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26 August 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

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.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

The intensifying slow-AI-down vibe

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Robert Wright and Holly Elmore, executive director of PauseAI US, discuss the recent letter signed by AI elites urging the US government to prepare the ground for a possible international slowdown of AI. What the letter actually calls for, what it doesn’t, and whether it marks a real shift.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Are the Ukraine and the Iran Wars Merging?

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Robert Wright and Nikita Petrov discuss whether Ukraine’s strike on an Iranian ship may lead to WW3 and whether Ukraine’s drone incursions into Russia have really turned the tide.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

The Ideology Behind AI

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Robert Wright and Connor Leahy, US executive director of ControlAI, discuss the history of AI culture and the influences that shaped it—from the hippies, to the rationalists, to Marx, to sci-fi stories, and more. Plus: Mythos as “digital nuke,” Dario’s real motivations, and Connor’s case against any and all attempts at building superintelligence.