This week, my guest is Robert Wright, journalist, author of many books, and proprietor of the Nonzero Newsletter and its podcast. Bob’s always been ahead of the curve. He wrote a seminal popular book about evolutionary psychology, he was producing online video conversations before most people had heard of “podcasts,” and he had the foresight to offer me my first online show, the original incarnation of The Glenn Show. So, with the world in such an uncertain state, I sought out his wise counsel on AI, the Ukraine War, Trump, and Israel.
Bob’s working on a new book about AI, and he outlines some of the challenges the new technology poses, including its implications for US-China relations. Trump has promised to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. Can he deliver? Bob thinks his stated strategy is fairly sound, but there’s always room for things to go wrong. And his cabinet picks—including the embattled Pete Hegseth—don’t exactly signal an antipathy to military intervention. Israel has decimated Gaza, eviscerated Hezbollah’s leadership, and cowed Iran. Will Israel now broker a new nuclear deal with Iran or attempt to bomb its nuclear facilities out of existence? We discuss Israel’s resistance to constraints of any kind, except for the few it places on itself. Is the nation responsive to any kind of international pressure at all? And we end on a brief discussion of cognitive empathy, or the attempt to see the world from others’ perspective, especially our rivals.
This post is free and available to the public. To receive early access to TGS episodes, an ad-free podcast feed, Q&As, and other exclusive content and benefits, click below.
0:56 The uncertain future of AI
5:42 What would it mean to “lose the AI race” to China?
9:11 The promise and peril of artificial general intelligence
12:57 The international policy challenges of AI
15:28 Can Trump deliver peace between Russia and Ukraine?
19:42 Are there any good argument for Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense?
24:51 Bob: With Iran weakened, Israel faces a decision: bombs or diplomacy
29:25 The continuing assault on Gaza
33:29 Antiwar speech codes
38:53 Apartheid, genocide, ethnic cleansing
44:11 Missed opportunities to turn the temperature down in Israel
52:25 Bob: The international community has little sway over Israel
55:21 The advantages of cognitive empathy
Recorded December 17, 2024
Links and Readings
Bob’s Substack, the Nonzero Newsletter
Thomas Nagel’s essay, “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?”
Bob’s most recent conversation with Thomas Friedman
Glenn’s essay, “Self-Censorship in a Time of War”
Jimmy Carter’s book, Palestine: Peace not Apartheid
Ilan Papé’s book, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
Ta-Nehisi Coates’s book, The Message
Bob’s Nonzero essay, “The Truth about Hamas”
Bob’s 2002 Slate essay, “Was Arafat the Problem?”
Share this post