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

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

Author: Bloggingheads.tv December 3, 2025 Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... Sam’s epic new biography of William F. Buckley ... Was Buckley the original Tucker Carlson? ... Buckley's paradoxical upbringing ... How Yale turned Buckley into a “counter-intellectual” ... Was Buckley racist or tribalist or what? ... Buckley v. the Civil Rights Act ... 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: 46

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Podcast Episodes
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 ...…
The Case Against AI (Robert Wright, Alex Hanna, and Emily Bender) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Alex and Emily’s book, The AI Con ... Beyond the AI booster-doomer spectrum ... What—and who—is AI actually useful for? ... The AI productivity question(s) ... Emily: AI won’t take your job, it’ll just make it shi**ier .…
AI After Us: The "Succession" Scenario (Robert Wright & Dan Faggella) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Teaser ... Defining AI succession ... How positive psychology led Dan to AI research ... Is Dan a "successionist"? ... Does it matter whether AI is sentient? ... Two traits of a worthy successor ... The varieties of succ…