Best Joel Welch Podcasts (2025)

1
PREVIEW: Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dave Sweeney 50:27

11h ago50:27

50:27

Do 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 pow…

1
BONUS: "Indigenous Land Acknowledgement Furore" with Tyson Yunkaporta 1:11:54

5d ago1:11:54

1:11:54

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 abo…

1
"Facebook Whistleblower" Frances Haugen 1:13:36

4d ago1:13:36

1:13:36

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…

1
"American Authoritarianism" with Matt Welch 1:24:55

8d ago1:24:55

1:24:55

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,…

1
“Reimagining Schooling” with Finnish education icon Prof. Pasi Sahlberg 1:48:09

11d ago1:48:09

1:48:09

What's the purpose of school? Why do we run schools the way we do? How might we reinvent education in an era of artificial intelligence and ADHD? Professor Pasi Sahlberg is one of the world's leading education experts. He ran Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture, moved to Washington DC to advise the World Bank on education, and was a visitin…

1
PREVIEW: "What Can Democrats Do?" with David Pakman 20:23

18d ago20:23

20:23

The Democratic Party is paralysed. It can't merely offer resistance to Trump. It also needs to offer an alternative to him. But how? Should they oppose his every move, as the likes of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Cory Booker believe? Or should they shut up and wait for the president to doom himself, as Senate minority leader …

1
“Decoding the Gurus” with Chris Kavanagh and Matt Browne 1:18:53

18d ago1:18:53

1:18:53

When are independent shows like Uncomfortable Conversations serving a useful purpose... and when are they just preaching to the choir? "Decoding the Gurus" is a podcast that dissects how new-media personalities gain guru status. Frequently, such podcasters claim to be bravely challenging the status quo... while comfortably pandering to their team. …

1
Anthony Bourdain’s “Lieutenant”, Laurie Woolever 1:11:24

22d ago1:11:24

1:11:24

Anthony Bourdain was Josh's hero. Laurie Woolever was, as Bourdain called her, his "lieutenant". A writer and culinary graduate, Laurie had worked for another gigantic cooking celebrity, Mario Batali, before he was brought down for alleged sexual harrassment. She spent almost ten years as Bourdain's right-hand-gal. The two of them wrote two books t…

1
PREVIEW: "What Is the 'Patriarchy'?" with Prof. Cordelia Fine 38:46

28d ago38:46

38:46

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 …

1
JUST JOSH: The Woke Catastrophe of “Snow White” 28:49

30d ago28:49

28:49

If you want to see what's wrong with not being offensive, watch Snow White. The new Disney re-make is so committed to not offending anyone that it’s a social-justice jumble. Snow White isn’t white as snow; her love interest isn’t a prince; the dwarves aren’t “dwarves”; but there IS a dwarf in a non-dwarf role; Snow White doesn’t need a man; the man…

1
BOB CARR on Diplomacy, Statesmanship and Grief 1:40:32

1M ago1:40:32

1:40:32

Even if you're not Australian, you want to listen to this conversation with one of the nation's most iconic statesmen. Bob Carr is a former foreign minister of Australia (i.e. the secretary of state) and, before that, the longest-continuously-serving Premier of NSW, Australia's most populous state. He's an intellectual powerhouse, an icolonoclast, …

1
Droids in Star Wars! 42:26

1M ago42:26

42:26

Episode 111: Droids in Star Wars! Welcome to the SciFi Pubcast! Come for a drink but stay for the speculation. Beep boop. We’re talking droids in Star Wars. It bytes. And we’re quite robotic. So, grab an oil-infused cocktail of your choice. This is the SciFi Pubcast. On this episode: Keri, Derek and Joel. Episode recorded on March 30, 2025. It was …

1
Episode #22 - Danny Ben, Joe Welch 1:38:22

1M ago1:38:22

1:38:22

So, one day Danny calls me up and says he had a dream and wants to do a podcast. We’d been talking about riding Doña Ana trails for way too long so, in classic skater DIY fashion, decided to knock both off the to-do list in one go on the road during rush hour. Join us while we drive to one of the sickest mtb spots just north of Las Cruces and talk …

1
PREVIEW: “Does Ukraine Still Matter?" with correspondent Misha Zelinsky 38:43

1M ago38:43

38:43

What are Trump and Putin cooking up for Ukraine? Can the Europeans sideline it? What options does Ukraine still have on the table? And does any of this really matter to non-Europeans any more? This week, the ceasefire talks that President Trump boasted he'd wrap up in 24 hours fell apart, again. Russia says it wants an end to the war, if Ukraine ef…

1
Australia’s Shadow Treasurer, Angus Taylor 1:06:30

1M ago1:06:30

1:06:30

Angus Taylor is the Shadow Treasurer of Australia and a key figure of the Opposition, the centre-right Liberal Party. A former cabinet minister, businessman and Rhodes scholar, he's often discussed as a future prime minister. Opinion polls put his party's return to power in the May election as a 50/50 bet. Josh sat down with the Shadow Treasurer to…

1
PREVIEW: "Two Jews Debate Israel" with Antony Loewenstein 40:50

2M ago40:50

40:50

How should moderate, secular Jews feel about Israel? How brutalising must Israel’s Gaza policy be before more Jews denounce it? Is Israel a well-intentioned country hijacked by right-wing leaders from its true purpose of peace? Or is it intrinsically committed to destroying Palestinians? Was a Jewish ethno-state a mistake from the start? Or is Isra…

1
JOHN McWHORTER: Language, Race & Trump 1:25:46

2M ago1:25:46

1:25:46

John McWhorter is arguably the world’s most famous linguist. A professor at Columbia University and a columnist for the New York Times, he alternately enrages the right and the left as an anti-Trump, anti-woke, Black academic. John and Josh sat down in Sydney to discuss gay slang, the Trumpist right, Black provocateurs and “serving c***t”. Watch th…

1
"Why Greenland Matters" with Sherri Goodman 42:01

2M ago42:01

42:01

When Trump floated the idea of the U.S. acquiring Greenland, some called it a random brain fart. But there is a real conversation among security experts about control of the Arctic in the 21st century. As climate change opens up new avenues for shipping, spying, mining, submarining and warfare, the far North Atlantic matters more and more. Sherri G…

1
BONUS: Josh on Israel-Palestine Coverage 1:21:10

2M ago1:21:10

1:21:10

Last week, Arab leaders gathered in Egypt for a Palestine Summit. The 22-nation Arab League emerged with a re-energised Arab Peace Initiative to solve the Israel-Palestinian Conflict once and for all. Australia's largest and most trusted news organisation, the ABC, covered the event in an article entitled "This Plan Would End the Israel-Palestinian…

1
"Trump, Gaza & Liberalism" with Senator Dave Sharma 59:18

2M ago59:18

59:18

Australians go to the polls in a few months. It looks surprisingly grim for the first-term, centre-left Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. As part of Uncomfortable Conversations' election coverage, Josh invited a select handful of prominent politicians who are likely to be the most interesting figures for listeners from all over t…

1
"The Next Canadian PM” with Jen Gerson 1:13:45

2M ago1:13:45

1:13:45

Justin Trudeau's political career will end this weekend when his replacement is elected as the Canadian Liberal leader. This happens at a moment of extraordinary uncertainty for Canadians. As the U.S. launches a painful trade war, Canadians are being forced to rethink their economic and strategic future. What's going on up there? Who are the candid…

1
"Hate Speech or Free Speech?" with Prof. Alan Davison 2:15:40

2M ago2:15:40

2:15:40

Perhaps the most dangerous idea is what to do about dangerous ideas. A spate of anti-semitic attacks has led to new laws that will punish Australians for "hate speech". But are hate-speech laws a band-aid over deeper problems like ethnic bigotry, religious conservatism, historical ignorance, social media, migrant integration, university bias, and I…

1
“Chinese War Games” with Sam Roggeveen 1:44:17

2M ago1:44:17

1:44:17

How should medium-sized countries respond when they're bullied by a superpower? The question applies as much to Canada dealing with President Trump as to Australia reacting to China. Last Friday, the pilot of a Virgin Australia flight from Australia to New Zealand noticed a flash of weapons from a Chinese warship just a few hundred miles off the co…

1
PREVIEW: "Rogue Fentanyl Chemists" with Ben Westhoff 39:58

2M ago39:58

39:58

Imagine posing as a drug dealer and going undercover into a Chinese drug lab. That's what Ben Westhoff did to report on how fentanyl -- which kills about 75,000 Americans every year -- gets made. Will Trump's crackdowns at the Mexican border stanch the flow? Why are other rich countries less affected by opioids? How did fentanyl cause the worst dru…

1
Episode #21 - Chris Oaxaca 1:04:46

2M ago1:04:46

1:04:46

“You have to die a few times before you can really live.” -Charles Bukowski Podcast link in bio. Thanks for listening. unchartedmanhood.substack.com @chris.oaxBy Richie Sanchez

1
"The Great Aussie Rort" with Punter's Politics 1:15:43

2M ago1:15:43

1:15:43

Varied are the ways in which political parties, media moguls and corporations screw you. One man who stands up to them all -- or who at least makes funny, informative, viral videos explaining their shenanigans -- is the phenomenon known as "Punters Politics". Millions of Aussies devour his Instagram and YouTube videos to learn how the system is rip…

1
PREMIUM: "The Fallacy of Productivity" with Oliver Burkeman 38:37

3M ago38:37

38:37

Productivity tips. Life hacks. Calendar apps. Magic mornings. Brain supplements. None of it will free you from the sense that there's more to do than you possibly can. That's because you're finite. Your time is finite, your focus is finite, and you're going to die. No productivity hack can change that. It's a liberating idea, if you look at it the …

1
PREVIEW: Oct. 7th Survivor Natalie Sanandaji 1:14:35

3M ago1:14:35

1:14:35

Natalie is a Jewish Iranian-American who grew up in New York. She was partying at the Nova Music Festival in Israel when Hamas attacked. Today, she uses her experience to advocate for the Combat Antisemitism Movement. She and Josh discuss Gaza, the Israeli occupation, hatred, love... and her experiences that day. To get more content like this and t…

1
“Gay Sex on Stage” with Tony nominee Samuel Barnett & Marcelo Dos Santos 1:11:34

3M ago1:11:34

1:11:34

What's it like being a promiscuous young gay guy in the 2020s? How much freedom is there in random sex from hookup apps, versus how much shame? Do social conservatives have a point when they say fidelity and monogamy are the best model for life? The producer of "Fleabag" and "Baby Reindeer" -- both humongous British TV shows which started as one-pe…

1
Josh on Trump on Gaza 34:43

3M ago34:43

34:43

President Trump says the United States should take over the Gaza Strip and relocate its two million residents to neighbouring countries while we redevelop Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East." Josh has thoughts. To get more content like this and to join in the fun of the Uncomfy Convos multiverse, hit the Substack page at Subscribe to Uncomfo…

1
"American Oddities" with David Farrier 1:13:05

3M ago1:13:05

1:13:05

Why do Americans use shower curtains instead of glass shower stalls? How do you explain the success of The Olive Garden? And is Los Angeles really as foul as Josh claims? David Farrier is a New Zealand documentarian living in L.A., where his whimsical podcast Flightless Bird is produced by Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert production company. David pre…

1
Josh on Trump on Gender 52:56

3M ago52:56

52:56

How well is the legacy media covering President Trump's flurry of executive actions? Among the first deluge of White House orders is a decree defining "sex", "gender", "male" and "female". The reporting on this order -- and on LGBT and gender issues more broadly -- tells us a lot about ideological echo chambers, newsroom diversity, and how not to h…

1
"How the Church can Defeat Trumpism" with Jonathan Rauch 1:30:29

3M ago1:30:29

1:30:29

White, conservative, evangelical American Christians helped to bring Donald Trump to power. Their political activism is turbo-charged by populist right-wing "post-liberals" who believe traditions like civility and pluralism are passé -- people including entertainers like Tucker Carlson and Curtis Yarvin, as well as intellectuals like Sohrab Amari, …

1
Star Trek: Section 31 (Paramount+, 2025)! 50:25

3M ago50:25

50:25

Episode 110: Star Trek: Section 31 (Paramount+, 2025)! Welcome to the SciFi Pubcast! Come for a drink but stay for the speculation. We are alive and talking about the streaming film, Star Trek: Section 31, released on Paramount+. And we have feelings. So, grab one of those cool looking cocktails. This is the SciFi Pubcast. On this episode: Keri, De…

1
PREMIUM: Triumph of the Karens with Meghan Daum 24:04

3M ago24:04

24:04

Do women police each other's behaviour more than men do? Are they likelier to be busybodies, calling each other out online? Pouncing, denouncing, hounding, unfriending? That's the experience of the legendary dissident journalist Meghan Daum, a former Los Angeles Times columnist who has created a sanctuary for independent-minded women to support eac…

1
Inauguration Episode Two: Josh & the Anti-Trumper, David Frum 1:22:31

4M ago1:22:31

1:22:31

Well, it's Trump's Inauguration. Again. On our previous episode, "Inauguration Episode One", Josh interviewed a pro-Trumper. Today, expand your thinking about the best- and worst-case scenarios of Trump's second term with a searingly cogent counter-opinion. David Frum is one of the most influential conservative "Never Trumpers". He worked in the Wh…

1
Inauguration Episode One: Josh & the Pro-Trumper 58:05

4M ago58:05

58:05

On Monday, Donald J Trump will be sworn in as president. Again. To help us understand the best-case scenarios and worst-case scenarios for his second term, Josh has invited two diametrically-opposed thinkers. Today, the pro-Trump case with Batya Ungar-Sargon. On Inauguration Day, the anti-Trump case with David Frum. Batya is the deputy opinion edit…

1
PREMIUM: "Multiculturalism & Identity" with Stan Grant 28:59

4M ago28:59

28:59

How can we flourish in 2025 in a world gripped by tribalism on the right and left? Friend-of-the-show Stan Grant returns to reflect on community, cancellation, wokeness and faith. Stan was CNN's Senior International Correspondent based in Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Beijing, before returning to Australia as International Affairs Analyst for the Austra…

1
JUST JOSH: L.A. On Fire 32:48

4M ago32:48

32:48

As Los Angeles burns, our thoughts are with everyone in L.A. In this special episode, Josh reflects on natural disasters, leadership, and the anniversary of the Black Summer fires in Australia. You can watch this conversation on YouTube, and you’re missing out on our best ad-free content if you haven’t popped your details into the Uncomfy Convos Su…

1
PREMIUM: "A.I. for Humans" with Prof. Joel Pearson 27:25

4M ago27:25

27:25

Artificial systems are about to revolutionise your workplace, your school, your home, your phone… and, most of all, your head. How should we prepare for the inevitable human response? Professor Joel Pearson is a psychologist and neuroscientist who runs the Future Minds Lab at the University of New South Wales as well as MindX, a consultancy that wo…

1
An Interview With Josh 1:26:42

4M ago1:26:42

1:26:42

For the first show of the year, an unexpected treat. A few months ago, Josh had an amazing conversation as a guest on a colleague's podcast. We bring this to you as a nice way to reset, to recalibrate, to reaffirm your mindset as we enter a fresh year. The show is called "A Lot to Talk About" and it's hosted by Bradley Dryburgh, a young guy whose p…

1
"Beyond 2025" with Futurist Dr Ben Hamer 46:01

4M ago46:01

46:01

Happy new year, human. Remember the Year 2000, the turn of the millennium? Well, you're about to enter the century's second quarter. This Wednesday, we'll be closer to 2050 than to the last millennium. The final half of the twenty-first century will be nearer than the twentieth. What might the next quarter of a century have in store? Josh argued it…

1
"Best & Worst Films of 2024" with Alexei Toliopoulos 1:08:23

4M ago1:08:23

1:08:23

It's one of the biggest weeks of the year at the box office. What's your most overrated and underrated movie of the year? Today, comedian and film buff Alexei Toliopoulos joins secret cinema nerd Josh Szeps to reveal which flicks to delight in and which to avoid. Plus, honourable mentions, the worst film of the year, and what to look out for from H…

1
Josh's Christmas Feast with Gary Kennedy 1:05:12

4M ago1:05:12

1:05:12

One of the greatest characters Josh regularly interviews is Gary Kennedy, the iconoclastic food scientist who oversees international food safety protocols and can answer every weird, wonderful, arcane food question that has ever popped into your noggin. How long can you leave a Christmas ham in the fridge after it sat on the table for three hours? …

1
“The Elite 'Social Justice’ Scam” with Musa al-Gharbi 33:38

5M ago33:38

33:38

The full conversation is almost two hours long and sbolitely fascinating. Enjoy this free preview or, to hear the whole shebang, subscribe at Uncomfortableconversations.substack.com "Woke” is such a tired word. Yet there remains a cultural elite which uses the language of social justice to gain power and status, without helping the disadvantaged. W…

1
“The Case for Assassinating CEOs” with Ethicist Tim Dean 1:01:07

5M ago1:01:07

1:01:07

After the slaying of one of America’s highest-flying health-insurance CEOs, the tenor of many reactions from the Online Left was: “Murder is never justified, BUT…” The chattering classes are now busy condemning such hot takes for seeking to “understand” a killer’s motives; for excusing the inexcusable. But neither reaction will convince the growing…

1
ANDREW DOYLE on Satirising the Left 41:02

5M ago41:02

41:02

How did the best satirists notice the comedic potential of “wokeness” in its earliest moments? And where does the evolution of the Left leave political satire now? Andrew Doyle writes for the fictional parody characters Jonathan Pie and Titania McGrath. He invented Titania as a caricature of social-justice activists (her Twitter bio describes her a…

1
“Liberalism in 2025”: STAN GRANT 1:12:23

5M ago1:12:23

1:12:23

As Syria transforms, as Trump returns, as Putin prepares for victory, as China lies in wait, and as we all look towards a new year, Josh sits down with one of the smartest analysts of liberal democracy. Stan Grant was CNN's Senior International Correspondent based in Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Beijing, before returning to Australia as International A…

1
PREMIUM: Noam Chomsky's Co-Writer Nathan Robinson on America in the World 20:49

5M ago20:49

20:49

What should the role of America be? In their new book, "The Myth of American idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World", Noam Chomsky and Nathan Robinson present a litany of American foreign policy missteps. Nathan is the founder of Current Affairs magazine, of which he is the editor-in-chief, and the author of Why You Should Be a Socia…

1
How QANTAS Corrupted Everything with Joe Aston 1:13:14

5M ago1:13:14

1:13:14

What happens to politicians when they're openly bribed -- *ahem*, sorry, "assisted" -- by a hugely powerful corporation? The saga of how Qantas peddles influence, wins subsidies, escapes regulation, and secures Australian government protection by showering politicians with first-class upgrades and secret airport club memberships is, frankly, bonker…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Joel Welch Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen