The Wright Show (audio)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 Headlines 6:32 Is Trump breaking with Israel? 12:16 Making sense of the US-Houthi ceasefire 16:20 Will the US give Saudi Arabia nuclear power? 23:00 Reading the tea leaves on US-Iran talks 27:19 Would Trump really go to war with Iran? 29:28 Are restrainers gaining ground in the Trump administration? 35:56 How Israel could undermine US-Iran talksRecorded May 9, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.nonzero.org/p/hot-wars-cold-wars-and-strange-orbshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNews https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Holly’s newsletter and her work with PauseAI 3:45 The state of AI safety 10:54 Why Holly started PauseAI US 14:55 Is AI acceleration… accelerating? 23:47 What rationalists got wrong about the singularity 29:43 Mechanize Inc. and the danger of AI safety sellouts 40:10 Holly: Here’s why AI should alarm you 48:25 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Holly Elmore (PauseAI US). Recorded April 29, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Which think tanks are anti-Blob? 2:36 What's the real goal of Bibi’s new Gaza “operation”? 7:22 Why can’t (or won’t) the US rein in Israel? 14:51 Who’s undermined the ‘rules-based order’ more—Biden or Trump? 20:35 In search of anti-Blob Dems for 2028 23:46 How neoliberalism seeded Trump’s tariff chaos 29:36 AI, DC, and the x-risk of China-hawkism 41:30 Matt on what most miss about foreign policy 48:38 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Matt Duss (Center for International Policy). Recorded May 5, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 Headlines 5:10 Bob joins to discuss Trump's first 100 days 6:50 What the Waltz firing means for Trump's foreign policy 12:27 Has Rubio really dropped his hawkish proclivities? 15:50 Trump's jungle rulebook 21:57 Is Trump putting the US on track for war with China? 25:58 Middle East fires: Yemen, Syria, Iran 37:40 Trump's about-face on Gaza 40:03 Gen Z and the Trump EffectRecorded May 2, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling:Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.nonzero.org/p/the-bot-onslaught-continueshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNews https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 The state of play in Russia-Ukraine 4:02 Anatol: Here’s how the war could end 12:35 Which side wants peace more? 20:18 Why hasn’t Trump used his leverage? 24:37 Anatol’s plan for peace 32:47 What Russia-Ukraine reveals about the military-industrial complex 39:48 What Trump's military purges reveal about his presidency 43:21 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Anatol Lieven (The Quincy Institute). Recorded April 29, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsOvertime titles:Decoding the Signal-gate madness. Could Trump pull off a new Iran deal? India-Pakistan and its parallels to Russia-Ukraine. Why isn't Trump tougher on Modi and Putin, really? AI, China-hawkism, and other existential threats. Why is US foreign policy discourse so bad?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:15 The new NonZero World 1:24 Headlines 4:39 Stories of the week 17:22 Michael Brendan Dougherty on Pope Francis' foreign policy legacy 18:58 Michael: The pope should be a voice for peace 23:47 A European church no more 27:24 Michael: The Vatican went too far in deal with China 37:10 How the Holy See helped Obama reach out to Cuba 44:40 The pope's moral clarity on Gaza 48:47 A restrainer in the Vatican?Recorded April 25, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.nonzero.org/p/trumps-speech-crackdown-makes-a-quantumhttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Trump and Elon’s bad week = good news for Bob… 6:01 …but bad news for Canada's prime minister? 18:23 Trump’s crackdown on speech expands 29:28 Debating embryo-screening ethics 42:24 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Paul Bloom (https://smallpotatoes.paulbloom.net, University of Toronto, The Sweet Spot, Against Empathy). Recorded April 24, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Pratap’s bona fides 3:40 How Pratap ran afoul of Modi (and the price he paid) 13:17 Trump vs Modi: compare and contrast 24:14 India’s birth as a multi-ethnic state 38:09 Pratap on how we got Trump (and Modi) 48:45 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (Indian Express, Princeton University, The Burden of Democracy). Recorded April 22, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

Audio of the livestream titled “KOSMOPOLITIKA#2: Where Do We Belong?”—the latest installment in an ongoing (and evolving) collaboration between Nonzero and Psychopolitica.INTRODUCTIONS :4:14 Nikita: Leaving Russia. The psychedelic lineage. Humanity is a trip, not a species21:59 16 years ago, Boris took such a good nap after visiting a sacred Ancient Greek site that he still thinks about it 25:25 In The Dark Places of Wisdom: mystical practices at the root of Western civilization 26:57 What makes us feel we belong: identity & community 31:00 Humanity as a planetary force MEMBER PARTICIPATION PART: 39:15 What makes us feel we belong: values & norms 49:14 What makes us feel we belong: direct experience 52:26 Psychedelics & meditation in service of planetary identity 54:19 “To be” comes from the word "to grow", "am" & "is" from "to breath" 56:32 Rationalists 58:15 How Socrates got himself killed 1:04:30 What makes us feel we belong: awareness of inter-dependence 1:11:30 Gaia, humanity, and AI are

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Ron violates retirement dress code 2:25 Trump’s “antisemitism crackdown" 14:28 Is the Israel lobby bad for American Jews? 21:53 The disturbing Tufts detention case 28:59 Why don’t more progressive Jews call out the Israel lobby? 34:24 How bad journalism makes antisemitism worse 45:53 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Ron Kampeas (https://ronkampeas.substack.com, Jewish Telegraphic Agency). Recorded April 17, 2025.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Sam's theory of (some of) Trump's tariffs 18:09 The bad scenario and the less bad scenario 22:58 Scott Bessent's radicalism 25:58 Will Trump display the art of the deal? 28:57 China's trade-war strengths 31:48 An intentional end to American hegemony? 36:10 Sam’s defense of chip restrictions 40:28 Heading into OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Samuel Hammond (Foundation for American Innovation, https://www.secondbest.ca/). Recorded April 14, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 Sina's hopes for this weekend's US-Iran talks 4:25 Trump's two-month clock starts ticking 7:09 Iran's growing nuclear leverage 11:20 Trump the dealmaker vs Trump the warmonger 19:14 The myth of a "surgical" military campaign against Iran 28:44 The resurgence of Iran's reformist campRecorded April 11, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.nonzero.org/p/tariffs-tech-and-the-view-from-chinahttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Paul is Bob's worthwhile Canadian initiative 4:34 The psycho-logic of Trump’s tariff strategy 15:35 Has Trump exposed structural flaws in America? 21:09 Is Musk saying Navarro is dumber than Ivanka? 28:09 On incest 38:35 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Paul Bloom (https://smallpotatoes.paulbloom.net, University of Toronto, The Sweet Spot, Against Empathy). Recorded April 09, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Milton’s epic new comic, “Orson Welles: Warrior of the Worlds” 4:04 Comics culture, then and now 14:02 The real story behind the faux War of the Worlds broadcast 22:07 Why Milton was drawn to Orson Welles 33:33 What (or who) really derailed Welles’s career? 40:07 Will Milton's comic go multimedia? 44:23 Heading to Overtime—with Bob in the hot seatRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Milton Lawson (https://milton.substack.com/, Orson Welles: Warrior of the Worlds). Recorded March 24, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

Audio of the livestream titled “The Psychopolitics of the Noosphere,” the first installment in an ongoing—and evolving—collaboration between Nonzero and Psychopolitica.Robert Wright, Nikita Petrov, and Boris Shoshitaishvili. Recorded April 4, 2025.https://psychopolitica.substack.com/https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://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 www.nonzero.org/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 The pro-tariff argument: national security, jobs, and leverage 6:58 The four factions shaping US trade policy 11:43 Karthik’s core critique of Trump’s tariff policy 16:18 How tariffs could block development pathways for poor countries 22:52 Is Trump blaming foreign countries for America's own policy mistakes? 30:19 A brutal week for VietnamRecorded April 04, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling:https://www.nonzero.org/p/elon-musks-nasa-takeoverhttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Reid's new book, "Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future" 8:56 Managing technological transitions 16:33 Using AI to build cognitive empathy 20:25 Shaping the coming AI earthquake 29:02 Reid's notion of "co-opetition" with China 40:06 Geopolitics and AI development 44:53 The US chip war on China 50:01 Heading into OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Reid Hoffman (Greylock Partners, Inflection AI, Impromptu, Superagency). Recorded March 26, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Almut’s first-hand acquaintance with authoritarianism 2:24 Trump 2.0’s authoritarian hallmarks 19:37 What should worry us most about Trump 2.0? 26:15 Trump 2.0 vs post-Soviet oligarchy: compare and contrast 33:08 Is Trump an ethno-nationalist? 39:02 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Almut Rochowanski (The Quincy Institute, https://discomfortzone.substack.com/). Recorded April 1, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 The dueling camps in right-wing foreign policy 10:25 Lessons from the Signal snafu 15:42 Are hawks dominating Trump's foreign policy team? 22:58 Can Congress prevent a war with Iran? 31:13 A "smear campaign" against Danny DavisRecorded March 28, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.nonzero.org/p/the-untold-stories-of-the-signalhttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Bob and Paul duel over their sleep deficits 5:16 Trump’s Tesla-friendly tariffs 13:16 Who’s favo(u)red to win the Canadian election? 19:56 Tufts and Columbia as authoritarian bellwethers 31:16 Did Bob predict MAGA in 1999? 38:49 God vs Hitler 46:21 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Paul Bloom (https://smallpotatoes.paulbloom.net, University of Toronto, The Sweet Spot, Against Empathy). Recorded March 27, 2025.