The Wright Show (audio)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:00 Teaser 1:00 Holy Week in Andalusia, and the Christian cross as branding 6:18 Why Bob is skeptical of Trump's diplomacy 10:37 Trump's hand got weaker and he doesn't even know it 13:39 Killing Iran's navy chief won't reopen the Strait of Hormuz 16:43 Nikita: "I find him weirdly persuasive on a hypnotist kind of level" 19:54 The Iran war's secret winner: Vladimir Putin 24:17 Bob checked back into AI podcasts and came out scared 29:23 "Every time I see tribalism on parade, I think: we're toast on AI" 35:13 Russia's Internet shutdowns 47:03 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Nikita Petrov (https://psychopolitica.substack.com). Recorded March 26, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 What (or who) is the Iran war for? 13:00 Joe Kent and the MAGA rift over Israel 24:03 Does antisemitism speech policing foment antisemitism? 38:58 What Ron’s Substack has that others don’t 43:59 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Ron Kampeas (https://ronkampeas.substack.com, Jewish Telegraphic Agency). Recorded March 24, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Overtime preview: a civil(-ish) debate on Israel-Palestine 3:46 How vibe-coding changed Liron’s life 9:23 Portents of the AI jobpocalypse 18:20 What can humans do that AI agents can’t? 27:28 The Darwinian case for AI doom 30:50 OpenClaw vs SkyNet 37:12 Liron: I love AI! We need to stop it. 43:51 Amodei, Altman, and the Pentagon triangle 52:28 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Liron Shapira (Pause AI, Doom Debates). Recorded March 10, 2026.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Is Iran inflicting much damage on Israel? 9:26 Iran has a strategy. Does America? Does Israel? 17:35 Where Trump and Bibi differ 23:41 Why Daniel is no longer a Zionist 30:06 Bibi vs the Israeli security establishment 34:35 The Gulf States’ dilemma 45:24 Daniel on Bibi’s true endgame 49:56 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Daniel Levy (Prospects for Peace, NAF, The Century Foundation). Recorded March 16, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 How we got here 10:18 Understanding Iran’s strategy and goals 15:38 Turkey, Europe, and the Gulf States 18:38 Will the Iranian regime survive? 20:24 The specious leadership of Reza Pahlavi 26:23 The many missed opportunities for US-Iran entente 39:05 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Hooman Majd (Minister Without Portfolio, The Ayatollahs' Democracy). Recorded March 11, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Will the Iran war supercharge antisemitism? 8:49 Varieties of Israeli-Jewish conflation 14:23 The Epstein effect 16:08 Tucker v. Israel vs Fuentes v. Israel 23:14 Does MSM have a pro-Israel bias? 27:14 The ADL’s counterproductive speech policing 34:58 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Peter Beinart (Jewish Currents, CUNY, https://peterbeinart.substack.com/). Recorded March 09, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:00 Marco Rubio’s Israel faux pas 3:28 What are Trump’s new goalposts? 10:23 The regime after Khamenei 14:36 Can a regime be changed by air strikes alone? 20:49 Will Turkey be drawn in? 25:18 The logic of Iran’s response 31:32 The pathetic European (and Canadian) response 34:58 Heading into OvertimeRobert 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 March 05, 2026.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Spain: the one country that got it right 1:56 When US rhetoric starts sounding like the Kremlin 3:07 Nukes, regime change, military threat—pick one 4:05 Rubio’s “ridiculous” explanation for attacking Iran 5:20 Iran’s restraint: from Soleimani to Khamenei 9:55 Trump had leverage over Bibi. He didn’t use it. 12:22 Is this Israel’s war or America’s? 14:40 Tommy Vietor goes after the ADL—a political first 19:30 How fear sells papers and starts wars 24:33 The nuclear deal: the last thing America got right 25:04 Nikita: Trump’s dopamine addiction to “starting s**t” 29:19 How the Iran strike buried the Anthropic story 37:59 Does Israel want a stable Middle East? 39:35 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Nikita Petrov (https://psychopolitica.substack.com). Recorded March 03, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Why is Trump threatening Iran, really? 10:51 What’s the strategic logic behind striking? 16:00 Trump vs Bibi on Gaza 20:44 How would—and could—Iran respond? 30:42 What a post-regime-collapse Iran could look like 36:25 Josh: Trump has painted himself into a corner 39:16 Is a new “axis of resistance” against Israel emerging ? 48:01 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Joshua Landis (University of Oklahoma, SyriaComment.com). Recorded February 23, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Holly’s call-out campaign 3:28 Holly: Don’t believe the Amanda Askell puff pieces 11:49 Is Amanda a bad person? 21:59 How Dario’s false dichotomies accelerate the AI race 30:19 The only Anthropic through-line is “winning” 38:54 Did Dario subvert Effective Altruism? 42:43 The end of the AI safety fig leaf 46:29 Heading into Overtime: The pros and cons of naming and shamingRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Holly Elmore (PauseAI US, https://hollyelmore.substack.com/). Recorded February 18, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 A paywall bait masterclass 7:41 Is Paul feeling the AI acceleration? 15:30 The Freddie deBoer AI challenge 25:53 What would a true AI revolution look like? 31:21 Bob: We’re failing the AI test 39:29 Has AI really made much of a difference? 50:29 Heading to OvertimeRobert 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 February 16, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Recap: how MAGA's domestic and foreign policy fit together as one project 8:31 MAGA reframed as a response to a felt lack of agency 11:50 AI is about to make that loss of agency universal 12:58 The first technology we're actually transferring agency to 17:05 What Claude Code is doing to Nikita's creative process 22:02 Will people use their free time well — or sit on a couch and inject heroin? 2436 Why Spanish festival culture might survive AI better than anyone 30:12 Bots on the street, humans in the parlor: the future of online spaces 37:24 Reading a comment and being depressed by both possibilitiesRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Nikita Petrov (https://psychopolitica.substack.com). Recorded February 12, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:24 Is Tim feeling the AI acceleration? 6:47 Claude Code: decrypted 12:54 Has AGI already arrived? 20:38 Moltbook: Skynet rising? Or hot air? 24:48 The various “singularities” 31:34 Where Tim looks for signs of the singularity 41:10 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Timothy B. Lee (Full Stack Economics, Understanding AI, AI Summer). Recorded February 9, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

1:22 Army brats and media empires 2:40 Is war with Iran imminent? 5:34 Trump’s “red line” trap 11:22 Are we underestimating Iran? 19:50 Israel and the “clean break” memo 26:25 Rubio as deep state puppet master 32:47 Trump’s AI report card 36:38 The race for superintelligence 42:33 Is AI an existential threat? 54:14 Will AI trigger mass unemployment? 1:01:28 Chip restrictions as war starters 1:04:43 Does Xi think his Taiwan window is closing?Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True), Andrew Day (The American Conservative), and Curt Mills (The American Conservative). Recorded February 04, 2026.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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 How Bob’s and Paul’s names wound up in the Epstein Files 7:37 Epstein’s double option play 13:36 Power brokers after Epstein 18:13 Understanding Moltbook 25:50 Bob on the “big question” Moltbook raises 35:24 Paul: What planet are Emily Bender and Alex Hanna on? 38:36 Heading into Overtime: Friends in the Epstein Files, the strangest thing Bob’s ever done for money and more.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 February 02, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 MAGA as a coherent global phenomenon 9:10 Narrative vs. material forces behind MAGA 18:24 Mark Carney and the hypocrisy of the “rule-based order” 24:08 Burkeans vs. Silicon Valley libertarians 29:12 Make Russia Great Again 30:56 Heading to Overtime: Bob’s experience in Moscow’s Gorky ParkRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Nikita Petrov (https://psychopolitica.substack.com). Recorded January 30, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:29 Alex and Emily’s book, The AI Con 4:35 Beyond the AI booster-doomer spectrum 9:28 What—and who—is AI actually useful for? 18:26 The AI productivity question(s) 30:35 Emily: AI won’t take your job, it’ll just make it shi**ier 38:50 Stochastic parrots, Chinese rooms, and semantics 45:03 Are LLMs really black boxes? 55:35 Do AIs “understand” things? 58:50 Debating using AIs as experts 1:07:15 How “neural” are neural nets, really?Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True), Alex Hanna (The AI Con, Distributed AI Research Institute) and Emily Bender (The AI Con, director of the Computational Linguistics Laboratory). Recorded January 20, 2026.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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 A recap of January’s Trump turbulence 5:16 Is Trump a cause or symptom of world disorder? 13:33 Is Trump increasingly unstable?16:05 Will we invade Cuba? 20:08 American politics after Trump 26:18 The crumbling bedrock of International Law 35:54 Where are the Democrats? 38:43 Heading into Overtime: Renee Good, Syria, Worthwhile Canadian Prime MinisterRobert 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 January 22, 2026.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Defining AI succession 3:13 How positive psychology led Dan to AI research 10:42 Is Dan a “successionist”? 17:02 Does it matter whether AI is sentient? 24:35 Two traits of a worthy successor 31:25 The varieties of succession scenarios 36:02 Values and interests 41:14 Will AI have any use for us? 43:55 Succession scenarios to avoid 49:04 Heading into OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Dan Faggella (Emerj AI Research, The Trajectory). Recorded January 7, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Are Bob and Mike the godfathers of podcasting? 6:10 Slate and the origins of podcasting 9:36 NotebookLM’s humanless podcasts 14:07 From blogs to Substack 18:12 Looking back at BloggingHeads 23:38 The tribalizing influence of algorithms 31:13 New news models 40:01 What happened to the rules in professional sports? 48:49 The consequences of paying college athletes 1:00:08 Mike’s comprehensive take on sports gambling 1:06:45 Heading into OT: The perils of opining on IsraelRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mike Pesca (The Gist). Recorded December 23, 2025. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods