Like many people across America, I grew up watching Jeopardy! with my family almost every weekday night. Ever since I was around 9 or 10 years old, it has practically been a nightly ritual for me, along with my dad and my younger sister. Nowadays, even when I go home for breaks and for the summer, I still make it a point to watch the show as much as I can with them, even watching some of the older episodes on streaming. It certainly has a different ring to it ever since longtime host Alex Trebek passed away in 2021, but I always saw it fit that Ken Jennings would be the best to take over the role. He knows the game better than anybody, having won 74 consecutive games during his original run in 2004 and winning the Greatest of All Time tournament in 2020, it was only natural that he’d step up to replace Trebek and continue his legacy.
Personally, I feel like public interest in Jeopardy! has died down a little bit over the past few years, probably due in part to Trebek’s passing. But I still find value in watching the show on a weekly basis, whether that’s in new episodes or old ones on streaming, because there are so many benefits of taking 30 minutes out of my day to attempt to answer trivia questions (or rather, question the answers) along with the contestants.
First, it’s simply nostalgic. Many Americans grew up watching Jeopardy! every night in their living room, and it’s a nice way to bring back some of those simpler times from when you were young. Even as a little kid, when I was lucky to just guess one question right per episode, it was a fun experience to try and play along at home with everyone else in my family. Even now, I get to share a mini celebration with my dad and my sister when one of us gets a question right, and it sparks many interesting conversations along the way. They may begin with questions like, “Where did you learn that?” and we are frequently surprised to learn the source of our knowledge for these random facts. Overall, it serves as a great source of unique family bonding moments that you may not have experienced otherwise.
Additionally, for decades it has served as a nice distraction from all the chaos that is going on in the world around us. Especially nowadays with social media in our faces every second of every day, many of us are living in a constant state of despair and hopelessness. In a world with so much injustice, it is important that we take time for ourselves so that we can be better equipped to fight these injustices. For me, watching Jeopardy! has been a great way to unwind and forget about all of my worries, half an hour at a time. It has become an important part of my regular self-care routine and it has contributed to my ability to stay grounded even when my brain is going haywire. Even with the fast paced nature of the show with the contestants racing to answer each question in rapid fire mode, the show has always maintained a calming and fairly chill ambience that is perfect for winding down to, which I have always loved. The consistency of the show is a big part of what keeps me watching night after night, and in the age of a constant influx of information that our brains are not equipped to handle, it’s been a Hail Mary for me and my hyperactive brain.
Lastly, and this is probably the most obvious one, but it stimulates your brain and encourages you to learn new things. Jeopardy! is one of the best go-to resources for facts that you might’ve otherwise never learned, and even if it is just one fact a day that you remember from the show, you become just a little smarter than you were the day before. For some people, these may seem like useless factoids that serve no purpose, but that’s where I believe they’re sorely mistaken. Being able to learn little things every day inspires me to do further research into the events and people that surround those facts, and context for certain historical events helps me better understand the world. History is simply where we’ve been and what has happened to get us to where we are right now, and understanding that broader context is crucial to becoming a more informed human being. And what this world needs right now is more informed human beings, so Jeopardy! is a great place to get started.