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Larry Krasner finally discusses his infamous ponytail on NPR’s ‘Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me’

During a taping of NPR's 'Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me,' Philadelphia's district attorney revealed the moment he decided to cut off his infamous ponytail.

District Attorney Larry Krasner leaves the stage after his victory speech following the Democratic primary election on May 18. His son, Nate, is standing beside him.
District Attorney Larry Krasner leaves the stage after his victory speech following the Democratic primary election on May 18. His son, Nate, is standing beside him.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer

Larry Krasner may be working to secure his second term as Philadelphia’s district attorney, but a hairstyle choice made in his youth is still haunting him.

For the uninitiated: A 2018 New Yorker article revealed that Krasner “had a long ponytail until he was forty,” a throwaway line that delighted and intrigued local political reporters.

Photographic evidence emerged a few months ago, thanks to the documentary series Philly D.A., which aired on the PBS documentary anthology Independent Lens and can be viewed on the PBS Passport app and on the streaming service Topic. (The documentary will air on WHYY after the November 2021 election.)

On Thursday night, Krasner, 60, was a guest on the NPR show Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me, which was recording at the Mann Center in front of its first live audience since the pandemic began 17 months ago. The documentary came up, and host Peter Sagal was naturally curious about Krasner’s youthful hairstyle choices.

“I was at home with two young kids and a ponytail turning 40, and I found a cutting device. I just had this moment of like, ‘Oh my god, I’m a 40-year-old now,’ " Krasner recalled. “As I went to cut it, it turned out I didn’t know how to use it. So I ended up looking like Pepé Le Pew, I actually cut the hair on the middle of my head in a stripe…and it became necessary to cut off all of my hair.”

“So you went to cut off your ponytail, and you took the clippers and started in the front and headed back to get it?” Sagal asked as the crowd laughed.

“That’s correct,” Krasner admitted.

Joining Sagal on the show was CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Mo Rocca, comedian Alonzo Bodden and Daily Show correspondent Dulcé Sloan. Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me airs on WHYY Saturdays at 10 a.m..

Krasner handily defeated Carlos Vega in the Democratic primary for district attorney in Philadelphia in May, though the two were still fighting as recently as last month. Krasner faces defense attorney Chuck Peruto in the Nov. 3 general election.