Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

Is it more ethical to prosecute your moral beliefs, or to understand people who disagree? Who, exactly, is fomenting polarisation? Who is capable, potentially, of political violence?
Is it, perhaps, all of us? Especially those of us convinced we’re doing good?
Several months ago, Josh hosted an Uncomfortable Conversations panel event at a black-tie gala in the nation’s capital with the federal member of parliament Helen Haines. This week, Haines was intentionally rammed by a car. She has lost both her legs.
The prime minister is trying to soothe a shocked nation by encouraging “people in positions [of influence]… to join in the call to turn [the] temperature down.”
Josh knows a thing or two about fostering conversations across ideological divides. In this ad-libbed editorial from New York, Josh argues that telling other people to turn the temperature down is worse than useless.
Nobody thinks their own temperature is set too high. Rather, we believe that less passionate people are feckless or corrupt.
This points a way forward, towards how we all might participate in creating a more cohesive society.
Our thoughts are with Helen, her family and her loved ones. We hope that in some tiny way, this helps.

This episode is part of The Best Of series and was originally posted in 2021. Tim Urban’s first appearance on this show remains one of my all-time favourites.
Why are you here? Are we alone in the universe? Will we extinguish ourselves? Why do you procrastinate? And what does social media reveal about your chimpanzee mind? Tens of millions of viewers watch philosopher-blogger king Tim Urban wrestle with these questions in TED Talks and on his comic blog, 'Wait But Why'. Spark up a reefer and join Josh on a cosmic journey into a genius mind.

This episode is from the You’re A Good Kid podcast, featuring your humble host, Josh Szeps.
This is a candid look into the life and mind of a boy who grew up in Sydney's inner suburbs and how love, family, and creativity shaped his strong self-confidence.
This episode was originally published on the You’re A Good Kid podcast in July 2026.

A.I. is unleashing a “judgment day” on everything from algebra and geometry to probability and logic. What happens to human knowledge when it's dropped in our laps instead of being understood?
It was just days ago that OpenAI dumped 722 new mathematics papers online, claiming extraordinary mathematical breakthroughs. Professional mathematicians are stupefied. Many of them are worried that A.I. risks prematurely shutting down lines of inquiry. Will humans receive ready-made insights with no new techniques, questions or, ultimately, understanding?
One leading mathematician even needed to use A.I. to read the A.I.’s proof of the problem she spent years working on.
Adam Spencer is a mathematics communicator and broadcaster whose Substack, NerdNews, discusses math, A.I. and general geekiness. He joins Josh to describe the shockwaves in the field and to wrestle with the pros and cons of super-intelligent machines solving humankind's deepest questions for us.
Read Adam Spencer’s Substack https://adambspencer.substack.com/

A female university student visits a male frat house at night. She is drugged and raped, for seven hours, by seven male students. She reports it but the university authorities sweep it under the rug. No charges are laid.
That's the story that has lit up the media and sparked thousands of online arguments since the young woman filed a 101-page civil complaint. She names seven of the young men and seven organisations, including Cornell University itself. Seven rapists, seven hours, seven organisations.
Yesterday, Cornell students occupied a dining hall on campus in solidarity... for seven hours. The district attorney reopened the case. The state governor appointed a special prosecutor. A special committee was set up. A review was launched. The university's president says this is a turning point in Cornell’s history. Students are calling for his resignation.  
The story depicted above, though, of being drugged and gang raped, is not the accuser's own account of what happened. It's folklore being repeated by politicians, activists, celebrities and commentators. The woman's own story is more subtle, more intriguing, and more challenging.
Kat Rosenfield is a culture writer and podcaster on Substack and for the Free Press. She's an unflinching analyst of female sexuality, male violence, justice, and consent. Kat takes Josh to the heart of the profound but uncomfortable questions that usually make conversations about male violence and female safety so fraught.