Robert Wright's Nonzero

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0:34 Should Hunter Biden and Trump get the Tim Geithner treatment? 10:36 Bob’s latest evidence that Biden shouldn’t run again 18:43 Have we reached peak RFK Jr.? 23:19 Does the counteroffensive hurt Ukraine’s cause? 30:28 Leaky new dam collapse theory 40:14 The rapidly metastasizing GOP primary field 49:33 Israel-Palestine gets Black Mirror-y 55:43 Alito’s ill-considered trip 1:01:34 Parrot room preview: The right’s schism over capitalism; Prigozhin's insurrection; the Titanic sub tragedy; Why Mickey is growing to hate EVs; Janan Ganesh’s elite take on populism; Bob’s (possibly) new UFO thoughts; Cutting the tax cuts from supply-side economics?; Silo; Biden’s billion-dollar battery bonuses; Biden’s reverse-Epstein problem

Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded June 23, 2023.

Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66369 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

The (fuzzy) distinction between cognitive and emotional empathy ... Simon’s work on autism and empathy ... Should we really view autism as a spectrum? ... Are powerful people bad at cognitive empathy? ... Hitler, tribalism, and the societal dynamics of empathy ... Can cognitive empathy save the world? ... The “double-empathy” problem ... How autistic kids play differently ...

0:00 The (fuzzy) distinction between cognitive and emotional empathy 7:01 Simon’s work on autism and empathy 15:59 Should we really view autism as a spectrum? 26:17 Are powerful people bad at cognitive empathy? 40:19 Hitler, tribalism, and the societal dynamics of empathy 53:58 Can cognitive empathy save the world? 1:00:50 The “double-empathy” problem 1:04:52 How autistic kids play differently

Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Simon Baron-Cohen (University of Cambridge, The Science of Evil, The Pattern Seekers). Recorded May 18, 2023.

Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66341 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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1:42 Mickey gets a B+ on this week’s news quiz 11:30 Is RFK Jr. the Dem’s key to booting Biden? 20:12 Chris Christie’s chances vs. Trump 24:28 Has Tucker gone off the deep end? 37:16 No, Russia didn’t blow up Ukraine’s dam 43:21 Is the Ukrainian counteroffensive failing? 59:12 Parrot room preview: Remembering Daniel Ellsberg; Elizabeth Gilbert’s self-cancellation; the fake deepfake of John Lennon; Mickey’s AI question; a bit of Epstein news; LIV golf update; Mickey contra popular vote compact; the Blob’s pro-immigration argument; Who’s going to pardon Trump? And why?; Did Harvard or the CIA drive the Unabomber crazy?; RIP Ed Fredkin; Silo; Harvard and the Inuit

Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded June 16, 2023.

Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66333 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

00:54 Frank’s book The End of History and the Last Man 10:35 Bob’s book Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny 17:14 Do people have to be rational in order to cooperate? 24:07 Are AI and other technologies advancing too rapidly for society to adapt? 37:21 Frank’s take on Hegel 48:05 Why Frank’s a Russia hawk and Bob's a Russia dove 58:12 Will authoritarian regimes do a better job of dealing with advanced information technologies?

Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Francis Fukuyama (Stanford University, The End of History and the Last Man, Liberalism and Its Discontents). Recorded May 23, 2023.

Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66315Twitter: 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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3:31 The GOP primary gets crowded 10:56 Will Trump’s indictment help him get the nomination? 19:07 Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive begins 25:55 Dissecting Timothy Snyder’s Ukraine analysis 36:01 Looks like Ukraine blew up Nord Stream 41:47 Tucker’s new Twitter show 49:22 Parrot Room preview: Bob draws lesson from PGA’s merger with Saudi’s LIV; affirmative action set to fall; Apple’s new goggles; Taylor Swift; food stamps and the homeless; why Gen-Zers are more likely to be non-binary; Cracker Barrel goes woke; Chinese spy situation in Cuba; Bob on the sci-fi show Silo.

Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded June 09, 2023.

Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66298 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

The GOP primary gets crowded ... Will Trump’s indictment help him get the nomination? ... Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive begins ... Dissecting Timothy Snyder’s Ukraine analysis ... Looks like Ukraine blew up Nord Stream ... Tucker’s new Twitter show ... Parrot Room preview: Bob draws lesson from PGA’s merger with Saudi’s LIV; affirmative action set to fall; Apple’s new goggles; Taylor Swift; food stamps and the homeless; why Gen-Zers are more likely to be non-binary; Cracker Barrel goes woke; Chinese spy situation in Cuba; Bob on the sci-fi show Silo. ...

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

2:00 The dam breaks in Ukraine 10:12 Is western media giving a clear picture of the war? 18:25 Why do some Ukrainian soldiers wear Nazi symbols? 27:37 How Russia-Ukraine could become a wider war 37:05 Could the US have prevented the war? 48:11 Seeing American foreign policy from Putin's point of view

Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Branko Marcetic (Jacobin). Recorded June 06, 2023.

Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66277 Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

1:31 China’s role in Saudi-Iran rapprochement7:10 The legacy of Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal12:25 Does Israel have a Palestine plan?24:12 Tensions resurface in Kosovo29:03 NATO expansion and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine35:31 Has the US mismanaged its relationship with Russia?43:53 Prospects for peace in Ukraine—or for massive military escalation56:26 A message from Bob about this week's Parrot Room

Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Thomas Friedman (The New York Times). Recorded May 31, 2023.

Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66256Twitter: 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

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

(Overtime segment available to paid subscribers below the paywall.)

0:00 Sam’s Bloggingheads bona fides 2:39 Is AI “interpretability” worth the trouble? 13:38 Natural selection and artificial intelligence 19:47 Are large language models absorbing human nature? 29:53 What Sam thinks singularitarian AI doomers get wrong 36:36 Is it time for an AI-safety Manhattan Project? 51:12 Sam: Let a thousand GPT-4 (but not GPT-5) plug-ins bloom. 57:09 Where are our AI safety blindspots?

Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Samuel Hammond (Foundation for American Innovation, Second Best). Recorded May 30, 2023.

Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66231 Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods