The 9pm Edict

As Australia faces another "covid wave" before Christmas — at least if you believe the scary news reports — and with the dirty, dirty holiday season coming up, I thought the summer series should kick off with infectious disease physician Dr Trent Yarwood. And so it does.In this episode we also talk about the joys of syphilis and gonorrhoea, the dangers of hand-washing, the complexity of medical supply chains, why Australia didn't get a monkeypox epidemic, fencing (yes), drug shortages, and more generally, how everything is just getting worse.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00207/Please support this podcast:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

The spring series really comes to an end today with this sort of bonus unscheduled and somewhat shouty solo episode. That's a pun which will become clear.We talk about alcohol and the nanny state, some of Donald Trump's supporters, the demise of the delightful and oh so sexy Mike Pezzullo, and more.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00206/Please support this podcast by pledging your support to The 9pm Summer Series 2023 by 30 November.https://the9pmedict.com/summer2023If you miss that deadline, you can always throw a few dollars into the tip jar at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

The spring series concludes — or does it? — with special guest Yun Jiang, the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) Inaugural China Matters Fellow. Guess what we're talking about! (It's not all about lobsters.)We talk about Anthony Albanese's recent visit to China, the first since by an Australian prime minister since 2016. We also cover ASIO versus the spies, media beat-ups, trade, Australia's "fear of abandonment" and China's "deeply entrenched sense of victimhood", climate change, China's app-based internet, why Australia needs a China equivalent to the United States Study Centre, and why you shouldn't read Global Times. And lobsters. So many lobsters.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00205/Please support this podcast by pledging your support to The 9pm Summer Series 2023 by 30 November.https://the9pmedict.com/summer2023If you miss that deadline, you can always throw a few dollars into the tip jar at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

The spring series continues with another special guest, my good friend Snarky Platypus, in a wide-ranging and sometimes disturbing conversation.We talk about the weather, Duran Duran, Amanda Vanstone, who's the real arsehole in Peep Show, digital nomads in Bali, the Sydney suburb of Vaucluse, the Bored Ape Yacht Club, Vaucluse, having an "accountability partner" who sees what's on your phone, multiculturalism, whether "OnlyFans growth" is a real job, and this week's Optus failure.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00204/Please support this podcast by pledging your support to The 9pm Summer Series 2023 by 30 November.https://the9pmedict.com/summer2023If you miss that deadline, you can always throw a few dollars into the tip jar at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

We look back at Optus’ catastrophic week: What do we know about what happened, what’s happening with compensation, and what can we learn from it? I was on this week's Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News."Australian technology news podcast Vertical Hold dives into the big stories of the week. Joined by Australia's leading tech journalists every Friday, co-hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman channel-surf through the headlines in search of the big picture," they write.Vertical Hold can be found in all the podcast apps or at:https://verticalhold.com.auFull podcast details at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/vh452/Please support this podcast by pledging your support to The 9pm Summer Series 2023 by 30 November.https://the9pmedict.com/summer2023If you miss that deadline, you can always throw a few dollars into the tip jar at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

The spring series continues with two brand new species of frog and some reflections on COVID-19 with special guest Upulie Divisekera, science communicator and woman of much intelligence and smarts.We talk about trees, evolution, the distance to the Sun, the sadness of scientific names, and infectious diseases. And frogs, of course. There's quite a bit about frogs.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00203/Please support this podcast by pledging your support to The 9pm Summer Series 2023 by 30 November.https://the9pmedict.com/summer2023If you miss that deadline, you can always throw a few dollars into the tip jar at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

Will people cough up a dollar a year to post on Twitter? Would you want your mum to see your Tinder dates before you do? Why are the Australian Federal Police still dabbling in facial recognition without authorisation? I was on this week's Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News."Australian technology news podcast Vertical Hold dives into the big stories of the week. Joined by Australia's leading tech journalists every Friday, co-hosts @adam_turner and @alexkidman channel-surf through the headlines in search of the big picture," they write.Vertical Hold can be found in all the podcast apps or at:https://verticalhold.com.auFull podcast details at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/vh452/Please consider supporting The 9pm Edict at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

The spring series continues with special guest artist and political cartoonist Jon Kudelka, recorded on Tuesday in the actual Hobart.We talk about sword dances, Hobart's public transport, Tasmania's plans for an AFL team, the difference between Anthony Albanese and Malcolm Turnbull, why Bond-esque villains have white cats, and yes, gerontophilia.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00202/Please support this podcast by throwing a few dollars into the tip jar at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

It's all about artificial intelligence as the spring series continues with one of the leaders in the field, Scientia Professor Toby Walsh, chief scientist at the UNSW AI Institute.We talk about the potential for AI to become an existential threat to humanity, where you would or wouldn't want a human-shaped robot, whether AI constructs should be labelled as such, the ethics of feeding copies of books into large language models, creativity and copyright law, how to draw a platypus, and why you need a safe word to prove you're really you.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00201/Please support this podcast by throwing a few dollars into the tip jar at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

Stilgherrian returns after a three-month break to kick off a six-episode spring series of The 9pm Edict podcast. In this solo episode he's somewhat reflective, but hey he thinks you'll still like it.We talk about the nature of Time, cheese, ageing, railway ticketing, Naomi Wolf, PTSD, bestiality, and death.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00200/Please support this podcast by throwing a few dollars into the tip jar at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe