

Robert Wright's Nonzero
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
Mentioned books

Jan 28, 2025 • 54min
An American Jew Reflects on Gaza (Robert Wright & Peter Beinart)
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

Jan 24, 2025 • 46min
American Problems, Global Solutions | NonZero World Feat. Natasha Hakimi Zapata
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 www.nonzero.org/subscribe

Jan 23, 2025 • 48min
Human Agency vs "Agentic” AI (Robert Wright & Kanjun Qiu)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 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

Jan 22, 2025 • 1h 5min
Trump 2.0 and US Foreign Policy (Robert Wright & Thomas Friedman)
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 www.nonzero.org/subscribe

Jan 18, 2025 • 51min
Trump’s Gaza Win, Biden’s Legacy Woes | NonZero World Feat. Robert Wright
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 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.

Jan 17, 2025 • 42min
Worthwhile Canadian Humiliation (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 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

Jan 15, 2025 • 43min
Is the AI “Revolution” Overblown? (Robert Wright & Timothy B. Lee)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 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

Jan 10, 2025 • 52min
'Bomb Iran' Goes Bipartisan | NonZero World Feat. Robert Wright
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 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

Jan 10, 2025 • 31min
Jimmy Carter vs. Donald Trump (Robert Wright, Derek Davison, and Daniel Bessner)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 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

Jan 6, 2025 • 55min
Fixing the International Order (Robert Wright & Trita Parsi)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 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:


