What Is...? A Jeopardy! Podcast

John is out covering curling this week, so we're joined by friend of the show and friend of handsomeness everywhere, Handsome Kevin Seccia! We have a great time chatting about another INCREDIBLE week of Jamie Ding, including Kevin's flawless Jeff Foxworthy impression. PLUS: we travel back in time to the first ever Jeopardy champion, and instead of going deep, we go incredibly shallow discussing Kevin's hunkiness ratings system. If you want to feel very hunky and not shallow at all, why not donate to our Patreon? For $5/month, you'll get access to our entire catalogue of bonus episodes, a brand new episode every month, access to our Discord, and MORE! Last month, Andrew He joined us for a wonderful interview about his J! career and it was a blast you won't wanna miss! Support the show today at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast. Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

It's another Jamie Ding week on Jeopardy! and that means another tough week for our show, as his dominance makes our jobs just that much more difficult. But we find a way, as an Emily joke turns into a complete giggle fit for John, Jamie gives a very classy incorrect response, and there's heartbreak in BFJ. Plus, we dive deep on the company history of 3M. If you want an episode that wasn't difficult for us at all, then head on over to our Patreon as we posted a brand-new episode yesterday: an exclusive interview with Andrew He! Saying it was the most candid interview he's ever given, Andrew gets into the nitty-gritty with us from the food poisoning he suffered right before the JIT to how he's prepared for all the big tournaments over the years. It's a great way to support our show and get some great content too! Join today at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast. SOURCE: 3M.com: "The History of 3M"; The New Yorker: "How 3M Discovered, Then Concealed, The Dangers of Forever Chemicals" by Sharon Lerner Special thank you as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and the J-Archive. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

John is BACK and not a moment too soon as he issues his "Canadian corrections" to last week's episode regarding a certain word pronunciation and Emily and Paolo not understand the importance of the Heated Rivalry fleece. Elsewhere, Jamie Ding continues his march towards superchamp status and also J! legend status as he plays one of the best Jeopardy! games of all-time. Plus, we dive deep on Anastasia. If you want to feel like a member of a royal family, why not join our highly noble and wonderful Patreon? For just $5/month, you'll get a new bonus episode every month, immediate access to our entire back catalogue, and access to our Discord, which is full of fun J! chat with a bunch of former champions, contestants, and John and Emily. Join today at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast. SOURCE: UAB Libraries: "Legend Over Truth: The Mystery of Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov" by Haley Wells; New York Times: "Anastasia: Grand Duchess or Grand Hoax?" by Arthur J. Olsenbonn 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 is out sick this week, so we are joined by TOC Champion and bona fide WIAJP patron Paolo Pasco! He helps us recap a fun week of games with a record breaking number of cuties + honorable mentions for response of the week. Plus, we get a deep dive on the Rainbow Coalition and we talk about Traitors and movies longer than John would ever allow on a normal episode. Some are saying he's the new John. Are they right?? If you want more of the OLD John, why not head on over to our Patreon to donate? You'll get immediate access to our entire back catalogue of bonus episodes, you'll get access to our amazing Discord, and you'll get the knowledge that you helped John and Emily and warmed our hearts. And speaking of John and Emily, last week, they reviewed the pilot of Cop Rock! How could you miss that? Join today at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast. SOURCE: New York Times: "Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition Was a Powerful Advocate For His Politics" by Lyndsey Chutel; Teaching American History: "The Rainbow Coalition, Speech To the Democratic National Convention" edited by Peter C. Myers Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Art by Max Wittert. Music by Nate Heller.

A Jeopardy! contestant answers a common question on the show with such speed that it becomes a Response of the Year contender as we get a bit of an up-and-down week on the show that features a little 3-game run for Quentian (as Emily spelled it in our show document) and a whole lot of gunslinging. Plus, J! fans want to see a celebrity join the show after Ken goes to a play, John gets a little punchy, and we dive deep on Rosebud and the world of movie prop auctions. If you want to see a lot of horrible TV prop work in action, why not join our Patreon? You can help support the show AND get access to our latest episode, where John and Emily review the pilot of "Cop Rock", the much-maligned, oft-forgotten police procedural/musical written by Steven Bochco back in 1990. It is one wild experience, and you won't wanna miss it. You'll also get immediate access to our entire back catalogue, access to our very fun Discord, and MORE! Join today at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast. SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter: "Rosebud, Iconic Sled From 'Citizen Kane', Sells for $14.75 Million at Auction" by Mike Barnes; artnet: "Box Office Gold: Why Film Memorabilia is Now Commanding Millions" by Min Chen 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.

Regular play Jeopardy! is BACK and once we get over the initial whiplash, we get some great games with some huge final scores, some massive DD wagers that turn out both good and bad, and we get back to our regular dose of actual funny responses of the week, including one this week about synchronized hippos. Plus, J! fans are asking questions about Andrew He's hair and we dive deep on the Sears catalogue. If you want to purchase some items from our catalogue, why not head over to our Patreon? For just $5/month, you'll get a brand-new bonus episode every month, access to our Discord, our entire back catalogue, and MORE! It's a ton of fun, so join today at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast. SOURCE: New York Times: "How Sears Helped Oppose Jim Crow" by Louis Hyman; History: "When the Sears Catalog Sold Everything from Houses to Hubcaps" by Sarah Pruitt Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

The 2026 Jeopardy Invitational Tournament is in the bag, and with it, the conclusion to the extensive–and this year, very difficult–Jeopardy! postseason. And what a way to go out, as Andrew He claims victory for his first major Jeopardy! tournament win in a slugfest three-game final against Long Nguyen and Roger Craig. We get Roger delivering a correct response in the strangest way possible, TV Insider hits us with some straight-up false headlines, and we dive deep on Davos and the World Economic Forum. If you want to help our show economically, you can do so by donating to our Patreon! For just $5/month, you'll get access to a new bonus episode every month, plus our entire back catalogue and our wonderful Discord. Check it out at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast! SOURCE: WEForum.org: "The World Economic Forum: The First 40 Years" by Klaus Schwab Special thank you as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

Jeopardy! crosses over into the true mainstream as Alison Betts' Final Jeopardy! joke actually pays off in another week of Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament action. We debate whether the boards have simply gotten too hard, actually, as contestants sputter all over the place. But we get some great anecdotes, we see some wonderful contestants from years past, and we get Andrew He's glorious new hairstyle. Plus, we dive deep on Black History Month. If you want to feel as glorious as Andrew, why not donate to the show's Patreon? For just $5/month you'll get a brand-new bonus episode every month, access to our Discord, immediate access to our entire back catalogue, and MORE! We have a new episode coming up next week and all the bonuses are a ton of fun, so join today at ⁠patreon.com/jeopardypodcast⁠. SOURCE: ASALH.org: "⁠The Origins of Black History Month⁠" by Daryl Michael Scott; Smithsonian Magazine: "⁠A White Historian Claimed That Black People ‘Had No History.’ This Trailblazing Scholar Dedicated His Life to Proving Otherwise⁠" by Meilan Solly Special thank you as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Art by Max Wittert. Music by Nate Heller.

That's right, one of our patrons, Paolo Pasco, has won the Tournament of Champions in dominant fashion, and so of course that means, in some small way, we won it too. We break down Paolo's fantastic performance and then we turn our attention to the JIT, which sees the immediate return of some of our faves. Emily was in attendance for a number of the games so she gives some expert opinion on that, Scott Riccardi gives us a contender for Response of the Year, and Paolo is so beloved by J! fans that the JFAF segment is us just reading praise of him. Plus, we dive deep on the U.S. Virgin Islands. If you want to lose your WIAJP Patreon virginity, you can head on over to patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, where we have tons of great bonus content for you to discover! You'll get a new bonus episode every month, plus access to our entire back catalogue, featuring a great interview with the one and only Paolo Pasco. It also includes "Paolo's Puzzle Corner", a segment where he wrote puzzles just for us! And you! So join today! SOURCE: Britannica: "U.S. Virgin Islands" Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

The Tournament of Champions continues apace this week, as we finish off the quarterfinals and the semifinals and get ready for next week's finals by...watching an exhibition game. We have some thoughts on that as well as some of the stellar gameplay this week including a "Welcome to Next Year's JIT" performance from Tom Devlin and a down-to-the-wire finish between Cameron Berry and Paolo Pasco. Emily also LOVES a geography category this week, John receives an extremely weird heckle, and Fox News gets in on the Jeopardy! reporting game. Plus, we dive deep on Jean-Paul Marat's murderer, Charlotte Corday. If you want to murder some more Jeopardy! content, you can head on over to our Patreon for a bunch of bonus content. You'll get immediate access to our entire back catalogue, our wonderful Discord (with several J! champs hanging out in there), and a brand-new bonus episode every month, like last week's, which featured the JIT's Alison Betts and Drew Goins playing a rock and metal board to help them prepare. Join today at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast. SOURCE: The Science Survey: "The Angel of Assassination: A Profile on Charlotte Corday" by Winnie Huang Special thank you as always to the Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

The Tournament of Champions is HERE and we love to see a bunch of our faves back on the Alex Trebek Stage. John nails a bunch of his predictions (including the one about the herbal candies), we get some great sports-related anecdotes, and we see some great gameplay as we continue on with this Jeopardy! postseason. Plus, John finishes watching Heated Rivalry, Emily updates us on what fans think is an editing snafu, and we dive deep on the famous photo taken at Iwo Jima. If you want some more moments of this show that are so famous you may want to take a picture, why not join our Patreon? It's just $5/month and you'll get a new bonus episode every month including this week, as Alison Betts and Drew Goins join us to play a rock and metal music board that goes about as well as both of those J! legends think it will (badly). You also get immediate access to all of our back catalogue of bonus episodes, access to our wonderful Discord community, and MORE! Join today at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast. SOURCE: Colliers: "The Picture That Will Live Forever" by Joe Rosenthal and W.C. Heinz; Pulitzer.org: "Joe Rosenthal and the Flag-Raising on Iwo Jima" Special thank you as always to the Jeopardy! Fan and the J-Archive. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

The Champions Wild Card finals are here, and they are a doozy, as we get the Jeopardy!-Honored "Game of the Year" and some stellar (no pun intended) play from a fantastic group of contestants. We also get a very self-deprecating response from Harvey Silikovitz, a Julia Child impression, and we preview the upcoming Tournament of Champions. And in a week of boring FJs, John manages to find an interesting angle to dive deep on William Faulkner. If you want some more interesting angles on Jeopardy!, why not support the show? Head on over to patreon.com/jeopardypodcast, where $5/month gets you access to a NEW bonus episode every month! Plus, you'll get access to our entire back catalogue of bonus episodes, our Discord, and MORE. Join now! SOURCE: Los Angeles Times: "'The Sound and the Fury', as William Faulkner Imagined, In Color" by Carolyn Kellogg; University of Saskatchewan: "The Composition of 'The Sound and the Fury'" by Gail M. Morrison Special thank you as always to the J-Archive and The Jeopardy! Fan. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

The Champions Wild Card tournament begins and brings with it a fantastic week of games with tight races for first place in each game, strategic wagering for semifinal berths, and lots of very impressive gameplay. We also get Bill McKinley giving one of the funniest half-hearted attempts to explain away a poor Final Jeopardy! decision in the show's history. We also discuss Ken's Bluesky rants, Stella Trout's resemblance to Snail Mail, and we dive deep on guinea pigs. If you want to be a guinea pig for what it looks like to support the show, head on over to patreon.com/jeopardypodcast! Just $5/month gets you a new bonus episode every month, access to our full back catalogue, our Discord, and so much more! Plus, our latest bonus episode reunites Lisa Hanawalt and our own Emily Heller for the first new episode of Baby Geniuses in over two years! You won't wanna miss out, join now! SOURCE: National Library of Medicine: "Animal Models of Tuberculosis: Guinea Pigs" by Simon Clark, et al.; CBS News: "Peru Pushes Guinea Pigs as Food" by Rick Vecchio Special thank you as always to the Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.

How do you do, fellow kids? We try to appeal to the youth this week and so does Jeopardy!, as their older fans predictably fume about them twisting a very regular wordplay category to make a meme joke. But we love it, and we love this final week of Second Chance as some dynamite players return to the Alex Trebek Stage and we get some truly wonderful gameplay. We also discuss small town Canada hotels, Emily's Christmas gift, and we dive deep (plunge deep?) on the history of epidurals. If you want more of this show, there's never been a better time because Baby Geniuses is BACK, baby! That's right, Emily and Lisa Hanawalt reunite for their first Baby Gs episode in almost two years, and it's ONLY on our Patreon! You can also have a bunch of bonus episodes about Jeopardy! as a treat. Plus, access to our Discord and other fun stuff. Join today at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast. SOURCE: National Library of Medicine: "Overcoming Obstacles: The Legacy of Fidel Pagés, Founder of the Epidural, 100 Years After His Passing" by Gregory Chinn, et al. 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.

Emily is finally feeling well enough to record a pod and so we do a truncated recap of last week's games, which we are calling "Guy Branum's Second Chance, Presented by Guy Branum, featuring Guy Branum". In other news, Guy Branum joins us to discuss his run to the Second Chance Finals, from feeling like his Jeopardy! journey is satisfactorily complete to what the green room vibes were like. We also watch Michelle Tsai play so well people "react" to a FJ response of hers (they don't even fume!), John gets grilled about watching "Heated Rivalry", and we dive deep on the strange and dark origins of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". If you want to have yourself a belated merry little Christmas, why not donate to the show? It's just $5/month at patreon.com/jeopardypodcast to support the show AND get a bunch of bonus episodes. You'll get a new one every month plus access to our whole back catalogue and we have a VERY special bonus episode coming early next week you won't wanna miss. Join today! SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly: "How 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' Became One of the Season's Most Beloved Songs" by Chris Willman Special thank you as always to The Jeopardy! Fan and J-Archive. This episode was produced by Producer Dan. Music by Nate Heller. Art by Max Wittert.