The 9pm Edict

As the spring series of The 9pm Edict continues, Rishi Sunak becomes the new prime minister of the UK — at least at the time of recording — so who better to join us than Scottish author and social researcher David F Porteous?In this episode we talk about the joy that is British politics, plus Elon Musk's imminent purchase of Twitter, Vegemite, poetry, hope, transparency, the concept of a "wellbeing budget", some weird conspiracy theories about Rishi Sunak, and whether Queen Elizabeth II is actually dead.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00189/Please support this podcast at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

There's so much happening at once! In this episode of The 9pm Edict podcast, it's all the excitement of history being made — for 45 days.We talk about the political chaos in the UK, especially the magnificent possibility of the return of Boris Johnson. But we also talk about Donald Trump and his allies, and Scott Morrison (sorry).Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00188/Please support this podcast at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

The spring series of The 9pm Edict continues with another visit from author, columnist, and man of words in so many, many dubious contexts, John Birmingham. We talk about food crimes, JB's Big Green Egg, Margaret Thatcher, Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton, custard, trickle-down economics, how the world has changed since Peter Dutton became opposition leader, the war in Ukraine, Liz Truss, the history of TV clip shows, iceberg lettuce, and sparkles.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00187/Please support this podcast at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

As the world, and in particular the UK, emerges from the period of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, regular service is resumed — by which I mean the usual mix of the stupid and the bizarre.[Update: This episode was edited on 25 September 2022 to reflect developments across the weekend in the Optus data breach story. If you're after just that update, scroll in to 55m02s.]In this episode we talk about the decline of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the massive Optus data breach, Donald Trump, Liz Truss, guinea pigs, and the many unusual ways in which people process their grief.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00186/Please support this podcast at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

The first special-guest episode in the spring series is a fascinating chat about artificial intelligence, killer robots, and more with UNSW Scientia Professor Toby Walsh, chief scientist of the brand new UNSW AI Institute.In this episode we talk about neural networks, the dangers of algorithmic policing, Google Duplex, cryptocurrency, HAL 9000 (obviously) and other disembodied computers, tribbles, whether red-eyed robots will take over the world, and even the Australian government's illegal "robodebt" scheme.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00185/Please support this podcast at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

The spring series of The 9pm Edict kicks off in a strange week, especially in British politics and the monarchy. This episode is a disjointed set of personal observations and complaints.We talk about Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, drugs, space, the metaverse, mental health, mediocre Australian politicians including Angus Taylor and Tim Smith, our JobSeeker program, and a goose.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00184/Please support this podcast at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

The winter series of The 9pm Edict concludes with another look at all the plagues and many other things — some of them fun — with infectious diseases physician Dr Trent Yarwood.In this episode we talk about COVID-19, of course, but also ebola, monkeypox, Scott Morrison's secret ministries, the sexual proclivities of backpackers, leeches, dinosaurs, William Shatner, Langya henipavirus, how we decide whether to call something a sexually-transmitted infection, and cake.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00183/Please support this podcast at:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

The winter series of The 9pm Edict continues with the return of Justin Warren, "consultant, freedom of information tragic, hexagon enthusiast, and creator of the CyberRating™ labelling scheme". He's also chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia, but I'm sure they'll disown him.In this episode we talk about the disaster that was the Australian government's COVIDSafe app, as well the wonders of electricity, the kerfuffle about Instagram, the automation of journalism, why the concept of time is annoying, organisational culture, and necromancy.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00182/Please help me produce more special-guest podcast episodes. Pledge your support to The 9pm Spring Series 2022 by 25 August 2022.https://the9pmedict.com/spring2022If you miss that deadline, you can always go to:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

The winter series of The 9pm Edict continues with astrophysicist Rami Mandow, founder of SpaceAustralia.com. There's a new telescope to talk about, and much more.In this episode we talk about the imagery from the James Webb Space Telescope, pulsars, how declassified military data is aiding science, water on mars, orbital mechanics, adaptive optics, Assyria, rainbow lorikeets, space junk, junk science, and of course Elon Musk.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00181/Please help me produce more special-guest podcast episodes. Pledge your support to The 9pm Spring Series 2022 by 25 August 2022.https://the9pmedict.com/spring2022If you miss that deadline, you can always go to:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/

A family in Florida is shocked by some unusual behaviour. Bob Katter talks about his cunning nature. And Scott Morrison continues to be Scott Morrison, telling us he doesn’t trust governmentsIn this episode we talk about Angus Taylor, George Christensen, pronouns, fruit flies, nudity, and former ABC Adelaide broadcaster, the late Philip Satchell.Full podcast details and credits at:https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00180/Please help me produce more special-guest podcast episodes. Pledge your support to The 9pm Spring Series 2022 by 25 August 2022.https://the9pmedict.com/spring2022If you miss that deadline, you can always go to:https://the9pmedict.com/tip/https://skank.com.au/subscribe/