Conversations with a series of people who have nothing in common except that program host Robert Wright is curious about what they’re thinking. www.nonzero.org
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Nonzero Podcasts
Lucky Paper Radio is a podcast about Magic: the Gathering hosted by lifelong friends Andy Mangold and Anthony Mattox. Focused primarily on sandbox formats like Cube, which are free of banlists, rotation, and net decking, the show is about the best parts of Magic and how to get the most out of the game.
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Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions. Each episode, they’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy. Learn more about the Quincy Institute: q ...
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Is the New Syria Unravelling? (Robert Wright & Joshua Landis)
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:28 Josh’s hopes for post-Assad Syria—revisited 4:12 The challenge(s) facing the Syrian government 8:58 What’s driving Syria’s sectarian violence? 19:44 Josh’s personal window into the al-Sharaa regime’s brutality 22:51 The new regime’s church vs state problem 29:44 How …
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Jeffrey Epstein, MechaHitler, and Other Ills (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)
1:12:29
1:12:29
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:28 The full reason for Bob’s absence—revealed 6:41 What’s the real story with Trump and Epstein? 15:02 A peek down the Epstein rabbit hole 31:18 Grok goes full Nazi-pornbot 40:15 The promise and perils of AI companions 47:55 Bob on dealing with cancer in the age of AI 1…
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Big Story Moments with Joe Anderson
1:14:13
1:14:13
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View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony talk with Joe Anderson, proprietor of Cali Cube Champs, host of Joe’s Week in Magic, and a model local cube scene organizer about their theory of Cube Design and some of their favorite game moments. Discussed in this episode: Support Lucky Paper on Patreon Lucky Paper Cube Fellowship Applica…
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Why China Won't Invade Taiwan | NonZero World feat. Dan Grazier
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:30 Why a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is so unlikely 4:01 Taiwan’s terrain: A defender’s dream, an invader’s nightmare 10:55 Why Taipei might be the hardest city in the world to conquer 12:45 Dan: China would need nearly 5 million soldiers to have a chance 14:18 The 2027 …
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Golden Oldie: Do We Live in a Simulation (Robert Wright & Preston Greene)
1:11:24
1:11:24
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0:00 A brief message from Bob 1:45 Why many intelligent people think we’re living in a simulation 12:44 The philosophical argument that you’re probably not real 28:24 How cosmic rays might (and might not) reveal that reality is fake 36:18 Preston’s dire warning against trying to determine if we’re in a simulation 50:06 Is the simulation hypothesis …
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Golden Oldie: The Nature of Time (Robert Wright & Lee Smolin)
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0:00 A brief message from Bob 1:55 What Lee means when he says "time is fundamental" 11:40 Understanding the universe as a network 25:59 A (very) tentative theory of consciousness 37:42 Did the laws of physics evolve? 45:23 Is the universe fine-tuned for the emergence of life? 57:21 Applying Lee's theories of time to everyday life Robert Wright (No…
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View all cards mentioned in this episode Continuing on their archetype breakdown series, Andy and Anthony talk about midrange decks. They talk about the theory behind the tempo based meta-game and where midrange decks fit. They talk about ways to think of midrange in different cube environments, or if it even makes sense to. They also discuss strat…
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A Journey Into the New Cold War | NonZero World feat. Neysun Mahboubi
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40:39
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:30 Why Neysun brings American students and scholars to China 3:05 Visiting China after Covid 5:17 Balancing US and Chinese red lines 11:03 When Neysun's students pushed Chinese officials on human rights 14:09 Do US students fear career risks for going to China? 16:08 Cu…
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Golden Oldie: Obama, Trump, and Tribalism (Robert Wright & Greg Gutfeld)
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0:00 A brief message from Bob 1:51 Greg’s new book, The Gutfeld Monologues 10:49 How going to Berkeley pushed Greg toward conservatism 17:03 Trumpism creates strange ideological bedfellows 26:10 Bob offers a magic solution to the freedom vs. security dilemma 32:19 Was Obama right to avoid the phrase “Islamic radicalism”? 47:56 Trump’s savvy use of …
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Courtney and Alex discuss America's long and sordid history of pursuing regime change around the world in light of the recent U.S. airstrikes on Iran, which triggered bipartisan calls from Washington for the Trump administration to try and topple the government in Tehran. ### Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Court…
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Golden Oldie: What is consciousness for? (Robert Wright & David Chalmers)
1:09:00
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0:00 A brief message from Bob 1:49 Why consciousness is so weird 11:29 Is consciousness like your brain’s shadow? 19:10 If David was a zombie, would anyone know? 23:21 Bob’s wacky theory about consciousness 44:49 Is consciousness what collapses the quantum wave function? 1:02:59 Can there be a true science of consciousness? Robert Wright (Nonzero, …
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Cubing in Unsanctioned Spaces and The Ten-Year-Old Child Test
1:02:24
1:02:24
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View all cards mentioned in this episode After five full years of Lucky Paper Radio, Andy and Anthony reflect on how their local playgroup, the podcast, and the broader cube community have evolved. They talk about their recent experience of keeping a weekly Cube night going without a local game store and how you can make it work. They also talk abo…
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Is diplomacy with Iran dead? | NonZero World feat. Alan Eyre
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:30 Are US-Iran talks dead? 4:24 Do normal Iranians care about the nuclear program? 6:40 Understanding Iran’s enrichment red line 9:42 Assessing the damage to Iran's nuclear facilities 12:25 Iran's decision to kick out inspectors 15:38 Could Iran build a bomb in secret? …
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Golden Oldie: Russia Hawks and China Hawks (Robert Wright & John Mearsheimer)
1:42:42
1:42:42
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0:00 A brief message from Bob 1:40 John’s upcoming book, How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy 4:31 Is the US to blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? 11:40 Is Putin less rational than John assumes? 24:00 Why John is a Russia dove and a China hawk 31:30 Does China pose a threat to freedom around the world? 38:33 Why John thinks Chin…
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Golden Oldie: Iran, Hamas, and the China Problem (Robert Wright & Francis Fukuyama)
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56:22
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0:00 A brief message from Bob 1:53 Why neocons like enemies 19:09 How to use power deftly 25:59 Is a nuclear Iran really all that scary? 31:31 Bob's arms-control dreams dashed again 41:18 China problem solved in under three minutes 44:03 Some cheerful thoughts about Hamas Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Franc…
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Open Drafting the Neoclassical Cube
1:19:45
1:19:45
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View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony each draft the same seat of Andy’s Neoclassical Cube and then talk about it. They discuss strategy, what they were thinking as they went through each pick, and how they ultimately feel about the decks they drafted. Follow along with each, and see all of the cards from each pack they drafted …
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How America's 'System' Shuts Down Dissent | NonZero World feat. Barry Eisler
47:08
47:08
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:30 Barry’s new novel, ‘The System’ 2:33 CIA lessons & seeing like a Martian 7:17 Fiction, empathy, and geopolitics 9:55 No cartoon villains 10:58 How power really works in DC 15:25 Feinstein vs. Brennan: the 'sit down' 18:32 Why we excuse ourselves 20:05 Jobs, jets & hi…
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How Terrorism Works with Elizabeth Beavers
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59:21
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Courtney and Alex speak with national security legal scholar Elizabeth Beavers about how the U.S. government defines terrorism and discuss whether America's terrorist designations and counterterrorism wars prolong conflict and advance political agendas, rather than make Americans safer. ### Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy In…
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The Truth about Sam Altman (Robert Wright & Timothy B. Lee)
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:28 The dueling Sam Altman biographies 4:36 Who is the real Sam Altman? 16:06 OpenAI’s origin—did Sam scam Elon? 20:50 Why the OpenAI board coup failed 35:27 Good and bad critiques of OpenAI 47:14 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Budd…
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Always at War x NonZero | The Eternal Causes of War
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45:03
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Courtney and Alex join Robert Wright's Nonzero podcast to discuss America's addiction to war in light of Trump's airstrikes on Iran. This episode is a special collaboration between Always at War and Nonzero. To access the full "Overtime" conversation, go to: https://www.nonzero.org/p/the-eternal-causes-of-war-robert ### Why is America seemingly alw…
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The Eternal Causes of War (Robert Wright, Alex Jordan, and Courtney Rawlings)
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45:32
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:28 Courtney’s and Alex’s Always at War podcast 2:54 Have restrainers given up on Trump? 11:10 The legacies of Hamilton Jordan 16:31 Courtney: Money drives war 25:40 Palantir cashes in 32:45 Alex: Blame American exceptionalism first Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution …
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The Big, Beautiful World of Set Cubes with Jenn the Judge
1:02:53
1:02:53
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View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony are once again joined by Jenn who shares her expertise in designing set cubes. They talk about Jenn’s experience designing many many set and plane themed cubes and more broadly about the different ways to approach designing them. Discussed in this episode: Cube Con 2025 Tickets Ravnica Ideal…
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Is Israel dragging the US to disaster in Iran? | NonZero World feat. Robert Wright
1:06:03
1:06:03
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:30 Headlines 1:27 - Washington 2:08 - Silicon Valley 2:47 - China 3:31 - Africa 4:10 - Europe 5:01 Bob joins to discuss the Israel-Iran war 08:51 Has Trump had a change of heart? 13:44 The Pandora's Box of a US attack 18:21 Connor makes the pro-bombing-Iran argument 22:…
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Why Bibi Always Needs More War (Robert Wright & Alex Gibney)
46:05
46:05
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:30 The time Alex blocked everyone's view of Jennifer Aniston 4:40 How Alex acquired the Bibi interrogation tapes 9:00 What the Bibi Files suggest about the Gaza war 11:58 Bibi's bribes 16:40 Bibi-Trump parallels 27:03 Barriers to getting the movie distributed (and where…
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A Eulogy for the Degenerate Micro Cube
1:05:36
1:05:36
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View all cards mentioned in this episode Andy and Anthony send off Andy’s Degenerate Micro Cube. After many years, Andy has decided to take apart the Cube, reclaiming its cards, sleeves, and mental space. The Cube attempted to capture something about the most high powered vintage games with a twist on the typical draft format and a tiny deck size. …
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Is the US-China Trade War About to Explode? | NonZero World feat. Jake Werner
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:30 Headlines 1:22 - Israel-Iran 2:14 - Sanctions 2:57 - NATO 3:35 - Revolving doors 4:22 - US-China trade war 5:34 How China views the Israel-Iran crisis 10:17 Why the Iran attacks undermine US-China talks 11:32 How the US and China reached the brink of all-out trade wa…
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Elon’s Pathetic Surrender (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)
49:43
49:43
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:28 The Trump-Musk blowup, reconciliation, and fallout 21:10 Trump vs Elon: a psycho-analysis 26:43 Where do Trump and Elon go from here? 30:42 Remembering Brian Wilson and Sly Stone 39:48 Will AI turn us all into narcissists? 46:31 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Non…
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OpenAI and the AI Arms Race (Robert Wright & Steven Adler)
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57:59
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:28 Steven’s years at OpenAI 2:23 An insider's view of the AI boom 11:59 The real meaning of “Feel the AGI” 16:45 AI safety’s rationalist kernel 24:39 What’s really driving the AI arms race(s)? 29:55 Is stifling China’s AI development smart? 44:31 Dario Amodei’s geopolit…
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A Tale of Two Cubes with Parker LaMascus
1:21:44
1:21:44
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View all cards mentioned in this episode This episode was recorded a few weeks ago, so forgive the untimely references to the Rhystic Studies video on 100 Ornithopters. At our weekly cube night, Andy and Parker swapped drafts of eachother’s simple cubes: Andy playing Parker’s cube Atavus and Parker playing Andy’s cube Sacred Geometry. On this episo…
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Should Trump give up on Ukraine? | NonZero World feat. Jennifer Kavanagh
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43:42
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:30 Headlines 4:42 Jennifer: Why Trump should walk away from Ukraine 9:50 Can Ukraine survive without US support? 12:50 Why a comprehensive peace deal is unlikely 17:20 The perils of US mediation 19:25 Are the peace talks making progress? 21:20 How grinding wars end 26:3…
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