It's feedback time, people. Fire up.
Yes you. The person reading this. Your feedback. We want it.
We’ve thrown a lot of content at you since we launched this Substack. If you support the podcast financially, then hopefully you’re getting more than just the warm and fuzzy knowledge that a) podcasts cost money to make, b) they cost even more money to improve, and c) you are the reason any of this is possible. Hopefully, you’re also getting extra stuff you like.
So what is that stuff? We want to know what you find most enticing. So far, you’ve had:
Josh’s Soap Boxes, where I rant about what’s on my mind, like JK Rowling and other Nazis;
From The Archives, where we release the greatest interviews from my treasure trove of old shows, like Scott Adams and Zach Cregger;
AMAs, where I answer your listener questions; and
Deep Questions, a chance for some levity on the feed via shit talk. Literally.
Now, some of you like some of these formats. Some of you hate some of them. Presumably you don’t hate all of them, otherwise you’re just hate-listening to my voice while you furiously masturbate, and that’s what time management experts call a “sub-optimal” use of time. So we want to know, in the comments section:
- WHAT YOU LIKE
- WHAT YOU HATE
- WHAT YOU WANT
Answer those three things in the comments section below and we will build the best bloody premium podcast feed out there. Remember what this project was all about: Providing a fresh clearing, free from censors, managers, editorial directors and publicists, where you empower me to empower you. We need your input to deliver that. So fire up.
And speaking of traditional media - we’ve been having some cracking chats on the radio speaker phone. Have a listen to what’s been happening.
An Oscar-winner reveals how you win an Oscar
The Oscars might look form afar like a regal adjudication of Hollywood's finest output by a clique of wise voters. But in reality, they're the end result of a messy election campaign in which Hollywood studios, just like political parties, lobby industry insiders, advertise, cajole, schmooze and woo, to win votes for their candidates.
I talk to Emile Sherman, one of Australia's most successful movie and TV producers. He's a member of the Academy and votes in the Academy Awards.
His latest film is "The Son" with Hugh Jackman which was recently nominated for a Golden Globe. He produced films like Lion and Power of the Dog, as well as TV shows like Slow Horses and Heartstopper, and he won an academy award for The King's Speech.
Kids on Planes
Do you resent being asked to accommodate children on planes? Do you take the attitude that it’s the family’s job to pay to select seats together, or the airline’s job to cluster bookings with kids in the same seats? Should some flights be child-free?
How much of what you do is really you and how much is your unconscious?
Do you have an unconscious mind? What is that part of you whirring away in the background to nudge your conscious self to do or think certain things?
Or is that all nonsense?
Joel Pearson, the Director of the Future Minds Lab at UNSW, joined me on Arvos to wrestle with what Freud got right and wrong and what's happening in our brain/mind that influences our choices and reactions.
Love most everything. Especially when you’re engaging with a guest on a topic that you have some some stake in and that is of broader, social interest. Banter with comedians? Meh. The only thing that I truly hate is that you took down “Josh is on a boat.” You arguably have no right to keep this masterpiece from the public. 
I agree with others in that all of the content is good & especially with Kylie, that IF I had to rank them, the archival content is probably my least favourite but I still listen to all of it. I find myself developing a serious, yet unrequited, ‘bromance’ for you Josh Szeps! You clearly ‘lean left’ which only amazes me more when you can be SO rational & sensible in your conversations with respect to various woke & ‘cancel culture’ behaviours & tendencies that are SO obvious in the various arms of the media, not the least of which is your daytime employer. Please keep up the good work!