Episodes

  • “Why the West Should Be Like Wikipedia” with Nicholas Gruen

    “Why the West Should Be Like Wikipedia” with Nicholas Gruen
    Jan 22 2026
    How much influence do you actually have over how you are governed? Markets reward clickbait. Politics rewards tribalism. Social media rewards outrage. Almost imperceptibly, our public institutions have drifted away from their core purpose of serving your interests. Economist Nicholas Gruen argues there’s a better model hiding in plain sight. Using as his intellectual models TikTok, Wikipedia, referendums and juries, he shares with Josh a radical but practical idea that could reinvigorate democracy. You can find his videos on the subject at The Shared Centre (https://www.thesharedcentre.com).
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • Steven Pinker on Moral Panics, Media Bias, and Why We Hoarded Toilet Paper During Covid

    Steven Pinker on Moral Panics, Media Bias, and Why We Hoarded Toilet Paper During Covid
    Jan 19 2026
    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 how we think, how we develop language, and how our behaviour is shaped by evolution and biology. He’s a professor of Psychology at Harvard and his most recent book is a hugely entertaining reflection on social norms, cooperation, outrage cycles, social media pile-ons, sudden political shifts, and moral panics. It’s called When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows, and Pinker joins Josh to discuss echo chambers, status hierarchies, and the corrosion of common ground.
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • "Should We Ban Hate Speech After Bondi?" with Andrew Lowenthal

    "Should We Ban Hate Speech After Bondi?" with Andrew Lowenthal
    Jan 16 2026
    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 the aftermath of the Bondi terror attack. Hate speech laws are being tabled in Federal Parliament, pro-Palestinian authors are Writer’s Festivals are being cancelled, and the question of whether Australia’s uniquely successful multiculturalism can survive, is lurking below the surface. Journalist and digital activist Andrew Lowenthal went live with Josh to discuss censorship, nationalism, identity politics, and the challenge of navigating free speech in a multicultural society.
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    50 mins
  • Josh's 'Big-Dick-Little-Dick' Theory of American Militarism

    Josh's 'Big-Dick-Little-Dick' Theory of American Militarism
    Jan 12 2026
    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.
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    1 hr and 40 mins
  • "The 'LGBTQ' Threat to Gay Rights" with Prof. Ronan McCrea

    "The 'LGBTQ' Threat to Gay Rights" with Prof. Ronan McCrea
    Jan 8 2026
    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 strategies of gay activist organisations has been to hitch their wagon to a revolutionary, non-binary, gender-fluid, LGBTQIA+ ideology. Is it time for gay rights and trans rights to quietly uncouple? Ronan McCrea is a Professor of Constitutional and European law at University College London whose new book is "The End of the Gay Rights Revolution: How Hubris and Overreach Threaten Gay Freedom". He argues that the combination of the Christian right, socially conservative migrants, and backlash to LGBTQIA+ extremism is putting gay rights at risk. He joins Josh to propose a solution.
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    49 mins
  • Eddie (Suzy) Izzard & Josh in London!

    Eddie (Suzy) Izzard & Josh in London!
    Jan 5 2026
    One of the most successful comedy performers on the planet, Eddie Izzard (who now goes by Suzy) has spent more than thirty years touring groundbreaking shows at sold-out venues like the Hollywood Bowl, Madison Square Garden, the Sydney Opera House, London's O2 Arena and Radio City Music Hall. They've won two Emmys, performed stand-up specials in multiple languages, run dozens of marathons for charity, and even stood for parliament and for the mayoralty of London. In the US, they starred in television shows like The Riches, United States of Tara and Hannibal. Their film roles include Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen and Valkyrie. Izzard was on Uncomfortable Conversations briefly in 2021, in the persona of Eddie. Now living full-time as Suzy - and on the eve of a global tour of a one-person production of Hamlet(!) and a new stand-up special - it's time for Szeps and Izzard to finally connect in the flesh. Uncomfortable Conversations is chuffed to be a new Spotify Partner show, and even more grateful to the amazing folks at Spotify for welcoming us to their schmancy studios in London, where Izzard - recovering from a leg injury - hobbled in to discuss humour, wisdom, passion, gender, performativity and ambition. Tickets to Izzard's Sydney shows are available here [https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/theatre/izzard-hamlet]. Our thanks again to Spotify and the team at the Sydney Opera House for making this conversation possible.
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • “Comedy, Self-Deprecation & Punching Down" with Comedian Sammy Petersen

    “Comedy, Self-Deprecation & Punching Down" with Comedian Sammy Petersen
    Jan 1 2026
    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 of 26 and emerged rawer than ever. Sammy Petersen joins Josh to chat about how comedians disarm audiences, whether "punching down" makes sense, and why humour can be both a shield and a form of truth-telling.
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    39 mins
  • Behind the Scenes: A Year of Uncomfortable Conversations

    Behind the Scenes: A Year of Uncomfortable Conversations
    Dec 29 2025
    The show's community manager, Evan Pivonka, joins Josh to review 2025 through the lens of Uncomfortable Conversations' best, worst and weirdest episodes. They reveal the show's creative and editorial strategies, behind-the-scenes gossip, and Josh's expectations for 2026. Happy new year, humans.
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    1 hr and 1 min