The Autobiography of Carl Kasell (1934–2018)

I've been a devoted listener of NPR's weekly news quiz Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! since around 2010; it's one of three podcasts I listen to most weeks. I've been a listener of NPR for even longer; I got into it in high school because at the time I was a pretentious swot who only listened to classical music and so I tuned into Cincinnati's local NPR affiliate, WGUC, when driving. So Carl Kasell's voice was in my ears for a long time, first as a broadcaster on NPR News and then as Wait Wait's scorekeeper, a position he held up to 2014. He had a great voice, which was why NPR used to offer it as a prize for Wait Wait listener-contestants; one of my friends in grad school said it was his dream to tune into NPR and hear Carl Kasell introduce himself by saying, "This is NPR News from Washington. I'm Carl Karell, and I'm not wearing any pants."

Wait Wait...I'm Not Done Yet! by Carl Kasell

Published: 2014
Acquired: October 2014
Read: October 2025

Anyway, after Carl (I don't normally refer to people I don't know by their first names when writing, but it feels weird to call him "Kasell," who does that?) retired from Wait Wait in 2014, he soon published a memoir, which I am pretty sure I acquired by pledging to the Connecticut NPR affiliate. Carl passed away in 2018, but of course it took me another seven years to get around to reading it.

It's only 239 pages, and a lot of that is essays by friends and colleagues; I read the whole thing in a single night when I couldn't fall asleep due to the pain of shingles. Carl grew up in rural North Carolina, and the book starts with a lot of affectionate memories of his family. He knew from a young age he wanted to be on the radio, though he envisioned himself more as a DJ; in high school, his drama teacher was Andy Griffith! He didn't finish an English degree in college because he was drafted and posted to Italy, where he met and fell in love with his first wife, who came back to the States with him.

The book chronicles his ascendant professional life, from local radio to becoming a cornerstone of the early, almost fly-by-night NPR News operation, to finally getting to unleash his inner ham when being tapped for Wait Wait. One doesn't get an impression of Carl as a complicated man: he was a hardworking, generous professional with a talent who lived a fulfilling life. Perhaps there are skeletons in his closet, but I guess an autobiography isn't the place they're going to come out... but I hope not, because I don't want my mental image of him punctured! Anyway, it's a fun, light read; I don't think you're going to find anything deep here, but you will find some interesting anecdotes, both personal and professional, from a life well-lived.

Also some good jokes from colleagues. No one has a bad word to say about him!