The world has never been more connected. Yet never more divided. We yell at each other from inside our echo chambers. But change doesn’t happen inside an echo chamber. It’s time to get out, to stretch our legs, to step on some land mines. It's time to have an uncomfortable conversation with Josh Szeps.
A DM Podcast
Well what a year it has been! And as we end every year here on Uncomfortable Conversations, it’s time for me to answer your questions. What have you been noodling on in 2022? And what do I reckon about it all? It’s time to find out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It's time for a Christmas interlude, the best parts of our favourite uncomfortable conversations. Tim Urban is still probably my all-time favourite guest. The creative genius behind the blog Wait But Why brings his brain melting takes on the world, and our place within it. Clementine Ford and I have some disagreements. Neither of us pull a punch. Our chat gets to the heart of what we’re trying to do here. And Malcolm Turnbull , Australia’s 29th Prime Minister. What an opportunity it was to quiz ...
The Guardian has called Rutger Bregman "the Dutch wunderkind of new ideas". He has a forward thinking, earnest approach to the small task of making the world a better place for everyone - something he's been working on this since his early 20's. This episode is taken from the #WeThePeople LIVE archive. To get the full episode go to www.uncomfortableconversations.substack.com/listen Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Eric runs the investment firm of the right-wing multi-billionaire Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and the first outside investor in Facebook. Yet Eric is a left-wing political dissenter. With a PhD in mathematical physics from Harvard, he’s a confounding genius. He coined the term “the intellectual dark web”. His journey is perplexing. His vision of the future is ominous. Join Josh on his journey down the Weinstein rabbit hole. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
On this special episode from Josh's archive, he speaks with legendary British documentarian Louis Theroux. For decades, Louis has thrust himself into strange and extreme worlds, casting a light on the fringes of the human experience. This interview took place at the time of the release of his first feature film: My Scientology Movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Bridget is a podcasting and publishing phenomenon. She and Josh discuss everything from Peruvian ayahuasca ceremonies, to Joe Rogan, to cancel culture, to the Byron Bay cult she momentarily joined. Oh, and how motherhood has made her finally appreciate Christmas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tom Ballard is one of Australia's most successful comedians. He may be the millennials’ most prominent, hilarious voice of fury against capitalism and boomers. Tom and Josh argue about the benefits and perils of 21st-century capitalism, free speech and liberalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We're launching a new Uncomfortable Conversations community. Get loads more content for free! This is the most important thing you'll hear this month. Don't miss it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Kat is a feminist who takes no bullshit. She created a stir with her piece “Why I Keep Getting Mistaken for a Conservative”. She and Josh discuss the challenges faced by women and the fallout of the #metoo movement. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
James Lindsay is one of the most controversial figures on the American right. He was permanently banned from Twitter in August, until Elon reinstated him this week. He initially gained famed debunking the social-justice left. Since then, he has become notorious for increasingly dire warnings about an authoritarian leftist takeover of culture. Is he a crank, or a genius? Josh tries to figure him out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
When you see the colour blue, is it the same as when I see the colour blue? How does your brain create an image of the world... and of yourself? Dive into the wild world of the matrix with one of the world's leading neuroscientists, Anil Seth. His bestselling book is Being You: A New Science of Consciousness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Josh is being eviscerated on social media for spreading pro-vaccine misinformation. Did he? What did he, and we, get wrong about Covid? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How do you stitch together diverse immigrant societies into a common future? How do you avoid collapsing into quarrelling tribes? Yascha Mounk is an optimistic academic who understands how democracies thrive... and decay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Josh reflects on Elon Musk, Kanye, Israel, and the rise of online Jew-hate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What will Elon Musk do with Twitter? Who wants to live inside Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse? Should Facebook censor hate speech? Jordan Guiao lived and worked in Silicon Valley and he knows big tech inside and out. We was formerly a digital strategist and the head of social media for the ABC and SBS respectively, and is currently a Research Fellow at The Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology. His new book is Disconnect - Why We Get Pushed to Extremes Online and How to S...
Josh reflects on Kanye's antisemitic meltdown, Taylor Swift's supposed fat shaming video and activism in Iran. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
David got his PhD in political thought from the London School of Economics and now teaches at King’s College London. He was a political science lecturer at the National University of Singapore and an associate editor of the University of Malaya’s South East Asian Studies journal. He explains the echoes he sees in the West of Mao's Cultural Revolution. A politics of rage. Intellectual conformism. Cancel culture. This episode is a collaboration with the University of Technology Sydney as part of i...
Emile is the Academy Award-winning producer of Lion, The King’s Speech, Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Power of the Dog. His cousin is a high-flying corporate consultant and former anti-apartheid activist. They have a podcast, Principle of Charity, which seeks to find common ground between opponents on controversial issues. But how far can talk take us, really? Don’t miss this electrifying debate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Should women aspire to the same things as men? Or have they been betrayed? Louise says we lie to young women about who they are and what they should want. She's a journalist, anthropologist, activist and the writer of the new book "The Case Against the Sexual Revolution". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On the previous episode of Uncomfortable Conversations, the trans activist Dianna Anderson alleged bad journalism by Jesse Singal, who wrote the bombshell 2018 Atlantic magazine piece, "When Children Say They're Trans". Josh left the issue dangling, agreeing that it deserved a fact-check. Don't listen to this episode until you've heard Dianna's. Here, Jesse responds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dianna E. Anderson is a gender non-binary writer and activist whose latest book is “In Transit: Being Non-Binary in a World of Dichotomies”. They and Josh disagree on a lot: the reality of biological sex, journalists who criticise trans issues, and whether burqas are sexist. Here, they hash it all out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Misha is a former trade union boss who now reports from Ukraine for the Australian Financial Review. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tyson is a researcher, writer, and traditional wood carver. He works as a senior lecturer in Indigenous Knowledges and is the founder of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab at Deakin University. His podcast, "The Other Others", discusses how Indigenous knowledge can solve the world’s problems -- which is also the topic of his book, Sand Talk. He and Josh debate the far right, the woke left, structural racism, acknowledgments-of-country, and conspiracy thinking in Aboriginal communities.&nb...
What's wrong with Australian men? What expectations do single, middle-aged women face? What happened to the Left? Sarah Wilson is a global phenomenon -- an activist, journalist, speaker, writer, podcaster and host. She joins Josh on this special crossover episode to wrestle with the biggest questions in our lives. Notes Sarah mentions the following study during the show. Details here: A 2019 Harvard University study that looked at global economies and innovation found t...
What is a man? What is a woman? What is transgenderism? What is drag? When are we acting out gender stereotypes, and when are we just being ourselves? Shane is the man behind Australia’s most popular drag queen, Courtney Act. Josh and Shane debate gender, sex, and the imminent death of heterosexuality (maybe). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
During the pandemic, did the Australian prime minister subvert democracy? One of Australia’s leading political commentators takes Josh deep into the bizarro world of Morrison’s multiple ministries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
As Salman Rushdie recuperates, Josh debates Islamophobia, blasphemy and cancel culture with the Pakistani-Australian writer and comic Sami Shah. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Michael Slepian is an Author and Associate Professor of leadership and ethics at Columbia University. His new book is called The Secret Life Of Secrets - How Our Inner Worlds Shape Well-being, Relationships, and Who We Are. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Pandit Dasa was a monk for more than 15 years. Now he's ditched the robes and helps people ease their way into more thoughtful, generous, fulfilling mental states. Josh wants to know whether that's an invaluable contribution to modern life... or a spiritual cop out. Pandit's book is Closing The Apps: How to be Mindful at Work and at Home. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Antoinette Lattouf is a journalist, author and diversity advocate. She co-founded Media Diversity Australia. Her new book is How To Lose Friends and Influence White People. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
