Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps (private feed for ccravensands@gmail.com)

“Conspiracies, Echo Chambers & Culture Wars” with Sacha Judd

The internet is a dumpster fire. Are you a firefighter? Or an arsonist?This episode is a cracker. Sacha Judd is an expert on internet subcultures. A former lawyer, she has become something like “the Mark Cuban of New Zealand” - a smart, left-wing investor in high-growth startups; advisor to businesses; and fierce commentator on Big Tech.Sacha wants to bring back the “good internet”: a place fueled by genuine community, creativity, and connection.She and Josh wrestle with online conspiracy theories, artificial intelligence, social-media content moderation, whether platforms like Substack have a “Nazi problem”, and whether Mark Zuckerberg just wants to say the R-word.They get into a few fascinating arguments about free speech, transphobia, A.I., and whether Twitter’s content moderation was ever ‘woke’. Don’t miss this terrific chat.You can find more from Sacha here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit uncomfortableconversations.substack.com/subscribe

PREMIUM: Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dave Sweeney

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit uncomfortableconversations.substack.comDo nuclear weapons protect Western civilisation? Or are they an insane error that humanity should undo? Is nuclear power worth the cost and risk?Dave Sweeney co-founded the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.Dave and Josh debate the risks and rewards of nuclear weapons and nuclear power in a…

"Indigenous Land Acknowledgement Furore" with Tyson Yunkaporta

Have indigenous Welcomes-to-Country gone too far?On Friday, far-right hecklers disrupted the Welcome to Country (i.e. the land acknowledgment, in North American parlance) of a profound Australian national event, the Anzac Day Dawn Service.The protest has sparked a national firestorm about race, racism and remembrance.Josh shares his thoughts about the coverage of the controversy, and then debates its deeper implications with the Indigenous scholar Tyson Yunkaporta. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit uncomfortableconversations.substack.com/subscribe

"Facebook Whistleblower" Frances Haugen

What’s social media doing to us, and how would you fix it?Mark Zuckerberg has been a busy boy on the witness stand in Washington DC lately. In one of the most consequential antitrust cases in tech history, Meta is being sued by the U.S. government for allegedly maintaining a monopoly. It could reshape the future of social media, privacy regulation, and Big Tech.But in an ideal world, how would you reform social media? How might we prevent it from deranging us?Frances Haugen worked at Google and Facebook as a product manager and data engineer. She helped build algorithms that tweaked the ranking of search results. Then she made global news as a whistleblower, collaborating with the Wall Street Journal on bombshell stories about Facebook's misdeeds. She appeared on 60 Minutes and testified before Congress.Frances and Josh discuss the problems with social media and what practical steps she recommends to reform the industry... and save civilisation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit uncomfortableconversations.substack.com/subscribe

"American Authoritarianism" with Matt Welch

What do you make of a U.S. government that snatches people off the street and disappears them into Central American prisons, forever, with no trial, and no way to appeal?Matt Welch is a libertarian journalist. He's no wild-eyed, Trump-loathing leftie. Fresh off the back of his appearance on Bill Maher, Matt joined Josh on Josh's streaming TV show, Szeps Live, to riff about Elon, DOGE, government effectiveness, abundance liberalism, high-speed rail, Orbán, Erdoğan, el Salvador, the Supreme Court, and, ultimately, whether America is sliding towards an illiberal, MAGA-tinged, Hungary-style democratic authoritarianism.Follow Matt over at The Fifth Column, and catch Szeps Live every Tuesday at 9pm ET here on Substack.Thanks to Karin Manley, Zac Gross, Evan, Flip Sasser, madasawethen, and all the other beautiful faces for tuning into the livestream with Matt Welch! See you next time. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit uncomfortableconversations.substack.com/subscribe