NOTE: There’ll be no traditional prep on Thursday or Friday because of the holiday. Subscribers can download the DIY graphics, sales one sheets and audio clips on the Show Prep page here with their login or in the shared Dropbox folder.  

Tease: Coming up in ___________ minutes, what we know about the UK variant  

The mutation of the virus found in Britain appears to be 70% more contagious than earlier strains. Luckily early analysis says it isn’t any more deadly or resistant to vaccines. The new variant is however spreading across the globe, aside from the UK its been detected in Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Australia. Apparently 2020 isn’t done pleading its case to be the worst year ever. (Additional out) Hopefully the sequel isn’t worse than the original.  

Tease: In ___­­­­___ minutes, five high schoolers' heroic act  

Five high school freshmen are being called heroes for saving two children from an icy pond. The five New Jersey teens were about to head home from sledding when they saw two small children headed straight into a pond at the bottom of a hill. The boys, who are all members of the same Boy Scout troop, sprang into action to recuse the 4 and 8 year old from the pond. Something tells me sledding near an icy pond was a dad’s idea. (Additional out) If that doesn’t get you promoted to Eagle Scout I don’t know what will.  

Tease: Coming up at ­­­­­­­­­­­­_____, when Americans will get their stimulus checks  

Millions of Americans could see payments from the Treasury Department next week. The $900 billion dollar stimulus deal that passed yesterday includes direct payments of $600 to individuals who made up to $75k. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says some of those payments will begin showing up in American’s bank accounts as early as the beginning of next week. So, it only took them half a year to give us half as much as we expected. (Additional out) Just in time to hit up the after Christmas sales and buy presents for all the family members I’m avoiding.  

Tease: In _____ minutes, the exact time ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ will be released on HBO Max  

‘Wonder Woman 1984’ will be available to stream on HBO Max starting at noon Eastern Time on Christmas Day. Warner Brothers decided to make the heavily anticipated film starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine and Kristen Wiig available to stream the same day its released in theaters. ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ will be available on HBO Max for 31 days. Just long enough for people to sign up for a free trial, watch it, then forget to cancel and get charged. (Additional Out) At which time she’ll hop in her invisible jet and disappear.  

Phone Topic/Web Poll: Despite warnings from health officials, holiday travel has already set a new record for the busiest weekend of the pandemic. Pre-Christmas air travel surpassed one million daily passengers nationwide for three consecutive days this weekend. How about you, do you plan on travelling for Christmas?  

Contest Tease: Coming up at _____________, how much of this did we lose this year? The correct answer wins ________.  

[Contest setup] If you’re having trouble sleeping you’re not alone. According to a new study, how many hours of sleep did Americans lose this year combined?  

A: 30 million hours  

B: 30 billion hours  

C: 300 billion hours  

Answer: B, the study from Serta Simmons Bedding found Americans collectively lost 30 billion hours of sleep since the pandemic started and over a third admit to staying up later during the pandemic. And, of course, never changing out of their sleep clothes.  

[DIY Feature] Knockout Trivia Tuesday: I’ll ask a question on air, if you call in and correctly answer it you’ll have twenty seconds to answer three more questions to win ________. If no one gets it, we’ll move on to round 2.  

Round 1:  

General question: What popular Christmas beverage is also called ‘milk punch’? (Eggnog)  

Follow Up Questions:  

What did the other reindeer not let Rudolph do because of his shiny red nose? (Join in any reindeer games)  

What three words were used to describe the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas? (Stink, stank, stunk)  

In Home Alone, where are the McCallisters going on vacation when they leave Kevin behind? (Paris)  

Round 2:  

General question: How many ghosts are there in A Christmas Carol? (Four)  

Follow up questions:  

What words follow “Silent Night” in the song? (Holy night)  

In the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, what happened every time a bell rang? (An angel got their wings)  

According to the song, what did my true love give to me on the eight day of Christmas? (Eight maids a milking)  

5 Things You Need to Know  

1) The mutation of the virus found in Britain appears to be 70% more contagious than earlier strains. Luckily early analysis says it isn’t any more deadly or resistant to vaccines. The new variant is however spreading across the globe, aside from the UK its been detected in Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Australia. Apparently 2020 isn’t done pleading its case to be the worst year ever.  

2) Five high school freshmen are being called heroes for saving two children from an icy pond. The five New Jersey teens were about to head home from sledding when they saw two small children headed straight into a pond at the bottom of a hill. The boys, who are all members of the same Boy Scout troop, sprang into action to recuse the 4 and 8 year old from the pond. Something tells me sledding near an icy pond was a dad’s idea.  

3) Millions of Americans could see payments from the Treasury Department next week. The $900 billion dollar stimulus deal that passed yesterday includes direct payments of $600 to individuals who made up to $75k. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says some of those payments will begin showing up in American’s bank accounts as early as the beginning of next week. So, it only took them half a year to give us half as much as we expected.  

4) ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ will be available to stream on HBO Max starting at noon Eastern Time on Christmas Day. Warner Brothers decided to make the heavily anticipated film starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine and Kristen Wiig available to stream the same day its released in theaters. ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ will be available on HBO Max for 31 days. At which time she’ll hop in her invisible jet and disappear.  

5) If you’re having trouble sleeping you’re not alone. According to a new study. from Serta Simmons Bedding found Americans collectively lost 30 billion hours of sleep since the pandemic started and over a third admit to staying up later during the pandemic. And, of course, never changing out of their sleep clothes.  

Are You Traveling for Christmas?  

Despite warnings from health officials, holiday travel has already set a new record for the busiest weekend of the pandemic. Pre-Christmas air travel surpassed one million daily passengers nationwide for three consecutive days this weekend. How about you, do you plan on travelling for Christmas? We posed that question to our  _________ listeners, click below to hear their responses, take the web poll below to weigh in, then listen tomorrow at _______ to hear the results.  

(Upload audio from your best calls)  

(Web poll)  

Are you travelling for Christmas?  

Yes  

No