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18 October 2026

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Mark Schmitt (New America, Vox Polyarchy) and Richard Yeselson (@yeselson, Dissent)

On Fireside Chats, Mark talks with Rich Yeselson, a veteran of the labor movement, about the Wisconsin recall election and the decline of organized labor. Do Americans hate unions, or are they just indifferent? Are we all just free-riders on the benefits unions obtained for us? Was it a mistake to go after Scott Walker? Have unions put too much faith in electoral politics? Why does the more affluent, liberal wing of the Democratic Party find itself at cross purposes with unions? Rich argues that while it’s great that liberals like Paul Krugman, Timothy Noah, and Mark finally appreciate unions, bloggers and academics are no substitute for a broad social movement.

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Recorded:Jun 13    Posted:Jun 14, 2012
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Fireside Chats | Jun 14, 2012 | Mark Schmitt & Richard Yeselson

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The AI Companion Question

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The Race to Control AI

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Inside Elon’s Mind

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Robert Wright and filmmaker Alex Gibney discuss Alex’s epic new documentary about Elon Musk—an exploration of how the world’s richest man got so powerful (and so weird).

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Will AI Make Humans Obsolete?

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Trump and the AI Safety Vibe Shift

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Robert Wright and Liron Shapira return for round two of their collaboration, reacting to the week in AI. They discuss Trump’s summit with the AI labs, the FTC’s investigation of OpenAI and Anthropic, the latest Gemini announcement, and more.

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Is Dario’s “Slowdown” fake?

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Tech and China analyst Paul Triolo joins Robert Wright to discuss the Anthropic CEO’s proposal to “pace” AI, his hawkish views on China, and prospects for US-China AI cooperation. Overtime: Why is the Chinese public more upbeat about AI than Americans?

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Did Boomers Ruin Everything?

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Robert Wright and Jill Filipovic—author of the book OK Boomer, Let’s Talk—discuss how the baby boom generation reshaped America, and whether millennials are right to blame them for today’s problems. Plus: what worries millennials about Gen Z, America’s gerontocracy problem, and why Kenyans are looking east.

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Superintelligence, the Singularity, and the Singleton

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Robert Wright and philosopher Nick Bostrom discuss the pace of AI advance, arguments for and against slowing down, and whether a “singleton” will emerge. Plus: Does AI deserve moral status? Does the procession toward superintelligence suggest a higher purpose?

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What’s Driving Dario?

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Robert Wright and American Prestige podcast hosts Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner discuss the ongoing AI safety vibe shift—and what the Anthropic CEO and other tech titans are really up to. Overtime: Can Trump’s geopolitical blunders help the world?

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Is an AI Slowdown Near?

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