Happy New Year! The Premier of NSW once dressed as a Nazi and people are losing their minds. It's the perfect start to 2023.

We also talk about the demise of conservative dating site The Right Stuff, Prince Harry's willy, Bill Gates' opinion of cryptocurrency, and some stories from the early days of interactive computers.

Full podcast details and credits at:
https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00193/

Please support this podcast by supporting my current crowdfunding campaign, The 9pm Hardware Refresh 2023, by 26 January:
https://stilgherrian.com/refresh2023

If you miss that deadline, you can always throw a few dollars into the tip jar at:
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The spring series of The 9pm Edict comes to a belated finale with special guest Yun Jiang, the inaugural China Matters Fellow at the Australian Institute of International Affairs. And guess what? We're discussing news from China.

In this episode we talk about the historic meeting between Australia's foreign minister Senator Penny Wong and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the lifting of China's zero-covid policy, China's efforts to attract and retain scientific talent, China's ambitions in Antarctica, the plight of international students and how their experiences change their views of Australia, Chengdu rapper Xie Di, and of course cardboard dogs.

Full podcast details and credits at:
https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00192/

Please support this podcast by supporting my current crowdfunding campaign, The 9pm Hardware Refresh 2023, by 26 January:
https://stilgherrian.com/refresh2023

If 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/

Once again there’s so many things happening, but in this episode of The 9pm Edict podcast we simply must talk about Space Karen and his bizarre management style at his new $44 billion plaything, Twitter.

We also talk about artificial intelligence conversation generator ChatGTP, Peter Dutton's inability to say anything other than "Mr Speaker", Pancake Kitchen, and much more.

Full podcast details and credits at:
https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00191/

Please support this podcast by supporting my current crowdfunding campaign, The 9pm Hardware Refresh 2023, by 26 January:
https://the9pmedict.com/refresh2023

If you miss that deadline, you can always throw a few dollars into the tip jar or subscribe for ore benefits at:
https://the9pmedict.com/tip/
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Finally, it's time to talk about submarines. The spring series of The 9pm Edict continues with a conversation about what submarines in the 21st century can and can't do with defence analyst and illustrator H I Sutton of Covert Shores.

Before we can answer questions about whether Australia "really needs" nuclear submarines, we need to step back a bit. So in this episode we compare nuclear subs with conventional boats, and we talk about underwater drones, Russia's intercontinental nuclear torpedo, Operation Ivy Bells, American submarine NR-1, air-independent power, and much more.

Needless to say, we mention some films: Das Boot, The Hunt for Red October, Fail-Safe, and The World is Not Enough.

Full podcast details and credits at:
https://the9pmedict.com/edict/00190/

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Elon Musk finally owns Twitter, but is the social media giant circling the drain or about to become something entirely new? Should Medibank pay the ransom to keep customers’ sensitive medical data safe? I was on this week's Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News and this is an updated version.

"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.

"A week is a long time in politics, they say… and it turns out it’s a long time when you’re the new owner of Twitter, having spent $44 billion dollars to own it. Elon Musk has been on an absolute tear this week, but what will his changes mean for Twitter? Will anyone pay $8/month for a verified tick, and what are they worth if anyone can just do that anyway?

"Meanwhile the breaches are coming thick and fast as we dive into the details (such as they are) behind the Medibank data breach, and Sony reveals its PSVR2 pricing!"

Vertical Hold can be found in all the podcast apps or at:
https://verticalhold.com.au

Full podcast details at:
https://the9pmedict.com/edict/vh403/

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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/

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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:
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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/

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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:
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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/