Latest news with #KenJennings
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
How ‘Jeopardy!' whiz Ken Jennings learned to make ‘Kennections' everywhere and why he fears AI
Ken Jennings wants you to know he didn't name his trivia game 'Kennections.' 'It's really an unpleasant name,' the 'Jeopardy!' champion turned host says of the quizzes now published weekly by Mental Floss. 'We have to lead with that. It was suggested by an editor at Parade Magazine, but it doesn't look good or sound good.' But Jennings loves the quizzes themselves, which are now collected (kellected?) in 'The Complete Kennections.' The Simon & Schuster release, on shelves July 29, follows earlier Jennings books that included more writing. Those include: 'Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs,' 'Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks,' 'Because I Said So!: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids' and '100 Places to See After You Die: A Travel Guide to the Afterlife.' Jennings recently spoke about his books, AI and why trivia matters. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Was writing books always a goal? I was an English major in college. I wanted to write and to teach, but writing didn't seem like a practical choice. I was also doing a double major in computer science, and in 2000 it was absurdly easy to get a job at a friend's startup, even if you were a terrible programmer, which I was. Writing about geography and myths and fabled places of the afterlife all seem to make sense coming from the brain of a 'Jeopardy!' champion. It's easy to imagine the same kid in an elementary school library, reading about these things in the World Book encyclopedia during a rainy recess. That's my origin story. I was just a sponge for weird information. That's my origin story right there. I thought of 'Jeopardy!' as a fun, crazy summer and did not think it would be my life, so I tried making each book less about 'Jeopardy!' and trivia than the one before it. Is the information in your books trivial, or do you think it's important to get readers to understand geography and the way our culture passes down myths and tales? I'm a believer that trivia is not just a bar pastime, or even a way for little Lisa Simpsons to get told they're smart into adulthood. I always felt trivia was kind of a universal social good, a way to enjoy cultural literacy. I feel I'm part of the last generation that had to justify having nerdy interests. It was kind of shameful and made you the punchline of jokes in movie comedies and stand-up. Today, it seems self-evident to everyone younger than us that, well, of course you would just be obsessive about lunchboxes or about 'Battlestar Galactica' or fossils. That's totally normalized, and it's actually good. But I've also been mourning the loss of generalists, people who knew a little bit about everything, which is what 'Jeopardy!' celebrates, but it's not fashionable. We live in a siloed society of specialists. And I really think we'd be better off if everybody knew a little bit about everything. I do think it's good to know trivia is not something that makes you better than other people. It doesn't exist to show off or even to make you feel smarter about yourself. Ideally, it should bring people together and make the world more interesting and make you a more sparkling conversationalist. 'Jeopardy!' and your books strive to make learning facts fun. Is there a lesson there for educators? I think that's the beauty of trivia. I wrote a series of books for kids with amazing facts because I liked that kind of book when I was a kid. And you can see it in a classroom, when you see kids' eyes light up about information and about serious subjects and about knowledge when it's presented in a fun way, especially with narrative. Narrative is the secret sauce. It just makes kids think the world is an amazing adventure and you just have to be curious and dig into it. But that gets beaten out of us, and then a lot of us at some point just specialize in one thing. You need to remind people that learning is not a chore. If it's not fun, you're doing it wrong. And trivia is very good at that. Every good 'Jeopardy!' clue tells a story in some way, saying, here's why you should want to know this or here's what this might have to do with life and the reason why this is not random minutia, which I think is a lot of people's stereotype of trivia nerds. A trivia question can help you connect it to other things. Trivia is just an art of connections. That's certainly true in your 'Kennections' book. I grew up doing crosswords, riddles and rebuses. I've always liked trivia that rewards not just the recall of the right fact but has a little more mental clockwork involved so you have to solve some puzzles. You have to analyze the clue and figure out why it exists and what it's asking or what it's not asking, what was included, what was omitted. There's a lot of analysis that can kind of lead you to the right answer by deduction, even if you don't know the right fact off the top of your head. One half of your brain is just trying to recall these five facts, but you've got this other half that's trying to figure it out and step back and take the big picture. And it might be something outside the box. The art of it is finding five things that fit in the category but that can have double meanings: Commodore is both a computer and a member of a Lionel Richie combo. You write that 'Kennections' consumes your life — you go into a bagel store and wonder if you can build five questions out of the flavors. Is the problem that in your day-to-day life, you're constantly seeing things and thinking things this way? Or is the problem that you can't say this out loud because you'll make your family crazy? That's something I learned early — that being this trivia-loving kid has the potential to be annoying. But my kids know what they're getting from me at this point. And they both have the gene themselves. One is obsessed with Major League Baseball, and one is obsessed with the history of Disney theme parks, and they have encyclopedic knowledge every bit as awe-inspiring and freakish as I had as a kid. And I'm proud of that. Do you worry about living in a culture that's so polarized that facts aren't even universally received and where AI takes over people's need to be curious, allowing students to take shortcuts in learning? I think an oligarch class is going to deliver us a combination of both, where the AI will not only create reliance on it but give us bad, counterfactual information about important issues. And it's really something I take seriously. It's really something we need to be pushing back on now. You don't want to trust an AI summary of a subject or AI's take on an issue without understanding who controls that algorithm and why they want you to hear that information.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
I Had High Hopes For Ken Jennings On Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, But He Exceeded My Expectations When He Called Out A Lifeline Trap
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Spoiler alert! This story discusses the Season 4 premiere of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which aired on July 23. Stream the episode with a Hulu subscription if you don't want to know how the celebs did. A new season of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is underway on the 2025 TV schedule, and the talent in the premiere was impressive to say the least. Ken Jennings brought Matt Damon out in a quest to donate seven figures to charity, and I admitted going in that I'd be disappointed if they walked away with anything less than $1 million. However, the Jeopardy! host ended up exceeding my expectations by avoiding one specific pitfall when it comes to the 'Ask the Audience' lifeline. As Jimmy Kimmel pointed out multiple times during the episode (in reference to his infamous feud with Matt Damon), Ken Jennings did not need a partner to help him on one of the best game shows of all time, but it's certainly more fun to see the celebs have someone to talk out their answers with. However, that's where many get in trouble with the 'Ask the Audience' lifeline, and I was so relieved to hear Jennings say this upon seeing the $250,000 question: I've got a feeling. If there's any chance we're gonna go 'Audience' here, maybe we shouldn't hash it out too much, you know what I mean? Like, prejudice the audience toward one answer or another. Ken Jennings, you are one of Jeopardy!'s biggest winners for a reason. This has been a huge pet peeve of mine on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, hearing the celebrity contestants explain all the reasons why they're leaning toward one answer or another before asking the audience what they think. OF COURSE, they're going to second-guess their own knowledge and go with the celeb's logic. Matt Damon and Ken Jennings, however, kept it quiet, with the Jeopardy! GOAT deciding: Let's ask the audience, then once the votes are in, we can speak freely. Jimmy Kimmel praised their 'smart strategy' of not leading the audience in a specific direction by sharing their thoughts out loud, and it worked! The audience collectively confirmed what Ken Jennings and Matt Damon were both thinking. If they'd talked it out beforehand, there would have been no way to know if the audience members actually knew which animal engaged in 'vertical sleeping' or if they were just trusting the smarts of the celebs on stage. This very issue plagued Drew Carey and Aisha Tyler in the first half of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire's premiere. This was another pair who had the potential to go the distance, with Carey winning $500,000 in his first appearance on the show back in 2000 and Aisha Tyler competing on Celebrity Jeopardy! multiple times. Hulu: 30-Day Free TrialBoth Hulu's Ad-Supported and Ad-Free tiers give subscribers access to everything the platform has to offer, including shows like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. And new and eligible returning customers can enjoy a whole month of the service for free before paying, with plans starting from $9.99 a Deal However, they talked at length about their $32,000 question and whether Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Tina Turner or Britney Spears had more No. 1 Billboard Top 100 hits and even almost picked Spears before turning to the audience for help. I was shouting at the TV not to do it, and of course, the 'Toxic' singer got the majority of the poll responses (rather than Houston), handing the Whose Line Is It Anyway? hosts a quick exit. Jimmy Kimmel joked that he blamed the audience for leading them astray, but Drew Carey recognized their mistake, saying: I think we talked them into it. I'm so glad Ken Jennings and Matt Damon didn't follow suit. As for whether they took home the million, we'll have to wait and see. The episode ended ahead of their $500,000 attempt, so tune in when Who Wants to Be a Millionaire returns at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, July 30, on ABC. I'm just hoping that future contestants are paying attention and will follow Ken Jennings' Millionaire strategy.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How to Watch ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire' Online Without Cable
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. Who Wants to be a Millionaire is back for a fourth season since its revival and 26th overall. Jimmy Kimmel returns as the host of the U.S. version of the game show, which will feature celebrities competing for a $1 million payout to the charity of their choice. More from Rolling Stone The Best Soundcore Earbuds of 2025 See Your Legends While You Can: From Guns 'N Roses to The Who, These Legacy Acts Are Hitting the Road for (Maybe) the Last Time Sling TV Review: A Highly Flexible (Yet Affordable) Way to Free Yourself from Cable for Good Celebrity pairings on the new season of Millionaire will include Kimmel's 'enemy' Matt Damon and Ken Jennings, Joel McHale and Jim Rash of Community, CNN hosts Jake Tapper and Kaitlan Collins, Sarah Silverman & Marc Maron, and many more. The new season will premiere right before the new revival of Match Game, hosted by Martin Short. At a Glance: How to Watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire Stream: DirecTV, Fubo, Sling, Hulu + Live TV TV channel: ABC Season premiere: Wednesday, July 23 at 8 p.m. ET get free trial at directv If you're looking to watch Millionaire this season, read on. Below are a few of the best ways to watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire, including ways to get the ABC livestream of the game show online without cable. How to Watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire Online Who Wants to be a Millionaire Online airs on ABC, but cord-cutters can stream the new season of the game show online through a number of live TV streaming services that carry the channel. Episodes will also be streaming on Disney+ and Hulu the day after they air on ABC. Below are four of the best options for watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire online without cable in 2025, including a few with free trials to get started. EDITOR'S PICK DirecTV get free trial ➤ $69.99/month➤ Five-day free trial➤ Up to 185+ channels DirecTV Stream includes ABC in all of its Signature packages, which offer access to as many as 185+ channels. The most budget-friendly plan is the Entertainment package, which delivers 90+ channels for $84.99 a month. All plans start with a five-day free trial. Fubo get free trial ➤ $84.99/month➤ Five-day free trial➤ Up to 300+ channels Fubo is another one of our top choices for watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire online. The streamer carries ABC in all of its plans and includes an extensive channel lineup, with packages offering anywhere from 150+ to over 300 channels. Plans start at $84.99 a month after a five-day free trial. Sling $36 $46 22% off sign up now ➤ $45.99/month➤ Half off first month➤ Up to 46 channels Sling offers ABC streaming with its Sling Blue plan, which starts at $45.99 a month, making it one of the most affordable options on this list. While Sling doesn't include a free trial, new users can currently get 50% off their first month. Hulu + Live TV get free trial ➤ $82.99/month➤ Three-day free trial➤ 95+ channels Hulu + Live TV also includes ABC in its 95+ channel lineup. Plans start at $81.99 a month, or you can upgrade to $82.99 a month to bundle in ESPN+, Disney+, and Hulu's full on-demand library. All Hulu + Live TV subscriptions begin with a three-day free trial. Who Wants to be a Millionaire Premiere Date, Time The new season of Who Wants to be a Millionaire premieres on Wednesday, July 23 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Best of Rolling Stone The Best Audiophile Turntables for Your Home Audio System
The Guardian
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Did you solve it? Are you a match for the world's greatest TV quizzer?
Earlier today I set you five 'Kennections', a puzzle devised by legendary US quiz show contestant and host Ken Jennings. Each challenge consists of five trivia questions, whose answers share a common theme. Here they are again. Immediately below each Kennection I have put the answers to the trivia questions. To find the common theme, however, you need to scroll all the way down to the bottom. Hopefully, this gives you the fun of trying to find the theme if the questions left you scratching your heads. QUESTION 1 1. In 1988, Curtis Strange became the first person to win $1 million in a single season of what sport? 2. What month is celebrated every year with a moustache-growing movement for men's health as well as National Novel Writing Month? 3. What new Argentine dance was condemned by the Vatican in 1913 as 'offensive to the purity of every right-minded person'? 4. Shaka was the first king of what African empire that clashed with the British in 1879? 5. What was the name of Alan Harper's hard-living brother on TV's Two and a Half Men? WHAT'S THE KENNECTION? Answers: 1. Golf 2. November 3. Tango 4. Zulu 5. Charlie QUESTION 2 1. Which Lewis Carroll character is drawn wearing a label reading 'In this Style 10/6'? 2. At the end of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, whom does Dorothy tell, 'I think I'm going to miss you most of all?' 3. 'Leaves of three, let it be' is a reminder about what plant that produces a natural irritant called urushiol? 4. What kind of bird is the mascot for the Linux computer operating system as well as for Sidney Crosby's NHL team? 5. What playing card was first introduced to decks in the 1860s as the top trump in the game of euchre? WHAT'S THE KENNECTION? ANSWERS: 1. The Mad Hatter 2. Scarecrow 3. Poison Ivy 4. Penguin 5. Joker QUESTION 3 1. What kind of possession was King Arthur's Excalibur or Beowulf's Hrunting? 2. What precious element is the most ductile metal, since just one ounce of it can be drawn into a 50-mile-long wire? 3. In what 2007 film did Elliot Page play a spunky high school junior whom friends call 'the cautionary whale'? 4. What's the only US state whose capital has a three-word name? 5. Financier Warren Buffet is often called the 'Oracle of' what Midwestern city? WHAT'S THE KENNECTION? ANSWERS 1. Sword 2. Gold 3. Juno 4. Utah 5. Omaha QUESTION 4 1. What kind of body of water off northeastern Canada is named for explorer Henry Hudson? 2. What's the name of Guy Woodhouse's pregnant wife, played by Mia Farrow, in Roman Polanski's classic 1968 horror film? 3. What seven-year-old character in the book To Kill a Mockingbird was based on a young Truman Capote? 4. The famous onion-domed cathedral in Moscow's Red Square is named for what Russian Orthodox saint? 5. For collectors, what is the highest-quality grade of coins and comic books called? WHAT'S THE KENNECTION? Answers: 1. Bay 2. Rosemary 3. Dill 4. Basil 5. Mint QUESTION 5 1. What Australian city is home to an iconic Harbour Bridge as well as Jørn Utzon's famous opera house? 2. What destructive Labrador retriever is the subject of John Grogan's 2005 memoir subtitled Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog? 3. What's the specific name for a dot on dominoes and dice? 4. Who had an unlikely hit in 1968 with his ukelele cover of 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips'? 5. What illusionist and Claudia Schiffer ex was the first living magician with a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame? WHAT'S THE KENNECTION? Answers 1. Sydney 2. Marley 3. Pip, 4. Tiny Tim 5. David Copperfield KENNECTIONS: D-Day beaches; Batman villains; Letters in the phonetic radio alphabet; Herbs; Dickens characters. Today's examples are taken from Jennings' new book, The Complete Kennections: 5,000 Questions in 1,000 Puzzles, which is out on July 29 in the US. I've been setting a puzzle here on alternate Mondays since 2015. I'm always on the look-out for great puzzles. If you would like to suggest one, email me.
The Guardian
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Ken you solve it? Are you a match for the world's greatest TV quizzer?
Jeopardy! is the long-running US quiz show where contestants are given an answer and must respond with a question for that answer. 'Ken Jennings', for example, is the correct answer to the following question: Who holds the record for most Jeopardy! wins in a row – 74 episodes in 2004 – and since 2023 has been its sole presenter? And it is also the answer to this question: Which US TV personality is the author of the Kennection, a pleasurable conundrum that mixes trivia and problem solving and which appears in this column today? Below are five Kennections. Each one consists of five questions, whose answers share a common theme. Can you find it? You don't need to answer all the questions correctly, but it helps. QUESTION 1 1. In 1988, Curtis Strange became the first person to win $1 million in a single season of what sport? 2. What month is celebrated every year with a moustache-growing movement for men's health as well as National Novel Writing Month? 3. What new Argentine dance was condemned by the Vatican in 1913 as 'offensive to the purity of every right-minded person'? 4. Shaka was the first king of what African empire that clashed with the British in 1879? 5. What was the name of Alan Harper's hard-living brother on TV's Two and a Half Men? WHAT'S THE KENNECTION? QUESTION 2 1. Which Lewis Carroll character is drawn wearing a label reading 'In this Style 10/6'? 2. At the end of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, whom does Dorothy tell, 'I think I'm going to miss you most of all?' 3. 'Leaves of three, let it be' is a reminder about what plant that produces a natural irritant called urushiol? 4. What kind of bird is the mascot for the Linux computer operating system as well as for Sidney Crosby's NHL team? 5. What playing card was first introduced to decks in the 1860s as the top trump in the game of euchre? WHAT'S THE KENNECTION? QUESTION 3 1. What kind of possession was King Arthur's Excalibur or Beowulf's Hrunting? 2. What precious element is the most ductile medal, since just one ounce of it can be drawn into a 50-mile-long wire? 3. In what 2007 film did Elliot Page play a spunky high school junior whom friends call 'the cautionary whale'? 4. What's the only US state whose capital has a three-word name? 5. Financier Warren Buffet is often called the 'Oracle of' what Midwestern city? WHAT'S THE KENNECTION? QUESTION 4 1. What kind of body of water off northeastern Canada is named for explorer Henry Hudson? 2. What's the name of Guy Woodhouse's pregnant wife, played by Mia Farrow, in Roman Polanski's classic 1968 horror film? 3. What seven-year-old character in the book To Kill a Mockingbird was based on a young Truman Capote? 4. The famous onion-domed cathedral in Moscow's Red Square is named for what Russian Orthodox saint? 5. For collectors, what is the highest-quality grade of coins and comic books called? WHAT'S THE KENNECTION? QUESTION 5 1. What Australian city is home to an iconic Harbour Bridge as well as Jørn Utzon's famous opera house? 2. What destructive Labrador retriever is the subject of John Grogan's 2005 memoir subtitled Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog? 3. What's the specific name for a dot on dominoes and dice? 4. Who had an unlikely hit in 1968 with his ukelele cover of 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips'? 5. What illusionist and Claudia Schiffer ex was the first living magician with a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame? WHAT'S THE KENNECTION? I'll be back at 5pm UK with the answers. PLEASE NO SPOILERS. Instead kentribute your own similar kenundrums. Today's examples are taken from Jennings' new book, The Complete Kennections, which has one thousand of them. His knowledge of trivia is unparalleled, but what I loved more is his ingenuity and wit in choosing the themes. The Complete Kennections: 5,000 Questions in 1,000 Puzzles is out on July 29 in the US. I've been setting a puzzle here on alternate Mondays since 2015. I'm always on the look-out for great puzzles. If you would like to suggest one, email me.
