Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

This episode is part of The Best Of series and was originally posted in 2024.
Few Britons are as iconic as Stephen Fry.
On TV, he’s an Emmy-winning comedy legend immortalised in shows like A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Jeeves & Wooster, and Blackadder. He has hosted the British Academy Film Awards twelve times and won six BAFTAs as the host of the smash-hit BBC television quiz show Q.I.
On stage, Stephen’s adaptation of Me and My Girl won two Olivier Awards. He was nominated for a Tony for his performance in The Globe’s production of Twelfth Night on Broadway.
On the big screen, he’s starred in Wilde (as Oscar Wilde, a performance nominated for a Golden Globe), Gosford Park, Chariots of Fire, A Fish Called Wanda, V for Vendetta and The Hobbit.
Stephen is the voice of all the Harry Potter audiobooks. His eloquence infuses his countless essays, comedy sketches, articles, novels, and books about Greek mythology.
His autobiography, Moab is My Washpot, with its raw honesty about his screwed-up teenage years, was transformational for a young Josh Szeps.
On a trip to Sydney, Stephen swung by the Uncomfortable Conversations studios to visit with Josh. Enjoy this sparkling conversation about the cycle of life, the richness of being human, finding creative authenticity, and ignoring Donald Trump.

Is the exhausted majority stuck choosing between two extremes that can’t be satisfied, and what happens when the far left and far right go head to head?
Josh chats with comedy writer and author of I Might Be Wrong, Jeff Maurer, live from a Washington, DC, hotel room, about why centrists keep losing the argument on both sides. They dig into the chaos in France, where a nation that riots over a modest rise in the retirement age may now face a runoff between an old-school communist and Marine Le Pen, and why Jeff thinks the far right wins that contest almost every time. They also cover the motte-and-bailey fallacy, Australia’s superannuation fix versus America’s looming Social Security cliff, why the left needs its own “Nixon goes to China” moment, the illiberal turn in progressive race politics, and the case for a really basic version of Medicare for All.

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.