First gaining fame appearing in Race Around the World in 1997, Safran went on to produce a series of documentaries, television shows and host radio programs.

Safran is known for his television stunts, which include placing a fatwa on Australian television host Rove McManus, sneaking nine young men into an exclusive Melbourne nightclub by disguising them as members of American nu metal band Slipknot, running through Jerusalem wearing nothing but the beanie and scarf of St Kilda Football Club, driving a remote-controlled seagull with a cigarette onto the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and his confrontation with A Current Affair host Ray Martin.

During this time he also worked as a copywriter for Mazda, Village Roadshow and Sea World, where he wrote the company's jingle.

[7] During his final year in high school, Safran formed the hip-hop group Raspberry Cordial with his friend Chris Lumsden.

[citation needed] After winning a government youth music initiative, they followed up with Taste Test, of which 500 copies were pressed.

[8] Safran's first experience of national fame came via Race Around the World, a television competition for young documentarians run by the ABC.

[9] Safran started the race off timid and tame, being locked inside an Osaka subway station in his first entry.

The Ray Martin segment was later played on Media Watch, John Safran: The Lost Pilot and on YouTube.

[13] Safran also presented segments for the Seven Network's now defunct The Late Report, some were also screened in the United Kingdom with Channel 4's Disinformation program.

Safran attained police attention for a stunt to try and coerce cricketer Shane Warne into breaking a "no smoking" clause in an advertising contract with a nicotine gum manufacturer.

[14] Screened on SBS on Saturday nights, it opened Safran's work to youth 12 to 20 years old, who had not seen the original Race Around the World material.

The series' finale featured Safran being exorcised of demons which had supposedly possessed him during his dabblings with world religions.

[16] Before the exorcism, Safran went to Mozambique to have a curse, previously placed on the Australian national football team by a now-deceased witch doctor, lifted.

[18] Safran spent portions of 2007 in Los Angeles shooting a pilot entitled John Safran Saves America for American MTV in which he tried to convince emos to fight in Iraq, visited therapists who claim they can cure people of racism, and attempted to become gay to increase his standing in Hollywood.

[20] In 2009 John Safran's Race Relations, an eight-part comedy documentary television series, was picked up by the ABC.

[22] He had nails driven through his hands and feet and hung on the cross for five minutes before being taken down and given medical treatment in a nearby tent set up for the purpose.

[citation needed] As of 2002[update], Safran had been a regular host of Melbourne community radio station 3RRR (Triple R) on its morning show "Breakfasters".

After a lengthy hiatus late 2008 due to a busy filming schedule, Sunday Night Safran returned to the airwaves on 12 July 2009.

[26] The program was iconic because the co-hosts talked to each other for much longer than instructed to (one such incident involved Fr Bob and Safran looking up the word monstrance in a dictionary following a dispute) and referring to the audience as "Dear Listeners".

[28] During the program's run, Safran and Maguire were able to get interviews from people such as religious scholar Reza Aslan, Julian Assange's mother Christine, The Exorcist star Linda Blair, philosopher and School of Life founder Alain de Botton, writer, retired prison doctor and psychiatrist Theodore Dalrymple, West Memphis Three Damien Echols, antitheist Christopher Hitchens, conspiracy theorist David Icke, former white supremacist skinhead Frank Meeink, pro-euthanasia doctor Philip Nitschke, The Act of Killing director Joshua Oppenheimer, journalist and writer Jon Ronson, true crime writer and Ted Bundy co-worker Ann Rule, the Lizardman Erik Sprague, African-American pro-Israel political activist and Zionist Chloé Valdary, Jewish activist against child sexual abuse Manny Waks, psychic Lisa Williams and John Safran's dad, Alex.

[38] A portrait by Avraham Vofsi titled John Safran as David and Goliath was a finalist in the 2022 Archibald Prize.

[40] He thinks that organised religion "gets a pretty good break in Australia", as they don't have to pay as much tax and are allowed to preach against homosexuals.

[40]Safran's first date was with a girl called Meg whom he was doing work experience with at the Australian Jewish News in Year 10.