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18 June 2025

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Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Shadi Hamid (Brookings Institution, Islamic Exceptionalism)

Shadi details how the US should aid the Syrian rebels, and Bob asks if he’s really ready for all-out war. Bob asks whether intervening wouldn’t mean being on Al Qaeda’s side. Bob and Shadi disagree about the lessons of Libya. They close by discussing which is more naïve—believing that sanctions will topple Assad or believing that military intervention would bring stable peace.

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Recorded:May 27    Posted:May 28, 2012
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Worldwise | May 28, 2012 | Robert Wright & Shadi Hamid

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Why Bibi Always Needs More War

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Robert Wright and Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney discuss Alex’s new film The Bibi Files, Netanyahu’s corruption trial, and the mysteries of Elon Musk.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Why the Iran attacks undermine US-China trade talks

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Jake Werner of The Quincy Institute and Connor Echols discuss the latest developments in the US-China trade war.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Elon’s Abject Surrender

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Robert Wright and psychologist Paul Bloom discuss the roots of the Trump-Musk blowup, why Elon caved, and whether he can recover from the fallout.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

OpenAI and the AI Arms Race

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Robert Wright and Steven Adler—former safety researcher at OpenAI—discuss what it was like at the firm as Chat-GPT emerged, whether the chip war on China is smart, Dario Amodei’s grand geopolitical strategy, and more.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Should Trump give up on Ukraine?

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Jennifer Kavanagh tells Connor Echols why it may be time for the US to walk away from Ukraine peace talks.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

An Anti-Blob Debate on Iran, Gaza, and China

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Andrew Day and Curt Mills of the American Conservative join Robert Wright to discuss the latest Iran nuclear deal developments, Trump’s Israel-Gaza approach, US-China through a Buchananite lens, and more.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Trump’s Attack on Independent Thought

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Harvard political scientist Stephen Walt and Robert Wright discuss the Trump administration’s efforts to suppress critical thought at Harvard and elsewhere.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Trump’s Venezuela dilemma

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Francisco Rodriguez joins Connor Echols to discuss how a return to “maximum pressure” on Venezuela could backfire on Trump and drive more immigration to the US.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

Elon Exits Trump 2.0

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Robert Wright and psychologist Paul Bloom discuss the Musk-Trump breakup. Plus: A worthwhile Canadian pop-quiz, Trump’s corruption and anti-college crusade, whether AI doomers are walking their talk, and more.

Nonzero (The Wright Show)

How to Not Lose Control of AI

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MIT physicist Max Tegmark tells Robert Wright how AI could take over the world, and how humans can prevent this.