Episodios

  • An Anti-Zionist & a Pro-Zionist on “Apartheid Violence” in the West Bank

    An Anti-Zionist & a Pro-Zionist on “Apartheid Violence” in the West Bank
    Jan 29 2026
    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 threat of an intractably hostile Palestinian population? While everyone's been focused on Gaza, the larger, more populous chunk of Palestine - the West Bank - has seen a dramatic escalation of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians. Why? Without answering that question, no solution in Gaza will amount to a hill of beans. In this double-feature episode, Josh speaks with two people who have each lived and worked in the occupied West Bank and emerged with very different opinions. Andrey X is an anti-Zionist Russian-Israeli journalist and activist who documents Israeli violence in the West Bank for his nearly 400,000 Instagram followers. Charlotte Korchack is an American-Israeli educator of Jewish & Israeli history. Both have lived in the occupied territories and reported on Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents alike. Josh speaks with Andrey and then Charlotte about the reality on the ground and the history & future of all the territory between the river and the sea.
    Más Menos
    2 h y 46 m
  • “Genes & Free Will: Pedophiles, Ozempic & Self-Control” with Prof. Kathryn Paige Harden

    “Genes & Free Will: Pedophiles, Ozempic & Self-Control” with Prof. Kathryn Paige Harden
    Jan 26 2026
    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 and environment? Kathryn Paige Harden is a world-renowned psychology professor who specialises in how genes affect our behaviour. She was nearly cancelled during the era of Peak Woke for her book 'The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality'. Her research, while egalitarian in intent, was demonised as paving the way for eugenics. Now, Professor Harden reveals even more fascinating links between genes and addiction, appetite, sex and violence in her amazing new book ‘Original Sin: On the Genetics of Vice, the Problem of Blame, and the Future of Forgiveness.’ She joins Josh to discuss nature, nurture, free will, dysfunction, genetic predispositions, and what taking acid taught her about being human.
    Más Menos
    1 h y 48 m
  • “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).
    Más Menos
    1 h y 18 m
  • 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.
    Más Menos
    1 h y 12 m
  • "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.
    Más Menos
    50 m
  • 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.
    Más Menos
    1 h y 40 m
  • "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.
    Más Menos
    49 m
  • 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.
    Más Menos
    1 h y 18 m