That seems like a pretty controversial take. Why would you not be able to learn things orally?

You absolutely can learn orally, what I'd question is if you can do so without active listening. Listing to anything while doing, well anything, is pretty pointless to me, I tends to not listen and not absorb anything. I can barely listen to a podcast while working out, I miss huge gaps where my brain just isn't listening.

It’s the focus that’s important. If you’re listening while doing other things, you’re not really focusing on it.

You're not actually using your brain to do much, just as OP said, sort-of badly memorizing trivia.