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StarStuff

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

StarStuff
GenreSpace and Astronomy News
LanguageEnglish
Cast and voices
Hosted byStuart Gary
Publication
Original release1998 –
December 2015
Provider
UpdatesWeekly
Related
Website
SpaceTime with Stuart Gary
Publication
Original releaseFebruary 2016 –
⁠
UpdatesThree per week (as of 2026)
Related
Website

StarStuff is an Australian space and astronomy program compiled, edited, and presented by Stuart Gary.[1] It was initially broadcast on ABC NewsRadio (1998–2008),[2][3][4] before being relaunched as a weekly podcast hosted by ABC Science Online (2008–2015).[3][5] In 2016, the show transitioned to become an independent podcast, SpaceTime with Stuart Gary.[6][7] It is one of the most popular astronomy podcasts in Australia,[8] and in 2024, Chartable ranked it as a top 100 science podcast by global reach.[9]

History

[edit]

After commencing his career as an announcer and journalist in commercial radio,[10] Stuart Gary joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as a news journalist in 1989.[11] In 1994, he moved to ABC NewsRadio,[1] then known as the Parliamentary and News Network, a newly launched service with the mandate of providing a continuous news radio broadcast.[12]

Gary's interest in science was sparked when NewsRadio's founder and inaugural manager[13] Dr Ian Wolfe tasked him with producing a short report on loop quantum gravity.[4] StarStuff was first broadcast in 1998, initially as a weekly five-minute space news segment,[4] though by 1999 it had grown to become a half-hour show.[1] Its name was taken from the quote "We are made of star-stuff", as popularised by Carl Sagan in his 1973 book The Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective.[4][14][15] The program was broadcast on NewsRadio every Sunday night between 1998 and 2008, with a replay the following Saturday evening.

StarStuff was designed as an hour-long science news bulletin wrapping up all the past week's developments and advances in science and technology. StarStuff's strict news bulletin format made it unique in Australian science broadcasting. The show was designed as a one-person operation with the presenter Stuart Gary, also sourcing, writing and editing the program on top of his regular evening show, five nights a week. StarStuff's material was sourced from ABC news and current affairs reports, syndicated wires copy, and scientific peer reviewed journals.

The ABC was an early adopter of podcasting technology, conducting its first trial in December 2004.[16] NewsRadio began co-releasing StarStuff as a podcast in mid-2006,[17][18][19] having previously only supported the direct downloading of recordings from the station website.[2][20]

In 2008, StarStuff was axed. After numerous complaints to the ABC, the show was restarted as a podcast published by ABC Science Online.[3][21]

As part of ABC Science Online, StarStuff averaged over a million downloads a year. The complete StarStuff program was also broadcast in the United States on Science 360 Radio.

On 1 July 2015 ABC Science Online was incorporated into the ABC's Radio National network (RN). In December 2015 Ben Watts from ABC Multi-platform announced the axing of StarStuff claiming the show’s numbers were not strong enough. The same month, Stuart Gary announced via the official StarStuff Twitter account that he had been made redundant by the ABC. Gary was offered the chance for redeployment within the ABC, but instead resigned to keep StarStuff going as a private venture.

Gary has since renamed the program to SpaceTime.

The program is now produced as a free thrice weekly podcast.

The show is still broadcast coast to coast across the United States on Science 360 Radio. As of July 2017 SpaceTime with Stuart Gary was achieving over 63,000 downloads a week.

Format

[edit]

Stuart Gary reported on the latest developments with space advancements and sciences. The show explored developments in astronomy, including astrophysics and cosmology. It also covered news in space sciences such as aerospace and rocket development and the history of human space flight. It regularly informed its listeners about the ongoing progress of various missions such as the Mars rovers, Curiosity, and the Saturn Cassini-Huygens Missions.

Stuart Gary also wrote news and feature articles on astronomy and general science for ABC Science.

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 Walker, David M. (14 January 1999). "The final frontier". The Age. p. 67. Newspapers.com clipping 204269743 (from page 122854933). ProQuest 363274231.
  2. 1 2 Newsome, Brad (18 May 2006). "Late news for the starry-eyed". The Age. ProQuest 363801076.
  3. 1 2 3 Javes, Sue (28 July 2008). "Radio". The Sydney Morning Herald. ProQuest 364221019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Newsome, Brad (30 March 2011). "Written in the stars". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2 April 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "StarStuff". ABC Science. 16 December 2015. Archived from the original on 7 January 2026.
  6. ↑ ABC StarStuff (27 February 2016). "StarStuff (@ABCstarstuff)". Twitter. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "About Page | Space, Astronomy & Science Podcast". Spacetime with Stuart Gary. Archived from the original on 15 April 2026.
  8. ↑ "mowPod Charts: Podcast Chart Rankings". charts.mowpod.com. Australia, 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31.
  9. ↑ "Chartable : Podcasts : Global : Science : Reach Podcast Charts - Top Podcasts (Monday Sep 16–Sunday Sep 22, 2024)". Chartable. Archived from the original on 28 September 2024.
  10. ↑ "NewsRadio/About Stuart Gary". ABC NewsRadio. Archived from the original on 8 February 2002.
  11. ↑ "Stuart Gary". ABC News. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Stuart Gary is a senior journalist and broadcaster. Since joining the ABC in 1989, he has worked in ABC News, NewsRadio and ABC Science. Stuart is a B&T radio documentary award winner, and currently hosts ABC StarStuff, ABC Science's space and astronomy program. Twitter: @abcstarstuff
  12. ↑ "Happy 30th, ABC NewsRadio! - About the ABC". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 24 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "OBITUARY: Dr Ian Wolfe". The Courier Mail. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  14. ↑ O'Toole, Garson (2017). Hemingway Didn't Say That: The Truth Behind Familiar Quotations. Little A. pp. 302–307. ISBN 9781503933408. Web version.
  15. ↑ Sagan, Carl (1973). The Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective. Garden City, N.Y: Anchor Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-0385004572.
  16. ↑ Madsen, Virginia (2014). "Podcasting". In Griffen-Foley, Bridget (ed.). A Companion to the Australian Media. Australian Scholarly. pp. 340–341. ISBN 9781925003055.
  17. ↑ "Podcasts". ABC NewsRadio. 20 May 2006. Archived from the original on 23 May 2006.
  18. ↑ "ABC NewsRadio StarStuff". ABC NewsRadio. Archived from the original on 30 June 2006.
  19. ↑ "ABC Online: Podcasting - A-Z Programs". ABC Online. Archived from the original on 17 July 2006.
  20. ↑ "ABC NewsRadio: programs: Star Stuff". ABC NewsRadio. Archived from the original on 5 September 2005.
  21. ↑ Sharma, Mahesh (2 December 2010). "There but by the grace of the pods: podcasting". The Age. ProQuest 815110904.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=StarStuff&oldid=1372086859"