Josh’s hopes for post-Assad Syria—revisited ... The challenge(s) facing the Syrian government ... What’s driving Syria’s sectarian violence? ... Josh’s personal window into the al-Sharaa regime’s brutality ... The new regime’s church vs state problem ... How the Druze became central to Israeli-Syrian hostilities ... Why did Israel escalate with Syria, really? ... Josh’s current outlook on Syria's future ... Heading to Overtime ...

The full reason for Bob’s absence—revealed ... What’s the real story with Trump and Epstein? ... A peek down the Epstein rabbit hole ... Grok goes full Nazi-pornbot ... The promise and perils of AI companions ... Bob on dealing with cancer in the age of AI ... Heading to Overtime ...

Why a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is so unlikely ... Taiwan’s terrain: A defender’s dream, an invader’s nightmare ... Why Taipei might be the hardest city in the world to conquer ... Dan: China would need nearly 5 million soldiers to have a chance ... The 2027 invasion theory—and why it doesn’t hold up ... Is China trying to bankrupt the US military? ... A cheaper, smarter way to defend Taiwan ... Submarines: A deterrent with a message ... Comparing a Taiwan invasion to D-Day ... China's long game ... Why a blockade might be worse than an invasion ...

A brief message from Bob ... Why many intelligent people think we’re living in a simulation ... The philosophical argument that you’re probably not real ... How cosmic rays might (and might not) reveal that reality is fake ... Preston’s dire warning against trying to determine if we’re in a simulation ... Is the simulation hypothesis non-falsifiable? ... Is “the simulation” just religion for atheists? ...

A brief message from Bob ... What Lee means when he says "time is fundamental" ... Understanding the universe as a network ... A (very) tentative theory of consciousness ... Did the laws of physics evolve? ... Is the universe fine-tuned for the emergence of life? ... Applying Lee's theories of time to everyday life ...

Why Neysun brings American students and scholars to China ... Visiting China after Covid ... Balancing US and Chinese red lines ... When Neysun's students pushed Chinese officials on human rights ... Do US students fear career risks for going to China? ... Cultivating cognitive empathy ... China's obsession with US politics ... Trump's surprisingly consistent approach to Beijing ... Are Chinese students really spies? ... Is China studies becoming the next Kremlinology? ... How Neysun navigates US fears about exchange with China ...

A brief message from Bob ... Greg's new book, The Gutfeld Monologues ... How going to Berkeley pushed Greg toward conservatism ... Trumpism creates strange ideological bedfellows ... Bob offers a magic solution to the freedom vs. security dilemma ... Was Obama right to avoid the phrase "Islamic radicalism"? ... Trump's savvy use of identity politics ... The secret ingredient to Greg's meditation practice ...

A brief message from Bob ... Why consciousness is so weird ... Is consciousness like your brain’s shadow? ... If David was a zombie, would anyone know? ... Bob’s wacky theory about consciousness ... Is consciousness what collapses the quantum wave function? ... Can there be a true science of consciousness? ...

Are US-Iran talks dead? ... Do normal Iranians care about the nuclear program? ... Understanding Iran’s enrichment red line ... Assessing the damage to Iran's nuclear facilities ... Iran's decision to kick out inspectors ... Could Iran build a bomb in secret? ... Trump's "desultory" approach to talks with Iran ... Alan's experience negotiating with the Iranians ... How Obama managed to get a deal ... Iran's focus on projecting strength ... Does Iran really want a bomb? ... Iran's dim view of international law ...

A brief message from Bob ... John’s upcoming book, How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy ... Is the US to blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? ... Is Putin less rational than John assumes? ... Why John is a Russia dove and a China hawk ... Does China pose a threat to freedom around the world? ... Why John thinks China’s rise threatens American security ... Has globalization made great-power peace possible? ... Should the US defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion? ...