The Wright Show (audio)

Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom0:00 Bob hoodwinks the fashion police 3:54 Predictions for the new year 11:53 The pros and cons of “nepotocracy” 14:05 Predictions for the new year (cont’d) 19:45 Impromptu Ukraine war update 21:51 The top 3(ish) stories of 2022 28:59 Is Twitter salvageable? 44:20 The true threat of Twitter (according to Mickey) 50:24 Mickey’s underreported and overreported stories of the year 59:56 What did the Jan. 6 committee miss? 1:03:18 Bob’s perverse theory on why the GOP would be wise to drop the Hunter Biden thing 1:06:19 Parrot room preview: The root cause of homelessness; legalize cocaine? Why stop there?; The SBF clawback; signs that the tide is turning on wokeness; Bob’s grand quasi-unified MKUltra-lab leak theory; three bonus predictions from Mickey; Bob checks into The White Lotus Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded December 23, 2022. Comments

2:27 The legacy of free trade in America 4:55 Adam’s new book Opening Up by Cracking Down, about the repression of union activism in developing countries 18:17 Car bombing and other ways Argentina subdued labor in the 80's 28:08 Why did the US open up trade so early? 33:03 The quasi-dystopian law India used to break strikes in the 90’s 38:12 Underacknowledged long-term effects of free trade 42:49 Is a pro-labor approach to free trade possible? 57:46 Making globalism great again Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Adam Dean (George Washington University, From Conflict to Coalition). Recorded December 15, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65436 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 00:00 Has the tide turned against Elon—and against Twitter? 12:55 Elon accuses Fauci of funding research that killed millions 26:42 Bob sees signs that the “Twitter files” journalism is biased 40:24 Why now might be a good time for Ukraine diplomacy 44:51 Parrot Room preview: SBF news; breaking down the nuclear fusion breakthrough; the AI alignment problem; China’s coming COVID explosion; TikTok backlash gains traction; Elon’s growing Tesla problems Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded December 16, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65425 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

0:51 What Anders didn’t like about Bob’s Washington Post op-ed on Russia-Ukraine11:19 Was Putin always bent on invading Russia’s neighbors? 19:13 Bob and Anders debate NATO expansion 29:37 Should the West encourage regime change in Russia? 36:55 Are the US and NATO “fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian”? 46:09 The causes and consequences of Ukraine’s 2014 revolution 56:04 Is Putin committing genocide? 1:01:21 Possible endgames of the Ukraine war – and of Putin’s Russia 1:12:21 Could better US policy have averted the Ukraine war? Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Anders Åslund (The Center for Social and Economic Research, Russia's Crony Capitalism). Recorded December 09, 2022. Bob's piece in the Washington Post Anders' Twitter thread criticizing Bob's Washington Post pieceComments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65391 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscr

Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom0:00 A brief message from Bob0:55 Why Mickey thinks the first installment of the Twitter Files was a something-burger8:05 What Bob thinks Taibbi (and Musk) flubbed18:26 Do the files show a pro-Dem bias in pre-Musk Twitter?25:19 Ukraine war update42:24 Parrot Room preview: an (unwitting) win for Bob; a damning J.D. Vance quote for Mickey; the latest SBF allegation; the worst. Substack. Issue. Ever.; Bob submits a beef with Mickey for commenter consideration; commenter takes on Musk’s gun tweet; potential Parrot Room theme song(s); the Fed on why men are leaving the labor force; Janan Ganesh on why you should leave Twitter Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded December 8, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65367 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggi

0:00 Mónica’s book I Never Thought of It That Way, about how to have “bridge-building” conversations 1:41 Why Mónica’s immigrant parents support(ed) Trump 7:02 Barriers to getting bridge-building buy-in 15:37 Understanding vs. the need to be understood 21:58 Bridge-building 101 27:39 Is understanding a slippery slope to excusing? 33:35 The underrated bridge-building power of curiosity 43:44 Does the media fuel or just reflect our divisions? 43:40 The limits of bridge-buildingRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mónica Guzmán (Braver Angels). Recorded December 01, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65345 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 00:40 Would a Biden re-election bid spell doom for Dems? 06:54 Opening the Ron DeSantis black box 13:48 Bob’s Washington Post piece on Russia-Ukraine diplomacy 21:56 Is it too early to write off Herschel Walker? 27:50 Sam Bankman-Fried’s bipartisan approach to corrupting politics 31:52 Elon’s and Apple’s China challenges 40:55 Parrot Room preview: Mickey’s spat with Damon Linker; what we know about Peter Thiel; Ye and Fuentes; the center-less GOP; Elon’s Twitter regime; Errol Morris’s miniseries Wormwood. Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded December 2, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65337 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bo

2:35 Eric’s new book We Are Not One, about changing American Jewish attitudes toward Israel over the years 7:28 Jewish-American identity before its “Zionization” 10:01 Why fewer young American Jews are feeling the pro-Israel vibe 15:25 Israel in American politics 23:04 The “Israel as apartheid state” debate 35:28 How the 1960’s defined Jewish visions of Israel 49:02 Is a “two-state solution” now the conservative position? 52:50 Zionism vs. social justice activism 1:04:22 Why Israel is fine with the Palestinian status quo 1:15:54 Does Israel really need US support? 1:20:32 Could international pressure help solve the Israel-Palestine conflict? Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Eric Alterman (The American Prospect, Brooklyn College, Lying in State: Why Presidents Lie and Why Trump is Worse). Recorded November 16, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65294 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/blogginghea

Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 The (totally selfless) reasons Mickey wants an SBF clawback 5:11 Did Semafor fumble its big SBF-Elon scoop? 14:55 Mickey’s clawback campaign (cont’d) 18:31 Origins of Mickey’s (alleged) Ben Smith vendetta revealed! 27:36 Is Musk destroying his town square?Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded November 25, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65282Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

2:22 Paul’s upcoming book, Psych: The Story of the Human Mind 18:42 Bob’s upcoming book, tk 24:27 Are psychopaths high in (cognitive) empathy? 33:29 How good are we at perspective taking—and how can we get better? 40:28 Elon Musk’s apparent cognitive empathy deficit 49:57 Is cognitive empathy a biological adaptation? 1:06:10 Is it even possible to understand the minds of others? 1:16:47 Paul’s budding interest in perversity Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Paul Bloom (University of Toronto, The Sweet Spot, Against Empathy). Recorded November 8, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65252 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 Why Mickey’s not unhappy about the midterm results 7:12 Can Trump go the distance against DeSantis? 11:48 The Pelosi era ends 18:54 Zelensky invites NATO to join the war 24:48 Is a peace deal on the horizon in Ukraine? 33:27 Elon update 39:47 SBF's fall takes wind out of the sails of effective altruism movement Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded November 18, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65245 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

00:00 The time Harry stood up for editorial integrity 4:34 Can Alex Jones get a Mastodon account? 11:30 Choosing the best Mastodon community for you 22:19 Why dunking on people is harder on Mastodon 38:45 Should Elon Musk be worried? 48:54 How social media platforms fail 52:49 The (anti-)ideological tenor of Mastodon so far 57:35 Is moving from Twitter to Mastodon hard? 1:05:56 Harry’s theory of Elon Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Harry McCracken (Fast Company). Recorded November 15, 2022.Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65228 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

This is the second lecture of Robert Wright’s “Buddhism & Modern Psychology” course, originally offered on Coursera through Princeton University.Lecture Two: The Buddhist Prescription* The Eightfold Path* Meditation* Mindfulness Meditation and the Brain* Can Our Feelings Be TrustedNext lecture: This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

This is the first lecture of Robert Wright’s “Buddhism & Modern Psychology” course, originally offered on Coursera through Princeton University.Lecture One: The Buddhist Diagnosis* Introduction: Religious Buddhism and ‘Secular’ Buddhism* Feelings and Illusions* The First Two Noble Truths* Evolutionary Psychology and the First Two Noble TruthsNext lecture: This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom0:00 Mickey mourns the fate of his midterm hopes and dreams 12:14 What the midterm results mean for 2024 19:30 Who wins in a Trump v. DeSantis civil war? 23:44 Bob’s plan to boot Biden from the 2024 ticket 29:41 Will Musk chicken out on his blue check shake-up? 35:46 The Twitter business model Musk may be banking on 46:12 Parrot room preview: Ukraine update; more Twitter business model talk; Metaverse vibe check; Errol Morris’s Leary love story; questioning “blame Trump” midterm post-mortems; is America getting nicer?; Mickey’s ongoing lessons on how to talk to a liberal; critiquing Chamath Palihapitiya’s critiques of journalism Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded November 11, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65215 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https:/

0:00 Signs of the so-called “meaning crisis” 3:50 How John addresses the meaning crisis in his own life 10:04 Bob gets empathy-circled—live! 18:48 How much of the meaning crisis is a crisis of community? 25:29 Wisdom as the antidote to self-deception 40:54 Is technological change outpacing our ability to adapt? 45:48 How and where might new sources of meaning emerge? 53:08 The conundrum of collective intelligence (or how should we talk about demons?) 59:57 Can video games give us meaning? 1:04:05 John: “Enlightenment” that fails to confront cognitive bias is meaningless Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and John Vervaeke (University of Toronto). Recorded October 27, 2022. John Vervaeke's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpqDUjTsof-kTNpnyWper_Q Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65178 Twitter: https://twitter.com/nonzeroPods Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe This is a

Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 Why immigration squishes have Mickey worried about the midterms 7:13 Elon Musk’s bull-in-a-china-shop strategy to owning Twitter 17:26 The conspiracy theory about the attack on Paul Pelosi 22:33 If Putin didn’t have nukes, would Biden’s Ukraine policy still be dangerous? 31:03 Who is calling the shots in the Biden White House? 41:34 Why Cold War psychology might have less sway over Musk-owned Twitter 47:05 Bob has another baseball quiz for Mickey 53:44 Could Biden’s tech embargo against China backfire horribly? 1:03:20 Parrot Room preview: The odds of a centrist party succeeding in America; Elon’s secret master plan; Bob’s debate with Bret Weinstein; the impact of automation on workers; Bob and Mickey assess the metaverse (via Ready Player One) Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded November 04, 2022.Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads

1:25 Sam’s Foreign Affairs piece on the importance of Ukraine diplomacy 10:14 What’s Biden’s endgame in Ukraine? 20:06 Sam: Russia has already suffered a strategic defeat 39:59 Did the West play a role in Ukraine’s 2014 revolution? 46:39 Putin says the West is Russia’s real enemy. Does he believe it? 50:26 America’s lack of diplomatic urgency before Putin invaded 57:22 How much pro-Russia sentiment is there in Ukraine?Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Samuel Charap (RAND Corporation, Everyone Loses). Recorded November 01, 2022.Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65133 Twitter: https://twitter.com/nonzeroPods Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom0:00 Mickey takes a bite out of midterm “overism” 15:58 How revolutionary will Musk’s Twitter reign be? 28:50 Who quashed the Progressive Caucus’s Ukraine letter? 31:14 What’s holding up diplomacy in Ukraine? 40:32 Is Blob opinion on the war starting to split? 45:02 The cost of US hypocrisy 48:33 The media’s weird coverage of the ‘dirty bomb’ story 54:56 Parrot room preview: implausible dirty bomb scenarios; UK PM’s dramatic early moves; a few words about the late Lucianne Goldberg; an (iffy) argument against lefty state legislature alarmism; Mickey’s labor-relations observations; Xi Jinping and the Hu Jintao removal; illustrating the dangers of war-time overreaction by way of Russian relocation coverage; Joe’s McCarthyism; Russians adopting Ukrainian children; what’s in it for Putin-humiliation-pushers? Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded O

1:49 How worried should we be about the “Kessler Syndrome”? 7:46 The nightmare scenario for anti-satellite weapons anarchy13:34 How an attack in space could trigger WWIII25:13 International law is way behind the curve in outer space40:45 Why isn’t the grave threat of space anarchy getting attention?54:10 How the new Cold War makes conflict in space more likelyRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Douglas Ligor (Rand Corporation). Recorded October 12, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65094Twitter: https://twitter.com/nonzeroPodsFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloggingheads/Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe