The Wright Show (audio)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Mark’s newsletter, podcast, and Bloggingheads roots 3:45 Is Trump really anti-internationalist? 8:30 Who was the most pro-UN post-Cold-War president? 13:25 Is global governance doomed? 17:16 Scoring the UN’s post-Cold War track record 24:08 ICC and ICJ 101 33:17 Why the WHO matters 39:48 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mark Leon Goldberg (Global Dispatches, To Save Us From Hell). Recorded January 30, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:13 Some brief NonZero World housekeeping 5:37 Trump, China and AI 31:35 Connor's interview with national security law expert Elizabeth Beavers about Trump's use of terror designationsRecorded January 31, 2025.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Two theories of Musk’s “salute” 6:18 DeepSeek-R1: Salvo or olive branch? 16:23 The misappropriation of Musk’s AI doomerism 23:43 Is the AI avatar era already upon us? 39:26 Paul fills Bob in on his “empty threat” theory 43:44 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 January 29, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.orgRobert Wright and Connor Echols discuss the panic over R1, a new, open-source AI model from Chinese startup DeepSeek.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Peter’s new book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza 1:42 Is it anti-Semitic to say Israeli policies foster anti-Semitism? 7:24 Zionism’s many meanings 10:44 How are American Jews grappling with Israel-Gaza? 16:44 The Democrats’ Israel bind 24:11 Is all hope lost for a two-state solution? 30:54 Anti-Semitic tropes, the Israel lobby, and Elon’s “gesture” 43:05 The unusual nature of Jewish identity 47:54 How Israel’s defenders get Israel wrongRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Peter Beinart (Jewish Currents, CUNY, https://peterbeinart.substack.com/). Recorded January 22, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:00 Intro 1:35 Natasha's new book, Another World Is Possible: Lessons for America from Around the GlobeRecorded January 14, 2025.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 nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:28 Kanjun’s role as CEO of AI research lab Imbue 2:45 Worrying about a “Wall-E world” 13:32 Building human-centric AI agents 22:05 How far away is truly “agentic” AI? 32:00 The road to AI serfdom 40:42 Does the AI revolution call for a psychological revolution? 45:24 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Kanjun Qiu (Imbue). Recorded January 15, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:00 Tom’s Pulitzer-Prize hat trick 1:03 Why Beijing is relatively calm about Trump’s reelection 9:33 China hawkism in the AI community 15:24 What’s Trump’s logic re Greenland and Panama? 22:44 On Israel-Palestine, is a two-state solution still possible? 31:06 How a stable ceasefire in Gaza could transform Israeli politics 36:17 Why Trump may be better than Biden on Israel-Palestine 43:46 Bob and Tom debate a possible strike on Iran 52:42 Prospects for peace in Ukraine under Trump 55:24 How America is making a Chinese invasion of Taiwan more likelyRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Thomas Friedman (The New York Times). Recorded January 21, 2025. 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.com0:30 News bites 17:28 Gaza ceasefire deep dive 33:24 Bob joins to talk about Biden's legacy and Trump's imminent return to the White HouseRead this week's edition of the Earthling: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/the-looming-tech-takeoverRecorded January 17, 2025.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:28 Bob and Paul battle for audience sympathy 4:29 Canada as 51st state: y’eh or n’eh? 15:09 How Trump-y is Canada’s likely next leader? 19:45 The humiliation theory of American politics 27:33 Trump, Elon, and the two paths to bullying 35:59 Facebook’s free speech about-face 39:24 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 January 16, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:28 Tim’s got a new podcast, and NonZero is hiring 3:31 Is large language model progress reaching a plateau? 15:20 Some shortcomings of AI today 25:42 Human cognition compared to AI 33:27 The impressive progress of "multimodal" AI 41:33 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Timothy B. Lee (Full Stack Economics, Understanding AI). Recorded January 14, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:30 News bites 17:18 The bipartisan push to bomb Iran 30:05 Bob joins to discuss changes at NonZero as well as new developments in AIRecorded January 10, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/bomb-iran-goes-bipartisanhttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:28 The NonZero-American Prestige punk-rock crossover continues 2:12 Is it time to freak out about Trump? 9:30 Are international norms eroding? 21:40 Jimmy Carter’s legacy 29:02 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True), Derek Davison (Foreign Exchanges, American Prestige, Discontents), and Daniel Bessner (American Prestige, University of Washington). Recorded January 09, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:28 Toward a non-woolly-minded one-worldism 8:08 Has the unipolar moment passed for good? 10:23 International law vs the “rules-based order” 21:06 Is major UN reform possible? 38:30 AI, US-China, and multipolarity 48:21 Rewriting the sanctions playbook 53:49 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Trita Parsi (Quincy Institute). Recorded December 17, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsOvertime titles:

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.comWelcome to the first NonZero Newsletter of 2025! Most of the NZN team is still recovering from holiday overindulgence, so it fell upon me to generate some Friday content. And here it is: My annual (assuming I do this again next year) State of NonZero and of the World Address. (My SONZAOTW Address, as it will be called in mainstream media accounts upon second reference.) The video version is below, and below that is the transcript. And, if you’d rather absorb my wisdom without having to look at me (though tbh I think my new eyewear has upgraded my visual appeal), this monologue is also available in the Nonzero Podcast feed.Plus there’s this bonus: The transcript of my conversation with Google’s most powerful AI, “Gemini 2.0 Experimental Advanced,” about the prospects for the human species. I summarize the conversation in my SONZAOTW Address, but it goes by pretty fast, so you may want to check out the transcript itself. And, fina

2:12 The uncertain future of AI 6:58 What would it mean to “lose the AI race” to China? 10:27 The promise and peril of artificial general intelligence 14:13 The international policy challenges of AI16:44 Can Trump deliver peace between Russia and Ukraine?20:58 Are there any good arguments for Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense? 26:07 Bob: With Iran weakened, Israel faces a decision: bombs or diplomacy 30:41 The continuing assault on Gaza 34:45 Antiwar speech codes 40:09 Apartheid, genocide, ethnic cleansing 45:27 Missed opportunities to turn the temperature down in Israel 53:41 Bob: The international community has little sway over Israel 56:37 The advantages of cognitive empathyGlenn Loury (Brown University, Manhattan Institute, Late Admissions) and Robert Wright (Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True). Recorded December 17, 2024. 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.com0:28 Worthwhile Canadian conquest 5:19 Late takes on Luigi Mangione 10:27 Elon’s AI motivation 14:23 Is the successor species sentient? (It matters!) 18:39 Paul’s AI freakout has arrived 23:39 AI buzzword of the year revealed 29:24 Bluesky brutality 35:44 Google’s experimental AI groks humanity 43:44 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 December 27, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:30 News Round-up 15:20 How progressives should approach Trump's foreign policy 30:23 Anatol Lieven joins to discuss Russia-Ukraine peace talksRecorded December 20, 2024.https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:28 Conn and the ancestry of this podcast 2:29 Conn’s new book, Sex and the Citizen: How the Assault on Marriage Is Destroying Democracy 9:34 Modern matrimony by the numbers 18:44 Are monogamous societies more egalitarian? 24:10 Why the West went monogamous 35:15 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Conn Carroll (Washington Examiner, Sex and the Citizen). Recorded December 06, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsOvertime titles:0:00 Why monogamous marriage is on the rocks 11:28 Conn’s proposals to fix America’s marital issue 15:14 Would income redistribution make for more marriages? 19:19 Porn, gambling, and other anti-marriage forces

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com0:28 Scott’s anti-war libertarianism and his new book, Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine 8:22 How the US made the Russia-Ukraine war more likely 13:10 Was Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution a US-backed coup? 30:26 America’s promise to the Soviet Union not to expand NATO 38:04 Do US officials misunderstand Russia’s perspective? 51:17 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Scott Horton (The Scott Horton Show, Fool's Errand, Provoked). Recorded December 11, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods