Episode 125 - August Madness
2018-08-17
— open the full-size coverHostsMelissa Erbacher Scott Trickett
GuestSimon Mackley
Show notes
The parkrun adventurers begin a quest for a new opening catchphrase. Reverse Freedom August Madness is finally here with Scotty and Mel going head to head for glory while former Madness Champion and guest host Simon Mackley wrangles the Q cards. Plus we debut the parkrun adventurers hotline!
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Enhanced transcript
Speakers named, sound described and segments marked by the editing pass — not yet checked by a person.
Read the transcriptGuest
Simon Mackley
Brought on as guest host to write and ask the August Madness questions. Beyond running the quiz he is questioned by both hosts, Mel on his question-writing methodology ("when you were writing the questions, what was the method?"), and Scott for "a quick update on Mosman" and on "how are you coping fitting three parkrun podcasts into your week?"
In this episode
Welcome starts at 0:15
Scott Trickett, just back from holiday, and Melissa Erbacher. Scott's weekend was volunteering at Cannonvale juniors, which made him the first person to have volunteered at every junior parkrun in Australia, and he has an adventure planned for the coming Saturday. Mel dragged herself to a onesie/gym-jam themed parkrun on two and a half hours' sleep, one of about five people in fancy dress including her son; they then head straight into a segment with Simon Mackley that Mel is nervous about.
August Madness starts at 4:54
Billed on air as "Reverse Freedom August Madness", a variant format in which the two hosts are the contestants instead of listeners. Guest host Simon Mackley wrote and asked 10 parkrun trivia questions plus a tiebreaker; Scott and Mel buzzed in by shouting their home parkrun ("Kawana" vs "Westerfolds"). Mel won 11-8 after a 4-point haul on the Southern Hemisphere parkrun countries question, then took the winner-takes-all tiebreaker ("What is the exact date of the first Australian parkrun?", 2 April 2011). Her prize is to face former champion Brendan Peel in the next Madness. Simon explains that he originally wrote the questions for Brendan Peel and pitched them down from "level nine" to "level six" once he knew it was the hosts.
The Channel 5 News crew starts at 30:45
The slot is acknowledged but empty this week: "We don't have any roving reports filed this week from any members of the Channel 5 news crew or otherwise." Mel fills it by describing photos sent from the UK by David Moss, "our foreign correspondent who's on the ground in the UK", whose attempts at recording audio failed, a shot of Dave with Paul and Joanne Sinton-Hewitt at the Isle of Man half marathon (run on Paul's birthday, a gift from Joanne), and one of a participant in a full replica rhinoceros costume.
Launches and anniversaries starts at 32:27"Where is the cake?"
Four launches this week, Burswood Peninsula (WA), Meningie (SA), Seacliff Esplanade (SA) and "Willow" (Victoria), plus three anniversaries at Aldinga Beach (SA), Brimbank (Vic) and Callaghan (NSW). Scott notes launches outnumbering anniversaries is unusual: "We haven't had that many launch on one week for a long time."
Poem Zone starts at 33:39
Referenced only, not performed, Mel announces its end-: "We no longer have the Poem Zone. The Poem Zone wrapped up last week." It is explicitly replaced in the running order by the new parkrun adventurers hotline. Its legacy persists later in the episode when Scott introduces hotline caller Caroline as "our Poem Zone Hall of Famer".
parkrun adventurers Hotline starts at 33:44
DEBUT of the segment that replaces the Poem Zone, complete with new intro music. Listeners record their own audio question via Facebook Messenger or an audio app and email it to parkrunadventurers@gmail.com; topics need not be parkrun-related. Three calls aired: (1) "Alan Ruck", long-time listener/first-time caller, on the lack of millennials at parkrun; (2) Peter Pohlman as "your Dorothy Dixer", asking what shoe size the hosts wear and why (Scott 10.5 US, Mel AU 5-6 / EU 37); (3) Caroline, on the Run Nation Film Festival launch with Keith Hong and when the hosts will attend their local screening.
Sign-off starts at 45:54
Scott said that was enough of them for the night and it was time for a sing-along - another song from his 1980s film back catalogue, with listener requests to come once he had worked through it. Mel thanked everyone for the hashtag ScottyWeLoveYou she had started, which had got a lot of play on social media the week before, and gave listeners the line "Pleased to meet you, Moles" as a five- or ten-second clue to guess the film before the music started.
Sing-along starts at 45:56
Scott's recorded 80s-movie-theme outro. Teased earlier ("Speaking of, sing-along. Quick tease. Got another one. It's a beauty.") and framed as an ongoing series, "we're going to get to the requests after we've got through my back catalogue". Mel gives a listeners' guessing clue, the line "Pleased to meet you, Moles"-, before the track plays out the episode. The "Moles" clue points to the 1984 film Electric Dreams, though the film is never named on air.