No Brains, No Lightbulbs: A Trivia Podcast

No Brains, No Lightbulbs: A Trivia Podcast

byTrivia Mafia

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Trivia Mafia co-founders Chuck Terhark and Sean McPherson have lived and breathed trivia for 19+ 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.

Episodes(40 episodes)

Season 1 - Episode 47
I'll Take the Basement and the Ribs: Trivia with a Tony
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...
Published: Jun 6, 2026Duration: 50m 49s
Season 1 - Episode 46
Did He Die in a Stupid Way? Trivia with a Comics Nerd
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).<...
Published: May 30, 2026Duration: 48m 18s
Season 1 - Episode 45
Hit that Curl Surf Buds: Trivia with a Spunky Munky
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...
Published: May 23, 2026Duration: 49m 32s
Season 1 - Episode 44
Holy Diver at the Mayo Clinic: Trivia with Randball's Stu
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...
Published: May 16, 2026Duration: 42m 23s
Season 1 - Episode 43
Chicken Alfredo Isn't My Worst Food Take: Trivia with the Inventor of the Pepperoni Quesadilla
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...
Published: May 9, 2026Duration: 54m 50s
Season 1 - Episode 42
Timm Sharp Check Your Messages: Trivia with an Apatow Nerd
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).<...
Published: May 2, 2026Duration: 51m 32s
Season 1 - Episode 41
Campy Bird Decoration: Trivia with a Vibes-Based Trivia Host
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...
Published: Apr 25, 2026Duration: 56m 55s
Season 1 - Episode 40
Never Get a Shave from a Guy Named Nick: Trivia with Our Favorite Barber
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...
Published: Apr 18, 2026Duration: 58m 24s
Season 1 - Episode 39
It's Pronounced "Res·tau·ra·teur": Trivia with a Chief Trivia Editor
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...
Published: Apr 11, 2026Duration: 1h 0m 45s
Season 1 - Episode 38
The Chicken Alfredo Ceiling: Trivia with a Rollercoaster Lawyer
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...
Published: Apr 4, 2026Duration: 47m 42s
Season 1 - Episode 37
A Human Being with A Type of Bread in His Name: Trivia with a Sports Writer
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...
Published: Mar 28, 2026Duration: 47m 5s
Season 1 - Episode 36
An Uncomfortable Amount of Fish Knowledge: Trivia with the Toilet Paper Lady
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...
Published: Mar 21, 2026Duration: 42m 3s
Season 1 - Episode 35
2 Forest 2 Gump: Trivia with a Jeopardy Contestant
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...
Published: Mar 14, 2026Duration: 41m 20s
Season 1 - Episode 34
Hot Albanian Sausage Party: Trivia with a World Traveler
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...
Published: Mar 7, 2026Duration: 46m 15s
Season 1 - Episode 33
Get Bizzy: Trivia with a Sales Rep
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...
Published: Feb 28, 2026Duration: 47m 5s
Season 2 - Episode 32
Special Ed: Trivia in the Year of The Horse
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.📍 Find a Trivia Mafia trivia night ne...
Published: Feb 21, 2026Duration: 43m 34s
Episode 31
The One Thing I Want Is a Wheel of Brie: Olympic Valentine Trivia with Beth
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...
Published: Feb 14, 2026Duration: 41m 17s
Season 1 - Episode 30
The Burgers of Music: Trivia with a Music Writer
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!
Published: Feb 7, 2026Duration: 51m 31s
Season 1 - Episode 29
Poop-prietary Questions: Trivia from Omaha
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...
Published: Jan 31, 2026Duration: 52m 17s
Season 1 - Episode 28
Tropical Storm Belvedere: Trivia with a Super Bowl Savant
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...
Published: Jan 24, 2026Duration: 49m 55s