Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps
Episodes
"Mr Mamdani, THIS is What Makes a City Thrive" with Eamon Waterford
20 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Cities that rock and cities that suck do a few things differently. They need to hit a bullseye on high-vs-low density, walkability, law and order, red...
Josh Vs The News: Feel Better with Reverend Szeps
18 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Step away from the doomscrolling. Take a breath. Let the waves crash. In this week's edition of Josh vs the News, Josh offers something different: a ...
The Mind-Boggling Magic of Math with Adam Spencer
16 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How can a bunch of equations on a piece of paper reflect the deepest facts about reality? How is it that every single object, from a skyscraper to a b...
Josh vs the News: How to Think About Iran Without Losing Your Mind
11 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone’s had something to say about Iran. But they're missing the most important piece. In this week's powerful editorial, Josh invites you to s...
Turning Point Australia's Leader vs Josh
09 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The national director of Turning Point Australia (the Aussie chapter of Turning Point USA) isn't your typical Christian nationalist. He's a 28-year-ol...
‘The Iran Conversation No One Is Having’ with David Frum
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
David Frum had a front-row seat the last time America went to war against a Middle Eastern adversary. He was in the George W. Bush administration in t...
A.I., Iran, & Automated War with Prof. Toby Walsh
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Among the first responses by Iranian state media to the US-Israeli war on Iran was a propaganda video. It flaunted row upon row of gleaming Iranian ...
How Big Tech Destroys Learning
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How do you learn things? Does it come easily or is it hard? Are you drawn to e-readers, or books? Typing, or handwriting? Duolingo, or moving to a Tus...
What's China Up To?
23 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Military purges. DeepSeek AI. Social credit scores. Taiwan. Why has the Chinese leader purged five of the seven members of the military's top deci...
Our Spectacular Future of Solar-Generated "Fossil Fuels"
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine a world where vast solar arrays produced cheap, abundant energy for everybody... while also powering hyper-scaled superintelligent A.I. data c...
The Ultimate A.I Survival Guide (for Humans)
16 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How much will A.I. change your life in the next few years? In what ways? How will you navigate the upheavals? How will the society around you do so? ...
Violent Clashes at Israeli President's Bondi Visit
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Violence erupted this week as police in downtown Sydney clashed with thousands of activists protesting a visit to Australia by the Israeli President, ...
Fmr John Oliver Writer on Bias, Blackface & Making Sense of the News
09 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Has our culture had a grown-up conversation yet about race and gender? Or did the media flip from the casual bigotry of the 20th century to the censor...
Just Josh: America on the Brink
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Minneapolis. ICE. The arrest of journalists. The indictment of political opponents. The pursuit of election officials. The killing of protestors. Is...
Don Lemon Arrested: Trump, ICE & the Prosecution of the Press
02 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
With the arrest of the high-profile journalist Don Lemon, the protests in Minnesota have become the new frontline of press freedom. Is the Trump Admi...
An Anti-Zionist & a Pro-Zionist on “Apartheid Violence” in the West Bank
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Does Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank call into question its legitimacy as a state? Or is the occupation a necessary evil to defuse the...
“Genetics, Free Will, & Moral Agency” with Kathryn Paige Harden
26 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How much are you a product of your genes, and how much are you a product of your experiences? Or are you a free agent, acting in spite of your biology...
“Why the West Should Be Like Wikipedia” with Nicholas Gruen
22 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How much influence do you actually have over how you are governed? Markets reward clickbait. Politics rewards tribalism. Social media rewards outrage...
Steven Pinker on Moral Panics, Media Bias, and Why We Hoarded Toilet Paper During Covid
19 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Steven Pinker may be the world’s best-known cognitive psychologist, a public intellectual who for decades has used his fame to help us understand ho...
"Should We Ban Hate Speech After Bondi?" with Andrew Lowenthal
16 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a lot of big events happening in the world at the start of the year, but between bushfires and flash flooding, Australia is grappling with t...
Josh's 'Big-Dick-Little-Dick' Theory of American Militarism
12 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been an eventful start to the year. Josh went live to share his thoughts on Trump, Venezuela, and the end of American exceptionalism.
"The 'LGBTQ' Threat to Gay Rights" with Prof. Ronan McCrea
08 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Is the success of the gay rights movement guaranteed? Or are there hints that, eventually, gay rights could be reversed? One of the most peculiar s...
Eddie (Suzy) Izzard & Josh in London!
05 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most successful comedy performers on the planet, Eddie Izzard (who now goes by Suzy) has spent more than thirty years touring groundbreakin...
“Comedy, Self-Deprecation & Punching Down" with Comedian Sammy Petersen
01 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Happy New Year, humans. Here's a funny, reflective start to 2026. Josh sits down with a stand-up comic who suffered a heart attack on stage at the age...
Behind the Scenes: A Year of Uncomfortable Conversations
29 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The show's community manager, Evan Pivonka, joins Josh to review 2025 through the lens of Uncomfortable Conversations' best, worst and weirdest episod...
"Britain's Coming Crisis: Multiculturalism, Migration & Net-Zero" with Konstantin Kisin
25 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Britain’s infrastructure is crumbling. Petty crime is part of daily life. Illegal immigration costs millions per day. The tax burden is the highest ...
Christmas! Food! Farts! E. Coli! with food scientist Gary Kennedy
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For how many hours can you leave out a Christmas ham? Will turkey stuffing give you the runs? Is it okay to refrigerate hot take-away fried rice? Why ...
Josh vs the News: Bondi, Multiculturalism & Jew Hate
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Josh takes questions about the news on his weekly livestream. No prizes for guessing the big story this week. That's right: The French Snail Robbery.
BONDI ATTACK: Josh's Thoughts on Terrorism, Freedom & the Asymmetry of Anti-Semitism
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sydney is shell-shocked after the deadliest terrorist attack ever on Australian soil. Sixteen people are dead and at least 40 wounded after gunmen exe...
“The Secret Power Behind World Leaders” with Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks
12 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The image of a singular political leader is misleading. Why? Because they can barely function without a team behind them. Chief among that team, being...
"End Animal Cruelty. Don't Go Vegan" with Aidan Alexander
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you're ethically conflicted about industrial animal farming, this episode is a shot of hope. Shaming people into going vegan doesn't work. What doe...
"The Psychology of World War III" with Dr Nicholas Wright
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Bluffing, double-crossing, predicting, testing your enemy. The mind games of international relations are wildly complex. And at the end of the day, th...
Josh vs The News: Bezos' Trump Bribe, Banning Refugees, & is Hegseth a War Criminal?
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Josh takes a look at the week’s news, and tries to make sense of it. A
"The Secret Economic History of the World" with Pulitzer finalist Sven Beckert
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is faith in our economic system cracking up? From Mayor Mamdani's win to Elon's trillion-dollar payday, from Instagram infuluencers embracing commun...
Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Refugees, Fossil Fuels & the fate of Western Civilisation
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tony Abbott was the 28th Prime Minister of Australia. Here, he visits Josh for an Uncomfortable Conversation about his government’s policy of “tur...
"Obama, Trump & the Great American Contradiction" with Pulitzer-Prize-winner Paul Starr
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The difference between America's last two consequential presidents (sorry, Joe) couldn't be starker. How did the same country - sometimes even the sam...
"The Case for American Power" with Shadi Hamid
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The left has become increasingly uncomfortable about arguing for the moral superiority of the United States, let alone for the exercise of American do...
“Have We Got Morality Backwards? The Case Against Utilitarianism” with Bo Winegard
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to do the right thing, and how do we know when we’re doing wrong? Is it ever okay to lie? To exact vengeance? To eat meat? To ...
“The New Race to the Moon: China, MAGA, SpaceX & Mars” with Jeffrey Kluger
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump has nominated a billionaire to be the new head of NASA as the United States gears up for its most ambitious mission in decades: a retu...
JUST JOSH: Dissecting Tucker Carlson
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
American conservatives are in a tizzy of in-fighting after one of their leading voices, Tucker Carlson, hosted a genial chat with a Holocaust-denying,...
LIVE PANEL: "Who Really Influences Our Politicians?" with Senators Bridget McKenzie & David Pocock, and MP's Allegra Spender & Helen Haines
09 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when you put politicians in a room and ask them to talk honestly about who really influences their decisions? This bonus episode is a liv...
“Being a Satirist in Censorious Times” with cartoonist Jason Chatfield
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Zohran Mamdani has just been elected mayor of New York, parachuting onto a political terrain more polarised and energised than it's been since the 196...
“The Climate Change Solution So Crazy it Just Might Work” with Quico Toro
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The conversation around climate change is so predictable. It's either depressing doom, science denialism, or ambitious summits that don't achieve much...
"Public Shaming" with Clare Stephens
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pile-ons, performative outrage, apology rituals, and public humiliation have become a blood sport over the past decade. What happened? Was it a moral ...
"Trans Rights, Women's Rights, Gay Rights, Oh My!” with Professor Robert Wintemute
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when the fight for women's equality collides with transgender rights? Is the anti-trans nastiness of the Elon MAGA-verse now winning? Or ...
"Mindfulness, Science, Buddhism & Bullsh*t"? with Mo Edjlali
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You know you should meditate. But you don't have the time. Or you're no good at it. So you occasionally subscribe to a meditation app, you listen to p...
“What’s Comedy For, Anymore?” with Wil Anderson
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Saudi stand-up controversy, the Jimmy Kimmel brouhaha, the clickification of live shows into viral video clips, the clash of podcasters like Marc ...
“Charlie Kirk’s Secret Plan to Take Over America” with Dr Matthew Boedy
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the fight for America’s soul wasn’t just political, but theological? A powerful movement inside Christian America believes it is o...
"There IS no Housing Crisis, Akshually ☝️" with economist Cameron Murray
13 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Insane house prices are destroying the middle-class dream of home ownership. Or... are they? Is there actually a housing crisis? Or are most people, i...
“Godfather of the Greens”, fmr Senator Bob Brown
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
He’s been called the most successful environmentalist in Australian history, and one of the most influential in the world. Former Senator Bob Br...
"Gaza 3.0" with Yaakov Katz
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the second anniversary of the October 7th attacks, and the Middle East is abuzz with a new plan that would see an independent Palestinian b...
"Is the UK Falling Apart?" with Dominic Frisby
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is it racist to worry that there are more immigrants in London than white English? Has the UK reached a tipping point in its conversation about Britai...
“Don’t F*** it up, Australia” with MP Allegra Spender
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a fact. The way our governments raise and spend money benefits older, richer people, and disadvantages younger people who are trying to bui...
“We’re Going to be Okay” with social psychologist Adam Mastroianni
26 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Trump. Gaza. Artificial Intelligence. Authoritarianism. Assassinations. Climate Chaos. Russia. Social media. The far right. Terrorism. Political divis...
"How the Lab Leak Got Cred" with Elizabeth Finkel
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when the public's understanding of a global event is hijacked by online psuedo-experts? How should scientists express uncertainty when ev...
"Can Liberalism Survive?" with Waleed Aly
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What holds liberal democracy together in an age of social media, tribal politics and rising violence? Josh has been trying to get Waleed Aly to submit...
"What IS a Zionist?" with Charlotte Korchak
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does "Zionism" mean after the destruction of Gaza? As Josh wrestles with this question himself, Charlotte Korchak is his Zionist guide today. She...
Charlie Kirk & Guns
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
America's pre-eminent conservative youth activist, Charlie Kirk, has been assassinated while speaking at a Utah college. Josh shares his thoughts... a...
Josh Visits the South Pacific: Climate Chaos, Chinese Bribes & Mosquitoes
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What can a stunningly beautiful, dirt-poor, corrupt, tropical-island nation teach us about the battle between China and the West... and about how clim...
Just Josh: Eulogy for Josh's Dad
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Josh reflects on the death of his dad after years with Alzheimer’s - the strange in-between of losing someone before they’re gone, and the...
PREMIUM: "Has Home Ownership Become Hereditary?" with Peter Tulip
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why is housing in Australia so unaffordable, and what can be done about it? Peter Tulip, former economist at the US Federal Reserve and the Reserve Ba...
"Substack's Founders on the Future of the Media" with Hamish McKenzie & Chris Best
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is the future of the media? Are we doomed to inhabit our own social-media news bubbles, tailored by algorithms to keep us “engaged”? ...
PREMIUM: "Anti-Immigration, the Far Right & the Christchurch Shooter" with Investigative Journalist Joey Watson
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How does an adventurous, open-minded, well-travelled young bloke get interested in nationalism... and then in Western supremacy... and then white prid...
SZEPS WORLD TOUR - NICK CAVE on Faith, Melancholy, & Stardom
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nick Cave is one of Australia’s biggest musical exports. But after forty years as a rockstar - and the death of two sons - he's become something...
SZEPS WORLD TOUR - JIMMY CARR, COMEDY LEGEND
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jimmy Carr is one of the most successful stand-up comics on earth. His hilarious, brutal crowd work is a viral sensation. His Netflix specials are sma...
SZEPS WORLD TOUR – COLEMAN HUGHES on Race, Trump & Power
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
He’s been grilled before Congress, clashed with Bill Maher, and built a reputation as one of the most interesting young intellectuals in America...
SZEPS WORLD TOUR – MEGHAN DAUM on What You’re Not Supposed to Say
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As the Szeps Live Around-the-World Podcast Marathon barrels along, Josh and his long-suffering producer, Jono, cruise their rented convertible into th...
SZEPS WORLD TOUR - RICH ROLL on Liberty, Loneliness & Legacy
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rich Roll is one of the biggest podcasters in America, thanks to his irresistible blend of ultra-athleticism, Stoic philosophy, sobriety, personal imp...
SZEPS WORLD TOUR - KMELE FOSTER on Race, Spirituality & 'Wokeness'
08 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is your race? What is your identity? How should your kids think about how they fit in at school, or don't, on the basis of their racial or econom...
SZEPS WORLD TOUR - SAM HARRIS on Making Sense of Life
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How much responsibility do podcasters have not to "platform" crazy voices? Is there a countervailing duty to explore unusual ideas, spurned by elites?...
On Stage in NYC: Panel Show at the Comedy Cellar
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It was a sweltering evening in Greenwich Village as a packed crowd showed up at the legendary Comedy Cellar - the stomping ground of Seinfeld, Chappel...
SZEPS LIVE TOUR - TYLER COWEN on Inequality, Abundance, & Using A.I. to Achieve 'Intellectual Immortality'
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tyler Cowen is one of the world's Top 100 Global Thinkers according to Foreign Policy magazine. The Wall Street Journal calls his blog, Marginal Revol...
SZEPS LIVE TOUR: "Atheism, Wokeness & Islam" with Sarah Haider
27 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Born in Pakistan, Sarah Haider founded the Ex-Muslims of North America to help Muslims escape Islamist coercion. She was an outspoken atheist. Then......
THE SZEPS LIVE WORLD TOUR IS UNDERWAY
26 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
G'day from New York City. We've been sitting on this Easter egg for some time, warming it up under our feathery little tooshes. It's now time to let t...
"How Not to Feel Like a Failure (When Fame & Fortune Aren't Enough)" with TV Host Osher Günsberg
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do you avoid the hamster wheel of hoping that your next success will deliver happiness? How do you escape mental ruts, anxious spirals and critica...
PREMIUM: "How to Raise an Awesome Kid (and be an Awesome Grown-Up)" with Dr Billy Garvey
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's one of the most persistent, perplexing and provocative questions to plague our culture: What explains the explosion in ADHD, anxiety and autism i...
"The Case for Nuclear Power" with Aidan Morrison
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have rich democracies been hoodwinked into chasing a mirage of green energy? Are renewables leading us into a dead-end of brown-outs, white-elephant w...
PREMIUM: "In-Groups & Out-Groups" with social psychologist Jolanda Jetten
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are you defined by your identities? Where do you rank in the hierarchy of your social group, either online or in real life? How are the boundaries of ...
“Josh vs the Anti-Gay-Parenting Activist” Katy Faust
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Katy Faust is a family-values activist who campaigns against all families that don't contain a biological mother and father. A rockstar among American...
"Artificial Intelligence in a Human World" with Prof. Toby Walsh
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is it legit for tech companies to vacuum up everything humans create, to spin off A.I. content, and not to compensate humans? Will this world of creat...
"Should We Ban Extreme Wealth?” with Prof. Carl Rhodes
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is there something broken about a world where some people are absurdly, insanely rich? Or is inequality the price we pay for innovation? What do Bezos...
PREMIUM: “The Palestinian Delusion: the 'Right of Return' & the Mirage of Peace” with fmr Labor Knesset parliamentarian Einat Wilf
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the problem for the Palestinian people was not Israel, but the encouragement by the international community of a fantasy that, one day, Palest...
"A.I., Artificial Souls, and the Crazy Conundrum of Consciousness" with Philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Let's take a break from the news cycle for a moment, shall we? There's a lot of cool shit to ponder that's more important and more fascinating. Like, ...
"Being Courageous in a Conformist World" with Sarah Wilson
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are we too spoilt to be creative? Are we succumbing to decadent decline? How do you dissent when the incentives are to conform? How do the French reta...
JUST JOSH: "Staying Sane on Israel"
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Anti-Zionism, antisemitism, Palestinians, Hamas, Israeli Arabs, diaspora Jews, Gaza, and now an all-out war with Iran. It's head-spinning, trying to m...
PREMIUM: “Old Media, New Media & the Truth” with legendary journalist Chris Uhlmann
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Uhlmann is one of the most experienced and well-known journalists Down Under. He worked for decades as either the host or the chief political re...
BONUS: The Playwright Who Just Won the Tony Awards
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Over the weekend, the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play went to Eureka Day, a brave, hilarious satire of wokeness, vaccine denial, identity politi...
“An Incredible Clean-Energy Future: Smart Homes, Smart Grids & Smart Thinkers” like energy entrepreneur Saul Griffith
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you want to feel optimistic about the mind-boggling potential of the renewable energy revolution, listen to Saul Griffith, one of the world's leadi...
PREMIUM: "Trump, the Left, and the Future of Liberalism" with Yascha Mounk
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
While the showdown continues over Trump's military deployment against Los Angeles protestors, can we take heart from the resurgence of anti-Trump libe...
"Influencers, In-Fights & New Media" with Hannah Ferguson
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At 26, Hannah Ferguson is one of the most influential young women in Australia. Her media company, Cheek Media, boasts an army of politically-engaged,...
PREVIEW: Andrew Sullivan
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Sullivan is one of the most influential political writers of his generation. He became the face of the gay marriage fight, after writing the fi...
"Why Gaza is Genocide" with Israeli Holocaust Historian Prof. Amos Goldberg
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Terms like "genocide" and "apartheid" are thrown around a lot by anti-Israel activists. But when a leading Israeli Holocaust historian declares his ow...
PREVIEW: “Tariffs, Greenbacks, Qatar’s Air Force One, and American Empire” with Assoc. Prof. David Smith
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do you reconcile Trump's passion for American Greatness with his disengagement from international systems which America set up? What are the conse...
Josh on... Can You Change People's Minds?
19 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've got a special treat for you today. Josh sat down with the hosts of the "Changed My Mind" podcast, who interrogated him about whether it's really...
"The Game-ification of Everything" with Gurwinder Bhogal
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Gurwinder rose to fame writing elaborately insightful Twitter threads about how to be human in the twenty-first century. He now publishes The Prism, o...
“Free Thought vs Free Speech” with Jenara Nerenberg
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are people too disagreeable these days? Or, in fact, are we losing the knack for disagreement? Are we self-silencing? Or getting more rude? Jenara Ner...
"Does Alien Life Exist?" with astrophysicist Dr Sara Webb
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are we alone? If alien life exists, why can't we find it? What's "the great filter"? Why is the universe set up the way it is? What are the chances th...
“Conspiracies, Echo Chambers & Culture Wars” with Sacha Judd
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The internet is a dumpster fire. Are you a firefighter? Or an arsonist? This episode is a cracker. Sacha Judd is an expert on internet subcultures. A ...
PREVIEW: Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dave Sweeney
02 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do nuclear weapons protect Western civilisation? Or are they an insane error that humanity should undo? Is nuclear power worth the cost and risk? Dave...
BONUS: "Indigenous Land Acknowledgement Furore" with Tyson Yunkaporta
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have indigenous Welcomes-to-Country gone too far? On Friday, far-right hecklers disrupted the Welcome to Country (i.e. the land acknowledgment, in Nor...