Trivia Mafia co-founders Chuck and Sean have lived and breathed trivia for 18+ years as the leaders of one of the biggest trivia companies in the country. Join them as they hang out with amazing writers/players and personalities from the Trivia Mafia universe and play trivia, ask random questions and generally bring a little bit of the trivia night into your earbuds.
Short Stack Will Prevail: Trivia with the Pure of Heart
1 hr 0 min
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 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies! Mentioned in this episode: Country Cabin Vol 3 Read Down
The Cougar of the Rodent World: Trivia with an Award-Winning 5th Grade Teacher
56 min
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 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
The Flavor and Fervor of Crust: Trivia with a Hip-Hop Scribe
51 min
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 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
Who's the Hockey People? Trivia with a Sports Bar Owner
54 min
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 up the episode with an internationally focused round called "From a Different Place" (42:10). 👉 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
Are We Doing Bloobs? Trivia with a Blueberry Farmer
48 min
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 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
Scant Applause for Vegetables: Trivia Live at the Bryant Lake Bowl
58 min
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. 📍 Find a Trivia Mafia trivia night near you! 📥 Sign up for “The Morning Rounds ,” Trivia Mafia’s amazing daily Trivia trivia newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
3-2-1 Balzac: Trivia with a Space Scientist
48 min
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 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
Ride in My Baja Cutlass: Trivia with a Trivia Host Emeritus
43 min
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 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
I'll Take the Basement and the Ribs: Trivia with a Tony
50 min
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 state of Minnesota. 📍 Find a Trivia Mafia trivia night near you! 📥 Sign up for “The Morning Rounds ,” Trivia Mafia’s amazing daily Trivia trivia newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
Did He Die in a Stupid Way? Trivia with a Comics Nerd
48 min
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). 👉 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
Hit that Curl Surf Buds: Trivia with a Spunky Munky
49 min
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 Memorial Day and the start of summer, we decided to end the show with a round about starts (38:28). 👉 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
Holy Diver at the Mayo Clinic: Trivia with Randball's Stu
42 min
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 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
Chicken Alfredo Isn't My Worst Food Take: Trivia with the Inventor of the Pepperoni Quesadilla
55 min
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 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
Timm Sharp Check Your Messages: Trivia with an Apatow Nerd
51 min
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). 👉 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
Campy Bird Decoration: Trivia with a Vibes-Based Trivia Host
56 min
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 night near you! 📥 Sign up for “The Morning Rounds,” Trivia Mafia’s amazing daily Trivia trivia newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
Never Get a Shave from a Guy Named Nick: Trivia with Our Favorite Barber
58 min
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 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
It's Pronounced "Res·tau·ra·teur": Trivia with a Chief Trivia Editor
1 hr 1 min
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 Sean"(33:03). And Sean closes things out with a round about "PP"s (50:43). 👉 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
The Chicken Alfredo Ceiling: Trivia with a Rollercoaster Lawyer
48 min
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 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 newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
A Human Being with A Type of Bread in His Name: Trivia with a Sports Writer
47 min
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 of Minnesota. 📍 Find a Trivia Mafia trivia night near you! 📥 Sign up for “The Morning Rounds ,” Trivia Mafia’s amazing daily Trivia trivia newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
An Uncomfortable Amount of Fish Knowledge: Trivia with the Toilet Paper Lady
42 min
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 trivia night near you! 📥 Sign up for “The Morning Rounds ,” Trivia Mafia’s amazing daily Trivia trivia newsletter! 🫶 Join our Patreon for exclusive member perks and other goodies!
