Robert Wright's Nonzero

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Syria’s uncertain political future 11:10 Has the Islamist rebel group HTS actually moderated? 19:25 The extent of retributive violence since Assad fell 29:58 Syria's complicated factional divides 36:44 America's control of Syrian oil fields 40:41 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Joshua Landis (University of Oklahoma, SyriaComment.com). Recorded December 11, 2024.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:00 Yuri’s high-stakes debate on Covid’s origins 3:42 Pros and cons of Covid vaccines 10:04 Do Covid “coincidences” point to a lab leak? 21:55 Does the pattern of Covid’s initial spread suggest zoonotic origin? 27:51 Why the Wuhan market may have amplified Covid’s spread 38:59 Covid’s lineages A and B 53:29 US-China collaboration in the Wuhan lab’s virology researchRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Yuri Deigin (YouthBio Therapeutics). Recorded December 03, 2024.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.orgAndrew Day and Connor Echols discuss the foreign policy news of the week. In this episode, Day and Echols also discuss the rapid rebel offensive in Syria with Bassam Barabandi, a former Syrian diplomat who defected in 2013.Recorded December 06, 2024.https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 A masterclass in audience alienation 3:50 Paul defends Biden’s paternal pardon 9:43 Should family come before societal good? 18:51 The costs of the Hunter pardon 32:18 Was Hunter the victim of a witch hunt? 37:52 Elon sues OpenAI (again) 45:12 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 04, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Anthropic’s CEO comes out as a China hawk 6:38 Why so many China hawks in the AI community? 22:49 Gaming out the AGI takeoff timeline 30:31 Last year’s OpenAI coup: What did Ilya see? 36:43 Underappreciated dangers of the China chip war 53:41 Are US tech leaders seeing China’s perspective clearly? 1:05:32 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Nathan Labenz (Cognitive Revolution, Waymark AI). Recorded November 26, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.orgRobert Wright, Andrew Day, and Connor Echols discuss items from this week’s Earthling. Recorded November 22, 2024.https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 Bob’s trip down the JFK rabbit hole gets real 3:07 Will Trump release the JFK files? 7:35 What the CIA actually knew about Oswald, pre-assassination 12:13 The damning Oswald-CIA connection Jeff uncovered 24:59 Was there a second shooter? Bob’s on-the-ground research 35:31 Bob’s research cont’d: grassy knoll geometry 45:44 Was the alleged CIA cover-up just CYA? 49:29 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Jefferson Morley (JFK Facts, Snow-Storm in August). Recorded November 12, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Are Bluesky pastures really greener? 10:12 Dissecting SciAm editor’s Bluesky blowup 21:32 Elon’s free speech stolen valor 31:05 The “highlights” of the Paul-Tyson “fight” 39:48 Has the military-industrial complex conquered the AI industry? 48:39 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 November 19, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Another high-synergy, brilliant collaboration 1:39 Is Elon our first true oligarch? 10:21 Trump assembles his Justice League of hawks 16:53 Biden’s awful foreign policy team 21:49 Trump’s plan to purge the military 33:30 Will Trump go full-on authoritarian? 40:45 Left-wing capitalists—and a discount offerRobert 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 November 14, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 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 OvertimeRobert 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/NonzeroPodsOvertime 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