Kat Robison, PhD

I actually loved the train trip! It was so gorgeous and super easy for the transfers in the city to JFK.

Also, and excellent party!

Political scientists see non-violent resistance as much more effective--and it's not just from aggregate statistics. Rather, it's the way that peaceful resistance undermines the state's repressive capacities.

This op-ed by Berkeley prof @owasow.bsky.social explains this logic 🎯.

Give it a read!

A good friend recommended the book, Hestia Strikes a Match, a few years ago. It was a fascinating read. Right now, the future it imagined feels much too close. However, I’m proud of my fellow Americans who are getting up to good trouble and mourning for those who lost their lives for their values.

I’ve been teaching versions of an intro to American Politics for over a decade - and all my students know her name (laughter helps them learn and retain; thanks, Drunk History). As a pregnant teen, she had more courage than most. Rest in Power.

I’m devastated by the attack at Bondi. No one deserves to be targeted because of their religion and every Australian deserves to be safe. My heart goes out to the victims.

How critical minerals power our daily lives from the moment we wake up Take a tour around the house and see how everyday life is powered by critical minerals and why we will keep hearing so much about them.

“If you don’t have rare earths, then you don’t have the high-powered magnets that go into missiles and the jet engines that hold everything together,” says USSC's Hayley Channer.

“So it is a national security threat.”

Read:

Screenshot of following text, with the quote about the Middle East highlighted in red. Further, by inviting the R.S.F. delegation to attend the talks in D.C., the Administration conferred legitimacy on the group. “You don’t invite Hamas or the Taliban to Washington to negotiate things. You do that in Doha, right?” Hudson said. “That’s why God invented the Middle East, so that we didn’t have to have these war criminals sipping champagne in Washington, D.C.” Hudson believes that further horrors can be avoided, but only if the U.S. commits to focussing on the issue, and to putting real pressure on the R.S.F. and its allies.

I’m wondering why your editorial team thought this was an appropriate quote to run in this piece? It’s so casually demeaning of an entire region and undermines the point being made.

Some things never change!

(Which, as I should have mentioned above, was also the most frequently chosen top concern.)

When we recently surveyed Australians about their concerns around space - 41.9% cited the accumulation of space debris around Earth.

a whale is jumping out of the water next to a boat that says bunny castro Alt: an orca is jumping out of the water over a jetty to escape captivity - which he may have deserved if he’s off to go hunt a poor whale calf or a great white just to eat its liver

I spend too much time thinking about how Free Willy was basically orca propaganda.

YES YES YES to all of this.

Looking up from Down Under in 2025: Re-investigating Australian attitudes to national space activities A new national survey uncovers what Australians really think about space, from its everyday impact to the country’s direction in the sector.

Along with Tristan, we worked with Dr Aleks Deejay, our colleague at the @acsg.bsky.social, and had the support of @usstudiescentre.bsky.social at @sydney.edu.au, UNSW Canberra, and Space Industry Association Australia. www.ussc.edu.au/looking-up-f...

Australians want to spend more on space – but we don’t really know where we’re going Every single day, space technology impacts our lives. But a new report reveals gaps between what Australians think and what they know about space.

We published our newest report on Australian public opinion of space from @acsg.bsky.social on Friday, and somehow, in the middle of #IAC2025, @tristanmoss.bsky.social and I found some time to write about it for @theconversation.com. I’ll also link the full report below.

Political violence is never the answer.

Please share with any educator you know and tell them to bring a friend along!

Alongside my colleagues, Olivia Shen, Director of Strategic Technologies, and Associate Professor David Smith, we'll share insights on how AI, space exploration and US politics are shaping society — and how these themes can inspire critical thinking and engagement in the classroom.

It's taking place on 6 September on the @sydney.edu.au campus. The day includes a morning tea and networking lunch and we'll send you home with classroom materials and a gift from the Centre.

Teaching the future: AI, policy and the social sciences Secondary school teachers are invited to join us at the University of Sydney for a half-day NESA-accredited professional development workshop exploring the intersections of AI, technology, policy and ...

Secondary teachers and educators, @usstudiescentre.bsky.social is hosting a free, half-day, NESA-accredited workshop for professional development which explores the intersections of AI, technology, policy, and the social sciences. Learn more and register here: www.ussc.edu.au/teaching-the....

I just had the most unprofessional experience contacting @jeromelaxale.com’s office. The person who answered, when asked what his name was, literally answered “Jesus Christ.” This was before I even had a chance to say why I was calling. I have little faith my concern will be taken seriously.

How anyone can see these children starving and not have their souls break is beyond me. As James Baldwin said, all the children, everywhere, are ours. We are failing our children.

“The account of the command counters Musk’s narrative of how he has handled Starlink service in Ukraine amid the war. As recently as March, in a post on X, his social media site, Musk wrote: “We would never do such a thing.”
Musk and Nicolls didn’t respond to requests from Reuters for comment.”

Black and white picture of the stars from Jupiter, looking out over a ring. Photo from NASA Juno.

Sometimes, when watching politics, I like to remind myself that I live in a universe where we know what the stars look like from Jupiter:

Israel bombs Iran and Trump takes on LA Israel says it is defending its very existence with massive, pre-emptive strikes on Iran; Senior Israeli ministers are sanctioned by Australia; and Donald Trump calls in the national guard, setting up...

As Trump faces legal pushback over deploying the National Guard, what does US Code §12406 actually allow — and how far can presidential power stretch?

@sydney.edu.au/USSC’s @katrobison.bsky.social joins SBS World News Weekly to unpack it.

Listen:

Australia’s homegrown rocket needs more money and family wealth

Gilmour Space’s upcoming launch of an Australian-made rocket marks a major milestone.

But as USSC's @katrobison.bsky.social argues, real space capability requires more than ambition — it demands national strategy, investment, and sovereign focus.

Read:

Thank you!

Australia’s homegrown rocket needs more money and family wealth If we want more Australian-built rockets, space technology, and sovereign capability, we need more than funding rounds and family wealth.

Every Australian relies on space; the government can’t afford to ignore its impact on economic and national security. I write about why in my latest for the Financial Review:

This is worth a read.

Aside from all comments on the photo they chose, this election was not “close” at all. It was a decisive win for Labor (and the leader of the opposition even lost his own seat). ABC News’ David Speers called it a “Labor landslide.”

Canada and now Australia bucking the anti-incumbency trend. #auspol