Stilgherrian – Page 6

11 July 202511 July 2025

The 9pm AUKUS and the Echidna with Sam Roggeveen

A middle-aged white bloke wears a black jacket and t-shirt and, with arms folded, looks straight into the camera. An inset shows a book cover reading: �The Echidna Strategy: Australia�s Search for Power and Peace by Sam Roggeveen�. And it has a picture of an echidna. — *Sam Roggeveen (Photo: Petri Kurkaa*). Inset: The cover of The Echidna Strategy. (Image: Black Inc Books)

Any moment now, Donald Trump might cancel AUKUS, the massive defence agreement which among other things would see Australia buying eight nuclear-powered submarines. AUKUS has become the big thing in Australia’s defence procurement, but do we need it? Sam Roggeveen thinks not, and he’s our guest today.

06 July 202506 July 2025

Weekly Wrap 788: I saw a kestrel on Granite Island

A view from a hill on an island towards the mainland, overlooking a bay. In the foreground just below us is a pine tree. Lining the shore opposite shore, across calm waters, are further pine trees, largely obscuring a small town. A track winds along the shore of the island around to the left, from where a low causeway connects the island to the shore opposite. The sky is cloudy, and in the distance there is gentle rain. All is serene.

My week of Monday 30 June to Sunday 6 July 2025 began in Adelaide, and we visited my birthplace of Gawler on Monday, and Victor Harbor and Granite Island on Tuesday. Bad weather in Sydney meant our return trip on Wednesday went via Melbourne and an almost-pointless overnight stay until Thursday, but here we are.

03 July 202506 July 2025

Weekly Wrap 787: A late (lack of) news from Adelaide

A two-car diesel multiple unit train approaches a railway station platform in the golden hour of evening sunlight. It has a flat red nose and is otherwise fluted metal, with a grass green band along the windows. The door frames are edged with safety yellow. In the background is a huge eucalypt tree and a moody sky.

My week of Monday 23 to Sunday 29 June 2025 saw the start of a semi-holiday which will eventually total six nights in my home town of Adelaide. I won’t go into the details now, because this is being posted four days late. Rather, I’ll post a few images and some commentary on the coming weekend, and later there will be a podcast. But hey it’s Adelaide, so there’s obviously plenty of good food and wine.

22 June 202530 June 2025

Weekly Wrap 786: Cleaning the pipes before the mind

My week of Monday 16 to Sunday 22 June 2025 began with a continuation of the gastro that began late last week, but somehow I still managed to stay relatively productive. There’s no new podcast, but I’ve started mapping out episodes for the coming couple of months � and planning next week’s holiday.

15 June 202515 June 2025

Weekly Wrap 785: Thinking of more pleasant times is the Quay to happiness, right?

Diarrhoea plagued my week of Monday 9 to Sunday 15 June 2025 but it was still productive, with another fun podcast and a lot of successful client work. But there was no time for photos, so here’s a shot of Circular Quay from a couple weeks ago.

14 June 202515 June 2025

The 9pm Remembering Valentina Tereshkova and Bonus Aliens with Dr Alice Gorman and Rami Mandow

Left: Dr Alice Gorman. (Photo: Simon Royal/ABC) Right: Rami Mandow. (Photo: Supplied; Post-processing: Stilgherrian). Not the best ALT text, I know, but yeah a white women and a man "of Middle-Eastern appearance". — *Left: Dr Alice Gorman. (Photo: Simon Royal/ABC) Right: Rami Mandow. (Photo: Supplied; Post-processing: Stilgherrian).*

With massive budget cuts to NASA, claims that we’ve found alien life, and an important anniversary coming up, it’s time once more to talk about Space! My guests, therefore, are space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman aka Dr Space Junk, and astrophysicist Rami Mandow.