On January 6, 2025, I booked a flight to Los Angeles for my January 27 Jeopardy! taping. I gave myself a few extra days to adjust to the time difference and squeeze in the sightseeing I’d skipped on my last trip ten years ago, when I was broke and considered In-N-Out fine dining.

The next day, wildfires broke out in the hills around Pacific Palisades. As the fires raged over the next three weeks, I lied to friends and family about why I was suddenly off to Los Angeles in the midst of a natural disaster. The two sites I had most wanted to see—the Getty Villa and the Eames House—were both closed, so I told people I was visiting friends. (I have exactly one friend who lives in the city.)

Meanwhile, I heard through the grapevine that tapings for the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament were delayed. My inbox stayed ominously empty until the day before my flight, when the production team confirmed that my taping was still on. So I packed up my freshly dry-cleaned outfits and rushed to Sephora after realizing the makeup I’d bought for my audition had expired. 

When I landed in LAX on January 22, the wildfires were still burning in the hills. I did my best to unwind before the big day, biking along the Venice Beach Boardwalk, sitting on the Santa Monica pier, and hanging out with my boyfriend’s grad school friends. But as the big day approached, I was preoccupied with buzzer practice and wagering strategies. Every night felt like the night before an exam.

On Sunday, we checked into the Culver City hotel recommended by Sony. Our room overlooked the freeway, and the whir of cars combined with nerves led to an uneasy slumber. I woke at 6:45 to do my hair and makeup before heading to the Sony Pictures Studios.

At the studio lot, I quickly spotted the other contestants, who, like me, were lugging around overflowing garment bags. In all likelihood, you will only don a single outfit. But you might need as many as ten: they would film two weeks’ worth of episodes over the next two days. Some arrived with smart pocket squares, others with tie-dyed shirts. All of us hoped the day would require a wardrobe change.

In line, I saw a familiar face: Harvey Silikovitz, whom I had met ago at SporcleCon two years earlier. From Claire McNear’s book Answers in the Form of Questions, I knew Harvey had been chasing his Jeopardy! dream for more than two decades. And Harvey wasn’t the only well-known quizzer in the queue. Brian Nieves was a seasoned OQL player and University Challenge alum. Another contestant, Alex DeFrank, was a champion on Sports Jeopardy! a decade ago. And, as I had known going in, we would face seven-time champ Laura Faddah.

I had dedicated much of the past four years to trivia—online leagues, pub quizzes, thousands of flashcards. I walked into the studio convinced I’d be the most prepared person there. But as I chatted with other contestants, it became apparent that this would be a stacked tape day. 

The contestant coordinators herded us inside, where we signed legal documents and turned off our phones. They gave us a rundown of the rules and a pep talk: for the rest of your life, people will be impressed that you were on Jeopardy!. Getting on the show is an accomplishment in itself. Whether you win or lose is secondary.

The wardrobe department then rifled through contestants’ outfits, nixing any clothes that didn’t fit the guidelines. They loved the vintage Italian blazer I brought, but it had a stain that the dry cleaner failed to get out. I opted for my safest option, a navy blazer over a teal blouse.

After hair and makeup touch-ups, we headed to the stage for a rehearsal. My first practice game, against Harvey and Brian, went well, and I felt good about my buzzer speed and quick recall. But in my second game, James Corson, a nuclear engineer from Maryland, destroyed me on the buzzer, and I missed my Daily Double. I slinked back to the green room, my confidence deflated.

We watched the live taping on a small television while we waited for our shot at game show glory. Audience members filed in, and the first three contestants were summoned to the stage.

Fans would later call the five episodes filmed that day one of the most exciting weeks in recent Jeopardy! history. Laura netted an eighth win before Harvey finally dethroned her in a dominant performance: his 35 correct answers and $31,200 Coryat marked one of the strongest debuts ever. In the green room, we speculated about his chances at a long run, until James beat him in the next game, walking away with a whopping $42,000.

By 2 pm, only one other contestant remained at my table, and we headed to the cafeteria for lunch. I ordered a falafel bowl, pushed it around with a fork, and carried it back to the green room mostly untouched. A few hours earlier, I was itching to get on stage. Now, I wanted nothing more than to nap.

And then, at last, they called my name. Brian and I would join James on the Alex Trebek Stage, and I realized I was up against the two players I least wanted to face (which says a lot, considering the caliber of contestants that day). From the rehearsal and our green room conversations, I knew that Brian knew virtually everything—by most measures he was the most knowledgeable contestant that day—and James was a beast on the buzzer who was unafraid to go all-in on wagers. 

I chugged coffee and tried to calm my nerves as the crew led us to the set. The stylists touched up my lipstick, rolled a lint remover along my blazer, and pulled my hair back from my face. I climbed onto the riser behind the lectern (adjusted for my diminutive stature) and pasted on a smile as the cameras rolled. By the time they announced Kristen VanBlargan, a writer from Brooklyn, New York, my cheek muscles ached from smiling.

Under the searing lights, all of the flashcards, the buzzer drills, and the rehearsed anecdotes came together in that moment. 

This. Is. Jeopardy!

Read my next post to see how this story ends.