The Past and Future of Digital Media

Robert Wright talks with Mike Pesca, host of the long-running daily podcast The Gist, about new technological challenges to independent journalists and the perils of opining on Israel.

The Minneapolis Shooting Rorschach Test

Robert Wright and Paul Bloom discuss the killing of Renee Good—and what it says about the state of the nation. Plus: Trump & Hitler compared (carefully); Elon & a madman compared (less so); Should professors fear AI?

AI Consciousness: The Hard Problem

Robert Wright and AI researcher Cameron Berg discuss whether AIs are (or may someday be) sentient–including why it matters, why it’s such a hard question to answer, and what Cameron’s innovative LLM experiments tell us about it.

Is Space Still the Final Frontier?

Robert Wright and Joel Achenbach, author of a recent Slate deep dive on America’s new moon program, discuss the history and future of NASA—and its Elon-friendly new chief. Plus: The prospects for a Star Trek future, Mars, aliens, and more.

2025: A Year-End (And Quarter-Century-End) Reckoning

Robert Wright and Paul Bloom look back on the past year, and the past quarter century, and ahead to 2026—and 2050.

What Era Are We Living In?

Robert Wright and Nikita Petrov grapple with the weirdness of our time—discussing whether Covid broke reality, the alienness of AI, the prospect of human obsolescence, why we need planetary unity pronto, and more!

Does Trump have a coherent foreign policy?

Robert Wright reviews the year in US foreign policy with Connor Echols of Responsible Statecraft and Andrew Day of The American Conservative.

Elon, Trump, Fuentes: Bad Men or Trolls or Both?

Robert Wright and Paul Bloom discuss the Brown shooting and Rob Reiner’s murder—and how Musk and Trump responded to them. Plus: Susie Wiles gone wild, Morgan/Fuentes, the Oliver Sacks revelations, and more.

Venezuela, China, and Trump’s Incoherence

American Prestige podcast hosts Danny Bessner and Derek Davison join Robert Wright in trying to make sense of the second Trump administration’s foreign policy, one year in.

Using AI to Fight Cancer