

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

Jun 4, 2024 • 57min
A Trump 2.0 Foreign Policy (Robert Wright & Kelley Vlahos)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org1:57 Kelley’s new podcast, Trip the Beltway Fantastic 5:59 Pat Buchanan and conservative opposition to the Iraq war 10:14 Would Trump 2.0 promote foreign policy restraint? 19:12 Possible Trump appointees pushing for conflict with China 25:57 The time Tucker Carlson helped prevent war with Iran 41:13 Would Trump greenlight ethnic cleansing in Gaza? 49:32 Would Trump end the Russia-Ukraine war? 54:14 Heading to OvertimeOvertime video below paywall:A Pentagon program that corrupts officers. Kelley’s upbringing in Connecticut and early career as a reporter. How clickbait culture has degraded journalism.

Jun 1, 2024 • 29min
Trump's Conviction, Russia-Ukraine Escalation (Earthling Unplugged)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.orgRobert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling.Recorded May 31, 2024.https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

May 29, 2024 • 35min
Gaza, Biden, and Trump (Robert Wright, Derek Davison, Daniel Bessner)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org00:43 The Nonzero-American Prestige apocalypse aversion project 2:02 Are Bob, Derek, and Danny surprised the Gaza war is still going on? 5:06 Biden’s simple political calculus on Gaza 13:42 Would Trump greenlight the ethnic cleansing of Gaza? 25:45 Israel’s plan (or lack thereof) for post-war Gaza 32:23 Heading to OvertimeOvertime topics: An inside view of The New Republic at its peak. Ideological engineering at The Atlantic. Russian sanctions and an antisemitic chill fall over Danny. Does “fascism” mean anything?(Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods)

May 21, 2024 • 43min
GPT-4o, AI Companions, and the Metaverse (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org1:23 Bob’s sage status rises 4:18 GPT-4o: harbinger of the Metaverse? 13:53 Does sentience matter for AI companionship? 25:48 The promise and perils of social AI 33:46 How LLMs flip the script on computing 39:05 Heading to Overtime—and a special announcement!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 May 20, 2024.Overtime titles:43:10 AI and porn (through an evo-psych lens) 55:08 Is sex passé? 1:03:21 Google’s new AI-boosted search; Bob’s and Paul’s SEO prowess 1:10:30 Are the OpenAI resignations really a bad sign for AI safety? 1:14:31 Bob and Paul compare their p(doom)s 1:26:34 Sci-fi TV to see (and skip)

May 20, 2024 • 26min
Overton Windows Ep. 4: Israel-Palestine After October 7
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org4:08 How the Overton window is shifting after October 7 9:59 Israel’s 9/11, Israel’s overreaction, and liberal Zionism 15:22 The power of the Israel lobbyDiscussed in Overtime:How “pro-Israel” actions may undermine Israel.“From the river to the sea…” and other controversies.US and Israeli media coverage of the Gaza war.Free speech warriors turn speech code enforcers.Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Tamler Sommers (Very Bad Wizards, University of Houston, Why Honor Matters). Recorded May 14, 2024. Nonzero Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods Very Bad Wizards: https://verybadwizards.com/

May 16, 2024 • 1h 18min
In Defense of AI Doomerism (Robert Wright & Liron Shapira)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:24 Why this pod’s a little odd 2:50 Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike quit OpenAI—part of a larger pattern? 10:20 Bob: AI doomers need Hollywood 16:26 Does an AI arms race spell doom for alignment? 20:40 Why the “Pause AI” movement matters 24:54 AI doomerism and Don’t Look Up: compare and contrast 27:23 How Liron (fore)sees AI doom 33:18 Are Sam Altman’s concerns about AI safety sincere? 39:46 Paperclip maximizing, evolution, and the AI will to power question 51:34 Are there real-world examples of AI going rogue? 1:07:12 Should we really align AI to human values? 1:15:27 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Liron Shapira (Pause AI, Relationship Hero). Recorded May 06, 2024. Additional segment recorded May 15, 2024. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

May 14, 2024 • 1h 18min
Has Antisemitism Surged? (Robert Wright & Eli Lake)
2:20 How Jews fit—or don’t—into universities’ DEI regimes 10:55 What do controversial pro-Palestine chants really mean? 18:24 When does criticism of Israel become antisemitic? 26:41 The Israel lobby’s influence on Congress and academia 34:13 Do pro-Israel donors unwittingly inflame antisemitism? 41:22 Evidence of increasing antisemitism 49:49 Was Ilhan Omar’s “all about the Benjamins” tweet antisemitic? 57:07 Bob criticizes Bari Weiss, Bill Ackman, and an Eli tweet 1:07:12 Balancing concerns about free speech and antisemitism 1:14:14 Are Israelis too fatalistic about antisemitism for their own good?Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Eli Lake (The New York Sun, Clements Center, The Re-Education, The Free Press). Recorded May 13, 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 www.nonzero.org/subscribe

May 11, 2024 • 29min
Are the Pro-Palestine Protests Working? (Earthling Unplugged)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.orgRobert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling.Read this edition of the Earthling: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/protest-tips-from-boomersRecorded May 10, 2024.https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

May 7, 2024 • 52min
Antisemitism and Free Speech (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org1:53 Is it ever okay to fire professors for speech? 13:32 Bari Weiss spreads misinformation without consequence 22:28 Are some of Israel’s American supporters unwittingly inflaming antisemitism? 33:33 Ayaan Hirsi Ali converts to Christianity without abandoning New Atheist creed 38:46 Do Sam Harris et. al. get religion totally wrong? 49:12 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 May 07, 2024.

May 4, 2024 • 30min
The New “Pro-Israel” Assault on Free Speech (Earthling Unplugged)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.orgRobert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling.Read this edition of the Earthling: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/the-new-pro-israel-assault-on-free


