I remember him on Triple J years ago with Mel Bampton. After two years of - wait for it - Drive, he was given the boot. Bampton was retained.
She was good. He was awful.
He has form. I know that this is not going to be good at all.
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What do we think is with the emphasis on talkback on 3LO?
Donât get me wrong, I enjoy talkback and hearing what the people have to say. Itâs an important part of the community sense of ABC radio.
But sometimes it feels like the 3LO team are excessively asking for people to call like theyâre trying to meet a KPI or something. You know what I mean? Sometimes I think, âYouâre the hosts, tell us what you think. Thatâs why Iâm listening!â
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Problem is that because itâs the ABC, they literally cannot tell us what they think!
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In some cases, itâs probably a good thing. 
Doesnât stop a certain Sunday morning breakfast host on local radio though! 
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I too feel sometimes this is the case, they also call back to texters to get more people on air , I donât dislike it but do wonder why perhaps thereâs an award coming up or something 
Sadly the exception to the rule applies here. Frigginâ Macca.
Wish Bruce Gordon brought him out.
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Thatâs true actually, as a caller Iâve noticed sometimes the role I can play is saying things for them we are all clearly thinking but theyâre not allowed to clearly state. They also have put me on many times when Iâve substantially disagreed, I have to give them credit for that too
I wonder if Iâm overthinking it and they just want to get more of the community involved and feeling confident to contribute. Talkback is a really underrated tool of democracy in the 2020s honestly. You get a massive attentive platform with no comment section, effective moderation and no algorithm
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Abc local talk I find entertaining, varied and low on politics without biased grumpy ranters. If such a format was commercial I think it would bring people back to advertising on radio, the current commercial networks I would not really want to be associated with.
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I agree, there is too much. The pendulum needs to swing back a little more in favour of interviews and experts.
I love 3LO but itâs been better. Charlie Pickering is probably going to ruin the drive show, and Iâm really sad about that.
Iâve seen clips from the 1990s when 3LO topped the Melbourne ratings for a bit, and everyone agreed that the âintelligent and probingâ shows made it a success.
This isnât the 90âs - I get it - but really it has lost its way in some places.
Controversial suggestion: perhaps we donât need listener input on every segment?
I hope things improve.
Thatâs the ABCâs MO thoughâŚyou canât have the presenterâs thoughts be the only thing on air. 702 does this too. Otherwise you sound like 3AW or 2GB where the presenterâs opinions are the be all and end all.
He ruins everything. 
TGIF shouldâve ended with Richard Glover.
Itâs not him thatâs the problem IMO but I do think it is a bit weird heâs gonna be on The Weekly, TGIF and Drive. That just seems like a lot of work for one person? Why not chuck him on Overnights as well?
It is the constant soliciting for callers that wears me down. Endlessly repeating the phone numbers, resetting the topic and telling us whatâs coming up nextâŚ
Replace one pain in the arse on Sunday mornings (Macca) with another.
No, not necessarily.
I remember radio pre text messages, and it wasnât half as bad. Segment A they might invite callers, segment B perhaps not then some more for Segment C etc.
Secondly, reducing caller feedback doesnât need to be replaced with the announcerâs opinions. Hearing a few more expert opinions, inviting another guest etc are other more ABC-appropriate options.
Raf Epstein is really good at it. He plays his listeners and callers like an instrument that heâs mastered. He knows how to get people fired up enough to engage with the show but not so much that it becomes shock jock territory, and also how to keep it consistently interesting. I get the feeling overall that he genuinely just wants to get the community talking
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ABC managing director Hugh Marks defends AI radio news trial
ABC managing director Hugh Marks has defended an artificial intelligence trial that translates radio content into a digital format.
Mr Marks told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday that the trial, already undertaken in Gippsland in western Victoria, would ensure ânews content can get more life than just the radio broadcast and can also be available for local audiencesâ.
âAnd, soon we will have an option to localise your digital experience as well so you can get that localised content preference,â he said.
Mr Marks said there had been consultation âacross many local operationsâ about the trial.
Mr Marks said the content would still be subject to editorial review.