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No Brains, No Lightbulbs: A Trivia Podcast

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.

Latest Episodes:

Water, Fire, Peanut Butter: Trivia with a Blue-Ribbon State Fair Baker Aug 22, 2026

Show notes

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

(43:10): Wordfinder: U.S. States Edition

👉 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!

Star Wars, the Next Generation: Trivia with a Video Store Impresario Aug 15, 2026

Show notes

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)

(35:15): A Movie/TV Show Mashup

(53:55): Which Came First?

👉 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 F is Coming: Trivia with a Physics Teacher Aug 08, 2026

Show notes

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 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

Short Stack Will Prevail: Trivia with the Pure of Heart Aug 01, 2026

Show notes

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 Jul 25, 2026

Show notes

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 Jul 18, 2026

Show notes

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 Jul 11, 2026

Show notes

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 Jul 04, 2026

Show notes

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 Jun 27, 2026

Show notes

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 Jun 20, 2026

Show notes

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!

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