“Fun, bite sized, and entertaining.”

In the final episode of season 6, we’re back with author and now podcaster A.J. Jacobs, along with his Chief Puzzle Officer, Greg Pliska. We first interviewed A.J. about his book, The Puzzler, in S3E11. The idea for the podcast originated in part while recording the audio book version of The Puzzler. A.J. realized many of the puzzles in the book were visual and wouldn’t work for an audio book. He created a bunch of audio puzzles that only worked in the audio form. But when it came to a podcast, he knew he couldn’t do it alone, and so he pulled in puzzle guru Greg Pliska, who collaborated with A.J. on The Puzzler book.

Greg Pliska has created puzzles for the Ask Me Another podcast and the Mohonk Mountain House’s Wonderful World of Words. This is a fun-filled weekend in a mountain resort with puzzle-hunts for people who love language. He’s also a commentator for Will Shortz’s annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, the YouTube recordings of which, to David’s surprise, “really sucked [him] into it.”

Between A.J. and Greg, they possess a powerful pile of podcast puzzling prowess, so I was thrilled to pick their brains about crafting audio puzzles. At the end of the episode, I turned the tables, surprising them with my own game segment called Tilted Titles. Play along, and see if you can beat the puzzle gurus! If you’re looking for pint-sized puzzles for your listening pleasure, make sure to check out The Puzzler Podcast.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We are immensely grateful to our sponsors this season: Morty App, Buzzshot, and COGS. We truly appreciate your support of our mission to promote and improve the immersive gaming community.

Topics Discussed in this Episode

• 00:04 Sponsor Break: COGS by Clockwork Dog
• 01:38 Introducing the Guests: A.J. Jacobs and Greg Pliska
• 05:35 The Puzzler Podcast: Origin and Evolution
• 11:43 Greg Pliska’s Journey into the Puzzling World
• 15:12 Sponsor Break: Morty App
• 16:57 Color Commentary for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament

• 22:10 Sponsor Break: Buzzshot 
• 24:07 New York Times Puzzle Mania
• 25:54 The Magic of Mohonk Mountain House’s Wonderful World of Words
• 29:26 A.J. Jacobs’ Relationship with Puzzles After The Puzzler Book
• 30:02 The Challenges and Joys of Creating Audio Puzzles
• 32:58 What Makes for a Good Podcast Guest
• 34:48 Designing Audio Puzzles: Challenges and Tips
• 35:11 Designing with Contempt
• 35:45 Anagram Puzzles: Strategies and Challenges
• 36:56 Incorporating Humor and Fun into Audio Puzzles
• 38:02 Behind the Scenes: The Making of The Puzzler
• 41:39 Learning from Failed Puzzles
• 45:33 Gameshow Segment: Tilted Titles
• 53:23 A Discussion About Podcast Sponsors
• 56:17 Future Projects and Final Thoughts

Leave us a voicemail

Got a question or thought for the podcast? You can submit a voice recording by calling the Room Escape Artist not-so-hotline that always goes straight to voicemail (551-227-7273).

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• A.J. Jacob’s Website
• The Puzzler Website
• Greg Pliska’s Website
• Exaltation of Larks Website
• American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
• Mohonk Mountain House’s Wonderful World of Words
• REA Review of The Puzzler
• REA Escape Rooms Urban Legends Investigation

About A.J. Jacobs

Facebook

IG: @ajjacobsinc

Twitter: @ajjacobs

A.J. Jacobs is an author, journalist, lecturer and human guinea pig. He has written four New York Times bestsellers that combine memoir, science, humor and a dash of self-help. Among his books are “The Year of Living Biblically” and “The Know-It-All.” He has told several Moth stories, and given several TED talks that have amassed over 10 million views.

His latest book is “The Puzzler,” which Booklist called “ridiculously entertaining,” and The New York Times called “A romp, both fun and funny.”

He was the answer to 1 Down in the March 8, 2014 New York Times crossword puzzle.

About Greg Pliska

Facebook

IG: @gregpliska

Twitter: @gregpliska, @oflarks

Greg Pliska makes puzzles for all occasions under the auspices of his company Exaltation of Larks. He created puzzles for A.J. Jacobs’ book The Puzzler and accompanying online Puzzler Hunt contest. The offshoot of that project, The Puzzler Podcast (for which Greg is Chief Puzzle Officer) was named one of the best new podcasts of 2023 by Lifehacker. Greg’s work has been featured in the New York Times “Puzzle Mania,” and he has been heard as puzzle guru (and writer) on NPR’s “Ask Me Another.” Other radio events include public radio’s “A Way with Words,” and live events for “This American Life.”

Greg is known in the Web3 community for one of the earliest and most successful NFT puzzle events, the Bored Ape Yacht Club puzzle hunt. Greg hosts the Wonderful World of Words at Mohonk Mountain House, where he has created 15 years of on-site puzzle hunts, and also contributes puzzles for Mohonk’s Mystery Weekend. Greg does play-by-play commentary for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, and co-creates the crossword for Playbill magazine. This last endeavor connects to his other career, that of a composer and orchestrator for Broadway, film, and television. Greg’s solving team, Setec Astronomy, has won the world’s most challenging puzzle hunt, the MIT Mystery Hunt, no fewer than four times.

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