Robert Wright's Nonzero
Conversations with a series of people who have nothing in common except that program host Robert Wright is curious about what they’re thinking. www.nonzero.org
Episodes
0:30 Headlines 4:42 Jennifer: Why Trump should walk away from Ukraine 9:50 Can Ukraine survive without US support? 12:50 Why a comprehensive peace deal is unlikely 17:20 The perils of US mediation 19:25 Are the peace talks making progress? 21:20 How grinding wars end 26:37 Understanding Russia's battlefield advantage 33:04 Ukraine's shrinking arm...
0:28 A sublime Nonzero-TAC crossover event 3:07 Some bad MSM reporting on US-Iran negotiations 20:37 Would Kamala have been better than Trump on Gaza? 34:03 Is a two-state solution conceivable? 38:43 Buchananite conservatives on China 46:30 China, AI, and Covid-19 51:28 Heading to Overtime
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism...
0:28 The scope of Trump's assault on Harvard 8:17 What Trump demanded from Harvard 11:25 What makes certain universities vulnerable 15:35 Ideology and “viewpoint diversity” at Harvard 22:40 Trump’s attacks on media and cultural institutions 27:56 The costs of lost research 33:25 How woke was Harvard? 37:19 Antisemitism and philosemitism at Harvar...
0:30 Headlines 4:57 Trump's sanctions dilemma: Migration crackdown vs. regime change 6:23 How sanctions helped trigger Venezuela’s economic collapse 9:58 The power of 'secondary sanctions' 14:17 How sanctions drove inflation, hunger, and state failure 19:11 From Venezuela to the US: Understanding the migrant wave 21:03 Inside the Trump split: Rub...
0:30 Paul aces Bob’s worthwhile Canadian pop-quiz 5:48 Trump’s corruption: Illegal or just unprecedentedly gross? 10:49 Elon bows out 16:40 Trump’s crusade against elite colleges continues 24:41 Is JD Vance more dangerous than Trump? 31:52 Are AI doomers walking their talk? 40:44 Trump makes Canada a golden offer 45:53 Heading to Overtime
Robert W...
0:28 Why Max helped organize the 2023 “Pause AI” letter 7:12 AI as a species not a technology 12:32 The rate of AI progress since 2023 21:44 Loss of control is the biggest risk 32:42 How to get the NatSec community’s attention 36:12 How we could lose control 38:17 He we stay in control 47:30 Heading to Overtime
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolutio...
0:30 Headlines 4:29 Bob joins to talk foreign policy 5:52 The DC shootings and the war in Gaza 12:12 Israel's growing isolation 24:23 Are we headed toward an arms race in space? 33:56 An end to the era of arms control? 35:34 Programming update and transition to Overtime
Recorded May 23, 2025.
Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.n...
0:28 How significant are the Middle East data center deals? 12:27 Why did AI safety hawks quit talking about international cooperation? 19:02 Why build data centers in the Middle East? 27:44 Microchips and security risks 31:10 The unexamined assumptions of Sinophobia 42:24 What ever happened to peace, love, and understanding? 48:10 AI Czar David ...
0:30 Headlines 5:25 Why the PKK's disbanding should be the biggest news of the week 10:22 How did Turkey get the PKK to lay down arms? 13:47 A breakthrough for Turkey-Iraq relations 20:35 How Syrian Kurds are trying to make nice with Damascus 27:09 The end of US sanctions on Syria 34:29 Rebuilding a shattered state 37:42 Turkey and Israel: Syria ...
0:28 Is Kanye’s new song really pro-Hitler? 12:31 How free should free speech be? 16:49 Substack economics 23:59 Welcome to Sam Altman’s orb 30:25 Can higher education survive AI? 41:19 Did Carney tame Trump? 44:35 Good and bad signs from Trump 2.0 49:11 Heading to Overtime
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Pa...
0:28 The week's major international stories 3:22 Trump's approach to everything 9:04 The Houthi deal 11:47 Trump's Middle East trip and Gaza 15:50 India-Pakistan conflict 20:22 Media coverage of Trump 2.0 24:10 Trump’s biggest Jan 6 transgression 30:39 Is the Republic at stake? 31:44 Heading into overtime
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of G...
0:30 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 t...
0:28 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 Overtime
Robert Wrigh...
0:28 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-ha...
0:30 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 4...
0:28 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 Overti...
0:15 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 pop...
0:28 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 Overtime
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Paul Bloom (https://smallpotatoes.paulbloom.net, University of Toronto...
0:28 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 Overtime
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (Indian Express, Pr...
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: mystic...
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