The Big Fib

50 episodes listed below

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Kid questions, expert claims, sneaky fibs.

The gist

The Big Fib turns fact-checking into a brisk family game. Debra Goldstein guides young contestants as they question two adults on subjects from pencils and trains to sweat, chickens, seahorses, skin, clouds, and surfing.

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About The Big Fib

The Big Fib is a game show about paying attention. It gives a child the steering wheel, places two adults under friendly pressure, and asks the contestant to decide whose expertise holds up. The format is easy to grasp. One topic arrives at a time, and the questions start cutting through the performance. Recent subjects include pencils, trains, sweat, chickens, seahorses, skin, clouds, and surfing. That range gives the show a bright classroom energy without settling into a lesson-plan rhythm. Debra Goldstein hosts with fast transitions, dense puns, and a clear sense of when to let the kid’s question carry the scene. Lisa, the sound effects robot, supplies interruptions, sound cues, side jokes, and oddball bits about things like Chia Pets, robot reality shows, fan mail, and pickles in ears. The comedy is broad. The thinking is sharper than it first sounds. A child asking what someone does every day can reveal whether the adult understands art supplies, trains, conductors, skin, aquarium habitats, or chickens in a hen house. The show rewards specific answers. It also rewards listening for evasions, exaggerations, and details that feel too neat. That makes its educational value feel earned rather than announced. Kids hear vocabulary about graphite, evaporation, hyperhidrosis, salinity, endangered species, curators, engineers, and hens, but the terms arrive inside a contest. Parents get a show that is silly enough for short rides and structured enough to spark follow-up questions. The pace is quick, but not chaotic. The recurring pleasure is watching a young contestant learn that the best detector is not cynicism. It is curiosity, followed by one more question.

Made for: The show is for kids and families who enjoy trivia, guessing games, science facts, animal oddities, and playful wordplay. It works especially well for curious listeners and adults who want a lively shared listen.

What sets it apart: The Big Fib makes careful listening concrete by letting children interrogate competing claims instead of simply receiving facts. Its mix of real topic detail, kid-led questioning, and Lisa’s sound-effects chaos gives the format a distinctive comic snap.

In their own words

The Big Fib is a weekly game show for kids and families where kids use their brains to tell what’s true from what’s false. Each week, a kid interviews two experts in a particular topic, one of which is a genuine, credentialed expert, the other a liar. Hilarious and fast-paced, the show teaches kids to ask insightful questions, weigh the evidence before them, and trust their guts. In the era of fake news, kids need to learn to be able to tell what’s true from what’s false. And what better way to do that than a game show that puts kids in the driver’s seat, adults in the hot seat, and a sound-effects robot strapped to the roof? For more great shows and to listen early and ad-free, visit ⁠GZMSh…

Why you'd press play

Two experts enter; your kid gets the questions, and a sound-effects robot supplies the nonsense.

Press play if you want

  • your kid practicing doubt without feeling like they have been assigned homework
  • real explanations about seahorses, sweat, pencils, chickens, and trains with a liar lurking nearby
Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
truth-versus-fib guessingkid-led expert interviewspencils and art suppliestrains and conductorssweat and skin sciencechickens and eggsseahorses and aquarium carerobot sound effects

Talks about

Best episodes of The Big Fib

Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.

Who tells pencil-thin lies in this episode about PENCILS?Apr 16, 2026

A funny pencil mystery turns a classroom staple into a game of expertise, sourcing, and playful misdirection.

Pencils take the hot seat in this playful game-show episode, as Mordecai questions two experts and lets the sharp-or-dull setup put a funny point on every answer.

Who do you think trained to tell lies about TRAINS?Apr 9, 2026

A playful train quiz that turns toy-museum routines and conductor duties into a brisk guessing game.

The Big Fib turns train lore into a compact guessing game as Christian weighs Stephanie's toy-museum routine against Nicholas's explanation of conductor work.

Which expert is sweating through their shirt lying about SWEAT?Apr 2, 2026

A lively sweat-science guessing game with clear explanations and a small robot detour.

Sweat turns into a brisk science guessing game on The Big Fib, with kids sorting out claims about what bodies do when they perspire. Debra Goldstein keeps the quiz moving through questions about why some people sweat more than others and how evaporation carries body heat away.

Can you find the coward who’s too chicken to tell the truth about CHICKENS?Mar 26, 2026

A playful chicken quiz turns farmyard behavior and the chicken-or-egg question into family comedy.

The Big Fib gives chickens a bright game-show spotlight, with Debra Goldstein guiding a kid-friendly quiz through animal facts, fake-outs, and feathery jokes.

Podcasts like The Big Fib

Episodes

  1. 1

    Who tells pencil-thin lies in this episode about PENCILS?

    Hidden gem

    Scott Johnson says a single wood-cased pencil can take more than 100 processes, and The Big Fib treats that number like a punchline and a challenge.

    Apr 16, 2026·26m·1 clip
  2. 2

    Who do you think trained to tell lies about TRAINS?

    Hidden gem

    ["The Big Fib episode \"Who do you think trained to tell lies about TRAINS?\" puts Christian Chisholm against Nick Ozerak, who makes train films for Streamliner Media, and Stephanie Appleton, curator at the National Toy Trade Museum.", "Debra Goldstein turns the game into a rail history quiz with questions about conductors, the Civil War, the Great Locomotive Chase, maglevs, and toy trams.", "The fast-fire round names Mallard, the Orient Express, Steamtown National Historic Site, ballast, standard gauge at four feet, eight and a half inches, and Japan's bullet trains.", "The reveal identifies Stephanie as the fibber, then corrects answers about Thomas the Tank Engine, the Stourbridge Lion, knuckle couplers, and a very long test train."]

    Apr 9, 2026·22m·1 clip
  3. 3

    Which expert is sweating through their shirt lying about SWEAT?

    Hidden gem

    The Big Fib's sweat episode puts Debra Goldstein, Lisa, and 10-year-old Ellie Levy in a kid-friendly fact-check game with Dr.

    Apr 2, 2026·31m·2 clips
  4. 4

    Who’s telling the truth and who’s telling BIG FACTS?

    Apr 1, 2026·3m
  5. 5

    Can you find the coward who’s too chicken to tell the truth about CHICKENS?

    Hidden gem

    A chicken-themed The Big Fib episode asks Hazel to sort lies from facts about 120 cartwheels, a 15-pound rooster, and egg hatching.

    Mar 26, 2026·23m·2 clips
  6. 6

    Can you sea who is horsing around with the truth about SEA HORSES?

    The Big Fib turns seahorses into a lie-detection game with Debra Goldstein, Lisa, and 11-year-old Frankie Ogden.

    Mar 19, 2026·29m·2 clips
  7. 7

    Who’s driving us away from the truth about RACECAR DRIVING?

    Mar 12, 2026·23m
  8. 8

    Which expert will fold under the pressure of all their lies about PAPER?

    Mar 5, 2026·27m
  9. 9

    Will you get lost in the weeds with all the misinformation about WEEDS?

    A game show where two contestants claim expertise on a topic, but only one is truthful, with a sponsor segment about mental health therapy.

    Feb 26, 2026·28m
  10. 10

    Wacky Khakis: Over the Moon

    Feb 24, 2026·22m
  11. 11

    Can you find out which expert is a sweet fibber about SUGAR?

    Feb 19, 2026·27m
  12. 12

    Wacky Khakis: Reverse Psychology

    Hidden gem

    The Big Fib’s “Wacky Khakis: Reverse Psychology” puts a potato story and a library story into a true-or-false game.

    Feb 17, 2026·18m·1 clip
  13. 13

    Which facts don’t add up when trying to find out who’s lying about MATH?

    An 11-year-old contestant, Gemma Hirsch, tests two adults’ math claims on The Big Fib.

    Feb 12, 2026·22m·1 clip
  14. 14

    Introducing: Ruby, Tooth Fairy Detective

    Feb 11, 2026·22m
  15. 15

    Wacky Khakis - The Sincerest Form Of Flattery

    A story claims 35,000 professional Elvis Presley impersonators work worldwide, with Tupelo, Mississippi, portrayed as their industry hub.

    Feb 10, 2026·18m·1 clip
  16. 16

    Will we impeach wisdom when telling fibs about US PRESIDENTS?

    Host Deborah Goldstein and robot sidekick Lisa quiz 11-year-old bird-lover Ezra on US presidents in The Big Fib, with one of two experts secretly lying.

    Feb 5, 2026·27m·1 clip
  17. 17

    Wacky Khakis: Monopoly

    Feb 3, 2026·19m
  18. 18

    Can you see all the lies about VISION?

    Jan 29, 2026·23m
  19. 19

    Find out what facts peak your interest about MOUNTAINS?

    Jan 22, 2026·26m
  20. 20

    Can you find the liar who tells roo-markable fibs about KANGAROOS?

    Jan 15, 2026·22m
  21. 21

    Will you “like” the facts or will you “subscribe” to the fibs about YOUTUBE?

    Jan 8, 2026·22m
  22. 22

    Can you find the liar liar pants on fire who lies about PANTS?

    Jan 1, 2026·22m
  23. 23

    Can you rein in all the lies about REINDEER?

    Dec 25, 2025·33m
  24. 24

    Doesn’t it drive you nuts when people fib about COCONUTS?

    Dec 18, 2025·24m
  25. 25

    Subscriber Sneak Peek: Ask L.I.S.A.- Hanukkah

    Dec 11, 2025·13m
  26. 26

    Subscriber Sneak Peek: Ask L.I.S.A.- Hanukkah

    Dec 11, 2025·16m
  27. 27

    Can you find all the ice-cold lies about the ARCTIC?

    Dec 4, 2025·29m
  28. 28

    Are you not amused by all the fibs about AMUSEMENT PARKS?

    Nov 27, 2025·24m
  29. 29

    Can you put a freeze on all the lies about the ARCTIC?

    Nov 27, 2025·27m
  30. 30

    Will you give thanks to all the lies you hear about PILGRIMS?

    Nov 20, 2025·32m
  31. 31

    Are you not amused by all the fibs about AMUSEMENT PARKS?

    Nov 20, 2025·21m
  32. 32

    Will you give thanks to all the lies you hear about PILGRIMS?

    Nov 13, 2025·30m
  33. 33

    Wattle you snood about all the fibs about TURKEYS?

    Nov 13, 2025·28m
  34. 34

    Can you find all the loopy lies about ROLLER COASTERS?

    Nov 6, 2025·22m
  35. 35

    Wattle you snood about all the fibs about TURKEYS?

    Nov 6, 2025·25m
  36. 36

    Introducing Dogood Detectives

    Nov 3, 2025·14m
  37. 37

    Can you find all the loopy lies about ROLLER COASTERS?

    Oct 30, 2025·20m
  38. 38

    Subscriber Sneak Peek: Ask L.I.S.A. - Halloween

    Oct 30, 2025·19m
  39. 39

    If you axolotl questions, you’ll figure out who’s lying about AXOLOTLS.

    Oct 23, 2025·31m
  40. 40

    Subscriber Sneak Peek: Ask L.I.S.A. - Halloween

    Oct 23, 2025·16m
  41. 41

    Can you flag all the fibs about THE AMERICAN FLAG?

    Oct 16, 2025·20m
  42. 42

    If you axolotl questions, you’ll figure out who’s lying about AXOLOTLS.

    Oct 16, 2025·29m
  43. 43

    Can you see the silver lining when it comes to fibs about CLOUDS?

    Oct 9, 2025·24m
  44. 44

    Can you flag all the fibs about THE AMERICAN FLAG?

    Oct 9, 2025·17m
  45. 45

    Can you see the silver lining when it comes to fibs about CLOUDS?

    This episode of The Big Fib explores the topic of clouds, with a focus on distinguishing truth from lies, but the provided transcript only includes sponsor messages and the show's intro.

    Oct 2, 2025·22m
  46. 46

    Does it get under your skin when people lie about SKIN?

    Oct 2, 2025·27m
  47. 47

    Does it get under your skin when people lie about SKIN?

    A podcast episode where two contestants claim expertise about skin, with one lying, interspersed with ads for Rula therapy and GZM app.

    Sep 25, 2025·25m
  48. 48

    Can you ride the wave or will you wipeout from all the fibs about SURFING?

    Sep 25, 2025·24m
  49. 49

    Can you ride the wave or will you wipeout from all the fibs about SURFING?

    A game show where two contestants claim expertise on surfing, but only one is truthful, with a sponsor ad for Rula therapy.

    Sep 18, 2025·22m
  50. 50

    Can you spot all the lies in this shocking LIVE episode about EELS?

    Sep 18, 2025·47m