Robert Wright's Nonzero
Robert Wright's Nonzero
Nonzero
Conversations with a series of people who have nothing in common except that program host Robert Wright is curious about what they’re thinking. www.nonzero.org
MAGA Opposition to the Iran War (Robert Wright, Curt Mills, and Andrew Day)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Would America benefit from Iran “winning”? 3:34 Trump’s last exit ramp? 13:20 What’s China’s angle on the war? 17:35 Trump: psychoanalyzed 20:46 Israel: psychoanalyzed 25:15 Iran’s plans for the Strait of Hormuz 30:51 Is this Trump’s biggest blunder? 40:49 The intra-MAGA war over Iran (and Israel) 53:48 Where are the Democrats? 59:49 Antisemitism, alleged and real 1:06:14 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True), Curt Mills (The American Conservative), Andrew Day (The American Conservative). Recorded March 31, 2026.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods
Apr 1
1 hr 8 min
Averting a Superintelligence Takeover (Robert Wright & Andrea Miotti)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Defining (and preventing) superintelligence 6:00 Where the nuclear analogy holds (and where it breaks) 10:38 Imagining an AI inspections regime 14:56 The superintelligence precursors to watch for 18:41 Our dangerous lack of government oversight 25:59 ControlAI’s “bottom-up” approach to AI policy 30:14 The mounting geopolitical challenges to AI governance 47:18 Heading into OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Andrea Miotti (Control AI). Recorded March 17, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods
Mar 30
49 min
The Iran War and the Singularity (Robert Wright & Nikita Petrov)
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
Mar 27
49 min
Israel, America, and the Iran War (Robert Wright & Ron Kampeas)
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
Mar 24
46 min
The Allure and Danger of Agentic AI (Robert Wright & Liron Shapira)
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
Mar 19
54 min
Israel’s Plan for Iran (And Beyond) (Robert Wright & Daniel Levy)
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
Mar 17
51 min
Iran's War for a New Middle East Order (Robert Wright & Hooman Majd)
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
Mar 12
41 min
Israel, Iran, and Antisemitism (Robert Wright & Peter Beinart)
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
Mar 10
36 min
Trump's Gulf War (Robert Wright, Derek Davison, and Daniel Bessner)
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.
Mar 6
36 min
Will the Iran War Spiral Out of Control? (Robert Wright & Nikita Petrov)
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
Mar 4
43 min
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