any ways
[00:30:14] Like, you know, I think the stock is rising. Yeah, I know but I'm like a dime a dozen You know, I know my whole life like struggling to make friends and now that I get every season
[00:30:24] There's somebody just like me and I'm like, where did all these people come from? Essential now you are Like you've like, yeah You know You had that quote obviously the start like I'm the smartest ever but like now you've got like I've got my like plaque turn them
[00:30:36] In a champion. Okay, you know here Steven. You're making me feel better I was thinking like I had to change things up. Like I had to get jacked, you know Like I had to like, you know, like previously if you were the dorky guy
[00:30:45] You were not you were an island out there and now it's everybody like I gotta I get like Jonathan built, you know then I'll surely be a hot commodity but um
[00:30:54] Yeah, I don't know I think to probably you know, let's be honest it's um certainly raised like the odds of Survivor 50 from unlikely to plausible. So that's great We'll take that but then it's also like another angle which is that Rob and Steven you guys both went back
[00:31:10] Let's play again survivor after like pretty sterling first and went great for both of us Well, I mean you guys both had some fun moments, but but you know, it complicates Yeah Yeah, it does it does and it truly does like it changes your perspective
[00:31:26] And I think I felt like you felt coming out of the first one like wow What a magical experience that was yeah, the magic was slightly tainted but like listen, I mean
[00:31:34] It's so it's so cool to do this a second time, you know, then it's like it's like being in the you know it's like you know, you're in the That was our turn of champions, yeah That's right, yeah Don't you know pray for Drew
[00:31:57] How so let's talk about awkward story time Which maybe that's not the official title of that segment Do they get like like they obviously have facts that you are providing them, you know, Ken is not on Google researching you
[00:32:09] What what how much prompting do you have for like how much knowledge you have of like what he's gonna ask You know, they're good to you they don't ambush you I'm trying to dig around for my facts
[00:32:18] She that's not looking off camera. You get like a little card looks like this It'll have like some prompts that you gave put on it They'll go through and they'll like highlight, you know, which one you're gonna run with Ken doesn't know the story
[00:32:29] I mean, it's a surprise for Ken, you know, he's learning it as it goes So so, you know a lot of times he'll have like quite the reaction if it's a good story But um, I mean
[00:32:38] Don't give you like a basic one-word tag to build off and then you're kind of like working with Ken to like, you know Produce 30 seconds of like quality, you know human to human interaction Which some people are better than others Ken is actually great at it
[00:32:52] Can I get transitions are amazing? Like he's the Rob says, you know of television like great transition Yeah And he goes during the ad breaks They take ad breaks on Jeopardy
[00:33:03] It's like with the actual commercials and he'll go and like address the audience and he'll like do questions I'll say some jokes and he's funny. He's good. You know, he's very smooth. It's really impressive But anyways, yeah
[00:33:13] So you get a little little bit of something to go off of it's not all like live and improvised the way like tribal council might be But yeah, yeah, you think people practice a little more I saw an interview where you said, you know part of your prep
[00:33:27] You wanted to like learn better the grammar of Jeopardy questions and separate. Oh, yeah I saw Buzzy Cohen Said that you you know your weakness in your game was your final Jeopardy and now I had a question for you at that
[00:33:39] Which is how do you feel about past competitors of a game show critiquing current players? It's kind of in bad taste, right? No, I love it. I love it. Okay, especially now that I'm good to be one of the critiquers. It's great
[00:33:50] No, but really I guess and I'll address survivor in a second because that's like a you know That's similarly in the equation But for Jeopardy like I don't really know the show the way that a lot of people do
[00:33:59] Yeah, it's kind of new to me and I like I'm overseas. I can't watch Jeopardy You gotta watch your life. You can't stream it. I said run Pluto TV apparently Yeah, right But but anyway
[00:34:11] So I really appreciate it and I think that if a guy like Buzzy Cohen who is I think it's Herman champions winner has some Advice for me like I'll take it, you know, and there's no ego involved
[00:34:20] Like if I'm playing to win, so I'll take all those critiques and anyone anything that anyone has No, I appreciate it. And I think When you go out and you put yourself into something, you know, it's kind of like writing, you know, I'm a big writer
[00:34:32] I like to write And and like a piece of writing is a baby, you know And you've produced this baby and you have sole custody and then you have to go to a workshop and and and show everyone off
[00:34:44] And they're like your baby's ugly, you know, it's this terrible I mean you need you need edits like this this sentence needs to be revised. The plot is bad It's slow and if you get in a huff about it
[00:34:52] You know from people who are more qualified than you better than you more talented than you You're never gonna improve. So I really enjoy that the critique I'm curious about the question about the grammar of jeopardy question, you know, like what does that mean?
[00:35:04] How are you trying to improve your like, you know your knowledge of it for sure? so I think one of my strengths on like Just on jeopardy or in trivia is that like I have a wide knowledge base and I'm able to like, you know Pull those facts
[00:35:18] Especially when they're like historically based or like their scientific language But when it's kind of like a really basic fact and it's just like, you know I've said it in a matter-of-fact way like the way that bar trivia is, you know
[00:35:29] Sometimes I struggle because I'm not you know I'm not in that headspace or similarly final jeopardy. A lot of times they're like, they're kind of tricky They're they're like puzzles. There's like a riddle element
[00:35:38] You have to put together like different bits of information and take a guess from that when the actual clue isn't very clear Um, and I struggle with that, you know
[00:35:47] I'm better when it's like a more direct question like in 1876 like who got killed where like, okay, I can do that I I got that when but then when it's like, you know 40 years ago consumers love this mascot, you know, who often said like that I get lost
[00:36:02] I don't know, you know, it's not it's not historical. It's the final jeopardy is a lot like that I think I need to spend more time like Watching jeopardy to be honest watching those finals clues. Um and and and
[00:36:13] Figuring out what like what the giveaways are what i'm supposed to pay attention to if not like the raw data One thing about this that I thought was interesting was that you can overthink final jeopardy
[00:36:23] Not you but like one can over because you're like staring at it for much longer until you're not just immediately like Going to your you know knowledge base like you said, but like you're like, you know, would this be the answer?
[00:36:32] But like maybe that's too obvious, but maybe that's like, you know Like even with the Helen Keller question. I was like, is that is that like a too obvious answer? So we were like maybe it's Annie the other lady, you know Yeah, um I don't know
[00:36:43] Like I gotta figure it out, but I do think that's I do think that's very true Maybe for better players than I am. I'm kind of like, uh, like i'm lazy like is my core flaw
[00:36:51] So I get an answer. It's good enough. Like okay, we're going with that, you know If I don't know it i'll bet the farm on on the first answer that comes by. Um But but uh, no, I think that's a good point. Um
[00:37:03] To that you can't overthink it. I think that's a good point Um But yeah, what do you I gotta find this buzzy Cohen stuff. Oh, I'll send it to you. I just I truly
[00:37:12] It's just like I'm prepping for this. I wanted to uh, sorry. I didn't mean to like ambush you with like a No, I thought it was a positive thing, you know in terms of like because it also like Echoed what you yourself had said about like not totally
[00:37:26] You know, I think that's a good point. Um I think that's a good point Because it also like um echoed what you yourself had said about like not totally uh jiving with the Grammar final jeopardy. It was absolutely my weakness. Yeah
[00:37:41] Yeah, well drew I want to ask you another one of your final jeopardies. Uh, and I think this was uh, the third night of the show Uh where you ended up going into a sudden death overtime on the question about hank aaron
[00:37:55] Uh, and I believe if I have the the score right that it was you had 20k The guy another guy had 10k And you bet zero he bet everything and you ended up in a flat-footed tie
[00:38:08] uh, could you just talk through your thought process of the wager and then uh, How you were approaching that round? Absolutely So that guy that was josh great dude. We'd gotten to know each other a little bit in the weight room
[00:38:22] Um and two things I knew about him were number one that he sang in a choir I think in a men's uh group choir and two that he was into sports So those are two categories that I was bad
[00:38:32] And I knew that I had to kind of be wary about those if they were to come up so It's 20. It's 20k to 10k. It was just on the cusp of a runaway It's not um, it was a sports category
[00:38:42] And I kind of thought to myself that like if this category is in football or basketball or like, you know Soccer cricket who knows? You know i'm screwed like hockey. I have a tiny little bit of a chance just because people don't really know that much about hockey
[00:38:55] So the questions are easier and baseball like baseball. I could probably okay, like i'm decent So the odds of it being a sports question that is i'm gonna know relatively low. Um I knew he was good at sports um
[00:39:07] And then I also felt that I was probably faster on the buzzer than he was and that could be that could be an asset Um, and then you know, the last thing is it's like a tie is a lot of fun, you know like uh
[00:39:19] You know, that's great tv that that's a rush. That's pressure Like I don't do these shows for them. I mean like we love the money, but I don't do it for the money
[00:39:26] You know, I don't do it. I don't do it to like, you know get into entertainment weekly Yeah, it's it's it's the thrill. It's the rush, you know, I love that's why I love competition
[00:39:34] It's to compete and so a sudden death tiebreaker. That's exciting. That's exciting. Um, so that was kind of my mentality. I figured it was safer Um because the questions I can get in sports were relatively circumscribed especially compared to his wider knowledge base
[00:39:48] Um, because I felt that I was faster on the buzzer that I was more competent in a broader range of categories um And uh, and so I took the lead and then the sports question was about as easy as they get, you know
[00:39:59] Uh a good example of final jeopardy kind of the grammar of it because it's like vince scully said that he had gotten a standing Ovation, you know, it's like who knows that like I don't know that detail
[00:40:08] But you just pay attention to the fact that like he's from the south. He broke a hitting record in like baseball Like okay. Well, it's obviously hank aaron, you know Um, so anyways, I put the answer down
[00:40:20] I got it. I was zero. He he bet everything he got it Like I knew he would I knew it was an easy question and then we went off into the uh, the tie break And so does this You know on the tiebreaker your adrenaline is going crazy
[00:40:33] Like are you just like like what is the I mean this sort of gets into the timing generally for the buzzer but like yeah, how how um Like what's the secret because like, you know
[00:40:40] I read some article from ken like years ago and he was like the buzzer speed is like the whole if that's the whole game It's everything. Yeah So what's your do you obviously were you know, uh buzzer ace?
[00:40:50] Hey, i'm a beast on the buzzer. That's the best part of my game. Like I no no, I i'm just i'm I'm better on the buzzer than basically everyone but maybe one person I played against I mean maybe adriana on like
[00:41:01] On her peak like when she's more rested is could be better than me I felt like I was better than the buzzer than there when we played um, but It's all about there's like there's a lot of books There's a lot of like, you know
[00:41:12] Oh the secrets of the buzzer and it's on amazon You can buy it and read it people recommend that or there's like different strategies how to press it and when to you know Wait, ignore those ignore those the gist of the buzzer is that
[00:41:25] They'll read the question and then there was a light that goes on at the end of the question The light is cued manually. It's not like a computer. It's some guy who you know Activates it
[00:41:35] And then when you see the light you buzz if you buzz before the light shows up You're going to lock yourself out for a quarter of a second Not a long time in theory, but if you're buzzing right before that, you know, the light comes on
[00:41:45] You've missed your opportunity. You've missed your window so That's how the buzzer works. My recommendation is what I did is don't look at the light at all Just let them read the question and buzz when the question is sounds like it's going to be over um
[00:42:00] That's what I did I had um, I played quiz bowl for years. And so I don't know if you guys are familiar with that You know, maybe you have like high school age kids the viewers might um, but you're on a team
[00:42:11] You sit in a line. You have a little buzzer and you buzz when you know it. Um And I think that had really prepared like my my my reflexes and then it must also be said i'm a lot younger than these people You know, i'm 23 right
[00:42:23] reaction speeds, um They're it's a sharp grade, you know, they really decay as you get older. So I think that was a really uh added benefit too Yeah, and and then also it sounds like you know
[00:42:34] It makes a lot of sense for future contestants to be you know Put on a game face in the green room, right? Because like you had this key insight into josh
[00:42:41] Based on him being too loose-lipped like, you know, you gotta maybe maybe show a little, you know, have a little deception Credit to adriana. She didn't say anything. Yeah, um, and like there was another guy
[00:42:52] It does survivor preparing for that. I mean because that's basically you're at ponderosa You're sort of like looking for clues from people and I feel like that maybe was was that like a added advantage that you had
[00:43:04] You know rob. I didn't even occur to me, but it totally was like I was able to read I I built reads of contestants how they were feeling how they were going to be able to play um
[00:43:15] And like obviously you don't have much information so they can easily surprise you but a lot of times those reads are right There was another guy. Um Who was on my fourth game, which was you know, I I dominated it was the best game of uh the season
[00:43:28] Um, it was the best performance of the season. Um, but he was a he was a rock promoter, right? So then the second the second double jeopardy, whatever Um that one of the categories is rock music So i'm like, okay
[00:43:39] I gotta I have to choose those clues in case there's a daily double in there so he can't get in because I know who Knows rock music and I got you know, nine inch nails So
[00:43:47] You know if he had not said that if he had made something up if he had lied a little bit Things could have gone better for him Now, how else did survivor prepare you for jeopardy? I read I read one interview where you had said that you know
[00:43:58] Just having been on tv and having this like, you know Already exposed yourself to the sense of like people are watching me kind of made me a little tougher going in I think that's really right. I mean number one is that
[00:44:10] The survivor prepares you to compete on television both to like, you know Be able to deal with an audience be able to to deal with the pressure of like being on camera and on stage but then also it kind of like
[00:44:21] You know prepares you for the idea that like life will go on like being on tv Not that big of a deal like people could obviously have like mud to sling but don't forget. It doesn't really like
[00:44:32] It's not going to define your identity and that's something a lot of people really get caught up on in jeopardy I was kind of surprised interacting with the alumni community of jeopardy because you know, there's like, uh There's no term for it like survivor
[00:44:46] The survivor lag i'll call it which is like you're like, you know It's like woulda coulda shoulda for like a year afterwards and you're like living in that moment Oh, I should have gotten how could I not have got that?
[00:44:56] I didn't feel that jeopardy at all. I was like, okay. Well, that was fun You know, it was a good run but people really a lot of people really struggle with losing jeopardy
[00:45:03] You know because think about intelligence is so much of your identity is built into like being smart being good at trivia And to have been shown up like that on a big stage I mean people grapple with it the same way they grapple with losing survivor
[00:45:16] Um, I I didn't have to worry about that problem You know, I was all I I kind of gone through it once, you know I knew what I was getting into it. The mental effect didn't faze me Um, I think it was a huge asset um
[00:45:26] I mean playing a little bit but also after the fact like watching survivor watching jeopardy was a blast It was a great time. I had so much parties because it didn't like It didn't feel like it mattered the same way that like, you know
[00:45:37] Watch like, uh, let's you know survivors your first time you always want your first time to be good If it's bad, it's gonna be a disaster And you're like shirtless on an island and they can show you at your like most humiliating rather than yeah
[00:45:48] Like being smart just like my first time. Um, but anyways Um, so yeah, no, I think that was an asset on jeopardy for sure Do you think like by game three, you know You were saying like you were like, okay with the with the um with the tiebreaker
[00:46:03] Like do you sort of have the sense that you're like playing with house money, you know at that point like I won one Okay, i'm a jeopardy champ by two. It's like i'm not a i'm not a you know flash in the pan
[00:46:11] Now i'm getting on game three like obviously you're thinking about tournament of champions at that point, but you're like You know, I can I can loosen up a little bit or like where or maybe it was not till game
[00:46:20] 100 percent. I mean like especially after I won the first game like I kind of like You know, the best is not behind you, you know But but like you've just done a really cool thing and like, you know, the roller coaster can't just keep going keep going up
[00:46:35] Yeah So I was kind of like, all right Well that you know This has been nice all the pressure's off And and I didn't really I didn't really feel worried for the next two games
[00:46:42] obviously I had a big reaction at the end of the tie break because like, you know, Then you're in it, you know, it's it's like a it's like a you know, western standoff. Um
[00:46:51] I had a big reaction actually I had such a reaction that I think we had to re-record it Uh, I was like, let's go We're not doing that really jeopardy is so classy. Yeah, like uh, you know, but I had a huge reaction Anyways then
[00:47:09] The next day there's a little bit more nerves because like as I mentioned Or let me say the the time when I fly back as I mentioned i'm working on my masters and i'm not I'm not working on my masters. That's the problem, you know
[00:47:20] And so that's like a lot of pressure, uh on me and i'm like taking time away from the program to do jeopardy um And like i'm flying all the way out here and like if I lose i've just burned like a crazy amount of time
[00:47:32] That I absolutely need so that fourth game I was quite nervous because I like it needed at least needed to win one to justify this expenditure to justify this time
[00:47:40] Um, and then of course, uh winning the fifth game also very stressful because it's like then you're playing for something again Then you got something to prove and I didn't know this at the time
[00:47:48] But like before going on there had been like a streak of people this season who had gotten the fourth game and lost in the fifth game So, you know, obviously obviously it's that's kind of a jitter spot for people, you know, they get they get nervous
[00:47:59] They get in their heads they lose. Um after that though I mean steven like it was you know, they're really playing with house money after that So I I felt very much like I had achieved what I wanted to do
[00:48:10] Um, which I think probably was probably hurt me, you know, right? That's interesting. Um So you're a sort of polarizing figure like in the uh jeopardy reddit, you know I know. Yeah. How do you feel like do you do you ignore it?
[00:48:25] Are you like looking for yours like, you know, I spent a year looking at my you know Every post on survivor sucks after survivor like are you that person and like where does the survivor reddit to you know?
[00:48:34] Compare to the jeopardy reddit in terms of oh, that's a good question Um, I mean like i'll tell you the person is my girlfriend My girlfriend really goes through and looks looks at all of it
[00:48:43] I don't know why I don't know why she does it to herself, but she's very intrigued Um, I check like obviously there's like a game thread for every day So i'll go and i'll pull up the game thread and i'll read what people had to say
[00:48:54] It's funny because a lot of people who follow jeopardy were like wow The fans are having like really such a reaction and you know It was kind of a little muted compared to some of the hate you get from survivor. So I was like
[00:49:04] Is it a reaction even the jeopardy like negativity is polite? Yeah Well, it's also a little incoherent, you know, like like sometimes they've known negative people they're like they're retired They're a little bit older, you know, they're still grappling with technology
[00:49:19] Um, they haven't figured out of a spell check for example So it really like it mutes the you know, it's hard to be that outraged when it's like a completely incoherent message um, but yeah
[00:49:30] Well, I was kind of a polarizing figure on jeopardy and I think that's because a lot of people Who go on jeopardy are like they're very smart, but they not only are they very smart
[00:49:39] They've like committed their lives to like learning, you know to like that educated setting, you know They have so much poise and they're all dressed up too to encourage those those best qualities of politeness and rectitude
[00:49:50] And uh, you know people don't really showboat and people and personalities can be kind of muted I had no issue with with either of those things. I love showboating um, so I think that uh, I think I think reality stars come in and they're just like Class
[00:50:02] Yeah, honestly, I mean, you know survivors some of those things are foreign concepts but um Uh, no, I I think that that that a little bit more personality, uh, maybe than your average
[00:50:12] Um winning contestant could have been it could have been a little unnerving for for private viewers But what's the issue? I mean if you're winning why can't why can't you celebrate? I agree, but then also rob like, you know Everyone loves to root against you know
[00:50:27] You love to root against the winner And it's like you don't want the winner to be like some like kind person who you you know You would invite into your home like that's boring
[00:50:35] I'll gladly take being the heel. I like being the heel. It's fun. It gets people going There's a level of adversity there and that's the kind of environment that I operate best under so i'll lean into it
[00:50:45] I don't care. That's bad news because jeff doesn't cast villains anymore. So maybe you just ruined. Oh, yeah a chance. Oh, yeah Yeah, um What what um, so so questions like related to to that. Yeah. Nope. It's gone. There we go
[00:50:58] This is why I can't be on jeopardy. I had an I had a follow-up question and now it's gone Okay All right Um, I got a couple questions from the chat also that we could bring in but let me bring them in in the form of
[00:51:08] An answer for you to answer in the form of a question This was the one clue that you missed that you're still mad at Oh I like that round. That's good. Um I like the form
[00:51:22] I mean like once i'm mad at like obviously the hell and keller one like okay, that's silly I should have gotten i'm not really mad at it because like that was the last game of the day
[00:51:29] I would have had to like come back again. It would have been a whole other thing. Um One question that I was annoyed with myself in hindsight for not getting is like travis bickle who was the the protagonist or perhaps antagonist
[00:51:43] Of taxi driver a movie that i've seen a bunch of times a movie that I like Perhaps a little overrated but a movie that I like I I knew the answer I don't know. It just didn't come to me
[00:51:52] Another one that eats at me is uh mutiny on the bounty like that was a that was such a gimme But I was it was my first game. I just got the daily double. I was I you know, it didn't my bearings, you know, then
[00:52:04] Those are questions where it's kind of like, you know, really how could you not have known that? Um, so those ones bothered me a little bit but but no big regrets Question from oh wait
[00:52:16] How could I have forgotten this one was bad this was bad this one pissed me off um It's it's my fifth game, right? I'm so close to having a runaway, you know, but i'm you know, it's it's tight
[00:52:28] It's a two thousand dollar clue and the answer is impend Impend And it's like impending or something. Yeah the verb and they think I say impend like with a t yeah
[00:52:38] And I can understand the confusion because I was going to say impending and then I was like well Wait is asking for a verb. So I corrected myself mid mid speak, but you know, it sounds like a t
[00:52:47] I was so I was so mad that during the pause break. I like started arguing with production. Oh The fair play guy came over and he was like we listened to the tapes. It's it sounds like a t
[00:52:59] It's very clearly in a t and I was like, what are you talking about? That's not even a word Why would I say impend, you know, I was so frustrated. So that was the one that really grinded my gears for sure
[00:53:08] I want to like follow up like someone on like either last night or the night before like said larynx and they were like Yeah, we'll take larynx and then like they they penalize you for impend
[00:53:16] You know someone's in Wimbledon and like he didn't like say a hard enough d Like it's out right like where does where's the standard and they got you on yahoo yahoos, uh, and then reversed it
[00:53:27] well, I I actually thought the yahoos one was was was fair, but but you know the thing about the thing about jeopardy is that like You're having to make like a lot of really hard decisions on the fly in terms of like slight variations
[00:53:40] Like it does this count as the same thing? Like there are a lot there even like philosophical questions of like, you know What what does it mean to know and like what you know, which is which we don't have to get into that
[00:53:49] Um, but but the point is that like a lot of respect for the judges for having to make like snap calls uh with money on the line, um And you know, they're only human. You can't you can't you can't fall some some some some disagreements
[00:54:03] To all the judges of jeopardy drew. Yeah, you guys are a big fan. Okay I like you guys. You're cool. I need a job next year. So, you know hit my inbox. Okay
[00:54:13] But yeah, all right. I want to be respectful of your time drew. I know you got a lot going on steven Anything else for drew? I mean, this is the generic question, but I think you gotta ask it like i'm sure a lot of people watching
[00:54:25] You know are aspiring to be on jeopardy themselves or would love to be on jeopardy themselves someday Like, you know, do you have any advice like what's the what's the what's other than like, you know
[00:54:33] Take the online test. Is there some sort of like concrete advice you could give someone to uh to pursue that? Yes, I think there is so Um a lot of people like know stuff, you know good for you
[00:54:45] You know, you're a knowledgeable guy or girl but like having to recall things under pressure is a very different ball game So my advice for you is to compete Um at least in some kind of setting um tournament setting where you're racing against people
[00:55:00] Um, you know very quickly you'll feel you don't know as much but it's all about learning that kind of memory mindset There's a website and I want write this down. It's called proto bowl.com Okay It'll give you quiz bowl questions trivia questions
[00:55:13] And you're in a lobby playing against other people and you buzz On the thing hit the spacebar and then you type your answer in uh, you're gonna get killed But you're really gonna get annihilated doing this
[00:55:22] But that's that's kind of like a competitive. Uh, you know setting that you can do from your home from your computer That's gonna get you, you know into the right mindset. That's my first advice. Um My second advice would be is to study jeopardy um
[00:55:37] The the conventional advice is that like jeopardy winners are aided by a lifetime of paying attention That's not true. Like I I don't pay attention to anything at all, but i'm totally bumbling Uh in my regular life, you know so like you can study for this stuff. Um
[00:55:52] That's my rec figure out areas where you're weak by watching games keep statistics If you want there are apps that can help you do this
[00:55:58] um and and work on your weak categories and if you assiduously work like if you do an hour a day for two weeks in a weak category You'll be shocked how many more questions you get right, you know people that are like oh it's studying the encyclopedia
[00:56:10] How could I ever do that? Actually, if you're studying like very specific facts and you can identify what facts come up It's very attainable Okay. Well, it's my advice true. We really appreciate you making time to talk about this
[00:56:24] I I had been really looking forward to this. I know steven had to and so Impressed, uh with your success on the show It really was so fun to watch you go out there and have this experience and we can't wait to see
[00:56:39] Uh how things go for you when you get to go back? Me neither. Yeah, I don't know i'm gonna start studying. Otherwise, it's gonna go poorly. But thank you rob. Thank you steven It's always a pleasure to be on rhap
[00:56:51] Um, and i'm honored to have been at least for a day one of the know-it-alls yes, and if people missed it drew did an incredible interview with me during uh season 46 uh that people the response to that was so positive
[00:57:07] That we got so many great comments about the interview that you and I did a couple of months ago So I'd love to get if we could get a link to that in the show notes. Uh, that would be incredible because
[00:57:17] Uh drew was at the top of his game a breaking down survivor I had some I remember having a lot of hot takes. Yeah, so people loved it. Hopefully it was entertaining good good
[00:57:28] Yes, okay steven anything else you want uh to let the listeners know? No, this was this was such a pleasure Thanks for letting me uh, you know crash it rob and drew. How about for you? Are you on cameo now in as a jeopardy champion?
[00:57:42] Yeah, i'm still on cameo, uh, you can go and request a video for me Sometimes people ask me for like birth announcements, you know, like that's like i'll do it, you know I'm shameless but like, you know, i'll say hi to you for whatever
[00:57:55] Um, so no pressure if you want to cameo i'll make it cameo. Um, other than that I have nothing to promote Uh one day eventually i'll have a novel to promote so follow me on twitter for when that happens and instagram um
[00:58:07] But it's not now so I have nothing. All right Drew thank you. I have to have a follow-up question about that. Wait. No wait birth announcements We got what does that mean? Like you like uh, like uh to the family or to like the spouse? Yes
[00:58:18] Like they they get together to watch survivor and then I like i'm like you guys are so cool. Also you're having a baby Uh, wow, which is like I know for the father this is given I would have cameo I would have No, it's like to the family
[00:58:32] Obviously if i'm announcing it to the if you're if you're pregnant and you are having me tell your you know husband or whatever like You you're having a baby. It's time to step up don't get me to do that
[00:58:44] But no, no, they uh, they they have me all kinds of announcements. Honestly, it's uh, you know, it's Changed their own I was happy to do it a couple times Hey billy, uh, it's drew from survivor here. Uh, michelle wanted me to tell you she's late
[00:59:00] Yeah, I I can't wait for one where it's like hey guys, I hope you're doing well it's drew from survivor Like i'm sorry, you know your uncle died in a horrific accident last night
[00:59:11] Driving home from the bar. Yeah, it was just terrible. I'm so sorry guys, but you know Hope you're gonna enjoy season 47, you know, it's like it's only a matter of days now But I gotta have to get extra rate for that. Okay. All right. Well, uh drew
[00:59:25] Thank you so much, uh for people who are fans in the intersection of survivor and jeopardy Hey, we've got a reality tv newsletter for people who love smart reality tv commentary
[00:59:37] Shannon gus just wrote up about the difference between the social game and the strategic game and you could read that For free at reality tv newsletters.com Thank you so much. We'd love to see your comments in the chat and on youtube for this one as well
[00:59:50] Take care. Everybody. Have a good one. Bye