A vast strange robotic creature only vaguely like a whale drifts through an aquatic environment. In the foreground, silhouetted against the bright blue scene, is a crowd of onlookers. — China’s aquariums utilise robotic whales to reduce the costs associated with keeping live animals. Photo: SCMP composite / Shutterstock / Weibo. Platypus inset photo by Taronga Conservation Society Australia / Chris Wheeler. Digital composition by Stilgherrian.

No, we’re not really on ketamine. But as the spring series continues we’re going sideways with a bonus episode featuring my good friend Snarky Platypus and many, many topics.

In this episode we talk about robot whales, the secrets of Dinosaur Club, Australia’s proposed social media age restrictions (again), the truly horrible side effects of ketamine addiction, how Donald Trump and Elon Musk might change our world, the problem with our news media, and premix drinks.

This podcast is available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, JioSaavn, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, SoundCloud, Spotify, and Speaker.

You can also subscribe to the generic podcast feed.

Episode Links

01. snarkyplatypus | Twitter, Instagram, TikTok | Linktree

A platypus of many talents. Interested in politics, food, pop music & basketball.
02. International Men's Day - Wikipedia

International Men's Day (IMD) is a global awareness day for many issues that men face, including parental alienation, abuse, homelessness, suicide, and violence, celebrated annually on November 19.
03. HardThrasher - YouTube

In which a not-actually-peer-of-the-realm waffles rubbish about bits of history as and when it pleases him. And possibly whiskey too. I have been known to use very bad language.
04. World Toilet Day | United Nations

World Toilet Day has been an annual United Nations Observance since 2013. It was first celebrated in 2001 by the World Toilet Organization. World Toilet Day is held every year on 19 November to celebrate toilets and raise awareness of people living without access to safely managed sanitation.
05. National Carbonated Beverage With Caffeine Day (November 19th) | Days Of The Year

Soda has become one of the most popular drinks in the world, and its all due to the people of the past experimenting with carbonated water.
06. Jagermeister premix cans

[15 September 2012] For all those Jager lovers out there it now comes in a premixed can!!!
07. Red Bull - Wikipedia

Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH.
08. Trump causes jitters in Australia as shadow looms over submarines deal | The Straits Times

[15 November 2024] The election of Donald Trump as the United States’ next president has triggered anxiety in Australia over the future of its plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines as part of a security pact involving the two countries and the United Kingdom.
08A. Trump causes jitters in Australia as shadow looms over submarines deal | The Straits Times

[15 November 2024] The election of Donald Trump as America’s next president has triggered anxiety in Canberra over the future of its plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines as part of a security pact involving the two countries and the United Kingdom. ARCHIVED VERSION OF PREVIOUS ITEM.
09. Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider - Wikipedia

The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is an American strategic bomber in development for the United States Air Force (USAF) by Northrop Grumman. Part of the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) program, it is to be a stealth intercontinental strategic bomber that can deliver conventional and thermonuclear weapons. Named "Raider" in honor of the Doolittle Raiders of World War II, the B-21 is meant to replace the Rockwell B-1 Lancer and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit by 2040, and possibly the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress after that.
10. About Strategic Analysis Australia

Strategic Analysis Australia exists to provide policy insights into national security, defence and international relations challenges for government and corporate users, and to inform the public debate.
11. The Straits Times - Breaking News, Lifestyle & Multimedia News

From Wikipedia: The Straits Times (also known informally by its abbreviation ST) is a Singaporean daily English-language newspaper owned by the SPH Media Trust. Established on 15 July 1845, it is the most-widely circulated newspaper in the country and has a significant regional audience. The newspaper is published in the broadsheet format and online, the latter of which was launched in 1994. It is regarded as the newspaper of record for Singapore.
12. Bangkok Post - The world’s window on Thailand | Breaking news, Thailand news, Latest news, World news

From Wikipedia: The Bangkok Post is an English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. It is published in broadsheet and digital formats. The first issue was sold on 1 August 1946. It had four pages and cost one baht, a considerable amount at the time when a baht was a paper note. It is Thailand's oldest newspaper still in publication. The daily circulation of the Bangkok Post is 110,000, 80 percent of which is distributed in Bangkok and the remainder nationwide. It is considered a newspaper of record for Thailand.
13. Nation Thailand news website, thai news, thailand news, Bangkok thailand, aec, breakin...