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.

With John away this week, Emily is joined by comedian, writer, and current Jeopardy contestant-pool member Guy Branum! They break down: the rise and fall of Episcopal priest Kevin Laskowski, the best movies to watch with your family during the holidays, and how to communicate through your Jeopardy! anecdote that you have lived a LIFE. Also discussed: Chuck E. Cheese, and the fortunes made and lost in bringing him to life.

SOURCE: New York Times: "Farewell, Chuck E. Cheese Animatronic Band" by Jesus Jiménez; IEEE.org: "Chuck E. Cheese's Animatronic Band Bows Out" by Allison Marsh.

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.