Podcast appearances and mentions of Paul Bloom

Young men are often told to tough it out, but a new report from GreenShield and Mental Health Research Canada suggests many may be struggling in silence, raising questions about why so many are reluctant to seek help when they need it most. Khush Amaria, director of clinical services at GreenShield, joins Jeyan to unpack the findings. Then, as loneliness becomes a growing concern, some people are turning to AI chatbots for companionship. Can a machine provide meaningful connection, or does it risk deepening the problem? University of Toronto psychology professor Paul Bloom weighs in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bob Wright is back, and The God Test is the AI book I had been waiting for someone to write — the only one I have read that takes the spiritual stakes of the technology with the seriousness Teilhard would have. It opens with the interview Bob conducted with a young Geoffrey Hinton in 1983 — now anointed by The New York Times as the godfather of AI, now also one of its loudest doomers — and pivots into what Bob did not understand in that hotel room forty years ago: that we would build something as powerful as the human brain without ever first having to understand the brain. The bottom-up approach won. We are now inside the consequences. We spent the hour on Teilhard's noosphere acquiring silicon neurons, on why Bob argues accelerationism is lethal, on the difference between cognitive sovereignty and cognitive empathy and why both are now in jeopardy, on whether the algorithm has already occupied the very inner room from which sovereignty would be exercised, and on the closing line of the book — which I will not spoil here, except to say it is the kind of line you stop reading after. You can WATCH the conversation on YouTube Robert Wright is the New York Times bestselling author of Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, The Moral Animal, The Evolution of God (Pulitzer Prize finalist), and Why Buddhism Is True. His newest book, The God Test, is out from Simon & Schuster in June 2026. He is Visiting Professor of Science and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York and president of the Nonzero Foundation. His Nonzero Newsletter and Nonzero Podcast (currently in rotation with Paul Bloom) live at nonzero.substack.com — and yes, I am a paid member. Books surfaced in this conversation: The God Test (the book at hand), The Evolution of God (the silicon-god closing line of The God Test picks up the long arc of Evolution directly), Why Buddhism Is True (the contemplative-traditions stretch of the conversation), and Nonzero (the non-zero-sum framing that runs under everything Bob does). Previous Episodes with Robert Wright Evolution, Empathy, & the Future of Humanity From Mindful Resistance to the New Agnosticism The Evolution of God Join our online class – THE FUTURE OF RELIGION⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Tripp and Ilia Delio are teaming up for a brand-new four-week online class, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Future of Religion ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠— for everyone who's read the books, asked the questions, and realized the faith they inherited doesn't quite fit anymore. Together they'll trace religion's evolutionary arc and map what's emerging on the other side. Includes 4 video lectures, 4 live Q&As (replays available), and a community of fellow travelers. Donation-based, pay what you're able (including $0). Live sessions start this month — register at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.thefutureofreligion.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This podcast is a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Homebrewed Christianity ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠production. Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Homebrewed Christianity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theology Nerd Throwdown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Rise of Bonhoeffer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcasts for more theological goodness for your earbuds. Join over 75,000 other people by joining our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack - Process This!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get instant access to over 50 classes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.TheologyClass.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow the podcast, drop a review⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, send ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback/questions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠member of the HBC Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's Open Mic guest is Dr. Paul Bloom, CEO of Gevo Inc. The company is bringing innovation to the renewable fuel sector. Bloom says the company's primary focus is commercializing and scaling a proven alcohol to jet pathway to make aviation fuel. Gevo is engaged in technology, process, and intellectual property development targeted to large-scale deployment of renewable hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals. Potential investors need increased certainty from government programs and tax incentives to allow the industry to flourish, he adds.

Whose baby is cuter? ... Bob's new book on AI, The God Test ... Varieties of AI awe ... Geoffrey Hinton's vision ... How LLMs do more than predict and parrot ... How powerful will AI get? ... Can AI's impact be predicted? ... Taking doomerism seriously ... The AI governance dilemma ... Heading to Overtime ...

Before the AI chatbot boom, psychologist and New Yorker contributor Paul Bloom wrote about how populations vulnerable to loneliness might be helped by the illusion of connection they offer. He discusses his more recent, updated reflection on the topic titled "A.I. Is About to Solve Loneliness. That's a Problem," which is the subject of Wednesday evening's Theater of War on the Radio at BAM.  Illustration by Moor Studio via Getty Creative Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week's live stream and podcast, Geeky Stoics is exploring the concept of toxic empathy, its implications, and how it influences society, politics, and relationships. Riley and Stephen delve into the nature of empathy, moral virtue, and the importance of balancing compassion with discernment.Chapters:* 01:08 What Is Toxic Empathy?* 04:33 Empathy in Literature and Media: Star Wars and Narnia* 08:04 Moral and Cultural Relativism in Empathy* 15:13 Empathy in Justice and Punishment* 20:23 Evil and Moral Clarity* 27:27 The Limits and Risks of Empathy* 30:15 Advice for Self-Discovery* 37:17 Balancing Career, Family, and Personal Purpose* 43:30 Watchtower Intel* 48:02 Community and Future Retreats* 54:18 The Power of Storytelling and Shared ValuesResources: * Gad Saad's book ‘Suicidal Empathy'* Paul Bloom's book ‘Against Empathy' * C.S. Lewis's ‘The Four Loves'* Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton* Watchtower Intel on Substack This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe

Todo mundo diz que o mundo precisa de mais empatia. Mas e se o excesso dela estiver nublando o nosso julgamento? No Linhas Cruzadas desta semana, Thaís Oyama e Luiz Felipe Pondé desafiam o senso comum: quando é que se colocar no lugar do outro vira um obstáculo para decisões justas?O programa coloca frente a frente o acolhimento de Carl Rogers e o ceticismo de Paul Bloom para perguntar: existe um limite para ser empático?Com as visões da desembargadora Andrea Pachá e dos jornalistas Lourival Sant'Anna e Caio Blinder, investigamos o dilema de equilibrar emoção e razão — das sentenças judiciais às coberturas de guerra.#LinhasCruzadas #TVCultura #SomosCultura #Empatia

We've always assumed that if there IS a God, that God made us. But what if it ends up being the other way around… and we're already further along than we think? Artificial intelligence is now offering moral advice, generating new forms of scripture, even simulating conversations with the divine. For some users, the line between useful tool and spiritual authority is already starting to blur. Why does it feel so natural for us to imagine there's a ghost in the machine? And what happens when the people building AI start to talk and think about their creation in religious terms? On this episode, we'll talk to journalist Sigal Samuel about where AI is showing up in religious spaces and how what it becomes will have major consequences for human agency and how we understand our place in the world. And we'll talk to psychologist Paul Bloom about the quirks of human psychology that make us so prone to see minds, intention, and perhaps even the divine, in the machine. Along the way we'll also ask: Can AI be morally formed? Could it ever have something like its own spiritual yearning? And if it could, what might it mean for us?Sigal Samuel is a senior reporter at Vox, where she covers religion, ethics, and the future of consciousness and AI. Check out her writing in Vox's Future Perfect column and follow her on X or Bluesky.Paul Bloom is a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and the author of several books, including Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil and Against Empathy. Learn more about his work at his website.Also mentioned on this episode:Stewart Elliott Guthrie, author of Faces in the Clouds: A New Theory of ReligionWilliam Paley, author of Natural Theology (watch on a beach example)Catholic priest and philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and futurist Ray Kurzweil, who have both influenced the philosophical movement of transhumanism.

¿Qué tal te llevas con la incertidumbre? ¿Intentas tenerlo todo bajo control? ¿Te gusta perderte en una ciudad desconocida? La vida y el mercado son inciertos por naturaleza pero muchos quieren previsibilidad en su cartera y su carrera, algo que además de frustrante resulta contraproducente. Los humanos somos frágiles por naturaleza y esta es una necesaria charla sobre salud mental. Hafdallah Menni es Director Clínico en el Instituto Médico Imaya ofreciendo terapia psicológica para distintas problemáticas.Kapital es posible gracias a sus colaboradores:⁠TaxDown⁠. Tus impuestos bien hechos⁠.¿Declaras bien tus inversiones? Este año, si tienes inversiones, hay nuevos cambios y regulaciones que tienes que saber (DAC8, modelo 721, normativa europea), así que es clave hacerlo bien. Si inviertes, yo te recomiendo TaxDown por ser la forma más fácil de presentar la Renta. TaxDown se integra con la mayoría de brókers, te lo calculan todo, y además cuentan con expertos fiscales en inversiones que revisan tu caso. Así evitas líos y cálculos raros. Si quieres probarlo, puedes usar mi código KAPITAL para obtener descuento. O puedes entrar directamente desde este enlace.La Cartera K⁠⁠. Invierte en lo que no cambia.La Cartera K es la evolución lógica de El Proyecto K. Pablo González Vidal y yo abrimos el taller de inversión para que los pequeños ahorradores tomaran el control de sus finanzas. El curso ha sido un éxito (¡nueva edición en junio!) y por eso queremos dar ahora la oportunidad de invertir directamente en una cartera automatizada que siga esos principios K. Lo hacemos de la mano de la plataforma de inversión inbestMe. Con el fin de proteger tu capital en estos tiempos inciertos, la Cartera K sigue una estrategia indexada de bajas comisiones con una diversificación sectorial. Si estás interesado escríbeme a joan@elproyectok.comPatrocina Kapital. Toda la información en este link.Índice:0:32 ¿A qué sabe la carne de cocodrilo?10:30 Propósito en comunidades fuertes.16:52 Ponerse una canción triste en un mal día.29:06 Tomarse poco en serio a uno mismo.35:30 Incertidumbre y miedo en el bebé.48:21 Quedarse quieto en esta sociedad hiperproductiva.56:26 Acompañamiento emocional.1:05:32 Hablar del suicidio.1:14:51 ¿Quién protege a los hombres?1:23:34 Cargar con la mochila del otro.1:29:17 La lucha del pueblo saharaui.Apuntes:Por un nacimiento sin violencia. Frédérick Leboyer.El parto: crónica de un viaje. Frédérick Leboyer.Shantala. Frédérick Leboyer.Del revés. Pete Docter.Introduction to psichology. Paul Bloom.In praise of mediocrity. Tim Wu.Más feliz, a pesar de todo. Tal Ben-Shahar.

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 ...

Mickey is BACK with two new papers he has co-authored, a bunch of opinions, and a very unwelcome idea: maybe the problem with AI isn't that it doesn't work but that it works too well!The first paper, Against Frictionless AI, argues that AI assistance and its ability to take away the effort from thinking, writing, and smooth out social(like) interactions could be robbing those activities of the very thing that makes them worthwhile.The second paper is a more empirical investigation that presents a bunch of studies examining the topic of the (alleged) moralisation of AI. Some findings suggest that opposition to AI among some people isn't really about risks or trade-offs but rather about non-negotiable sacred moral values. Who knew?We also discuss effort justification, reproducible research, robosexual allyship, and just how much humanity remains within the cyborg Matthew Browne.And remember... It's just like our opinion, man!LinksDecoding Academia 34: Empathetic AIs? (Patreon Series)Ovsyannikova, D., Oldemburgo de Mello, V., & Inzlicht, M. (2025). Third-party evaluators perceive AI as more compassionate than expert humans. Communications Psychology, 3, Article 4.Zohar, E., Bloom, P., & Inzlicht, M. (2026). Against frictionless AI. Communications Psychology, 4, Article 39.Oldemburgo de Mello, V., Côté, É., Ayad, R., Inbar, Y., Plaks, J., & Inzlicht, M. (2026). The moralization of artificial intelligence (Manuscript under review).Paul Bloom's Small Potatoes Substack- My friend thinks it's a good idea for us to spend most of our time with AI companions- Is it irresponsible for academics to refuse to use AI?Mickey's Speak Now Regret Later Substack - AI Alarmism Trades on Fear, Not FactsMickey's provocative tweet on his recent paperDTG Previous Interview with Mickey on the Replication Crisis, Mindfulness, and Responsible HeterodoxyAndy Masley Substack debunking the AI water usage claimsAndy Masley Substack: Using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment - a cheat sheetPataranutaporn, P., Karny, S., Archiwaranguprok, C., Albrecht, C., Liu, A. R., & Maes, P. (2025). “My Boyfriend is AI”: A computational analysis of human–AI companionship in Reddit's AI community. arXiv.Critical response to Mickey's paper from Roy Schulam on Substack

In this episode, we are joined again by coach Adam Kimble to explore the book, The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning by Paul Bloom, and discuss why endurance athletes voluntarily seek discomfort in pursuit of meaning, growth, and satisfaction. We discuss the concept of "benign masochism," highlighting how pain and pleasure are deeply intertwined in long races and hard efforts. We talk about internal versus external motivation, the power of anticipation, and how reframing challenges can shape both performance and mindset. We explore flow state, decision-making under fatigue, and why doing hard things helps us better appreciate everyday life. Ultimately, the episode reflects on how endurance sports create community, reveal character, and provide a powerful lens for understanding human behavior and purpose. Check out more about Adam and hire him as a coach HERE Sponsors: Tifosi Optics - check out how to win a free pair of the new Sanctum SL and how to get a discount Peluva - let your feet be feet! TimeStamps 00:00 – Intro & Book Overview: Introduction to The Sweet Spot and why endurance athletes are drawn to discomfort and meaning.  03:20 – First Impressions of the Book: Initial reactions and key takeaways about doing hard things and personal growth.  05:50 – What is "Benign Masochism"? Exploring voluntary suffering and why difficult challenges feel rewarding.  08:10 – Internal vs External Motivation: Do we pursue hard goals for ourselves or for recognition from others?  15:30 – Pain, Pleasure & the "Ikea Effect": Why effort increases satisfaction and meaning in achievement.  21:10 – Pain as Presence & Mental Focus: How physical discomfort brings runners into the present moment.  26:50 – The Power of Anticipation & Race Anxiety: Mental rehearsal, visualization, and preparing for both highs and lows.  33:20 – Stoicism, Problem Solving & Simple Rules: Decision-making strategies when things go wrong during races.  41:45 – The Paradox of Effort in an Easy World: Why modern comfort drives us to seek difficult challenges.  48:30 – Reframing Struggle & Perspective on the Trail: How mindset shifts can turn suffering into forward progress.  55:00 – Intention Over Perfection: Why showing up with purpose matters more than executing a flawless race.  59:30 – Meaning, Community & Final Quotes: Closing reflections on bonding, humanity, and why endurance sports matter. 

Five years ago, Michael Pollan — the acclaimed author of The Botany of Desire, The Omnivore's Dilemma, and How to Change Your Mind — went looking for an answer to one of life's great mysteries: "How does three pounds of brain matter generate subjective experience?" The result is his luminous new book, A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness, which comes out tomorrow. Great journalists like Michael have a nose for story and a knack for timing. Both are on display in A World Appears. It's a page-turner teeming with maverick characters. It's a startling look at the emerging science of plant sentience. And it's an urgent exploration of a question we can't afford to ignore: Could consciousness — that is, "subjective or felt experience," the trippy miracle that when we open our eyes, a world appears — emerge in AI? * * * A World Appears is the Next Big Idea Club's latest selection. To get an early copy, a personal note from Michael, and an invitation to a Q&A with him on March 10, become a member at nextbigideaclub.com⁠⁠. Code PODCAST gets you a super secret discount (spoiler: it's 20% off). If you enjoyed this episode, check out our conversations with Antonio Damasio, David Chalmers (here and here), Sara Walker, Paul Bloom, Robert Sapolsky, Sam Harris, and Gaurav Suri and Jay McClelland. Watch The Next Big Idea on YouTube! You can find our episodes ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Follow Rufus on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, subscribe to our ⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠, or send us an email at ⁠podcast@nextbigideaclub.com⁠. We love getting fan mail. Sponsored By: Bitdefender — Get 30% off your plan at bitdefender.com/idea Factor — Head to ⁠factormeals.com/idea50off⁠ and use code idea50off to get 50% off your first box Granola — Get three months free at granola.ai/idea Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠⁠⁠shopify.com/nbi⁠⁠⁠

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 much of a difference? ... Heading to Overtime ...

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 Alex Hanna on? ... Heading into Overtime: Friends in the Epstein Files, the strangest thing Bob's ever done for money and more. ...

An individual "is responsible for everything he does," claimed Sartre. And from criminal justice to creative expression, free will and responsibility are central to our culture and our personal lives. Yet neuroscientists and materialist thinkers commonly maintain that freedom is an illusion. And it remains unknown how the core principles of freedom and responsibility can be reconciled with this outlook. Many attempts have been made to argue that the two seemingly contradictory frameworks can be made compatible. But critics say these "compatibilist" arguments are unconvincing and are driven merely by the attempt to make scientific materialism acceptable. Furthermore, whilst surveys suggest most materialist philosophers believe we can reconcile the two, the majority of us reject the idea that an action can be both determined and free.Paul Bloom is a Canadian-American psychologist, bestselling author, and celebrated speaker. He is Professor Emeritus at Yale and a professor at the University of Toronto. Bloom's work explores human nature, morality, and pleasure.Joining us from California is Robert Sapolsky. Sapolsky is a distinguished neuroscientist, primatologist, and author, best known for his research on stress and its impact on behaviour and health. He is also a professor at Stanford University.Lucy Allais is a philosopher at Johns Hopkins University and the University of the Witwatersrand, renowned for her work on Immanuel Kant. Her writing spans ethics, metaphysics, and political philosophy.Please do email us at podcast@iai.tv with any of your thoughts or questions on the episode!To witness such debates live buy tickets for our upcoming festival: https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/And visit our website for many more articles, videos, and podcasts like this one: https://iai.tv/You can find everything we referenced here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

«¿Cómo se vive con menos de un dólar al día? ¿Por que los microcréditos resultan útiles pero no son el milagro que algunos esperaban? ¿Por que los pobres dejan pasar las campañas de vacunación gratuita pero pagan por medicinas que a menudo no necesitan? ¿Por que sus hijos pueden ir a la escuela año tras año y no aprender nada?» Estas son preguntas que se formulan los Nobel de economía Abhijit Banerjeeen y Esther Duflo. Pablo Melchor, fundador de Ayuda Efectiva, puede responderlas. Aprovechando la publicación de Altruismo Racional le invité de nuevo al podcast.Kapital Temporada 1.K7. Pablo Melchor. Altruismo eficaz.Kapital es posible gracias a sus colaboradores:⁠Ayuda Efectiva⁠. Maximiza el impacto de tus donaciones.¿Te gustaría donar sabiendo que tu ayuda, no solo llegará, sino que conseguirá el máximo impacto? Esto es lo que hace la fundación Ayuda Efectiva que lidera Pablo, seleccionando y financiando los proyectos humanitarios que, con unos mismos recursos, salvan más vidas y ayudan más a más personas. Programas de filantropía que comparten datos fiables y con excelente relación coste-efectividad, verificada independientemente. Encontrarás en su página web todos los proyectos.Patrocina Kapital. Toda la información en este link.Índice:0:32 El alma de Kapital.7:44 La compasión racional de Paul Bloom.21:28 Vulnerabilidades de todo movimiento social.29:00 Los pobres tienen que vivir en el presente.34:53 Dollar Street.42:18 «El mundo es terrible, el mundo ha mejorado mucho, el mundo podría ser mucho mejor». 54:02 Vivir en un país con los impuestos más altos.1:00:16 Alimentar el ego en Instagram.1:05:12 Escribe para pensar.1:13:21 Only a fool thinks he can solve the world's problems.1:19:09 Las conexiones inesperadas de un libro.Apuntes:Altruismo racional. Pablo Melchor.Repensar la pobreza. Esther Duflo & Abhijit V. Banerjee.Human behavioral biology. Robert Sapolsky.The uniqueness of humans. Robert Sapolsky.Introduction to psychology. Paul Bloom.Factfulness. Hans Rosling.La mente de los justos. Jonathan Haidt.Fargo. Noah Hawley.Ser pobre es una mierda. Roger Senserrich.To end extreme poverty, give cash—not advice. Rory Stewart.La teoría sueca del amor. Erik Gandini.

Teaser ... Different readings of the Renee Good videos ... JD Vance vs Stephen Miller: compare and contrast ... Trump vs Hitler: compare and contrast ... ICE agents and stormtroopers: compare and contrast ... Has Elon totally lost it? ... Paul: Politicians are people too! ... Heading to Overtime ...

In 2016 psychologist Paul Bloom wrote a book titled Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion (a naming decision he still wrestles with). In the book, as in his career and in this Social Science Bites podcast, Bloom deconstructs what is popularly meant by empathy. "Everybody seems to have their own notion," he tells interviewer David Edmonds, "and that's totally fine, but we end up talking past each other unless we're clear about it." And so he outlines several widely used definitions -- think compassion, for example -- before offering several more scholarly ways of viewing empathy, such as "cognitive empathy" and "emotional empathy." A key to understanding his work is that Bloom is not actually against empathy, at least not in general, even though he tells Edmonds, "I think empathy is -- in some way -- a great cause for our worst behavior." But the use of what he terms "emotional empathy" concerns him because, as he explains, it's not evenly distributed or applied, and thus allows harm to occur under the guise of benevolence. "Empathy is sort of vulnerable to all the biases you would think about. This includes the traditional in-group, out-group biases -- race, nationality, religion. It includes attractiveness -- it's easier to feel empathic for somebody who's cute versus someone who's ugly." Bloom and Edmonds also discuss how empathy leaches into the realm of artificial intelligence, where what might be judged empathetic responses from AIs can devolve into a humanity-extracting feedback loop. In his work as a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, and as the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale University, Bloom studies how children and adults make sense of the world, with, as his website notes, "special focus on pleasure, morality, religion, fiction, and art." He is editor of the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences, and has written a number of public-facing books, including 2016's Against Empathy, Psych: The Story of the Human Mind, and The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning.  

David Lynch, Jane Goodall, and other notable 2025 losses ... When Bob called James Watson a "mad scientist" ... Predicting 2050: Star Trek abundance vs. "Total Chaos Planet"? ... The age of algorithmically guided attention ... Global poverty reduction (and its flip side) ... Will anyone care if your newsletter is AI-written? ... Trump's USAID cuts killed a lot of people ... Elon Musk, Alex Karp, and the age of the "manifestly crazy" ... Can the Supreme Court stop Trump? ... JD Vance's identity crisis: Tech bro or populist? ... The "Black Swan": When AI starts killing people ... AI scientific breakthroughs to come ... Bob and Paul's 2025 Entertainment Awards ... Which jobs are truly AI-proof? ... Bob's Epstein document deep-dive ... Bill Ackman's conspiracy-theory-brained year ... Are US arms sales pushing China to invade Taiwan? ... Barry Weiss's journalistic scruples ...

What is rationality? Why is it or is it not important? And where does perversity fit in?Join psychologist Paul Bloom in this interview where he discusses his research on these themes and defends his viewpoints.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon's reckless response to the Brown shooting ... Susie Wiles gone wild ... The weirdest thing about Trump's weird Rob Reiner post ... The Piers Morgan/Nick Fuentes encounter ... Judging Oliver Sacks ... Heading to Overtime ...

When everything can be reproduced, why do we still crave the original? The psychologist Paul Bloom and the philosopher Walter Benjamin offer up some insight! ... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Humanhttps://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Bob's Doha trip takeaways ... The Epstein-Bannon-Trump connection ... Can MAGA survive the Epstein saga? ... Email hygiene 101 ... Paul defends Larry Summers ... Olivia Nuzzi hikes the Appalachian trail ... Overtime preview: Top podcasting secrets revealed! The punishment problem; Pluribus; the “great feminization” debate; AI “bubble” update; and more! ...

Las decisiones que toman las empresas tienen un impacto en la sociedad. Esta simple idea, con tan complejas ramificaciones, es el campo de estudio de Ricardo. El famoso artículo de Milton Friedman de 1970 en el NYT proclama que la única responsabilidad social de una empresa es generar beneficios, operando dentro del marco de la ley. Una empresa con beneficios, paga mejores salarios a sus trabajadores y mejora la vida a sus clientes. Estando yo de acuerdo con la doctrina Friedman, el debate sigue abierto.Ricardo es uno de los profesores en Thenomba, uno de los patrocinadores de Kapital.Kapital es posible gracias a sus colaboradores:⁠⁠Thenomba⁠⁠. La escuela que te hará encontrar tu propósito.⁠Thenomba es la escuela que nunca tuviste. Un viaje de 12 etapas para entender quién eres, cómo pensar, qué da sentido y cómo transformar el mundo. Cada día, en solo 20 minutos, te acompañan algunos de los mejores pensadores y creadores del ámbito hispano: de Prada, Higinio Marín, Izanami, Miguel Anxo Bastos, Recuenco y muchos más. En un formato revolucionario con videoclases, eventos, lecturas y comunidad, Thenomba cultiva la dimensión más olvidada de nuestra época: la cultural y espiritual. Una propuesta para quienes quieren dejar de ejecutar y empezar a crear. Descubre donde la IA jamás podrá llegar en thenomba.com.Si quieres formar parte de la primera promoción, utiliza el código KAPITAL para llevarte un 10% de descuento. Empiezan las clases el próximo lunes 8 de diciembre.Crescenta⁠. Invierte como imaginas.En Crescenta son especialistas en la inversión en capital privado. EQT, Cinven, Clearlake… coinvierte con los inversores institucionales más experimentados en fondos de las gestoras más reconocidas. Crescenta selecciona menos del 3% de los fondos de Private Equity que analiza, construyendo así un portfolio concentrado, diseñado para ofrecer diversificación con una única inversión. Desde 10.000 euros hasta millones, con una propuesta adaptada a todos los inversores. Private Equity Growth, Buyouts, secundarios, activos reales. Construye tu cartera con Crescenta.* Rentabilidades pasadas no implican rentabilidades futuras. Consulta riesgos y condiciones.Patrocina Kapital. Toda la información en este link.Índice:0:32 El tuit sobre la tecnología del Papa con respuesta de Andreessen.6:49 Javier cañada ya denunció en Kapital las apps con diseño luterano.21:14 Cómo enseñar a amar el proceso.28:44 “Ser un artista es hacer una cosa y solo una cosa”.37:30 Alcaraz se lo pasa bien jugando.45:52 Mad Max tiene alma.59:30 Prohibidas las fotografías en El Prado.1:07:53 Esconder los problemas en la tecnología.1:18:58 Ponerte en los zapatos del otro.1:26:41 ¿Cuál es el rol de las empresas en la sociedad?1:36:10 El consumismo no puede llenar.1:47:02 La importancia de recordar un poema.Apuntes:Ubi sunt? Ricardo Calleja.Vivir como si Dios existiera. Joseph Ratzinger.Frankenstein. Guillermo del Toro.Blue eye samurai. Michael Green.A fondo. Jorge Luís Borges.Utopía de un hombre que está cansado. Jorge Luis Borges.Mad Max: Fury road. George Miller.El enigma de la experiencia. Daniel Kahneman.Contra la empatía. Paul Bloom.The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. Milton Friedman.Los domingos. Alauda Ruiz de Azúa.El arte de gastar de dinero. Morgan Housel.

Would a utopia be possible? Or does our innate tribalism and jealousy make perfect societies difficult to achieve? Do we secretly love hierarchies? Why are primate brains such excellent detectors of unfairness? Why do things become more desirable when we’re told we can’t have them? Did the church’s disavowal of first-cousin marriage lead to better politics? This week Eagleman talks with psychologist Paul Bloom about the (im)possibility of achieving societal utopias.

The Carlson-Fuentes interview controversy ... Paul: Candidate Carlson is coming ... Is gatekeeping dead? ... Is Carlson's show respectable? ... Carlson and Fuentes on the Israel lobby ... William F. Buckley as MAGA precursor ... Is antisemitism more organic on the right or left? ... Heading to Overtime ...

We have been dying to discuss an article called  “Why Aren't Professors Braver?” since it was first published in The Chronicle of Higher Education back in September. It's by the psychologist Paul Bloom and it starts with an ode to the professoriate:We tend to be pretty smart. We are sometimes socially inept, but in a sweet way. We are genuinely excited about ideas…We are often generous... mentoring students in ways that don't lead to any tangible rewards.  And we are a peaceable lot. If you're sitting at a bar, minding your own business, and some drunk takes a swing at you, the drunk is unlikely to be a professor.In spite of our many praiseworthy traits, Bloom says that professors aren't particularly courageous. When controversial or sensitive topics arise, he claims that we tend to be “too censorious and too self-censoring.”  “Why,” Bloom asks, “are even tenured professors, people with the most secure jobs on Earth, so unwilling to speak their minds?”We have posed this question many times since we both became faculty members--and we could think of no better person to hash it out with than our friend, UPenn professor Jonathan Zimmerman.Jon is a historian of education who has had a long and illustrious career, first at West Chester University, then at New York University and now at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of many books, including Whose America: Culture Wars in the Public Schools, Too Hot to Handle: A Global History of Sex Education, and The Amateur Hour: A History of College Teaching in America. We were thrilled to have him join us on Banished.Show Notes* Here is the article that inspired this episode: Paul Bloom, “Why Aren't Professors Braver?”, Chronicle Review, September 24, 2025* The term “excellent sheep” comes from William Deresiewicz's 2014 book, Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life* See Jon Zimmerman's official UPenn bio here* The *circling the wagons* article Jon references is available here This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit banished.substack.com/subscribe

Amazing Bob-Paul discount deal! ... The Bari Weiss trivia test ... Lasting peace in Gaza? ... Why did Trump finally get tough on Bibi? ... MAGA free speech debates ... Is the AI bubble about to burst? ... If anyone builds it, will everyone die? ... Heading into Overtime: Ian McEwan, George Harrison, OpenAI, One Battle After Another ...

AI therapists and caregivers. Digital tutors and advisors and friends. Artificial lovers. Griefbots trained to imitate dead loved ones. Welcome, to the bustling world of AI-powered chatbots. This was once the stuff of science fiction, but it's becoming just the stuff of everyday life. What will these systems do to our society, to our relationships, to our social skills and motivations? Are these bots destined to leave us hollowed out, socially stunted, screen-addicted, and wary of good-old-fashioned, in-the-flesh human interaction? Or could they actually be harnessed for good? My guest today is Dr. Henry Shevlin. Henry is a philosopher and AI ethicist at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI) at Cambridge University. In a series of recent papers, Henry has been exploring this brave new world of "social AI" and its philosophical, ethical, and psychological dimensions. Here, Henry and I sketch the current landscape of social AI—from dedicated platforms like Replika and CharacterAI to the more subtly social uses of ChatGPT and Claude. We consider several tragic cases that have recently rocketed these kinds of services into public awareness. We talk about what's changed about AI systems—quite recently—that's now made them capable of sustained relationships. We linger on the possible risks of social AI and, perhaps less obviously, on the possible benefits. And we consider the prospects for regulation. Along the way, Henry and I also talk about his 81-year-old father, his teenage self, and, of course, the kids these days; we consider whether social AI, in its potential harms, is more like social media or more like violent video games; we talk about "deskilling" and it's opposite "upskilling"; and we of course take stock of a certain elephant in the room. Alright friends, this is a fun one. We've been wanting to explore this dawning age of social AI for some time. And we finally found, in Henry, the right person to do it with. Enjoy!   Notes 3:00 – The piece in The Guardian—'It's time to prepare for AI personhood'—by Jacy Reece Anthis. 5:00 – The Replika subreddit.  9:30 – News coverage of recent research on the bedside manner of AI systems. 10:30 – For a recent paper on AI by the philosopher Ophelia Deroy, see here. 11:30 – For some of Dr. Shevlin's recent writing about "social AI", see here and here. 13:30 – OpenAI's recent report, 'How People Use ChatGPT'. 16:30 – For examples of popular media coverage of recent (tragic) cases involving chatbots, see here, here, here, and here. 21:00 – The paper by Rose Guingrich and Michael Graziano on how users describe their relationships with chatbots. 24:00 – The precise quote by Mark Twain is: “Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits.” 25:30 – The classic paper on Mary's room by Frank Jackson. 27:00 – Dr. Shevlin has also worked on questions about animal minds (e.g., here), as well as a number of issues in AI beyond “social AI” (e.g., here, here). 30:00 – The classic essay by Isaiah Berlin on hedgehogs and foxes. 32:00 – The classic paper on ELIZA, introduced by Joseph Weizenbaum in 1966. A version of ELIZA that you can interact with. For work by Sherry Turkle, see here. 34:00 – Dr. Shevlin's recent paper about the “anthropomimetic turn” in contemporary AI. 41:00 – For recent work on whether current chatbots pass a version of the Turing test, see here.  45:00 – Ted Chiang's story, ‘The Lifecycle of Software Objects,' was re-published as part his collection of short fiction, Exhalation. 46:00 – For Dr. Shevlin's recent writing on machine consciousness, see here. 48:00 – For more on the possibility of consciousness in borderline cases (like AI systems), see our past episodes here and here. 52:00 – The study on whether people attribute consciousness to LLMs. 54:30 – A recent paper on griefbots by scholars at the University of Cambridge. A popular article about the phenomenon. 55:30 – A blogpost describing the so-called DigiDan experiment. 1:00:00 – Some of the potentially positive social qualities of AIs are discussed in this essay by Paul Bloom.  1:19:30 – For more on Iain Banks' culture series, see here. 1:20:30 – A popular article on the phenomenon of hikikomori.   Recommendations The Oxford Intersections: AI in Society collection The new podcast, Our Lives with Bots   Many Minds is a project of the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, which is made possible by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation to Indiana University. The show is hosted and produced by Kensy Cooperrider, with help from Assistant Producer Urte Laukaityte and with creative support from DISI Directors Erica Cartmill and Jacob Foster. Our artwork is by Ben Oldroyd. Subscribe to Many Minds on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also now subscribe to the Many Minds newsletter here! We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. Feel free to email us at: manymindspodcast@gmail.com. For updates about the show, visit our website or follow us on Bluesky (@manymindspod.bsky.social).

On the one hand, AI companions are (increasingly) amazing at rectifying isolation. But on the other hand, loneliness is a biological signal that pushes us toward improving ourselves socially. So what's the right balance here? And does everyone have the same need to cure loneliness? In other words, might AI relationships mess up our young even while providing a critical lifeline to our seniors? Join this week as we dive deep with psychologist Paul Bloom.

Free speech after Charlie Kirk ... Tyler Robinson's strange messages ... How influential was Kirk? ... Do violent video games encourage violence? ... What Gary Marcus gets right—and (very) wrong—about AI ... Overtime topics: Paul's debate triumph, Redford's legacy, etc. ... Heading into Overtime ...

The Bob-Paul secret sauce—spilled! ... Mickey Kaus's latest contribution to Epsteinology ... Paul fact-checks Mickey, gets fact-checked ... What's better: AI or indoor plumbing? ... What Gary Marcus gets right—and (very) wrong—about AI ... Has TV made us smarter? ... The pros of the Google antitrust ruling ... Putin's paleo-transhumanism ... Heading to Overtime ...

Bob defends the Unabomber (kind of) ... Paul nurses his Mickey-inflicted wounds ... Bob deflates the GPT-5 deflation ... How big a deal are LLM hallucinations? ... AI's coming social and economic disruptions ... How Bob and Paul use AI ... The ideas of Hanno Sauer ... Heading to Overtime ...

Why do people like to watch scary movies or listen to sad songs? Why do we run marathons and raise children, even though both of those pursuits come with struggle and pain? Paul Bloom, PhD,  discusses why suffering is linked to meaning in life, the connection between pleasure and pain, and the difference between chosen and unchosen suffering. Please take our listener survey at http://at.apa.org/SoPSurvey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Substack glory and livestream anxiety ... Reading eugenics into a dopey jeans ad ... Does Sydney Sweeney spell the end of “inclusive marketing”? ... Bob vs. Paul on IQ and “general intelligence” ... Paul reviews the new Billy Joel documentary ... The Epstein prison video snafu: a Bayesian take ... Ghislaine gets a free upgrade ...

Substack glory and livestream anxiety ... Reading eugenics into a dopey jeans ad ... Does Sydney Sweeney spell the end of “inclusive marketing”? ... Bob vs. Paul on IQ and “general intelligence” ... Paul reviews the new Billy Joel documentary ... The Epstein prison video snafu: a Bayesian take ... Ghislaine gets a free upgrade ...

Sam Harris speaks with Paul Bloom about AI and current events. They discuss the state of LLMs, the risks and benefits of AI companionship, what it means to attribute consciousness to AI, relationships with AI as a form of psychosis, Trump's attacks on science and academia, what Trump may be trying to hide in the Epstein files, how damaging Trump's connections to Epstein might be, MAGA's obsession with conspiracy theories, questions surrounding Epstein's death, Paul's research on revenge, Sam's falling out with Elon Musk, where things went wrong for Elon, and other topics. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at samharris.org/subscribe.

The full reason for Bob's absence—revealed ... What's the real story with Trump and Epstein? ... A peek down the Epstein rabbit hole ... Grok goes full Nazi-pornbot ... The promise and perils of AI companions ... Bob on dealing with cancer in the age of AI ... Heading to Overtime ...

The full reason for Bob's absence—revealed ... What's the real story with Trump and Epstein? ... A peek down the Epstein rabbit hole ... Grok goes full Nazi-pornbot ... The promise and perils of AI companions ... Bob on dealing with cancer in the age of AI ... Heading to Overtime ...

Human nature and the possibility of utopiaThe idea of utopia - of a perfect society devoid of suffering and inequality - is planted firmly in the human imagination and psyche. From pre-biblical times to Thomas More and communism and beyond, widely disparate groups have attempted to plan or create a utopia. But is it achievable? And if not, why not?Join unconventional psychologist Paul Bloom as he makes the case for the impossibility of utopia given certain key features of human nature. We are not meant, he argues, for perfect harmony and equality. Paul Bloom is a researcher of perversion and suffering, so his perspective brings interesting insights on the question. But what do you think? Can we ever achieve utopia? Email us at podcast@iai.tv with your thoughts or questions on the episode!To witness such topics discussed live buy tickets for our upcoming festival: https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/And visit our website for many more articles, videos, and podcasts like this one: https://iai.tv/You can find everything we referenced here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We venture into the darker corners of the gurusphere and marvel at some very, very brave individuals, their valiant efforts to play devil's advocate, and some world-class discourse surfing skills. Join us, won't you?Supplementary Material 31: Aquatic Nightmares, Strategic Obliviousness, & Race Realists00:00 Introduction & Ol Squeaky Cameo02:57 Matt's Aquarium Trauma & Stress Dreams09:45 RFK Jr's war on science continues11:17 Robert Malone & other 'Covid Contrarians' rewarded under Trump14:35 The LA Protests, Riots, and Anti-Immigrant Narratives20:12 Flint Dibble calls out Joe Rogan25:24 Joe Rogan is a polemical ideologue and anti-vaccine advocate27:34 Cassandra Kavanagh?32:37 If Books Could Kill on Lab Leak35:10 Popular Perceptions of the Covid Pandemic vs Reality38:38 Debating COVID-19 Measures38:59 Clarifying the Role of Sam's Manager42:56 Discussing Trump, Musk, and DOGE's Political Impact47:12 The Meaning Crisis and the Comfort of Religion50:35 The Effects of Social Media53:15 Matt and Chris Friendly Shadowboxing56:19 The horror of directly stating your opinions58:14 Sam Harris' Preparation for Conversations01:05:02 Strategic Obliviousness01:12:26 A little bit of TRT Discourse01:16:17 Lex's Insufferable Tweet:  Celebrating Humanity and Responding to Critics01:18:46 The Bravery of the All In Podcast Besties01:20:33 Elon Musk and Donald Trump: A Complex Relationship01:23:42 Mike from PA and Dunking Safely Online01:26:10 Scientific Racism and Controversial Podcasts01:34:02 Paul Bloom and Subjective Redlines01:41:10 The Neo-Nazi Smoke in the Race Realism World01:48:36 Daniël Lakens on Bryan Johnson on Mortality Salience01:50:16 Matt's Foodie Corner01:52:21 OutroThe full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 54 mins).Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurusSourcesBBC- RFK Jr appoints new US vaccine advisers after sacking committeeFlint Dibble's New Video: Joe Rogan's Cult of Fake ArchaeologyLex Fridman's Insufferable TweetSam Harris EPISODE 419 "More From Sam": Elon vs. Trump, Religion, Jordan Peterson, & Rapid Fire QuestionsThe All In Besties being cowardsThe Guardian: Harvard author Steven Pinker appears on podcast linked to scientific racismSteven Pinker on AporiaHope Not Hate's investigation into Aporia and related race science networksIf Books Could Kill: The Lab Leak Goes Mainstream

The Trump-Musk blowup, reconciliation, and fallout ... Trump vs Elon: a psycho-analysis ... Where do Trump and Elon go from here? ... Remembering Brian Wilson and Sly Stone ... Will AI turn us all into narcissists? ... Heading to Overtime ...

The Trump-Musk blowup, reconciliation, and fallout ... Trump vs Elon: a psycho-analysis ... Where do Trump and Elon go from here? ... Remembering Brian Wilson and Sly Stone ... Will AI turn us all into narcissists? ... Heading to Overtime ...

We generally think of pain as something to be avoided. But psychologist Paul Bloom says that as much as we're wired to avoid suffering, we also seek it out. This week, we begin a two-part mini series about the curious pleasure we take in certain forms of pain.Hidden Brain is about to go on tour! Join Shankar in a city near you as he shares key insights from the first decade of the show. For more info and tickets, go to https://hiddenbrain.org/tour/. 

A note about this podcast ... Paul aces Bob's worthwhile Canadian pop-quiz ... Trump's corruption: Illegal or just unprecedentedly gross? ... Elon bows out ... Trump's crusade against elite colleges continues ... Is JD Vance more dangerous than Trump? ... Are AI doomers walking their talk? ... Trump makes Canada a golden offer ... Heading to Overtime ...

How much of our success or failure is written in our genes? How much is under our control? Is it nature or nurture or is that dichotomy too simplistic? Hear EconTalk's Russ Roberts and psychologist Paul Bloom discuss why the nature vs. nurture question is actually worth taking seriously and how by understanding it we can help ourselves and others.

Manic and frazzled, Jonah Goldberg turned for help from in-house Remnant psychologist Paul Bloom. They explore intellectual esoterica, check what Noam Chomsky got wrong, explore Large Language Models, and fret over the age of artificial consciousness and AI girlfriends. Show Notes:—Paul's Substack—Paul on Substack "Is it nature or is it nurture?" is a damn good question” The Remnant is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch's offerings—including Jonah's G-File newsletter, regular livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The letters Rx are somehow related to drug stores. But why? What do those letters actually mean? You probably think they have to do with medication or prescriptions or something. But why Rx? What do those letters stand for. This episode begins with an explanation. https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/06/rx-mean-come/ You are SO not the person you once were. Nor are you the person you will one day be. That's according to Paul Bloom, professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale. Listen as he discusses what are most likely the happiest years of your life, why you are different from everyone else on the planet and other fascinating intel into how your mind makes you the person you are. Paul is author of the book Psych: The Story of the Human Mind (https://amzn.to/3k524d5). Your future is uncertain. And people generally don't like uncertainty. That because the future may be full of opportunity, but it can also be full of danger and disappointment – and you don't know which one is around the corner. However, there is another way to look at uncertainty which my guest Nathan Furr is here to reveal. Nathan is a professor and author of the book The Upside of Uncertainty (https://amzn.to/3SbJBZ6). Listen as he offers a different way to face the unknown that will minimize risk and amplify opportunity. Dio you know the difference between a road a street an avenue and a boulevard? For one thing, all streets are roads but not all roads are streets. Sound confusing? Listen and as I sort it all out. https://www.rd.com/article/difference-between-streets-roads-avenues/ PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! FACTOR: Eat smart with Factor! Get 50% off at https://FactorMeals.com/something50off DELL: Anniversary savings await you for a limited time only at https://Dell.com/deals SHOPIFY:  Nobody does selling better than Shopify! Sign up for a $1 per-month trial period at https://Shopify.com/sysk and upgrade your selling today! HERS: Hers is changing women's healthcare by providing access to GLP-1 weekly injections with the same active ingredient as Ozempic and Wegovy, as well as oral medication kits. Start your free online visit today at https://forhers.com/sysk INDEED: Get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING right now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Being jolted out of the everyday can be a good thing. From an elaborate farce, to benign naughtiness, to a life-altering event—this hour, TED speakers explain the productive side of the provocative. Guests include bird truther Peter McIndoe, psychologist Paul Bloom and cognitive scientist Maya Shankar. Original broadcast date: December 8, 2023TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy