Go Fact Yourself

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 171: Amy Hill & Alec Mapa May 02, 2025

Show notes

From Broadway to Beverly Hills, it’s a brand new episode of Go Fact Yourself!

Amy Hill is an actor with an extensive career, including roles in Lilo & Stitch and over 90 episodes of the rebooted “Magnum P.I.” She’ll tell us how she got that part and how it brought her closer to her daughter … literally.

Alec Mapa is a comedian and actor, who often plays stereotypically flamboyant characters. He’ll explain why he actually doesn’t mind that, plus what it’s like being a guest judge on “Rupaul’s Drag Race.”

Our guest host this week is Mallory O’Meara, who was a contestant on episode 168.

Areas of Expertise:

Amy: Traveling alone, biographical documentaries, and the TV show “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”

Alec: Filipino superstitions, The TV Show Drag Race Philippines and the musical Gypsy

What’s the Difference: Lethal Weapon

What’s the difference between something lethal and fatal?

What’s the difference between a gun and a firearm?

Guest Experts:

Alex Baskin: Executive Producer of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and host of the podcast, “Bravo’s Hot Mic”

Lane Bradbury, Maureen Moore, Kate Reinders, and Leigh Ann Larkin: Actors whose careers include playing June in Broadway productions of Gypsy from 1959-2008.

Hosts:

J. Keith van Straaten

Mallory O’Meara

Credits:

Theme Song by Jonathan Green.

Maximum Fun's Senior Producer is Laura Swisher.

Co-Producer and Editor is Julian Burrell.

Seeing our next live-audience shows by YOU!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joingofact

Ep. 170: Tim Russ & Amber Nelson Apr 19, 2025

Show notes

It’s a voyage of trivia on Go Fact Yourself!

Tim Russ is a director, musician, and actor, perhaps best known for his role as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok on “Star Trek: Voyager.” He’s also appeared in other roles across different editions of the franchise – but it wasn’t until he attended a convention that he understood how dedicated the fanbase is. Plus: he’ll tell us how he explores the stars in real life!

Amber Nelson is a comedian who also hosts a number of podcasts. One, “The Brighter Side,” is all about finding optimism in troubling times (something that Amber never expected to work). Another, “Some Place Under Neith” examines stories of missing women and children.

Areas of Expertise:

Tim: Astronomy, Alien invasion movies of the 1950s and 60s, and World War II.

Amber: The TV show “The Twilight Zone,” Korn songs, and World War I.

What’s the Difference: Eye Spy

What’s the difference between a telescope and a spyglass?

What’s the difference between an optometrist and an ophthalmologist?

Guest Experts:

Marc Scott Zicree: Screenwriter, producer, and author of the book The Twilight Zone Companion.

Jack Moran: U.S. Army Staff Sergeant in WWII.

Hosts:

J. Keith van Straaten

Helen Hong

Credits:

Theme Song by Jonathan Green.

Maximum Fun's Senior Producer is Laura Swisher.

Co-Producer and Editor is Julian Burrell.

Seeing our next live-audience shows by YOU!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joingofact

Ep. 169: Betsy Brandt & Cirroc Lofton Apr 11, 2025

Show notes

It’s a one-on-one trivia match between TV all stars!

Betsy Brandt is best known as Marie on “Breaking Bad,” a role she reprised in the final episode of the series’ successor “Better Call Saul.” She’ll tell us why she was so dedicated to keeping her return a secret. Plus, why she wasn’t optimistic about “Breaking Bad” being a success.

Cirroc Lofton played Jake Sisko on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” Even though he was a massive part of Star Trek, he never actually watched anything from the franchise for himself. He’ll tell us how his podcast, “The 7th Rule,” is finally fixing that.

Areas of expertise:

Betsy: The plays of Anton Chekhov, baking pies, and cheese

Cirroc: Tupac’s “Makaveli” album, The Kobe Bryant-era Lakers Championships, and “The Twilight Zone” original series

What’s the Difference: Opiate of the Masses

What’s the difference between opiates and opioids?

What’s the difference between a Catholic church service and a mass?

Guest Experts:

Carlos Carrasco: Actor who’s appeared in shows like “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and the film Speed – plus a recent production of Chekhov.

James Tupper: Actor who’s appeared in shows like “Revenge” and “Big Little Lies” – plus a recent production of Chekhov.

Metta World Peace: Former NBA Champion with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Hosts:

J. Keith van Straaten

Helen Hong

Credits:

Theme Song by Jonathan Green.

Maximum Fun's Senior Producer is Laura Swisher.

Co-Producer and Editor is Julian Burrell.

Seeing our next live-audience shows by YOU!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joingofact

Ep. 168.99 What is GFY? A Public Radio pledge special! Apr 04, 2025

Show notes

Thanks so much for your help during the #MaxFunDrive!

J. Keith has some more details on the great things coming that YOU helped make happen!

If you’re a member and want to get more podcast pins along and support a great cause, go to maximumfun.org/pinsale.

Plus, enjoy a collection of some of our greatest moments from over the years that was recently part of a public radio pledge showcase.

Hosts:

J. Keith van Straaten

Helen Hong

Jim Newman

Credits:

Theme Song by Jonathan Green.

Maximum Fun's Senior Producer is Laura Swisher.

Co-Producer and Editor is Julian Burrell.

Seeing our next live-audience shows by YOU!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joingofact

Ep. 168.90 Bruce Vilanch and #MaxFunDrive Amnesty Weekend! Mar 29, 2025

Show notes

This show is supported by our beloved MaxFun Members! To become one yourself as part of the #MaxFunDrive, go to maximumfun.org/join and set up a recurring monthly contribution (or an annual prepay) for as little as $5 a month. Help us make our goal to unlock even more gifts … for YOU!

It’s only $1/month to BOOST your membership too – every little bit helps!

Bruce Vilanch was a guest on episode 124. Some guests struggle to give us three topics they love that they’re willing to be quizzed on. And then there’s Bruce. In this fun and wide-ranging conversation, Bruce tells us about the many other topics that we didn’t cover when he was a guest – including the Titanic, commercial passenger planes, and the divine Bette Midler.

Hosts:

J. Keith van Straaten

Helen Hong

Jim Newman

Credits:

Theme Song by Jonathan Green.

Maximum Fun's Senior Producer is Laura Swisher.

Co-Producer and Editor is Julian Burrell.

Seeing our next live-audience shows by YOU!

And of course… maximumfun.org/join!!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joingofact

Ep. 168.80 Helen & J. Keith as Guests?! Plus: Help us make our #MaxFunDrive goal! Mar 28, 2025

Show notes

It’s only $1/month to BOOST your membership too – every little bit helps!

Go Fact Yourself takes a lot of work to put together, including crafting the perfect quiz for our contestants. What would happen if we just took it easy and allowed AI to craft the questions, hints, and fun facts?

We have J. Keith and Helen step into the contestant chairs to find out!

Hosts:

J. Keith van Straaten

Helen Hong

Jim Newman

Credits:

Theme Song by Jonathan Green.

Maximum Fun's Senior Producer is Laura Swisher.

Co-Producer and Editor is Julian Burrell.

Seeing our next live-audience shows by YOU!

And of course… maximumfun.org/join!!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joingofact

Ep. 168.75: A #MaxFunDrive Bonus! The Making of GFY Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

That contribution goes directly into making this show possible. In this special mini episode, J. Keith speaks with show director and Go Fact Yourself co-creator Jim Newman.

Jim does a lot of work behind the scenes before the show has even started – booking guests for the show is an intensive process. He’ll shine a light on the bookings that fell through and guests that have really delivered for this trivia podcast.

Hosts:

J. Keith van Straaten

Credits:

Theme Song by Jonathan Green.

Maximum Fun's Senior Producer is Laura Swisher.

Co-Producer and Editor is Julian Burrell.

Seeing our next live-audience shows by YOU!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joingofact

Ep. 168.5: New #MaxFunDrive Rewards! + BoCo Preview! Brea Grant, Alison Becker, Clint McElroy and more! Mar 24, 2025

Show notes

No matter what level you join, every MaxFun Member gets access to the most popular gift of all: The Bonus Content Library.

This is a bank of hundreds– maybe even thousands– of hours of bonus episodes from every show across the network. That includes Go Fact Yourself!

In this special preview, you’ll hear clips from just a few of the GFY BoCo collection– including full episodes with MaxFunsters Brea Grant, Clint McElroy and more; GFY success stories where we interview past contestants whose dreams came true because of this show; and the original Go Fact Yourself pilot (which was just released this year!)

Hosts:

J. Keith van Straaten

Helen Hong

Credits:

Theme Song by Jonathan Green.

Maximum Fun's Senior Producer is Laura Swisher.

Co-Producer and Editor is Julian Burrell.

Seeing our next live-audience shows by YOU!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joingofact

Ep. 168: Jerry O’Connell & Mallory O’Meara Mar 21, 2025

Show notes

This show is supported by our beloved MaxFun Members! To become one yourself as part of the #MaxFunDrive, go to maximumfun.org/join and set up a recurring monthly contribution for as little as $5 a month.

Happy #MaxFunDrive! It’s trivia so fine it’ll blow your mind on a brand new episode of Go Fact Yourself!

In this episode…

Guests:

Jerry O’Connell got his start as a child actor in the film Stand By Me. His acting career blossomed from there and continued for decades – but now he’s had a second career as an Emmy-nominated TV host. He’ll tell us how that came about after some advice from Kelly Ripa, plus why his dad thought his first film would be a flop.

Mallory O’Meara is an author and podcaster. She hosts the shows "Reading Glasses" and "Reading Smut" on the MaxFun Network. She’ll tell us all about how both podcasts celebrate book culture in very different ways. Her latest book, Daughter of Daring: The Trick-Riding, Train-Leaping, Road-Racing Life of Helen Gibson, Hollywood’s First Stuntwoman is out now.

Areas of Expertise

Jerry: 1980s music, 1980s movies, and 1990s Los Angeles news.

Mallory: Haunted house books, werewolf movies, Washington Capitals Hockey from 2019 to the present.

What’s the Difference: Break the Bank

What’s the difference, in music, between a rest and a break?

What’s the difference between a food bank and a food pantry?

With Guest Experts:

David Naughton: Actor and singer, who starred in the film An American Werewolf in London.

Toni Basil: Award-winning singer, dancer, and choreographer behind the hit song “Oh Mickey.”

Hosts:

J. Keith van Straaten

Helen Hong

Credits:

Theme Song by Jonathan Green.

Maximum Fun's Senior Producer is Laura Swisher.

Co-Producer and Editor is Julian Burrell.

Seeing our next live-audience shows by YOU!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joingofact

167.75: #MaxFunDrive update -- GFY Baseball Cards & Baseball Trivia Mar 21, 2025

Show notes

This show is supported by our beloved MaxFun Members! To become one yourself as part of the #MaxFunDrive, go to maximumfun.org/join and set up a recurring monthly contribution for as little as $5 a month. Or, prepay for the year and get a bonus reward!

J. Keith and Helen share a few updates on the MaxFun Drive, including how to get an autographed baseball card featuring the hosts!

Plus, Ben Lindbergh from the "Effectively Wild" podcast joins J. Keith's search for a deep dive into very specific baseball trivia that came out of one of our GFY quizzes.

Hosts:

J. Keith van Straaten

Helen Hong

Credits:

Theme Song by Jonathan Green.

Maximum Fun's Senior Producer is Laura Swisher.

Co-Producer and Editor is Julian Burrell.

Seeing our next live-audience shows by YOU!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joingofact