Welcome to the Dinner Party Download. This is your icebreaker.

So here's a joke. What's brown and sticky? I don't know. A stick.

I'm Brendan Francis Nuneum. I'm Rico Gagliano. And from APM, American Public Media. This is The Dinner Party

Download, the culture show that helps you win at this week's dinner parties. You just got a joke

from Ben Schott. That'll help break the ice. Ben's author of a new book, slightly more

sophisticated than that joke. Not hard. Called Schottenfreude. Not hard. We'll chat with him

later. Plus, we'll speak with actor Tony Collette. She stars in the TV show Hostages and in the new Broadway comedy, The Realistic Joneses.

And if this all sounds familiar, that's because this is an encore broadcast of a show we first aired last November.

So cast your mind back pre-polar vortex. When, as at any dinner party, we started with Small Talk.

And joining us today is perhaps the king of Small Talk, Ben Schott. He is author of the best-selling

trivia compendium's Schatz Miscellany and Schatz Almanac. Basically, if you memorize either

of these books, you will have something to say at any party. Indeed. His new book is called Schadenfreude.

It's a dictionary of German words, including newly created ones, that describe actions

and feelings for which there are no other means of expression.

Hi, Ben.

Gooden tag.

Nice.

Vigates.

Yeah, yeah, not so bad.

Thank you very much.

You guys, I took French.

Savar?

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