The Future of Intelligence (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)

The Future of Intelligence (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom)

Author: Bloggingheads.tv April 24, 2026 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 positional good? ... 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: 50

Bloggingheads.tv
Podcast Episodes
Trump's Gulf War (Robert Wright, Derek Davison, and Daniel Bessner) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... Marco Rubio's Israel faux pas ... What are Trump’s new goalposts? ... The regime after Khamenei ... Can a regime be changed by air strikes alone? ... Will Turkey be drawn in? ... The logic of Iran's response .…
Iran War II (Robert Wright & Joshua Landis) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... Why is Trump threatening Iran, really? ... What’s the strategic logic behind striking? ... Trump vs Bibi on Gaza ... How would—and could—Iran respond? ... What a post-regime-collapse Iran could look like ... J…
Is Anthropic Misanthropic? (Robert Wright & Holly Elmore) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... Holly’s call-out campaign ... Holly: Don’t believe the Amanda Askell puff pieces ... Is Amanda a bad person? ... How Dario’s false dichotomies accelerate the AI race ... The only Anthropic through-line is "win…
The AI Apocalypse Cometh? (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... A paywall bait masterclass ... Is Paul feeling the AI acceleration? ... The Freddie deBoer AI challenge ... What would a true AI revolution look like? ... Bob: We’re failing the AI test ... Has AI really made…
Agency, AI, and the MAGA Impulse (Robert Wright & Nikita Petrov) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... Recap: how MAGA's domestic and foreign policy fit together as one project ... MAGA reframed as a response to a felt lack of agency ... AI is about to make that loss of agency universal ... The first technology…
Is the Singularity Near? (Robert Wright & Timothy B. Lee) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... The dueling Sam Altman biographies ... Who is the real Sam Altman? ... OpenAI’s origin—did Sam scam Elon? ... Why the OpenAI board coup failed ... Good and bad critiques of OpenAI ... Heading to Overtime ...
The Meaning of Moltbook (Robert Wright & Paul Bloom) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... How Bob’s and Paul’s names wound up in the Epstein Files ... Epstein’s double option play ... Understanding Moltbook ... Bob on the “big question” Moltbook raises ... Paul: What planet are Emily Bender and Ale…
The Grand Unified Theory of MAGA (Robert Wright & Nikita Petrov) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
MAGA as a coherent global phenomenon ... Narrative vs. material forces behind MAGA ... Mark Carney and the hypocrisy of the "rule-based order" ... Burkeans vs. Silicon Valley libertarians ... Make Russia Great Again ...…