The Unmade Podcast - 161: Medal Winners

Episode Date: May 21, 2025

Tim and Brady discuss a warm sweater, a dog’s tail, the Zeeman Medal, and recognition for Tim-ness and Brady-ness.Don’t miss the Request Room this week - it’s a classic - https://www.patreon.com/posts/129517651Support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/unmadeFMJoin the discussion of this episode on our subreddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/Unmade_Podcast/Catch the podcast on YouTube where we often include accompanying videos and pictures - https://www.youtube.com/@unmadepodcastUSEFUL LINKSImages associated with this episode - https://www.unmade.fm/episode-161-picturesNovember Rain (Slash solo around 4’00) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SbUC-UaAxEBrady wins the Zeeman medal - https://www.bradyharanblog.com/blog/the-zeeman-medalCatch the bonus Request Room episode - https://www.patreon.com/posts/129517651Information about getting the Request Room into your podcast feed (for patrons) - https://bit.ly/3uQWhNz

I shouldn't really be here recording actually should I I've been unwell and I miss church today because I didn't want to be around people and pass on whatever I've got but then I've snuck in tonight to record this because I'm recording this at my church office I feel a bit guilty like I got a day off and then I've come into work after hours to play around with my friend which is feels a bit naughty. Better hope God doesn't find out. I know he's gone home he clocked off a few hours ago. Right. He finishes at lunchtime on Sundays. Yeah, it's a big morning for him. So he earns the rest. It is a big morning.

He's in early. That's right. God must love Sunday mornings. Like he must just feel like the king of the world on Sunday mornings. Imagine if there was one day a week where you know people are going to gather and just sing your praises. I know. Would you turn up?

That's Unmade Podcast Release Day. That's right. What's wrong with you then? Oh, no, just everything. Yeah. Including your hair at the moment. Yeah, I knew that wouldn't go. If you're- I knew you were going to comment on my hair.

Just let you know I'm going to comment on that ridiculous Northern exposure, the monstrosity of a jumper you're wearing. Oh, this is a wonderful, this is what I take to the snow and I wear it out because I needed to be rugged up because I'm not feeling well. So I came out in the cold with my beautiful, yeah, sort of something you imagine someone here in Canada wearing. Yeah. You look like a lumberjack because you've got that baseball cap on. Well, you're like the guy in the Hallmark movie who stayed in his hometown and works in the wood yard. And then the woman comes back from her New York City job to see her parents. And you're the guy she used to go to school with.

And she's like, oh, I see you in a whole new light now. Like my name's Chip. used to go to school with and she's like, oh, I see you in a whole new light now. Hmm. Like my name's Chip or something like that. Yeah. I'm like, yeah, I look reliable and faithful and salt of the earth in a North American kind of way. Looks after his mother. Yeah.

Runs the family business. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. I heard a term the other day that I really love and that is when someone wears both denim jeans and a blue denim jacket, it's called the Canadian suit. Have you watched Yellowstone?

A little bit. The first few episodes, yeah. There's a lot, a lot of good denim in that. There is. I could be a background character in Yellowstone, although there's a, it's always a bit of good denim in that. There is I could be a background character in Yellowstone although I there's a it's always a bit of an interesting call in America when they go for the cowboy hat or the baseball cap I feel like it's like on duty they've got their you know Garth Brooks is a bit the same like this as well sometimes you'll see him with a baseball cap and sometimes you'll see him with a cowboy hat I feel like when you're on duty you've got the cowboy hat and then you're off duty you put the baseball cap on. Yellowstone's really interesting because some of them do their cowboying in their

cowboy hat, some of them do their cowboying in a baseball cap, some alternate. It's hard to know exactly what they're going to do but yeah. I love how they can wear their cowboy hat so unironically into like restaurants and things and business meetings. Like it's not a fancy dress item. It's amazing. I know. I see Australians wearing them and I can't believe it. Like, you know, the politician goes up to North Queensland and puts, you know, suddenly he's donning some RM Williams in a big belt buckle and a hat. And it's like, how are you wearing that and not just killing yourself laughing I mean really. No I couldn't pull off the cowboy hat I know I couldn't. No you couldn't not even one of those little sort of townie ones you know how the sort of

gentleman from the east would sort of have a cowboy hat but it's more bit more city-fied. How come you're wearing a baseball cap tonight? Oh I just left the house I was just, roughing up thinking, I'm a bit off and it's got a bit cold here. So I put a hat on as well as the warm jumper. That's all. Okay. Just to keep the head warm. I have quite a large head as you know, so there's a bit of surface to keep warm and potentially a lot of heat to lose.

I've got a large head too. So you know, I hear you. Any other news to report? News about Brooklyn? Your dog? My wife every now and then, yes, yes, she decides every now and then that Brooklyn needs a haircut and generally we're very reluctant for this to happen. When he goes off to the professional place to get done, he comes back looking like someone else's dog and we all just have to warm up to him

again over a few weeks. Yeah, yeah. Every now and then she does a homemade job, you know, and around his face that's kind of okay so he can, you know, see. But she went to task on his tail yesterday. Oh. And oh my goodness me, he He looks like it looks like the back end of a pig. The poor guy, his big fluffy tail. I'll send you a photo has gone. What's happened? Did she use clippers or scissors? No, scissors. But she went to town. And I made a joke this morning, the family that is refusing to eat bacon in solidarity with Piglet, because he does look like he's gone from having his big bushy tail to this pathetic little thing that just sort of swings in the breeze. That photo you've sent looks like some modern art painting.

Is it black and white? That's just him at the top of the stairs and me at the bottom of the stairs. Have a look earlier today. I sent you one where he looked like an 80 80 laying down. Have a look at that one and there's you can see his tail there. It's much diminished. And my wife occasionally does a hair trim of Edward, our son, and it's that can be hit and miss. Right. You know, getting it not done by the professionals, but he had a he got a dodgy one the other day, but then she salvaged it with a second attempt and she brought it back from the brink so.

We almost we almost had a disaster but she recovered. Almost had to go out and buy a cowboy hat to stick on him to cover the damage. He'd look good in a cowboy hat. He's got a little bit of cowboy swagger as well they've got to have a little bit of swagger don't they. He has yeah. Well, they've got to have a little bit of swag, don't they? Yes. I don't know if it's worth saying, but I've got a bit of an update on the project that I'm working on, which you gave me, which is the recording of the sofa shop on guitar solo on top of the big rocking horse.

Do you want to give this update or not? Well, if you're willing to reveal any information, if you're willing to leak information. Maybe if people keep it to themselves. But I have got the go ahead. I have, I have a team that are working on it. I have permission and I'm just seeking some government funding and some tax breaks and a few other filming requests, but a caterer, things like that. But generally speaking, we're, we're, we're progressing along and not good to go yet, but but it's progressing. Get close. So this is going to be inspired by Slash's guitar solo in the November Rain film clip, because I wanted like, you know,

helicopter shots going around the top of the big rocking horse with you playing the guitar, preferably shirtless. Preferably shirtless. You know, slash is like shirtless, but under a leather jacket in the, in the video clip. So I may, well, I have, I've lined up the leather jacket from a mate. He's got one just the same. So I had to explain to him, I need to borrow your leather jacket. And I explained why. And he was, he was reluctant at first and he was all in, once heard why. He was like, oh, this is clearly a worthy cause. And the big rocking horse people have, like, given you some tentative approval, have they?

They have. Yes, yes, they're all in too. What did you say? Did you say, did you explain you want to do a guitar solo of the sofa shop on top of the big rocking horse? And they were like, yes. Yeah, no worries. He was like, did they ask any questions? He's like, another one. Here we go. We've got another request to solo on top of it. No, I explained.

Look, the podcast, I explained that we had been there before and we're big fans and I'd like to record it. And it needs to be after hours, you know, once all the crowds have gone. And he's like, yeah, no worries, mate. Yeah, let us know when you want to come. I'm like, wow, OK. And I said, I'll be up there with a guitar. He goes, yeah, yeah, yeah, no worries, mate. Yeah, let us know when you want to come. I'm like, wow, okay. And I said, I'll be up there with a guitar.

He goes, yeah, yeah, yeah, good. Yep, no worries. He was... He was... He was... Did he know what the sofa shop was? Yes, he was. He did.

He goes... He did. He did. He goes, yeah, yeah, the sofa shop, yeah. Two South Australian icons. Wow. Wow. Well, this is exciting.

Keep me updated. Keep us all updated. You're really building up the anticipation now. Oh, it's going to be fantastic. Yeah. Yeah, it's going to be marvelous. Well, we hope it is. It all comes down to the filming, as you know.

You've got to see how the filming goes. And the guitar work. Oh, indeed. Yes. Well, that's right. I mean, that's at least 5% of it. But most of most of the guns and roses secret was was the chopper camera shots. I think that's what put a lot in. So are you envisaging you just playing guitar or like singing it?

Don't you do a thing like singing like that? Or you imagine just playing guitar? No, no, no. It's a guitar solo. You want to be to be like Slash. It's I'm going to get I'm going to solo the it's going to be an electric. This is my version of the sofa shop. Everyone's sending their version from around the world and all sorts of different types. And this is my guns and roses slash solo version of the sofa shop theme filmed on top. Are you going to have a cigarette hanging from your mouth?

You know, you know, I was thinking about that in the car on the way here. I was literally thinking about that because I was thinking, cause cause that's what he has. Yeah. And he, and it just, you know, perpetually hanging out the side of his mouth. And I'm like, Oh, maybe people ain't like that so much, but it would have the ring of authenticity, wouldn't it? So, yeah. And no one does that anymore.

No one does that. So maybe that'd be cool. Maybe to keep it like family friendly instead of a cigarette, it could be, remember there were those little candy sticks you used to be able to buy and they were called fags. Oh yeah. Because fags was a word for cigarettes in Australia and later on because of the word fags started having all these other connotations and that they changed the name to fads. That's right.

But and then and then they used to have a little red dot on the end to show they were a cigarette but they took the red dot away so they just became like a white stick. But you could have one of those hanging out of your mouth so that if anyone says, oh, I can't believe you're, you know, advocating smoking, you could say, no, no, it's just another icon of our youth. Just a fad. Just a fad. Just a fad. And I could have the I could have a box of them, like a pack under my like my shoulder under my T-shirt. Classy. of them like a pack under my like my shoulder under my t-shirt. I'm so upset that I'm not going to be part of this filming and bossing you around. I'm just upset about the amount of control you have over this basically is what I'm saying. I know this is your nightmare. It'd be worse if you were here and not able to say anything, but at least from Friday you don't know what's happening, but you get so into this.

You're such a director. It's going to be huge. All right. Idea for a podcast. I've had an idea and it's partly based on one that's been on my list for a while and partly based on a recent experience. The two have come together in a perfect storm. Lovely.

So a week or two ago, I was lucky enough to receive a medal, an award. It was announced last year, but the ceremony and the lecture and all that sort of stuff I had to do was about a week ago and it was called the Christopher Zeeman medal. This was a medal for the, for the popularisation communication of mathematics that I was very honoured to receive. It was awarded by the Institute of Mathematics and its applications and the London Mathematical Society jointly. So thank you to them. It was a great honour. And it's named after a chap named Christopher Zeman, who was like an English mathematician, like a very accomplished

mathematician. Right. But he was also a really famous communicator of mathematics. He used to do TV shows and public lectures and things like that. So he was like a real pioneer of mathematics communication. So in his honor, they created this medal and they give it every couple of years to someone. I was lucky enough to be the one this time. So they give it to someone who communicates mathematics to the popular culture.

Yes. I can't believe they've taken this long to give it to you. Like, is there anyone else doing that or is there? Isn't there just you? There are other people. There are math teachers, right, in schools, and then there are like mathematicians in like universities and stuff like that And then there are people out there doing that deep maths that get like fields medals and stuff and then there's you

No, there are there are others there are many people doing all sorts of things many of them doing it better than me There are people who write books. There are people who make TV shows. There are there are other youtubers for that matter there are there are there are many worthy recipients and I feel very lucky to have joined the list of Zeman medalists. Well, you got the gold, like it wasn't like there was a silver and a bronze, you know what I mean? No. It's just the gold. There's no runner up, there's just one medal. Just you? Yep. And have you been following the Zemans for a while?

Like is this something you've been aware of or looking for hoping to win? I know several previous winners. Some of them are in my number five videos. I went to the last Zeman medal ceremony a couple of years ago. Oh, so I am I it is on the radar. It is on my radar. It's a it's bit of an event in the English British math communication community, you know, this year, There's a community now wow. Brady Haran yeah can't believe he got it. When you were there a couple of years ago were you did you know who the winner was on the night it wasn't like you were there as a nominee? No no no it's they announced the winner and then the winner gives a lecture six months to a year later.

So I found out I had won the medal last year and then they, they organise a lecture and they booked, uh, there was actually held at the Royal society and a lovely lecture room. And I, I gave a lecture, a public lecture, uh, to a hundred people or so. And then they gave me the medal. Oh man. Nice. It was a lovely night. It was lovely. Two years ago, when you were there or a few years ago, when you were there watching someone else get it, were you a little bit envious? the medal. Oh man. Nice. It was a lovely night. It was lovely.

Two years ago when you were there or a few years ago when you were there watching someone else get it, were you a little bit envious like, oh geez, I'd like to win this one day. No. Or is it like, you know, one day, gosh, that had never happened. No, no, I feel a bit of imposter syndrome about receiving it to be honest, because normally the recipients are more mathematically knowledgeable than me. Right. So no, I didn't feel that way at all. Uh, I felt last time I went, there were two winners because of COVID that, that

missed a lecture, so they sort of combined two together. So there were two winners last time I went. They were both people I knew really well, uh, Simon Singh and Matt Parker. Uh, Matt Parker. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Hmm.

Well, he's funny guy. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Good. Very, very worthy Zeman, yeah. Well, he's a funny guy. Yeah, yeah, go. Very, very worthy Zeman medalist. So anyway. Well, congratulations, man.

That's on behalf of all the unmade civilians and stakeholders and colonels. Can I say congratulations, Brady, on winning the Zeman medal? Thank you very much. Now, the purpose of me talking about this is not simply to brag about winning the Zeeman medal. Thank you very much. Now the purpose of me talking about this is not simply to brag about winning the Zeeman medal. It's given me my idea. Oh.

Because obviously winning a medal is lovely, as you would remember from when you won the Swing Carnival medal. Oh man. In 1993. No need to bring that up again. That was quite an occasion though, wasn't it? It was. Now I'm embarrassed. Oh dear.

It was talk about imposter syndrome. I know, I know. I know even less about swimming than you know about mass. I know, I know. I think you're probably more worthy of a Zeman medal than you were of that swimming carnival medal, but you got it anyway. That's right. That's right. carnival medal, but you got it anyway. Anyway, as you know, it's lovely to receive medals.

Also though, the thing I didn't think about, it's lovely to name medals after people because during my lecture, I was, well, not during the lecture, but before the lecture, I was sat next to Christopher Zeeman's daughter. Christopher Zeeman has passed away. His daughter is a lecturer at Cambridge, I think? Cambridge Rocks, but I think Cambridge. Not mathematics, but she's a successful academic in her own right. She came along as a representative of the Zeeman family,

and she was the one who presented me with the medal. She said a few words. She was a lovely person. But she said, you know, she said how much she loved the, uh, the medal being named after her father. Also, um, yeah, here we go, Tim. This is an email. This came from, um, Christopher Zeeman's son, who's also a professor.

He's a professor of, uh, plant biochemistry. He was unable to attend the event, but he said, he said, this is a real pity. It would have been especially nice for me to be there on its, on his centenary, because it was Christopher Zeman would have turned a hundred. Indeed, my father always told me he'd planned to live to be a hundred. Now I realized that he will actually live on far beyond that age through his legacy, including the awarding of this medal. Which I thought was a nice thought that he's, you thought that you can live on through an award like this as well.

It's a great tribute to someone I think to name an award after them. Well who named it after? It's not like the sun came up with it or did Christopher Zeeman come up with a medal himself? No, I think it was these math societies decided to establish it in his honour. Right. Presumably, I don't know if they did it before he died or after he died, but yeah, they wanted to commemorate his work. And you know, there are lots of awards named after people.

Sometimes it's because they put the money up for the award, like the Nobel Prize. It can be, you know, Fields medals. Oh, lots of medals are named after people. The Royal Society recently has a David Attenborough medal among its many medals. So just to ask, when you received this medal, did you sort of kneel down in front of her and she like placed it around your neck or was there a dais that you stood on and then you know what I mean, they come past with flowers and the metal or how did it work? Like physically?

No, it was pretty much just me standing next to her. I just stood next to her. She handed it over. It didn't have a ribbon. So she just handed it to me in a little box. A box. And was it open? And you sort of stood there, you know, she had a hand.

The box was open. Yep. So it was like one of those awkward moments. Let me show it to you. She was just like, oh, there you go. Like, like just sit, it sat on the lect here it is Tim there's the same and my head that looks like a medal yep and who's that on there is that Julius Caesar or is that Chris that is even that is Christopher Zeeman's profile oh there we

go on the metal hmm oh nice okay so it was it so it was just so she just goes oh there you go there you go and what did she say I now present tonight or did she start off with one of those tonight's winner is an accomplished person. No you know someone else was doing the formalities and then they said would you come forward and present Brady with the medal and she just handed over it shook my hand. I did do the picture like like this I did a photo like this afterwards I was biting it like it was an Olympic. My mouth now I got the medal in my mouth. The Olympian the day after front page photo sort of thing yeah. Yep yep got one of those show notes people check it out. Did you then pocket it or did you have it sitting on the lectern and then you gave your speech. No I didn't get it till after my speech.

Oh right yep. And I just put it in my pocket. My speech actually involved showing people lots of precious artifacts from the Royal Society. Oh yeah. Among them was a Copley Medal, two Nobel Prize Medals and a Fields Medal and afterwards people could go and look at them in a glass case, these precious medals that I'd gotten out for them to see. So to be honest no one even asked to look at my medal. Right.

Because I was kind of, I kind of outgunned myself by having even more amazing medals at the speech. What was your speech, was it like a PowerPoint sort of thing or was it like you were holding up stuff and you'd printed out your notes in front of you? It was, it did involve PowerPoint, but it was was quite charming and comedic I like to think. But Keith from the Royal Society and some of the archivists were there and they were handling all the objects and walking around amongst the audience and then shuffling them out and putting them in the glass case so it was quite an intimate feeling that you were in the room and looking at all these special things. It was a really lovely night.

That's cool. So a bit of a show and tell kind of speech in that way. Yes. Yes it was. It was a historic it was tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars worth of show and tell. Nice. Oh that's cool. So here's my idea for a podcast because I think it would be cool to initiate medals named after us and award them to people because people like receiving medals. What do you mean us?

Oh, you and me us? Us? Yeah. Well, so we are like striking and founding these medals. Right. So I was thinking we can award maybe annually we could award the Tim Hine medal and the Brady Haran medal. Yes. To people because, A, it's nice for us to have medals named after ourselves, but also people like receiving medals.

And if we give people medals, like, will they accept them? Like we send them to the people or present them to the people? Maybe we could. Because if someone called you up tomorrow, Tim, and said, oh, I'm from some organization and we've got a medal called you know the Jane Smith medal and we've awarded it to you for something you've done you'd probably say thank you I would love I would that's very nice and I would accept it wouldn't you? Well I don't have as much experience at this as you do but I would guess I'd ask, well, what is it for? Like, what's the Jane? Yeah. I, I, yeah. And if it was legit, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do you know

what my initial impression is? You asking that question is I actually would be suspicious. Like, is this, what are they trying to get out of me? Is this one of those, Hey, we'd like to give you a medal in order to promote our organization in front of your congregation or you know what I mean our college or our thing I would be suspicious because. Hmm because that's exactly what I'm suggesting. Yeah, yeah. The only the only awards I'm involved in giving are academic awards when people are graduating and that's always a lot of fun to sit around and determine who gets those. But there's no actual medal involved. There's something quite prestigious about the medal because it's a physical thing I think. There's something like it feels like it should be an artifact that goes on for centuries. So I think the Brady and Tim medal or a Tim medal, Tim Hine medal and a Brady-Harran medal would would well, like like Christopher Zeema's son said, will ensure that we live on hundreds of years.

Perhaps thousands, perhaps after we're long and gone, people will keep awarding these medals. But the question of course is now Tim, who receives the Tim Hein medal and the Brady Haran medal? What is the criteria? What does it honor? If there is a medal called the Tim Hein medal, what does it honor? How do you decide who would receive it? I asked you to give this some thought.

Yeah. Have you got, what's your, what's your instinct? What would you like to see the Tim Hein medal awarded for? Well, well, I didn't actually think that through that part of it I mean you you just prompted me with a text message saying who would who would receive the Tim Hine medal? Hmm And and I got thinking about that and I thought oh gosh, it's a very small group like it's a very exclusive It's not like the Zima where they give one out every year. I think this is something Every two years, man, every two years.

Every two years. Fair enough. But anyway. Not like the Nobel, where they give out several every year. I mean, really. Yeah, give out loads. They give out loads. Everyone, everyone.

They give them out like candy. You give a medal. You get a medal. It's not like getting a Zima. You get a medal. So the Tim Hine medal, we have to decide what the Tim Hyde medal is awarded for and who's going to win it. Well, I think it's I didn't think about what it's for.

I do have someone in mind that I thought would be. Oh, so you're thinking of almost like a presidential medal of honor type thing, a freedom medal or something where you just like give it to someone who's done great stuff. Yes, that's right. It's just something bestowed on someone for their, well, for lack of a better term, Tim-ness. Like their ability to embody the spirit of Tim. Right. Before you tell me who does that, talk me through what does embody the spirit of Tim? Well, what would someone who wins it be like? I have one, two, three, four,

I have two potential winners, but one of them in particular meets the five criteria that I put down as to why this person would win the Tim Hine medal. Number one, they're a bit funny looking. Funny looking. Okay. Yeah. Criteria number two, not a very strong singing voice. Okay. Yeah. Number three, believes in God. Yep. Like is a Christian. Christian. Like so has to be your God. It can't be a different God. Well, that's this is the criteria for this person, but I'll say it has a belief in God,

yeah. Okay, okay. What am I, number four, going a bit grey. Greying, okay. Yeah, yeah. Interesting criteria for a medal, but alright. They're very, they're very accurate, aren't they? And five, are a songwriter.

Songwriter. Hmm. So that's, that's the essence of Tim, believes God or as a Christian going a bit gray, kind of funny looking, doesn't have a very strong voice and is a songwriter. Cause I've written a song. So, yeah. And I'm going a bit gray and I'm kind of funny looking. Yeah. Okay.

And I don't have a very strong singing voice and I believe in God. And I believe in God. So, uh, I'll give people a few seconds to mull over that and think who do they think is going to be the first winner of the, uh, the Tim Hine medal. What are we going to award the Brady Haran medal for before we come to the Tim Hine medalist? Well. I wasn't thinking of giving it to someone who was like me. I would, but I was thinking of things, you know, I thought, oh, would you give it for someone who, you know, shares knowledge about the moon or takes really long showers was my wife's suggestion. But I don't know who takes long showers. Sleeps a lot.

Sleeps a lot. Yeah. Service, services to sleep and sleep research. I don't sleep as much as I used to, but I certainly miss it. We got a new hot water service in our apartment the other day. The other one died and with teenage girls and so forth everyone now with the new service I'm sure we reaching Brady levels of showerness enjoying the heat. Nice. Love a good long hot shower.

Do you ever sleep in the shower? No. You don't lean up against the wall and kind of doze off with the hot water running down your head? No. I'm quite stimulated in the shower and kind of doze off with the hot water running down your head. Okay. I'm quite stimulated in the shower. It's a time of great thought and ideas and I'm almost at my most awake. Wow. Okay.

Look, I came up with a few different names, but of people who would win a Brady Haran medal. The one that's for being like me is that lights for that's for embodying the Bradiness Yeah, that's kind of like one of them. They're a brilliant sidekick another one is that they're a father You still think I'm the sidekick I'm Robin to your Batman that well, that's exactly the winner. I had here. I thought you could give one to Robin because Well, that's exactly the winner I had here. I thought you could give one to Robin because he too is a brilliant sidekick. I've got someone else who's neat and smart. So I've sort of got that sort of neat smart thing going on.

You think I'm neat? Well you sort of have a neatness about you. You're not, yeah, even though I know you sort of have stuff everywhere, it's all clean and stuff. You're not a grubby person. I've got someone else here who's a who has a wife whose name is Kylie so that could be a whole group of people that win the Brady medal just because they're married to a Kylie but I tried to combine them all to see if there was a perfect person I even used chat GPT but it wouldn't it wouldn't it

couldn't spell I'm sorry they said I'm unfortunately there no one else exists on earth who has all these things one of a kind one of a kind but I did find someone who had and I guess this is where because I was down that rabbit hole I pushed a little bit further and I did find someone who has a staggering amount in common with you yeah just sort of head into that list, it's so staggering, it'll probably reveal who the person is. Do you want me to tell you who that is? Okay, yeah, let's hear it.

This is a person who you and this person are both worked for newspapers. Yep. Then moved into other media, including screen media. Yeah. You both took your father's vocation. Okay. You both chose an Elizabethan English name for your child. Yeah. You both took your father's vocation. Okay. You both chose an Elizabethan English name for your child.

Yeah. Well, this person's 94 and you are 49, which I thought was an interesting coincidence. I'm not 49 yet, but I'm close. You are, aren't you? Oh no, you're in a couple of weeks. Oh, I'm thinking this because I'm 50, of course. You're not 50. Well, no, sorry.

I'm, my next birthday is 50, is what I'm saying and so yeah I thought yours was too but you got a little bit to go. Yeah okay close enough. So 94 are they still alive? They are they are and I'll say this this person established Fox News well you're married to an absolute fox who reads the news. Oh no. It's Rupert Murdoch.

Rupert Murdoch. Rupert Murdoch. Moved from Adelaide, who moved to the UK, worked at your same newspaper you owned. You have all these things in common with Rupert Murdoch. Yeah. So Rupert Murdoch is going to receive the Brady Heron Medal. He would be the inaugural winner of the Brady-Harran Medal for him. That's because he sort of embodies the factual basis of Brady.

There is a bit of a conflict of interest here because I did kind of used to work for him. Yeah, but not anymore. Not anymore. He didn't hire you back then as a cadet via his editor. He wasn't directly involved with the decision. I did meet him once. He wasn't playing a long game to win the Brady Haran medal. No, no.

Yeah. And I was not involved in the decision making process. Clearly, Tim was that. I absented myself from the decision making process. That's right. That's right. Okay. Well, who did you have winning the Brady Haran medal?

Well, I didn't have any criteria for it yet, so I didn't know. I couldn't, I have, I've had a kind of mental block for what I would award it for. Like what am I, what am I, you know, good enough at or renowned enough for to have for a medal? Could it be purchasing of Lego sets that are not built? That's a bit niche. Obviously people will say, oh, you know, science communication is what I do for my job. So that's an obvious one, but you've already got like mass communication and popularization, but I feel like you're crowding in, you know, what to take maybe on the alternate years to the Christopher Siemen

medal, you could give out the Brady medal, but for the same thing. No, I'm not going to start a rival medal. I'm not going to, I'm not going to muscle in like that. It could be for, um. You're bigger than maths anyway, man, aren't you? So aircraft, uh, aircraft crash reportage. Right. I thought you, I thought the Tim Hine medal could have been awarded for rock documentaries, music documentaries. Yeah, just watching it and make or making them just watching them. That's my involvement in them basically.

No, but you know, you could have like, like the Oscars of music documentaries. That is a good idea. That would be great. Yeah, that would be great yeah that would be good I get really annoyed with them when they're not good and uh I was listening to a podcast the other night about REM and I was thinking oh jeez you've just that's not good enough like there's not enough there that's new information for me and uh I get annoyed with them. To make it a bit unique like the Tim Hein medal could go to the best rock documentary that Tim watched in the last 12 months. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. That's that's a very very

Particular one. There's a lot of way when I didn't actually think about it that way in terms of something like that I mean it could go to the best book I read in the last year or the best doco like you say you've watched or the best meal you've had in the last year but if it's a or the best um podcast episode of someone else I've listened to or best sermon I've heard or something like that. Best sermon yes good. Who's done the best parish news like notices on Sunday here at church or best community prayers or something? Best prayer just the best prayer you've heard. Yeah yeah we've got some good prayers in our church, I'll tell you. Yeah. But surely you hear prayers elsewhere as well, like, you know.

Oh yeah, but I switch off elsewhere. I only listen to them here in my own church, obviously. This is where God lives. So this is where he is. What about best depiction of Christianity in secular culture? Yeah, yeah. That could be interesting because, you know, you've got an interest, there are two things you have an interest in and. Best ear worm, like the song that I hummed the most in the last year, you know, that just got into my mind and just stayed there and that I went around singing.

That's a great achievement. So who's won the Tim Hyne medal using your criteria then? Those are, who's the funny looking graying average singing songwriter. Who believes in God Bob Dylan Bob Dylan. Yep yep funny looking not a very strong singer loves God going a bit gray and I think we'll agree is a songwriter. Bob Dylan Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan. He's got a Nobel Prize and now he's got a Tim Hine medal.

I know. I know. Just when he thought it couldn't get any bigger. He's 83 and it's taken him this long. Although I would have if I'd thought of it earlier. I mean, he's been funny looking and not a very good singer and loving God and going a bit grey for quite a while now. So he could have won it before now but he's the inaugural winner. I thought it was going to be Nick Cave except he's a decent

singer Nick Cave. Yeah he's a better singer and he looks cool not as funny looking. He's funny looking Nick Cave's funny looking is he greying? Yeah he dyes his hair black he's been dying his hair black since he was young. He's weirder looking than Bob Dylan. Oh, maybe. I think Bob Dylan's quite normal looking. No, no, he's kind of funny. He's got big fluffy hair and stuff.

Oh, look, look, look, to be perfectly honest, I don't think I'm that funny looking. But Bob Dylan and I are. Nick Cave's funnier looking than you. Indeed, indeed. In fact, he pushes it a bit far, which is why he's not one yet. He needs to just pull back, settle down, find some form, write a few more songs. And embrace the grayness.

Embrace the gray. Embrace the gray. Yeah, I don't respect the black hair, that's for sure. I definitely don't respect that. I tell you, there was a runner up. A runner up is a young guy in my church called Lucas. And Lucas has been coming along to church for the last year or so. And he's a strategic young guy, Lucas.

He's passionate about Jesus and he's part of the youth group and all that kind of stuff. Great guy. But what he's done, he's suddenly discovered R.E.M. as a band. And since he's been coming along, he's talked to one of my daughters about being able to ask me questions about R.E.M. like on a Sunday when things are busy and all the rest of it. He's like, do you think it'd be okay if I asked today? And so my daughter's come to me saying, look, Lucas has a few questions about REM. Is it okay that he asks them to you?

And of course, look, my Sundays are full of people asking questions. One of them, you know, a lot of them are like, what's happening with this, there and the other. Sometimes they're like personal questions. Then even more importantly, sometimes they're actually about God. But that is all trumped by someone who wants to ask a question about REM. So Lucas every week jumps straight to the start of the line. Clear my schedule.

And it's fantastic. Why don't you make an appointment to him to come to your office one day during the week and have like a proper sit down REM talk. Oh we should. I actually like quite getting away from others to you know chat to him on Sundays to be honest. It's really great. What's an example of a question he'd ask about REM? He's asked a few interesting questions about albums. Initially it was like, what do I think of this album and what's my favourite album and what he's been listening to lately, those

sorts of things. But then he's been pushing into individual songs. He's really, my favourite REM album is called Automatic for the People and he's kind of really into that. then he's been pushing into individual songs he's really my favorite REM album is called Automatic for the People and he's you know kind of really into that but he's been asking about individual songs and what do you think of this one and is the order of songs in the right right order and oh jeez I just he's pushing my buttons there I just love talking about that sort of stuff I love that man I love it my favourite REM song is Night Swimming. And the thing I love about that is that I'm not obviously at your level of REM knowledge and I'm telling you something you already know, but I love the fact that Michael Stipe wrote that song, they like the lyrics, but didn't- had no idea about the music.

It would be a fast song or a or slow song no idea at all and he kind of went to the band members and they almost I think had a little competition amongst themselves. And each of them came up with what they thought the music should be for it and then one of I don't know which one I don't even know their names one of them. Came up with the one what it was and he was like yeah I like that best and that's what they set the song to. And he was like, yeah, I like that best. And that's what they set the song to. Yeah. That was Mike Mills, who's the bass player, played that on piano. He just came up with that and he sang it over the top.

Yeah. Peter Buck, the guitarist, was watching this happen and just going, I can't believe that. That is just magnificent. Yeah. Brilliant. I love that song. Night's swimming.

That's a wonderful, I mean, that's a strong album to end with. The last three songs there, Man on the Moon and Night Swimming and then the final song, Find the River, which is my favourite REM song. There are as three as good as songs as you'll find on any album anywhere in history. I mean that is fantastic. Anyway, Lucas is a worthy runner up I think for the Tim Hine Medal for just deciding of all the people at church to come up with the one thing I want to talk about more than anything else and just go hey I've got some questions specific good insightful questions love it. But he's not graying funny looking

a songwriter. No he's not no I don't know what he's singing voices like I don't think he's a songwriter he loves God but he's not going a bit grey so sadly he was he missed out on four of the five criteria so he actually was a long it was a second he came second but he was a long way behind Bob Dylan. So that would be a Tim that Tim Hynd that would be a Tim Hynd medal awarded for asking Tim questions he loves answering. Yes yes that's right that's right which is is all any male wants, isn't it really? Yeah, just to be asked. Not to be asked questions they don't want to answer and to be asked questions they do want to answer. That's that's basically being a male. Edward's going through that phase at the moment where he asks why to everything.

And as you know, that can like you dig deeper and deeper and deeper into a subject every time you get another why and the other day Edward asked. Why the sun was behind the trees and so I said oh you know I was playing how the sun was moving and he asked me questions about that and in the end we got to a point where I was explaining to him the conservation of angular momentum during the accretion of the solar system disk and the formation of the planets, because I was explaining why the sun and planets moved in certain directions. And we went deep. He wasn't listening. He was just saying why every time there was a gap. But you just kept going and answer it. That's the way to do it. You just, yeah, pitch above his head and he'll grow into it. Absolutely. I know, I know. And now he loves he loves talking about planets and stuff now. Like, you know, you ask him where he lives and he can say his address and he'll include the Earth. He understands that he lives on planet Earth.

Fantastic. Oh, that's great. Loves naming the planets. One day there'll be a medal, which is the medal for explaining everything Brady knows to Brady's son and you're gonna win that medal. I'm gonna kill it. So anyway, should we get some medals struck? Should I get a Tim Hine medal and a Brady Haran medal and we'll do one every year? Maybe the tradition should be we announce the winner between our birthdays like we have now. Right. So next year again between sometime between our birthdays we announce who the latest winners

of the medals are. It's like medal season. Yeah. We've picked two very hard people to get the medals to. Well surely we just hire the Royal Society and they'll turn up and give a lecture. I mean I don't see why. Considering that Bob Dylan didn't turn up the Nobel Prize ceremony. I think it's going to be very difficult to get him to come to the the Tim Hine.

Well, I'll see if anyone's got any ideas for what these medals should now look like, how I should get them made. Let me know. And I'll organize these medals and we'll send one to Bob Dylan and we'll send one to Rupert Murdoch. I can't believe Rupert Murdoch. The only reason I'm going ahead, going with your ideas, because I didn't think of anything else. No, well, that's the thing. I came up with my guy.

I just came up with yours or something to talk about. But you, I did have some other people on the list because I can't remember my criteria. The other people were, there was Robin from Batman and Robin was the brilliant sidekick. Neat and smart was Lisa Simpson, which is I know you wouldn't like that. But Alex P Keaton was probably another option there that I know you're a bit more warm to. The father of Edward, I've got Prince Philip, but you wouldn't want to give him a medal, not that just because he's passed away, but the Australian Prime Minister gave him a knighthood and it just about killed his prime ministership. Right.

Several years ago. And the person I came up with who has a wife called Kylie is Jason Kelsey who I know you like as well. Oh right. One of those could be the winner if you prefer over Rupert Murdoch. Lisa Simpson, Robin from Batman and Robin, Prince Philip or Jason Kelsey. Well considering we've got dead people and fictional people, but I do like Jason Kelsey and I do feel like he embodies braidiness more than, um, yeah, I'm going

with Jason Kelsey, but you know why? He's got facial hair. He, he doesn't like dressing up and I hate dressing up. Like he, he, he casual, like when, when footballers would turn up to games and all their flashy suits, he would just turn up in shorts and flip flops. And that's very like me. I'm very, I'm a real under dresser. Wife name, Kylie, podcaster.

Both play American football. No, both, both like American football, both sports, both lovers of sport, both podcasters. I'm sorry, Rupert Murdoch, you're not getting one. I'm sent the first winner of the Brady Harren Medal for embodying Bradiness is going to Jason Kelsey. Because he has a wife named Kylie. And he's got the name Jason, which is my favourite. That's true.

Historically my favourite name in the universe. That is, that the universe that is that is always wished I was called Jason. That's right that's true. He is the man he is the man to this without me realizing it let's go for Jason Kelsey and Bob Dylan as the inaugural winners of the the Brady Haran and the Tim Hine medal. It's going to be incredible to get those two together, isn't it? I wonder if Jason Kelsey is going to value his Brady Haran medal as much as he values his Super Bowl ring. He'll wear it around on the other hand, surely. He'll get strapped like a watch. I hope so. How are we going to get this to Bob Dylan? You've given me some work. How am I going to get the medals made? What are the medals going to look like?

I think the Tim Hine medal should capture elements of your swimming carnival medal in it. It should, yes, yes. Well, show me the other side of the Christopher Zimmerman. That can be our model, the Zimmerman medal. Christopher Zeeman. Zeeman, sorry. No, I said Zimmerman.

That's a Freudian slick because Bob Dylan's name's Robert Zimmerman. Oh, right. Okay, there you go. No, the other side of the Zimmerman medal is a bit disappointing actually because it's the logos of the two societies that awarded it and they're quite sort of, they're a bit corporaty for a medal. It doesn't look as old fashioned as the front does. Yeah that looks more like a medal that I got handed out at a dinner with, you know, the mayor with 300 other people at a Adelaide

City Council dinner, you know, eight years ago. It's also interesting if you hold if you turn it around, like flip it 180 degrees, the backside is not lined up with the front. So there's the front with Chris looking up and you turn it around and the logos are sort of at 90 degrees on the Is that the obverse the other side of the medal? I don't know what you call these things but the dark side of the medal I shall arrange to have some medals struck and engrave one for Bob Dylan one for Jason Kelsey and will endeavor to get the medals to the to the winners and Find out what their reaction is. So in this this kind of middle it's not like it's engraved on there is there their name isn't

engraved it's just the the medal and you get one or is there is your name engraved there or is it? Yeah it is actually if you have a look I think I like it when medals do this um my name's actually engraved on the on the side of it like on the the rim. Cool cool yeah yeah the Fields medal I think they do that as well they engrave your name on the side of it, like on the rim. Cool, cool, yeah. The Fields Medal, I think they do that as well. They engrave your name on the side of it like that. Cause it could look a bit tacky if you put it, insert it into the middle of the face of the medal. That would look a bit tacky I think.

Nobel Prizes do that. Nobel Prizes, your name is written on the... Well, there's a little line like a certificate. There's like a little sort of a square flat patch on there and they engrave the name in the year there, but they engrave the year in Roman numerals, which I think adds a touch of class. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that always adds a bit of- we should do that. Yeah, definitely. Especially now we're in the 2000s and it's not a whole long sentence of numerals. There's just a few.

Numerals there's just a few. Just got a few winners man hang on let me get them to get my laptop because I've got the the Patreon supporters who are also winners today they haven't won medals but they've won prizes go to patreon.com slash. Unmade FM if you want to support us on Patreon I'll tell you who today's winners are. Grab my laptop. Oh, by the way, people, if you've won recently, if you're a Patreon supporter that recently has won a prize in the last few months, I did my big postal batch a couple of days ago. So if you do win, it usually takes a few months for the prizes to find their way to your postbox, but there's a whole bunch of them out there now. So if you're a recent winner, keep an eye on your postbox. If you're a Patreon supporter, make sure your postal address is up to date on the Patreon website.

Otherwise it will be sent to the wrong place. Devastation. Wouldn't want that. Yeah. So Unmade Podcast Spoon. The winner is Daniel from Copenhagen. Congratulations, Daniel. Fantastic.

Lovely spoon coming your way. An Australian nut key ring is going to Ryan from Pennsylvania. Oh, PA is Pennsylvania, isn't it? The state of the US. Congratulations, Ryan. If it's not, well, wherever PA is, Ryan, you've got one coming your way and spoon of the week collector cards a little handful of those an envelope going to Hans from the Netherlands. Hans Lydie Dorp is the name of the town or city do you know Lydie Dorp.

I do not. And then in an absolute coo for Denmark today we've already had a winner from Copenhagen we have more winners from Denmark. I don't know what's going on here August also from Copenhagen. You've got cards coming your way August I love the name August and Axel. Oh, it says here from Copenhagen, which I think is Danish for Copenhagen. So three people in Copenhagen have our winners today August Axel and who was that first one that won the spoon? Daniel. All in Copenhagen, all winners today. Congratulations everybody, fantastic. I tell you I do love my key ring, the lovely gum

nut key ring. I love it. I've been using it for, what is it now, a year, two years? How long we had these going? Fantastic. I don't know, but I've got one, I use mine as a key ring too. Australian nut is the word, that's the color. Oh yeah, yeah, the lovely brown. Beautiful. Yeah, it's a great prize.

So if you're a Patreon supporter, you could win one. If you're a Patreon supporter, you can also listen to Tim and I record the request room, which we're gonna be doing any any minute now and today's request room Is going to be great. Yes had some really fun requests We're going to be blind ranking movies and we've been asked to do another one of our imagine the phone calls Oh, yeah, right Well, we imagine a phone call between two people and we play the parts and we improvise it and we're gonna give that a try

as well love it Tim I don't think you you said you didn't have a good idea for today. I'm gonna let you off the hook because we've... we're running out of time anyway. Okay. But I want a good one next episode. There will be a good one. There's a lot... certainly there's a lot here. There's quantity, not quite in my mind tonight, the quality. I'll let you off today.

But let's go to the request room where we're going to have a lot of fun. If you're a Patreon supporter, come join us. If you're not, come join us. Just join up, sign up. You can go and install the previous ones too. You can win prizes. There's bonus material. You can vote on the titles of episodes.

You can submit requests to the request room. And we answer lots of requests. Okay, let's go. Let's do it.