Today we’d like to introduce you to J. Keith van Straaten.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, J. Keith. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve been hosting my own shows since 1997. I started with a TV talk show format, but it was performed only for a theater audience. Then I did a stage version of the TV game show “What’s My Line.” Then I did a live-on-stage matchmaking show called “The Fix-Up Show.” Now I host a live trivia show we record as a podcast called “Go Fact Yourself.”
On TV, I hosted “Beat The Geeks” on Comedy Central and a bunch of pilots and web shows.
I have two kitty cats: Cookie and Muffin.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Producing a show in L.A. has lots of challenges all the time, but overcoming them can be very satisfying.
For each episode of “Go Fact Yourself,” we (my producing partner Jim Newman and I) have to book two celebrity guests, book two experts in a field the guest chooses, custom-write quizzes in those topics, prepare interviews for each guest and expert, and try to get people to show up to watch the show.
Sometimes we get a guest and expert and quiz all arranged weeks in advance. Sometimes it’s the day before. Either way, we put dozens of hours of work into each episode, which is released as an hourlong podcast.
We’ve also taken the show on the road a couple of times, and that’s even more challenging.
But we do it because we love the show and hope you do too.
Please tell us about Go Fact Yourself Podcast.
I am the co-creator, co-producer, co-writer and host of “Go Fact Yourself,” a trivia game show recorded before a live audience and released as a podcast on the Maximum Fun network. The show’s co-host is Helen Hong (NPR’s “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.”
We take two celebrities, ask them for topics outside their field of work, then write a quiz about the topic and bring on a surprise expert in the field to talk about it. It’s loads of fun.
Past Guests on the podcast have included: Fred Willard, Tom Bergeron, Margaret Cho, Pete Holmes, Lea Thompson, Susan Orlean, Stacy London, Sasheer Zamata, and Paul F. Tompkins
Past topics include Artificial Sweeteners, The Best Desserts in New York City, Arkansas Religious Cults, The Goonies, The 1986 New York Mets, and “30 Rock.”
Past experts include: Tommy Chong (Topic: Marijuana), Wayne’s World director Penelope Spheeris (Topic: Wayne’s World), Emily Saliers of Indigo Girls (Topic: Indigo Girls) and Larry Bird’s high school coach Gary Holland (Topic: Larry Bird)
GO FACT YOURSELF is a production of Maximum Fun, the popular podcast network behind hit podcasts including “Judge John Hodgman” and “Bullseye” on NPR.
GO FACT YOURSELF was created and written by Jim Newman & J. Keith van Straaten, game show and comedy veterans, who have written for NPR’s “Ask Me Another,” GSN’s “Chain Reaction,” and Entertainment Studios’s “Funny You Should Ask.” They’ve mounted successful productions of live game shows “What’s My Line? – Live on Stage” and “The Fix-Up Show” in New York and Los Angeles. Additionally, they’ve written animation scripts as a team for “Casper,” “Toonsylvania,” and more. J. Keith hosted the Comedy Central game show “Beat the Geeks.”
Contact Info:
- Website: gofactyourpod.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/gofactyourpod
- Facebook: facebook.com/gofactyourpod
- Twitter: twitter.com/gofactyourpod
Image Credit:
MC Valada
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