Program Format

When The 2 Blokes Chatting Radio Show commenced in March 2020, we decided to take elements from each of our existing programs - Sportsfix (focusing its attention on local and national sport) and Turn Up Your Radio (a music program featuring the best music of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s). Given the expected temporary nature of the program, we took a few weeks to settle into a rhythm and to create a structured format that broadened our subject matter beyond the initial focus of sport and music.

Both elements still play a significant role in the program but the content has broadened to include a range of topics and guests that fit within our overarching intent - to inform and to entertain. Given the time slot we currently occupy (Saturday morning), we have deliberately and intentionally steered away from politics and contentious current affairs. We believe our listeners hear enough of that content throughout the working week and prefer a more relaxed and lifestyle-focused program on their Saturday morning.

Throughout each program, we play five or six songs, kicking off with a track by our featured birthday artist. Neil selects the music, adhering to a theme for each week's program (e.g. songs with place names in the title, songs by English artists, etc), with Rob given the task of trying to guess the theme. We regularly have listeners texting us during the program with their guess on what the musical theme is. We also carry sponsorship announcements at the start or end of each music break, creating an interlude between each segment.

Current Format

Every week, our program follows the same broad structure:

9:00am	Weather / program introduction
9:05am	Birthday artist Neil provides a list of well-known people who are having a birthday, including a musician / singer. Rob guesses and ranks the ages of each birthday person and the segment concludes with a song by the featured birthday artist.
9:15am	Fishing (John Didge) / Small Business (Jenn Donovan) / Animal Care (Dione Howard) / Health (Rebecca Bradshaw) - four week rotation This four week rotation commenced in 2024, having previously been a fortnightly rotation between fishing and women's sport. Having now incorporated a stronger focus on women's sport into our weekly sport report, we have broaden the topics across a four-week cycle, giving three "new-to-radio" presenters an opportunity to present on the program.
9:30am	The Long Run A light-hearted chat about something(s) that has annoyed Rob or Neil since our last program. The Long Run has become a podcast in its own right with each week's segment uploaded to the various podcast stores.
9:45am	Sport (with Alison Paterson) Until recently, this segment was presented by local journalist Josh Barnes. We are thrilled to say that Jish has been called up to "higher honours" as a journalist with the Herald Sun and as a regular contributor to ABC Breakfast in Melbourne. Alison was previously a regular presenter on the Pulse and most recently contributed to The 2 Blokes Chatting Radio Show as our fortnightly women's sport correspondent.
10:00am	Weather
10:05am	Special Guest This segment features Rob and Neil chatting to a special guest in an extended conversation, usually 20 to 25 minutes in duration. We have attracted a number of nationally and internationally-known names from the world of sport, music and other fields. A selection of these conversations can be found on the Our Special Guests page on the public section of The 2 Blokes Chatting Radio Show web site. We have chosen a handful of our favourite conversations and included them in this hidden section of the site, too - you can find them on the Air Check page.
10:30am	Whaddya Reckon During this segment, one of the Blokes outlines a scenario, an issue or an opinion which concludes with "whaddya reckon?". An informal segment where we chat about whatever topic is presented. To make this more effective and spontaneous, the topic is only revealed to the other Bloke for the first time when the segment starts.
10:45am	Regional Roundup Both Blokes have a passion for regional Australia and firmly believe that there are literally millions of great storytellers across the country just waiting for their chance to be heard. Every week, the Blokes chat to someone who lives and works in regional Australia - in part to find out about the town and region, in part to learn more about life in other parts of regional Australia.
11:00am	End Program