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

Summary

Go Fact Yourself – Ep. 168.80: Helen & J. Keith as Guests?! Plus: Help us make our #MaxFunDrive goal!

Release Date: March 28, 2025
Podcast: Go Fact Yourself
Hosts: J. Keith van Straaten (B), Helen Hong (A)
Special Guest Host: Jim Newman (C)

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Overview

This special mini episode of Go Fact Yourself flips the traditional format: hosts J. Keith and Helen are quizzed as guests on their favorite trivia topics. The quiz is uniquely AI-generated, demonstrating the difference between human-crafted and machine-generated trivia. The episode doubles as a rousing call for support during the final days of the MaxFunDrive, highlighting why listener contributions matter for show production.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. MaxFunDrive Appeal and Listener Support (00:24 – 08:21)

• J. Keith and Helen stress the importance of listener support, especially as MaxFunDrive wraps up.

• Multiple membership benefits are outlined: bonus content, entry to the listener tournament, live streams, exclusive collectibles, and opportunities to interact with the show.

• Details about upcoming live shows and incentives, such as collectible pins and an autographed baseball card for pre-paid annual members.

• The episode reveals candid insights into the personal and financial demands of running a beloved indie podcast.

  “We think it’s important to support the art and entertainment that you enjoy because if you don’t, who else will? Audience support is the best way to make art...” – Helen (07:21)

  “Look, we love making this show... but that also means it’s a lot more work, more than ever, to make the show that we want to make.” – J. Keith (06:34)

• The team is not quite at their goal of 500 new/boosted/upgraded memberships:

  “Ooh, we are not quite where we would like to be. We’re at about 400-ish. But we might not make our goal of 500...” – J. Keith (07:38)

2. Introducing the AI-Generated Host Quiz (08:21 – 08:39)

• Jim Newman, the show's co-creator and producer, is introduced as quizmaster.

• For this experiment, the quiz questions and fun facts are generated by Google’s AI, Gemini.

  “I want to demonstrate the value you get by having J. Keith and I put in multiple hours researching and writing the questions for each episode. I put a prompt into Gemini...” – Jim (09:58)

• Jim and the hosts underline how human oversight is crucial for fact-checking and creating engaging content.

3. Quizzing the Experts: AI vs. Humanity (08:41 – 25:46)

Helen’s Topics: The Last of Us (TV) and Star Trek: The Next Generation

J. Keith’s Topics: Mark Cohn and Next to Normal (musical)

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A. The Last of Us TV Series (10:41 – 16:04)

• AI struggles with accuracy and context:

  • Misleading/mistaken questions (e.g., identifying the quarantined city, a song playing on a non-existent musical watch).
  • Fun facts and hints often unhelpful or outright wrong.

  “His watch is not a musical watch. It’s set in 2003, before smartwatches.” – Helen (13:06)

  “I gotta say, I am delighting in AI’s failure at this.” – Helen (17:53)

• Example of bad hinting:

  • “The city is known for its space exploration history” (incorrectly linking Austin with space history).

• AI’s inconsistencies trigger laughter and demonstrating why show research is valuable.

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B. Mark Cohn Trivia (16:18 – 19:35)

• Questions mostly reasonable but sometimes misattribute lyrics and context.

  • J. Keith points out inaccuracies with lyric references and gives detailed corrections.
  • Some questions are well-phrased (e.g., Mark Cohn’s birthplace, “Walking in Memphis”), others not so much.

  “That may be the answer. I guarantee you that is not in the lyric. And I have seen his handwritten lyrics...” – J. Keith (17:51)

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C. Star Trek: The Next Generation (19:39 – 22:49)

• AI produces a string of easy “Who is this character?” questions.

  • Correct and straightforward, but repetition and lack of challenge noted by all hosts.
  • Some fun facts and hints are a bit off or backward.

  “Right. What’s the name of the holodeck character Professor Moriarty creates to challenge Data?” – Jim (20:13)

  • Both Jim and J. Keith critique the question structure and hints.

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D. Next to Normal (22:51 – 25:28)

• The questions probe knowledge on key characters and themes but sometimes ask the same fact more than once, or present vague questions.

  • J. Keith provides nuanced answers accounting for the musical’s complexity.
  • Amusement at the AI’s generic hints and facts.

  “That’s not a great question. Because she struggles with both schizophrenia and depression and bipolar disorder. ... but I would probably say bipolar disorder.” – J. Keith (23:00)

  • “Besides bipolar disorder, what other significant theme...?” AI awkwardly repeats covered material; the hosts handle with humor and professional insight.

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4. Reflections: Why Human-Made Trivia Matters (25:29 – End)

• After the quiz, the hosts and Jim underscore why real research and thoughtful question writing make for a better, more engaging podcast.

  “Did we prove why we need to put in the work that we do to make the trivia for each episode of GFY? We need your help to do it.” – Jim (25:27)

• Final reminder to listeners: contribute to MaxFunDrive to sustain the show’s quality.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Helen on AI’s struggles:
  “I gotta say, I am delighting in AI’s failure at this.” (17:53)
• J. Keith, on trivia accuracy:
  “I guarantee you that is not in the lyric. And I have seen his handwritten lyrics...” (17:51)
• Jim, on workloads:
  “We have a show in two days and it’s about half booked and about zero written.” (08:51)
• Jim, on the value of human curation:
  “Perhaps you’ll see why we dedicate ourselves to finding facts and why AI isn’t quite ready to take over the world.” (10:00)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:24 – 08:21: MaxFunDrive appeal, live show announcements, why membership matters
• 08:41 – 10:39: Introducing Jim, setup for the AI-generated trivia quiz
• 10:41 – 16:04: The Last of Us trivia – AI confusion highlights
• 16:18 – 19:35: Mark Cohn trivia – correcting AI errors
• 19:39 – 22:49: Star Trek: The Next Generation trivia – easy questions, structural criticism
• 22:51 – 25:28: Next to Normal trivia – nuanced human expertise vs. AI ambiguity
• 25:29 – 26:05: Show reflection on trivia writing, final MaxFunDrive call-to-action

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Episode Tone

Upbeat, self-referential, and playful, with hosts and producer sharing genuine exasperation and delight at AI’s imperfect attempts to mimic their craft. A behind-the-scenes look at the passion and precision behind the podcast, as well as a heartfelt appeal for listener support.

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Takeaway

This episode serves as a fun meta-commentary on quiz show production, a showcase for the hosts’ expertise, and a timely rallying cry for audience-supported, human-centered entertainment.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, it's Helen.

[B]

And it's J. Keith.

[A]

And welcome to this special mini episode of Go Fact yourself. Just ahead, we've got a special treat for you. Many of our listeners have suggested that J. Keith and I should appear on the show sometime as guests instead of hosts, where we get quizzed on topics that we love.

[B]

Well, that's something that we might do someday. I really enjoy that. But today we thought we'd give you a taste of what that might sound like a little later in this mini episode, Helen and I will be put to the test to how does it go, Helen?

[A]

To find out why they love what they love or why we love what we love. That sounds weird.

[B]

It does sound weird, but it'll be fun. Now, that's coming up in just a few minutes, but first we want to make sure you know about our next live audience shows and make one last big push for you to support our show in the Max Fund Drive, which is coming to an end this Friday, March 28th. Although I'm pretty sure you can still make this happen over the weekend. But then that's it. Please get in by the end of this weekend.

[A]

The Max Fund Drive is the time of year where we celebrate Max Fund members and remind you this show exists because folks like you support it at $5 a month or more. You can find out more and join [e-mail] join. We thank you so much for your.

[B]

Support and if you're in the LA area, please come be in our audience and we'll thank you in person. Come coming up Saturday, March 29 at 7 at the center for Inquiry west is Tim Russ versus Amber Nelson. Then Saturday, April 5 at 7pm at the Crawford in Pasadena. We've got Amy Hill versus Alec Mapa and Jackie Tone will be subbing in for Helen because apparently she's got a gig.

[A]

I'll be back on Saturday, April 19, 7pm at the Crawford with Tom Papa vs. Roslyn Chow and Saturday, May 10 at 7pm at The Crawford. Aparna Noncherla vs. Another guest TBA ticket and updated guest info [e-mail] okay, so.

[B]

The Max Fund Drive is here and it's almost over. We ask for your financial support and you may ask, what do you get for supporting us in the Max Fund Drive? Well, first you get the great feeling that you are helping Helen. Me and everyone behind the scenes continue to make a show about facts, something our culture probably needs now more than ever. You can help stand up for facts when you go to maximumfun.org join and and select Go Fact Yourself as a.

[A]

Show you listen to, but you also get free stuff. Hopefully you've heard us talk about all the cool stuff that you can get when you join Boost or Upgrade. But in case you haven't been convinced yet, we'll go through it really quickly right now at every level of membership, whether $5 a month or a thousand dollars a month. Woo. You get access to hundreds of hours of bonus content. This BOCO is one of the best values in show business, especially if you're a fan of GoFact yourself. We got full episodes you can only hear on our Boko feed, including our unaired pilot episode from 2017. Plus we drop new bonus content every month. Our GFY Extras episodes contain extended interviews, bloopers, and not safe for work material you won't hear anywhere else. Some of our favorite moments from the show can be found here, and it's available to members at all [e-mail] join.

[B]

Next everyone who joins Boost or Upgrades is eligible to play in our Listener Tournament, which means you you could be selected to be a guest on a complete episode of Go Fact Yourself. Your own topics, your own trivia, your own emotional reaction to meeting your expert. These are some of our favorite episodes to record. And even if you don't get picked for the final championship episode, the tournament itself is always fun with a chance to meet other listeners and play some silly games with us.

[A]

And this year, to make sure more people get to play trivia with us, if we meet our goal of 500 new upgrading or boosting members, we'll select a bunch of you to play in a live general knowledge trivia game on Zoom with J. Keith as host. That's courtesy of our friends at the Big Quiz thing. So if you like trivia and I have a feeling you do, please help us reach our goal by going to maximumfun.org join and make sure to select Go Fact Yourself as a show you listen to.

[B]

And if you like our show, and I have a feeling you do, we have a new gift this year. Access to a live video stream of a recording of Go Fact Yourself as we record it live on stage. This will only be available to people who join, Boost or Upgrade at any level. All of the above is available when you join at the $5 a month level or boost or upgrade your membership. And remember, it only costs another dollar per month to boost. And hey, please do consider boosting. It still only cost $5 a month to be a member. The same price it did when we first asked for your support in 2017, but our costs to make the show have only gotten higher. So if you enjoy us even a little bit, how about kicking in another buck or two a [e-mail] join now.

[A]

If you're able to join or Upgrade at the $10 a month level or higher, you'll get to choose your own collectible enamel pin from any of the shows on MA Fun. And we hope you choose ours. It answers the question that I ask at the top of every show. Are you a real know it all? We're especially proud of the pin design we have this year. It looks really great.

[B]

Yeah, you can see it on our social media at GoFact. Your pod. It's really great. Like. Like Helen said. I don't know why I added that. Anyway, finally, no matter what level you support us in the Max Fund drive, we have a new option this year to prepay your membership for the full year. You'll be charged once instead of every month. And since knowing that we have your support for the whole year helps us out a lot, well, we can budget more confidently. And Max Fund doesn't have to pay transaction fees every month. So we'll have a new gift to encourage you to prepay.

[A]

It's a full color limited edition baseball card of J. Keith and me, live in action from the show. And we'll both autograph the card and send it to you just to thank you for your commitment to a year of supporting. Go fact yourself. Make sure you select the prepay option at whatever level you [e-mail] join wow, man.

[B]

Boko listener tournament livestreams, pins, trivia games, baseball cards. It's hard to believe that some people, in fact most people, still haven't signed up.

[A]

Yeah, a very small percentage of our regular listeners are also members. And that has to change.

[B]

Look, we love making this show, and it's great that we've got a local public radio station to help us now, but that also means it's a lot more work, more than ever to make the show that we want to make. And what we get from public radio doesn't even come close to paying all of our expenses when you listen to.

[A]

The credits at the end of every show. And I know it can take a while for me to get through all those names. We thank them for a reason because they make this show a reality.

[B]

Our sound engineer, Dave, our stage manager, also named Dave, our graphics guy. Erich, our researcher. Adam, our video clipper scout. All the folks at Max Fun like our co producer and editor, Julian, our senior producer, Laura plus, April, Kira, Stacy. These are all real people who do real work to make go fact yourself happen. And it's your support that pays them.

[A]

We think it's important to support the art and entertainment that you enjoy because if you don't, who else will? Audience support is the best way to make art because if this show delights you, you get to be a part of making it by becoming a member or boosting or upgrading.

[B]

And that is delightful as well. You know, as we record this, I'm going to check our current status. Ooh, we are not quite where we would like to be. You know, we're at about 400 ish or so. 400 or so people who joined Boosted or upgraded. We're so grateful for all of them. But we might not make our goal of 500 and well, real talk, this is a much more modest goal than we have had even last year. That means that the impact of your contribution is is even greater.

[A]

Please, if you have ever listened to our show and learned something, laughed or even cried, please help bring that experience to others by joining, boosting or upgrading your [e-mail] join.

[B]

Please do it today and thank you. All right, enough of the hard sell. Let's play some trivia. Here's how it's going to work. We we'll get an idea of how well Helen and I would do if we were guests on Go Fact Yourself. And this will be hosted by the show's co creator, producer, director, writer, guest booker and guy who schleps a card table to the show when we need it. Jim Newman. Hi, Jim.

[C]

Hello.

[A]

Welcome, Jim.

[B]

Jim, you look a little exhausted. Is there a reason for that?

[C]

Well, we have a show in two days and it's about half booked and about zero written.

[B]

And then we got a show the following week and we got the Max Fun Drive. It's a fun time.

[C]

It is, yeah.

[A]

Oh, that's all.

[B]

Well, tell us what we're going to do today.

[C]

So I know that if Helen were a guest on the show, two of her topics would be Star the Next Generation. Yes. The Last of Us TV series, which I've.

[A]

Thank you so much, Avi.

[B]

Yes, that's a new one for me. Is that a new obsession?

[A]

A recent obsession.

[C]

And for Jay Keith, it would be the musical Next to Normal. And singer songwriter Mark Cohn.

[B]

Yes, I think I just mentioned Mark Cohn as one of my possible topics on our recent episode and I just saw him about a week ago, and I will see any production of Next to Normal that I can get to. So if it's playing in your area, let me know. There's a good chance I will come to your town to watch it.

[C]

It doesn't even have to be in English, right?

[B]

That's right. I have seen it in other languages and have cast recordings in at least Italian and German.

[A]

Wow, that's commitment.

[C]

We're going to have a quiz about those topics, but here's a twist. Since this is the Max Fund drive and we're asking people to support the show, I want to demonstrate the value you get by having Jay, Keith and I put in multiple hours researching and writing the questions for each episode. I put a prompt into Gemini, which is Google's AI Chat, to have AI write the quiz. And perhaps you'll see why we dedicate ourselves to finding facts and why AI Isn't quite ready to take over the world.

[A]

Oh, boy. Oh, boy.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Helen and J. Keith have not seen these questions or the hints or the fun facts that AI provided. I'll keep score, and let's play.

[B]

All right, let's do it.

[C]

We are starting with the Last of Us TV series.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

For Helen. Question number one. In the first episode, what is the name of Joel's daughter?

[A]

Sarah?

[C]

That is correct. Wow.

[B]

Nice job. I would not be able to see a L. I've only seen one episode of the Last of Us, and it was not the first one.

[C]

So the fun fact that AI provided is the actress who played her also appeared in another popular HBO series.

[B]

How is that supposed to help you get the character name?

[C]

No, no, that's the fun fact.

[A]

I see.

[C]

It's like, I don't know who the actress is. I don't know. Was it Herman's name?

[A]

Oh, it doesn't even tell you. It doesn't even tell you what the other show is.

[C]

No.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

No. And the hint was that it was a common name that starts with S. Ah.

[A]

Well, that's not bad. Yeah.

[C]

That's not horrible.

[B]

No, but it's. No. Rhymes with Lara.

[A]

Lara, yeah.

[C]

All right. Number two.

[B]

Yep.

[C]

What city serves as the initial quarantine zone setting in the TV series Boston? 1 more time.

[A]

The initial quarantine zone. Ask me the question again.

[C]

I think you had it. What city serves as the initial quarantine zone setting in the TV series Boston? Maybe it is.

[B]

What does AI say it is?

[C]

AI says it's a major city in Texas.

[A]

No, that's incorrect. It's not the initial core. It's where the show starts.

[B]

Does it rhyme with Boston?

[C]

It does rhyme with Boston. Is it Austin? It is Austin, according to AI.

[B]

So AI had an audio hallucination.

[A]

I can tell you for a fact that the way the question is worded, that is not correct.

[C]

All right, I 100% believe you. Yeah.

[B]

And this is why Jim and I always make sure to check two reliable.

[C]

Sources for these two, and we check each other's work. The fun fact is, this city is known for its space exploration history, which apparently is not true.

[B]

We're doing great, Gemini.

[C]

All right, number three. What song is playing on Joel's watch when Sarah gives it to him in the first episode?

[B]

Oh, gosh.

[A]

What song is playing on his watch?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

His watch doesn't play songs.

[C]

I don't know. I have not seen the show. I'm just telling you what AI thinks.

[A]

His watch is not a musical watch. It's set in 2003, before smartwatches. So his. His watch is not playing any song.

[B]

I mean, he could have strapped a Walkman to his wrist. I don't really know the show.

[A]

An ipod, maybe.

[C]

Maybe it was playing in, like, it's. Maybe it's a background thing. But the question says that it is playing on his watch.

[A]

No, that's. His watch is a. Is a mini.

[B]

Okay, wait, does it mean, like, on his watch? Like, as a military person? Like someone keeping watch. It played on his watch.

[A]

Oh, interesting.

[C]

But she gives him a wristwatch, right?

[A]

Yeah, she gives him a wristwatch, but.

[C]

It'S talking about that.

[A]

It's an analog wristwatch. It's not a smartwatch.

[C]

Okay, so the hint will be completely unhelpful. Think of a classic rock band known for their concept albums.

[A]

The Grateful Dead. I don't know.

[C]

It's apparently Never Let Me down by Depeche Mode.

[A]

Okay, I know. I recently rewatched this series twice in a row, so I know for a fact that it's not playing any time.

[C]

Okay. All right, all right.

[B]

Humans are winning.

[C]

Humans are winning. All right, question. What was that? Question three.

[B]

That was three.

[C]

Question four. In the episode Endure and Survive, what is the name of Riley's favorite fictional comic book superhero?

[A]

Favorite fictional comic superhero.

[B]

As opposed to a real comic superhero?

[C]

Well, a comic book superhero.

[B]

Got it.

[C]

As opposed to a comic stranger.

[A]

I am stumped by this, because this is a legitimate question she does have. She is obsessed with this comic book, and there is a superhero in it, and it is in the episode Endure and Survive, and I don't know. I don't know the answer.

[C]

The hint. Her Name suggests a powerful celestial body.

[A]

The sun.

[B]

I'm ready to steal if I get the opportunity.

[A]

Go for it.

[C]

Yeah, go for it, Pete.

[B]

I was kidding. I was hoping you were going to get it.

[C]

Elektra.

[B]

Oh, no, that's a real. That's a real comic superhero.

[C]

It's Dr. Daniela Star.

[B]

What a terrible hint.

[A]

Yeah, terrible hint.

[C]

From. From the comic book series Savage Starlight.

[A]

Oh, I. You know what? That's a great.

[C]

Apparently.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Allegedly. Allegedly.

[C]

Yes. What specific type of fungus is responsible for the pandemic Cordyceps? Yes, that is. That is correct.

[A]

Yay.

[B]

But that should not be a number five.

[A]

No.

[C]

Well, probably not.

[A]

That should be a number one, maybe.

[C]

All right, we'll see how accurate they are about Mark Cohn.

[B]

Okay, here we go.

[C]

Question number one. What is the name of Mark Cohn's most famous song released in 1991, which mentions a famous landmark in Tennessee?

[B]

I would have to go with walkin or walking in Memphis.

[C]

That is correct. And is there a famous landmark or is Memphis the landmark?

[B]

It mentions a bunch. I mean, it mentions Beale street, it mentions Graceland, but that's okay.

[C]

Those are landmarks. Okay.

[B]

Yeah, but it says a famous landmark. That's not. That would not be the correct phrasing that we would put.

[C]

No, of course not. Okay, number two, which song from Mark Cohn's debut album features the lyric heaven, help the fool who falls in love?

[B]

That is. I know that album. It's self titled. It's called Mark Cohn. I know that album backwards and forwards. And that does not ring even the tiniest little bell. Hell, help the fool who falls in love. I'll take the hint.

[C]

It's a song often associated with commitment.

[B]

Great. I mean, there's the song with commitment. I mean, a lot of songs are about love, but the big commitment song is the one at the end about his true companion. But that does not have that lyric.

[C]

Well, true companion is the answer they wanted.

[B]

That may be the answer. I guarantee you that is not in the lyric. And I have seen his handwritten lyrics, the original draft of that song.

[C]

All right.

[B]

Perform that a million times.

[A]

I gotta say, I am delighting in AI's failure at this.

[C]

Number three, what is the title of Mark Cohn's 2010 album that features covers of songs from the year 1970?

[B]

That is called Listening Booth 1970. And that seems to be a legitimate question.

[C]

That is. And there's nothing interesting.

[B]

And Helen thinks my fun facts are off the wall.

[C]

All right, number four, in what city was Mark Cohn born?

[B]

He was born in the Shaker Heights neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio.

[C]

That is correct. Yes.

[A]

Nice.

[B]

Okay, reasonable.

[C]

The largest city in Ohio. It rocks.

[B]

That's not.

[C]

That is not their hint. That was my hint.

[B]

That actually would be. That actually would be a hint that we gave. In fact, I think he gave that exact hint to Drew Carey for one of his question where the answer was Cleveland.

[C]

The last one from Mark Cone.

[B]

That was the number four was where he's born.

[C]

That was number four.

[B]

That's like the first line in the Wikipedia article. Okay, okay.

[C]

Before his solo career, Mark Cohn was part of a large cover band that played at the wedding reception of which prominent American figure?

[B]

Oh, that's actually a great question. I thought it was going to be the name of the band which was the Supreme Court. He played at. They played at the wedding of Caroline Kennedy. That's a really. That actually is a good question that we might have asked.

[C]

Okay. It's good. She's the daughter of a former US President. Is the hint the fun fact the band had 14 members.

[B]

Ooh, wow. I mean, it's more fun than 13 members, I suppose.

[C]

I guess. So that's that. So we're moving on to Star Trek.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Star Trek tng.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

What's the name of the captain of the USS Enterprise? D.

[A]

Captain Jean Luc Picard.

[C]

Yes, of course. Number Two, what's the name of the Android officer who serves as the ship's operations officer?

[A]

Data. Duh.

[C]

It is Data. Isn't he the science officer?

[A]

No, he's not the first officer. He's sometimes the first officer. It's a long story.

[B]

All right, okay, again, reasonable question, but we would never do who is the character twice.

[C]

Right. What's the name of the holodeck character Professor Moriarty creates to challenge Data?

[B]

Character questions in a row.

[C]

Really good question.

[A]

The holodeck character.

[C]

Oh, my God.

[A]

That's such a good question. I can't remember.

[B]

Is it?

[C]

That's. I think, because the answer is Dr. Moriarty.

[A]

The question is yes.

[C]

The question is so messed up because if I remember correctly, Data could defeat Sherlock Holmes and all the different stories. So Jordi created Dr. Moriarty to try and beat Data.

[A]

No, no, I think the AI question is actually legitimate. I think there was a Dr. Moriarty who created a hologram of herself to challenge Date. I think so, yeah.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

All right, good one, good one.

[B]

Come on, Gemini, let's make. Come on, Jim. Let's make Gemini look bad, though. Is there anything. Is there anything goofy? It said after.

[C]

Well, it says the hint is he's a famous fictional detective. So it's. He is a famous fictional detective. And then in the explainer at the bottom, it says the hint is slightly inaccurate. Professor Moriarty is the famous nemesis of fictional detective Blockhead.

[B]

Okay, good. Humans are back on top then. And again, that was three questions in a row. Which. What is the character who. Blah, blah, blah. Which is not a fun trivia challenge.

[A]

Okay, keep going.

[C]

All right, what is the name of the alien race that is a collective of cybernetic organisms with the goal of assimilating all sentient life?

[A]

The Borg.

[C]

Yes, of course.

[B]

And I have never seen an episode of the show and I could probably get that one too. And that should not be a number four.

[C]

And the last one in the episode, the Inner Light. What is the name of the planet where Captain Picard lives an entire lifetime in a simulated reality?

[A]

Oh, my God, that was such a good episode. I have no idea. He learns how to play the flute. He has a wife and children. And then the sun. The sun destroys the planet. And I can't recall the name of the planet.

[C]

Here's the hint. It's a short four letter name.

[A]

Yeah, it's something like Yule, or Planet.

[C]

No, the answer is Katan. K, A T, A, A N.

[B]

You know, four letters.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

But it does have a double A like Van Stratton.

[B]

Hilarious.

[A]

That's great.

[C]

Let's speed through the next to normal questions. Number one, what mental health condition does Diana Goodman primarily struggle with in the musical Next to Normal?

[B]

That's not a great question. Because she struggles with both schizophrenia and depression and bipolar disorder. It's kind of. She gets different diagnoses at different times, but I would probably have, say, bipolar disorder.

[C]

That is the answer they wanted.

[B]

Okay. Not the most accurate.

[C]

And the fun fact is the musical won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2010.

[B]

It is a fun fact. It has nothing to do with.

[C]

No, it has nothing to do with the question. Okay. Number two, what's the name of Diana's husband who tries to maintain a sense of normalcy in their family?

[B]

Dan.

[C]

That is correct.

[B]

And isn't that fun? What's his name? Here's his name.

[C]

Yes, the hint is his name is quite common.

[B]

What a great hint. Okay, it's not J. Keith.

[C]

No. What's the name of the song in Next to Normal where Diana expresses her longing for the intensity of her memory? Manic episodes.

[B]

Ah, that is the barn burning. I miss the mountains.

[C]

That is correct. The hint is it mentions a geographical feature. It's not a Terrible hint.

[B]

Well, I don't. Well, it's a terrible question for number three.

[C]

Well, yes and.

[B]

Yeah, it's not. I long for the volcanoes.

[C]

No. Okay, so what's the name of Diana and Dan's daughter who feels overlooked in her family?

[B]

That's number four. That's supposed to be harder than the three?

[C]

Yes.

[B]

It's Natalie.

[C]

It is Natalie. The hint is her name starts with an N. Oh, very exciting. Fun fact, the actress who originated this role on Broadway was just a teenager.

[B]

That is true.

[C]

Playing a teenager. Yes.

[B]

And nominated for a Tony for it. That's the fun fact I would have put.

[C]

Okay, this is the last one.

[B]

What's the hardest next gen normal question? The number five it came up with.

[C]

Well, you already answered it in number one. Besides bipolar disorder, what other significant theme. Well, hang on, you actually didn't. Besides bipolar disorder, what other significant theme does next to normal explore through the character of Gabe? This is very confusing.

[B]

Like theme is so subjective.

[C]

I know.

[B]

Okay. Early childhood loss or parents losing a child.

[C]

If I were Helen, I'd give you the point. The answer they wanted was grief.

[B]

Great.

[C]

So that's the quiz. So, listeners, did we prove why we need to put in the work that we do to make the trivia for each episode of GFY. We need your help to do [e-mail] join. Boy, do we need it.

[B]

All right, we got about 10 seconds left. Jim, I want to say thank you so much for doing all that. And that is it for this mini episode. We'll be back with fresh full episodes and no more requests for money on April 11th.

[A]

One last time, please go to maximumfun.org join today.

[B]

Until then, bye everybody.

[A]

Bye. Thank you.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Bye.

[B]

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[A]

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