Brains On Podcast Premium
March 7, 2025
Smarty Pass Bonus: Molly’s Inconceivable Preposterous Skateboard
Oh no! Molly’s been bequeathed her great-great grandfather’s skateboard, which unfortunately contains the spirit of dictionary editor Rutherford Williams Webster! Hoping to defeat the skateboard poltergeist, Anna and Marc must attempt to spell and define Webster’s most obscure words!
Audio Transcript
Download transcript (PDF)
SYNTHESIZED VOICE: Now entering Brains On headquarters.
[MECHANICAL WHIRRING]
[SKATEBOARD WHEEL ROLLING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Kickflip oh, hey, smarty pal. You caught me playing with this skateboard. I inherited it from my great, great grandfather. It's totally radical. Producer Anna Goldfield is taping me doing gnarly tricks on it. How's it looking, Anna?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Totally radical.
MOLLY BLOOM: Perfect. That's what I'm going for.
MARC SANCHEZ: Hey, Molly. Hey, Anna. What are you up to?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Molly got this sick new skateboard, so we're doing tricks.
MARC SANCHEZ: That skateboard is new? It looks super old.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, it's new to us, but you're right, it's really old. I just got it from my Great Aunt Petunia. She says it belonged to her father, Amadeus Bloom.
MARC SANCHEZ: Wait, your great, great grandfather is Amadeus Bloom, the wealthy oil tycoon who made billions in the early 1920s?
MOLLY BLOOM: No, my Amadeus Bloom sold beef jerky out of a wagon, but people confuse them for each other a lot. My great, great grandfather traveled the country, selling jerky. And the story goes, some old guy couldn't afford his jerky, so he gave him this skateboard instead.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: That's not what happened at all.
MARC SANCHEZ: Molly, look out, a ghost just came out of your skateboard.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Totally radical.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: I am Rutherford Williams Webster, editor of the Webster's dictionary. One century ago, Molly Bloom's great, great grandfather sold me beef jerky. But when I couldn't afford to pay him, he bound my spirit to his favorite skateboard.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, no. How do we save you, jerky ghost?
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: You must spell and define three of my favorite words. If you can, my spirit will pass unto the other side.
MOLLY BLOOM: What do you say, guys, you want to help this old ghost?
MARC SANCHEZ: Sure.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Definitely. Totally radical.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: Perfect my first word to spell and define is blatherskite.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, guys, teamwork time.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: I do know what this word means, but if you guys want to spell it.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, Marc, let's take turns. I'm going to start. B--
MARC SANCHEZ: L--
MOLLY BLOOM: --A--
MARC SANCHEZ: --T--
MOLLY BLOOM: --H--
MARC SANCHEZ: --E--
MOLLY BLOOM: --R--
MARC SANCHEZ: --S--
MOLLY BLOOM: --K--
MARC SANCHEZ: OK, now here's the tricky part.
MOLLY BLOOM: What, you took German?
MARC SANCHEZ: Oh, you think it's--
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Der blatherskite?
MARC SANCHEZ: --I--
MOLLY BLOOM: --T--
MARC SANCHEZ: --E--
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: You are correct. Now, who can define it?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Me, I can.
MARC SANCHEZ: Anna, we're looking to you.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: I think it is-- if it's the word I'm thinking of, it's of Scottish origin, and it's like someone who just, like, talks nonsense and sort of spins yarns, something like that, brags a lot.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: You are absolutely right. A blatherskite is a person who blathers or talks foolishly a lot.
MOLLY BLOOM: Wow, I knew it would be great to have Anna Goldfield, past spelling bee champion on our team.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: My second word to spell and define is piffle.
MOLLY BLOOM: Anna knows this one, too, I can tell.
MARC SANCHEZ: I'll start this one. I'll start the spelling of this one.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK.
MARC SANCHEZ: P--
MOLLY BLOOM: --I--
MARC SANCHEZ: --F--
MOLLY BLOOM: --F--
MARC SANCHEZ: --L--
MOLLY BLOOM: --E?
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: You are correct.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yes.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: That is piffle. Now, who can define this word?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: I think that piffle means nonsense, hooey, tosh. It's sort of a very Britishy expression. Oh, piffle.
MARC SANCHEZ: Is it something a blatherskite might say?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: I think it is. I think a blatherskite might spew out some piffle.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: Anna has it right again. Piffle is to talk or act in a trivial or ineffective way.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, yes. Excellent work, everybody.
MARC SANCHEZ: Go, team word.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: And now my final word. Spell and define betwixt.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Oh, that's when-- that's when you're eating a Twix candy bar, and you get all gummed up from the caramel.
MARC SANCHEZ: Actually, it's more precise to say, it's when you're eating the Twix candy bar, and you've finished the first bar, and you're betwixt the first and the second.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: A little intermission.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yep, agreed.
MARC SANCHEZ: B-E--
MOLLY BLOOM: --T-W--
ANNA GOLDFIELD: --I-X--
MARC SANCHEZ: --T.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: You are correct. That is how you spell that word. Can you give me the definition?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: I'm going to step back on this one.
MARC SANCHEZ: It feels like it's between.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Yes.
MARC SANCHEZ: I like Anna stepping back.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: I'm stepping back and giving moral support.
MOLLY BLOOM: I love it.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: That's absolutely correct. By jove, you've done it. You've released me from this infernal skateboard. Thank you, Molly, Marc, and Anna. I will remember you forever.
MARC SANCHEZ: Wow, I can't believe we just saved a ghost. You still want to do your skateboard trick, Molly?
MOLLY BLOOM: No. You know what I really want now? Some beef jerky.
MARC SANCHEZ: Yum. I could go for a tasty snack. How about you, Anna? Want to get some jerky?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Totally radical.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's it for this smarty pants episode. It was edited by Sanden Totten and produced by Aron Woldeslassie. Our executive producer is Beth Pearlman and the APM studios executives in charge are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Brains On is a non-profit public radio program. Thanks, Smarty Pass friends. Bye bye.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Later, skater.
MARC SANCHEZ: Bye.
[MECHANICAL WHIRRING]
[SKATEBOARD WHEEL ROLLING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Kickflip oh, hey, smarty pal. You caught me playing with this skateboard. I inherited it from my great, great grandfather. It's totally radical. Producer Anna Goldfield is taping me doing gnarly tricks on it. How's it looking, Anna?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Totally radical.
MOLLY BLOOM: Perfect. That's what I'm going for.
MARC SANCHEZ: Hey, Molly. Hey, Anna. What are you up to?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Molly got this sick new skateboard, so we're doing tricks.
MARC SANCHEZ: That skateboard is new? It looks super old.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, it's new to us, but you're right, it's really old. I just got it from my Great Aunt Petunia. She says it belonged to her father, Amadeus Bloom.
MARC SANCHEZ: Wait, your great, great grandfather is Amadeus Bloom, the wealthy oil tycoon who made billions in the early 1920s?
MOLLY BLOOM: No, my Amadeus Bloom sold beef jerky out of a wagon, but people confuse them for each other a lot. My great, great grandfather traveled the country, selling jerky. And the story goes, some old guy couldn't afford his jerky, so he gave him this skateboard instead.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: That's not what happened at all.
MARC SANCHEZ: Molly, look out, a ghost just came out of your skateboard.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Totally radical.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: I am Rutherford Williams Webster, editor of the Webster's dictionary. One century ago, Molly Bloom's great, great grandfather sold me beef jerky. But when I couldn't afford to pay him, he bound my spirit to his favorite skateboard.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, no. How do we save you, jerky ghost?
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: You must spell and define three of my favorite words. If you can, my spirit will pass unto the other side.
MOLLY BLOOM: What do you say, guys, you want to help this old ghost?
MARC SANCHEZ: Sure.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Definitely. Totally radical.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: Perfect my first word to spell and define is blatherskite.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, guys, teamwork time.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: I do know what this word means, but if you guys want to spell it.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, Marc, let's take turns. I'm going to start. B--
MARC SANCHEZ: L--
MOLLY BLOOM: --A--
MARC SANCHEZ: --T--
MOLLY BLOOM: --H--
MARC SANCHEZ: --E--
MOLLY BLOOM: --R--
MARC SANCHEZ: --S--
MOLLY BLOOM: --K--
MARC SANCHEZ: OK, now here's the tricky part.
MOLLY BLOOM: What, you took German?
MARC SANCHEZ: Oh, you think it's--
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Der blatherskite?
MARC SANCHEZ: --I--
MOLLY BLOOM: --T--
MARC SANCHEZ: --E--
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: You are correct. Now, who can define it?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Me, I can.
MARC SANCHEZ: Anna, we're looking to you.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: I think it is-- if it's the word I'm thinking of, it's of Scottish origin, and it's like someone who just, like, talks nonsense and sort of spins yarns, something like that, brags a lot.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: You are absolutely right. A blatherskite is a person who blathers or talks foolishly a lot.
MOLLY BLOOM: Wow, I knew it would be great to have Anna Goldfield, past spelling bee champion on our team.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: My second word to spell and define is piffle.
MOLLY BLOOM: Anna knows this one, too, I can tell.
MARC SANCHEZ: I'll start this one. I'll start the spelling of this one.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK.
MARC SANCHEZ: P--
MOLLY BLOOM: --I--
MARC SANCHEZ: --F--
MOLLY BLOOM: --F--
MARC SANCHEZ: --L--
MOLLY BLOOM: --E?
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: You are correct.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yes.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: That is piffle. Now, who can define this word?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: I think that piffle means nonsense, hooey, tosh. It's sort of a very Britishy expression. Oh, piffle.
MARC SANCHEZ: Is it something a blatherskite might say?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: I think it is. I think a blatherskite might spew out some piffle.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: Anna has it right again. Piffle is to talk or act in a trivial or ineffective way.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, yes. Excellent work, everybody.
MARC SANCHEZ: Go, team word.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: And now my final word. Spell and define betwixt.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Oh, that's when-- that's when you're eating a Twix candy bar, and you get all gummed up from the caramel.
MARC SANCHEZ: Actually, it's more precise to say, it's when you're eating the Twix candy bar, and you've finished the first bar, and you're betwixt the first and the second.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: A little intermission.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yep, agreed.
MARC SANCHEZ: B-E--
MOLLY BLOOM: --T-W--
ANNA GOLDFIELD: --I-X--
MARC SANCHEZ: --T.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: You are correct. That is how you spell that word. Can you give me the definition?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: I'm going to step back on this one.
MARC SANCHEZ: It feels like it's between.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Yes.
MARC SANCHEZ: I like Anna stepping back.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: I'm stepping back and giving moral support.
MOLLY BLOOM: I love it.
RUTHERFORD WILLIAMS WEBSTER: That's absolutely correct. By jove, you've done it. You've released me from this infernal skateboard. Thank you, Molly, Marc, and Anna. I will remember you forever.
MARC SANCHEZ: Wow, I can't believe we just saved a ghost. You still want to do your skateboard trick, Molly?
MOLLY BLOOM: No. You know what I really want now? Some beef jerky.
MARC SANCHEZ: Yum. I could go for a tasty snack. How about you, Anna? Want to get some jerky?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Totally radical.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's it for this smarty pants episode. It was edited by Sanden Totten and produced by Aron Woldeslassie. Our executive producer is Beth Pearlman and the APM studios executives in charge are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Brains On is a non-profit public radio program. Thanks, Smarty Pass friends. Bye bye.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Later, skater.
MARC SANCHEZ: Bye.
Transcription services provided by 3Play Media.
