Robert Wright and Bruce Feiler, author of Walking the Bible and the Council of Dads, gather to discuss the role of ritual in humanity’s past, present and future—the subject of Bruce’s new book, A Time to Gather: How Ritual Created the World—and How It Can Save Us.
Social scientist Hamidreza Azizi, author of The Axis of Resistance, joins Robert Wright to discuss the forces that shaped the Iranian regime and its attitude toward the US and Israel.
Zhengyu Huang, author of the new book Rethinking China, joins Robert Wright to discuss whether prevailing US narratives about China—on IP theft, chips, AI, Taiwan, human rights, and more—hold up to scrutiny.
Timothy B. Lee, author of the Understanding AI newsletter and host of the AI Summer podcast, joins Robert Wright to discuss whether AI is a “normal technology” or something much, much more.
Annelle Sheline of the Quincy Institute and Robert Wright look at ways the Iran war could change the Middle East. New fissures among Gulf states? New Turkey-Iran bonding? Israel’s Waterloo? America’s?