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Panel Questions

PETER SAGAL, HOST:

All right, panel - some more questions for you from the week's news. Josh, please listen to this official announcement.

BILL KURTIS: A friendly reminder in times of uncertainty and misinformation - anecdotes are not data. Good data is carefully measured and collected information based on a range of subject-dependent factors, including but not limited to controlled variables, meta-analysis and randomization.

SAGAL: Now, was that said by, A, Dr. Anthony Fauci; B, Bill Gates or C, Steak-umms frozen steaks?

JOSH GONDELMAN: Oh, Steak-umms has really been on a tear this week. Their twitter account has really been going to the depths of despair that we all feel. But that's too long for a tweet. I'm going to go Dr. Fauci?

SAGAL: No, it was Steak-umms.

GONDELMAN: Ah, I was so close.

HELEN HONG: What?

SAGAL: (Laughter).

HONG: You're kidding me.

SAGAL: No. It was Steak-umms frozen steaks. That was just one of the many tweets they've been putting out about the crisis. A follow-up tweet from Steak-umms said, quote, "People think it's funny when a frozen meat company points out the importance of critical thinking. But chances are the same message would never go viral if it was from a person. Our society values entertainment over truth, and that's a huge problem" - said Steak-umms, frozen...

HONG: Wow.

TOM BODETT: (Laughter).

SAGAL: ...Sandwich meats.

BODETT: Somebody who's working from home...

HONG: Wow.

BODETT: ...At Steak-umms is in the sauce, don't you think?

SAGAL: That's possible.

(LAUGHTER)

GONDELMAN: Is it too late to vote for Steak-umms in the Democratic primary?

HONG: Seriously.

(CROSSTALK)

SAGAL: Easier chance. Stay at home.

HONG: Bring out Steak-umms. This is such a, like, perfect example of how bad the economy's gotten. Like, some PhD out there...

GONDELMAN: (Laughter).

HONG: ...Desperately needed a job, and was, like, OK. Steak-umms is hiring. I'm in.

GONDELMAN: Right. Unemployment's at 10%. I'm going to run the Steak-umms Twitter account.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: We never knew that Steak-umms got its name because it was always, like, um, actually, if you read the whole article...

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Helen, this week, President Trump signed an executive order expanding American mining privileges in what location?

HONG: Can I have a hint?

SAGAL: Yeah. That's one giant leap for gold, gold, I tell you.

HONG: Oh, the moon?

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: If you've ever looked up at the moon and thought, I would like to destroy that, good news.

HONG: (Laughter).

SAGAL: NASA is preparing the Artemis program, and that will send crewed missions to the moon, and they will be mining there. This executive order makes it clear that whatever our astronauts find up there, we can keep. After all, we got there first. As Neil Armstrong clearly said, that's one small step for man, one dibs for Uncle Sam.

HONG: (Laughter).

GONDELMAN: Honestly, we're going to be dominating the universe's supply of "That's Amore," so I'm for it.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THAT'S AMORE")

DEAN MARTIN: (Singing) When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore. When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine, that's amore. Bells will ring, ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling, and you'll sing vita bella. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.