NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 26): Getting rid of two desires

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 26): Getting rid of two desires

Q: Think of two different words meaning desire. Add the same letter in front of each of them, and you'll get two new words, each meaning "get rid of." What words are these?

Since we were away in Hawaii, I didn't post this earlier in the week. Instead, I'll just have to post the puzzle and my answer all at the same time.

A: URGE and ITCH --> PURGE and PITCH

What's the next number in the sequence?

Here's a sequence puzzle that will make you think. It's an infinite sequence so be prepared to show the next 7 or 8 terms.

Q: Can you figure out the next few terms in the following sequence?
5, 15, 5, 18, 5, 24, 14, 20, 5, 14, 14, 5...

I'll post the answer later in the week.
Hint: Changing the sequence to the letters in the alphabet we have EOEREXNTENNE.

A: The sequence is now part of the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences. Looking at onE, twO, threE, fouR, fivE, siX, seveN, eighT, it should be apparent that we are looking at the last letter of each number (in English) which is then converted to its position in the alphabet (E=5, O=15, etc.) following the pattern, the next few terms are ...14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 25...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 12): Two forms of communication

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 12): Two forms of communication

Q: Name a traditional means of sending a communication, in eight letters. It contains the letter 'R.' Drop the 'R' and rearrange the remaining letters to name another means of communication, in seven letters. This is a modern means of communication. Hint: Both words start with the same letter. What words are these?

With all the news recently about Western Union discontinuing telegrams I figured the eight letter word had to be 'telegram'... well, after lots of attempts at rearranging, I can tell you the answer isn't telegram. I will tell you that the second form of communication is definitely a more modern form of communication and it didn't exist, say twenty years ago, maybe less.
Edit: My wife and I worked on this in the car and game up with what must be the right answer. It's after the deadline, so here it is.

A: POSTCARD --> PODCAST