PG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery

A vendor shows up to the 1964 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, Queens and starts handing out light, fluffy, deep-pocketed waffles topped with whipped cream and strawberries. Breakfast is forever changed for millions of Americans. One of them was a little girl who took the bus there every weekend with her mom and twin sister. That little girl grew up to be David Spira's mom — and she's joining us today. In honor of Mother's Day, Joan Spira joins us on PG's Playhouse to play games, share stories, and maybe troll David just a little bit. We learn about how one notorious New York City parks commissioner accidentally introduced the US to foods like falafel, kimchi, hummus, and the Belgian waffle — all because France and Italy refused to show up. Joan also shares some great stories about David growing up and some sage advice for mothers everywhere. Today's game is called Tasting Bee, and it's all about foods from around the world that have a country or place baked right into the name. Happy Mother's Day to moms everywhere — especially the ones raising little kids who use the word ostentatious at age two. Full Show Notes Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner

Answer our 2026 Audience Census! "Canterbury Tales was basically the precursor to Epic Rap Battles of History." The beat drops and freestylin' rappers take to the stage, battling it out to see who has the best flow. First to the stage is The Knight, and his other contenders are characters like The Wife of Bath, The Miller, or The Reeve. Our topic today is The Canterbury Tales. This is the story of a group of pilgrims who gather around the fire to tell stories, primarily in verse. Zach Sherwin, our guest today, knows a thing or two about storytelling in verse. He's a longtime writer and performer on the Youtube channel Epic Rap Battles of History. This show pits two historical characters against each other, battling it out for rap supremacy. Zach has also created The Crossword Show, a hilarious live show where comedians solve a crossword while Zach performs about the topics. He also shares a few puzzles with us today as well. Today's game is called Name Dropping, and it's all about modern names that come from medieval occupations. Grab your tickets to RECON 26 this summer to see Zach perform The Crossword Show live. Click here for a playlist of Epic Rap Battles featuring Zach Sherwin. Full Show Notes Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner

Answer our 2026 Audience Census! "A holiday of debatable quality." It's chonky, furry, and oh so cute! The creature slowly creeps out of its burrow, looking around for his shadow. Good news! It doesn't see it. The weather will be hot for the forseeable future. Bad news... well, we're also surrounded by fire and brimstone. Welcome to Groundhog Day in Hell. Chris Demarais and Blaine Gibson, co-hosts of the hilarious Good Morning from Hell podcast join us for some devilishly fun puzzles. Good Morning from Hell is a weekly podcast starring Blaine as Clayton, the younger brother of Satan, and Chris as himself. Every week, Chris and Clayton interview someone from Hell. This show is off-the-rails funny. Today's topic is Groundhog Day, and we explore the origins and bizarre story behind this annual weather predicting tradition. Today's game is called Cloudy with a Chance of Puzzles, where the guests must figure out these weather related idioms. If you want to check out Chris and Blaine's podcasts, look for Good Morning from Hell or their actual play D&D podcast Tales from the Stinky Dragon. Full Show Notes Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner

Answer our 2026 Audience Census! The wine apocalypse that almost happened. Imagine no more wine bars, no more popping champagne to celebrate special occasions, and no more enjoying a glass of cabernet with your steak. In the 19th century, a tiny little aphid nearly wiped wine off the map, decimating centuries-old vineyards globally. Eventually, wine growers figured out how to combat the phylloxera menace. David shares the story of phylloxera in this episode of PG's Playhouse. Joining us are special guests Garrett and Sabrina, hosts of the I Know Dino podcast. They share some fun facts about dinosaurs, including mummified fossils that include skin and feathers and also dinosaur cannibalism. Our game today is "Sour Grapes of Wrath" where I've created before and after mashups of two phrases. The players must guess the middle word that links the phrases. Full Show Notes Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner

Answer our 2026 Audience Census! "This game is all about movies with titles that sound dirty but aren't." David goes to Spanktown every day. You might ask Why, or wonder if he's ever going to Hell. It all does feel a bit Peculiar and Boring. No, we haven't suddenly gone off the deep end, but rather, we're exploring some quirky and unusual town names. Zach Sherwin is the creator of The Crossword Show, and a veteran of the iconic YouTube channel Epic Rap Battles of History. He joins us today to talk about his show and tackle some puzzles. Today's game is called Down and Dirty, where every answer is a movie with a title that sounds dirty, but isn't. If you want to learn more about Zach Sherwin and The Crossword Show, check out our interview with him on Reality Escape Pod S10E10. He'll also be performing live at the Reality Escape Convention this August 2026. Full Show Notes Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner

Today's topic is a bit cheesy, but still divine. Throughout the ages, humans have always tried to foretell the future or discern the nature of being through different types of divination. These have included the more well-known types of fortune telling including tarot cards, palm reading, tea leaf reading and more. Today, we're talking tyromancy – divination by reading cheeses. Warhammer historian and YouTuber Jordan Sorcery joins us again. We chat about his podcast, In Conversation with Jordan Sorcery, which features interviews and chats with designers, writers, and artists creating Warhammer content. He also tells us about his newest podcast, Warhammer Film Club, which explores connections between classic cinema and Warhammer. Today's game is called Getting Shredded, where the players must solve clues ranging from riddles and jokes to cryptic crosswords to figure out the type of cheese. Later, we have a bonus game where they must guess the type of divination from the name. Full Show Notes Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner

Much like the dinosaurs, what we know about them is still evolving on a yearly, if not monthly basis. Did you know that we're discovering new dinosaurs practically every week? Garret and Sabrina of the popular I Know Dino podcast join us to talk about these fascinating creatures. Their podcast is knowledgeable, fun, and easy to follow. We also talk about how birds evolved from dinosaurs, opalized fossils found in Australia, and The Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil show, where you can find opalized fossils and other interesting items for sale. If you want to see more images of Peih-Gee's jewelry, you can check out her Instagram @loradorjewelry. Today's game is called Animal Style where the players must figure out the animal that's hidden inside words and sentences. If you want to learn more about dinosaurs, make sure to check out I Know Dino! Full Show Notes Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner

"In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war." In a dark, grim world, forty thousand years in the future, goblins, ghouls, and elves are battling for supremacy. Their armor is polished, their muscles are bulging, and the paint is almost dry. This is the massive world of Warhammer. In episode 30, Jordan Sorcery joins us to dive down the rabbit hole of Warhammer's rich history. Jordan is a Warhammer historian, and he gives us a light overview of the game, both as a business and as The Hobby. It's a strategic war game played with miniatures, with a vast world of lore and story. He tells us about the concept of "grimdark," which is an aesthetic tone of a gritty, hopeless dystopia, inspired by the tagline of Warhammer 40K: "In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war." We also talk about the gameplay of Warhammer and some ways to get started in this hobby. If you want to learn more about Warhammer, check out Jordan's website www.jordansorcery.com or his YouTube Channel Jordan Sorcery, which covers not only Warhammer, but other tabletop games as well. Today's game is called What a Tool, where players must guess the idiom that contains a type of tool or hardware. In level two, the idiom has undergone a transformation, and the players must figure out the new phrase. Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner

"I love it. It's so bad." At a glance, it's glove at first sight. But gamers in the 80s and 90s soon threw up their hands in disgust while trying to get The Power Glove to power anything besides their rage. Prolific podcaster Adal Rifai joins us to explore The Power Glove and play some games. Adal is certainly no stranger when it comes to puzzling podcasts. His podcast Hey Riddle Riddle features a trio of improvisers solving riddles and lateral puzzles. Adal has recently launched a new show called Gumshoes & Dragons that's a bit like Colombo meets D&D. Today's game is called Power Glove Box, where every answer will be a video game term mashed up with another common word or phrase. Full Show Notes Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner

Movie theaters were already going for full immersion in the 1970's with Sensurround. David breaks down this little known movie technology, which delivered an earth-shaking intensity to movies (literally). Tony Piluso from the Hack the Movies YouTube channel joins us for a dive into obsolete film tech. He also shares film lore about work prints and the crazy scenes that would get cut from movies aired on television and airplanes. Today's game is called "What Did They Say?" where the players take turns reading nonsense words, and the other must guess the movie title. Check the time stamps below to see the written clues and play along. If you're close to Croyden, PA, Tony will be appearing at the Found Footage Fest Sept. 27-28, 2025. Also, check out the Hack the Movies YouTube channel. Full Show Notes Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner

The reality show Survivor loves to open with a splash—literally. The most famous opening episodes start by having contestants jumping off a ship while trying to grab anything useful they'll need to survive the next month stranded in a deserted locale. Survivor calls this a "marooning," but in today's episode of PG's Playhouse, David tells us about real life maroonings and what the term originally meant. David delves into the historical context and a specific case of marooning involving the pirate Edward England. All Star Survivor contestant, author, and blogger Stephen Fishbach joins us again. He tells us about his new novel Escape! which features a has-been reality TV star and a disgraced producer who gets one last shot at redemption on a show set on a remote island. We also talk about his YouTube series where Survivor contestants play Blood on the Clocktower. Our game today is "Blood on the Television" where Stephen must guess which Blood on the Clocktower character is on which reality TV show. Make sure to check out Stephen's new novel, Escape!, coming out this January. YouTube: Survivors Play Blood on the Clocktower Full Show Notes Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner

Have you ever cooked with molasses? It's so gooey and sticky that it can literally pull the fillings out of your teeth if you're not careful. Now imagine a 15-foot wave of molasses coming towards you at a glacial but inevitable pace. Today, we're diving into one of the stickiest disasters in American history, The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 in Boston, MA. Special guest Emily Jillette joins us again for more puzzles and trivia. We chat about some of our favorite Broadway shows including Operation Mincemeat and Hamilton. Today's game is A Sticky Situation where a food item and a phrase have been stuck together so they'll share a common word. And there's a bonus lateral thinking puzzle about another real-life food disaster. Full Show Notes Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner

" It might be an affront to the laws of physics." In this episode of PG's Playhouse, we're going vertical! Today's topic is Frank Lloyd Wright's Nuclear Powered Elevator. Why would you need nuclear power for an elevator? Well, because it was designed to service a skyscraper stretching a mile upwards. David breaks down this totally bonkers skyscraper design that never ended up being built. Guest Sandy Weisz joins us again to talk about his totally bonkers new game Raddle. Raddle has instantly became a fan favorite amongst daily puzzle lovers. He's taken a classic word ladder-style puzzle and added some interesting transformations. In today's game, Peih-Gee turns the tables back on Sandy with some word ladders of her own. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to check out our interview with Sandy Weisz on Reality Escape Pod. Full Show Notes Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner