Robert Wright's Nonzero

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0:28 Deep insights about coffee and sleep from Paul 5:11 Mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy 7:58 Oligarchy + paranoid billionaires = disaster 14:38 Ackman and Thiel join Elon in billionaire la la land 22:02 Is Trump anti-Semitic or just really pro-Israel? 36:37 If you don’t feel alienated you should seek counseling 41:26 Heading to overtime

Robert 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 September 24, 2024.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

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0:28 Would a different US president have made a difference for Gaza? 14:32 Saudi-Israel normalization takes a step back 19:36 Is all hope lost for a two-state solution? 26:51 Making sense of Israel’s pager attacks in Lebanon 35:28 Heading to Overtime—and an AP PSA

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 September 19, 2024.

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0:28 Why didn’t OpenAI call its new o1 AI GPT? 12:27 Tim’s first impressions of o1 16:30 What’s the secret to o1’s better reasoning? 27:21 Inspecting AI introspection 30:31 Does o1’s capability for deception bring us closer to doom? 35:59 AI doomers’ Hollywood problem 41:03 Elon’s self-driving speed bumps 47:03 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Timothy B. Lee (Full Stack Economics, Understanding AI). Recorded September 17, 2024.

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Robert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from this week’s Earthling.

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0:28 Tragedy strikes the Wright household 4:20 Breaking down the big Trump-Kamala debate 22:44 Are debates actually valuable? 26:16 Kamala’s worst debate moment (according to Bob) 33:39 Elon vs Taylor Swift, Brazil, and himself 37:19 Bob and Paul argue about free speech 45:18 Heading to Overtime

Robert 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 September 11, 2024.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

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0:00 Is Ukraine’s Kursk invasion failing? 6:05 Why Russia may outlast the West in Ukraine 14:20 Zelensky’s cabinet shakeup 16:50 Prospects for a peace deal 26:25 Russian elites’ views on the war 36:44 How the Global South can help end the conflict 42:40 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Anatol Lieven (The Quincy Institute). Recorded September 05, 2024.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

(Description from Tripp Fuller’s Homebrewed Christianity podcast.)

In this episode, I am joined by one of my favorite scholars in the public square, Robert Wright, the editor of the Nonzero Newsletter. This is a captivating discussion about artificial intelligence, consciousness, and the future of humanity. We explore Wright's extensive work, including 'Nonzero,' 'The Evolution of God,' and 'Why Buddhism is True,' while delving into the intersections of science, religion, and philosophy. Discover the implications of AI for humanity, the critical role of international cooperation in technology governance, and the moral and spiritual dimensions needed to navigate rapid technological changes. The conversation also addresses the complexities of sentience, cognitive empathy, and the evolutionary drives in AI, with insights from philosophers like Teilhard de Chardin and Alfred North Whitehead.

Tripp’s Substack: https://processthis.substack.com/

Originally published August 19, 2024 by Homebrewed Christianity .

Twitter: https://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

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0:28 Steve’s books, The Hell of Good Intentions and The Israel Lobby 1:15 How Israel helped spawn Hezbollah 13:19 Why US leaders abet Israel’s self-destructive behavior 29:14 Netanyahu’s longstanding opposition to a Palestinian state 42:14 The Israeli policy that doomed Israel-Palestine relations 51:39 Steve’s writings on US foreign policy and the election

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Stephen Walt (Harvard University, Foreign Policy). Recorded August 26, 2024.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org

0:28 Bob and Paul’s time-warping podcast experiment 3:34 Does thinking in bets better your thinking? 9:38 Past prediction 1: Will the presidential race tighten up? 17:10 J.D. Vance memes of yester-month 22:41 Past prediction 2: Who will Kamala pick for VP? 28:52 When reality gets weird 39:26 Heading to Overtime

Robert 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 July 26, 2024.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org

0:28 Emma’s forthcoming book on US grand strategy 4:40 Gaza, Ukraine, and Mearsheimer’s realism 13:38 The DC establishment’s dark view of world affairs 24:43 How the Gaza war hurts American interests—and America itself 30:10 Is the time ripe for realism and restraint? 36:25 National problems that require international cooperation 49:59 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Emma Ashford (Stimson Center, Foreign Policy). Recorded August 14, 2024.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods