Robert Wright's Nonzero Podcast
1) The Meaning of Moltbook (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)
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 E...Show More
2) The Grand Unified Theory of MAGA (Robert Wright & Nikita Petrov)
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 hypocris...Show More
3) The Case Against AI (Robert Wright, Alex Hanna, and Emily Bender)
0:29 Alex and Emily’s book, The AI Con 4:17 Beyond the AI booster-doomer spectrum 9:58 What—and who—is AI actually useful for? 18:56 The AI productivity question(s) 31:05 Emily: AI won’t take your job...Show More
4) The Trump Foreign Policy Roller Coaster (Robert Wright, Derek Davison, and Daniel Bessner)
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 ...Show More
5) AI After Us: The "Succession" Scenario (Robert Wright & Dan Faggella)
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 ...Show More
6) The Past and Future of Digital Media (Robert Wright & Mike Pesca)
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 po...Show More
7) The Minneapolis Shooting Rorschach Test (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Different readings of the Renee Good videos 14:27 JD Vance vs Stephen Miller: compare and contrast 18:18 Trump vs Hitl...Show More
8) AI Consciousness: The Hard Problem (Robert Wright & Cameron Berg)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Cameron’s work at AE studio 5:37 Why consciousness is such a hard problem 10:15 Why AI consciousness matters 16:42 Doe...Show More
9) NASA’s Plans for the Moon and Mars (Robert Wright & Joel Achenbach)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Joel’s legendary Bloggingheads line 6:55 NASA’s new chief: More than a Musk toady? 12:53 Why we’re still not living in...Show More
10) 2025: A Year-End (And Quarter-Century-End) Reckoning (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)
0:28 David Lynch, Jane Goodall and other notable 2025 losses 8:59 When Bob called James Watson a “mad scientist” 14:02 Predicting 2050: Star Trek abundance vs. “Total Chaos Planet”? 21:46 The age of a...Show More
2025: A Year-End (And Quarter-Century-End) Reckoning (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)
1:50:37 | Dec 30th, 2025