Puzzlemaster Will Shortz

As most WFIU listeners know, Will is the puzzlemaster for NPR’s Weekend Edition with Liane Hansen, as well as crossword editor for the New York Times. A Crawfordsville, Indiana, native, Shortz graduated from IU in 1974 with a degree in Enigmatology, having designed his major through the Individualized Major Program. During his undergraduate years, he had a column of brain benders in the Indiana Daily Student and wrote a thesis titled “The History of American Word Puzzles Before 1860.” In this edition of Profiles, the world’s only academically accredited enigmatologist reminisces about his days at IU and talks about his ensuing success in brain benders and teasers.