Ep. 168.99 What is GFY? A Public Radio pledge special!

Summary

Go Fact Yourself – Episode 168.99: What is GFY? A Public Radio Pledge Special!

Release Date: April 4, 2025
Host: J. Keith van Straaten and Helen Hong
Produced by MaximumFun.org

---

Introduction to the Special Episode

In this special public radio pledge episode of Go Fact Yourself (GFY), hosts J. Keith van Straaten and Helen Hong celebrate the show's rich history by showcasing some of their favorite moments. Released on April 4, 2025, Episode 168.99 serves as a heartfelt thank you to the loyal listeners and supporters, especially in light of the ongoing recovery from the recent Max Fun Drive.

Acknowledgement of the Max Fun Drive and Future Announcements

The episode begins with Keith addressing the absence of a brand-new episode due to the aftermath of the Max Fun Drive. He shares exciting news about upcoming live shows in Los Angeles, featuring notable guests such as Amy Hill, Alec Moppa, Tom Papa, Rosalind Zhao, and Thomas Jane. He expresses gratitude to the over 500 members who supported the drive, promising exclusive rewards like limited edition baseball cards autographed by Helen and himself.

Quote:
Keith Van Straaten [00:06]: "We did it. Thank you so much to all of our new upgrading and boosting Max Fund members."

Show Highlights and Structure

Helen and Keith transition into a retrospective overview of GFY, emphasizing the show's unique blend of humor, trivia, and celebrity interactions. They reminisce about past episodes, underscoring the diversity of guests—from comedians and actors to musicians and authors.

Quote:
Helen Hong [02:48]: "I'm Helen Hong. And we're the hosts of Go Fact to Yourself, the trivia show where we quiz the smartest celebrities we know and find out why they love what they love."

Engaging Banter Between Hosts

A significant portion of the episode captures the spontaneous and witty exchanges between Helen and Keith. Their chemistry is evident as they discuss personal anecdotes, such as Helen’s frequent visits to Chicago and her love for the Riverboat Tour, contrasted with Keith’s humorous complaints about local changes.

Quote:
Helen Hong [04:14]: "I'm very well."
Keith Van Straaten [04:31]: "It's how we do it in the Midwest."

Notable Celebrity Guests and Memorable Interactions

The special episode highlights interactions with several high-profile guests, showcasing the show's ability to blend trivia with genuine conversations.

1. Pete Holmes [06:21]:
   Keith engages Pete in a playful discussion about his show "Crashing" and his unexpected career as a cartoonist for The New Yorker. Their dialogue underscores Pete's multifaceted talents and the show's knack for uncovering surprising facets of its guests.

   Quote:
   Pete Holmes: "I had confidence in my work. I was like, this is better than what you're printing."

2. Greg Maddux [15:23]:
   The legendary baseball pitcher participates in a lively trivia segment, demonstrating his extensive knowledge of sports history. His friendly demeanor adds a layer of authenticity and excitement to the competition.

   Quote:
   Greg Maddux [15:23]: "That was me. And she goes, you should get nominated for an Emmy for that or something."

3. Larry Thomas – The Soup Nazi [24:35]:
   Larry shares amusing stories about his journey to gaining an Emmy nomination, highlighting the humorous and unexpected paths celebrities take in their careers.

   Quote:
   Larry Thomas [25:56]: "I nominated yourself. You don't get if you don't ask."

4. George Clinton [19:17]:
   The "Prime Minister of Funk" joins the show, bringing his vibrant personality and musical expertise, which elicits enthusiastic reactions from both hosts and the audience.

   Quote:
   George Clinton: "What up? What up?"

Fun and Informative Trivia Segments

A cornerstone of GFY is its trivia challenges, where guests showcase their expertise or discover new facts. One memorable segment involves a question about the difference between ceramic and porcelain.

Quote:
Keith Van Straaten [09:02]: "What is the difference between ceramic and porcelain?"
Helen Hong [09:38]: "Ceramic is a term for an object made from any clay which has been fired at any temperature in a kiln. Porcelain is a specific type of ceramic that is made from specific white clays and is kiln fired at a very high temperature."

Surprise Experts: Elevating the Game

GFY is renowned for introducing surprise experts who provide authoritative insights during trivia challenges. This episode features several such experts, enhancing the educational and entertaining value of the show.

1. Amy Tan [18:38]:
   The acclaimed author offers nuanced perspectives that enrich the conversation, demonstrating the depth of knowledge present on the show.

   Quote:
   Keith Van Straaten [18:43]: "Shut up."
   (A playful interaction showcasing Amy Tan's presence)

2. Yardley Smith as Lisa Simpson [18:58]:
   The voice of Lisa Simpson adds a unique, animated flavor to the discussions, bridging the gap between reality and fiction.

   Quote:
   Keith Van Straaten [19:05]: "Hello."

3. Tommy Chong [20:43]:
   The comedy legend shares humorous anecdotes, further exemplifying the show's blend of comedy and trivia.

   Quote:
   Tommy Chong: (Friendly banter with hosts)

Lightning Round: Fast Facts

The episode features an exhilarating Lightning Round called "Fast Facts," where guests James Holzhauer and Victoria Gross engage in a rapid-fire true or false quiz. Hosted with energetic commentary, this segment underscores the show's ability to maintain high-paced entertainment while testing the guests' knowledge.

Quote:
Keith Van Straaten [27:38]: "Here's a round we recorded on the road in Las Vegas with two legends of Jeopardy."

Sample Interaction:
Helen Hong [28:13]: "James Liberace made his Las Vegas debut in 1994."
Keith Van Straaten [28:18]: "False."
Helen Hong [28:23]: "True. Correct."

Heartwarming and Unexpected Moments

Throughout the episode, heartfelt and surprising moments emerge, such as the inclusion of Crouton the horse, beloved by over 60,000 Twitter followers, and Beth Hyman, co-founder of Squirrelwood Equine Sanctuary.

Quote:
Helen Hong [30:50]: "What? I'm just, like, beside myself with joy."

These interactions highlight the show's ability to blend humor, surprise, and genuine affection for its eclectic array of guests.

Closing Remarks and Future Outlook

As the episode nears its end, Helen and Keith reminisce about the joys of producing GFY and express excitement for future episodes. They encourage listeners to continue supporting Maximum Fun and tease the return of brand-new episodes slated for release starting April 11th.

Quote:
Keith Van Straaten [34:01]: "Thank you so much for listening to this special mini edition of Go Fact Yourself. We'll see you next week with a brand new episode and it is a barn burner. You're gonna enjoy it."

---

Conclusion

Episode 168.99 of Go Fact Yourself serves as a vibrant tapestry of the show's most engaging moments, celebrating its commitment to blending trivia, humor, and insightful conversations with a diverse lineup of celebrities. Through heartfelt thanks, entertaining segments, and showcases of memorable guest interactions, this special pledge episode encapsulates the essence of GFY, inviting both longtime fans and new listeners to join in the fun and knowledge-sharing that defines the show.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Keith Van Straaten [00:06]: "We did it. Thank you so much to all of our new upgrading and boosting Max Fund members."
• Helen Hong [04:14]: "I'm very well."
• Pete Holmes [06:27]: "I had confidence in my work. I was like, this is better than what you're printing."
• Larry Thomas [25:56]: "I nominated yourself. You don't get if you don't ask."
• Helen Hong [16:55]: "That is correct."
• Keith Van Straaten [34:09]: "Thank you so much for listening to this special mini edition of Go Fact Yourself."

---

For more information on live shows, membership, and exclusive content, visit gofactorpod.com.

Transcript

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Hey everybody, it's Jake Heath. Now normally this is a day that we drop a brand new episode of Go Fact Yourself. But we are still recovering from the Max Fun Drive. You can maybe even hear it in my voice. So you can look forward to brand new episodes in back to back week starting next Friday, April 11th. In the meantime, we want to make sure you know about our live audience shows that we hope you will attend in the Los Angeles area. If you're listening to this when the episode drops, come see us this weekend on on Saturday, April 5 at 7pm at the Crawford with guests Amy Hill and Alec Moppa and special sub for Helen Mallory O'Meara as co host. Then Saturday, April 19th at 7pm at the Crawford with Tom Papa and Rosalind zhao and Saturday, May 10th at the Crawford with Thomas Jane. All the latest info and tickets are always [e-mail] and back to the subject of the Max Fund Drive. We did it. Thank you so much to all of our new upgrading and boosting Max Fund members. We ended up with over 500 of you in the drive this year, which is fantastic. Not as fantastic as last year, but I know times are very weird, but because we got that goal of over 500, it means that we will be selecting groups of you to play in a live online trivia game hosted by me courtesy of our friends at the Big Quiz thing. We'll be sending out an opt in form for that in the next few weeks. We also want to thank all of you who prepaid for your membership for the year. That means you are eligible to receive a brand new limited edition baseball card autographed by Helen and me. We have got the cards printed. We have got an email out to all of you who are eligible to fill out a form to let us know your address. If you did not get that form, please send an email to danielaximumfun.org and they will get you sorted out. All right, so even though we don't have a brand new episode today for you, we're not going to leave you in the lurch. We want to get you this special edition of Go Factor Self today. This will air on all of the public radio stations that carry our show during that station's membership drive and it's sort of an introduction to what is Go Fact Yourself. It features some of our favorite moments from recent editions of the show. So hey, if you've got a friend that you think might enjoy Go Fact Yourself and hasn't checked us out yet, this might be a great episode to let them know what the show is and why you love it. So share it with them. And if you think that there are some moments that we missed from our past shows that you think we ought to include in our next version of this, please let us know by going to gofactorpod.com and clicking get involved. Thank you all so much for your help with the Max Fun Drive, and we look forward to another wonderful year of Go Fact Yourself with you. And now, let's listen to this what is gofact Yourself episode. Let's go to the audio tape.

[Helen Hong]

I'm Helen Hong.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

And I'm Jakeith Van Straten.

[Helen Hong]

And we're the hosts of Go Fact to Yourself, the trivia show where we quiz the smartest celebrities we know and find out why they love what they love.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

We've released over 150 episodes as a podcast, and now we're excited to be on the radio.

[Helen Hong]

You might be a longtime podcast listener, just heard us on the radio, or maybe you have no idea who we are and what we do. Either way, today we'll introduce you to what Go Fact Yourself is all about and play some of our typical and not so typical moments. Okay, let's get into it. Each episode of Go Fact Yourself starts like this. Are you a real know it all? Do you annoy your family by shouting the answers while watching Jeopardy? Do you drive people crazy when you start a sentence with, well, actually, well, guess what? You can Go Fact yourself. Hi, everyone. Welcome to Go Fact Yourself, the show where we quiz the smartest people we know and find out why they love what they love. I'm Helen Hong. And now from the crowd, Crawford at Laist in Pasadena. Here's our moderator, J. Keith Van Stratten.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Thank you so much, everybody. Thank you, Helen. Then Helen and I have a little opening banter. I'm so excited to be here, Helen. How are you?

[Helen Hong]

I'm very well.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

So I am from Chicago. But you visit Chicago quite often because you come here for. Wait, wait, don't tell me.

[Helen Hong]

Yes, I'm here about once a month and I love Chicago. It's really. Have you guys done the riverboat tour?

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Oh, applause for a tour. That's how we do it in the Midwest.

[Helen Hong]

I do it literally every time I come here. I've probably done it like seven times and I can't get enough of it. And I've done every version of the art. Don't take the Architecture Society one, though. It is really eggheady. Like, I'm like, I haven't understood A third of the words that you said.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Because also, you tend to titter every time they say buttress or titter for that matter. Yeah, I actually have never done that tour.

[Helen Hong]

I can't believe that you're from here.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

I know. Well, you know, when you're from here, when you're from Chicago, you know Chicago things. And then you talk like you're from New York for some reason. I don't quite understand that. I like to think that when I come here, I get to have my own tour. It's called Places that don't exist Anymore and are now at Chipotle. And let me tell you, that tour's getting longer and longer. But of course, the real stars of GoFact yourself are our celebrity guests. From a variety of fields. We've welcomed famous actors, authors, comedians, podcasters, athletes and more.

[Helen Hong]

It's the magnificent DJ Jazzy Jeff. It's Elle Key and Keegan Michael Key. It's Larry Wilmore. She is a Grammy and Emmy nominated comedian, actor, activist and fashion designer. It's Margaret Cho.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Margaret Cho.

[Helen Hong]

He is a comedian who currently hosts the 51st season of the Price is Right on CBS. It's Drew Carey.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Drew Carey. Hello.

[Helen Hong]

Nice to meet you. And then we get to know our guests a little better with some top of the show chit chat. He is a comedian who created and stars in Crazy, which is renewed for a third season on hbo. It's Pete Holmes.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Pete Holmes, ladies and gentlemen. Hi, Pete. I'm Ty. How are you?

[Helen Hong]

I'm good, how are you?

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Wonderful to be here on the bonus stage of Street Fighter ii. I will be throwing fireballs at you. I hope that's not gonna be a problem. Summon your chi. Thank you. I certainly will. My pleasure. You know, it's interesting to me that your show Crashing is on hbo. Cause there's not a lot of violence or, or sex or, you know, kings fighting. I've never watched that Game of Thrones show. Me neither. Yeah, okay, good. I don't do realms. Are you kidding me?

[Helen Hong]

But it's your co network. Winter has never come to my house.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

In the pitch, I did say I hate shows that have like five good friends. The life of a comedian is you run into Sarah Silverman and then you don't see her for six months. And that's what I wanted to show on that. Why am I making it serious? Let's just make this interesting.

[Helen Hong]

Like you and I have known each other for a decade.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

I saw you backstage. We're happy to see each other. We pick right back up And I won't see you again for four years. That is a prophecy. That is a prophecy.

[Helen Hong]

True.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Yeah. But that's the life of comics. And I think that's interesting to show that world as opposed to the constant revolving standard sitcom format. Absolutely. Now, another thing I want to ask you about, which I was surprised and happy to learn about, is another career that you've had is as a cartoonist in the New Yorker. Yes. Which is probably the dream of so many nerd people. I know. People either care a lot or not at all. Yeah. Jack Ziegler, who recently passed away, who's another probably one of the great all time cartoonists for the New Yorker. He. I bothered him. This is like a story you'd see on Crashing. As I was submitting cartoons, I really thought they were better. I had confidence in my work. I was like, this is better than what you're printing. Like, I had two avocados. One was a boy avocado, one was a girl avocado. And the girl avocado was saying, what do you mean I'm the good kind of fat? That's a funny cartoon. Are you telling me your printing is better than that? But we're here for the trivia, so it's time to have our guest tell us what's the difference. What is the difference between a spiderweb and a cobweb? What is the difference between a knife and a dagger? What is the difference between. Between a palace and a castle? What is the difference between a saute pan and a skillet? Hello, listener.

[Helen Hong]

Hi, I'm Liora Saul from Los Angeles.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

And my question for what's the difference is, while both might be a type of plate that you find in your home, what's the difference between ceramic and porcelain? Leora Sall, thank you so much for being here, Leora. All right, Yessica. You heard the question from Leora. What is the difference between ceramic and porcelain?

[Helen Hong]

I think porcelain is more expensive and.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

It'S considered like a collector's item or like passed along generations. Passed along generations. Yeah. With that ceramic, you're just going to throw that away the first chance you get? Yeah. All right, we've got Jessica's answer. We don't know yet if she's entirely correct. Drew, if you don't think she's got it just right, you can steal. What do you think? Isn't ceramic a type of, like, clay pot? And porcelain is more like a glass doesn't have any clay in it. Well, if you want to get technical. Well, that kind of is what we want to do. Jessica, I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear before. Let's go to Helen Hong at the judges table for the facts.

[Helen Hong]

Here are the facts. Ceramic is a term for an object made from any clay which has been fired at any temperature in a kiln. Porcelain is a specific type of ceramic that is made from specific white clays and is kiln fired at a very high temperature. This gives porcelain a white color unless it's painted or stained. And a very smooth, non porous, glassy surface.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

That's right. Now, if you flick your fingernail on real porcelain, it will ring with a bell like sound, unlike other ceramics, which will make kind of a clunk sound. And if you flick me with your fingernail, I will make an ouch sound. Helen, how did our guest do?

[Helen Hong]

I don't suggest that.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Nope.

[Helen Hong]

Drew Carey, I think you got one point.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

One point for Drew Carey. All right.

[Helen Hong]

The meat of the show are the topics that our guests have chosen for themselves, and they can vary a lot.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

You told us you know a lot about women's fashion,'80s music from the Congo and chicken husbandry. You said College Radio Music, 1984-1988, the TV show the Electric company, and American Christmas after Coca Cola's invention of Santa Claus as we know him, the history of London, the 1989 fall of communism, and the band Iron Maiden. Ron, for you, you said that would be 1990s professional wrestling, the TV show I love Lucy. Most definitely. And marijuana strains. Yes.

[Helen Hong]

So good. That last one is a shocker.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Yeah. I mean, it just truly sounds like a great evening.

[Helen Hong]

It does.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Coming up, we'll spotlight some of the great quizzes we've had for our guests, plus some of the most amazing surprise experts we bring on for them. Come on back for even more of gofact yourself right after this. A special thank you to the Max Fun members who joined boosted or upgraded their membership during this year's Max Fun drive. And as a thank you to everyone who supports MAX Fund, we're excited to announce that this year's pin sale is now open. This year's proceeds will go to transgender law center to support their continuing work and advocating self determination for all people. Everyone at $10 per month or more can purchase Max Fund Drive pins featuring shows from across the network. And all levels are able to buy our 2025 exclusive pin featuring our rad pal, Nutsy the squirrel. For more info, head to maximumfun.org pinsale and as always, thank you so much for your ongoing support.

[Helen Hong]

Welcome back to this special episode of Go Fact Yourself. I'm Helen Hong.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

And I'm J. Keith Van Straten.

[Helen Hong]

We have a lot of fun on this show, and much of that fun happens before a live audience, including at our favorite place to record La Est's fabulous venue, the Crawford.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

And we hope to see you in our live audience at the Crawford for our upcoming shows.

[Helen Hong]

During pandemic times, we pivoted to doing shows over zoom, and now we do a mix. But whichever the case, you'll hear our celebrity guests choose their own topics of interest, and we get to find out why they love what they love first.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

You said you know a lot about rescue dogs. Yes. So my husband and I have three rescue dogs right now, but we. We were attempting to have two of our own and then continually have a foster that we try to find a home to adopt, but we foster failed our second one, and then we currently are foster failing on the third. So either we're going to sleep every night with both my husband and I, who are both above six feet tall and three dogs in one bed, or four dogs if we just decide that we still want to keep that rescue in the mix. The International Criminal Court simultaneously represents the most exalted aspirations of man, that we would bring justice to these horrible crimes, the monstrosity of mankind at the same time. But I have to be honest. I'm a big fan of the show. I listen a lot. And whereas I have real expertise in mascots and Caddyshack, I don't have expertise in the criminal court. Not really. But I thought you wouldn't pick it. It's such a downer. We're talking about crimes against humanity. We're talking about just horrible things. So I pretty much just wanted to narrow the choices to the first two. So this was a bluff? A ruse. Call me out on it. All right, well, to summarize, Mike, you told us, you know and love college nicknames and mascots. The movie Caddyshack. And you dared us to pick the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Today, we're going to quiz you about the movie Caddyshack. Oh, thank God. Of course. We choose which one of the topics they'll be quizzed on. And that's when even more fun begins. Hey, Helen, what are some of your favorite trivia topic segments that we've done?

[Helen Hong]

Well, not only am I a big Star Trek fan, but I am also a big Star wars fan, and we've done both of those as topics, and we've had amazing surprise experts Including Anthony Dan, the actor who played C3PO. That was exciting. It's just awesome to always learn more about the stuff that you're already interested and fascinated by. Joining us today is an actor who has played C3PO for over 40 years. It's Anthony Daniels.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Oh, my gosh. Get out of here. Oh, my God, There he is. Ryan, you don't know how nervous I was listening to you about to get those questions wrong because I was gonna have to just mute your mic, mute your video, and just leave. And I like learning about stuff that I know nothing about as well as things that I know and love, like baseball. Anytime there's a baseball topic, I love to do it because I love to meet baseball players.

[Helen Hong]

It's World Series champion and hall of Fame pitcher, Greg Maddux.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Hello, Greg Maddox. Thank you. How you guys doing? Now, Greg, if I could ask you to wait for a minute as I go through some of your bona fides, for those who don't know. An eight time All Star, an 18 time Gold Glove winner, a four time NLERA leader, a three time NL wins leader, a five time NL shutouts leader, won a World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 1995, and elected to the Baseball hall of Fame. Greg Maddux, everybody. Thank you. Here are just a few examples of some of the trivia that we've had that puts our guests and our listeners to the test. According to MeTV, Green Acres is the first sitcom ever to have its theme song sung by the lead actors. How does Eddie Albert physically emphasize the final two beats of the song on screen? With his pitchfork. Helen.

[Helen Hong]

That is correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

That is correct. With his pitchfork on the ground. The other is what seminal reality show which aspires to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real. That is, in fact, real world. Let's go. Helen. Are we going?

[Helen Hong]

Let's go.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Yep, we're going.

[Helen Hong]

That is correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Many people think of the Tar Pits as a place to see a saber toothed tiger, but it's not really a tiger. It's more properly known as a saber toothed cat. And it's even more properly known by what scientific name? So smile it on. Smile it on. Californious. Helen.

[Helen Hong]

That is correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

That is correct. Wow. Jordan Morris. Five for five, ladies and gentlemen. No hints. Frank. In 2012, London became the first city to host what international summer event three times? The London Olympics, which I happen to know because I actually played the opening ceremony. Helen.

[Helen Hong]

Okay, overachiever. Hello. Yes, that is correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

On the 10th anniversary of the album, an acoustic version was released called appropriately, jagged little pill Acoustic. For the first month or so of the album's release, you could only purchase the album at the stores of. What company was there, like a bullseye Glozell? I can't tell you, but he's thirsty Glozell, what's your answer? Okay, like, can you find them at the stores that sometimes. Yeah. Okay, I'm gonna go with what is Starbucks? Hell yeah.

[Helen Hong]

That is correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

That is correct. Very nice and done with the jeopardy. Flare. In the long history of mad magazine, a publication known for its parodies, what Grammy winning musician known for his parodies was the only person ever to be guest editor of an issue.

[Helen Hong]

Weird Al Yankovic, of course. That is correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

That is correct for the point. We're on our way.

[Helen Hong]

And all of those trivia questions lead up to our favorite part of the show. Introducing our guests to their surprise experts.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

We've had winners of Oscars, Peabody's Olympic gold medals, the Pulitzer prize, even the super bowl.

[Helen Hong]

Want proof? Here you go. Joining us tonight from Sausalito, California, is an award winning best selling writer and illustrator whose many accomplishments include writing the novel and screenplay for the Joy luck club.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Shut up.

[Helen Hong]

It's Amy Tan. Shut up.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Hello.

[Helen Hong]

Are you real?

[J. Keith Van Straten]

There's Amy Tan. Oh, my God. Shut up.

[Helen Hong]

Oh, my God. We're both Amy. We're both dying. We're dying. The Emmy winning voice of Lisa Simpson. It's Yardley Smith.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Yardley Smith. Hello. Hi.

[Helen Hong]

It's Yardley. Couldn't be here. It's just Lisa Simpson.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Oh, wow.

[Helen Hong]

Oh, my God.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Oh, my God.

[Helen Hong]

Co writer and frontman for several p. Funk hits, the prime minister of funk. It's George Clinton.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

George Clinton. Wow. Wow. Oh, my God. Hi, George. What up? What up? Hello, Mr. Clinton. What's up? What is up indeed.

[Helen Hong]

It is so awesome to watch our guests geek out and sometimes freak out when they get to meet the people who made what they love. Or love what they love too.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Just listen to some of these spontaneous reactions. I'm dead. Y'all said I couldn't cuss. Hello. Oh, my God. If I wasn't black, you could see me blushing right now. I can't believe I'm talking to her. This is blowing my mind. When you were talking, I was crying a little bit. I'm not gonna lie. It's very sweet. Fully cop to it. Fully cop to it. And I am just a huge fan of the both of you. I mean, this is such a thrill for me. I am serious. This is wild and My goodness. Chase. Lou. Oh, my God. All right, Andy, while we've got the legendary George Clinton here, anything else you'd like to ask or say to him? Such a thrill. And I've seen you in concert a number of times, and. And I. This is such a great bonus to a great night. So thank you so much for all the years of enjoyment and all the joy. Appreciate you.

[Helen Hong]

It's comedy legend Tommy Chong.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Tommy Ch. Ladies and gentlemen. Tommy waving to the audience. Jenny on her knees, bowing down to Tommy's feet.

[Helen Hong]

And, of course, the conversations with our experts are so fun, revealing, and even sometimes moving.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Here's another great moment where we found out that Celine Dion, as great of a singer as she is, wasn't the best English speaker. I didn't produce the record, so I wasn't in the studio when she recorded the vocals, and they couldn't find a lyric sheet, so she learned the lyrics phonetically off the demo. And English isn't her first language, so she got a lot of the words wrong. Like, well, for example, in the first verse, there's hero of my heart. And the line after that should be true work of art. And she says, true world go up. Yeah, she does. She's not wrong. True world does go up. I mean, come on. We can't get on. You know, I never. This is breaking news because this is the first time I've ever actually said this in public that she got the lyrics wrong, because I never told anybody. I didn't care, because it was Celine Dion. She can sing the words off of a brochure in an insurance seminar and win a Grammy for it. It doesn't matter what she's singing. She shouts. She could sing.

[Helen Hong]

My CVS receipt.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Yeah, exactly. That would be a long time, and.

[Helen Hong]

It would take a long time.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

So tell us about how you met Tiger woods when he was 4 years old and then became his coach. So, the first time I met him, I was in the pro shop, just like most assistant golf pros sitting in there and not doing much. And Tiger and his mom came in. She said, we would like you to coach Tiger and let him play there. Because in those days, it was very difficult for kids to get on golf courses, generally where there was a 10 and over age requirement, and some courses was even 12, so. And I had a junior program. So I said, well, let's go down to the driving range and let's watch Tiger hit a few shots, teed up four balls for him, and he went, pow, pow, pow. Hit these four perfect shots with a little Bit of draw. And I go, whoa, I'd love to help you. And you can play here anytime you want. Wow, that's amazing. Tell us how and why you joined the Navy. Going into World War II, actually, it felt like there was things to be done. But the thing is, we had. We were fighting three idiots who try to rule the world. And we thought, well, we're not going to. If we don't knock those three idiots out, we're going to have a heck of a different life in our life. And I am the happiest guy to be part of that. That knocked these three idiots out of the world. Damn. And here's some inside information from Stephen Tobolowski from Groundhog Day. He played Ned Ryerson. I have word from Harold Ramis. We were having a party after the movie was successful, and he was pulling out his guitar and playing a folk song on it. And I sat at his feet and I said, how long is Phil Connors trapped in the town? And while he's playing the guitar, he said, stephen, I'm a practicing Buddhist. And we believe that it takes 10,000 years to perfect a human soul. And the story of Groundhog Day is the story of the perfection of the human soul. That's how long Phil Connors is in town. 10,000 years. Wow.

[Helen Hong]

10,000 years.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

10,000 years. That's a lot of. I got you, babe. Yeah. Even for fans.

[Helen Hong]

Here with us tonight is an Emmy nominated actor who's appeared in many shows including Scrubs and Arrested Development. And as the soup Nazi on Seinfeld, it's Larry Thomas.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

My day job for about 15 years of being an actor. And through the time I did Seinfeld, I was a bail bondsman, a court investigator. What? And one day I was down in the archive courts of LA looking, researching cases. And one of the clerks that had seen me, you know, for 10 years over and over again. Did anybody ever tell you you looked like that guy the Soup Naz? And I said, well, that was me. And she goes, you should get nominated for an Emmy for that or something. So I ran to the closest payphone and I called the TV Academy in North Hollywood and I said, hey, is there a category for someone who's a guest actor on a. On a tv, on a primetime show? And they said, yes, you know, guest actor in a comedy or drama. And so I said, how do you get nominated? Someone has to submit an application for you and pay $100. And I said, can I come over and do that today? And they said, yeah. So I ran over There. Wrote him a check for 100 bucks.

[Helen Hong]

What?

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Got the application.

[Helen Hong]

Wait, I gotta go.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Helen, you have to be in a TV show first. I've been in. Okay, so that year, that particular. The parameters changed each year, but that particular year, you could only be on one to two episodes. And so 30 names went out there, and five got chosen. And I was in the five.

[Helen Hong]

You nominated yourself. You don't get if you don't ask. When we return, we'll wrap up with our Lightning round Fast Facts, and some even more unexpected moments from the show.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Since 2017, Maximum Film has had the same slogan. The podcast that's not just a bunch.

[Helen Hong]

Of straight white guys.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Ooh, we've learned something over the years. Some people out there really do not like that slogan. Listen, we love straight white guys. Well, some of them. But if there's one thing we can't change, it's who we are. I'm Iffy, a comedian who was on strike last year in two different unions. I'm Drea. I've been a producer and film festival programmer for decades. And I'm Alonzo, a film critic who literally wrote the book on queer Hollywood. You can listen to us talk movies and the movie biz every week on Maximum Film. We may not be straight white guys, but we love movies movies, and we know what we're talking about. Listen to Maximum Film on Maximum Fun or wherever you listen to podcasts. Welcome back to this special episode of Go Fact Yourself. I'm J. Keith Van Straten.

[Helen Hong]

And I'm Helen Hong. You've heard the celebrities chitchat, play trivia, freak out at their experts, and more. Well, now we wrap up each episode with our lightning round Fast Facts.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Now, some say it's just a quick round of true or false, but really it's. Well, it is, but. But it's fun.

[Helen Hong]

Here's a round we recorded on the road in Las Vegas with two legends of Jeopardy. Tournament of Champions winners, James Holzhauer and Victoria Gross.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

I'll start with Victoria and alternate between each guest. Each correct answer is worth one point, and you may notice a subtle theme based on tonight's location. Again, the answer to each question is true or false. Here we begin. Victoria Liberace was a famous Las Vegas entertainer. True.

[Helen Hong]

Correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

James Liberace made his Las Vegas debut in 1994. False.

[Helen Hong]

Correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Victoria Liberace made his Las Vegas debut in 1964. Plausible. True.

[Helen Hong]

Incorrect.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

James Liberace made his Las Vegas debut in 1944. False.

[Helen Hong]

Incorrect.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

No, he really did. At the Last frontier hotel. In 1944, Victoria, Liberace's real name was Liberace.

[Helen Hong]

True. Correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Yep. His last name, James Liberace, owned a patent. True.

[Helen Hong]

Correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Victoria, the patent was for a piano.

[Helen Hong]

False. Correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

James, the patent was for a toilet. It's gotta be. True.

[Helen Hong]

Correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Yeah. Victoria, the patent was for a toilet that glowed in the dark.

[Helen Hong]

False. Correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

James, the patent was for a toilet that had two seats. Really? You tell us. False.

[Helen Hong]

Correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Victoria, the patent was for a toilet that played music.

[Helen Hong]

True. Incorrect.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

James, the patent was for a toilet that had a candelabra. False.

[Helen Hong]

Correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Victoria, the patent was for a toilet attached to a Rolls Royce.

[Helen Hong]

False. Correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

James, the patent was for a toilet attached to a slot machine. Really, Hope? False.

[Helen Hong]

Correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Victoria, A toilet attached to a slot machine would definitely be popular in Las Vegas.

[Helen Hong]

True. Correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

And finally, James, but you do not want to be around when it hits the jackpot. True.

[Helen Hong]

Correct.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

All right, we're not gonna count those last few. Let's give a nice hand to James Holzhauer and Victoria Gross as Helen tabulates our final score. By the way, the patent was for a retracting toilet that disappeared into a wall. You've heard of the Murphy bed. Why not the Liberace toilets? Well, that's the structure of our show, but what we think you'll love about it are the unstructured moments, stories, detours, jokes, and coincidences that seem to come up all the time.

[Helen Hong]

Joining us tonight is the most popular resident of Squirrelwood Equine Sanctuary, who has over 60,000 followers on Twitter. It's Crouton.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Crouton, are you there? We see a cow butt. And there he is. There's Kruta. Awesome. Oh, my goodness. Hi, Crouton. Crouton, I love you so much. And Helen, somebody else is there as well. Who's that?

[Helen Hong]

Also joining us is the co founder of Squirrelwood Equine Sanctuary, who rescued Crouton and helped run his popular Twitter account. It's Beth Hyman.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Hello, Beth Hyman. Hey. My God. Hi, Beth. Hello.

[Helen Hong]

What?

[J. Keith Van Straten]

I'm just, like, beside myself with joy.

[Helen Hong]

Thank you so much.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Jonatha was mentioning to us off air that she actually has some of the. Some of the Crouton merch. I have the coffee mugs. I have a Crouton coffee mug and a Charlotte coffee mug. Whoa.

[Helen Hong]

That rose.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Mojo.

[Helen Hong]

That's Mojo.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Sorry, Jonathan, you were interrupted, unsurprisingly, by a donkey in a barn. Tell us a few of the songs that you recorded with Michael. Can you feel it? Can you feel it? Yeah. Wow. And don't stop till you get enough. Wow. That's me. Don't stop till you get enough. That's her. That was her. Wow. Oh, my God.

[Helen Hong]

I just got chills.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Yeah, you're just saying six words and I don't know what to do with myself anymore.

[Helen Hong]

Here with us tonight is an actor, singer and songwriter who co wrote and and sang the theme song to the Facts of Life, Gloria Loring.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Loria Loring. I came in and did you take the good? You take the bad, you take them both. And there you have. Wow. Wow. All right, Ross, you also said you know a lot about the number PI. PI is Approximately equal to 3141-592653-58979, 3238-462-6433-8327-9502-8841-9716-939937-51050, 9749-4592-3078-1640, 6286-2089-9862-8034-8253, 421-17-0679. I think that's the end of 100. Oh, yeah. 82148. That's 105, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, Paul. By the way, how much do you know about chicken husbandry? You know, I know that you gotta give him that grain. All right. Gotta give him that grain. Well, Susan, you better do well in this. Cause Paul certainly that's dazzled. It's ready to steal. Let's play this out and see what happens before the inevitable. Gotta give him that grain. Answer comes up later in the quiz. Dr. Newman, chickens. You gotta give him that grain, Right?

[Helen Hong]

Absolutely.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

You do. All right. Thank you. Verified. Thank you. And how do you feel about people asking you to perform the line, no soup for you on the spot. Too many stories. But I, for three years, I would not say that. I didn't say it for Inside Edition. I didn't say it for Entertainment Tonight. I just refused. I said, I'm not gonna be a bad water cooler impression of myself. Right. You know, out of context. And so, of course, three years later, I got to do the finale and they did the one take and they kept it. And then we were walking away and Larry David, like, crossed the road and walked up to me and just said, you know, you said it exactly the same way. That's lovely. And he walked away. And I just thought, I can say that. So, yeah, since then I've said so. If you were on a podcast, let's say, and the audience really wanted you to hear. And that is Go Fact Yourself.

[Helen Hong]

Thanks for listening and Go Fact. Go Fact yourself.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

Thank you so much for listening to this special mini edition of Go Fact Yourself. It was produced and compiled by our co producer and editor Julian Burrell. We'll see you next week with a brand new episode and it is a barn burner. You're gonna enjoy it. Thanks again. Goodbye.

[Helen Hong]

Maximum Fun.

[J. Keith Van Straten]

A worker owned network of artist owned.

[Helen Hong]

Shows supported directly by.