The MeatEater Podcast – Ep. 797: Game On, Suckers! MeatEater Trivia CXCII

Date: November 26, 2025
Host: Randall Williams (guest host, filling in for Steven Rinella)
Players: Cal (“the birthday boy”), Spencer, Hillary, Logan, Roman, Nate Mason
Engineer: Phil
Theme: “MeatEater Trivia”—a lively, humbling, and humor-filled special episode featuring a ten-round quiz game spanning hunting, fishing, conservation, cooking, natural history, and pop culture of the outdoors. The prize? A $500 donation to the winner’s conservation organization of choice.

Episode Overview

In this competitive and comedic round of MeatEater Trivia, guest host Randall Williams challenges a crew of staple MeatEater personalities with trivia questions across the podcast’s four verticals: hunting, fishing, conservation, and cooking. As always, conservation “wins”—the winner gets to donate $500 to the cause of their choosing.
The episode is marked by the departure (to a new job) of beloved player Ryan “Cal” Callahan, competitive banter, multiple moments of collective brain-fog, and lots of unscripted fun.

Key Discussion Points & Segment Timestamps

1. Warm-up & Introductions (02:39)

• Randall Williams opens with a lighthearted tone, welcomes the team, and introduces the trivia game format.
• Special mention for Cal (“the birthday boy”) and his upcoming new job as BHA CEO.
• Memorable quote:
  • (Cal, on becoming BHA CEO, 07:06):
    “I quit wearing ties in D.C. quite a while ago because... I gotta relearn the YouTube video every time.”

2. Infrequently Asked Question (IFAQ) Read-Aloud & Banter (03:04)

• Listener Nick Halverson gives props to Dr. Randall and Phil for dry wit and creative segments.
• Everyone reminisces about the infamous “Hundreds of Beavers” bit and Idaho Beaver Drop.
• Notable banter:
  • (Hillary, on old stories in outdoor circles, 05:19):
    “They rehash the Idaho Beaver drop every year or a couple of years. And people love it… that was done in, like, 1949.”

3. Cal’s Last Game as Regular & Reflections on Conservation Coalitions (06:29)

• Cal shares excitement for BHA (Backcountry Hunters & Anglers), unity in conservation, and fighting against the narrative of “people can’t get along.”
• Quote:
  • (Cal, 08:38):
    “...right now there’s definitely—we’re being force fed a bunch of BS on how these places don’t have value or they could be better served in a certain way… I think there’s a lot of positive work to be done on building big coalitions of groups… And I just think that’s a bunch of crap.”

MeatEater Trivia Game Begins! (10 Rounds starting at 10:12)

Each round features outdoorsy knowledge—often resulting in a group groan, a learning moment, or friendly ribbing.

Question 1 (Cooking): Leading Cause of Foodborne Hospitalization (10:12)

• Question: “According to the CDC, which pathogen is the leading cause of hospitalization due to foodborne illness in the United States?”
  Choices: Salmonella, E. Coli, Norovirus, or Botulinum
• Correct Answer: Norovirus
• Memorable moment:
  • (Randall, 12:39):
    “Symptoms of norovirus include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, diarrhea, headaches, diarrhea, and muscle aches and diarrhea.”
• Everyone guesses wrong.
• Salads and trade show travel stories ensue.

Question 2 (Hunting): Shot Material Densities (13:59)

• Order from densest to least: Lead, tungsten, steel, bismuth
• Correct Answer: Tungsten, lead, bismuth, steel
• Nobody gets it right; detailed discussion on non-toxic shot follows.
• Takeaway: Older hunters lament steel; tungsten nearly twice as dense as lead but pricey.

Question 3 (Natural History): Ice Age Epoch (17:44)

• 11-letter word for the epoch ending 11,000 years ago:
• Correct Answer: Pleistocene
• Most answer Paleolithic, only Cal nails it.
• Randall’s comment:
  • (21:06): “It’s one of Steven Rinella’s favorite words.”

Question 4 (Woodsmanship): International Distress Signal (26:36)

• How many gunshots/whistle blows = distress signal?
• Answer: 3
• All but one get it right.
• Real-world context: Oregon rescue search and a wild “three weeks stranded” survival story.

Question 5 (Plants): Clumpy Grass Name (29:01)

• Only spreads from base or seeding, famous for tufts/clumps
• Answer: Bunchgrass (alternatively, tussock)
• Nate says fescue (correct as a type of bunchgrass)—quick ecology lesson ensues.

Question 6 (Fishing): Catfish with Squarish Tail (33:43)

• Of big three catfish species, which lacks a forked tail?
• Answer: Flathead
• Several miss it, discussion on “channel vs blue,” and trivia night recall.

Question 7 (Geology): Types of Rocks (37:31)

• Name two of three main rock types.
• Answer: Igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary
• Multiple funny variants: “sedentary,” “ignorance,” “volcanic.”
• Geological terms sidebar: “mafic” and “felsic.”

Question 8 (Cinema): Classic Canoeing Catastrophe Movie (40:53)

• 1972 film: Four businessmen, doomed river trip.
• Answer: Deliverance
• Only Cal gets it, rest guess “Without a Paddle.”
• Randall, 43:29:
  "Every now and then I consider doing a special 60 Minute Movie Club episode on [Deliverance], but I don't think it would be good for our company."

Question 9 (Fishing): Fish Egg Membrane (45:37)

• Five-letter word for the egg membrane/sac in salmonids:
• Answer: Skein
• Only Cal answers correctly, spelling banter follows.

Question 10 (Navigation): Compass Directions (53:11)

• Term for directions like SW/SE/NW/NE:
• Answer: Ordinal
• Everyone flails with creative answers (“bishop,” “medial,” “tertiary,” “eagle”).

Tiebreaker: Life Jacket Stats (58:16)

• What % of drowning victims weren’t wearing life jackets (2024 data)?
• Answer: 87%
• Closest guess: Nate at 88%.

Final Scoreboard & Winner

• Winner: Cal (Ryan Callahan), with a comfortable margin.
• Donation: Cal selects BHA, specifically highlighting an “incredible conservationist working the phones” at BHA.
• Set up as his likely final game as a MeatEater regular, with farewells, laughs, and humility about today’s struggle.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Conservation & Working Together:
  • (Cal, 08:38): “I talk to people I disagree with all the time and it’s always a good conversation… building big coalitions of groups that all these people tell us can’t get along. And I just think that’s a bunch of crap.”
• On Norovirus (Randall, humorously):
  • (12:39): “Symptoms of norovirus include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, diarrhea, headaches, diarrhea, and muscle aches and diarrhea.”
• On Getting Humbled by Trivia:
  • (Randall, 52:33): “The game is effectively over because Ryan Callahan has two points in the lead and cannot lose… Why don’t we throw out a lame duck here…”
• On Deliverance:
  • (Randall, 43:29): “...I don’t think it would be good for our company” if they did an episode about Deliverance.
• On Playing Along/“Gang” and “Team”:
  • Ongoing riff about Randall’s use of the words “gang” and “team,” which some YouTube commenters apparently dislike:
  • (Phil, 22:14): “If you are a person who's ever complained about Randall saying gang or team... just stop listening to MeatEater content.”
• On Embarrassment at Trivia Defeat:
  • (Hillary, 62:00): “No. I’ve never been so embarrassed to win.”

Takeaways, Tone, and Episode Spirit

• Tone: Irreverent, self-deprecating, competitive, and friendly—a group of outdoor experts repeatedly humbled by their own trivia game.
• Spirit: Even the pros don’t know everything. Being stumped leads to learning and laughs, with a lot of love for wild places and each other.
• Many questions resulted in “goose eggs,” highlighting the challenge and camaraderie of competitive trivia.
• Nugget of wisdom: “If you got a perfect game on today’s episode, email me at triviator.com… and yeah, I'd like to know you.” (Randall, 56:42)

Summary Table: Key Questions & Answers

| Topic | Question Highlight | Correct Answer | |------------|------------------------------------------------------|---------------------| | Cooking | Leading hospitalized foodborne pathogen? | Norovirus | | Hunting | Shot material, densest to least? | Tungsten, Lead, Bismuth, Steel | | History | Ice age epoch (11 letters)? | Pleistocene | | Woodcraft | Intl. distress signal (gunshots/whistles)? | 3 | | Plants | Clumpy grass type? | Bunchgrass/Tussock | | Fishing | Big 3 catfish without forked tail? | Flathead | | Geology | Two of three major rock types? | Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic | | Cinema | 1972 canoe disaster film? | Deliverance | | Fishing | 5-letter word for salmon egg sac? | Skein | | Navigation | Directions like NW/SE on compass? | Ordinal | | Tiebreaker | % drowning victims without life jacket? (2024) | 87 |

For Listeners Who Missed the Game

This episode is a must for fans of outdoor knowledge, humility, and humor. It showcases the unpredictabilities of even seasoned outdoorspeople facing obscure (and not-so-obscure) questions, with the spirit of conservation winning at the end.
Expect lots of laughs, a bit of self-roasting, hard-won facts (often after wild guesses), and the camaraderie of the MeatEater crew bidding Cal a fond, funny (not-so-final) farewell.

Conservation wins, Cal wins, and everyone has something new to learn (and Google).