The Middle

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 168 – Make friends In this episode, Andy and Roger wrestle with the timeless advice of Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, asking the important question: does any of this still work in 2026? Roger recounts a conversation with a new migrant seeking advice on making friends in Australia, prompting a deep (and often reluctant) dive into Carnegie’s g...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 167 – Goodbye 2025 Another year older, another unwanted barbecue. In this special New Year’s wrap-up, Andy and Roger reflect on the curious psychology of Facebook Marketplace, from bookcase bartering and sick-son sob stories to ash-spewing barbecue disasters. What begins as a suburban tale of fridges and passive-aggressive pickup requests morphs into something deeper...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 166 – Antisemitism This week, Andy and Roger kick off the episode with a Christmas debrief and a rant about Sydney’s failed curbside waste collection—complete with an altercation involving a taxi driver, a mosque, and a van full of rubbish. Naturally, it gets political from there. The core of the episode is a deep (and at times circular) dive into antisemitism, promp...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 165 – Bondi A sombre one this week, as Andy and Roger respond to the Bondi Beach terrorist attack—an act of anti-Semitic violence that left 15 dead and many injured. With hesitation but resolve, they unpack the political and cultural fallout: the risk of ideological vacuums, the failure of leadership, and the avoidance of hard conversations around religious extremism...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 164 – We’re fried If you’ve ever been so exhausted you considered sleeping through Christmas, this one’s for you. Andy and Roger limp toward the end of the year reflecting on burnout, endless life admin, and the fantasy of doing absolutely nothing. The pair swap war stories of seasonal stress, from Roger’s sleep-deprived chaos with four kids to Andy’s absurd four-hou...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 163 – Learn to care The Christmas lights are up, the elves are getting freaky, and Andy and Roger are back—armed with Spotify Wrapped and existential dread. Kicking off with a discussion of Santa, chocolate poo, and Barbie pole dancers, this episode spirals into one man’s musical identity crisis and another’s late-night bromance with Joe Rogan. But beneath the absurd...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 162 – Burkas of Tokyo Fresh from a stint in Tokyo, Roger returns to the pod—culturally cleansed and slightly jet-lagged—to join Andy in unpacking the latest stunt from perennial provocateur Pauline Hanson. From grilling Wagyu on a sandwich press to donning a burka in the Senate, Hanson’s antics lead to a candid discussion about political theatre, respect for religion...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 161 - Off limits Andy and Roger return this week with what can only be described as a descent into the gutter—and a surprisingly philosophical one at that. What begins with a meme-fuelled riff on the Epstein email leaks spirals rapidly into a gloriously inappropriate interrogation of sexuality, dominance, and prison politics (you’ve been warned). Along the way, they...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 160 – Christian nationalism Andy and Roger take a theological detour in this week’s episode, tackling the unlikely marriage of atheism and Christian nationalism—because nothing says "God is dead" like two agnostics discussing the Holy Spirit on a podcast. It begins with a recap of their visit to St Mary’s Cathedral, which somehow segues into a spirited review of the...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 159 – Oasis Andy and Roger gear up (and grumble) ahead of the much-hyped Oasis reunion tour, navigating the emotional spectrum from teenage giddiness to middle-aged back pain. With general admission tickets in sweaty hands, they debate the wisdom of attending a 31-degree Sydney stadium gig in a thunderstorm. This episode meanders through Oasis nostalgia, Gen X vs mil...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 158 – Trans In a long-overdue foray into the culture wars, Andy and Roger finally tackle the topic of trans identity in society—with the subtlety of a brick through a window. From awkward change-room encounters to the philosophical minefield of gender roles, they wade through the semantics of sex versus gender, armed with nothing but a few boomer-inspired prompts and...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 157 - Screw the kids Andy and Roger confront the great Australian pastime: feeling conflicted about housing. Kicking off with Roger’s feverish tales of toddler sleep regression, the episode spirals into a confessional therapy session on modern parenting—comparing boomer belt threats to contemporary bedtime negotiations. From four-kid fatigue to the economics of makin...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 156 - Fake news This week, Andy and Roger begin by talking about Barry Weiss and her surprise appointment as editor-in-chief at CBS News, before spiralling into a discussion about audience capture, ideological drift, and whether anyone—including themselves—can truly claim to be immune from cult-like thinking. Are we the sane ones, or just too deep to notice? From the...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 155 – Peace Andy and Roger open this episode with a surprisingly heartfelt dive into the world of Uber Eats, Five Guys, and the dark side of soggy chips. What begins as a minor rant about delivery delays soon turns into an extended therapy session on the state of modern convenience, consumer behaviour, and parenting in the age of on-demand food. There’s even a side h...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 154 – Celebrity This week, Andy and Roger tackle the hard-hitting questions: is it ever okay for men to sit down to wee, and what does your urinal splash zone say about you? As always, it starts in the gutter—literally—and then spirals into a spirited discussion about celebrity culture, the awkward etiquette of recognising public figures (including Lleyton Hewitt at...

🎵 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 153 – The FCC won’t let me be What do you get when a late-night comedian, a resurrected Trump, and a suspiciously realistic autopen portrait of Joe Biden walk into the news cycle? A particularly bleak week in American politics, it seems. Andy and Roger reflect on the spiralling absurdity of recent events: Jimmy Kimmel’s temporary cancellation and triumphant return an...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 152 – Charlie Kirk Andy and Roger plunge into the dark territory surrounding the assassination of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk. With a week’s distance from the event, they examine the cultural, political, and ideological impact of Kirk’s killing, dissecting both the online reaction and the real-world implications. Roger reflects on the shocking footage...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 151 – Stupid rules Is it a rule if no one told you? Andy and Roger tackle the peculiar world of unwritten social conventions—those awkward, often absurd codes of conduct we all follow but no one really explains. From urinal etiquette to splitting the bill, from holding the door to who gets the TV remote, it's a buffet of modern manners, passive-aggressive rituals, an...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 150 – Aussie values Roger is sick again (thanks, toddlers), but Andy’s immune system is smugly intact. After a brief detour through parenthood and dodgy Chinese street food, the duo dives headfirst into a timely and thorny discussion: the recent anti-immigration rallies across Australia. They dissect the unsettling presence of neo-Nazis, the public backlash, and the...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 149 – Taylor and Tyler It was bound to happen. Two 40-year-old men discuss Taylor Swift's engagement and the surrounding cultural fallout—from heteronormative nostalgia to conspiracy theories about psyops and Super Bowl brand strategy. They discuss the backlash among younger fans, the cheerleader–quarterback trope, and the strangely polarising nature of Swift’s mass...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 148 – Brisvegas This week, Andy and Roger ditch the studio for a boys' trip to Brisvegas, complete with a zesty blue Mustang convertible, thinning hairlines, and questionable headwear decisions. Things go sideways quickly when they encounter a real-life Karen berating Thai staff over a lack of fried rice at an all-you-can-eat buffet—and naturally, Andy has thoughts....

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 147 – Masculinity In this episode, Andy and Roger wrestle with the increasingly loaded topic of masculinity—by way of a truly abysmal SBS panel show. What begins as a gripe about ChatGPT hallucinations quickly detours into Australia’s recognition of Palestine, the political symbolism of foreign policy, and whether Hamas sends thank-you hampers. The heart of the episo...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 146 – Abundance In this episode, Andy and Roger wade into the political and cultural crosscurrents sparked by the book Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. They start with a listener’s heartfelt concern about her daughter’s activism in pro-Palestinian marches—unpacking the mix of genuine compassion, complex coalitions, and the ever-present risk of being swept...

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 145 – Greyzone Andy and Roger return with a sombre and sprawling discussion of the Israel-Gaza war, asking what moral accountability looks like in a situation with no easy answers. Andy begins by reflecting on the horror of starvation of people in Gaza, and expresses frustration over Israel’s continued military campaign. Roger highlights the hostages still held by Ha...

🎵 NEW PODCAST EPISODE Episode 144 – Epstein who? Andy and Roger kick off with a chat about the joy of ageing bodies at concerts and a bizarre Coldplay scandal involving a jumbotron, the CEO, and the head of HR. There’s some gentle speculation about how to survive being caught mid-canoodle on live camera—and how Coldplay became the unexpected backdrop for one of the most publicised workplace affai...