“Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings put forward an unexpected suggestion in a new guest column for The New York Times: The government should run more like his game show.
Jennings believes we’d all be better off if politicians were as passionate about facts as the clue writers for — and fans of — “Jeopardy!”
“Trivia, of all things, is a ray of hope in our moment of national crisis. Somehow, it’s still an arena where ideological projects are completely ignored and the thing that matters — the only thing that matters — is the right answer," he wrote.
As it stands, the government, internet and individual communities are dragged down by disputes over basic facts, Jennings argued.
Chatbots driven by artificial intelligence are providing incorrect — and sometimes dangerous — information, as elected officials score political points off rejecting scientific and legal standards.
These developments are dangerous because we need a shared set of facts in order to be united, Jennings said.
Plus, bad information leads to bad policies, he added.
Amid today’s political dramas and cultural shifts, Jennings said he finds hope in the fact that so many people still tune in to watch “Jeopardy!” night after night.
“In a dark time, my secret optimism is that our viewers’ love for quiz games is a sign of what can eventually save us: a practical belief in fact and error that is more fundamentally American than the toxic blend of proud ignorance and smarter-than-thou skepticism that’s brought us to this point,” he wrote in the Times column.
Ken Jennings’ ‘Jeopardy!’ career
Before Ken Jennings was the “Jeopardy!” host, he was one of its most legendary players.
He won 74 games in a row in 2004, as the Deseret News previously reported.
After longtime “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek died in 2020, Jennings became a guest host and then a co-host. He was named the new permanent host in late 2023.
“I was 100% confident I would not get a shot at the job — because that would be insane,” Jennings previously told the Deseret News about getting a chance to take on hosting duties. “If I were hiring for that job, I would go with a sturdy broadcaster with decades of experience, not just somebody who happened to be good at the show many years ago. But luckily they took a chance on me.”