Natalie is a Jewish Iranian-American who grew up in New York. She was partying at the Nova Music Festival in Israel when Hamas attacked. Today, she uses her experience to advocate for the Combat Antisemitism Movement. She and Josh discuss Gaza, the Israeli occupation, hatred, love... and her experiences that day. To get more content like this and t…

What's it like being a promiscuous young gay guy in the 2020s? How much freedom is there in random sex from hookup apps, versus how much shame? Do social conservatives have a point when they say fidelity and monogamy are the best model for life? The producer of "Fleabag" and "Baby Reindeer" -- both humongous British TV shows which started as one-pe…

President Trump says the United States should take over the Gaza Strip and relocate its two million residents to neighbouring countries while we redevelop Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East." Josh has thoughts. To get more content like this and to join in the fun of the Uncomfy Convos multiverse, hit the Substack page at Subscribe to Uncomfo…

Why do Americans use shower curtains instead of glass shower stalls? How do you explain the success of The Olive Garden? And is Los Angeles really as foul as Josh claims? David Farrier is a New Zealand documentarian living in L.A., where his whimsical podcast Flightless Bird is produced by Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert production company. David pre…

How well is the legacy media covering President Trump's flurry of executive actions? Among the first deluge of White House orders is a decree defining "sex", "gender", "male" and "female". The reporting on this order -- and on LGBT and gender issues more broadly -- tells us a lot about ideological echo chambers, newsroom diversity, and how not to h…

White, conservative, evangelical American Christians helped to bring Donald Trump to power. Their political activism is turbo-charged by populist right-wing "post-liberals" who believe traditions like civility and pluralism are passé -- people including entertainers like Tucker Carlson and Curtis Yarvin, as well as intellectuals like Sohrab Amari, …

Do women police each other's behaviour more than men do? Are they likelier to be busybodies, calling each other out online? Pouncing, denouncing, hounding, unfriending? That's the experience of the legendary dissident journalist Meghan Daum, a former Los Angeles Times columnist who has created a sanctuary for independent-minded women to support eac…

Well, it's Trump's Inauguration. Again. On our previous episode, "Inauguration Episode One", Josh interviewed a pro-Trumper. Today, expand your thinking about the best- and worst-case scenarios of Trump's second term with a searingly cogent counter-opinion. David Frum is one of the most influential conservative "Never Trumpers". He worked in the Wh…

On Monday, Donald J Trump will be sworn in as president. Again. To help us understand the best-case scenarios and worst-case scenarios for his second term, Josh has invited two diametrically-opposed thinkers. Today, the pro-Trump case with Batya Ungar-Sargon. On Inauguration Day, the anti-Trump case with David Frum. Batya is the deputy opinion edit…

How can we flourish in 2025 in a world gripped by tribalism on the right and left? Friend-of-the-show Stan Grant returns to reflect on community, cancellation, wokeness and faith. Stan was CNN's Senior International Correspondent based in Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Beijing, before returning to Australia as International Affairs Analyst for the Austra…

As Los Angeles burns, our thoughts are with everyone in L.A. In this special episode, Josh reflects on natural disasters, leadership, and the anniversary of the Black Summer fires in Australia. You can watch this conversation on YouTube, and you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped your details into the Uncomfy Convos Su…

Artificial systems are about to revolutionise your workplace, your school, your home, your phone… and, most of all, your head. How should we prepare for the inevitable human response? Professor Joel Pearson is a psychologist and neuroscientist who runs the Future Minds Lab at the University of New South Wales as well as MindX, a consultancy that wo…

For the first show of the year, an unexpected treat. A few months ago, Josh had an amazing conversation as a guest on a colleague's podcast. We bring this to you as a nice way to reset, to recalibrate, to reaffirm your mindset as we enter a fresh year. The show is called "A Lot to Talk About" and it's hosted by Bradley Dryburgh, a young guy whose p…

Happy new year, human. Remember the Year 2000, the turn of the millennium? Well, you're about to enter the century's second quarter. This Wednesday, we'll be closer to 2050 than to the last millennium. The final half of the twenty-first century will be nearer than the twentieth. What might the next quarter of a century have in store? Josh argued it…

It's one of the biggest weeks of the year at the box office. What's your most overrated and underrated movie of the year? Today, comedian and film buff Alexei Toliopoulos joins secret cinema nerd Josh Szeps to reveal which flicks to delight in and which to avoid. Plus, honourable mentions, the worst film of the year, and what to look out for from H…

One of the greatest characters Josh regularly interviews is Gary Kennedy, the iconoclastic food scientist who oversees international food safety protocols and can answer every weird, wonderful, arcane food question that has ever popped into your noggin. How long can you leave a Christmas ham in the fridge after it sat on the table for three hours? …

The full conversation is almost two hours long and sbolitely fascinating. Enjoy this free preview or, to hear the whole shebang, subscribe at Uncomfortableconversations.substack.com "Woke” is such a tired word. Yet there remains a cultural elite which uses the language of social justice to gain power and status, without helping the disadvantaged. W…