Best Nonzero Podcasts (2025)

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What Era Are We Living In? (Robert Wright & Nikita Petrov) 47:10

Play Pause

7h ago47:10

47:10

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 2:30 What era are we living in? 3:27 David Bowie: “The Internet is an alien life form.” 4:45 Bob: “It’s like aliens are approaching, and we don’t know their intentions” 5:57 Nikita: “COVID was weird, and nothing has been normal since” 8:32 The lab leak theory 13:28 How CO…

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AP x NonZero - Venezuela, China, and Trump’s Incoherence 40:51

12d ago40:51

40:51

Subscribe for the full version! The greatest recurring crossover in the biz, between AP and ⁠NonZero Newsletter⁠, returns. Get your discounted membership to NonZero now! Part One Video 0:00 The incoherence of Trump's foreign policy 7:16 The paucity of debate around Chinese chip restrictions 19:13 Danny: Is this the stupidest foreign policy establis…

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Bonus - The Muppet Christmas Carol w/ Justin Boyd and VJ Boyd (Preview) 10:11

3h ago10:11

10:11

Subscribe now for the full episode. Use discount code XMAS2025 to get an annual subscription for $45! Danny welcomes writer Justin Boyd and writer/producer VJ Boyd to the show to talk about The Muppet Christmas Carol. They discuss Charles Dickens as a transitional figure in 19th-century literature, Victorian ghost stories and Christmas, Jim Henson’…

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E339 - Lula and the Rise of the Workers’ Party in Brazil w/ Andre Pagliarini 1:07:17

1d ago1:07:17

1:07:17

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Use the code XMAS2025 to get an annual subscription for just $45! Danny and Derek welcome back historian Andre Pagliarini to discuss Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his political project, and its significance for Brazil’s democracy and labor movement. They explore the emergence of “new unionism”…

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Bonus - Protests Without Politics w/ Vincent Bevins (Preview) 10:28

3d ago10:28

10:28

Subscribe now for the full episode. Get an annual subscription for $45 with our holiday discount code XMAS2025. Danny and Derek are joined once again by Vincent Bevins, this time to talk about the recent wave of so-called “Gen Z protests.” They explore why that framing explains almost nothing; how contemporary mass protests actually form, why they …

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News - Thailand–Cambodia Fighting, Venezuela Escalation, Yemen Separatists 50:44

5d ago50:44

50:44

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Use the holiday discount code XMAS2025 for a $45 annual subscription (offer valid through 1/1/26)! Jolly Saint Nick is giving the U.S. government lots of coal this year, a boon to fossil fuel companies. In this week’s news: Thailand–Cambodia fighting resumes despite Trump’s ceasefire claim …

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The Year in Trump Foreign Policy (Robert Wright, Andrew Day, and Connor Echols) 1:19:11

5d ago1:19:11

1:19:11

0:28 What’s the long game in Venezuela? 19:53 MAGA’s Monroe Doctrine 17:27 Trump as deep state puppet 22:33 Will Trump oust Maduro? 26:08 Connor: Trump’s foreign policy is a “profoundly mixed bag” 38:55 Has Israel lost the American electorate? 45:19 Andrew: Trump’s Ukraine peace plan isn’t pro-Russia 50:54 Silicon Valley’s inept arms makers 58:32 T…

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Special - Who Controls Southern Yemen? w/ Annelle Sheline 1:06:10

7d ago1:06:10

1:06:10

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Derek is joined by Annelle Sheline of the Quincy Institute to discuss the Southern Transitional Council’s recent territorial advances in Yemen, what they mean for the country’s already-fractured political order, and why the “internationally recognized government” remains mostly theoretical.…

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Elon, Trump, Fuentes: Bad Men or Trolls or Both? (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom) 47:10

7d ago47:10

47:10

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:28 Elon’s reckless response to the Brown shooting 11:43 Susie Wiles gone wild 14:55 The weirdest thing about Trump’s weird Rob Reiner post 25:33 The Piers Morgan/Nick Fuentes encounter 38:22 Judging Oliver Sacks 43:50 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evol…

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E338 - Trump’s National Security Strategy w/ Julia Gledhill and Van Jackson 1:13:25

8d ago1:13:25

1:13:25

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Danny and Derek welcome to the show Julia Gledhill and Van Jackson, co-hosts of the Un-Diplomatic podcast, to talk about the Trump administration’s newly released National Security Strategy. They discuss how the document leans on civilizational framing, portrays competition as existential c…

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UNLOCKED - The History of the Maccabees w/ Joseph Scales 1:26:34

9d ago1:26:34

1:26:34

Subscribe now to ditch the ads. Chag Sameach! Danny and Derek are joined by independent scholar Joseph Scales to talk about the history of Hanukkah. They discuss the rivalry between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires that preceded the conflict; the Maccabean/Hasmonean revolt and the family's ascension to power within Judea; the Judean expansion; an…

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Bonus - Managing Gaza After the “Ceasefire” w/ Rashid Khalidi (Preview) 10:32

10d ago10:32

10:32

⁠Subscribe now⁠ and get access to this episode as well as our series ⁠A Modern History of Palestine ⁠with Dr. Khalidi. Danny and Derek are joined once again by historian Rashid Khalidi to discuss Gaza two months after the announcement of a ceasefire. They begin with Dr. Khalidi's class on Palestine at the People’s Forum after his decision to leave …

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News - Gaza Aid Blocked Amid Winter Storm, Thailand–Cambodia Conflict Resumes, M23 Advances in DRC 45:15

12d ago45:15

45:15

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Listen to our Chinese Prestige miniseries! Danny and Derek will sadly not be doing a CBS News town hall event. This week in the news: the Thailand–Cambodia conflict resumes (1:47); the DRC–M23 conflict also resumes as M23 makes new advances (7:05); in Gaza, questions remain over the “second…

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Venezuela, China, and Trump’s Incoherence (Robert Wright, Derek Davison, and Daniel Bessner) 39:22

13d ago39:22

39:22

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:28 The incoherence of Trump’s foreign policy 7:40 The paucity of debate around Chinese chip restrictions 19:37 Danny: Is this the stupidest foreign policy establishment ever? 25:56 Should AGI worry us? 35:07 Bob’s Overtime bait Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of G…

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Using AI to Fight Cancer (Robert Wright & Nathan Labenz) 2:00:10

15d ago2:00:10

2:00:10

0:00 Teaser 1:04 How AI helped shape cancer treatment for Nathan’s son 15:52 Should you tell your doctor about your AI medical adviser? 20:37 Big leaps for Gemini 3 and Claude Opus 4.5 27:59 How to get the best medical advice from your AI 34:37 The astonishing breadth of AI expertise 42:26 AI can help on the margins 55:55 Bob’s AI cancer journey 1:…

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E337 - Sudan’s Endless War in Darfur and Beyond w/ Mat Nashed 1:23:51

15d ago1:23:51

1:23:51

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Derek and journalist Mat Nashed assess the state of Sudan’s ongoing civil war, particularly the fall of Al-Fasher and the Rapid Support Forces’ consolidation of control across much of Darfur. They discuss the throughline from the 2003 genocide to today; the wider humanitarian catastrophe; t…

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Bonus - The Life and Death of Hollywood w/ Andrew deWaard (Preview) 9:57

17d ago9:57

9:57

Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek welcome back to the show media scholar Andrew deWaard to discuss Netflix’s reported acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and what it says about the economic forces driving contemporary media. They talk about how conglomeration and financialization have reshaped Hollywood; zero interest rates, ass…

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Unlocked - Blowback: The Forgotten Cold War Front in Angola w/ Brendan James and Noah Kulwin 1:09:42

18d ago1:09:42

1:09:42

Subscribe now for immediate access to all of our bonus episodes. Danny and Derek welcome back Brendan James and Noah Kulwin, of the Blowback podcast, for a tour through their latest season, which takes the show to Angola. They discuss how Angola became one of the largest and least-remembered battlefields of the Cold War, Reagan’s return to proxy wa…

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News - U.S. Moves Toward Venezuela Attack, Double-Tap Strike in Caribbean, DRC–Rwanda Peace Deal Collapses 52:21

19d ago52:21

52:21

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get more content. Don’t forget to download our Chinese Prestige miniseries, currently on sale for $5. Annual subscribers get the series free! Despite sitting on a large surplus of Labubus, Danny and Derek work hard to bring you the news. This week: in Russia-Ukraine, new US diplomacy goes nowhere (1:08), Ukraine is…

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The Hard Truth about Peace in Ukraine (Robert Wright & Nikita Petrov) 47:42

20d ago47:42

47:42

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:00 Teaser 1:03 Trump’s 28-point plan: first real negotiations? 3:09 Why Zelensky sounded so grim 8:23 Listing Russia’s advantages 10:08 The unknowable casualties numbers 12:32 Ukraine’s forced mobilization vs. Russia’s volunteer army 16:24 Why Russia won’t run out of mo…

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The Life and Legacy of William F. Buckley (Robert Wright & Sam Tanenhaus) 1:07:11

22d ago1:07:11

1:07:11

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:30 Sam’s epic new biography of William F. Buckley 5:53 Was Buckley the original Tucker Carlson? 12:35 Buckley’s paradoxical upbringing 22:36 How Yale turned Buckley into a “counter-intellectual” 36:08 Was Buckley racist or tribalist or what? 54:45 Buckley v. the Civil R…

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E336 - The Political Economy of Porn w/ Molly Lambert 58:28

22d ago58:28

58:28

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Danny and Derek welcome to the show Molly Lambert, creator of the JENNAWORLD podcast, to talk about the rise of the modern porn industry and its roots in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley. They discuss the medium’s origins in underground stag films and the porno chic era; the shift to home video a…

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Bonus - Capitalism After Neoliberalism w/ Ilias Alami (Preview) 9:39

24d ago9:39

9:39

Subscribe now to listen to the full episode and get access to all of our Sunday bonuses. Danny and Derek speak to Ilias Alami, assistant professor of political economy at Cambridge, about the global shift from neoliberalism to new forms of state capitalism. They discuss the rebalancing of economic power toward East Asia; sovereign wealth funds, pol…

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Chinese Prestige: The Making of the PRC w/ Yidi Wu 51:26

26d ago51:26

51:26

Instead of a news roundup, we are releasing the second episode of our new miniseries ⁠Chinese Prestige⁠. Annual subscribers already have access, while everyone else can get the 8 episodes for $5 for two weeks only. This conversation examines China’s early post-Korean War period and the political and social campaigns that defined the new PRC. The gr…

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20 Years Ago, Bloggingheads Was a Trailblazer (Aryeh Cohen-Wade & Robert Wright) 1:07:37

27d ago1:07:37

1:07:37

Original post via Culturally Determined: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/20-years-ago-bloggingheads-was-a-trailblazer-with/id981282353?i=1000735793526 Bob and former Bloggingheads.tv staffer and contributor Aryeh Cohen-Wade reflect on the legacy of Bloggingheads.tv, the pioneering website Bob co-founded in 2005. Bob and Aryeh discuss how the …

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Hyperfixed - Third Eye Blind 41:42

27d ago41:42

41:42

Danny speaks with Alex Goldman about his new podcast ⁠Hyperfixed⁠, in which he works to get to the bottom of listeners’ complex problems, or at least enough of an explanation that they’re ok with the annoyance. We have then provided the full episode of “Third Eye Blind,” where one Mitchell finds out he's missing something almost everyone else has, …

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China Hawks in Retreat? (Robert Wright & Kaiser Kuo) 52:25

29d ago52:25

52:25

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:30 A brief history of American China hawkery 15:40 The 2008 financial crisis changed things 19:22 Xi Jinping and the great man theory of history 25:23 Can we get along with autocrats? 32:06 How China hawkery became bipartisan 38:21 Total eclipse of the hawks? 48:06 Kais…

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Chinese Prestige: From May Fourth to Mao w/ Yidi Wu 55:57

29d ago55:57

55:57

In lieu of a typical Tuesday episode this week, we are releasing the first episode of our new miniseries Chinese Prestige. Annual subscribers already have access, while everyone else can get the 8 episodes for a whopping $5 for two weeks only. Enjoy! In this first episode of Chinese Prestige, Yidi, Danny, and Derek trace the origins of the Chinese …

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Special - Radio War Nerd in Print! w/ Mark Ames 20:23

30d ago20:23

20:23

Mark Ames of Radio War Nerd is on the program to tell us a little about the new book penned by his partner in podcast crime, John Dolan, titled They Should Have Been Hanged: War Nerd Essays on the U.S. Civil War.By Daniel Bessner & Derek Davison

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Bonus - Liberal Zionism After Gaza w/ David Klion (Preview) 10:36

1M ago10:36

10:36

Subscribe now for the full episode and access to all of our bonus Danny and Derek speak with writer and editor David Klion about the collapse of the liberal Zionist project and how the moral and political implication of the Gaza genocide have reshaped American Jewish identity. They discuss how October 7 and Israel’s assault on Gaza forced a reckoni…

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Special - What Was Sarah Hurwitz Thinking? w/ Emily Tamkin (Preview) 5:47

1M ago5:47

5:47

Subscribe now to listen to the full episode. Danny and Derek are joined by the writer ⁠Emily Tamkin⁠ to discuss Sarah Hurwitz’s comments on the Holocaust, education, and the Jewish people.By Daniel Bessner & Derek Davison

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News - MBS White House Visit, US Pushes New Ukraine Deal, UN Votes on Gaza 44:03

1M ago44:03

44:03

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Danny and Derek are praying for Kim Kardashian to pass the bar. In this week’s news: Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia visits the White House (1:56); the U.S. pushes a new Ukraine peace deal (8:58); Israel continues killing people in Gaza (12:30), Palestinians’ shelters are failing in hea…

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Larry Summers, Jeffrey Epstein, and Other Elite Malefactors (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom) 46:03

1M ago46:03

46:03

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:28 Bob’s Doha trip takeaways 4:06 The Epstein-Bannon-Trump connection 9:34 Can MAGA survive the Epstein saga? 12:45 Email hygiene 101 18:02 Paul defends Larry Summers 29:17 Olivia Nuzzi hikes the Appalachian trail 41:43 Overtime preview: Top podcasting secrets revealed!…

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Will One AI Rule Us All? (Robert Wright & Alex Komoroske) 55:36

1M ago55:36

55:36

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:28 Alex’s influential “Google PM Bible” 5:34 What is a tech aggregator? 13:09 AI is much more than chatbots 17:35 The dangers of centralized AI 24:17 What you want vs what you want to want 31:25 How an LLM’s memory locks you in 38:12 AGI vs ASI 44:20 Alex’s solution to …

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E335 - Dignity, Memory, and Surveillance w/ Lea Ypi 1:01:18

1M ago1:01:18

1:01:18

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Danny and Derek speak with political theorist and author Lea Ypi about her new book Indignity: A Life Reimagined, which explores how personal memory intersects with imperial collapse, nationalism, and the surveillance state. They discuss her grandmother’s journey from Ottoman Salonika to Al…

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Bonus - The Trump Tariff Order and the Future of U.S. Influence w/ Nicholas Mulder 10:35

1M ago10:35

10:35

Danny and Derek welcome back historian Nick Mulder, writer at Weltinnenpolitik, to discuss Trump’s new tariff regime. They get into Trump’s focus on taxing goods while leaving finance untouched; how U.S. allies are obediently eating higher economic costs; why this approach resembles a “subscription model” of empire rather than a coherent industrial…

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Special - Jeffrey Epstein and Elite Power w/ Murtaza Hussain (Preview) 5:28

1M ago5:28

5:28

Subscribe now for the full episode and access to all news specials. Danny and Derek sit down with journalist Murtaza Hussain of ⁠Drop Site News⁠ to talk about his ongoing reporting on Jeffrey Epstein’s extensive political and financial influence. They get into how Epstein operated as a fixer and connector for powerful people and entities around the…

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News - Thailand–Cambodia Ceasefire Breaks Down, U.S. Escalates Military Presence Around Venezuela, Gaza Ceasefire Framework Stalls w/ Nathaniel Powell 57:29

1M ago57:29

57:29

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our content! Danny and Derek are vigorously programmed to bring you the news headlines. This week: the Thai-Cambodia ceasefire breaks down as border fire and incidents escalate (0:30); in Gaza, Trump’s framework stalls while governments debate the shape and purpose of an international security force (4:2…

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Disorder as the New Normal (Robert Wright & Nikita Petrov) 53:41

1M ago53:41

53:41

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:29 What is Bob doing in Qatar? 3:34 “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.” Why Yeats felt this way 7:07 Peter Thiel’s Antichrist theory 9:16 Nikita: COVID was a weird time, and nothing has been the same since 14:27 Why Bob feels things are falling apart 17:58 Were…