No Brains, No Lightbulbs: A Trivia Podcast

Andy Sturdevant is an artist and writer whose creative output is every bit as voluminous and entertaining as his facial hair. The author or co-author of four non-fiction books, Andy is also the proprietor of Birchwood Palace Industries, an independent publisher of zines, newsletters, found art, and reference chapbooks. We tested his knowledge of 20th-century U.S. politics and Twin Cities dive bars, which tells you something about his range. We also played a couple of fun rounds about movies and women’s suffrage, and learned about the finer points of partying with monks.

Trivia rounds:

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Today's guest is Will Johnson! But he's cool with you calling him Wilber. Proudly bald, Will is a long-time Trivia Mafia host and player, a kickball team whisperer, and a physical education teacher who's ensuring that, while future generations might be terrible at trivia, at least they'll be good at dodgeball.

Trivia rounds:

(03:35): Thesaurus Abuse: Video Games

(18:50): Jim Class

(26:55): E-M-O Bands

(48:10): Never Forget/Spellcheck

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in the great state of Minne...

Today's guest is jeremy messersmith, debonair Twin Cities singer-songwriter who may or may not be radioactive. The man can wear a pair glasses, and he knows his Star Wars, his ukulele, and his Bible, which is great because that's what we asked him trivia questions about. He also shared his favorite potato preparations and his dastardly plans to seduce Sean's wife and honestly that all sounds just fine.

Trivia rounds:

(02:11): "C" Food

(19:35): Stop with the "Uke" Already!

(24:30): Biblically Speaking

(31:20): Blurt!

(44:54): The 49 Days of Liz Truss

👉 No...

Today's guest loves long count-offs, pianos over guitars, and basketball. Joshua "Jellyfish" Williams is an awesome musician and bandleader, supporting the likes of Dessa and Lady Midnight. Now watch him squirm as we make him shoot baskets while making him play basketball trivia!

Today’s trivia rounds:

(01:50): Alma Mater Rhyme Time

(14:45): Mystery Round

(22:27): Basketball Trivia

(44:37): Last Name Round Up

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in the great state of Minnesota.

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Today we invite a titan from the baking world (and one of our favorite former regular players) into the trivia studio. Jen Wittes is the reigning champion in the Minnesota State Fair Brownie Competition, which means she knows exactly how to bribe her trivia hosts. She's also an award-winning columnist, a former postpartum doula, and a former high school classmate of one Pedro Pascal. She calls him Peter.

Trivia rounds:

(03:00): August Occasions

(21:40): Cue the Cast Montage: '80s TV Theme Song Trivia

(30:25): The Academy Awards: Trivia About the Academy Awards

Today's guest is a filmmaker and master improvisor who has 3,000 DVDs in his basement and kids to feed, so he's doing what any reasonable person would do: He's going to open up a video store! Eric Knobel is the man behind The Video Store Mpls and he's fundraising right now. (Edit: He's already met his goal! Wooo!) Eric knows a lot about movies, and if you know more than he does, you should probably volunteer at his store.

Trivia rounds:

(02:30): Let's Catch Some "Zs"

(27:53): Wow, What a Difference! (Questions about Blockbuster Video)

Today's guest knows a lot about physics and a little about what topics he doesn't want for trivia. David Cava is a physics teacher, a Trivia Mafia and Initials Game Live host and an awesome human being. He's given an F and he gives an F about the Twins.

Trivia rounds:

(02:33): "F" Words

(16:45): Trivia Baseball

(36:53): Gah Dammit David!

(50:58): Music and Songs

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in the great state of Minnesota.

📍 Find a T...

Today's guest loves corn, central air, the TV show "Lost" and asparagus. Yes in that order. Amy Siegel is pure of heart and full of joy and she has a long history with Trivia Mafia. She could also break Chuck and Sean's arms quite easily.

Trivia rounds:

(02:41): Destination Unknown: U.S. state tourism slogans

(17:23): Seg-uels: Movie sequels with Amy Siegel

(25:20): Don't Get Lost: Trivia about the TV series "Lost"!

(46:19): And Everything After: Counting Crows trivia

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s gre...

Today's guest is an award-winning teacher and a soundtrack savant. Jan Dysart teaches 5th grade, hosts a Trivia Mafia night, and was strong-armed into doing the podcast by her loving husband (who is also a trivia host). Chuck starts off the game in shark-infested trivia waters (02:26). Then we hit "play" on a round about 1980s soundtracks (13:18). Sean checks if Jan is smarter than a fifth-grader, and the answer is a tentative yes (24:03)! He closes the episode by creating some trivial tension with a round dedicated to his brother-in-law (43:49).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by...

Today's guest is a celebrated writer with great takes and even better Beastie-Boy-related stories. Ali Elabbady is a gifted author who covers music, food, and culture in the Twin Cities and beyond. Chuck kicks things off by creating a face-off between two American staples: hot dogs and apples (02:12). The Chuck sets up a sumptuous pop culture feast for Ali to chew on (16:30). Sean checks whether Ali knows his hip-hop "ands" (24:30). Finally, Sean wraps things up with the debut round of CrossTalk™ (36:07).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia...

Today's guest runs a Bar of their Own and is certainly in a league of their own. Jillian Hiscock is the founder of A Bar of Their Own, the Midwest's first sports bar to exclusively show women's sports. Hiscock is also a trivia veteran who currently hosts Quizbang from Trivia Mafia at A Bar of Their Own on Thursdays at 7pm. Chuck knocks us out with a soccer inspired round to penalty-kick things off (01:34). After that, Chuck has a round about music and definitely not the WNBA (19:04). Sean steps in with some questions about great women athletes (26:50). We wrap...

Let the trivia fireworks begin! Today we bring on trivia host, blueberry farmer, and perennial optimist John McConville for some rounds! Chuck starts us off with a round all about "Famous Fourths" (02:20). Then he grants John's wish for a before-and-after round built around music and movies (14:20). Sean noodles around with a round about guitars, and then really starts to wail on a round about guitars in movies (18:40). We close things down with a trivial look at the years 1776 (34:40). Quite a year, turns out!

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivi...

It's our first ever live show! Get ready with that big dinger cause we've upped our dinger budget and zeroed out our guest budget. The crowd is the guest and they are awesome. Chuck, Sean and Beth invite players up for some conversation and trivia rounds about Veggie Sandwiches, A 50 Piece, Trivia Bowling, Follow My Names, Happy Birthday and Get the Lead Out. We sincerely apologize to Insufficient Peter, he's actually fully sufficient.

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in the great state of Minnesota.

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We found the one scientist who has the free time to guest on a trivia podcast on a workday. Dr. Christopher Colpitts knows a lot about plasma and he's not afraid to tell you about it. Well, maybe a little afraid, but not that afraid. Chuck gets us started with a round that only sounds dirty (02:46). Then he combines geography with dad jokes to make sure nobody's happy (17:40). Sean pitches Chris a few questions about his favorite baseball team, the Boston Red Sox (23:42). And we close up the episode with a round that ends "well" (37:50).

👉 No Brains, No...

Claudia Holt is a fashion icon and a Trivia Mafia hero. As one of our original hosts she receives all the financial and status benefits that the title of Trivia Mafia Host Emeritus implies. Chuck gets us started with a round all about the "D" (02:22). Then he serves Claudia up some "Softballs" (12:41), and Sean cooks with round called "Spicy" that gets everyone sweaty (17:05). We wrap it up with a celebration of June 13—Beth's birthday! (34:36).

🎟️ Tickets for the 6/17 Live Recording at Bryant-Lake Bowl

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest tri...

Sports! History! Reverse trivia! It's a bonanza of fun with trivia writer, host, and gimmicky kickball player Tony Abbott. Chuck kicks us off with a rollercoaster up-and-down round (02:02). Then we pop the car into "R" and back into a round called "Trivia in Reverse" (15:07). Sean adds three categories together and gets "Sports History Math" (28:53), and then we wrap up with grand old round celebrating St. Paul's Grand Avenue (40:38).

🎟️ Tickets for the 6/17 Live Recording at Bryant-Lake Bowl

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in the great...

What do you ask the person who knows everything about comics? Easy: Questions about Chinese food. And then a bunch of questions about comics (and some other stuff, too). Muad'dib is an unbelievably talented rapper, a relentless supporter of comic book culture and a trivia savant when you get him on the right topic. Chuck starts us off with a 'G'eography 'B'ee (02:27). Then we bring back Trivia Golf, this time all about Songs of the Summer (13:52). Sean hits another hole in the one with a round on Comic Animals (25:38). We wrap things with a round all about Connections (37:05).

A decent prosciutto. A new owner for the Twins. A wedding proposal. Trivia Mafia's longest-tenured Emily wants the simple things, but she doesn't know how to get them. She does know a lot about the Twins though. And sitcoms. And primates. Emily Olson is a world-class trivia host and she brought the fun to No Brains, No Lightbulbs. Chuck started us off with a little mental workout (03:15) and then we welcomed ourselves to the jungle of '90s television and movies in search of some primates (19:47). Sean hit us with a Before-and-After round all about sitcoms (27:10), and to celebrate...

A great writer. A passionate but measured lover of Tom Petty. A baseball sicko. Randball's Stu contains multitudes, and we did our worst to contain him for some rounds of trivia. Chuck starts us off with a Patently Obvious round (02:18). Chuck also rolled in with a round called "Famous People Whose Last Names Are Adjectives" or FPWLNAA for short (12:45). After that, Sean challenges Stu on his Minnesota sports knowledge (18:44). And we wrap it all up with a trip around the Art-A-World (34:06).

Read RandBall's Stu's writing at Midwest Excellence.

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia pod...

Imagine your worst food take. Megan Olson's is worse. This self-avowed picky eater is a world-class trivia writer and host for Trivia Mafia, making her return visit to No Brains, No Lightbulbs to further sully her reputation by sharing more of her favorite foods. Chuck starts off with a round for the board game fans called "What's In the Box?" (02:39). Then Megan and Sean face off in a game of "Trivia Chicken" (18:13). Sean pulls up some '70s music questions (24:48), and the wraps up with a round all about old country borders (42:55).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a t...

Do you love Judd Apatow enough to make a podcast about his work in TV and film? No you don't. But bassist and retired comedian Ethan Yeshaya has done just that with his podcast Apatow Nerd. Yeshaya joins the No Brains No Lightbulbs crew to share gems of knowledge from the Apatow universe and compete in some spirited rounds of trivia. Chuck starts us off with some very aromatic fruit pairings (02:01). Then we travel the globe via Judd Apatow movies in "Prestige Worldwide" (17:56). Sean serves up some Half-Priced Apatows (25:51), and then we wrap it up by calling "Mayday" (39:40).

What makes a great trivia host? Knowledge? Content? Vibes? Jon Hoffmann has vibes by the pound and he displays them every week at Broken Clock on Tuesdays in Northeast Minneapolis. Chuck puts us on a Steak-Out for National Steak Day (03:02). After that it's a movie round strictly for the birds (15:20) and then a round with political implications (30:22). And finally we discover that Chuck indeed does Know Ball (44:02).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in the great state of Minnesota.

📍 Find a Trivia Mafia trivia n...

Have you ever wondered how Chuck and Sean stay so ruggedly handsome? Don't answer that. The secret is our barber, Mike Haeg. He's the mayor of the smallest small town in Minnesota and his only social media platform is his barber's chair. Plus he's not half-bad at trivia. Things kick off with an alliterative science round (02:13). Then we welcome the Mayor of Mount Holly with a "Mayoral Exam" (21:51), and Sean drops some album cover poetry on our municipal leader (29:16). We close the game with a round that is very "Tip"ical (46:20).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a tri...

We're keeping the fun in-house today: Our guest is Aaron Retka, Trivia Mafia's chief editor and a man knows how to write a trivia round, sort of remembers how to spell "restaurateur," and definitely remembers an uncomfortable amount about Middle Earth. Chuck kicks things off with a company-building exercise called "Two's Company" (02:51). In honor of National Pet Day, he offers up a set of "Serpentine Stumpers" (17:20). Then Sean tries his best to stump at least one of Chuck, Beth and Aaron (24:14). Finally Aaron turns the tables, bringing his own rounds to our hosts, both of which are called "Chuck...

Bill Childs has worn down the hosts of "No Brains, No Lightbulbs" long enough, and they've finally let him on the podcast. But first: Chuck celebrates Easter with a trivia take on a classic egg hunt (03:22). Then we welcome Bill, a renowned lawyer/radio host/father to doom metal bass clarinetist, for a risky round of Risk-themed trivia (15:34). Sean tests Bill's knowledge of kids music (24:12), and end things with a round called, appropriately enough, "Ends in 'S'" (36:22).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in th...

Do you care about baseball? Don't answer that. Just listen. Trivia host, baseball writer and enchilada master Patrick Donnelly joins us in the outfield for some trivia innings. Chuck kicks things off with a round of starch madness (01:51). Sean and Patrick get pitched a couple innings of trivia baseball (13:53). Sean brings us a round called "Canadask You a Few Questions" (26:12). And we finish up out in the field with a round all about pitchers (35:43).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in the great state...

Do you rate toilet paper professionally? Of course you don't. Do you want to listen to a TP expert play trivia? Heck yeah! This week's guest Amber is the Toilet Paper Lady and she's pretty incredible. Chuck starts off with "Some Things Fishy" (01:26), then he gets us "On a Roll" (14:04). Sean brings us some Madlibs about 2010s celebrities (20:38), and then he wipes up with a "TP" initials round (33:30).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in the great state of Minnesota.

📍 Find a Trivia Mafia tr...

The Jeopardy contestant returneth! Our first return guest is Trivia Mafia's own Mia McGill. Chuck starts off with a Pi/e friendly round (01:15). After that Mia joins to provide One Answer After Another (08:55) and a round where everything ends in -mia (21:25). And Chuck dirties things up by saying several four letter words (30:41).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in the great state of Minnesota.

📍 Find a Trivia Mafia trivia night near you! (Catch Sam every Tuesday at Arbeiter Brewing.)

📥 Sign up for “The Mo...

An extra piece of bread rips! Albanian men are uniquely foxy! Plan your next vacation in Georgia (the country)! These are just some of the gems shared by world traveler, double-decker sandwich connoisseur, and trivia team "glue guy" Casey Peterson. Chuck kicks things off with a cereal round (01:55). After that we call on Casey with a round about the history of famous phone calls (13:25) and then we explore "country" music (20:23). To close things off, Chuck enters the 100 year zone (32:05).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in th...

This week we’re bringing in one of Trivia Mafia's not-so-secret weapons: our Sales and Account Director, Sam Wilczyk! First Chuck brings in some dam trivia and Sean floods the reservoir with bad answers (02:37). We then move into some hockey-adjacent trivia (16:03) and we let Sean's neighbor Donny take us to the movies (19:42). Because of Sam's love for the Initials Game, Chuck pulls out an “SW” round (27:20), and Sean closes things out with round about the "key" to good trivia (40:28).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in the grea...

A radio legend is in the building! Ryder is the producer of Gorman in the Morning on KQRS and she rocks. Chuck runs some trivia and Sean draws a blank (02:37). Then Chuck celebrates the Lunar New Year with a complicated game of H-O-R-S-E (16:51). Sean brings out some alliterative sitcoms and somehow forgets about Bosom Buddies (22:15). And Sean finishes us off celebrating the great day of February 21 (33:42).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in the great state of Minnesota.

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Welcome back to our producer Beth Gibbs! Great to have her back producing and joining us as a guest. We start off by getting to the Olympics (02:08). Then Chuck gets poetic over romcoms (12:30) and Sean brings in some famous couples (16:30). Finally, Sean makes Chuck get Sirius (29:40) and then gets heartfelt (32:50).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s greatest trivia company, Trivia Mafia, in the great state of Minnesota.

📍 Find a Trivia Mafia trivia night near you!

📥 Sign up for “The Morning Rounds,” Trivia Mafia’s amazing daily Trivia trivia new...

Do you know everything about music? Our guest this week, Keith Harris from Racket does! Chuck starts us off with a round celebrating Superb Owls (01:39). After that Keith and Chuck jump into Oscar history with a round title Who's the BOS (19:29) and Sean chimes in with a round all about two-band wonders (28:28). Sean brings it home with a series of Brief Statements (39:42).

No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by Trivia Mafia in the great state of Minnesota. Click the link to find a Trivia Mafia trivia night near you!

Omaha is like San Antonio but slightly more boring. Our guest this week is Greg Harries and guess what, he's not boring at all. Greg is the Private Events Manager for Trivia Mafia as well as trivia host. Chuck starts us off a rotten round of trivia (01:48). After we jump backforwards into a a round play word (14:48). After that Greg does a pop music vocab check with Sean(20:55). Greg brought us a poopy round first written for a microbiome company (24:25). And things get peninsular for the last round (36:36).

No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced...

This week on the podcast we welcome the legend Manny Hill. Manny is a wildly talented broadcaster and a deep sports trivia savant. Chuck kicks things off with a year-in-review round called "Search Party" (02:03). Then we pivot to sports with Manny, with a round about Super Bowl records called "Superlative Bowl" the he absolutely crushes (16:19), and a Sean round about great third-places in sports history called "Go for the Bronze" (25:36). Then we run out the clock with a round about (very) obscure apple cultivars (39:07).

👉 No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by the world’s great...

Welcome to season two! This week we are joined by the quite famous John O'Sullivan. John is a professional tour guide and the driving force behind One Minute Tours. He’s also a former Trivia Mafia host! Chuck kicks things off with an emergency call to the Intensive Karaoke Unit (02:50). We go down under for some Australian trivia and crikey, it was awesome (16:34). After that it's off to Washington, D.C. for a round about the West Wing (28:12). And we wrap things up with a round where Chuck has to look a "LIVE" (39:12).

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Welcome to the podcast, Sarah Lemanczyk! Sarah is an award-winning broadcaster and the "old lady" emeritus of Radio K. She doesn't like Japanese food and you should hold that against her. We also welcome our interim producer, Davis Steen, to fill in for Chuck as host. Davis starts us off with a round that's "Apro-BRO of Nothing" (01:50). Then Sarah joins the fun with some trivia that combines Shakespeare with world geography (16:02). Appropriately enough, the results are both comedic and tragic. We finish things off by crossing the Rubicon and entering the tricky world of river trivia (36:12). Well, tricky for...

Welcome to the podcast, Dr. Katie Sisneros! Today Chuck and Sean welcome a dear old friend, former trivia host and writer and all around great human being into the studio!

Chuck drives us around for a little geography trivia by way of car makes (02:12). After that, Chuck bets his bottom dollar that you'll know about some good things that are only a day away from some really bad events (15:36). Sean brings Katie a round that celebrates the heyday of Nickelodeon (20:40). We finish things off with a round about celebrities who are part of the "26 Club" (34:00). 

N...

What kind of idiot would marry Sean McPherson? Today you'll meet said idiot! Her name is Rachel Levitt and in what she calls "her largest act of public service," she married Sean in 2013. Chuck takes some movie titles around the globe to check their translations (01:20) and then we celebrate Hanukkah with 8 Crazy Questions (15:48). Rachel flexes her People magazine "knowledge" by talking about the Sexiest Man Alive (22:31). Rachel dominates a rerun of "X Marks the Stop" (30:41) and Sean finishes things off with a round called "Capital Effort" (42:02).

No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by Trivia...

Do you know Eyeball? If you play trivia in the Twin Cities you might? Eyeball is a trivia nerd and trivia host and a co-protectorate of two sourdough starters. This week we kick it off with a round inspired by the film Clue! Chuck pulled out a round called "Anatomy of a Moniker" (14:33) and Sean brought a Simpsons Before and After (19:51). To close the show Sean gets Chuck lost in translation with some German and Spanish words (33:15). 

No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by Trivia Mafia in the great state of Minnesota. Click the l...