Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

Friday, September 4, 2026 — Julian Xiao Cranks it Up to 11! 😱🥳

MP Season 17 Episode 55

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0:00 | 17:39

Both cohosts struggled mightily with today's crossword, the third from Julian Xiao since 2024. Here are just a few clues, to give you a taste of the difficulty level (spoiler alert: it's high):

  • 28A, Cooking term whose name is composed of two synonyms for "criticize", PANROAST (excellent!)
  • 57A, System by which all speech is protected?, SECURELINE (tricky and a debut)
  • 23D, First country to elect a female prime minister (1960), SRILANKA (nice!)

We cover quite a few more in today's podcast, and have a terrific Fun Fact Friday segment / game for your enjoyment, so get it now, hot off the presses (um, so to speak)!

Show note imagery: The Shanghai Maglev, the fastest passenger train in the world

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