npr | Matthew Dicks

Let languages die.

By Matthew Dicks | February 16, 2016 |

A man in Hawaii is facing criminal charges for blocking the construction of a telescope on a mountaintop. His trial is being delayed because even though he speaks perfect English, he is insisting on being tried in Hawaiian, which happens to be the official language of Hawaii. The only problem: No judge speaks Hawaiian, and…

What is Peter Segal thinking? You don’t replace an 80 year-old man with a 74 year-old man.

By Matthew Dicks | June 9, 2014 |

Fans of NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me! will know that official judge and scorekeeper Carl Kasell has retired from the show after sixteen years. Kasell is 80 years-old. While I understand Kasell’s desire to relax in his golden years, it’s hard to replace a seemingly permanent fixture in my weekly entertainment schedule. As a…

Self-loathing and the cronut

By Matthew Dicks | July 14, 2013 |

I was vaguely aware that a pastry known as the cronut existed. This morning I heard the NPR story that described the lines for cronuts in New York City. Apparently people are willing to wait more than three hours on the street for this croissant-like pastry shaped like a donut. As expected, one of the…