The Wright Show (audio)

Audio of the livestream titled “KOSMOPOLITIKA#2: Where Do We Belong?”—the latest installment in an ongoing (and evolving) collaboration between Nonzero and Psychopolitica.INTRODUCTIONS :4:14 Nikita: Leaving Russia. The psychedelic lineage. Humanity is a trip, not a species21:59 16 years ago, Boris took such a good nap after visiting a sacred Ancient Greek site that he still thinks about it 25:25 In The Dark Places of Wisdom: mystical practices at the root of Western civilization 26:57 What makes us feel we belong: identity & community 31:00 Humanity as a planetary force MEMBER PARTICIPATION PART: 39:15 What makes us feel we belong: values & norms 49:14 What makes us feel we belong: direct experience 52:26 Psychedelics & meditation in service of planetary identity 54:19 “To be” comes from the word "to grow", "am" & "is" from "to breath" 56:32 Rationalists 58:15 How Socrates got himself killed 1:04:30 What makes us feel we belong: awareness of inter-dependence 1:11:30 Gaia, humanity, and AI are

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Ron violates retirement dress code 2:25 Trump’s “antisemitism crackdown" 14:28 Is the Israel lobby bad for American Jews? 21:53 The disturbing Tufts detention case 28:59 Why don’t more progressive Jews call out the Israel lobby? 34:24 How bad journalism makes antisemitism worse 45:53 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Ron Kampeas (https://ronkampeas.substack.com, Jewish Telegraphic Agency). Recorded April 17, 2025.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Sam's theory of (some of) Trump's tariffs 18:09 The bad scenario and the less bad scenario 22:58 Scott Bessent's radicalism 25:58 Will Trump display the art of the deal? 28:57 China's trade-war strengths 31:48 An intentional end to American hegemony? 36:10 Sam’s defense of chip restrictions 40:28 Heading into OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Samuel Hammond (Foundation for American Innovation, https://www.secondbest.ca/). Recorded April 14, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 Sina's hopes for this weekend's US-Iran talks 4:25 Trump's two-month clock starts ticking 7:09 Iran's growing nuclear leverage 11:20 Trump the dealmaker vs Trump the warmonger 19:14 The myth of a "surgical" military campaign against Iran 28:44 The resurgence of Iran's reformist campRecorded April 11, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.nonzero.org/p/tariffs-tech-and-the-view-from-chinahttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Paul is Bob's worthwhile Canadian initiative 4:34 The psycho-logic of Trump’s tariff strategy 15:35 Has Trump exposed structural flaws in America? 21:09 Is Musk saying Navarro is dumber than Ivanka? 28:09 On incest 38:35 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 April 09, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Milton’s epic new comic, “Orson Welles: Warrior of the Worlds” 4:04 Comics culture, then and now 14:02 The real story behind the faux War of the Worlds broadcast 22:07 Why Milton was drawn to Orson Welles 33:33 What (or who) really derailed Welles’s career? 40:07 Will Milton's comic go multimedia? 44:23 Heading to Overtime—with Bob in the hot seatRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Milton Lawson (https://milton.substack.com/, Orson Welles: Warrior of the Worlds). Recorded March 24, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

Audio of the livestream titled “The Psychopolitics of the Noosphere,” the first installment in an ongoing—and evolving—collaboration between Nonzero and Psychopolitica.Robert Wright, Nikita Petrov, and Boris Shoshitaishvili. Recorded April 4, 2025.https://psychopolitica.substack.com/https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://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.org0:30 The pro-tariff argument: national security, jobs, and leverage 6:58 The four factions shaping US trade policy 11:43 Karthik’s core critique of Trump’s tariff policy 16:18 How tariffs could block development pathways for poor countries 22:52 Is Trump blaming foreign countries for America's own policy mistakes? 30:19 A brutal week for VietnamRecorded April 04, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling:https://www.nonzero.org/p/elon-musks-nasa-takeoverhttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Reid's new book, "Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future" 8:56 Managing technological transitions 16:33 Using AI to build cognitive empathy 20:25 Shaping the coming AI earthquake 29:02 Reid's notion of "co-opetition" with China 40:06 Geopolitics and AI development 44:53 The US chip war on China 50:01 Heading into OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Reid Hoffman (Greylock Partners, Inflection AI, Impromptu, Superagency). Recorded March 26, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Almut’s first-hand acquaintance with authoritarianism 2:24 Trump 2.0’s authoritarian hallmarks 19:37 What should worry us most about Trump 2.0? 26:15 Trump 2.0 vs post-Soviet oligarchy: compare and contrast 33:08 Is Trump an ethno-nationalist? 39:02 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Almut Rochowanski (The Quincy Institute, https://discomfortzone.substack.com/). Recorded April 1, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 The dueling camps in right-wing foreign policy 10:25 Lessons from the Signal snafu 15:42 Are hawks dominating Trump's foreign policy team? 22:58 Can Congress prevent a war with Iran? 31:13 A "smear campaign" against Danny DavisRecorded March 28, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.nonzero.org/p/the-untold-stories-of-the-signalhttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Bob and Paul duel over their sleep deficits 5:16 Trump’s Tesla-friendly tariffs 13:16 Who’s favo(u)red to win the Canadian election? 19:56 Tufts and Columbia as authoritarian bellwethers 31:16 Did Bob predict MAGA in 1999? 38:49 God vs Hitler 46:21 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 March 27, 2025.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 The new JFK documents dump 5:15 The conflict between JFK and the CIA 8:34 The Pentagon false flag plan that JFK vetoed 13:30 How CIA funding shaped the Oswald narrative 17:22 James Jesus Angleton’s handling of Oswald 32:55 Some lies told by CIA officials 42:14 Files the CIA still won’t releaseRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Jefferson Morley (https://jfkfacts.substack.com/, Snow-Storm in August). Recorded March 26, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:30 Will Trump get locked into war in Yemen? 8:27 Competing instincts in Trump’s foreign policy team 11:16 How should the restraint movement respond to Trump? 15:11 Justin: Trump's pitch-perfect approach to Europe 23:13 What happens if Trump pulls US troops from Europe?Recorded March 20, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.nonzero.org/p/trumps-israel-first-agendahttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Ross’s new book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious 7:17 An argument for cosmic purpose 14:59 The mysterious persistence of weird s**t 18:34 Does human consciousness point to something bigger? 24:33 Tensions between science and Christian orthodoxy 28:03 A few more words about consciousness 34:50 A few more words about weirdness 41:56 Why doesn’t the weirdness show up in controlled studies? 48:44 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Ross Douthat (The New York Times, The Decadent Society, Believe). Recorded March 18, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Jeet’s plans for Canadian resistance 3:30 Trump 2.0: Making “autarkic imperialism” great again? 12:01 The hidden logic of Trump’s tariffs 20:19 The historical roots of Trumpism 34:56 How Trump won the GOP civil war 43:36 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Jeet Heer (The Nation). Recorded March 18, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:29 Connor’s Cuba adventure 1:41 Chinese-owned Manus AI makes waves 8:35 Is Manus just a fancy ‘wrapper’ for US AI? 15:20 Why Manus makes global AI cooperation more urgent 23:39 Can Trump deport a green card holder over political speech? 34:58 Making sense of Trump's Ukraine strategyRecorded March 14, 2025.Read this week's edition of the Earthling: https://www.nonzero.org/p/the-real-message-from-chinas-latesthttps://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Does Paul have CDS (Chaos Desensitization Syndrome)? 4:06 Worthwhile Canadian backlash 9:54 Elon’s Tesla problem 15:34 Trump 2.0’s free speech crackdown 18:28 The primal psychology of Trump and Elon 26:10 Bezos and university presidents bow to Trump 36:29 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 March 12, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Is the chaos starting to subside? 11:46 Trump’s tariff strategy (or lack thereof)18:56 Trump’s baffling, backfiring Canada obsession 26:01 Elon’s darkly weird grandfather 38:01 Has America gone full oligarchy? 43:16 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Eric Levitz (New York Magazine, Vox). Recorded March 10, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 What could go right with Trump’s foreign policy? 8:11 Trump’s Bibi-pleasing Middle East path 13:49 How would Europe-led defence of Europe work? 15:55 What most miss about the Oval Office blowup 19:44 Has relying on America doomed Ukraine? 26:53 Heading to 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 06, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods