Robert Wright's Nonzero

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 Sina's hopes for this weekend's US-Iran talks 4:25 Trump's two-month clock starts ticking 7:09 Iran's growing nuclear leverage 11:20 Trump the dealmaker vs Trump the warmonger 19:14 The myth of a "surgical" military campaign against Iran 28:44 The resurgence of Iran's reformist campRecorded April 11, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.nonzero.org/p/tariffs-tech-and-the-view-from-chinahttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Paul is Bob's worthwhile Canadian initiative 4:34 The psycho-logic of Trump’s tariff strategy 15:35 Has Trump exposed structural flaws in America? 21:09 Is Musk saying Navarro is dumber than Ivanka? 28:09 On incest 38:35 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 09, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Milton’s epic new comic, “Orson Welles: Warrior of the Worlds” 4:04 Comics culture, then and now 14:02 The real story behind the faux War of the Worlds broadcast 22:07 Why Milton was drawn to Orson Welles 33:33 What (or who) really derailed Welles’s career? 40:07 Will Milton's comic go multimedia? 44:23 Heading to Overtime—with Bob in the hot seatRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Milton Lawson (https://milton.substack.com/, Orson Welles: Warrior of the Worlds). Recorded March 24, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

Audio of the livestream titled “The Psychopolitics of the Noosphere,” the first installment in an ongoing—and evolving—collaboration between Nonzero and Psychopolitica.Robert Wright, Nikita Petrov, and Boris Shoshitaishvili. Recorded April 4, 2025.https://psychopolitica.substack.com/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.org0:30 The pro-tariff argument: national security, jobs, and leverage 6:58 The four factions shaping US trade policy 11:43 Karthik’s core critique of Trump’s tariff policy 16:18 How tariffs could block development pathways for poor countries 22:52 Is Trump blaming foreign countries for America's own policy mistakes? 30:19 A brutal week for VietnamRecorded April 04, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling:https://www.nonzero.org/p/elon-musks-nasa-takeoverhttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Reid's new book, "Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future" 8:56 Managing technological transitions 16:33 Using AI to build cognitive empathy 20:25 Shaping the coming AI earthquake 29:02 Reid's notion of "co-opetition" with China 40:06 Geopolitics and AI development 44:53 The US chip war on China 50:01 Heading into OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Reid Hoffman (Greylock Partners, Inflection AI, Impromptu, Superagency). Recorded March 26, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Almut’s first-hand acquaintance with authoritarianism 2:24 Trump 2.0’s authoritarian hallmarks 19:37 What should worry us most about Trump 2.0? 26:15 Trump 2.0 vs post-Soviet oligarchy: compare and contrast 33:08 Is Trump an ethno-nationalist? 39:02 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Almut Rochowanski (The Quincy Institute, https://discomfortzone.substack.com/). Recorded April 1, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 The dueling camps in right-wing foreign policy 10:25 Lessons from the Signal snafu 15:42 Are hawks dominating Trump's foreign policy team? 22:58 Can Congress prevent a war with Iran? 31:13 A "smear campaign" against Danny DavisRecorded March 28, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.nonzero.org/p/the-untold-stories-of-the-signalhttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Bob and Paul duel over their sleep deficits 5:16 Trump’s Tesla-friendly tariffs 13:16 Who’s favo(u)red to win the Canadian election? 19:56 Tufts and Columbia as authoritarian bellwethers 31:16 Did Bob predict MAGA in 1999? 38:49 God vs Hitler 46:21 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 March 27, 2025.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 The new JFK documents dump 5:15 The conflict between JFK and the CIA 8:34 The Pentagon false flag plan that JFK vetoed 13:30 How CIA funding shaped the Oswald narrative 17:22 James Jesus Angleton’s handling of Oswald 32:55 Some lies told by CIA officials 42:14 Files the CIA still won’t releaseRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Jefferson Morley (https://jfkfacts.substack.com/, Snow-Storm in August). Recorded March 26, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods