Drew Goins quickly became a Jeopardy! fan-favorite after professing his love for Lisa Ann Walter. The journalist recently appeared on another version of the show. Find out what he has been up to since his appearance.
Goins, from Washington, D.C., made his debut on the game show in September 2024. Despite getting 22 out of 25 questions right, he lost to two-day champion David Erb.
However, he returned during the Second Chance Tournament a few months later. Goins advanced to the finals and won. This then allowed him to move on to the Champions Wildcard Tournament.
In the CWT, the writer won his first game and moved on to the semifinals. Goins then had a runaway game and advanced to the finals, where he finished as the first runner-up.
However, Celebrity Jeopardy! champion Lisa Ann Walter dropped out of the 2025 Tournament of Champions, leaving room for Goins to compete. He then wore a shirt with her face on it, and later met her to thank her for dropping out. Goins made it to the semifinals, where he lost and took home $10,000.
Goins then moved on to the 2026 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament, where he advanced to the semifinals. Goins lost to Long Nguyen and took home another $10,000.
Find out more about his Jeopardy! journey and what life has been like for him since.
Pop Culture Jeopardy!
Goins branched out and returned to the Alex Trebek stage this year when he appeared on Season 2 of Pop Culture Jeopardy! with his brother, Zach. They named their team Losers, In Other Words, in honor of Trebek, who made that exact joke on Jeopardy!.
Zach and Drew got 18 out of 20 clues correct, but couldn’t figure out Final Jeopardy. They lost to Oakland Spirit Tunnel and did not advance to the semifinals.
The brothers gave an ode to The Parent Trap, with the handshake that Hailey and Annie do in the movie. Walter, who played the nanny, Chessy, commented: “Nice PT grab!”
“We’ve got about 25 years of practice!” Goins replied. They also wore denim button-down shirts in honor of the character.
Still Writing Trivia
Goins is a senior editor for The Atlantic. But when he is not editing other people’s work, he writes trivia for the site. He joined the outlet in 2025. Before that, he wrote for The Washington Post‘s opinion column.
Rumored to Be on Survivor
Reportedly, Goins is branching out to reality TV. Inside Survivor reports that Goins will supposedly be on Survivor 52. He would be the second Jeopardy! player to be on the CBS show, after Drew Basile. The season is set to air in early 2027. Goins has not confirmed or denied the rumors. In 2025, he told us that he has had his sights set on Survivor for a long time.
Color Runs, Graduations, And More
After his PCJ! appearance, Goins shared a photo dump on his Instagram. The photos included the former contestant smiling after doing a color run, which is a race where participants are dressed in white and doused in non-toxic colored powder at different stations.
He also shared a photo of his sister, Rebecca, graduating from what appears to be college. Goins then flew a kite, roasted hot dogs on a grill, picked out, and almost dropped, flowers. Goins then filmed his boyfriend playing the harp, a friend cooking, himself after snowboarding, relaxing on the couch, and singing opera after blowing in helium from a balloon.
Jeopardy!, Season 43, September 2026, check local listings