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The Best of Car Talk

#2611: Hey, Mr. Spaceman

The Best of Car Talk

NPR

Automotive, Leisure, Comedy

4.716.5K Ratings

🗓️ 7 February 2026

⏱️ 38 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Back in the day, local baseball hero for the Red Sox, Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee took some of his bonus money and bought himself an old BMW that he still has and it’s giving him trouble. Can Click and Clack help Bill get the Bimmer started in exchange for tips on how to throw a better curveball? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

On Planet Money, we have covered a lot of topics.

0:03.8

Like just try searching something on the internet and adding Planet Money to the end of it.

0:08.0

Tariff prices, Planet Money, that's an episode.

0:11.0

Stop Sign War, Planet Money, that too.

0:13.9

Alaska Halibut Derby, Planet Money.

0:16.4

If you can ask it, we have probably answered it.

0:19.4

Planet Money.

0:19.8

Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

0:45.0

Hello and welcome to Car Talk from National Public Radio with us Click and Clack to Tapper Brothers,

0:51.2

and we're broadcasting this week from the Avian Prestadigitation Center here at Car Talk Plaza.

0:57.5

I wish I could remember who sent this to us because I don't have the piece of paper in front of me, but I'll just, I'll tell you the story.

1:00.1

Here's the story.

1:01.4

This magician gets a job on a cruise ship.

1:05.5

Uh-huh.

1:06.1

And he soon realizes that he doesn't have to come up with a new set of tricks every week because what

1:11.9

different different audience every week people get off the boat three thousand more people

1:16.9

get on except the captain has a parrot and the parrot sits there through all of his shows

1:23.2

and the parrot pretty soon learns all the tricks and being a a parrot, a troublemaker, the parrot starts yelling out stuff.

1:31.7

So in the middle of a trick, the parrot says, it's under the table.

1:36.3

Or he says, it's in his other hand.

1:39.3

So pretty soon, the poor guy is devastated.

1:43.1

He's ruined.

...

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