I Was A Clue On Jeopardy

Can I retire now?

Meghan Daum
6 min readApr 5, 2021
“essays for $1200” on March 24, 2021 Jeopardy

A few weeks ago, on March 24 to be precise, my decades-long writing career reached its apex. No, I did not win a major prize, receive a giant royalty check, or see my bestselling novel turned into a blockbuster film (or, better yet, a landmark cable series). I was a clue on Jeopardy.

Specifically, something I wrote was a clue on Jeopardy. It was under category of “essays” in the $1200 box.

“Running up debt in New York City is the subject of Meghan Daum’s fittingly titled essay My ____ Youth.”

“What is Misspent?” the contestant replied.

First of all, thank god he got it right. The last thing you want when you’re a Jeopardy clue is to watch the contestant stare at the screen, utterly perplexed, and say, “Who the hell is that?” Which is of course what I would have anticipated if I’d been forewarned that these eleven seconds of fame were coming my way.

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Meghan Daum
Meghan Daum

Written by Meghan Daum

Weekly blogger for Medium. Host of @TheUnspeakPod. Author of six books, including The Problem With Everything. www.theunspeakablepodcast.com www.meghandaum.com