Having worked with Hamish and Andy since 2008, you could imagine that Jack Post (aka Cackling Jack) has just about seen, or rather, heard it all. We sat down with Jack Post to have a laugh (naturally), as well to have a chat about all things radio and the legacy of podcasting.
It’s 2008 and Jack Post has signed up for his first gig with Hamish & Andy. A guy nicknamed Giggling Ben shows him the ropes of radio button-pressing. It turns out that Giggling Ben earned his nickname from giggling in the background of Hamish & Andy radio shows.
In the name of tradition, Post prominently and intentionally laughs during radio shows and earns himself the nickname, Cackling Jack. And that’s pretty much how the story goes.
Now in 2020, Jack’s roles have transformed over the years from being that button-presser to having been through many iterations of Hamish & Andy, those being on-air, as well as off-air on TV shows, too.
Post doesn’t really say he’s an MVP, but he definitely identifies as being a sidekick of crucial proportions. He juggles a couple of different hats all the time, somewhere in between a producer and a co-host, or maybe somewhere else altogether.
“Yeah, I think it’s somewhere in between the two,” says Post. “Co-host makes it sound like you probably belong on the posters alongside the main star but I sit a level below that.”
“And producer makes it sound like I do all the running around and phone calls during the day, which I don’t do that. So I do sit somewhere between the two.”
As well as working with Hamish and Andy, Post also works on the Christian O’Connell Show during mornings on Gold 104.1.
Having been through many years of radio and podcasting in Australia, when asked about the differences that set the different mediums apart, he says it’s the disposable aspect of radio that separates the two.
“I mean in 2008 some people were podcasting, even though it wasn’t hugely respected or known about. But I like podcasting because radio is really disposable, you know, people definitely don’t hear all the show. Once something happens it’s gone, and you don’t really get to hang on to anything.”
He adds, “Podcasting has sort of changed that. It leaves somewhat of a legacy that people can go back and find your stuff and it does live on. And now with social media being so entwined into both radio podcasting as well, stuff can live on and have another life and it doesn’t feel as wasted I guess – as when it used to when I first started.”
While podcasting appears to be on lock with our current content consumption habits, peering into the future, Post doesn’t think that radio isn’t about to go anywhere other than on-air – despite the naysayers. Particularly due to its ability to bring about a sense of community and a feeling of nostalgia.
“I reckon that’s why it’s going to survive, and because everyone you know over the last five years has been sort of counting down the days until Spotify completely takes over,” explains Post. “But there’s something that can’t replace that feeling of the person speaking to you in the moment. It’s a funny thing because it doesn’t make a huge difference but for whatever reason the connection does make a difference.”
And then there’s that aforementioned old chestnut – nostalgia – too.
“Maybe it’s nostalgia as well because it used to be the only way we could listen to that music unless you owned it. So in that in that sense I think radio is safer than what some people might think might be the death of radio. But I reckon it’s further away than what people might anticipate. And I hope it’s further away because it’s my full time job.”
Watch Hamish and Andy read through Cackling Jack’s private notebook.
