Robert Wright's Nonzero

The time Michael thought he was being abducted by aliens ... Michael's new book, Heavens on Earth ... Deepak Chopra's afterlife ... Why uploading your brain to achieve immortality makes no sense ... Is radical life extension just bunk? ... The Second Coming, presented by Ray Kurzweil ... What consolation can the atheist offer to the dying? ... The spookiest thing that's ever happened to Michael ...

Mickey gives Trump his first-year grades ... Mickey: Cultural assimilation matters in immigration policy​ ... Were Democrats to blame for the government shutdown? ... The human consequences of ICE’s enforcement tactics ... Bob’s crazy left-wing one-worlder trade policy proposal ... Why are Apple and Starbucks giving Trump good publicity? ... Is ​President ​Trump even worse than Bob expected? ...

Striking parallels between Buddhism’s Mara and Christianity’s Satan ... How Stephen’s opera Mara came to fruition ... Bob and Stephen argue about the true meaning(s) of "enlightenment" ... How much authority should a secular Buddhist ascribe to the Buddha? ... The perils of clinging to the dharma ... Stephen’s unusual place in the Buddhist world ...

What we know right now about the Steele dossier ... Marcy: The dossier is a series of "near-misses" ... Did Trump and Russia collude? Would that be a crime? ... The quid was leaking stolen emails. What was the quo? ... Marcy thinks there’s more to the infamous Trump Tower meeting than has met the eye ... Is Kushner's "peace plan" just a way to bail out his family's ailing business? ... Marcy on the future of the investigation: "Don't expect anything" ...

Explaining "Mindful Resistance" ... David Brooks vs. David Frum on anti-Trumpism ... Is Trump crazy (like a fox)? ... What the average citizen can do to oppose Trump ... Is there a Trumpism without Trump? ... Looking for policies that would undermine Trump's appeal ... Future plans for Mindful Resistance ... Should anti-Trumpers fight dirty? ...

Tim explains what it means to believe in free will ... Biology and free will ... Science and casuality ... Why Tim takes seriously the "naive stance" on free will and moral responsibility ... Is subjective experience irreducible? ... Determinism and deism ... Philosophy departments aren’t as atheistic as you’d think ...

Dan's new book, Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics ... The liberation of realizing you're crazy (and so is everyone else) ... Why Dan gave names to his inner voices ... Dan's 10% Happier meditation app ... Dan: One minute of mindfulness meditation a day can be enough ... Applying the Buddhist metaphor of the "second arrow" to everyday life ... Meditating without losing your edge ...

How the tax cut “made a lot of rich people richer” ... Why infrastructure is crumbling and public education is in trouble ... How Richard’s Middle America focus groups worked ... Americans care less about Obamacare than you think ... Are the economics of healthcare leading us to socialized medicine? ... What does and doesn't bother Middle Americans about immigration ... Why so many Americans aren’t fazed by climate change, terrorism, or global trade ... Why science could soon turn the tide against cancer, diabetes, and heart disease ...

Is “dehumanization” really the root of cruelty? ... How love deludes us ... Paul: Empathy makes us morally stupid ... The weird psychology of the Trump era ... What people get wrong about Harvey Weinstein and dehumanization ... When is objectification morally acceptable? ... Keeping our worst selves in check ... Getting pleasure out of your own pain ...

Midlife and coming to terms with who we aren't ... Is the midlife crisis different for men and women? ... Kieran: Disappointment is a given for the mid-career academic ... There’s more to life than minimizing suffering ... Schopenhauer (and the Buddha): Dissatisfaction is inherent in desire ... Bob suggests a familiar culprit: selfhood ...