The Wright Show (audio)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com(Overtime audio available to paid subscribers through the player at the top of the page and video version available below the paywall.)1:35 What MSM missed about Carlsons' Putin interview 14:20 Putin’s litany of grievances against the West 22:19 Russia gets the upper hand in Ukraine 30:02 Why Zelensky hasn’t paved the way for peace talks 37:02 Putin’s mafia-inspired approach to negotiations 45:47 Do most Russians support the war? 49:49 Why Zelensky fired his popular top general 54:00 Heading to OvertimeLeonid's article in Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/2/12/putin-is-ready-for-talks-on-ukraine-but-on-his-own-termsRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Leonid Ragozin (Rest of World, West of Providence, Lonely Planet). Recorded February 14, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsOvertime titles:0:00 An approaching Russia-NATO war? 3:39 Why the Gaza war is

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com1:57 Nora’s low score on the AI doomer test 8:26 The messy math of AI alignment 13:41 Teaching and (unteaching) concepts to LLMS 18:06 Do we really want human-like AI? 28:48 How the AI “mind” works 40:41 How to change an AI’s mind 53:19 Are LLMs reverse-engineering the human mind? 57:26 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Nora Belrose (EleutherAI). Recorded January 16, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsOvertime titles:0:00 Eleuther’s extra open open-source AIs 4:29 Is the human mind a general learning machine? 7:18 Why Nora supports open-source AI 11:42 How could we tell if AIs are conscious? 23:31 The new contender for reinforcement learning supremacy 29:57 Inside the minds of the AI doomers 40:52 Bob’s main sources of AI anxiety

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.comRobert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling.Read this edition of the Earthling at: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/the-new-lab-leak-evidenceRecorded February 09, 2024.https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:31 Bob’s bad newsletter news for Paul 3:50 Fast Car's moving Grammy moment 9:42 Music, female orgasms, and other evolutionary enigmas 14:22 The Moral Animal turns 30—how has it aged? 17:16 How AI (barely) helps Paul work 19:54 Is America real? 35:55 Bob tries to drag Paul down the JFK rabbit hole 43:38 Lab leak and the trouble with “conspiracy theories” 49:35 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Paul Bloom (https://smallpotatoes.paulbloom.net, University of Toronto, The Sweet Spot, Against Empathy). Recorded February 6, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:31 Effective altruism (EA) and Rob’s 80,000 Hours podcast 3:10 SBF’s fall = EA’s public relations problem 12:13 What went wrong for (and with) SBF? 29:05 Virtue as a utilitarian shortcut 38:39 What drove EA’s longtermist (r)evolution? 46:18 EA, AI, and the miscalculation of existential risk 53:31 Did EA play a role in the OpenAI board drama? 1:01:16 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Rob Wiblin (80,000 Hours). Recorded January 11, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:31 Another high-synergy collaborative episode 1:42 Do mainstream Israelis support ethnic cleansing? 10:56 Biden’s electoral (mis?)calculations on Israel-Palestine 21:14 What does a left-wing foreign policy vision look like today?Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True), Derek Davison (Foreign Exchanges, American Prestige, Discontents), and Daniel Bessner (American Prestige, University of Washington). Recorded Feb 01, 2024.American Prestige on Substack:Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsOvertime titles:0:00 Terminator, Terminator 2, and the JFK assassination 10:46 The shocking scale of Gaza’s physical destruction 17:00 The two biggest fault lines in the Middle East 27:12 Foreign policy restrainers on the right and left 31:53 Why the “Iran-backed militias” phrase is so hypocritical 34:53 The meaning of the ICJ genocide ruling 41:14 Will Netanyahu’s political calculus lead to a wi

2:19 How Israelis think about civilian casualties in Gaza 21:15 Is the war spawning a new generation of terrorists? 35:07 Explaining versus justifying bad behavior 50:07 Can Hamas and other extremist groups be moderated? 1:03:40 Is the world biased against Israel? 1:15:13 Cognitive biases that inflame tribal tensions 1:26:37 The “river to the sea” Rorschach test 1:41:31 On the precipice of World War III?Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Russ Roberts (Shalem College, EconTalk, Listening to the Sirens, Wild Problems). Recorded January 24, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsRuss's podcast: https://www.econlib.org/econtalk/Russ's Substack: https://listeningtothesirens.substack.com/ 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 a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.comRobert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling. Recorded January 25, 2024.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.comRobert Wright and Tamler Sommers discuss what you can and can't say about transgender issues.Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Tamler Sommers (Very Bad Wizards, University of Houston, Why Honor Matters). Recorded October 10, 2023.

2:33 Fear and loathing on the campaign trail 2024 10:16 Haley’s shortcomings, Trump’s cognitive decline 25:1 Who’s the perfect Democrat to run against Biden? 40:48 How Biden could stop the Gaza war 48:29 Why the Houthis are hard to neutralize 1:00:42 Could Trump sabotage the border security deal? 1:17:18 Doctor bots, robo-receipt checkers, and AI optimism 1:33:29 The real problem with America’s elites 1:42:56 Is catastrophe the only thing that can save America? 1:52:23 Bob tries to drag Mickey (back) into the JFK assassination rabbit hole 1:58:52 Has DeSantis destroyed his brand?Mickey's Substack:Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded January 20, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods 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 a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:31 Bob saves Paul from some very bad influences 6:01 What makes Hitler more evil than Stalin and Mao? 13:27 New lab leak evidence—what will come of it? 23:00 Correcting the record on effective altruism 37:14 Is “self-plagiarism” really plagiarism? 47:27 The dishonesty researcher accused of academic dishonesty 52:38 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Paul Bloom (https://smallpotatoes.paulbloom.net, University of Toronto, The Sweet Spot, Against Empathy). Recorded January 18, 2024.

0:31 Reid’s deep roots in the tech world 4:30 The kind of AI pessimism that irks Reid the most 16:16 Can (and should) we slow down AI progress? 28:16 Could AI help resolve international disputes? 34:51 The promise and perils of perspective-taking AIs 47:36 Why Reid co-wrote Impromptu with GPT-4 52:15 Where are the AI optimists? 1:00:32 Sam Altman and the OpenAI drama: a (semi-) behind-the-scenes view 1:14:49 How dangerous is open-source AI, really? 1:20:09 Is AI acceleration decelerating? 1:23:02 Engagement with China and “organic transparency”Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Reid Hoffman (Greylock Partners, Inflection AI, Impromptu, Possible). Recorded January 9, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods 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

1:58 Mickey’s in Iowa—and on the Nonzero Podcast! 5:51 Do Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley have a chance? 17:44 Why Biden will probably lose 25:52 Wait, are there Democratic primaries? 40:10 Would Trump 2.0 be a more capable authoritarian? 51:13 AI bots that cater to your every need 58:07 Why doesn't Biden get tougher on the border? 1:07:32 Exciting new Child Tax Credit updates 1:11:12 Is Twitter going down the tubes? 1:18:33 Bob fails to escape from JFK assassination rabbit hole 1:32:13 Subways and other things that have gotten worse 1:36:34 Mickey’s Iowa caucus predictionRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded January 11, 2024.Mickey's Substack:Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods 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 a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com1:44 How the Gaza war harms US interests 12:16 How the Gaza war harms Israel’s interests 22:49 Could Biden get Israel to wind down the war? 31:57 Biden’s complex political calculus on Israel 42:35 The Israel lobby: what it is and what it does 51:27 How elements of the lobby intimidate critics of Israel 54:42 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Stephen Walt (Harvard University, Foreign Policy). Recorded Jan 9, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:33 Tim seeks Substack synergy beyond Bob 3:21 Recent contributors to Bob’s AI anxiety 9:36 Why “Mamba” matters 13:53 Is AI moving too fast? 24:12 Are fears of an AI “jobocalypse” overblown? 35:02 AI’s (potential) next transformation 38:15 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Timothy B. Lee (Full Stack Economics, Understanding AI). Recorded January 4, 2024.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:31 Jeff’s journalistic bona fides 4:09 The origins of the official assassination narrative 11:12 Oswald: Lone gunman? Patsy? Both? 19:52 The CIA’s interest in Oswald before the assassination 31:17 The Pentagon’s scheme to provoke war with Cuba via false flag 40:00 How Bob started down the JFK rabbit hole 44:39 Oswald’s critical time in New Orleans 51:39 Why did Jack Ruby kill Oswald, really? 57:57 Why JFK’s assassination still matters Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Jefferson Morley (JFK Facts, Snow-Storm in August). Recorded December 28, 2023. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

Robert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling.1:10 Where’s Mickey? 5:28 Why ChatGPT is the real person of the year 21:09 The New York Times sues OpenAI 34:08 Bob’s bitter vindication on Russia-Ukraine 43:40 Israel threatens a wider war 48:53 Efforts to remove Trump from the ballot 1:00:41 2024 predictionsRead this edition of the Earthling at: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/nzns-person-of-the-yearRecorded December 28, 2023. 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 a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:33 Kati’s very unusual Venn diagram 4:52 Your brain on meditation 10:59 The time Bob’s meditation got weird 16:43 What are the “jhanas”? 25:34 What science tells us about the jhana states 31:53 Are psychedelics gateway drugs to meditation? 41:25 Kati: Here’s how we get “not-self” wrong… 46:50 Psychedelics vs meditation—neuroscientifically 54:59 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Kathryn Devaney (The Alembic). Recorded December 06, 2023.

https://www.youtube.com/live/za5JxTsGwkg?feature=sharedThis is a recording of a livestream hosted by Robert Wright, publisher of the Nonzero Newsletter, and Nikita Petrov, publisher of the Psychopolitica newsletter. In the course of fielding questions from their newsletter subscribers, Bob and Nikita discussed psychedelics, meditation, US foreign policy, ego death, tribalism, cynicism, Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Gaza, artificial intelligence, evolution, how they first met, and more. Subscribe to Psychopolitica: Recorded December 21, 2023. 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

1:20 How Tom tried to bring down Netanyahu’s government 10:00 The coming Biden-Netanyahu showdown 14:25 What’s driving Israeli public support for such massive retaliation? 24:18 The alarming growth of global disorder 30:50 Is Israel fated to be hated? 42:50 Why Tom is still hopeful about Israel-PalestineRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Thomas Friedman (The New York Times). Recorded December 20, 2023.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods 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