Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 Mickey’s guide to the House Speaker drama10:29 What vexes Bob about the House Speaker vote19:19 Why Damar Hamlin’s injury wouldn’t have happened in the old days26:40 Biden’s new good cop, bad cop immigration plan32:56 Why keep sanctioning Venezuela (or Cuba, or Syria, or Iran, etc.)?38:21 Elon and the trouble with “great man” theories of tech progress44:02 Is Twitter’s new views feature a boon or b******t?59:01 Ukraine war updat...
Jan 07, 2023•1 hr 13 min
In this classic interview, Robert Wright and Daniel Dennett discuss consciousness, free will, being good without belief in God, and whether natural selection could have a larger purpose. Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Daniel Dennett (Consciousness Explained, Freedom Evolved, Tufts University). Recorded 2003. Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/65485 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloggingheads Facebook: https://facebook.com/bl...
Jan 04, 2023•1 hr 13 min
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 Bob hoodwinks the fashion police 3:54 Predictions for the new year 11:53 The pros and cons of “nepotocracy” 14:05 Predictions for the new year (cont’d) 19:45 Impromptu Ukraine war update 21:51 The top 3(ish) stories of 2022 28:59 Is Twitter salvageable? 44:20 The true threat of Twitter (according to Mickey) 50:24 Mickey’s underreported and overreported stories of the year 59:56 What did the Jan. 6 committee miss? 1:03:18 Bob’s p...
Dec 28, 2022•1 hr 14 min
2:27 The legacy of free trade in America 4:55 Adam’s new book Opening Up by Cracking Down, about the repression of union activism in developing countries 18:17 Car bombing and other ways Argentina subdued labor in the 80's 28:08 Why did the US open up trade so early? 33:03 The quasi-dystopian law India used to break strikes in the 90’s 38:12 Underacknowledged long-term effects of free trade 42:49 Is a pro-labor approach to free trade possible? 57:46 Making globalism great again Robert Wright (Bl...
Dec 20, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 00:00 Has the tide turned against Elon—and against Twitter? 12:55 Elon accuses Fauci of funding research that killed millions 26:42 Bob sees signs that the “Twitter files” journalism is biased 40:24 Why now might be a good time for Ukraine diplomacy 44:51 Parrot Room preview: SBF news; breaking down the nuclear fusion breakthrough; the AI alignment problem; China’s coming COVID explosion; TikTok backlash gains traction; Elon’s growin...
Dec 17, 2022•50 min
0:51 What Anders didn’t like about Bob’s Washington Post op-ed on Russia-Ukraine 11:19 Was Putin always bent on invading Russia’s neighbors? 19:13 Bob and Anders debate NATO expansion 29:37 Should the West encourage regime change in Russia? 36:55 Are the US and NATO “fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian”? 46:09 The causes and consequences of Ukraine’s 2014 revolution 56:04 Is Putin committing genocide? 1:01:21 Possible endgames of the Ukraine war – and of Putin’s Russia 1:12:21 Could better US ...
Dec 13, 2022•1 hr 18 min
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 A brief message from Bob0:55 Why Mickey thinks the first installment of the Twitter Files was a something-burger8:05 What Bob thinks Taibbi (and Musk) flubbed18:26 Do the files show a pro-Dem bias in pre-Musk Twitter?25:19 Ukraine war update42:24 Parrot Room preview: an (unwitting) win for Bob; a damning J.D. Vance quote for Mickey; the latest SBF allegation; the worst. Substack. Issue. Ever.; Bob submits a beef with Mickey for ...
Dec 09, 2022•49 min
0:00 Mónica’s book I Never Thought of It That Way, about how to have “bridge-building” conversations 1:41 Why Mónica’s immigrant parents support(ed) Trump 7:02 Barriers to getting bridge-building buy-in 15:37 Understanding vs. the need to be understood 21:58 Bridge-building 101 27:39 Is understanding a slippery slope to excusing? 33:35 The underrated bridge-building power of curiosity 43:44 Does the media fuel or just reflect our divisions? 43:40 The limits of bridge-building Robert Wright (Blog...
Dec 06, 2022•55 min
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 00:40 Would a Biden re-election bid spell doom for Dems? 06:54 Opening the Ron DeSantis black box 13:48 Bob’s Washington Post piece on Russia-Ukraine diplomacy 21:56 Is it too early to write off Herschel Walker? 27:50 Sam Bankman-Fried’s bipartisan approach to corrupting politics 31:52 Elon’s and Apple’s China challenges 40:55 Parrot Room preview: Mickey’s spat with Damon Linker; what we know about Peter Thiel; Ye and Fuentes; the ce...
Dec 03, 2022•45 min
2:35 Eric’s new book We Are Not One , about changing American Jewish attitudes toward Israel over the years 7:28 Jewish-American identity before its “Zionization” 10:01 Why fewer young American Jews are feeling the pro-Israel vibe 15:25 Israel in American politics 23:04 The “Israel as apartheid state” debate 35:28 How the 1960’s defined Jewish visions of Israel 49:02 Is a “two-state solution” now the conservative position? 52:50 Zionism vs. social justice activism 1:04:22 Why Israel is fine with...
Nov 29, 2022•1 hr 36 min
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 The (totally selfless) reasons Mickey wants an SBF clawback 5:11 Did Semafor fumble its big SBF-Elon scoop? 14:55 Mickey’s clawback campaign (cont’d) 18:31 Origins of Mickey’s (alleged) Ben Smith vendetta revealed! 27:36 Is Musk destroying his town square? Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded November 25, 2022. Comments on...
Nov 26, 2022•39 min
2:22 Paul’s upcoming book, Psych: The Story of the Human Mind 18:42 Bob’s upcoming book, tk 24:27 Are psychopaths high in (cognitive) empathy? 33:29 How good are we at perspective taking—and how can we get better? 40:28 Elon Musk’s apparent cognitive empathy deficit 49:57 Is cognitive empathy a biological adaptation? 1:06:10 Is it even possible to understand the minds of others? 1:16:47 Paul’s budding interest in perversity Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Budd...
Nov 22, 2022•1 hr 26 min
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 Why Mickey’s not unhappy about the midterm results 7:12 Can Trump go the distance against DeSantis? 11:48 The Pelosi era ends 18:54 Zelensky invites NATO to join the war 24:48 Is a peace deal on the horizon in Ukraine? 33:27 Elon update 39:47 SBF's fall takes wind out of the sails of effective altruism movement Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The E...
Nov 19, 2022•47 min
00:00 The time Harry stood up for editorial integrity 4:34 Can Alex Jones get a Mastodon account? 11:30 Choosing the best Mastodon community for you 22:19 Why dunking on people is harder on Mastodon 38:45 Should Elon Musk be worried? 48:54 How social media platforms fail 52:49 The (anti-)ideological tenor of Mastodon so far 57:35 Is moving from Twitter to Mastodon hard? 1:05:56 Harry’s theory of Elon Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Harry ...
Nov 15, 2022•1 hr 18 min
This is the second lecture of Robert Wright’s “Buddhism & Modern Psychology” course, originally offered on Coursera through Princeton University. Lecture Two: The Buddhist Prescription * The Eightfold Path * Meditation * Mindfulness Meditation and the Brain * Can Our Feelings Be Trusted Next lecture: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe...
Nov 15, 2022•1 hr 3 min
This is the first lecture of Robert Wright’s “Buddhism & Modern Psychology” course, originally offered on Coursera through Princeton University. Lecture One: The Buddhist Diagnosis * Introduction: Religious Buddhism and ‘Secular’ Buddhism * Feelings and Illusions * The First Two Noble Truths * Evolutionary Psychology and the First Two Noble Truths Next lecture: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.or...
Nov 15, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 Mickey mourns the fate of his midterm hopes and dreams 12:14 What the midterm results mean for 2024 19:30 Who wins in a Trump v. DeSantis civil war? 23:44 Bob’s plan to boot Biden from the 2024 ticket 29:41 Will Musk chicken out on his blue check shake-up? 35:46 The Twitter business model Musk may be banking on 46:12 Parrot room preview: Ukraine update; more Twitter business model talk; Metaverse vibe check; Errol Morris’s Leary...
Nov 12, 2022•52 min
0:00 Signs of the so-called “meaning crisis” 3:50 How John addresses the meaning crisis in his own life 10:04 Bob gets empathy-circled—live! 18:48 How much of the meaning crisis is a crisis of community? 25:29 Wisdom as the antidote to self-deception 40:54 Is technological change outpacing our ability to adapt? 45:48 How and where might new sources of meaning emerge? 53:08 The conundrum of collective intelligence (or how should we talk about demons?) 59:57 Can video games give us meaning? 1:04:0...
Nov 08, 2022•1 hr 9 min
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 Why immigration squishes have Mickey worried about the midterms 7:13 Elon Musk’s bull-in-a-china-shop strategy to owning Twitter 17:26 The conspiracy theory about the attack on Paul Pelosi 22:33 If Putin didn’t have nukes, would Biden’s Ukraine policy still be dangerous? 31:03 Who is calling the shots in the Biden White House? 41:34 Why Cold War psychology might have less sway over Musk-owned Twitter 47:05 Bob has another baseba...
Nov 05, 2022•1 hr 9 min
1:25 Sam’s Foreign Affairs piece on the importance of Ukraine diplomacy 10:14 What’s Biden’s endgame in Ukraine? 20:06 Sam: Russia has already suffered a strategic defeat 39:59 Did the West play a role in Ukraine’s 2014 revolution? 46:39 Putin says the West is Russia’s real enemy. Does he believe it? 50:26 America’s lack of diplomatic urgency before Putin invaded 57:22 How much pro-Russia sentiment is there in Ukraine? Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism ...
Nov 01, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 Mickey takes a bite out of midterm “overism” 15:58 How revolutionary will Musk’s Twitter reign be? 28:50 Who quashed the Progressive Caucus’s Ukraine letter? 31:14 What’s holding up diplomacy in Ukraine? 40:32 Is Blob opinion on the war starting to split? 45:02 The cost of US hypocrisy 48:33 The media’s weird coverage of the ‘dirty bomb’ story 54:56 Parrot room preview: implausible dirty bomb scenarios; UK PM’s dramatic early mo...
Oct 29, 2022•1 hr 5 min
1:49 How worried should we be about the “Kessler Syndrome”? 7:46 The nightmare scenario for anti-satellite weapons anarchy13:34 How an attack in space could trigger WWIII25:13 International law is way behind the curve in outer space40:45 Why isn’t the grave threat of space anarchy getting attention?54:10 How the new Cold War makes conflict in space more likely Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Douglas Ligor (Rand Corporation). Recorded Octo...
Oct 25, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 3:16 Elon Musk’s esoteric insult of former Russian president Medvedev7:22 Russia’s “General Armageddon” gears up for retreat15:43 Is the GOP becoming the anti-war party?22:18 Mickey’s many midterms nightmares 35:41 With Britain's Tories in shambles, will Boris rise again?44:26 Bob: US policy helped create the latest "axis of evil"54:11 Parrot Room preview: Did Bob mischaracterize Mearsheimer?; Kanye West and Elon Musk take over socia...
Oct 22, 2022•1 hr 1 min
2:04 What Seth learned from being in Ukraine that you won’t learn from western media 12:32 Was the ouster of Ukraine’s president in 2014 a revolution or a coup?19:45 Could the White House have averted the invasion – and could it end the war now? 37:46 The degree of on-the-ground American involvement in Ukraine and Syria49:32 Why Seth warns of frozen conflict when others predict Ukrainian victory 59:14 The extent of pro-Russian sentiment in eastern Ukraine 1:02:33 Seth: War always means atrocity,...
Oct 18, 2022•1 hr 24 min
1:31 What does America not understand about China – and vice versa? 6:14 Signs of Chinese discontent with Xi Jinping 9:41 How the focus on “beating China” distracts the US from other priorities 17:01 Is the US making conflict over Taiwan more likely? 29:01 Jessica: The threat to American democracy comes from within, not from China 41:48 The roots of China’s growing assertiveness on the world stage 53:00 What US and Chinese foreign policy (unfortunately) have in common Robert Wright (Blogginghead...
Oct 16, 2022•59 min
Subscribe to The Parrot Room at https://patreon.com/parrotroom 0:00 Why Mickey thinks Evan McMullin could become king of America 8:59 Herschel Walker’s “three bulls” parable 13:24 Is Fetterman ready for the debate stage? 20:45 Biden’s Saudi ask vs. Trump’s Ukraine ask 26:47 The double-edged sword of Ukrainian military success 29:59 Bob amends last week’s "client state" comments 33:18 Bob: The next few weeks will be critical for Ukraine 40:34 Elon and international affairs (cont’d) 46:42 Inflatio...
Oct 15, 2022•1 hr 10 min
A few words about cognitive empathy ... Update: Nikita re-exits Russia ... Gauging Russian opinion on the Ukraine war post-mobilization ... How informed are the Russian people about the war? ... Does the West overestimate the absoluteness of Putin’s power? ... Watching "Putin’s chef" recruit prisoners for military service ... The difficulties in grasping “the” Russian perspective ... Trying to comprehend Putin’s psychology ... Was the Ukraine invasion inevitable? ... Is everything just one big c...
Oct 11, 2022•1 hr 44 min
What’s Biden’s plan to avert nuclear Armageddon? ... The reaction to Elon Musk’s Ukraine peace proposal ... The future of free speech on Twitter ... Are we seeing cracks in Putin’s regime? ... Mickey’s midterms update ... A reason for hope about Iran’s future ... Parrot room preview: Jeffrey Toobin; Was Fukuyama right after all?; electric vehicles as a secret Chinese plot; David Sacks on woke-neocon synergy; being a character voter versus an issue voter; Michael McFaul doesn’t deserve your atten...
Oct 08, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Hal and Michael’s book Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China ... Would more weapons to Taiwan provoke Beijing to strike now? ... Michael: China feels threatened, which makes China threatening ... Hal: The US has a China problem, not just a Xi Jinping problem ... Is autocracy per se a threat to the rules-based order? ... Is the “democracy vs. autocracy” framework a self-fulfilling prophecy? ... Bob: If a threatened China is a dangerous China, is amping up the threat really a great idea? ......
Oct 04, 2022•1 hr
Mickey on the latest midterm polling prophecies ... Will the new CNN put the Dems’ cash cow out to pasture? ... Could Putin’s annexation have nuclear fallout? ... Who sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines? ... Bob: We’re not grappling with how bad things could get in Ukraine ... Mickey finds a new front in Biden’s “battle against autocracy” ... Is fascism really on the march in Italy? ... Parrot room preview: Mickey tenders his “Contract with America”; guessing Bob’s seventh heaven persona non gra...
Oct 01, 2022•1 hr
