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Brian Lehrer: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. Once again, this membership drive, we're breaking it up a little bit with a 10-question quiz every day. Get two in a row right and win a Brian Lehrer Show baseball cap or a Brian Lehrer Show mug. Your choice. It'll be a different theme or topic every day. Today, it's simply a true-or-false quiz, mostly about the news, plus a few questions from our 100 Years of 100 Things history series.
Who wants to play? 212-433-WNYC. I will either tell you the truth about something or I will tell you a flat-out lie. Your job is to identify which is which and say true or false. Two in a row right and you win a Brian Lehrer Show mug or a Brian Lehrer Show baseball cap. Your choice. We'll start with Maureen in Peekskill today. Hi, Maureen, thanks for calling in. Ready to play?
Maureen: Oh yes, Brian, I cannot believe you could ever tell a lie, but I cannot wait to wear one of your baseball caps.
Brian Lehrer: Hi-hi-hi, all right. In advance, which prize she'll choose if she wins. Question 1, Ukraine started the current war over there by dropping bombs on an affluent suburb of Moscow.
Maureen: False, false, false, false, Brian.
Brian Lehrer: False. Russia started the war, duh. That was to see if you were awake. Question 2, someone named Cuomo has already been elected governor of New York three times and lost the New York City primary for mayor. True or false?
Maureen: False.
Brian Lehrer: Oh, I wanted you to win, but that is true, and I'll tell you why. Mario Cuomo, Andrew's dad, was a member of Congress from Queens. Then he lost the mayoral primary to Ed Koch in 1977. It was only after all that that he was elected governor three times beginning in 1982. Sorry about that. Try us again on another quiz. Anna in Lyndon, you're on WNYC. Ready to play?
Anna: Yes, I am.
Brian Lehrer: All right. Question 3, the new United States education secretary used to run WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment. True or false?
Anna: You said the education secretary?
Brian Lehrer: Yes.
Anna: Yes, it's true.
Brian Lehrer: That is true. Linda McMahon. Okay, Question 4 for hat or mug. It's a global warming true-or-false question from our 100 Years of 100 Things series. In 1924, the average July temperature in Central Park was 74 degrees. In July 2024, it surpassed 80 degrees, the average July temperature. True or false?
Anna: I'm going to say true.
Brian Lehrer: Yes, that's a don't-overthink-it one. True is right.
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Anna: Yay.
Brian Lehrer: Do you want the baseball cap or the mug?
Anna: Well, I have the baseball cap, so I like the mug.
Brian Lehrer: Okay, hang on. We're going to take your address and send it right out. Peter on the Upper West Side, ready to play?
Peter: I am ready.
Brian Lehrer: Okay, Question 5, Staten Island voters went for Donald Trump in last year's election at a higher rate than voters in Texas did. True or false?
Peter: True.
Brian Lehrer: That is true. 64% of the vote on Staten Island. 56% of the vote--
Peter: I heard that on The Brian Lehrer Show.
Brian Lehrer: Yes, we did reference that fact yesterday. Okay, Question 6 for hat or mug. Can both of these things be true at the same time? In New Jersey, Trump came within six points of Kamala Harris after losing to Joe Biden by 14 points in 2020. Much bigger loss. That part is true, but he hardly got any more votes. True or false?
Peter: But he hardly got any more votes.
Brian Lehrer: Got basically the same amount of votes.
Peter: That's true.
Brian Lehrer: That is true. Play the theme.
Peter: True.
Brian Lehrer: Cue the trumpets. That's two in a row, right?
Peter: I'll do it. Ta-tada.
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Brian Lehrer: [laughs] Even comes with his own fanfare. Yes, Trump got about the same number of votes as he did against Biden. Around 1.9 million in each election, but Harris got 400,000 fewer votes than Biden got in New Jersey. Almost the whole difference between the two elections in the state was that lower turnout and that it came out of the Democratic total. Peter, hang on. Oh, hat or a mug?
Peter: Hat, please.
Brian Lehrer: Okay, hang on. We're going to take your address and send that out. David in Huntington, ready to play?
David: Yes, I am. Good morning, Brian.
Brian Lehrer: Good morning. Question 7, another history question from our 100 Years of 100 Things series. In our segment yesterday on 100 Years of the Equal Rights Amendment, we learned that Congress did pass the ERA with a two-thirds vote in 1972. True or false?
David: True.
Brian Lehrer: True, but that did not add the ERA to the Constitution because it also needed three-quarters of the states to ratify, which didn't happen during the deadline that was in effect at that time. It was a little bit of a tricky question because, yes, Congress did do its part to ratify. People forget that. All right, Question 8 for the hat or the mug. True or false? After Trump is reelected, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would double its staff of fact-checkers because of Trump's history of lying so much during his first term. True or false?
David: [laughs] False.
Brian Lehrer: You got it.
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Brian Lehrer: Yes. I'm glad that question produced the desired laugh. He eliminated the official US fact-checking program at Facebook, saying he would now leave it to the community of Facebook users. Do you want the hat or the mug, David?
David: Is it a cap or a hat?
Brian Lehrer: It's a baseball cap, yes. It's a chambray blue baseball cap.
David: I'll take that. Thanks very much. Enjoy the show. Thank you.
Brian Lehrer: Thank you very much. Hang on. We'll get your address. One more. Allison in Newburgh, you're on WNYC. Hi, Allison.
Allison: Hi, David. I'm so grateful to be here.
Brian Lehrer: I'll tell David you called.
Allison: I'm sorry, Brian. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm a huge listener. I panicked. I panicked.
Brian Lehrer: [laughs] David will be back in a few minutes, though. Question 9, Jeff Bezos announced that Washington Post opinion pieces will focus primarily on exposing authoritarianism in the Trump administration because that's the biggest threat to our country right now. True or false?
Allison: False.
Brian Lehrer: False. He announced that the paper would focus on supporting personal liberties and free markets and would not publish opposing points of view on those topics. Question 10 for the hat or the mug. The Yankees made news this year by announcing their players may no longer wear beards. True or false?
Allison: True.
Brian Lehrer: Oh, I'm so sorry.
Allison: Wait, wait. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm dyslexic. They used to not be able to wear beards. Now, they said they could, which was one of the longstanding teams that remained holding that tradition. Can I correct my--
Brian Lehrer: Boom, you got it right.
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Brian Lehrer: We won't penalize you for filling in the wrong bubble. On the bubble chart, your essay response shows you obviously know what happened. Yay, Allison, do you want--
Allison: I listen to it from you.
Brian Lehrer: [chuckles] Do you want the baseball cap or the mug?
Allison: I would love the mug. I have to say, my four-year-old goes, "Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-bap."
Brian Lehrer: You've brainwashed your four-year-old.
Allison: Thank you, guys.
Brian Lehrer: Allison, thank you very much, yes. Of course, that was false. The way I originally stated it. The Yankees announced that for the first time since the 1970s, Yankee players may wear beards. The team admitted the rule had made it harder to attract top players in a few cases because those players didn't like the infringement on their personal liberties. Personal liberties. Maybe Jeff Bezos will publish an editorial on the Yankees now. Thanks for playing our 10-question true-or-false quiz. We'll have another quiz on another theme at the same time tomorrow.
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