

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

Dec 20, 2022 • 1h 4min
The Price Labor Paid for Free Trade (Robert Wright & Adam Dean)
2:27 The legacy of free trade in America 4:55 Adam’s new book Opening Up by Cracking Down, about the repression of union activism in developing countries 18:17 Car bombing and other ways Argentina subdued labor in the 80's 28:08 Why did the US open up trade so early? 33:03 The quasi-dystopian law India used to break strikes in the 90’s 38:12 Underacknowledged long-term effects of free trade 42:49 Is a pro-labor approach to free trade possible? 57:46 Making globalism great again Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Adam Dean (George Washington University, From Conflict to Coalition). Recorded December 15, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65436 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe 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

Dec 17, 2022 • 50min
Has the tide turned against Elon? (Robert Wright & Mickey Kaus)
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 00:00 Has the tide turned against Elon—and against Twitter? 12:55 Elon accuses Fauci of funding research that killed millions 26:42 Bob sees signs that the “Twitter files” journalism is biased 40:24 Why now might be a good time for Ukraine diplomacy 44:51 Parrot Room preview: SBF news; breaking down the nuclear fusion breakthrough; the AI alignment problem; China’s coming COVID explosion; TikTok backlash gains traction; Elon’s growing Tesla problems Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded December 16, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65425 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe 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

Dec 13, 2022 • 1h 18min
A Debate On Ukraine (Robert Wright & Anders Åslund)
0:51 What Anders didn’t like about Bob’s Washington Post op-ed on Russia-Ukraine11:19 Was Putin always bent on invading Russia’s neighbors? 19:13 Bob and Anders debate NATO expansion 29:37 Should the West encourage regime change in Russia? 36:55 Are the US and NATO “fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian”? 46:09 The causes and consequences of Ukraine’s 2014 revolution 56:04 Is Putin committing genocide? 1:01:21 Possible endgames of the Ukraine war – and of Putin’s Russia 1:12:21 Could better US policy have averted the Ukraine war? Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Anders Åslund (The Center for Social and Economic Research, Russia's Crony Capitalism). Recorded December 09, 2022. Bob's piece in the Washington Post Anders' Twitter thread criticizing Bob's Washington Post pieceComments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65391 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe 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

Dec 9, 2022 • 49min
The Taibbi Twitter Files (Robert Wright & Mickey Kaus)
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom0:00 A brief message from Bob0:55 Why Mickey thinks the first installment of the Twitter Files was a something-burger8:05 What Bob thinks Taibbi (and Musk) flubbed18:26 Do the files show a pro-Dem bias in pre-Musk Twitter?25:19 Ukraine war update42:24 Parrot Room preview: an (unwitting) win for Bob; a damning J.D. Vance quote for Mickey; the latest SBF allegation; the worst. Substack. Issue. Ever.; Bob submits a beef with Mickey for commenter consideration; commenter takes on Musk’s gun tweet; potential Parrot Room theme song(s); the Fed on why men are leaving the labor force; Janan Ganesh on why you should leave Twitter Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded December 8, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65367 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe 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

Dec 6, 2022 • 55min
How to Be Anti-Tribal (Robert Wright & Mónica Guzmán)
0:00 Mónica’s book I Never Thought of It That Way, about how to have “bridge-building” conversations 1:41 Why Mónica’s immigrant parents support(ed) Trump 7:02 Barriers to getting bridge-building buy-in 15:37 Understanding vs. the need to be understood 21:58 Bridge-building 101 27:39 Is understanding a slippery slope to excusing? 33:35 The underrated bridge-building power of curiosity 43:44 Does the media fuel or just reflect our divisions? 43:40 The limits of bridge-buildingRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mónica Guzmán (Braver Angels). Recorded December 01, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65345 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe 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

Dec 3, 2022 • 45min
Biden in 2024? (Robert Wright & Mickey Kaus)
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 00:40 Would a Biden re-election bid spell doom for Dems? 06:54 Opening the Ron DeSantis black box 13:48 Bob’s Washington Post piece on Russia-Ukraine diplomacy 21:56 Is it too early to write off Herschel Walker? 27:50 Sam Bankman-Fried’s bipartisan approach to corrupting politics 31:52 Elon’s and Apple’s China challenges 40:55 Parrot Room preview: Mickey’s spat with Damon Linker; what we know about Peter Thiel; Ye and Fuentes; the center-less GOP; Elon’s Twitter regime; Errol Morris’s miniseries Wormwood. Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded December 2, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65337 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe 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

Nov 29, 2022 • 1h 36min
American Jews and Israel (Robert Wright & Eric Alterman)
2:35 Eric’s new book We Are Not One, about changing American Jewish attitudes toward Israel over the years 7:28 Jewish-American identity before its “Zionization” 10:01 Why fewer young American Jews are feeling the pro-Israel vibe 15:25 Israel in American politics 23:04 The “Israel as apartheid state” debate 35:28 How the 1960’s defined Jewish visions of Israel 49:02 Is a “two-state solution” now the conservative position? 52:50 Zionism vs. social justice activism 1:04:22 Why Israel is fine with the Palestinian status quo 1:15:54 Does Israel really need US support? 1:20:32 Could international pressure help solve the Israel-Palestine conflict? Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Eric Alterman (The American Prospect, Brooklyn College, Lying in State: Why Presidents Lie and Why Trump is Worse). Recorded November 16, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65294 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe 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

Nov 26, 2022 • 39min
The Elon-SBF Connection (Robert Wright & Mickey Kaus)
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 The (totally selfless) reasons Mickey wants an SBF clawback 5:11 Did Semafor fumble its big SBF-Elon scoop? 14:55 Mickey’s clawback campaign (cont’d) 18:31 Origins of Mickey’s (alleged) Ben Smith vendetta revealed! 27:36 Is Musk destroying his town square?Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded November 25, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65282Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe 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

10 snips
Nov 22, 2022 • 1h 26min
The Two Kinds of Empathy (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)
2:22 Paul’s upcoming book, Psych: The Story of the Human Mind 18:42 Bob’s upcoming book, tk 24:27 Are psychopaths high in (cognitive) empathy? 33:29 How good are we at perspective taking—and how can we get better? 40:28 Elon Musk’s apparent cognitive empathy deficit 49:57 Is cognitive empathy a biological adaptation? 1:06:10 Is it even possible to understand the minds of others? 1:16:47 Paul’s budding interest in perversity Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Paul Bloom (University of Toronto, The Sweet Spot, Against Empathy). Recorded November 8, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65252 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe 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

Nov 19, 2022 • 47min
Midterms, Missiles, and Musk (Robert Wright & Mickey Kaus)
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 Why Mickey’s not unhappy about the midterm results 7:12 Can Trump go the distance against DeSantis? 11:48 The Pelosi era ends 18:54 Zelensky invites NATO to join the war 24:48 Is a peace deal on the horizon in Ukraine? 33:27 Elon update 39:47 SBF's fall takes wind out of the sails of effective altruism movement Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded November 18, 2022. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65245 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bloggingheads/ Podcasts: https://bloggingheads.tv/subscribe 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