On-air challenge: Every answer today is a famous person, past or present, whose last name has 7 letters. I'll give you a word or phrase that contains those letters in left-to-right order (not consecutively) and a hint to that person. You name the person.

Example: CAME AROUND — British prime minister --> (David) Cameron

1. EMERY STONE — Philosopher and essayist

2. FENDER BENDER — Tennis champion

3. STRANGELY ENOUGH — American poet

4. BOMBER JACKET — Humorist

5. GROUP THEORIES — Folk singer

6. SLANDEROUS — U.S. senator

7. PRO WRESTLING — Best-selling author

8. TO TAKE EFFECT — American painter

Last week's challenge: Write down the name of a country plus its capital, one after the other. Hidden in consecutive letters inside this is the name of a film that won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Name the country, capital, and film.

Challenge answer: Bahrain, Manama --> Rain Man

Winner: Debbi Samuels of New Smyrna Beach, Fla.

This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Sandy Weisz, of Chicago. Name a famous woman in American history with a three-part name. Change one letter in her first name to a double letter. The resulting first and second parts of her name form the first and last names of a famous athlete. And the last part of the woman's name is a major rival of that athlete. Who are these people?

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to next week's challenge, submit it here by Thursday, June 17, at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners who submit correct answers win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: Include a phone number where we can reach you.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.