Robert Wright's Nonzero

Nonzero

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Conversations with a series of people who have nothing in common except that program host Robert Wright is curious about what they’re thinking. nonzero.substack.com

9 HR AGO

Is Trump a Good Fit for the AI Era? (Robert Wright & Samuel Hammond)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com 0:28 Sam’s place on the AI accelerationist-pauser spectrum 4:55 Predicting AI’s near-term impact 12:17 Is regulating AI a fool’s errand? 18:32 Does strong AI governance court authoritarianism? 30:26 Can Trump and Elon be trusted on AI? 37:08 How Sam thinks AI should be regulated 51:13 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Samuel Hammond (Foundation for American Innovation, https://www.secondbest.ca/). Recorded November 12, 2024. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods Overtime titles: The China question Elon as an AI asset for TrumpWill Trump ease or heighten tensions over Taiwan? Taking AI takeover seriously AI, consciousness, and the human-to-AI handoff

56 min
4 DAYS AGO

Is Trump Going Full-On Hawk? (Earthling Unplugged)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com Robert Wright, Andrew Day, and Connor Echols discuss items from this week’s Earthling. Read it here: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/how-to-fight-trump-mindfully Recorded November 08, 2024. https://twitter.com/NonzeroNews https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

51 min
7 NOV

Post-Election Reflection Edition (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com 0:28 Election 2024: The view from Canada 5:44 Paul praises Bob’s pre-election sermonette 10:37 Why did Trump win? And who’s to blame? 18:47 Did DEI doom Kamala? 25:32 A Kamala campaign post-mortem 33:33 What policies will President Trump 2.0 prioritize? 37:12 The art of the Trump 45:05 Heading to Overtime Robert 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 November 06, 2024. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

47 min
31 OCT

2024 Pre-Election Extravaganza (Robert Wright & Mickey Kaus)

0:28 Is Mickey all-in on Trump? 4:26 The “garbage” wars and their aftermath 7:54 Kamala’s path(s) to victory 10:29 Mickey explains the logic of voting for Trump 19:44 Why Trump sucks, why Kamala sucks 26:05 Bob doles out (p)recriminations 35:37 Will Israel-Iran escalate? 45:00 How Kamala could win Mickey’s vote 49:23 Why did Kamala go negative? 55:27 Mickey plays pundit defender 1:10:02 Which swing state looks worst for Kamala?1:15:55 How Biden made war in Taiwan more likely 1:21:24 Four Dem sex “scandals”1:30:53 Bob trashes Trump’s tariffs 1:41:55 Bob looks for a silver-lining to a second Trump term 1:47:31 Elon Musk, the oligarch’s oligarch Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded October 30, 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

1h 56m
28 OCT

China Viewed from China (Robert Wright & Peter Hessler)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com 0:28 Peter’s new book, Other Rivers: A Chinese Education 3:24 Have Chinese people become less hostile to America? 13:12 What Americans get wrong about China 17:38 Why Peter thinks Covid didn’t come from a lab 20:59 China’s transformative recent decades 31:10 Respect for authority in Chinese culture 40:26 Change in China between Peter’s two teaching stints there 54:41 Why the Chinese political system may change dramatically Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Peter Hessler (River Town, Other Rivers). Recorded September 17, 2024. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

1h 9m
26 OCT

Ukraine War Escalates, Kamala Goes Full Cheney (Earthling Unplugged)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com Andrew Day, Connor Echols, and a SPECIAL MYSTERY GUEST discuss items from this week’s Earthling. Read it here: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/are-we-inching-toward-world-war-iii

52 min
23 OCT

Elon, Trump, and Other Enigmas (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com 0:28 Bob: The oligarchy has arrived 8:24 What do the odd 2024 betting markets mean for the race? 17:51 Trump on Palmer’s manhood: a closer look 25:24 The Elon empathy enigma 34:51 Coates’s controversial cognitive-empathizing 43:06 Heading to Overtime Robert 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 October 22, 2024. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

45 min
19 OCT

The Middle East After Sinwar (Earthling Unplugged)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nonzero.substack.com Robert Wright, Andrew Day, and Connor Echols discuss items from this week’s Earthling. Read it here: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/why-israel-wont-take-the-win Recorded October 18, 2024.

33 min

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Conversations with a series of people who have nothing in common except that program host Robert Wright is curious about what they’re thinking. nonzero.substack.com