I’m joined this week by someone who asks questions maybe all of us don’t ask enough: How do we become happier? And how do we date people we disagree with? And maybe most importantly: Why do people feel they are living lives without meaning? And how do we solve this? My guest is Arthur C. Brooks, a Harvard professor, a best-selling author, a social scientist, and a co-author (with Oprah, no less) of Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier. Arthur has spent decades studying...
Jun 30, 2025•1 hr 15 min
This week I sit down with writer and thinker Tim Urban, creator of the blog Wait But Why to talk: political polarization, AI, university campuses and even dating. Tim brings his trademark clarity and curiosity to a conversation that covers the rise of tribal thinking, the challenge of nuance in a viral world, and how humanity can navigate the information overload of the digital age. www.moinkbox.com/coleman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 23, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, has long focused on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and advised multiple U.S. administrations on policy toward Iran. I invited him on Conversations with Coleman to explain the Iran nuclear issue at a deep level. We discussed the science of uranium enrichment, the differing Obama, Trump, and Biden policies on containment, and the history of Iran’s nuclear ambitions from the 1979 Revolution to today. Mark laid out the stakes of preventing a...
Jun 16, 2025•1 hr 19 min
I am proud to announce that I have relaunched my podcast, Conversations with Coleman, with The Free Press. My first guest is none other than Bari Weiss, who talks to me about the recent surge in antisemitism, what it means to speak out in a time when doing so can come at a cost, and how walking away from The New York Times has helped shape The Free Press. Join us as we also cover Trump, God, and the future of our democracy. It's a conversation you won’t want to miss. Go to groundnews.com/coleman...
Jun 09, 2025•1 hr 14 min
Conversations with Coleman is where deep thinkers and curious minds meet for sharp, surprising, and unfiltered chats. Hosted by Coleman Hughes, writer, thinker, and guy who asks the questions other people dodge - this podcast isn’t about debating. It’s about discovery. Politics, philosophy, race, culture, science: it’s all fair game. If you're done with hot takes and hungry for real-talk, come join the conversation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 30, 2025•30 sec
Support the podcast at Patreon.com/ColemanHughes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 27, 2025•52 min•Ep. 141
Buy H.R. McMaster's book: https://www.amazon.com/At-War-Ourselves-Trump-White/dp/0062899503 Support the show at Patreon.com/colemanhughes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 30, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 140
Listen to the rest of this episode : https://uncomfortableconversations.substack.com/listen Watch our event in Sydney at FODI: https://youtu.be/ZXZuI7TO3X0?si=LeSjD1PoUoFo01Xu Support my podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ColemanHughes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 07, 2024•27 min•Ep. 139
BUY TIX to SYDNEY, AUS SHOW 8/25: https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/a-colourblind-society-uncomfortable-conversations/#tickets BUY TIX to MELBOURNE, AUS SHOW 8/28: https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/uncomfortable-conversations-live-with-coleman-hughes-and-josh-szeps-melbourne-28-08-2024/event/130060E1D02C314C Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 09, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 138
BUY TIX to SYDNEY, AUS 8/25: https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/a-colourblind-society-uncomfortable-conversations/#tickets BUY TIX to MELBOURNE, AUS 8/28: https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/uncomfortable-conversations-live-with-coleman-hughes-and-josh-szeps-melbourne-28-08-2024/event/130060E1D02C314C Show Sponsor: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 24, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 137
Buy Nellie's book here: https://a.co/d/09QQ9O52 Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/ColemanHughes 00:00 Introduction and Nelly Bowles' Background 11:07 The Reality of Homelessness and Drug Addiction 32:59 The Idealism and Limitations of Progressive Movements 39:02 Human Nature and Failed Systems 46:06 Origins and Evolution of Antifa in Seattle and Portland 57:47 Corruption and Lack of Scrutiny in the Black Lives Matter Movement 01:09:32 Decline of Left-Wing Political Comedy and Rise of New...
Jun 20, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 136
Buy Rob's book: https://a.co/d/gv8juH9 Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ColemanHughes 00:00 Introduction and Background 03:19 The Importance of Early Life Experiences 07:07 The Overemphasis on Education 09:48 The Flawed Measurement of Success 12:03 The Narrative of Overcoming Trauma 15:15 The Limitations of Post-Traumatic Growth 26:58 Gender Differences in Foster Care 29:23 Addressing Single Parent Homes 30:33 Cultural Shifts and Behavior Change 35:07 The Importance of Two-Parent Hom...
Jun 03, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 135
To support the show, visit my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/ColemanHughes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 01, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 134
My guest today is Mary Harrington. Mary is a writer and contributing editor at UnHerd. She's the author of a great book called Feminism Against Progress. In this episode, we talk about her general critique of feminism, we talk about what she calls progress theology, we talk about the changing social status of motherhood, we talk about the Barbie movie, gender dysphoria, and much more Mary's Book - Feminism against Progress Check out New Merch - https://merchandise.colemanhughes.org Learn more ab...
Dec 23, 2023•57 min•Ep. 133
My guest today is Philip Goff. Philip is a philosophy professor at Durham University. He's the author of Galileo's Error and Why the Purpose of the Universe.Philip believes that science gives us objective reasons to believe that there's value in the universe and he comes at this from a very different angle than say Sam Harris, who reaches the same conclusion for different reasons in his book, The Moral Landscape. Philip relies heavily on the so-called fine tuning argument. So we talk a lot about...
Dec 20, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 132
My guest today is Cindy Yu. Cindy Yu is an assistant editor at the Spectator Magazine, and she's the host of the "Chinese Whispers" podcast, which is actually one of my favorite podcasts.We talk about whether China will invade Taiwan. We talk about whether the West should adopt a Cold War-like mentality towards China. We discuss the phenomenon of Chinese espionage in the West. We talk about the wave of immigration from Hong Kong into the UK. We discuss the nosedive in China's birthrate over the ...
Dec 13, 2023•45 min•Ep. 45
My guest today is Nick Gillespie. Nick is a prominent libertarian journalist and commentator best known for his work at Reason Magazine, where he's been for around 30 years. In this episode, we discuss Nick's experience getting engaged at the recent Burning Man. We talk about psychedelic drugs, the promise they hold, as well as the dangers they contain. We talk about the evolution of the libertarian movement in America. We talk about how we should message about drugs to kids. We talk about the d...
Nov 25, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 44
My guest today is Munira Mirza. Munira Mirza is a British public policy analyst and cultural commentator. She served as the Deputy Mayor for Education and Culture of London under Boris Johnson when he was mayor, and later served as director of The Number 10 Policy Unit under Johnson when he was prime minister. In this episode, we talk about Munira's early days as a Marxist, her interest in art and museums, her views on Brexit, her views on multiculturalism in the UK, the Israel-Hamas war and Jih...
Nov 21, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 43
My guest today is Rory Stewart. Rory Stewart is a British politician, diplomat, and author who served as a member of parliament from 2010 to 2019. He held several governmental positions, notably as a Secretary of State for International Development in 2019, and was known for his extensive work in Afghanistan and Iraq. Rory has authored several books, such as "The Places In Between", about his solo walk across Afghanistan, and his new book, "Politics on the Edge", a memoir from within. Rory and I...
Nov 09, 2023•53 min•Ep. 42
So I've gotten criticism lately that I've created an echo chamber of pro-Israel guests, Benny Morris and Andrew Gold being the two examples. So I went on Twitter and asked who I should get to deliver the Palestinian perspective. and many people suggested my guest today, who is Yousef Munayyer. Yousef is a Palestinian-American writer and political analyst based in Washington, D.C. He was the executive director of the US campaign for Palestinian rights, and previously he directed the Jerusalem Fun...
Oct 28, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 41
Here is my final response to Chris Anderson and Adam Grant on the TED debacle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 21, 2023•13 min•Ep. 40
Andrew Gold, who I had on this podcast earlier this year, asked me if I wanted to hop on with him and discuss the Israel-Hamas war and I said, sure. We talk all about the war in Israel and Gaza. As you'll hear, Andrew and I agree that there is simply no moral equivalence between Hamas and Israel. And as you'll hear, I'm also quite sympathetic to the policies that Israel has had to take in order to protect itself from terrorism. I plan to have many more conversations about this topic and I really...
Oct 14, 2023•1 hr 15 min
My guest today is Eric Kaufmann. Eric is a political scientist who's written several great books, including "Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?" and "Whiteshift". Eric was a professor at Birkbeck College, University of London for many years. I think he was actually the head of the department there, before he was pushed out for his political views. So we talk about that story at the top of this interview. We also talk about a whole bunch of other topics. We discuss the sociologist Daniel Bell...
Oct 13, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 39
My guest today is Yascha Mounk. Yascha is a German born political scientist, author, and lecturer known for his research on the rise of populism and the challenges to liberal democracy. He has authored several influential books, including "Stranger in My Own Country", "The People vs. Democracy", and his new book, "The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time" A few episodes ago, I had Christopher Rufo on the podcast to discuss his analysis of why wokeness came to dominate so many in...
Oct 07, 2023•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 38
The organization’s tagline is “ideas worth spreading.” But they attempted to suppress mine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 28, 2023•14 min
My guests today are Scott Adams and Noam Dworman. Scott Adams is an American writer, commentator, and cartoonist best known for creating the comic strip Dilbert. In addition to his cartooning work, Adams has authored several books and frequently comments on a range of topics from media bias to psychology to the mechanics of persuasion. Noam Dworman is the owner of the Comedy Cellar in New York and is a good personal friend of mine who has his own podcast called "Live From the Table", which is ac...
Sep 22, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 37
My guest today is Christopher Rufo. Christopher is a political activist and filmmaker known for his opposition to Critical Race Theory or CRT. He's a senior fellow and director of the Initiative on Critical Race Theory at the Manhattan Institute and he's the author of a new book called "America's Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything" In this episode, we talk about the German philosopher Herbert Marcuse and the role he played in popularizing critical theory. We talk abou...
Sep 15, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 36
My guest today is Jens Heycke. Jens is a researcher, writer, and competitive cyclist. He studied economics and Near East Studies at U. Chicago, the London School of Economics, and Princeton. His book is called "Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire: Multiculturalism in the World's Past and America's Future" In this episode, we talk about the origin of the term "melting pot", as well as the origin of the concept of multiculturalism. We talk about the goal of cultural assimilation. We talk about h...
Sep 01, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 35
My guest today is Garett Jones. Garett is an associate professor of economics at George Mason University. His interests include macroeconomics, the micro foundations of economic growth, IQ, the power of culture, and public choice economics. The books we focus on in this episode are "10% Less Democracy: Why You Should Trust Elites a Little More and the Masses a Little Less" and "The Culture Transplant: How Migrants Make the Economies They Move To a Lot Like the Ones They Left" We talk about the i...
Aug 29, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 34
My guests today are Hyram and Verlan Lewis. Hyram and Verlan are brothers. Hyram is an associate professor of history at Brigham Young University, Idaho, and Verlan is a political scientist at Harvard Center for American Political Studies. Together, Hyram and Verlan have written a very interesting new book called "The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America" In this book, they challenge the widely held belief that the political left and right represen...
Aug 18, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 33
