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

"Influencers, In-Fights & New Media" with Hannah Ferguson

At 26, Hannah Ferguson is one of the most influential young women in Australia. Her media company, Cheek Media, boasts an army of politically-engaged, progressive female fans. Ferguson co-hosts the smash hit podcast Big Small Talk, which breaks down politics and pop culture.An unapologetic progressive, she recently interviewed the prime minister and earned the honour of speaking at one of Australia's most prestigious forums, the National Press Club address. Ferguson intends to run for the senate and to someday be prime minister.She and Josh wrestle with new media and old, feminism, schisms in the online mediaverse, Rupert Murdoch, and holding guests - and themselves - to account. 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: Andrew Sullivan

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit uncomfortableconversations.substack.comAndrew Sullivan is one of the most influential political writers of his generation.He became the face of the gay marriage fight, after writing the first major American article arguing for it in 1989. His 1995 book, Virtually Normal, became a bible of the marriage equality movement.Andrew had moved to America to get his PhD in politics from Harvard in th…

"Why Gaza is Genocide" with Israeli Holocaust Historian Prof. Amos Goldberg

Terms like "genocide" and "apartheid" are thrown around a lot by anti-Israel activists. But when a leading Israeli Holocaust historian declares his own country to be a genocidal apartheid state, we ought to listen.Born and raised in Israel, Dr Goldberg is a professor in the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was the head of the university's Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry until last year.Goldberg is a world-renowned expert on the cultural history of Jews during the Holocaust, in particular in the Warsaw Ghetto. He's been a visiting scholar at many of the top institutes for the study of genocide all over Europe and America, including at Cornell University and at The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.These bona fides give Goldberg the authority to level devastating accusations against his homeland. He recently went viral after co-authoring an opinion piece in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, entitled "There's No Auschwitz in Gaza. But It's Still Genocide".Professor Goldberg made time for Josh from his office in Jerusalem. 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: “Tariffs, Greenbacks, Qatar’s Air Force One, and American Empire” with Assoc. Prof. David Smith

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit uncomfortableconversations.substack.comHow do you reconcile Trump's passion for American Greatness with his disengagement from international systems which America set up? What are the consequences so far of Trump's tariff flip-flops? Can Ukraine be resolved by the Great Powers alone? Do volatile bond markets predict the end of the U.S. dollar? Where does this all leave America in relation to…

Josh on... Can You Change People's Minds?

We've got a special treat for you today. Josh sat down with the hosts of the "Changed My Mind" podcast, who interrogated him about whether it's really possible, in our divided times, to change someone's mind.Josh shares his thoughts about the art of persuasion; reveals topics on which his position has changed; and wrestles with conundrums like factory farming, freedom of speech and abortion.How persuadable are people, really? Josh is more hopeful than many."Changed My Mind" is hosted by Aidan Alexander and Thom Norman. You can check out the tool we discussed that Thom and Aidan's non-profit created to offset your diet's impact on animals at compassioncalculator.org, and if you use the code uncomfortable conversations you'll get your donation matched 100%.Here is a link to the offset calculator that has the code pre-loaded. 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