0:52 Bruce’s new book on ritual, A Time to Gather 2:48 The “Lifequake” that led Bruce to study ritual 7:46 The current “shadow ritual” renaissance 11:54 What is a ritual? 15:02 The origins of the shadow ritual renaissance 18:01 Forest bathing and the essence of ritual 25:47 Ritual as the original human algorithm 31:15 Honor walks: a quintessentially modern ritual 35:59 Rituals across Christianity 41:43 What rituals do 46:23 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Bruce Feiler (Council of Dads, Walking the Bible, A Time to Gather). Recorded April 21, 2026.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

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0:28 Hamidreza’s background 8:33 A brief history of US-Iran relations 15:01 Understanding Iranian antipathy toward Israel 21:00 Islam vs Islamism 30:07 The Iran-Iraq security dilemma 35:56 The Iran-Israel security dilemma 44:39 Palestinian objectives and patrons 47:38 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Hamidreza Azizi (The Axis of Resistance, German Institute for International and Security Affairs). Recorded May 14, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:28 Zhengyu’s tech background and new book, Rethinking China 2:56 What kind of threat is China, really? 10:02 How trading with China transformed America 16:47 The stakes of the chip war 21:58 Will tech war lead to real war? 30:29 The US-China escalation spiral and Taiwan 39:09 “Researching while Chinese”: the new Red Scare? 49:42 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Zhengyu Huang (Rethinking China). Recorded May 13, 2026.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:28 Is AI a normal technology? 6:00 Mythos and the METR curve 15:53 The current state of coding agents 20:10 The total turbulence problem 23:11 Does Mythos favor offense or defense? 29:19 Mythos and hype 31:59 Regulating dangerous AI 38:17 The centralization problem 40:22 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Timothy B. Lee (Full Stack Economics, Understanding AI, AI Summer). Recorded May 11, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:28 Annelle’s Middle East bona fides 2:18 The state of play in Iran 7:37 A deepening fissure between Gulf Arab states 21:28 Explaining the Trump-Biden continuity on Middle East policy 26:08 Will the Middle East realign away from America? 34:09 Turkey and the moral hazard of US aid to Israel 39:23 Can Iran mend ties with the Gulf states? 47:03 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Annelle Sheline (The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft). Recorded May 07, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:28 Bob’s big personal news 3:37 The US counter-blockade backfires 10:20 Iran retains escalation dominance 16:19 Why the Iranian regime is built to absorb assassinations 22:39 “Donald, it’s too late for that.” Bob says Trump has to take the L 25:27 Putin’s Victory Day ceasefire (with a threat) 28:25 Russia’s vibe shift: drone attacks, airport shutdowns, Internet blackouts 32:05 Instagram influencer rants at the Tsar 39:00 Siloviki vs. civilian elites 48:12 Heading to Overtime: The Matrix, AI, DMT, interdimensional crocodiles

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Nikita Petrov (https://psychopolitica.substack.com). Recorded May 05, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:28 How powerful is Anthropic’s Mythos? 7:16 How Mythos looks to China 9:40 Does Mythos mark a new phase in the US-China arms race? 20:45 Can Anthropic contain Mythos? 26:16 Could superhacker AIs bring cooperation? 37:41 How scary is China, really? 45:45 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Lennart Heim (Stealth). Recorded April 29, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:28 Rebecca’s past work on mind and matter(ing) 3:48 Rebecca’s new book, The Mattering Instinct 8:24 Varieties of mattering experience 15:08 Mattering type 1: Heroic Strivers 18:29 Mattering type 2: Socializers 26:20 Mattering type 3: Transcenders 30:37 Mattering type 4: Competitors 40:08 “The” meaning of life problem 43:19 Does what drives us divide us? 49:24 Heading to Overtime

Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Rebecca Newberger Goldstein (The Mind-Body Problem, Plato at the Googleplex, Betraying Spinoza, The Mattering Instinct). Recorded April 27, 2026. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods