Robert Wright's Nonzero

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Holly’s newsletter and her work with PauseAI 3:45 The state of AI safety 10:54 Why Holly started PauseAI US 14:55 Is AI acceleration… accelerating? 23:47 What rationalists got wrong about the singularity 29:43 Mechanize Inc. and the danger of AI safety sellouts 40:10 Holly: Here’s why AI should alarm you 48:25 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Holly Elmore (PauseAI US). Recorded April 29, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Which think tanks are anti-Blob? 2:36 What's the real goal of Bibi’s new Gaza “operation”? 7:22 Why can’t (or won’t) the US rein in Israel? 14:51 Who’s undermined the ‘rules-based order’ more—Biden or Trump? 20:35 In search of anti-Blob Dems for 2028 23:46 How neoliberalism seeded Trump’s tariff chaos 29:36 AI, DC, and the x-risk of China-hawkism 41:30 Matt on what most miss about foreign policy 48:38 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Matt Duss (Center for International Policy). Recorded May 5, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 Headlines 5:10 Bob joins to discuss Trump's first 100 days 6:50 What the Waltz firing means for Trump's foreign policy 12:27 Has Rubio really dropped his hawkish proclivities? 15:50 Trump's jungle rulebook 21:57 Is Trump putting the US on track for war with China? 25:58 Middle East fires: Yemen, Syria, Iran 37:40 Trump's about-face on Gaza 40:03 Gen Z and the Trump EffectRecorded May 2, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling:Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.nonzero.org/p/the-bot-onslaught-continueshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNews https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 The state of play in Russia-Ukraine 4:02 Anatol: Here’s how the war could end 12:35 Which side wants peace more? 20:18 Why hasn’t Trump used his leverage? 24:37 Anatol’s plan for peace 32:47 What Russia-Ukraine reveals about the military-industrial complex 39:48 What Trump's military purges reveal about his presidency 43:21 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Anatol Lieven (The Quincy Institute). Recorded April 29, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsOvertime titles:Decoding the Signal-gate madness. Could Trump pull off a new Iran deal? India-Pakistan and its parallels to Russia-Ukraine. Why isn't Trump tougher on Modi and Putin, really? AI, China-hawkism, and other existential threats. Why is US foreign policy discourse so bad?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:15 The new NonZero World 1:24 Headlines 4:39 Stories of the week 17:22 Michael Brendan Dougherty on Pope Francis' foreign policy legacy 18:58 Michael: The pope should be a voice for peace 23:47 A European church no more 27:24 Michael: The Vatican went too far in deal with China 37:10 How the Holy See helped Obama reach out to Cuba 44:40 The pope's moral clarity on Gaza 48:47 A restrainer in the Vatican?Recorded April 25, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.nonzero.org/p/trumps-speech-crackdown-makes-a-quantumhttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Trump and Elon’s bad week = good news for Bob… 6:01 …but bad news for Canada's prime minister? 18:23 Trump’s crackdown on speech expands 29:28 Debating embryo-screening ethics 42:24 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 April 24, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Pratap’s bona fides 3:40 How Pratap ran afoul of Modi (and the price he paid) 13:17 Trump vs Modi: compare and contrast 24:14 India’s birth as a multi-ethnic state 38:09 Pratap on how we got Trump (and Modi) 48:45 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (Indian Express, Princeton University, The Burden of Democracy). Recorded April 22, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

Audio of the livestream titled “KOSMOPOLITIKA#2: Where Do We Belong?”—the latest installment in an ongoing (and evolving) collaboration between Nonzero and Psychopolitica.INTRODUCTIONS :4:14 Nikita: Leaving Russia. The psychedelic lineage. Humanity is a trip, not a species21:59 16 years ago, Boris took such a good nap after visiting a sacred Ancient Greek site that he still thinks about it 25:25 In The Dark Places of Wisdom: mystical practices at the root of Western civilization 26:57 What makes us feel we belong: identity & community 31:00 Humanity as a planetary force MEMBER PARTICIPATION PART: 39:15 What makes us feel we belong: values & norms 49:14 What makes us feel we belong: direct experience 52:26 Psychedelics & meditation in service of planetary identity 54:19 “To be” comes from the word "to grow", "am" & "is" from "to breath" 56:32 Rationalists 58:15 How Socrates got himself killed 1:04:30 What makes us feel we belong: awareness of inter-dependence 1:11:30 Gaia, humanity, and AI are 3 generations of planetary forces 1:15:32 Zizians. There's something to be said about dogma 1:17:47 “DMT, death, and nanobots are the same thing, somehow” 1:21:24 Humanity is still being born 1:23:21 Ideas are alive 1:25:59 JFK's "my fellow Americans" address, in which he casts the country as a peer to the citizen 1:30:13 VR brings us back into the body 1:34:33 The human experience is an image that arises from the play of ideas and matter 1:38:30 Agency found in choosing one's metaphors 1:42:15 Ta-Nehisi Coates's The Message 1:47:52 Homeric rhapsodes 1:52:34 Conversation as distributed thinkingNikita Petrov, and Boris Shoshitaishvili. Recorded April 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Ron violates retirement dress code 2:25 Trump’s “antisemitism crackdown" 14:28 Is the Israel lobby bad for American Jews? 21:53 The disturbing Tufts detention case 28:59 Why don’t more progressive Jews call out the Israel lobby? 34:24 How bad journalism makes antisemitism worse 45:53 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Ron Kampeas (https://ronkampeas.substack.com, Jewish Telegraphic Agency). Recorded April 17, 2025.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Sam's theory of (some of) Trump's tariffs 18:09 The bad scenario and the less bad scenario 22:58 Scott Bessent's radicalism 25:58 Will Trump display the art of the deal? 28:57 China's trade-war strengths 31:48 An intentional end to American hegemony? 36:10 Sam’s defense of chip restrictions 40:28 Heading into OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Samuel Hammond (Foundation for American Innovation, https://www.secondbest.ca/). Recorded April 14, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods