Morning Brew Daily – “Special MBD Trivia Show w/ Morning Brew Crew”

Date: December 25, 2025
Hosts: Neal Freyman & Toby Howell
Episode Theme: An end-of-year trivia game show with Morning Brew staffers, covering news, pop culture, sports, and trends from 2025—with plenty of laughs, banter, and memorable moments.

Overview

This special holiday episode of Morning Brew Daily transforms the usual news roundup into a raucous year-end trivia showdown. Hosts Neal and Toby invite Morning Brew colleagues Macy Gilliam (video journalist), Jack Stebbins (producer, Good Work), and Annie Bennett (social content creator) to test their knowledge of 2025’s biggest headlines, most viral moments, and under-the-radar cultural shifts. The prize? $100—and eternal office bragging rights. Listeners are encouraged to play along at home or with family and friends.

Key Discussion Points & Game Show Segments

1. Meet the Contestants (03:00)

• Macy Gilliam: Shares a cruel YouTube comment (“That sweater fits weird.”)
• Jack Stebbins: Asked to explain Oracle: “Make Larry Ellison money.”
• Annie Bennett: Proffers her (dubious) theory of Stonehenge as a giant sundial.

Memorable Quote:
Macy: “They will always notice the thing you don’t want them to.” [03:30]
Jack (on Oracle): “I...and other things make Larry Ellison money.” [03:47]

2. Trivia Round One: 2025 News Headlines (05:00)

• Format: Players answer, others can “steal” for a point.
• Topics:
  • Where did Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez get married?
    • Correct answer: Venice (not Lake Como!). Macy earns the point.
    • C (Annie): “I knew there was water.” [05:37]
  • Pope Leo’s real name?
    • Nobody knows; answer is Robert Prevost, first American Pope.
    • C (Annie): “Paul?” – “No.”
  • Chinese Zodiac 2025?
    • Snake (after several false starts; Annie gets it eventually.)
  • President Trump’s tariffs on remote Arctic islands?
    • “Heard & McDonald Islands”—no correct answers.
  • 2025 March Madness Champions?
    • Neither men’s nor women’s winner is correctly guessed off the bat (Florida men’s/UConn women’s thrown out as guesses).
  • Coldplay concert CEO scandal?
    • Correct: Gwyneth Paltrow did the PR video. Macy: "Of course I’m a goop fan." [10:08]
  • Humane AI device acquisition?
    • Company: Humane. Annie solves after group struggle.
  • Skrilla’s viral song “Doot Doot” and 6’7” meme?
    • NBA player: LaMelo Ball.
  • Neal’s birthday?
    • No one gets it; August 21st.

First Round Scores:
Jack and Macy tied at 3; Annie with 2. [13:24]

3. Who Said It? (Quote Attribution Round) [13:50]

Players guess the famous figure behind notable 2025 quotes.

• Sample Quotables:
  • “I cannot imagine having gone through figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT.”
    • Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO [14:07]
  • “The time has arrived where Greg should become CEO at year end.”
    • Warren Buffett (re: Greg Abel, Berkshire Hathaway) [14:28]
  • “You never know how much love is inside you... until the day of launch.”
    • Katy Perry (joke answers, but correct context: day of launching an album/travel/project) [15:08]
  • “This show is not important. What’s important is we live in a country that allows this.”
    • Jimmy Kimmel (re: brief ABC cancellation) [15:55; Jack steals the point]
  • “I don’t support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign...”
    • Sydney Sweeney [17:05]
  • One-word meme: “Chicken Jockey”
    • Jack Black, in the Minecraft movie; becomes a viral catchphrase among kids. [17:43]

Notable Banter:
Jack: “Can you do impressions of these people instead?” [16:08]

4. Guess the Number (Price Is Right Rules) [19:54]

• Most-liked Taylor Swift engagement post:
  • Actual: 37 million (everyone guessed far, far higher)
• Toby’s engagement post likes:
  • Actual: 1,800 (Jack closest)
• Pennies in US circulation:
  • Actual: 250 billion (everyone off by several orders of magnitude) [23:18]
• Trump’s posts on Truth Social, Dec 1, 2025:
  • Actual: 158 posts in 24h (Annie closest)
• Zoran Mamdani’s (NYC mayoral candidate) votes:
  • Actual: 1.114 million (Annie closest)

After this round:
Jack in the lead with 7, Annie 6, Macy 4 [25:44]

5. Survivor: Top 30 Highest-Grossing Movies of 2025 [26:37]

Contestants take turns naming box-office hits; a wrong or missing answer eliminates you.

• Correct guesses:
  • "Zootopia 2", "Minecraft," "F1 Movie," "Jurassic World Rebirth," "Wicked," "Superman," "Snow White," "Avatar" (preemptively counted).
  • Macy clinches three points with “Wicked,” knocking out Jack.
• Discussion of oddball entries:
  • "Dog Man" (half-dog, half-man children's movie clocks in at #19).

After this round:
Macy now leads with 8, Jack 7, Annie 6.

6. Final Round: Predict a 2026 Trend (Open Notes, Judged) [31:50]

Contestant Pitches:

• Annie: "Celebrities dating former heads of state will boom." Ships Angela Merkel with Martin Short, and in a burst of silliness, Jennifer Lopez with Kim Jong Un.
  • Toby: “If even one more of those relationships happens, the trend will have come true...and I was just giggling the most about that one.” [35:54]
• Jack: “Company towns are back—especially for major businesses like Starbase, or even Morning Brew building its own Staten Island campus.”
• Macy: “Crafting and mending out of necessity, not just for fun. As people get thriftier, skills like making paper chains for Christmas will be in.” Also lists mending, knitting, sewing as skills everyone should learn.

Hosts' Decision:
Annie wins the round with her creative celebrity-political couple prediction.
Annie: “Angela and Martin Short... Let's run away together!” [32:28]

Final Scores & Winner

1. Annie – 11 points (late surge with five points for the final round creativity)
2. Macy – 8 points
3. Jack – 7 points [37:10]

A: “Annie finished with 11 points, which is crazy...Macy got second with 8...Jack in third place.” [37:10]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Contestants Introductions – [03:00]
• Round One: Headline Trivia – [05:00]
• Quote Attribution ("Who Said It?") – [13:50]
• Guess the Number – [19:54]
• Survivor: Top Movies – [26:37]
• Prediction Round: 2026 Trends – [31:50]
• Final Score & Wrap-up – [37:10]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Running Joke: Nobody, not even journalists, could name the Pope’s birth name. (“Jeremy?” “Peter?” “Paul?” – “It’s Robert Prevost.” [06:35])
• On Jack Black and the Minecraft Movie:
  Neal: “A lot of kids and maybe some adults went out to see this movie just for the time when Jack Black says ‘Chicken Jockey’ and then they go absolutely nuts and call the police.” [17:43]
• On Annie's Trivia Luck:
  Neal: “Annie, you just always get points.” [25:01]
• Banter on Company Towns:
  Jack: “I think company towns are coming back. And it's going to start with Morning Brew buying a piece of Staten Island.” [33:06]
• Hosts’ Warmth & Sarcasm:
  Toby: “The prize is $100. Seriously. I will just Venmo the winner after this.” [04:40] Macy: “They didn’t tell me we were supposed to be funny.” [34:25] Annie: “If I get this and then it’s wrong, I’ll Venmo you each $10 out of the $100.” [27:44]

Episode Tone & Takeaway

Lighthearted, fast-paced, and laced with Morning Brew’s trademark wit, this episode is more celebration than competition. Inside jokes, supportive ribbing, and group laughter abound. While the trivia sometimes highlights knowledge gaps among even the news-savvy contestants, it’s always in good fun—and listeners are consistently invited to play along, making it a perfect festive listen.

Closing Note:
B: “Thank you all for playing. This is airing on Christmas Day, so...wish everyone a Merry Christmas...we will be back tomorrow with another special holiday episode. Maybe a few less giggles than this one.” [37:18]