0:28 How Tianyu became a “China explainer” 2:59 American vs Chinese exceptionalism 7:53 What you can and can’t say in China 18:16 Is the government more accountable in the US or China? 26:47 How China sees America 36:16 The one-child policy and its consequences 42:37 Tianyu: The biggest misconception about China is… 46:04 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Tianyu Fang (New America). Recorded June 02, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

Join NonZero's Discord server: https://discord.gg/Zy4jAhTQMF

(Description via Increments Podcast:) Did you ever see the video of two regular people trying to fight Eddie Hall, the strongest man on earth? Ben and Vaden bring that same energy to this conversation, where they gang up on Robert Wright on the subject of his forthcoming book The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning. Bob is a sport about it (well, there was no choice really: we have an advanced copy of his book that we’re holding hostage) and there are only one or two black eyes by the end.

Subscribe to Robert Wright’s podcasting empire NonZero on youtube and substack. And go buy one of his many books.

We discuss

* Whether Bob was the OG podcaster

* Is there a directionality to evolution?

* Where Bob is on the AI fear and awe spectrum

* Whether LLMs have decoded the meaning in language

* Is AI best viewed as a tool or as superintelligence?

* AI-as-slingshot analogy

References

* The God Test by Robert Wright

* Nonzero by Robert Wright

* William Paley and his pocket watch

* The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins

* Our conversation with Scott Aaronson

Recorded April 28th, 2026.

0:28 Is NonZero or American Prestige the better podcast? AI weighs in 4:38 The state of the US-Iran war. Or is it peace? 18:16 Has Trump already lost the midterms? Does he care? 24:40 The Russia-Ukraine war (and Eric Schmidt) 29:47 What the latest Iran war strikes signal 31:28 Overtime preview: Nuland’s “monsters,” zombie blobsters, Barak Ravid, Bari Weiss, “killzones,” and the Pope vs AI

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True), Derek Davison (Foreign Exchanges, American Prestige, Discontents), and Daniel Bessner (American Prestige, University of Washington). Recorded May 28, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:28 A Greek pilgrimage, a mystery guest, and a Discord revival 5:57 The first Papal encyclical devoted to AI 11:12 Pope Leo: just war theory is outdated, and AI lets humans dodge accountability 21:28 Anthropic tells the Pope about “mysterious, even unsettling” things inside AI 27:41 Inside the “Kill Zone”: How drones changed the Russia-Ukraine front 34:10 Who gets replaced first: the soldier or the commander? 38:47 Russia’s hypersonic missiles and nuclear signaling 48:25 Do drones favor the underdog? Plus a warning on Taiwan 50:44 The Iran ceasefire wobbles as Israel pushes back 52:23 Heading to Overtime: Greek mystery cults, Teilhard de Chardin, and Blade Runner 57:59 Enter the Mystery Guest: Jeremy Eliosoff, Pause AI Canada

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Nikita Petrov (https://psychopolitica.substack.com). Recorded May 26, 2026.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:52 Bruce’s new book on ritual, A Time to Gather 2:48 The “Lifequake” that led Bruce to study ritual 7:46 The current “shadow ritual” renaissance 11:54 What is a ritual? 15:02 The origins of the shadow ritual renaissance 18:01 Forest bathing and the essence of ritual 25:47 Ritual as the original human algorithm 31:15 Honor walks: a quintessentially modern ritual 35:59 Rituals across Christianity 41:43 What rituals do 46:23 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Bruce Feiler (Council of Dads, Walking the Bible, A Time to Gather). Recorded April 21, 2026.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

Join NonZero's Discord server: https://discord.gg/Zy4jAhTQMF

0:28 Hamidreza’s background 8:33 A brief history of US-Iran relations 15:01 Understanding Iranian antipathy toward Israel 21:00 Islam vs Islamism 30:07 The Iran-Iraq security dilemma 35:56 The Iran-Israel security dilemma 44:39 Palestinian objectives and patrons 47:38 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Hamidreza Azizi (The Axis of Resistance, German Institute for International and Security Affairs). Recorded May 14, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:28 Zhengyu’s tech background and new book, Rethinking China 2:56 What kind of threat is China, really? 10:02 How trading with China transformed America 16:47 The stakes of the chip war 21:58 Will tech war lead to real war? 30:29 The US-China escalation spiral and Taiwan 39:09 “Researching while Chinese”: the new Red Scare? 49:42 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Zhengyu Huang (Rethinking China). Recorded May 13, 2026.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:28 Is AI a normal technology? 6:00 Mythos and the METR curve 15:53 The current state of coding agents 20:10 The total turbulence problem 23:11 Does Mythos favor offense or defense? 29:19 Mythos and hype 31:59 Regulating dangerous AI 38:17 The centralization problem 40:22 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Timothy B. Lee (Full Stack Economics, Understanding AI, AI Summer). Recorded May 11, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:28 Annelle’s Middle East bona fides 2:18 The state of play in Iran 7:37 A deepening fissure between Gulf Arab states 21:28 Explaining the Trump-Biden continuity on Middle East policy 26:08 Will the Middle East realign away from America? 34:09 Turkey and the moral hazard of US aid to Israel 39:23 Can Iran mend ties with the Gulf states? 47:03 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Annelle Sheline (The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft). Recorded May 07, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:28 Bob’s big personal news 3:37 The US counter-blockade backfires 10:20 Iran retains escalation dominance 16:19 Why the Iranian regime is built to absorb assassinations 22:39 “Donald, it’s too late for that.” Bob says Trump has to take the L 25:27 Putin’s Victory Day ceasefire (with a threat) 28:25 Russia’s vibe shift: drone attacks, airport shutdowns, Internet blackouts 32:05 Instagram influencer rants at the Tsar 39:00 Siloviki vs. civilian elites 48:12 Heading to Overtime: The Matrix, AI, DMT, interdimensional crocodiles

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Nikita Petrov (https://psychopolitica.substack.com). Recorded May 05, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods