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21 February 2026

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Bill Scher (Washington Monthly) and Matt K. Lewis (The Daily Beast, MattLewis.org)

On The DMZ, Matt laments that kids these days are ignorant of the glories of ’80s pop culture, and explains how movies like Red Dawn shaped Gen Xers’ politics. So why has today’s Hollywood abandoned appealing to conservatives? Bill argues that Rand Paul is playing loose with the facts and thus hurting his attempt to rebrand the GOP. Has 2016 reporting gotten out of control? They analyze the new Mother Jones story on New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez that used leaked audio of private conversations to paint her as the next Sarah Palin. Plus: How should politicians navigate a privacy-free world?

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Recorded:Apr 17    Posted:Apr 18, 2014
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The DMZ | Apr 18, 2014 | Bill Scher & Matt K. Lewis

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Is Anthropic Misanthropic?

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Holly Elmore, executive director of PauseAI US, makes the case for naming and shaming people who are fueling an AI race whose perils they understand

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

The AI Apocalypse Cometh?

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Robert Wright and Paul Bloom discuss whether reports of AI acceleration are greatly exaggerated—and what’s at stake if they’re not. Plus, in Overtime: Bob’s Epstein files cameos and Paul’s big news.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Agency, AI, and the MAGA Impulse

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Nikita Petrov argues MAGA and similar movements are collective responses to a felt lack of agency. Robert Wright warns AI is about to make that feeling universal. Plus: Spanish rituals as a survival model, the “Claude Code hangover,” and Bob’s case for slowing AI development down.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Is the Singularity Near?

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Robert Wright and Timothy B. Lee, author of the Understanding AI newsletter, discuss recent AI developments (more autonomous agents, more automated coding in the labs, Moltbook, etc.) that have fostered a sense that things are speeding up.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

The Meaning of Moltbook

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Psychologist and Small Potatoes EIC Paul Bloom joins Robert Wright to discuss the Moltbook phenomenon, the latest Epstein Files release, and more.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

The Grand Unified Theory of MAGA

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Robert Wright and Nikita Petrov discuss whether MAGA can be seen as a coherent global phenomenon. Plus: The paradox of international nationalism; Burkean conservatism vs. Silicon Valley libertarianism; and the crumbling rules-based order.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

The Case Against AI

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Alex Hanna and Emily Bender, co-authors of the book The AI Con, join Robert Wright to discuss and debate AI—including whether LLMs are more than “stochastic parrots” (a term Emily coined), AI’s present and future impact on society, and more.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

New World Disorder

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Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner of the American Prestige podcast join NonZero’s Robert Wright to discuss Trump’s latest foreign policy eruptions.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

AI After Us

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Robert Wright and Daniel Faggella, host of the podcast The Trajectory, discuss the fate of humankind in a world of increasingly powerful AI—including the “succession” scenario.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

The Past and Future of Digital Media

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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.