Go Fact Yourself

Perfect your stroke and dance in Purple Rain, it’s time for Go Fact Yourself!Michael Peña is an actor whose career began with his roles in dramas like Crash and World Trade Center. But after a while he decided, much to the hesitation of his agent, that he wanted to take his career in a new direction: comedy. He’ll tell us about his memorable roles in the Ant-Man and Dora The Explorer films and how his entire career began because a family friend noticed he was good at impressions.Michael will compete against his wife: screen-writer and fine artist Brie Peña! She’s traveled with Michael a lot for his job and even gotten to live in other countries with her family for months at a time. What’s one of the most significant things she misses from her travels? Well… it used to be nice seeing how eager the English were to hug their friends. Our contestants are ready to answer questions about birdies, a Tiger and a PrinceWhat’s the difference: Couch PotatoWhat’s the difference between a couch and a sofa?What’s the diffe

Turn up your favorite song and raise a glass, it's time for more Go Fact Yourself!Eliza Skinner is known for her comedy and musical improvisation, but she’s also got a TV show out now on Disney+! “Earth To Ned” is a talk show with a cast made up entirely of puppets from the Jim Henson company. She’ll explain why, despite all the aliens and spaceships, it’s still a lot like its contemporaries… just with more coordination to make the host talk. Eliza Skinner’s debut comedy album, “Regarding My Lovers,” is available now. Eliza’s opponent is her friend and fellow TV producer Josh Gondelman. He works behind the scenes on the show, “Desus and Mero,” which has gone through some creative changes since the quarantine started. He’ll explain. Plus, he’ll tell us all about his discovery that a good pep talk can make all the difference in a rough situation (even when that situation is 2020). Our contestants will answer questions about life behind the scenes and classic shows on the stage and screenWhat’s the difference: G

Binge some classic television and brush up on your U.S. history, it’s time for another episode of Go Fact Yourself!Frank Conniff is a comedian and writer who’s made a career out of mocking bad movies. He was one of the minds behind the Peabody award-winning show “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” where he and his co hosts mocked hundreds of movies. And while you might think he hates all the bad movies that he makes fun of, he’ll explain why all the jokes are actually an extension of his love of cinema. Frank continues the tradition of “MST3K” on his newest live show “The Mads are Back.” Frank’s opponent is actor Courtney Henggeler. You may have seen her on the show “Cobra Kai.” While that show had a very dedicated following when it was streaming on YouTube Red, it’s since gained a lot of popularity when it moved to Netflix. She’ll tell us all about that show and some fun stories from her other projects that include pitches to Lifetime and turning off Justin Timberlake.Our guest co-host is a former guest! It’s co

Out of the park and onto the stage, it’s a new Go Fact Yourself!Wink Martindale is a radio and TV legend. He got his start as a disc jockey in Memphis, Tennessee and eventually became a fixture as a game show host. He’s been the moderator of tons of shows like “Tic-Tac-Dough” and “High Rollers.” He’ll tell us some great stories from his career before settling into a game show role he’s less familiar with: being a contestant. You can find more Wink on his YouTube channel and in his book Winking at Life.Opposite Wink is actor Arden Myrin. She’s practically done it all when it comes to her roles on TV; everything from a guest appearance “Friends” to starring on the Netflix series “Insatiable.” Recently she was featured in the Los Angeles Times not for her career accomplishments, but for her ability to decorate her home on a budget. Arden is the host of “The Bachelor” fan podcast “Will You Accept This Rose?” and is the author of the new book Little Miss Little Compton.Our contestants will  answer trivia about kil

Tune up your guitar and try to write one great song… It’s a new Go Fact Yourself!Jade Catta-Preta is best known as the host of “The Soup” on the E! Network. How did she develop into such a strong lead for the show? Well it turns out that she learned english by watching talk show hosts when she was growing up. She’ll tell us more about her time on TV and explain how she’s still making comedy in 2020. You can get tickets now to Jade’s next stand-up show in October.Jade’s fellow contestant is musician Dave Hill. If you think you haven’t heard of his work, you may recognize one of his tracks as the theme song to HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.” He’ll tell us about how he landed that gig... by exerting as little effort as possible. You can hear Dave on “Dave Hill’s Podcasting Incident” right here on the Maximum Fun Network.Our guests will answer trivia about hit musicals, hit music and animals taking hits of sedatives.What’s the difference: Calm Down!What’s the difference between a domesticated animal a

Grab some headphones and kick back on the couch -- or in the car--for a special musical episode of Go Fact Yourself!Grant-Lee Phillips is known for his career as a singer and songwriter. He’s released albums with his band Grant Lee Buffalo and as a solo act. But you also may recognize him as the town troubadour from the TV series “Gilmore Girls.” He’ll tell us what it’s like to play a musician on TV and how preparing for the “Gilmore Girls” revival series helped train him for quarantine life. Check out his new album out September 4!Grant-Lee will compete against his fellow singer-songwriter Nellie McKay. Nellie actually joins us from her car since, she’s currently on tour (from a social distance). Her original albums and soundtracks have earned her a devoted following over the years. But she’s also known for emulating the work of others -- whether that’s an album of covers or impersonating late-great comedian Joan Rivers.Our guests will answer trivia about the magic of music, the magic of movies and the magic

If you’d like to support this show, go to Maximumfun.org/join to become a Max Fun Member for as little as $5 a month! You’ll help keep this show going and be eligible for tons of great bonus gifts, including special bonus episodes of Go Fact Yourself.It’s the final week of the Max Fun Drive! We’re going out with another contest between two of our fellow Max Fun podcasters!Dan McCoy is best known as one of the hosts of “The Flop House,” where he and his co-hosts watch a bad movie every week so YOU don’t have to! Even though he still has a lot of fun doing the show, he’ll explain why the burden of bad cinema weighs heavily. Plus, he’ll tell us about being an Emmy-winning writer for “The Daily Show” and how it led to him having a brief and memorable appearance on TMZ.Jo Firestone is more used to being a host on a game show than a contestant. On the podcast “Dr. Gameshow,” she has guests compete in listener-submitted contests. For instance: when talking to someone on the phone, can you tell whether or not it’s ra

If you’d like to support this show, go to Maximumfun.org/join to become a Max Fun Member for as little as $5 a month! You’ll help keep this show going and be eligible for tons of great bonus gifts, including special bonus episodes of Go Fact Yourself.Happy Max Fun Drive! To celebrate we’ve brought on a pair of Max Fun podcasters.John Roderick hosts the show “Friendly Fire.” It started out as a way to make fun of war movies; But the show has since evolved into a look at culture and humanity through film… while still finding a way to make fun of war movies. John’s new album with his band, The Western State Hurricanes. is entitled Through with Love.Moujan Zolfaghari is one of the co-creators and voices on the improv comedy sci-fi show “Mission to Zyxx.” If you’ve never heard the show before, it’s got all the hilarious jokes from a good improv class combined with the professional sound design and cohesive story of a radio drama. Plus, she gets to play the voice of an actual spaceship!What’s the difference: That’s

This week we’re revisiting an episode from October of 2018 that featured Grant Imahara, whose recent death shocked and saddened us. J. Keith & Helen share some memories of Grant and how helpful he was for the show in its early days. Then you’ll hear the entirety of his competition against comedian Maria Bamford.What’s the difference?What’s the difference between “magma” and “lava”?What’s the difference between “baking” and “roasting?”Areas of ExpertiseMaria Bamford: 12 step programs, Self-help and pug aging.Grant Imahara: “Star Trek,” X-Men comics and “La Di Da Di” by Doug E. Fresh.Appearing in this episode:J. Keith van StraatenHelen HongGrant ImaharaMaria BamfordWith guest experts:Dr. Christine Dresser, pug breeder and health liason for the Pug Dog Club of America.Gabriel Koerner, digital effects artist who appeared in the documentaries Trekkies and Trekkies 2.Go Fact Yourself was devised by Jim Newman and J. Keith van Straaten, and produced in collaboration with Maximum Fun. The show is recorded at the

From the mightiest of heroes to the worst of villains, it’s another LIVE edition of Go Fact Yourself! This time with special guest co-host Allie Goertz!Ann Magnuson is a legendary performance artist, musician and actor. Her movie resume includes Cabin Boy and The Hunger. She’s also recently gained attention for her recent role in “Star Trek: Picard.” And that’s right… she’s actually MET Sir Patrick Stewart! She’ll share some fun stories of him on set and explore some of the lesser known parts of her filmography.Hal Lublin is a podcaster, whose shows “Tights and Fights” and “We Got This with Mark and Hal” are on the Maximum Fun Network. They’re both shows that are built off his passions for different areas of pop culture… and his desire to be right all the time. Hal is also a voice actor. You can hear him as regular characters on the podcast “Good Morning Nightvale” and the Adult Swim show “Venture Bros.” Our guests will answer questions about comic books, serial killers and covert word play.What’s the Differe

Sing a little song and wish upon a star, it’s another socially-distant competition edition of Go Fact Yourself!Rachel Bloom is best known as co-creator and star of The CW’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” which just ended last year. As a show with 157 original songs, she knows a little something about musicals. She’ll tell us more about the show and give us some insight into what life is like as a brand new mom.Opposite Rachel is Tommy Davidson. He’s made a name for himself as the voice of Oscar Proud on “The Proud Family.” He’ll reprise the role in an upcoming sequel series on Disney+. In the 90’s though, he was famous for his work in the sketch series “In Living Color.” He’ll tell us what it was like to develop that show and share some touching insights from his early life. You can read more about both in his memoir Living in Color: What’s Funny About Me.Our guests will also answer trivia about movies, animated musicals and going out (remember that?).What’s the DifferenceWhat’s the difference between secretion and e

Strike up the band! It’s another Best-Of edition of Go Fact Yourself!We’ve gone all the way back to our very first episode to find some of the best segments with guests who chose something in the world of music as their area of expertise. Guests like Alonzo Bodden, Lennon Parham, Emily Heller and more will discuss their favorite artists and genres.Plus, we’ve got a veritable chorus line of special experts that includes authors, songwriters and legendary musicians. Now that’s what we call music trivia!This episode is brought to you in part by Express VPN! Visit expressvpn.com/gofact to get three months FREE when you sign up.Appearing in this episode:J. Keith van StraatenHelen HongJimmy Pardo from Episode 1Alonzo Bodden from Episode 6Kirsten Vangsness from Episode 7Lennon Parham from Episode 8Chelsey Crisp from Episode 12Emily Heller from Episode 32With Guest Experts:Billy Vera, Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, producer and historianMarcus Miller, Two-time Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist jazz fusion arti

This episode of Go Fact Yourself previously streamed live on video, in partnership with NPR station KPCC and LAist! You can watch the entire unedited episode here!Jonathan Coulton (a.k.a. “JoCo”) is folk/comedy musician who has a lot of experience in the world of trivia: he’s been the in-house musician for the NPR program Ask Me Another since 2012. Jonathan’s also known as the founder and namesake of the JoCo Cruise, a geek and culture convention on a cruise ship. How did Jonathan get so successful to the point that he got a cruise named after him? He’s not entirely sure -- but he’s doing his best to celebrate it!Opposite Jonathan is his Ask Me Another colleague, comedian Ophira Eisenberg. You may recall that Ophira was previously on episode 23. Now, she’s returned new insight about why celebrities are so terrified of trivia and her never-ending quest to become famous in her homeland of Canada.What’s the difference: A Shot in the ArmWhat’s the difference between vaccination and immunization?What’s the differe

Go Fact Yourself is streaming a LIVE edition of the show -- with video! It happens Tuesday, May 5th at 5 PM Pacific. To find out more and to RSVP for free, go to KPCC’s events page.It’s the first-ever father-daughter edition of Go Fact Yourself! Walter Koenig is a pop culture and science fiction icon. He played the character Pavel Chekov on the original “Star Trek” TV series and films. You’d think that having so much of your career tied to one particular role would get tiring. But Walter’s learned to accept his stardom… even if people like to hear more about Chekov than they do about him as a person. His new book Beaming Up and Getting Off is available now -- and you can get a signed copy!Walter will compete against comedian and writer Danielle Koenig -- who happens to be his daughter! She’s entertained plenty of people over the years through her work on shows like “Invader Zim” and “Fashion Police.” But she’ll tell us about another way that she earned a particular reputation: for her very distinct laugh. Plu

It’s another quarantine and redemption edition of Go Fact Yourself! Jordan Morris was on episode 24 of the show where he was quizzed on his love of the La Brea Tar Pits. Even though he aced his area of expertise, he came up just short of victory.  We’re giving him another shot at proving his trivia prowess as we have fun chats about drinking games, thinking games and cartoon fame! Appearing in this episode: J. Keith van Straaten Helen Hong Jordan Morris With Guest Experts: Monique Powell, songwriter and lead singer of the band Save Ferris Yeardley Smith, actor who’s best known as the voice of Lisa Simpson. Go Fact Yourself was devised by Jim Newman and J. Keith van Straaten, and produced in collaboration with Maximum Fun.  Theme Song by Jonathan Green. Maximum Fun's Senior Producer is Laura Swisher. The show is engineered and edited by Julian Burrell. Go to gofactyourpod.com for information and tickets to the next recording of Go Fact Yourself … whenever that is! Get our Go Fact Yourself t-shaped shirt! Vis

The 2020 MLB season is in question, but we’re happy to celebrate baseball on Go Fact Yourself! There have been a lot of contestants who have chosen baseball as their areas of expertise; we’ve quizzed folks like comedy legend Fred Willard, voice actor Phil Lamarr and Maximum Fun founder Jesse Thorn -- and more! We decided to put some of the best segments in one convenient episode. Along the way, we’ve got a murderer’s row of outstanding experts including World Series play-by-play broadcasters, world-class historians and world champion players. Let’s play ball! Appearing in this episode: J. Keith van Straaten Helen Hong Phil LaMarr from Episode 2 Fred Willard from Episode 13 John Ross Bowie from Episode 14 Sandeep Parikh from Episode 26 Jesse Thorn from Episode 50 With Guest Experts: Jon Weisman, author of 100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. Dr. Joe Price, Co-Director for The Institute for Baseball Studies at Whittier College. Bobby Ojeda, former baseball player and current podcaste

It’s a special, experimental Quarantine Edition of Go Fact Yourself recorded at our various homes and with no live audience! Jimmy Pardo is a comedian and host of the long-running podcast "Never Not Funny." He also owns the distinction of being a guest on the very first episode of Go Fact Yourself.  When he was first on the show, he answered trivia questions about 1980’s music. But this time we’re revisiting BOTH of his other areas of expertise to determine if he is truly the Facting Champion! Along the way, Jimmy will discuss how he’s podcasting from home, music from his hometown and favorite baseball hometeam.  Appearing in this episode: J. Keith van Straaten Helen Hong Jimmy Pardo With Guest Experts: Jason Benetti, Sportscaster for the Chicago White Sox. Bill Champlin, musician, singer and songwriter who’s performed with the band Chicago. Oliver Pardo, son of Jimmy Pardo. Go Fact Yourself was devised by Jim Newman and J. Keith van Straaten, and produced in collaboration with Maximum Fun.  Theme Song by Jo

Happy Max Fun Drive month! To celebrate, we’re changing up our episode schedule in March. This week, we’ve got a pair of interviews that aired as part of Go Fact Yourself’s shows in Chicago. First, J. Keith and Helen will speak with Larry Potash from WGN TV’s morning show. Then they’ll speak with Bill Leff and Dane Neal from the recently ended "Bill & Wendy Show." Both interviews will feature special mini-versions of our usual trivia games! Go Fact Yourself will be back with full episodes on March 20th and 27th -- just in time for the Max Fun Drive! Make sure to contribute at maximumfun.org/join Appearing in this episode: J. Keith van Straaten Helen Hong Larry Potash Bill Leff Dane Neal Go Fact Yourself was devised by Jim Newman and J. Keith van Straaten, and produced in collaboration with Maximum Fun.  Theme Song by Jonathan Green. Maximum Fun's Senior Producer is Laura Swisher. The show is edited by Julian Burrell. Go to gofactyourpod.com for information and tickets to the next recording of Go Fact Your

Strike up the band! It’s a music-filled episode of Go Fact Yourself! Oscar Nunez  is best known for his role as Oscar Martinez in the classic NBC comedy "The Office." Between its original run on television and streaming distribution on Netflix, it’s earned fans of all ages. Oscar will tell us all about some of his most memorable moments in front of the camera, including sharing a kiss with Steve Carrell and performing a strip-tease for Betty White. You can see Oscar on the Netflix series "Mr. Iglesias." Oscar will compete against Molly Knight, journalist for the sports publication The Athletic. She mainly covers the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. She’ll share her insights into the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal that she says robbed the Dodgers of the 2017 World Series. Plus she’ll recall simpler times in her journalistic career -- like when she was a reporter for "Shopping Centers Today" magazine. Molly’s book, The Best Team Money Can Buy, is available now. The guests will discuss the most importa

Slackers of the world unite! Fire up your flux capacitors! "Go Fact Yourself" has trivia that spans the timeline this week! Gareth Reynolds is best known as one of the hosts of "The Dollop." It’s a podcast that shares stories from U.S. history in a fun and engaging way. That includes some less savory information -- like the details about George Washington’s teeth. Gareth will also tell us personal stories, including what it was like to be a writer for "Arrested Development" and how he first met his cat, Jose. Gareth’s new comedy record, "Riddled with Disease," is available now. Ali Spagnola also works in comedy, but in a different medium. Her presence on social media has earned her millions of followers across many platforms. What’s even more impressive is that she’s done it all while being physically fit, musically talented and breaking multiple world records. She’s even found a way to turn the hate that comes with being a prominent online figure into something very positive and constructive. The guests will