110. Wheel of Fortune
- Show Notes
- Transcript
This summer, producer Claire McInerny applied to be on Wheel of Fortune. We don’t know if she’ll make it on the show, but the process turned into a sweet bonding moment between her and her family.
About It's Going to Be OK
If you have anxiety, depression or any sense of the world around you, you know that not *everything* is going to be okay. In fact, many things aren’t okay and never will be!
But instead of falling into the pit of despair, we’re bringing you a little OK for your day. Every weekday, we’ll bring you one okay thing to help you start, end or endure your day with the opposite of a doom scroll.
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Share your OK thing at 502-388-6529 or by emailing a note or voice memo to [email protected]. Start your message with “I’m (name) and it’s going to be okay.”
“It’s Going To Be OK” is brought to you by The Hartford. The Hartford is a leading insurance provider that connects people and technology for better employee benefits. Learn more at www.thehartford.com/benefits.
The IGTBO team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Marcel Malekebu, Amanda Romani and Grace Barry.
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Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.
Claire McInerny: Last year, my partner Brit and I decided to kind of blow up our lives. We both quit our careers in Austin, me as a public radio reporter, he as an architect, and we started working for ourselves. As we transitioned away from steady paychecks and 30 dollar copays, we realized that living in Austin wasn’t the best for two-self employed creatives.
Housing was getting way too expensive for us. And our social circles were dwindling as other people left the city. So we figured, if we can work anywhere, why don’t we go somewhere where the cost of living is lower? We landed on Louisville, Kentucky, where I have some great friends and would be near my family.
But before making the cross country move, we decided to take a little financial breather. So when our lease ended in June, we moved in with Britt’s parents in Dallas. Now, living with your partner’s parents could be a nightmare in so many ways, but I am lucky because Bill and Linda are lovely people, and having them as roommates has been so fun.
We’ve found a few things that all four of us like to do together, like going to their local pub to play trivia or just chat with the waitstaff. We’ve gotten lost in a few TV series together. One that we highly recommend is somebody somewhere on HBO, or as the four of us call it, The Kansas Show.
But there is one activity that consistently brings us together, that consistently puts a smile on our face and makes us laugh, and that is watching Wheel of Fortune. Every day at 6:30, I stop working in the guest room upstairs and I go down to the kitchen.
One of us cooks dinner for the group, and the rest of us sit around and watch Wheel of Fortune on the TV above the kitchen door. Now, I haven’t watched Wheel of Fortune in… Years, probably decades. But I get why this show has been on for 40 years, and that’s because it’s so fun.
First of all, it’s very accessible to a viewer. Like, Jeopardy is also a very fun show, but I don’t know any of the questions on Jeopardy. What I do know pretty well are words.
Also, Wheel of Fortune is full of good dopamine hits, like the dings when you get a letter right, or the deep relief you feel when the ticks of the wheel miss the bankrupt slot by one notch. The biggest high for me, though, is when I finally see the word or phrase come together in my mind and I get to shout it out before Brit and his parents and the contestants on TV.
One night, as I sat at the table, watching Sue from Albuquerque win a trip to the Bahamas, I thought, “How hard is it to become a contestant?” So I googled it, and the application process is so simple. All they want is some basic info, a photo, and why you want to be on the show. So, I applied.
Bill and Linda were stoked when I told them I applied. We started fantasizing about the LA trip we’d all take if I was chosen. I promised if I won more than $10,000, I’d take us all to Nobu in Malibu to celebrate.
This has been the perfect way to have fun and pass the time during the hot Texas summer. Now I haven’t heard back from the show, and I might never hear back from the show. And that’s okay. This whole process of rediscovering the show and applying to be a contestant has been a blast in and of itself.
When I moved in with two retirees, I had no idea what we’d find in common. But sharing this show and all the, but sharing this show and all the experiences we’ve had has helped us to get to know each other better. Watching the Kansas show is a time when I share about my own upbringing in Kansas. We have interesting conversations about pop culture when we all watch CBS Sunday Morning together. And playing Wheel of Fortune every night has been a time for us to just have fun.
Having a partner and inheriting their family is such an interesting concept to me. Because it’s not something I ever thought about before I met Brit. But now that I’m here in this position, I feel so lucky that his family has embraced me, and literally welcomed me into their home. Being supported by people who aren’t my parents but love me like my own is such a gift that I don’t take for granted.
Unless I have to compete against them in Wheel of Fortune, then they’re dead to me.
This summer, producer Claire McInerny applied to be on Wheel of Fortune. We don’t know if she’ll make it on the show, but the process turned into a sweet bonding moment between her and her family.
About It's Going to Be OK
If you have anxiety, depression or any sense of the world around you, you know that not *everything* is going to be okay. In fact, many things aren’t okay and never will be!
But instead of falling into the pit of despair, we’re bringing you a little OK for your day. Every weekday, we’ll bring you one okay thing to help you start, end or endure your day with the opposite of a doom scroll.
Find Nora’s weekly newsletter here! Also, check out Nora on YouTube.
Share your OK thing at 502-388-6529 or by emailing a note or voice memo to [email protected]. Start your message with “I’m (name) and it’s going to be okay.”
“It’s Going To Be OK” is brought to you by The Hartford. The Hartford is a leading insurance provider that connects people and technology for better employee benefits. Learn more at www.thehartford.com/benefits.
The IGTBO team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Marcel Malekebu, Amanda Romani and Grace Barry.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.
Claire McInerny: Last year, my partner Brit and I decided to kind of blow up our lives. We both quit our careers in Austin, me as a public radio reporter, he as an architect, and we started working for ourselves. As we transitioned away from steady paychecks and 30 dollar copays, we realized that living in Austin wasn’t the best for two-self employed creatives.
Housing was getting way too expensive for us. And our social circles were dwindling as other people left the city. So we figured, if we can work anywhere, why don’t we go somewhere where the cost of living is lower? We landed on Louisville, Kentucky, where I have some great friends and would be near my family.
But before making the cross country move, we decided to take a little financial breather. So when our lease ended in June, we moved in with Britt’s parents in Dallas. Now, living with your partner’s parents could be a nightmare in so many ways, but I am lucky because Bill and Linda are lovely people, and having them as roommates has been so fun.
We’ve found a few things that all four of us like to do together, like going to their local pub to play trivia or just chat with the waitstaff. We’ve gotten lost in a few TV series together. One that we highly recommend is somebody somewhere on HBO, or as the four of us call it, The Kansas Show.
But there is one activity that consistently brings us together, that consistently puts a smile on our face and makes us laugh, and that is watching Wheel of Fortune. Every day at 6:30, I stop working in the guest room upstairs and I go down to the kitchen.
One of us cooks dinner for the group, and the rest of us sit around and watch Wheel of Fortune on the TV above the kitchen door. Now, I haven’t watched Wheel of Fortune in… Years, probably decades. But I get why this show has been on for 40 years, and that’s because it’s so fun.
First of all, it’s very accessible to a viewer. Like, Jeopardy is also a very fun show, but I don’t know any of the questions on Jeopardy. What I do know pretty well are words.
Also, Wheel of Fortune is full of good dopamine hits, like the dings when you get a letter right, or the deep relief you feel when the ticks of the wheel miss the bankrupt slot by one notch. The biggest high for me, though, is when I finally see the word or phrase come together in my mind and I get to shout it out before Brit and his parents and the contestants on TV.
One night, as I sat at the table, watching Sue from Albuquerque win a trip to the Bahamas, I thought, “How hard is it to become a contestant?” So I googled it, and the application process is so simple. All they want is some basic info, a photo, and why you want to be on the show. So, I applied.
Bill and Linda were stoked when I told them I applied. We started fantasizing about the LA trip we’d all take if I was chosen. I promised if I won more than $10,000, I’d take us all to Nobu in Malibu to celebrate.
This has been the perfect way to have fun and pass the time during the hot Texas summer. Now I haven’t heard back from the show, and I might never hear back from the show. And that’s okay. This whole process of rediscovering the show and applying to be a contestant has been a blast in and of itself.
When I moved in with two retirees, I had no idea what we’d find in common. But sharing this show and all the, but sharing this show and all the experiences we’ve had has helped us to get to know each other better. Watching the Kansas show is a time when I share about my own upbringing in Kansas. We have interesting conversations about pop culture when we all watch CBS Sunday Morning together. And playing Wheel of Fortune every night has been a time for us to just have fun.
Having a partner and inheriting their family is such an interesting concept to me. Because it’s not something I ever thought about before I met Brit. But now that I’m here in this position, I feel so lucky that his family has embraced me, and literally welcomed me into their home. Being supported by people who aren’t my parents but love me like my own is such a gift that I don’t take for granted.
Unless I have to compete against them in Wheel of Fortune, then they’re dead to me.
About Our Guest
Claire McInerny
Claire McInerny is a podcast producer and writer, specializing in long form, narrative podcasts. Before podcasting, Claire was a reporter for NPR stations in Indiana and Texas, covering public schools. Her reporting was featured on NPR and member stations around the country. She lives in Louisville, KY with her partner and two dogs. See more of her work at clairemcinerny.com.
Our Sponsor
The Hartford is a leading insurance provider that’s connecting people and technology for better employee benefits.
Learn more at www.thehartford.com/benefits.
Have a story you want to share?
Share your OK thing at 502-388-6529 or by emailing a note or voice memo to [email protected].
Start your message with:
"I’m (name) and it’s going to be okay."
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