No Brains, No Lightbulbs: A Trivia Podcast

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).

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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).

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👉 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.

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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).

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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).

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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).

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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...

We've got one of the most celebrated photographers in the Twin Cities with us in the No Brains No Lightbulbs studio today. Mike Madison aka Bump Opera aka Mad Son aka Bum Pop Era. First Sean flexes his taxonomy ignorance in a round called "Tax-On-A-You" (01:46). Then we hit Mike with some trivia about two of his favorite things: '80s hair metal (24:41) and food (29:45). To close the show, Sean hits Chuck's achilles heel: actual trivia questions (41:12). 

Check out Mike’s incredible photography work at his website and on Instagram!

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This week’s episode is all about food! Racket editor/owner and City Cast Twin Cities contributor Em Cassel joins NBNL to flex her love of fast food, raw pork, and great oldies. First Chuck sweetens the deal with a round of assorted chocolate trivia (02:11). Then we serve up some fast food questions for Em (13:48), and Chuck dishes out some movie/restaurant trivia with "Second Yelpings" (24:18). Finally, Chuck bites off a little more than he can swallow when he samples a round about alphabetical cooking techniques (37:46). 

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

Celebrated radio personality and Trivia Mafia host Holly Roberts joins the NBNL team for some awesome rounds of trivia about a few of her favorite things: The Beatles and "The Simpsons." First Chuck deals us a round of questions about playing cards (02:33). Then we drag a few Beatles song titles through the thesaurus for "Thesaurus Abuse: The Beatles Edition" (17:14). Sean sets Holly up to flex her knowledge about all things "Simpsons" (19:52). Sean closes up the episode with some questions from Camelot (29:32).

No Brains, No Lightbulbs is a trivia podcast produced by Trivia Mafia in the great state o...

Good luck to all of the competitors and staff at Trivia Mafia's Tournament of Champions! On the podcast we welcome the people's champ, Mike Davis, into the No Brains, No Lightbulbs studio. First Chuck puts us into a pickle of a round (01:15) before shuffling the deck with Mike (20:31). Sean puts hip-hop on the map (26:38) and wraps up the show with a quick trip to the grocery store (38:15).

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!<...

No guest today! Just Chuck and Sean and a pinch of Davis, bringing you plenty of great trivia and a little banter. Chuck gets the trivia work started with "-Men at Work" (02:10). Sean exposes Chuck's weak spots in "European Geography" (15:33), and Chuck finds one of Sean's Achilles heels: Trivia about books! (19:47). Sean finishes up with a great round about Latin names flora and fauna called "Binomial Means Necessary" (29:57).

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...

Boo! We're coming to you early this week with a special Halloween edition of No Brains, No Lightbulbs! Trivia Mafia editor and writer Ira Brooker joins the No Brains, No Lightbulbs crew to talk up his idyllic/haunting upbringing and flex his tremendous cinematic knowledge. Chuck celebrates some of the dignified individuals who perished on All Hallow's Eve (02:56). Then he quizzes Ira on some classic movie monsters (15:38), and Sean keeps it simple with a round called "Scary Ass Movies" (19:01). Chuck turns things around with a round about watching scary movies in reverse (21:04). And Sean lives to tell the tell...

Esteemed awesome person Amy Woo joins the No Brains, No Lightbulbs crew to dish on Tinder dates and flex her knowledge of the stage and screen. Chuck starts us off with a cool wordplay round called "X Marks the Stop" (02:04). Then we head to Broadway for some musicals trivia (16:40), and Chuck and Amy speedrace a round about fast-talking TV shows (23:00). Sean wraps things up with a recital of trivia about children's songs (34:50).

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...

St. Paul singer-songwriter, former trivia host, and Sean's best friend Martin Devaney stops by the pod to talk sandwiches, great album covers, books, and baseball. Chuck branches out with a wordplay round called "The Trees Are Changing" (4:35). Then we crack open a few "Banned Books" (16:42) before Sean grabs the ball and pitches a tough round of baseball trivia called "Know a Team" (23:20). We finish up with a trivia trip to the great north with "Alaska" (34:21).

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

One of the elite hosts of the Trivia Mafia family joins Chuck and Sean on the pod today. First, Chuck gets the trivia started with a round that puts Sean in a “State of Confusion” (03:04). Then Ida-Ellen Dabruzzi swings by to flex her knowledge of famous cemeteries for “Grave Concerns” (12:37), and Sean brings a classic Sean round about classic movies (19:00). We finish the episode with a nod to Libra seasons by seeing how Chuck measures up in a trivia round about scales (31:41).

Improv comedy legend Lauren Anderson pays a visit to play a little trivia and talk a lot about elephants. Lauren has starred in more consecutive shows at the Brave New Workshop than any other actor, she hosts a YouTube children's show called "Noodle Pie Island," and she is a wildly dedicated trampoline evangelist. Chuck kicks the trivia off with a trip to "Title Town" (01:54). Then we pose a panoply of pachyderm problems with a trivia round called "Let's Address the Elephant" (18:28). Sean sweetens the pot with a round about candy names (24:30), and then closes the episode with the return...

This week the crew asked Cory Cove, of Initials Game and KFAN fame, to join the podcast and testify his love of chicken tenders, the band 311, “The Office,” and little else. Chuck gets things started with a round of trivia combining Shakespeare and ornithology (02:55). Cory schools us all on The Initials Game and runs the crew through a round of "CS" (15:30). Sean serves up a movie-themed “Before and After" round (22:35), and Chuck tests Cory’s knowledge of “The Office” with a round called “That’s What She Said” (26:51). Sean wraps things up with an initials game of his own called “Alpha-Bets

This week the crew welcomes music booker, cooking enthusiast, and former Trivia Mafia host Cecilia Johnson into the studio to discuss serial-killer-worthy breakfast, penicillin you can drink, and her illustrious career as a QuizBang champion. First they play a quick round of which-is-older: the fictional animals edition (01:52). Then Chuck blows off some steam with a round about train-related idioms (18:01). Sean gets behind the bar to serve up "Lady Drinks" (22:07), and then caps the episode with a rapid-fire round about the Cannes Film Festival.

This week the crew is joined by artist, musician, writer, and actor Toussaint Morrison to discuss which gas station items he can’t travel without, why comic book villains always have the best stories, and where his love of Michael Douglas movies comes from. Chuck sets the trivia table with a serving of wordplay questions called “Word Sandwiches” (02:39). Toussaint tackles a round about Marvel villains called “We’re Not All Bad” (16:38), and then dives deep into one of his favorite actors for “The Many Faces of Michael Douglas” (23:36). Sean rounds out the episode with the return of “Stick to the Subject” (35:2