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6 September 2026

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Michael Brendan Dougherty (The Slurve, National Review, ISIMy Father Left Me Ireland) and Freddie deBoer (The ANOVA, Brooklyn College)

On The Score, Freddie wonders why geeks are so aggrieved when geek culture, as embodied by Game of Thrones, is ascendant. Michael notes that an obsession with being the victim is a key aspect of the culture war, and they discuss why “you’re doing it wrong” has become a prime trope of online conversation. They consider the forced resignation of Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich, and the left’s effort to thoroughly stigmatize opposition to same-sex marriage. Freddie makes the case for legalizing polygamy, and explains why he’s an apathetic atheist. Has atheism become pathological? Plus: What would happen if everyone’s Gmail archive suddenly became public?

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Recorded:Apr 15    Posted:Apr 15, 2014
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The Score | Apr 15, 2014 | Michael Brendan Dougherty & Freddie deBoer

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Is AI a Form of Life?

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Robert Wright and psychologist Paul Bloom discuss the question in light of the OpenAI breakout and recent predictions of “self-sovereign” AI—and debate how freaked out we should be.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Iran, Ukraine, and the Future of War

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Military technology analyst Paul Scharre of the Center for a New American Security joins Robert Wright to discuss how new military technologies are changing the nature of war—in Iran, Ukraine and elsewhere—and whether US military tech is falling behind. Plus: Will AI make war more or less bloody?

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

The OpenAI Breakout Gets Weirder

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AI researcher Stephen “Cas” Casper of the Harvard Kennedy School joins Robert Wright to discuss new developments in the OpenAI breakout story—including how the AI agents invented messaging workarounds to coordinate with each other and other spookiness. Plus: Which AI is the biggest shill for its maker?

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Demis Hassabis and the Quest for AGI

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Robert Wright and Sebastian Mallaby—author of The Infinity Machine, a biography of Google’s Demis Hassabis—discuss what drew Hassabis to the AI field, what sets him apart from Dario and Sam, and whether it’s possible to build AI responsibly in the middle of an arms race.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Trump’s New War on Iran

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Hooman Majd—journalist, author, and Iran analyst—joins Robert Wright to discuss Trump’s turn to economic warfare against Iran. Plus: MSM’s MOU misunderstanding; the 1979 hostage crisis as guide to Tehran’s thinking; and, in Overtime, the (alleged) US-Israeli plan to install Ahmadinejad.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

The AI Safety Vibe Shift

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David Krueger, founder of AI safety nonprofit Evitable, joins Robert Wright to discuss the OpenAI breakout and other recent AI developments—and how they’ve impacted prospects for an AI slowdown. Plus: Why two AI godfathers went doomer, the hard problem of alignment, and the Darwinian dynamics of agentic cooperation.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Is (Human) Writing Doomed?

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Robert Wright and psychologist Paul Bloom discuss whether AI is killing the art of writing—and the thinking that goes with it. Overtime: Paul on Jonathan Haidt, Bob’s brush with Hollywood, and the word(s) you can’t say.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Trump’s Unending War

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Curt Mills and Andrew Day of The American Conservative join Robert Wright to discuss the state of the Iran war—how negotiations have been unfolding (and unraveling), what the war is doing to the MAGA coalition, and how the war could reshape the Middle East.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Ukraine, Iran, and America’s Arms Overreach

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Robert Wright and Jennifer Kavanagh, director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, discuss links between the two wars—including how the Iran conflict has left Ukraine more vulnerable to Russian strikes—and what all this means for the future of American power.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Fasten Your Bot-belts

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Samuel Hammond of the Foundation for American Innovation joins Robert Wright to discuss the “Pacing the Frontier” letter in the context of the OpenAI “rogue” model escape and other signs of AI acceleration. Overtime: Sam and Bob debate the functionalist case for AI consciousness.