The Brian Lehrer Show 'Life by the Numbers' Quiz Potpourri

Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Thanks again to Questlove, so great to have him back on the show. Now, listeners, we're going to transition to our next segment, because now it's time for Brian Lehrer Show Life By the Numbers Leftovers quiz. Who wants to play and try to win a Brian Lehrer Show mug or a Brian Lehrer Show t-shirt? 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. What am I talking about? Well, last week, we completed our seven-part series of quizzes called Life By the Numbers in which I think we had some fun and learned some things with our numbers-based quizzes on our seven topics.

The Supreme Court by the numbers, public opinion by the numbers, climate by the numbers, New York City history by the numbers, infrastructure by the numbers, TV ratings by the numbers, and population by the numbers. Being the diligent people that we are, the show's producers and I over-prepared for each of those quizzes and wound up with some questions leftover in each of the seven categories. We've decided that rather than let that good work go to waste, and rather than leave any potential prizes on the table, we would have a Life By the Numbers Leftovers quiz to end the show today.

That's what we're going to do next. Who wants to play? Get in line at 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. We're going to make the standard here, two in a row. If you got two in a row right, you can choose between a Brian Lehrer Show New York City skyline mug, and a Peace Love and Brian Lehrer tie-dye t-shirt. Who wants to play? 212-433-9692. I'll even let you choose your question category if you remember the categories. We'll take your calls after this.

Alison Stewart: This March, WNYC and the New York Public Library Get Lit Book Club will be both in-person and streaming. I'm Alison Stewart and our selection is the memoir, "I Was Better Last Night from actor and writer Harvey Fierstein. New Yorkers can borrow an e-book from the library and then join me and Fierstein for an in-person event in Midtown on March 29th at 6:00 PM. You can find the details at wnyc.org/getlit.

Announcer 1: WNYC is supported by Brooklyn SolarWorks, a flat roof solar installer based in Gowanus, helping power homes with the sun. Information on consultations and more available at brooklynsolarworks.com.

Brian Lehrer: Coming afternoon on all of it, the author of the book on Pie. She'd been on yesterday, Pie Day, shares her picks for the best pies to bake this spring, and takes your pie baking questions. Plus a new memoir explores one woman's liberating entry into the world of polyamory, coming up at noon on 93.9 FM, AM 820, or streaming live @wnyc.org.

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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now to our Life By the Numbers Leftover quiz. Pick a topic if you want or if not, I'll just throw it at you randomly from what we have leftover. Again, the seven quizzes that we did were on the Supreme Court by the numbers, public opinion by the numbers, climate by the numbers, New York City history by the numbers, infrastructure by the numbers, TV ratings by the numbers, and population by the numbers. Reggie in the Bronx, who was just on talking about the fifth dimension. Reggie, I'm going to go back to you and offer you the first question if you want it. Do you want it?

Reggie: I want it, Brian. I'm here for it.

Brian Lehrer: All right. I'm glad we got to play the fifth dimension for you there. We happen to have that queued up anyway [chuckles] when you brought it up.

Reggie: Appreciate that. Thank you.

Brian Lehrer: Oh, do you want to choose a topic or should I just hit you with one?

Reggie: You can hit me with one.

Brian Lehrer: All right. This is from public opinion. In a poll released by Fox News immediately before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it found that more Republicans held a negative view of President Biden than of Vladimir Putin. The question is, can you tell us what percentage of Republicans held a negative view of Putin? I'm going to say within 10 points.

Reggie: Within 10 points? Okay, then I'll say 40%.

Brian Lehrer: Oh, that is wrong. Thanks for trying, Reggie. The answer is actually 81%. At least we can say 81% of Republicans held a negative view of Putin, even just before the invasion of Ukraine. Yes, I know you're waiting for the punch line. The poll found that 92% of Republicans held a negative view of Biden. Vladimir Putin as of a few weeks ago, is a little more popular than Joe Biden, according to that poll of Republicans conducted by Fox News. Ron in Watchung, you are on next. Hi, Ron, you're on WNYC.

Ron: Hi, Brian, thanks.

Brian Lehrer: You want to pick a category, or should I keep going on public opinion?

Ron: I'll let you pick.

Brian Lehrer: All right. Within five percentage points, what percent of Americans-- Okay, no, wrong question. Sorry. That one doesn't apply anymore. That same poll that found Putin was a little less unpopular than Biden among Republicans asked the following question. Generally speaking, would you say that things in the country are going in the right direction, or have they pretty seriously gone off on the wrong track? The question is, what percentage of Republican respondents selected wrong direction for the country, within 10 points?

Ron: 63%.

Brian Lehrer: You are so close that that is the right answer. The answer was 66% said wrong tracks.

Ron: Oh my God.

Brian Lehrer: Get one more right, and you can choose between a Brian Lehrer Show mug and Brian Lehrer Show t-shirt. This question is multiple choice. According to a Gallup poll, how many Americans are feeling the effects of burnout at work? One out of three, one out of four, or one out of five feeling the effects of burnout at work?

Ron: One out of three.

Brian Lehrer: One out of three is right. Would you like a t-shirt or a mug?

Ron: I'll take a mug.

Brian Lehrer: All right. Hang on, we'll take your address off the air. We'll go next to Natalie in [unintelligible 00:07:34] . Natalie, you're on WNYC. Hi there.

Natal: Hey, Brian. It's Natal.

Brian Lehrer: Oh, Natal. I apologize.

Natal: No worries.

Brian Lehrer: I'm doing great. We're out of public opinion questions now. Those leftovers have been consumed. Do you want to pick a category, or should I just go on to one?

Natal: No, I'll pick whatever you want to throw at me.

Brian Lehrer: This is from our climate by the numbers quiz. This is about some of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Our source is EPA data from 2019, so think just before the pandemic. Of the following, which is the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States? Transportation, agriculture, electricity, or residential use? You want the categories again? Transportation, agricultural, electricity, or residential.

Natal: I feel like it would be agriculture.

Brian Lehrer: It is not. Sorry to say, Natal. Thanks for playing. The answer to that one is transportation. Transportation accounts for 29% of 2019 greenhouse gas emissions. That one may have gone down a little bit because at the beginning of the pandemic, at least, people were moving around a lot less. Longer-term transportation is the number one source of greenhouse gas emissions according to the EPA in 2019, 29% of 2019 greenhouse gas emissions. We're going to go on to Larry in Bayside. Hi, Larry, you're on WNYC.

Larry: Hi. Do you realize that you've been queuing up as a hold Kerry Nolan's off-air mic?

Brian Lehrer: No. On hold?

Larry: I haven't been listening to Brian, I've been listening to Kerry Nolan's attempts to substitute for the regular host.

Brian Lehrer: Oh, of all of it? Oh, that's interesting. Well, producers, engineers, you have been alerted by Larry in Bayside, so we will try to fix that. I think Kerry may be sitting in for Allison today, so maybe she's finishing a pre-taped interview or something. All right. If transportation accounted for more greenhouse gas emissions than any other source, which one from that list would be next and the remaining choices were agriculture, electricity, or residential?

Larry: I would think that residential heating would account for the next largest category, although agriculture and the categories you mentioned are very important.

Brian Lehrer: Yes. They were all big ones. [crosstalk]

Larry: Now a controversy is as to whether we're talking about carbon dioxide or methane.

Brian Lehrer: Right. Well, greenhouse gas emissions overall certainly they're both included in that and the answer, sorry, Larry. Thanks for trying. The answer was C, electricity. According to the EPA, electricity production generates the second-largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. 25% of 2019 greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 62% of our energy comes from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas. The only thing that confused me about that question, but I guess the EPA separates it out like this is a lot of electricity is of course used in residential settings. Why they separated electricity and residential I'm not sure, but they did. All right. Next up is Rich and Fair Haven. Hi, Rich. Ready for a quick question?

Rich: Yes. Thanks for taking the call.

Brian Lehrer: All right. Let's see. We often think of agriculture as one of the primary drivers of emissions as we stay in the climate by the numbers category. It definitely is a driver for methane as the previous caller pointed out. Remember all those stories about cow farts a few years ago? It turns out cow burps are the real culprit, about 25% of all methane is produced by fermentation from cows, but within 10 percentage points, what percentage of greenhouse gas emissions did agriculture produce in 2019 within 10 percentage points? You heard some of those other categories if you were listening to the last few questions. What percentage of greenhouse gas emissions did agriculture produce in that EPA survey in 2019?

Rich: I'll say 20%.

Brian Lehrer: That is right within 10 points barely because the answer is 10% of 2019 greenhouse gas emissions came from agriculture and according to EPA, it's not just cows, but also agricultural soils and rice production. All right, let's see. We have one more climate by the numbers question leftover and it's this. Between hurricane Ida on the East coast and the Dixie fire on the West Coast, along with 18 other climate and weather events, 2021 broke the record for being the most expensive when it came to the cost of these damages. If the total cost of these climate-related disasters for 2020, previous year, was around $100 billion, what was it in 2021 within $20 billion?

Rich: I'll say $150 billion.

Brian Lehrer: $150 billion is pretty darn close to $145 billion, which is the right answer so play the sounder. We have a winner. Rich in Fair Haven. Would you like a t-shirt or a mug?

Rich: T-Shirt.

Brian Lehrer: Hang on. We'll take your address off the air. Listeners, if you're just joining us, it's our life by the numbers leftovers quiz. We did seven life by the numbers quizzes on discreet topics on the show over the last few weeks, and the diligent people that we are in preparing these quizzes. We had all questions left over. We're doing a leftovers quiz and if you get two in a row, right, you can choose between a Brian Lehrer Show New York City skyline mug, and Peace Love and Brian Lehrer t-shirt. Kieren in Manhattan is our next contestant. Hi, Kieren. Thanks for calling in.

Kieren: Hi, Brian. Thank you.

Brian Lehrer: All right. We're going to go to a TV ratings question next. The streaming versus cable gap is closing. In 2019, the ratings company Nielsen found that when Americans use their television sets, their actual television sets, they were mostly watching cable. They use streaming services 14% of the time. That was three years ago, streaming services, 14% of the time. By the end of this year is the streaming share projected to remain about the same because cable TV was comforting during the pandemic or more than double or shrink because people are realizing that streaming picture quality is okay on your phone, but not that good on a full-size TV?

Kieren: Oh, I didn't catch the first amount. What was the amount that was either double or the others?

Brian Lehrer: The first one remained about the same. That is streaming would be about the same relative to cable TV as it was before for the pandemic because TV was comforting during the pandemic or more than double or shrink because people are realizing that streaming picture quality is okay on your phone, but not that good on a full-size TV.

Kieren: I will say it remained about the same.

Brian Lehrer: Unfortunately, that's the wrong answer. Even though we had some good fake rationales there, the answer is more than double streaming continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Thanks for trying, Kieren. We're going to go next to Ellen in Montclair. Hi, Ellen. You're in NYC. Are you ready to play?

Ellen: Hey, Brian, thanks. Yes.

Brian Lehrer: Okay. In 2020, how many hours a day was the average American engaged in streaming content within let's say two hours per day?

Ellen: I'm going to say six hours.

Brian Lehrer: That is close enough. You snuck in because of eight hours of content per day and they also said that the average American has logins for at least four streaming services. At least according to the study from the groups OnePoll and Tubi. There we go, streaming is taking over and we're paying a lot by the piece or by the different streaming services to get different kinds of stuff. All right. Next question for the shirt or the mug. What are the two most-watched streaming services? You have to be able to name both.

Ellen: I'll say Amazon Prime and Netflix.

Brian Lehrer: Well, half right. Not enough to then, but it was Netflix and YouTube.

Ellen: Oh.

Brian Lehrer: I'm sorry, Ellen. Thanks for trying. Amazon Prime, a wannabe streaming service, at least in terms of getting into the top two. Okay. Dan in White Plains. Are you ready for a question? Hi, Dan. Dan, are you there. Dan in White Plains. Do I have the right person? All right. We'll try to come back to Dan in White Plains. How about Neil in Long Beach? Neil, are you there?

Neil: Yes, I am.

Brian Lehrer: Hey there. We will stay in TV ratings, broadly defined, because it's not all TV. It depends on what you consider TV or how you consider streaming, but in the last decade, HBO had its most-watched series ever. What was it? We'll give you a bonus question. No, I'll just ask you the first question first and I'll ask you the bonus question if you get it right. What was HBO's most-watched series ever? The clue is it was sometime in the last decade.

Neil: Sometime in the last decade. Oh, I do not have HBO, but I'll take a stab at it and say Game Of Thrones.

Brian Lehrer: Game Of Thrones is right. It pulled in average 46 million viewers across its eighth and final season in 2019. Teen drama Euphoria Season 2 comes in second pulling in an average of 16.3 million viewers. That was going to be the bonus question, but I gave it away, so let's see. That does our TV ratings question. Now I'm going to go on to a population one. This question is about how the numbers are changing over time. While white people are still a majority in the United States, the white population is shrinking. By how many percentage points has the white population shrunk in the United States from 1980 to the latest census in 2020? Again, by how many percentage points has the white population shrunk in the United States from the 1980 census to the 2020 census?

Neil: Do I get a leeway in there, number?

Brian Lehrer: Yes. Sure. Let's say within 10 percentage points. Thank you for reminding me.

Neil: Okay. Let's say 30%.

Brian Lehrer: 30% gets you within 10 percentage points. See, aren't you glad you threw that qualifier in because the answer is 22 percentage points. In 1980, white residents comprised almost 80% of the population. Today, that number has declined to 57.8%. Play the sounder. Tadaa, you win. Do you want a mug or a t-shirt?

Neil: I would like a mug. Thank you.

Brian Lehrer: Neil. Hang on. We'll take your address for that mug. Let's see. We're going to go to Anna in Livingston, New Jersey. Next, I'm told that we're having that problem that an earlier caller pointed out with what people are hearing on hold. People don't necessarily know I'm going for them. Now we are going to Anna in Livingston. Hi, Anna, are you there? Anna in Livingstone?

Anna: Hello.

Brian Lehrer: Hi, Anna. Can you hear me?

Anna: Hi. Yes, I can hear you.

Brian Lehrer: We're in the population quiz set. The question is, which of these do you think is true? It's multiple-choice. From the 2010 census to the 2020 census, the total US population declined by 10%, increased by 7%, or really much room by 25%?

Anna: I'm going to say it increased by 10%.

Brian Lehrer: You mean 7% the middle choice?

Anna: That's it, 7%.

Brian Lehrer: That is right. That actually marks a slowing of growth not seen since-- Oh, you know what? I think we asked that question. I think that question we actually asked on the shelf. Here, I'm going to give you one more for the win and it's a global population question. The question is, what is the estimated global population today within a billion people?

Anna: I'm going to say 9 billion.

Brian Lehrer: Oh. Not quite, Anna. Sorry. You know what? Because we don't have time to go to another caller, I'm going to give you one more shot at one more question. The answer was 7.8 billion people. You're just a little off. That's today's rough number here in 2022. We're going to give you one more shot at the prize. What was the global population in 1922 within a billion? In other words, if we have like 8 billion people now, how many were there a century ago within a billion?

Anna: I'm going to say 3 billion.

Brian Lehrer: 3 billion is not quite right again, sorry, Anna. Thanks for trying. The answer was 1.9 billion people, but that is incredible growth, right? A century ago, there were less than 2 billion people on earth. Now there are about a billion. All right, well, we gave away some mugs and t-shirts. We used our leftover quiz questions. Thanks for playing. That's the Brian Lehrer Show for today. Produced by Mary Croke, Lisa Allison, Zoe Azulay. Amina Srna and and Carl Boisrond. Our interns this spring semester are Anna Conkling, Gigi Steckel, and Diego Munhoz. Zach Gottehrer-Cohen edits our National Politics Podcast. We had Juliana Fonda at the audio control.

 

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