Can Rituals Save Us? (Robert Wright & Bruce Feiler)

Can Rituals Save Us? (Robert Wright & Bruce Feiler)

Author: Bloggingheads.tv May 22, 2026 Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... Bruce’s new book on ritual, A Time to Gather ... The "Lifequake" that led Bruce to study ritual ... What is a ritual? ... The origins of the shadow ritual renaissance ... Forest bathing and the essence of ritual ... Ritual as the original human algorithm ... Rituals across Christianity ... What rituals do ... Heading to Overtime ...

For over a decade, Bloggingheads.tv has been a unique fixture in the digital landscape, pairing experts and thinkers for in-depth, unscripted dialogues. This podcast captures the essence of those conversations, transforming the split-screen "diavlog" format into an engaging audio experience. You'll hear scholars, journalists, and practitioners dive deep into the week's developments across politics and policy, but the discussions consistently branch into the scientific discoveries, cultural shifts, and public health questions that shape our world. The range is deliberately broad, with episodes moving from a nuanced film analysis to a debate on medical ethics, all grounded in substantive expertise. It’s the intellectual curiosity and genuine exchange between hosts that defines this series, offering listeners a chance to eavesdrop on smart, meandering talks that refuse to stay within narrow lanes. Tune into this podcast not for soundbites, but for the kind of thoughtful, long-form exploration that reveals how interconnected ideas in news, science, and culture truly are.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 55

Bloggingheads.tv
Podcast Episodes
The Mattering Instinct (Robert Wright & Rebecca Goldstein) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Rebecca’s past work on mind and matter(ing) ... Rebecca’s new book, The Mattering Instinct ... Varieties of mattering experience ... Mattering type 1: Heroic Strivers ... Mattering type 2: Socializers ... Mattering type…
The Future of Intelligence (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... Paul’s new baby is reportedly cute ... The Tucker-Trump fracture ... Parenting later in life ... Paul's TED talk on AI and loneliness ... When does embryo screening become eugenics? ... Is intelligence a posit…
Can Trump and Iran Make a Deal? (Robert Wright & Robert Malley) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Rob’s role in the Obama nuclear deal ... A deal that could work for both Trump and Iran ... Iran’s security “guarantee” problem ... Bob: If I were Iran, I would say… ... What Obama’s negotiators had that Trump’s don’t ..…
Can AI Stop Wars? (Robert Wright & Nikita Petrov) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... Trump's Iran blockade breaks the ceasefire ... A Chinese tanker calls Trump's bluff ... Bob's case for an Iranian "tollgate" ... Anthropic's Mythos model is too dangerous to release ... Nikita's big idea: AI a…
The Iran War: A Debate (Robert Wright & Eli Lake) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Bob and Eli’s history of (civil) disagreement on Iran ... Is Trump's war on Iran legal? Does it matter? ... Who’s the real rogue state? ... Israel’s nukes and Iran’s nuclear program ... Is Israel more moral than Iran? ..…
Averting a Superintelligence Takeover (Robert Wright & Andrea Miotti) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... Defining (and preventing) superintelligence ... Where the nuclear analogy holds (and where it breaks) ... Imagining an AI inspections regime ... The superintelligence precursors to watch for ... Nikita: "I fin…
The Iran War and the Singularity (Robert Wright & Nikita Petrov) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... Holy Week in Andalusia, and the Christian cross as branding ... Why Bob is skeptical of Trump's diplomacy ... Trump's hand got weaker and he doesn't even know it ... Killing Iran's navy chief won't reopen the…