 In order to promote this episode , guest stars Reagle and Shortz collaborated with the episodes ' writer Tim Long to create a hidden Simpsons @-@ related message ( dedicated to this episode ) that appeared in The New York Times Sunday crossword on November 16 , 2008 . The crossword , which was titled " Sounds Like Somebody I Know " , also appears as a plot point in the episode . Harry Shearer recorded a clip of Mr. Burns and Smithers telling the winner of the National Public Radio 's Sundays Puzzle on November 16 , 2008 , what they had won . 
