Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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 premiered at the Sundance Film Festival with his extraordinary feature-length documentary, Tickled, and is a frequent collaborator with Flight of the Conchords' Rhys Darby.

David swung by the Uncomfortable Conversations studio on a recent visit to Sydney to muse delightfully with Josh about Los Angeles, Joe Rogan, A.I., YouTube, and the future of America.

*Note: This episode was recorded in late 2024 prior to the outbreak of the 2025 Los Angeles fires.

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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 have constructive conversations in an era when they're more necessary than ever.

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, Patrick Deneen and Rod Dreher.

These "post-liberals" are correct in some of their criticisms of modern America but wrong in their solutions, argues today's guest, Jonathan Rauch. And who's best-placed to defeat them? Paradoxically, this atheist Jew argues: the Evangelical Church.

Rauch has spent his life fighting for liberal values. At The Economist magazine, he pioneered its editorial embrace of gay marriage long before that was popular. His hugely influential books include "The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth", about which Josh and Sam Harris interviewed him on Sam's podcast, Making Sense, in 2024.

Today: What happens to American democracy if Christianity can no longer perform the functions on which our constitutional order depends? Josh and Jonathan wrestle it out.

Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. His new book, "Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy", is available at https://tinyurl.com/y8ejdd5z

 

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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 each other's intellectual freedom.

Meghan lost her house in the LA fires just days after we recorded this conversation. Support her terrific podcast at www.theunspeakablepodcast.com and discover her new venture at www.theunspeakeasy.com.

 

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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 White House as President George W Bush's speechwriter, and is now a staff writer at The Atlantic. He wrote the books Trumpocracy (2018) and Trumpocalypse (2020).

 

Enjoy this bracing analysis from one of the most rigorous defenders of conservatism against the tide of right-wing populism. It's a conversation you don't want to miss.

 

We've kept this episode free, outside the paywall, as a public service. If you appreciate it, please consider whether you really need to free-ride or if you could subscribe at the Uncomfy Convos Substack page.

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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 editor of Newsweek and one of the most articulate pro-Trump voices in America. She has a PhD in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and promotes Trumpism from the "populist left". She has written two books, "Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy", and "Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America's Working Men and Women".

Today, Batya and Josh have a spirited debate about immigration, isolationism, NATO, the woke left, the working class, and Trump's political cronyism. It tells you a lot about our topsy-turvy politics that our pro-Trump guest is a former leftist and our anti-Trump guest is a conservative. Enjoy.

 

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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 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

 

He is arguably Australia's most experienced global journalist and the most famous Indigenous Australian. He resigned from the national public broadcaster last year in a national firestorm about racism.

 

Stan and Josh discuss racial slurs, changing norms, tribalism, the rootless global elite, and finding meaning outside religion.

 

P.S. Do yourself a favour and help Meghan Daum - upcoming guest, friend-of-the-show and all-round brilliant gal - to get back on her feet after losing her home in the L.A. fires. Subscribe to her Substack at www. theunspeakablepodcast.com... for her and, more importantly, for you.

 

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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. 

 

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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 works with companies like Samsung, Pixar, Saatchi and Google to help tailor products to how people’s minds actually work.

 

Josh and Joel consider the current state of A.I., how far it came in 2024, what to expect from 2025... and how to arm yourself for the disruptions of a world grappling with new hyper-intelligent artificial systems.

 

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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 parents were told his Cystic Fibrosis would ruin his life. Instead, he became an ultra-marathon runner, podcaster and motivational speaker.

 

He invited Josh on his show shortly before the U.S. election, so forgive their brief exchange about presidential politics. It's interesting as an analysis of the 24-hour media cycle and how small events can have a big impact. Mostly, Josh and Bradley focus on clear thinking, courageous conversations, the legacy media, algorithms and how to stay sane in a hectic world.

 

Happy 2025, humans.

 

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