Robert Wright's Nonzero

Evan's new book, Why I Am Not a Buddhist ... Evan's critique of "Buddhist modernism" and "Buddhist exceptionalism" ... Which of Buddhism’s major claims are naturalistic? ... Is Buddhism fundamentally different than other religions? ... Bob defends Buddhist insights into human psychology ... Evan's case against "neural Buddhism" ... Does a clearer view of reality make you more equanimous? ... All about nirvana ... Debating evolutionary psychology ... Evan: This book is friendly criticism ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

Scott's new book, Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization ... Debunking myths about Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs ... The origins of humanistic psychology ... Optimism for the thinking person ... Psychological security in an era of new threats and superficial social connections ... Psychological growth: exploration, love, and purpose ... Defining "peak experiences" ... Scott says Bob is a "transcender." Bob is skeptical. ... Is this a kind of secular spirituality? ... Evaluating peak experiences achieved through psychedelics ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

Ruth's book, America the Anxious ... Ruth is skeptical that meditation leads to happiness ... Is being in the moment overrated? ... Is there a mindful view of the coronavirus pandemic? ... Radical self-help at the Landmark Forum ... The CEO of Zappos created a happiness city in Las Vegas. It did not go well. ... A plea for tolerance in the battle over attachment parenting ... Why are Mormons so gosh darn happy? ... Happiness in the UK vs. the US ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

Is Bob a bad yogi? ... Narayan's book, The Magnanimous Heart ... Narayan's journey from Janet to Narayan ... How Narayan entered contemplative practice ... Learning from snakes and lizards in Thailand ... Defining the Buddhist term dukka as "a constant squeeze" ... Dealing with feelings of grief and loss after a divorce ... Narayan: Not taking sides is not the same as passivity ... Mindfulness and the death of a loved one ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

Unpacking the Dao De Jing's famous opening line, "The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao" ... "The way" as a descriptive and prescriptive moniker ... Rising above the perspective of the moment ... The relationship among Daoism, Confucianism, and Zen Buddhism ... Spirituality and transcendence in Daoism ... Robin's work as a consultant on The Karate Kid remake ... Why Robin's book uses "yinyang" instead of "yin and yang" ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

David's new book, That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation ... What does the New Testament actually say about Hell? ... Original sin and the crucifixion of Jesus ... David's case against eternal damnation ... Free will, sin, and freedom ... What did "the Kingdom of Heaven" mean to Jesus? ... David: Envisioning the afterlife "always results in a kind of cartoon" ... David's quick thoughts on the mind-body problem ... Mysticism in the Eastern Orthodox Church ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

In a new TEDx talk, Alex calls for a science of UFOs ... Why Bob finds two naval sightings credible ... Alex: "There's some decent chance that these things are alien" ... Alex's proposal for a UFO monitoring system ... Might it be suicidal to let ETs know that we know about them? ... Alex: Maybe the aliens are waiting for us to figure it out ... What explains the taboo against academic study of UFOs? ... Alex's willingness to be misperceived as a crank ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

Skye and Massimo's new co-edited book, with Daniel Kaufman, How to Live a Good Life ... Existentialism's intersections with Stoicism ... How Skye encountered Existentialism while in business school ... Sartre and de Beauvoir's famous attempt to live a life of freedom ... Are philosophers a bunch of hypocrites? ... Personal authenticity vs. social convention ... Why Stoicism doesn’t mean passive acceptance ... Skye and Massimo on the philosophies they found most interesting ... How Wittgenstein would view this book ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

Defining "moral realism" ... Cognitivists vs. noncognitivists ... Are moral beliefs just expressions of human desires? ... Human happiness is better than human suffering...right? ... Considering whether you can be both a Darwinian and a moral realist ... Moral progress, teleology, and mysticism ... Why you "have to take something for granted" in any philosophical system ... The bedrock sources of meaning in life ... If life has meaning, does moral realism logically follow? ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

Rhonda's path to meditation and Buddhism ... Rhonda's new book, The Inner Work of Racial Justice ... Is equanimity the enemy of activism? ... Using mindfulness to overcome biases and stereotypes ... How Rhonda deploys contemplative practices in her law school classroom ... Can one feel compassion for a cop who shot an unarmed black man? ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe