PREVIEW: "What Is the 'Patriarchy'?" with Prof. Cordelia Fine

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

http://twitter.com/joshzepps

24:10

Does your AI-based interface talk to customers the way a real person would or is it tech for tech’s sake? We are here at Forrester CX in Nashville, TN and hearing all about the latest insights and ideas for brands to create better experiences for their customers. Agility is less about bolting on new features just because the tech is available and more about making tomorrow’s experiences feel intuitive and natural to the end customer using them. Today we’re diving into designing for the future of experiences with AJ Joplin, Senior Analyst at Forrester. About AJ Joplin AJ is the lead analyst for Forrester’s research on experience design (XD), design organizations, and design leadership. Helping XD and customer experience (CX) leaders develop and deliver on research-based strategy is AJ’s professional passion. She has observed that the most effective organizations combine clear purpose with the right people and leverage systems to clarify decision-making, prioritization, and workflows. AJ also has years of workshop facilitation experience in human-centered design and design thinking. Using her professional coaching skills, AJ bring clients through ambiguity and into alignment on what matters and what’s next. Resources Forrester: https://www.forrester.com https://www.forrester.com Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Boston, August 11-14, 2025. Register now: https://bit.ly/etailboston and use code PARTNER20 for 20% off for retailers and brands Don't Miss MAICON 2025, October 14-16 in Cleveland - the event bringing together the brights minds and leading voices in AI. Use Code AGILE150 for $150 off registration. Go here to register: https://bit.ly/agile150 " Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.show Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company…

about a year ago 38:46

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Do males and females differ in what we want out of life? In what jobs we want to do? In how much we want to look after babies, or run a tech start-up, or sweep the living room, or be a CEO? Or are biological preferences just an excuse to justify inequality?

Cordelia Fine is a feminist academic who studies scientific explanations of sex differences and workplace inequality. Her books on gender have won prizes at the Royal Society, been recommended by the Sunday Times, and cited as among the Top Ten books on women of the past thirty years.

Professor Fine has a psychology degree from Oxford, a Master of Philosophy from Cambridge, and a PhD in Psychology from University College London. She's now a professor of the History & Philosophy of Science at Melbourne University. Her latest book is "Patriarchy, Inc."

Josh and Cordelia debate biology, culture, sexism, masculinity, transgenderism, the patriarchy, and what gender equality should look like in the 21st century.

Watch this conversation on YouTube. And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page.

http://instagram.com/joshszeps/

http://tiktok.com/@uncomfyconversations

443 episodes

#Clean Comedy #Entertainment #News Comedy #Comedy #Society #Self-Improvement #Josh Szeps #Podcasting Education

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

PREVIEW: "What Is the 'Patriarchy'?" with Prof. Cordelia Fine

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

5,004 subscribers

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

Josh and Cordelia debate biology, culture, sexism, masculinity, transgenderism, the patriarchy, and what gender equality should look like in the 21st century.

Watch this conversation on YouTube. And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page.

http://twitter.com/joshzepps

http://instagram.com/joshszeps/

http://tiktok.com/@uncomfyconversations

443 episodes

#Clean Comedy #Entertainment #News Comedy #Comedy #Society #Self-Improvement #Josh Szeps #Podcasting Education

All episodes

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

1
PREMIUM: "In-Groups & Out-Groups" with social psychologist Jolanda Jetten 32:50

3 days ago32:50

32:50

Are you defined by your identities? Where do you rank in the hierarchy of your social group, either online or in real life? How are the boundaries of your communities policed? By whom? In an era of social-media mobs, splintering communities and anti-immigrant ideas, the way we sort ourselves into in-groups and out-groups is a fascinating field of social psycology. Professor Jetten is an expert in the psychology of inclusion and exclusion, radicalisation, social dynamics, and the ways in which “who you are” is shaped by “who you are with.” Professor Jetten is from the Netherlands, but currently works at the University of Queensland in Australia. Watch this conversation on YouTube . And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page. http://twitter.com/joshzepps http://instagram.com/joshszeps/ http://tiktok.com/@uncomfyconversations…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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“Josh vs the Anti-Gay-Parenting Activist” Katy Faust 2:03:35

6 days ago2:03:35

2:03:35

Katy Faust is a family-values activist who campaigns against all families that don't contain a biological mother and father. A rockstar among American conservatives, she's the founder of the children's rights organization, Them Before Us. On shows like Jordan Peterson's - and in her lobbying of lawmakers - she argues for prioritising every baby's right to its biological parents over the right of adults to start a family. At a time when Republican support for same-sex marriage is dropping fast thanks to discomfort with parts of the LGBTQIA+ agenda (especially relating to kids and transgenderism), Katy's ideas are gaining traction. Her policies would revolutionise - and in some case, criminalise - IVF, surrogacy, adoption, sperm donation, egg donation, and even divorce. The group most targeted by biological-parenting laws would, of course, be gay parents - who, by definition, subvert the nuclear biological family. While Katy was touring Australia, she was kind enough to stop by the Uncomfortable Conversations studios to make her case against gay parenting to one of Australia's most prominent gay dads, the host of this show. Watch this conversation on YouTube . And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page. http://twitter.com/joshzepps http://instagram.com/joshszeps/ http://tiktok.com/@uncomfyconversations…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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"Artificial Intelligence in a Human World" with Prof. Toby Walsh 50:39

10 days ago50:39

50:39

Is it legit for tech companies to vacuum up everything humans create, to spin off A.I. content, and not to compensate humans? Will this world of creative artificial creatures promote or corrode human creativity? In America, two tech giants just won landmark court cases over their use of copyrighted works to train A.I. models. The court found that Meta and Anthropic didn't violate copyright when they trained their large language models on books without the authors' permission. This raises big questions. Who gets to create? What is A.I. actually doing, under the hood? How is it impacting human work? Is the famous "Turing Test" even relevant any more? And by what measure would we even know if machines are "intelligent"? Might we already have achieved Artificial General Intelligence and will only know it with hindsight? Professor Toby Walsh is one of the most respected - and most measured - A.I. academics in the world. He studied theoretical physics and mathematics at Cambridge, and got his PhD in artificial intelligence at the University of Edinburgh. He's currently a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of New South Wales, where he runs the A.I. Institute, and the former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Artificial Intelligence. At this tipping point in the evolution of A.I., Toby and Josh wrestle with the development of artificial intelligence, its future... and where that leaves the rest of us. Toby's new book is "The Shortest History of A.I." Watch this conversation on YouTube . And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page. http://twitter.com/joshzepps http://instagram.com/joshszeps/ http://tiktok.com/@uncomfyconversations…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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"Should We Ban Extreme Wealth?” with Prof. Carl Rhodes 1:05:56

13 days ago1:05:56

1:05:56

Is there something broken about a world where some people are absurdly, insanely rich? Or is inequality the price we pay for innovation? What do Bezos, Gates, Musk & Zuck tell us about what's malfunctioning in our societies? Would be better with no billionaires, or is the anti-rich movement an impoverished politics of envy? Professor Carl Rhodes was the dean of the business school at the University of Technology, Sydney. His new book is "Stinking Rich: The Four Myths of the Good Billionaire". Carl and Josh debate fairness, democratic socialism, Bernie Sanders, Steve Jobs, diversity, whiteness, wokeness and wealth. Watch this conversation on YouTube . And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page. http://twitter.com/joshzepps http://instagram.com/joshszeps/ http://tiktok.com/@uncomfyconversations…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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PREMIUM: “The Palestinian Delusion: the 'Right of Return' & the Mirage of Peace” with fmr Labor Knesset parliamentarian Einat Wilf 50:43

17 days ago50:43

50:43

What if the problem for the Palestinian people was not Israel, but the encouragement by the international community of a fantasy that, one day, Palestinians will return to Israel proper? That’s the thesis of 'The War of Return’ by former Labor parliamentarian and foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Shimon Peres, Einat Wilf. She opposes settlement-building but is otherwise a left-wing hawk. Wilf argues that the main reason why the conflict endures - and why Palestinians remain stateless - is the ongoing refusal by every Palestinian leader to accept that Israel is here to stay and there's no coming back. To discuss her views and how the conflict has unfolded since October 7th, Einat joined Josh in our Sydney studios. This conversation took place at almost exactly the moment Israel began striking Iran, before the Iran news broke. Watch this conversation on YouTube . And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page. http://twitter.com/joshzepps http://instagram.com/joshszeps/ http://tiktok.com/@uncomfyconversations…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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"A.I., Artificial Souls, and the Crazy Conundrum of Consciousness" with Philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel 1:04:16

20 days ago1:04:16

1:04:16

Let's take a break from the news cycle for a moment, shall we? There's a lot of cool shit to ponder that's more important and more fascinating. Like, how does the gooey blob of atoms between your ears generate all of your experiences? And are we on track to producing machines that feel as alive as you? Eric Schwitzgebel is a legendary professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley and an important voice in Silicon Valley's conversations about ethical artificial sentience. He and Josh muse on the various explanations of what your experiences actually are at their most profound level; why you probably don't have a soul; whether sufficiently intelligent machines will ever feel internally emotional alive... and how we'll even be able to tell. Watch this conversation on YouTube . And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page. http://twitter.com/joshzepps http://instagram.com/joshszeps/ http://tiktok.com/@uncomfyconversations…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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"Being Courageous in a Conformist World" with Sarah Wilson 1:15:08

24 days ago1:15:08

1:15:08

Are we too spoilt to be creative? Are we succumbing to decadent decline? How do you dissent when the incentives are to conform? How do the French retain the art of disagreement while the Anglosphere gets stuck in predictable squabbles? How can we grow a pair of collective cojones and defiantly create a better future? Today's episode would normally be paywalled. We're offering it as a free example of the kind of unstructured, unpredictable, unedited, freewheeling, thought-provoking clashes Josh does live on Substack , versus the more buttoned-up, pre-recorded tone of the podcast. Sarah Wilson is a former media high-flyer - the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, host of MasterChef Australia, big-time wellness columnist - who turned her back on her fabulously materialistic life, sold all her possessions, and became a nomadic creator. She doesn't have a home but spends most of her time now in Paris, where she preaches her secular wisdom of sanity to fans around the world. Josh and Sarah have a relationship of respectful disagreement and curious admiration. They streamed live this week with no particular agenda (except to save the world). Treat yourself to more conversations like this by registering here and downloading the Substack app. Watch this conversation on YouTube . And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page. 𝕁𝕠𝕤𝕙 𝕊𝕫𝕖𝕡𝕤 (@joshzepps) on X Instagram (@joshszeps) Josh Szeps on TikTok…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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JUST JOSH: "Staying Sane on Israel" 56:11

27 days ago56:11

56:11

Anti-Zionism, antisemitism, Palestinians, Hamas, Israeli Arabs, diaspora Jews, Gaza, and now an all-out war with Iran. It's head-spinning, trying to make sense of Israel right now. Today, Josh comes to you battered and bruised by the slings and arrows of a national pile-on. He wrote the lead opinion piece in the big thumping weekend edition of Sydney's and Melbourne's biggest broadsheet newspapers, in which he argued for diaspora Jews to stop reflexively making excuses for Israel. The backlash has been as savage as you'd expect on a topic where nuance goes to die. From the fallout, Josh takes a crack at wrestling with tribalism, group-think, moral honesty, and the unfolding Israel-Iran war. Watch this conversation on YouTube . And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page. 𝕁𝕠𝕤𝕙 𝕊𝕫𝕖𝕡𝕤 (@joshzepps) on X Instagram (@joshszeps) Josh Szeps on TikTok…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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PREMIUM: “Old Media, New Media & the Truth” with legendary journalist Chris Uhlmann 44:32

4 weeks ago44:32

44:32

Chris Uhlmann is one of the most experienced and well-known journalists Down Under. He worked for decades as either the host or the chief political reporter on many of the country's most respected news shows: The 7.30 Report, ABC News, Nine News, and ABC Radio's flagship current affairs show "A.M." He's made the leap to Substack , and joined Josh to discuss his regrets as a leading journalist, objectivity, fairness, thought bubbles, the flaws of media (old and new), climate change, immigration, and what it was like to interview Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Watch this conversation on YouTube . And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page. http://twitter.com/joshzepps http://instagram.com/joshszeps/ http://tiktok.com/@uncomfyconversations…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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BONUS: The Playwright Who Just Won the Tony Awards 47:08

5 weeks ago47:08

47:08

Over the weekend, the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play went to Eureka Day, a brave, hilarious satire of wokeness, vaccine denial, identity politics and social justice. Fresh from Broadway, the Sydney production is on now at the Seymour Centre. Its playwright, Jonathan Spector, joined Josh from California before his Tony triumph. Eureka Day is playing in Sydney until the 21st June 2025 at the Seymour Centre. You can find out more here.…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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“An Incredible Clean-Energy Future: Smart Homes, Smart Grids & Smart Thinkers” like energy entrepreneur Saul Griffith 1:00:10

5 weeks ago1:00:10

1:00:10

If you want to feel optimistic about the mind-boggling potential of the renewable energy revolution, listen to Saul Griffith, one of the world's leading experts in electrification, decarbonisation and renewable energy technologies. He's founded a dozen Silicon Valley technology companies, R&D labs, and non-partisan organizations, and he was instrumental in developing the Biden Administration's climate action plan. Saul's U.S. research labs were recently eviscerated by Elon Musk's DOGE cuts. He begins this conversation in a gloomy mood about the state of American scientific research, but peps up about the potential for overhauling how we generate, deliver and manage clean electricity. It's a wild rebuke to the climate hysterics on both sides. While the rest of the country argues about nuclear energy, solar panels and fossil fuels, enjoy this electrifying chat about how we could be on the brink of electrifying everything. Watch this conversation on YouTube . And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page. http://twitter.com/joshzepps http://instagram.com/joshszeps/ http://tiktok.com/@uncomfyconversations…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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PREMIUM: "Trump, the Left, and the Future of Liberalism" with Yascha Mounk 35:19

5 weeks ago35:19

35:19

While the showdown continues over Trump's military deployment against Los Angeles protestors, can we take heart from the resurgence of anti-Trump liberalism in Canada, Australia, the U.K. and Europe? Could the Democrats capture that energy? If the culture has moved on from "wokeness", then what's the next paradigm for the Left? How should we think about immigration, multiculturalism, infrastructure, abundance, Obama’s legacy, and big-vs-small government in the next chapter of American political life? And can it really be true that Mississippians are richer than Italians? Yascha Mounk is one of Josh's favourite thinkers on how to hold liberal democracies together in a destabilising time. Yascha will rejoin Josh on a Szeps Live Substack Livestream next Tuesday June 17th at 9pm ET to answer your questions about this conversation (11am Sydney-time on Wed 18th). Be sure you're subscribed to notifications here to stay abreast of all the additional content - it's free to watch (but comments are only for paid subscribers). This interview was recorded before the Los Angeles protests. Enjoy this sanity-inducing chat about the state of liberalism in 2025 and beyond. Watch this conversation on YouTube . And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page. http://twitter.com/joshzepps http://instagram.com/joshszeps/ http://tiktok.com/@uncomfyconversations…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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"Influencers, In-Fights & New Media" with Hannah Ferguson 1:35:02

6 weeks ago1:35:02

1:35:02

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. Watch this conversation on YouTube . And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page. http://twitter.com/joshzepps http://instagram.com/joshszeps/ http://tiktok.com/@uncomfyconversations…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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PREVIEW: Andrew Sullivan 36:10

6 weeks ago36:10

36:10

Andrew 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 the '80s, after studying at Oxford. As a gay, British, Catholic conservative in America, he dominated debates - on television as well as in writing - on everything from AIDS to Iraq to Obama. Andrew pioneered online journalism as one of the first superstar "bloggers". He wrote for the likes of London's Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times, the Atlantic, Time magazine, the New York Times Magazine and New York magazine. He now publishes The Weekly Dish on Substack. Josh and Andrew discuss his gay marriage fight, the opposition from gays, the transgender culture wars, HIV/AIDS, the "LGBTQ+ community", Andrew's college life in Reagan's America, and how he won over a conservative country to a radical agenda (and how liberals might do it again). Watch this conversation on YouTube . And you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped over to the Uncomfy Convos Substack page. http://twitter.com/joshzepps http://instagram.com/joshszeps/ http://tiktok.com/@uncomfyconversations…

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

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"Why Gaza is Genocide" with Israeli Holocaust Historian Prof. Amos Goldberg 1:00:09

7 weeks ago1:00:09