EVA: Hi. I'm Eva, Elise's daughter. This week - telling new stories through Dungeons & Dragons. Plus, actor Chante Adams on re-imagining "A League Of Their Own." All right, let's start the show.

You're listening to IT'S BEEN A MINUTE from NPR. I'm Andrea Gutierrez.

ELISE HU, BYLINE: And I'm Elise Hu. Today, we're talking about a game. You've seen it on "Stranger Things," which is fueling a whole new hype cycle for it.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STRANGER THINGS")

TREY BEST: (As Jeff) Vecna just decimated us. We can't kill him with two players.

GATEN MATARAZZO: (As Dustin Henderson) You too? He only has 15 hit points left.

HU: Or you've seen a trailer for the new movie based on it.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES")

CHRIS PINE: (As The Bard) We helped the wrong person steal the wrong thing. We didn't mean to unleash the greatest evil the world has ever known.

GUTIERREZ: So even if you haven't played it, you've heard of it. The game has been around for nearly 50 years - Dungeons & Dragons, or D&D. For those who haven't played, D&D kind of works like this. A group of players makes characters, and a Dungeon Master, or DM, takes them on an adventure. There are classic "Lord Of The Rings"-style quests, but any story can be told through D&D - a dark fairy tale, a casino heist, a Regency-era comedy of manners. In all of them, the stakes are high. A roll of the dice decides the players' fate, and at its heart, it's spontaneous group storytelling.

HU: I love it. I love the idea of collaborative storytelling. I love the idea that this expands people's imaginations.

GUTIERREZ: You're not alone. D&D has had a bit of a boom in recent years. The game has seen record sales as more and more people are getting into the game, playing with friends and even strangers online. But there's another way that people are experiencing D&D - consuming podcasts, YouTube videos and Twitch recordings of other people playing the game. In D&D speak, this is called actual play.

JASMINE BHULLAR: I think where actual plays are so attractive to people is they actually get to see what happens in a D&D game. It's not like a video game where you can see a trailer or get some sense of how it's played. Like, seeing actual plays is like the first time you kind of get a demo of what it's like.

GUTIERREZ: That's Jasmine Bhullar. She's a frequent actual play DM, or Dungeon Master, and player. So is Persephone Valentine.

PERSEPHONE VALENTINE: To give you an idea of how much I love playing with Jasmine, I've been up since 4 in the morning working, and I still went and played.

BHULLAR: We just played D&D for 4 hours last night.

GUTIERREZ: Jasmine and Persephone both take part in an actual play called Shikar. And actual play is getting popular online. Two of the 10 most subscribed podcasts on Patreon are actual plays, and the highest-earning Twitch account as of 2021 is a D&D channel.

HU: Wow. So D&D is having a moment because it's not just a game. It's collaborative storytelling. Andrea sat down with Jasmine and Persephone to talk about how the influx of players is changing the game itself. It's become a new medium for marginalized storytellers to tell different kinds of fantasy stories, which is awesome. Andrea takes it from here.

GUTIERREZ: D&D and other tabletop role-playing games, or RPGs - they have exploded in popularity on the internet in recent years. And there seems to be a lot of interest coming from younger players. So according to the makers of D&D, 44% of players are under 30. And it seems like there are more women, trans people, queer people, more people of color in general coming to the tables. But going beyond the idea of just basic representation at the table, how do the players' lived experiences change what kind of fantasy stories you're able to tell?

VALENTINE: Traditional fantasy - like, especially Tolkien-based fantasy - is very white, is very cisgender, very heterosexual in nature. And one of the things I like to argue is that fantasy, in large part, is stagnant because it doesn't allow for the experiences of other people. Like, you're getting the same sort of stories each and every time when the literal introduction of someone else's voice changes everything. Like, that - something that simple - like, even a story with the same framing can become completely different when a POC is writing it or a POC is involved. Like, I like to think of, like, the revelation that N.K. Jemisin was with her books in the fantasy scene. And it's the same thing at a table. Allowing someone to experience their culture or their background through the lens of fantasy, through the lens of imagination and what it could be, what it could be differently - it makes things that much more rich.

BHULLAR: And as far as why I think more young people are getting into it, D&D is more accessible now than it's ever been because before, you had to find a group of people to play with and assemble in person with, and it was really hard to, like, connect with people over this hobby. Now, I mean, there's sites where you can - there's so many more ways to find a table to play with. Like before, you had to, like, go into a game store and hope the people in there weren't mean (laughter).

VALENTINE: Also, I think that people, especially in the sort of context of, like, queerness or being POC, like, these become very important spaces to find and protect and, like, keep close to your heart.

GUTIERREZ: I always think of fantasy as books and movies and TV shows, but what you're both known for is that actual play aspect of it. It's basically a whole new medium of experiencing fantasy storytelling. How have you seen that medium grow?

VALENTINE: Yeah. Like, if you have a Twitch channel and some friends, you can start an actual play. It does make it a lot more accessible than, like, traditional publishing because, like, you can just put it on the internet and do it, as long as you have some friends and the ability to use your imagination to create. You can just do it.

BHULLAR: I think there's, like, less barrier to entry, you know? I've wanted to be a writer, like, in sci-fi fantasy since I was, like, 6 years old. And trying to get a book made is almost impossible. But I think one of the big reasons for the explosion of actual play as it's on a very indie level. When we first started Shikara, we didn't have any sponsorships. We didn't have anything. We just started. And then after that, the sponsorships kind of came in. And it's only now that I can, like, finally pay my cast. But when we started, we just started because we wanted to play together - we wanted to tell a story. And it kind of scratches that itch for me of, like, writing. But I still get to tell my story to an audience specifically and get it out there, but I don't have to go through the conventional means to do it.

GUTIERREZ: You know, D&D is not just for exploring dungeons, obviously. I mean, it's in the name, but it's also a way to explore identity through a character. Through any of the characters that you play, how have you or your tables used D&D to do that kind of exploration?

VALENTINE: So I don't know if I would have transitioned as early as I did without stuff like D&D. Oh, by the way, hi, I'm trans. The first time I played a female character was in a tabletop game, and it was sort of like a, oh, [expletive], OK, yeah, I'm playing just what I wish I could have been at some point in my life. And publicly, one of the things that I did when I was on "Dimension 20," for The Seven, was I was like - when I was talking to Brennan in a DM, I was like, let's - we both decided - Brennan asked me if I wanted to play this character as trans, and I was like, yeah, yeah, let's do that because it's - I feel like it's an important thing to tell.

Not every character that I play is trans. Or not every character I play, necessarily, has their gender journey be the, like, spotlight or something, but I was like, this is important to this character and something that needs to be present because, like, exploration through D&D and - like, one of the things when you make a character is you never fully lose yourself in it. Like, it's never necessarily just a creation of your mind. Like, there's something there that is a part of you. And for a lot of us with gender stuff, it can be the thing that leads you to realize, like, I am playing something that I could actually be in real life. I am playing something that I should be in real life. And this is probably a more honest depiction of who I am than who I have been in real life. I know a lot of people who have that sort of story with me.

GUTIERREZ: I'm sure you're both playing a bunch of characters right now, but is there one character in particular that you've been playing recently who you're really excited about?

VALENTINE: I'm going to talk about Mariyah because I played her last night. So Mariyah is my character on Shikar. She is an Irish-accented, big-bosomed merchant sorceress who is on this adventure with this haphazard group of dudes.

BHULLAR: She also has two lesbian moms that are amazing.

VALENTINE: I do. They are.

BHULLAR: This came up recently (laughter).

BHULLAR: Specifically the words Sephie said of strictly no [expletive]-ly.

BHULLAR: I am so sorry, NPR. Yeah, so this is - I have to specify now because people have this penchant of trying to, like, hit on, you know, Mariyah's moms, and they're very gay for each other.

VALENTINE: I can't blame them. They're hot. They are hot.

BHULLAR: I get it. Hot magic users. I understand.

GUTIERREZ: I'm wondering how you first got involved in Dungeons & Dragons. Like, what hooked you about it?

BHULLAR: My first experience was actually really negative (laughter).

VALENTINE: Can be, especially for fems.

BHULLAR: Yeah. I didn't like it. You know, I was seeing someone who mentioned that they played D&D, and so I really wanted to play. I got the "Book Of Vile Darkness," and I made this very ridiculous - I think she's a plague mage, and I went in and - first of all, they were reticent to even let me play 'cause it was a bunch of men, and me just being there made them uncomfortable. And then when I did, they killed me outright, before I even got to do anything. And I got really mad, dumped the guy, flipped the table and left (laughter) and didn't play again for many years, like, because I was just like, this could have been a cool game. I enjoyed making my character, I like math and stuff like that. But I hate these people.

GUTIERREZ: It sounds like that sounds familiar to you as well, Sephie.

VALENTINE: I think everyone who's fem has some sort of story about, like, some sort of problematic section of tabletop.

VALENTINE: But the thing is it's so much fun and so creative. And when you find the right groups of people, it becomes magical.

GUTIERREZ: I'm reminded of when Magic the Gathering first got big. I was in - about the time I was in junior high. It's also - Magic the Gathering, of course, is - it's a tabletop card game and shares some qualities, I think, with D&D. And I remember - I have this, like, very specific memory of, like, a group of boys sitting on the sidewalk next to the school library, playing the game. And I was like, what is this game? I keep seeing these groups of boys playing. And I walked up to them. I was like, what is that? Can I play? I just remember them, like - it was like, all turned around and like, it's not for girls. It was very similar to your experiences the first time that you played D&D, too, right? Even today, there's definitely been a singular idea of what D&D is and who it's for - young white boys doing Tolkien roleplay, even though so many other kinds of people play. Is that idea still prevalent even as more people are getting into it?

BHULLAR: I think it's dying off. I think that's why we've seen this resurgence because I think people that still hold those values are rapidly realizing they're not in the majority anymore. And so that's why there's this, like, really nasty doubling down on it. People love Gary Gygax because he made this game, but even when he made it, Gary Gygax said that the reason that a lot of women didn't play D&D was they wouldn't find it interesting. When you pair that with the fact that there's now women that are making money in it, it always turns into, oh, well, the only reason you're playing it is because you're making money from it.

VALENTINE: I think Jasmine has the truth of it. People are doubling down on the past because they realize they're not in the majority anymore. They realize things are changing, and they're realizing that most people want them to change. General fantasy representation hasn't always been the best. It's improving, but, like, it definitely leans towards one group of people. And now that that's changing, they're like, oh, well, why does it have to be like this? I don't see myself. And it's, like, that's what we've been dealing with this entire time because we're brown and Black and queer and blah, blah, blah. Like, you know what? You can deal with - we've watched media where we're not represented for our entire lives.

VALENTINE: Not everything has to be about you. OK?

BHULLAR: And from enjoying stuff that had no one that looked like me in it, I know...

BHULLAR: ...that you can watch...

BHULLAR: Yeah. You can watch...

BHULLAR: ...What we are in and love it just as much, too, you know?

GUTIERREZ: What excites you most about the work you're doing and the kinds of characters and worlds that you're creating?

VALENTINE: I have a world in my back pocket that I haven't run online that is based off of every aspect of my ancestry. And I am incredibly mixed. My dad comes from Dominique in the Caribbean, and, like, my mom's background is everything from, like, Slavic to Irish to Scottish. And I basically made this world where every country had some sort of influence from all sides of my ancestry. So, like, I get really excited about that because I'm at the place where I'm like, I just have this colorful world that y'all can play in, and it's going to be fun, damn it. Can say damn it on NPR? I hope so.

GUTIERREZ: You can, actually (laughter).

BHULLAR: I think you - how do I say this without sounding self-important? Like, when...

VALENTINE: Do it. Live it.

VALENTINE: Revel in your truth.

BHULLAR: There's an NPC - very first episode of Shikar - his name is Akash, and one of the first comments I saw when we uploaded it to YouTube was like, oh, that's my name; I've never seen my name in a D&D game before. And I teared up a little bit, you know? Like...

BHULLAR: ...That meant a lot to me. Or, like, when I see other people get excited and do fan art and get inspired and say, I never would have thought we could have done this or that, like, you know, it makes - it just fuels me. And I want to make more and more and more.

GUTIERREZ: All right. Thank you so much, both of you.

GUTIERREZ: Thanks again to Jasmine Bhullar and Persephone Valentine. You can catch them on their actual play, Shikar. Coming up, actor Chante Adams on re-imagining "A League Of Their Own."

HU: You're listening to IT'S BEEN A MINUTE from NPR. I'm Elise Hu.

GUTIERREZ: And I'm Andrea Gutierrez. Elise, you watch a lot of movies, right?

GUTIERREZ: Are there any unnamed or underdeveloped characters you can think of where you're like, ooh, I wish they could have done more with them?

HU: So in movies, my vote is for the two sidekicks to Peter in "Office Space," either Michael Bolton or Samir Naga-naga-not-gonna-work-here-anymore (ph).

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "OFFICE SPACE")

AJAY NAIDU: (As Samir Nagheenanajar) No one in this country can ever pronounce my name right.

DAVID HERMAN: (As Michael Bolton) Well, at least your name isn't Michael Bolton.

NAIDU: (As Samir Nagheenanajar) You know there's nothing wrong with that name.

GUTIERREZ: Oh, yes. And that Michael Bolton character, definitely a classic one, I think about it, too. But there is one unnamed movie character who has stuck with me for 30 years, even though she has no lines.

GUTIERREZ: All she did was pick up a wayward baseball and throw it back. But she did it with such precision and power, it wowed onlookers.

(SOUNDBITE OF BASEBALL HITTING GLOVE)

HU: Yes. She was the one Black woman who appeared in the movie "A League Of Their Own." The 1992 movie, which I loved, told the tale of women's professional baseball during World War II. It was a league that was unofficially segregated, and the Black woman who throws the ball back was played by DeLisa Chinn-Tyler, an uncredited background actor.

GUTIERREZ: But now, "A League Of Their Own" has returned as a series on Amazon Prime video. The show takes place in the same league with a focus on the same team, The Rockford Peaches, but with all new characters and storylines. And one of those characters expands on the premise of Chinn-Tyler's unnamed character from the film.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN")

CHANTE ADAMS: (As Max Chapman) We're here for the tryouts.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Look, I don't think you understand. This is the All-American league. You think you look like them?

ADAMS: (As Max Chapman) Well, actually, I think my form is a tad bit better. But we're from Rockford, Ill., where we saw you're putting one of the teams, The Peaches.

GUTIERREZ: That is Max Chapman, a young, queer, Black woman in The Peaches' hometown who wants nothing more than to play baseball and to live life on her own terms. And playing Max is Chante Adams. I talked to Chante about what it's like to play a character inspired by some of history's pathfinding women and how she honored her own family's history in its telling. But first, I wanted to know how 1992's "A League Of Their Own" affected her decision to take this role.

ADAMS: When the audition came through to go in for it, I remember the movie, and I remember not seeing any women that looked like me besides that one iconic scene that you just mentioned. But that actress didn't have any lines, or we never followed her story. So I was kind of wondering where I would fit in or if we were just - if they were going to make, you know, the 2022 version where we're going to add in the diversity and stuff like that. And I wasn't really interested in doing something like that. So it wasn't until after I read the script and I realized that we were going to actually tell the stories of Black women who played baseball at that time and really expand on their struggles and all of the obstacles that they faced being Black and being a woman and in Max's case, being queer, as well, I knew I wanted to do something like that.

GUTIERREZ: Yeah. Max is, of course, based on, you know, somewhat loosely on women who played in the Negro Leagues at the time - I'm talking Toni Stone, Mamie Johnson, Connie Morgan. In researching this role and preparing yourself for it, what moments from their histories have stuck with you?

ADAMS: Definitely, sometimes they were the only woman on their team - and although it's a big feat to finally get this accomplishment of playing in the Negro Leagues, being the only woman on a team full of men because at the end of the day, though, you know, I'm on a team with other Black players, I'm also on the team with men. And so how did that affect them and in what way? But also, I mean, the biggest thing that I was shocked or surprised by was that they existed at all...

ADAMS: ...Because I had no idea who they were prior to becoming attached to this project and sitting down and them explaining to me that baseball for women expanded outside of just the All-American Girls League of what we saw in that movie. As a Black person, I still know the history of Jackie Robinson. I still know names like Satchel Paige. But why aren't Toni Stone and Mamie Johnson and Connie Morgan just as big household names as those men? And so that was the frustrating part about it of just like, it's all just because they're women and Black at that. But I was also incredibly excited because what I want to do with my career is to be able to uncover untold stories of Black women and to be a part of shedding light on those stories and bringing them to the forefront. And that is definitely what I feel like Max has allowed me to do.

GUTIERREZ: That's really beautiful and, I would imagine, a little bit overwhelming.

ADAMS: I've gotten a lot of messages these past two weeks from Black women that tell me that my character has assisted in healing them in some way or letting me know that they wish that they had a character on screen like Max growing up or just being excited that the little girls that can relate to Max, the Black, queer athletes, have someone to look up to and have that representation on screen now. And so those are the best messages and definitely what motivates me to keep going. And yeah, it's just been really beautiful moments that have made me stop and take it all in.

GUTIERREZ: Yeah. You know, something I keep thinking about with this show is that it makes a lot of the subtext from the movie text. I'm thinking...

GUTIERREZ: ...The queer stories that are...

GUTIERREZ: ...Actually kind of there on screen, but they don't ever get into it because it's 1992.

GUTIERREZ: The Black woman who threw the ball back and kind of representing, you know, the Black women who weren't there in the league. In this series, we get to explore stories from that era that were obscured, and it gives us a chance to think about those untold stories in our own families and our own histories. I read that you brought your Uncle Edgar into this story and to...

GUTIERREZ: ...Somewhat into kind of thinking about him, remembering him. Can you tell us how he fits into the celebration?

ADAMS: So approaching this role as this Black woman who, of course, is inspired by three women, it required me to do a lot of research. And one of the first people that I go to when I am approached in a period piece is my own family. I have a very big family, so there's a lot of rich history there. And so through talking with my mother, I learned that my grandmother had a brother named Edgar who was gay, and he was kind of estranged from the family. And he lived in San Francisco in California. But that was, like, my mom's favorite uncle. And so I never got to meet him. He died before I was born. But just the fact that he was an out gay man during this era - and he wasn't in contact with his family, but I'm sure he lived a fabulous life in California. So I'm sure he found his chosen family. I told this story to Will and Abbi about my Uncle Edgar...

ADAMS: ...Yes, the showrunners and creators. And so as a way to honor my ancestor, we decided to name Max's father Edgar.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN")

ADAMS: (As Max Chapman) They didn't even let me try out, Dad.

ALEX DESERT: (As Edgar) I'm so sorry, baby. But maybe we throw the ball around tomorrow before work. What do you say?

ADAMS: And so it was just a way to kind of bring him in the room and to - with every project that I do, it's important for me to keep my family and who I am at the center and just bring a little piece of Chanté to it. And so I was really grateful to Will and Abbi for allowing me to do that and for, yeah, making my family feel seen in a way. And also just honoring this uncle that I never got to meet but I heard all of these fabulous, beautiful stories about.

GUTIERREZ: Oh, my goodness. How did your family react to that, like, just seeing that there was a character that was honoring him?

ADAMS: They're so excited. And that's not the only thing. Like, my - I have so many photos in the Chapman household. A lot of the photos that people will see are of my dad's side of the family, too. So I got to bring in both sides of my family and just the texts of like, wow, you know, we can't believe that Edgar's name was used. Or we saw Granddad on the wall. Like, it's such a really great feeling to have because they kind of feel like, you know, they're in the show, too.

GUTIERREZ: One of the things that's lovely about the show is it's not just about the trauma that Black and queer people experience, especially in the '40s.

MIA VENKAT, BYLINE: It's also about showing joy and love...

GUTIERREZ: ...And friendship. I know people are, like, really loving on Max and Clance. They're like...

GUTIERREZ: ...Adorable friends. What is the one scene that you felt really captured that sense of joy?

ADAMS: Definitely in the second to last episode, when Max gets her really big moment on the mound, finally, against the Screws.

(SOUNDBITE OF BAT HITTING BALL)

ADAMS: It kind of clicks to her that she finally did it, and the whole audience is rushing towards her. But somehow, someway, Clance is faster than all of them. And she just, like, almost - Bemi, when we were shooting the scene, almost tackled me running so fast towards me.

ADAMS: But it was just such a beautiful moment to shoot as Max because she finally got that moment that she's been dreaming about. But I think it also just encapsulates that Max and Clance friendship and joy and how Clance is really her No. 1 fan. And in that first episode, she says to her, you know I love you more than anyone else in the world. And Max is like, I know. And it's true. And she said that right in front of her husband. She ain't care. But the joy and the love that they share is really unmatched. I'm so honored to be a part of that duo.

GUTIERREZ: That's really special. So a theme of the show is finding your team. Can you give us a moment from your own Hollywood career where your team or your people around you, like, lifted you up when you needed them?

ADAMS: Oh, man. I remember there was a really weird period of my career where, after I filmed my first movie, which was "Roxanne Roxanne," in between filming it and when it came out was two years. And so...

ADAMS: ...In between those two years, I barely worked because I had done this really big movie, but I was brand-new. I was fresh on the scene. And so when my reps would approach people and be like, she just did this big movie - like, you need to cast her in the next big movie. And they're like, great, can we watch it? And they're like, well, no, because it's not out yet. And so that - well, then we can't, like, put her in this. Like, we can't cast her in this. And so there was, like, this period where I was just - I really was ready to give up. I was just like, I don't think, you know, I feel maybe this was like my one shot. Maybe that was my one thing, like, and who knows what will happen after the movie comes out. But it was really my village and the people around me that kind of rallied behind me and was just like, you have to keep going because if you don't keep going, who are all the girls that, like, are so inspired by you right now - who are they going to look up to? And so, you know, just remembering everything that I do is not for me. It's for the people that come up after me and the people who have come before me. I can't give up because they didn't.

GUTIERREZ: I'm wondering if we can take it back a little bit more.

GUTIERREZ: When did you know you wanted to act?

VENKAT: There are a few really specific moments. Some of them involved other people. But the one that kind of involves me where I was like, this makes me feel like nothing I've ever felt before was during my sophomore year of high school. We were doing a production of "Rent." And I was playing Mimi. And I was 15 years old. I didn't know anything about being a drug addict or a stripper living with a deadly disease or...

GUTIERREZ: That's a lot to take on as a high school student.

GUTIERREZ: I know it's a classic play, a classic musical.

ADAMS: It really is a lot.

GUTIERREZ: But at this point, that's a lot to take on.

ADAMS: And I think it was the first time that I emotionally connected or - as the language I use, is the first time I locked in to a character. And the emotion just kind of took over me as I was doing the lines. And it was an out-of-body experience. I was just - I was singing "Goodbye, Love," which is towards the end of the show, and I was, like, in tears. I didn't know anything about being in love or saying goodbye to anyone. But I don't know - it's kind of an indescribable feeling. I'm rambling, but that was one of the main moments.

GUTIERREZ: What kind of roles do you want to take on next?

ADAMS: Not a particular role. I'm a very - when I know, I'll know - type of person or when I read it, I'll know - I'll feel it. But yeah, I want to start exploring different worlds. And Black women can exist in all those worlds, in sci-fi and in horror and - so yeah, that's what I want to do next. I just want to continue to expand on the path that I'm already set out on.

GUTIERREZ: Chante, thank you so much. This was so lovely talking to you. Thank you for the work you've been doing. It's been really great watching you on screen.

GUTIERREZ: Thanks again to Chante Adams. She stars in "A League Of Their Own." The series is out now on Amazon Prime Video. Up next, a game of Who Said That with our friends Ailsa Chang and Mia Venkat from NPR's All Things Considered. I'm Andrea Gutierrez. And you're listening to IT'S BEEN A MINUTE from NPR.

We are back. You're listening to IT'S BEEN A MINUTE from NPR. I'm Andrea Gutierrez, and I'm here with two esteemed guests and colleagues from a little radio show called All Things Considered. Can you each introduce yourselves?

AILSA CHANG, BYLINE: Hello. I'm Ailsa Chang. I'm one of the hosts.

VENKAT: And I'm Mia Venkat, and I'm one of the producers.

GUTIERREZ: Ailsa and Mia, welcome, welcome. So happy to have you here.

CHANG: Thanks for having us.

GUTIERREZ: We are here to play a game called Who Said That. First of all, I should say I have never been on this side of it. Usually, I'm preparing it as a producer. I'm sure you can relate to that, Mia, as a producer being...

GUTIERREZ: ...On mic right now.

VENKAT: I was, like, doing my research, doing my own prep packets last night, getting ready for the...

GUTIERREZ: There you go. There you go. Great. You should be ready to go. But here is how the game works. I'll share a quote you may have heard in the news this week, and you guess who said it or what it is about. There are no buzzers. You just yell out the answer. You don't have to wait for anyone to prompt you - just whenever you hear it. There are zero prizes. It is just bragging rights. Are you all ready?

GUTIERREZ: Here's the first quote. Hot day, hot song, the goats and I are feeling heated, Beyonce, loving this track - #goatsongs, #renaissance.

CHANG: (Laughter) No idea. Wait...

CHANG: Like, the ones - like, the creatures with the devil eyes? Like, goats?

GUTIERREZ: With the devil eyes?

GUTIERREZ: Yes, goats the animals.

VENKAT: I'm assuming it's, like, a celebrity that's a huge fan of Beyonce. I know it's obviously about her new album.

VENKAT: But is that right?

VENKAT: Can you give us a hint? OK.

GUTIERREZ: So I'll give you a hint. He's in "Footloose."

GUTIERREZ: Kevin Bacon. Ailsa got that one.

CHANG: Woohoo (ph), Gen Xer.

CHANG: I was like, Beyonce came out with a new album, but Kevin Bacon. No, I'm just kidding.

GUTIERREZ: Yes. So that is a tweet from actor Kevin Bacon. This week, he tweeted a short video of himself playing the Beyonce song "Heated" on acoustic guitar while sitting outdoors with three adorable and adoring goats.

KEVIN BACON: (Singing) Got a lot of bands, got a lot of Chanel on me - I gotta fan myself off. I gotta fan myself off. I gotta cool it down, heated...

CHANG: He has pet goats?

GUTIERREZ: And it was a very lovely, loving rendition of the song. All right. Ailsa won that one. So we're going to go on to the next quote. So this is a fill in the blank. Blank just told a D.C. audience she swam...

GUTIERREZ: Yes, it was Lorde.

CHANG: What did Mia say?

GUTIERREZ: I'll finish it out.

CHANG: I didn't even hear her.

GUTIERREZ: That was so quick. I'll finish out the quote.

GUTIERREZ: Blank just told a D.C. audience she swam and soaked in the Potomac River today, and the whole room booed her. So...

GUTIERREZ: Mia got that one. Mia, can you talk about who this was and what happened?

VENKAT: Yeah. So Lorde was performing in D.C. I will say...

VENKAT: ...I have some insider intel from friends that were at the concert. They said that they didn't boo her. It was more like a concerned groan. Like, oh, no, Lorde, not...

VENKAT: ...In the Potomac River.

VENKAT: Because it's disgusting. And so...

VENKAT: ...She was like, I really wanted to get the feel for the city. And everyone was like, not like that.

VENKAT: Not in your orifices, sorry.

GUTIERREZ: I just - all right. So that is...

GUTIERREZ: ...Yes, singer Lorde. This is from a tweet by a user, @jesusissupreme, who was at a concert in D.C. - at that same concert, I'd imagine, Mia - at that concert in D.C. when Lorde said on mic that she swam in the Potomac. Swimming in the Potomac was outlawed in 1932 because of the sheer volume of raw sewage in the river.

VENKAT: Oh, my God. Someone check in on her.

GUTIERREZ: But the Potomac's actually been cleaned up and is safe to swim in about 80% of the time.

CHANG: But, like, in different spots - right? - not throughout the river.

GUTIERREZ: I hope she chose wisely.

VENKAT: Yeah. If she cancels her next performance on tour, we'll know why.

GUTIERREZ: Absolutely. All right. Mia got that one. So here is the final quote. This is a tiebreaker, all right? You guys ready?

CHANG: Oh, here we go.

CHANG: I'm elbowing Mia metaphorically right now.

CHANG: Get out of my way.

GUTIERREZ: I mean, look at this thing. I can't imagine a more beautiful thing.

VENKAT: It's the little boy from the corn video.

VENKAT: It's corn. It's the most beautiful thing.

CHANG: I have no idea what Mia's talking about. What's the corn video?

GUTIERREZ: That is a quote from a child named Tariq, also known as the TikTok sensation Corn Kid.

TARIQ: I really like corn.

JULIAN SHAPIRO-BARNUM: What do you like about corn?

TARIQ: Ever since I was told that corn is real, it tasted good.

SHAPIRO-BARNUM: Did you think corn wasn't real?

TARIQ: And when I tried it with butter, everything changed. I love corn.

GUTIERREZ: And it's practically unavoidable if you've been near TikTok and a little bit on the edges of Twitter, as well.

CHANG: Oh, my God. I literally just uploaded the TikTok app yesterday.

GUTIERREZ: Well, you are going to find Corn Kid on there. Earlier this month, Tariq was featured in the web series "Recess Therapy" with comedian Julian Shapiro-Barnum. And he was talking all about his undying love of corn, or as he calls it, cone (ph), all while eating a giant corn cob on camera. The video has understandably gone viral, even with a catchy song.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IT'S CORN")

TARIQ AND UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) It's corn, a big lump with knobs. It has the juice. It has the juice. I can't imagine a more beautiful thing.

VENKAT: It's, like, a guy at a fair or something interviewing him, and he's, like, just - it's the most wonderful thing. And the whole interview is about corn.

GUTIERREZ: You know, the video's - it's been around for a few weeks. I feel like it's gotten, like, this critical mass in the last week or so.

GUTIERREZ: So definitely check it out...

GUTIERREZ: ...The Corn Kid. All right. Mia got that, which means...

GUTIERREZ: ...Mia wins the game. Mia, how are you feeling about that?

VENKAT: Oh, I feel amazing. Thank you so much. It's so good to be out here against my host, Ailsa Chang.

VENKAT: Ailsa, I hope this does not affect our working relationship.

CHANG: I'm going to try not to let it affect our relationship, Mia. I love you, Mia. This was so fun.

VENKAT: I love you, Ails (ph).

GUTIERREZ: Well, thank you so much to both of you. That was awesome. Thanks again to Ailsa Chang and Mia Venkat, both of NPR's All Things Considered. Thank you so much.

VENKAT: Thanks for having us.

HU: This episode of IT'S BEEN A MINUTE was produced by Barton Girdwood, Andrea Gutierrez, Liam McBain, Janet Woojeong Lee and Jessica Mendoza.

GUTIERREZ: Our supervising editor is Jessica Placzek. Our executive producer is Veralyn Williams. Our VP of programming is Yolanda Sangweni, and our big boss is NPR's senior VP of programming, Anya Grundmann.

HU: Listeners, take good care of yourselves. And thank you for listening. I'm Elise Hu.

GUTIERREZ: And I'm Andrea Gutierrez. Talk soon.

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