The Wright Show (audio)

Tom: Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan imperils the defense of Ukraine ... Unpacking the Russia-Ukraine/China-Taiwan analogy ... Tom’s critique of Bob’s argument on Russia-Ukraine ... The dangers of humiliating and alienating China ... Does Biden have a plan for winding down the war in Ukraine – and does Putin? ... China could push Russia to end the war – so why is Pelosi poking the panda? ... Why cooperation with China is in America’s national interest ... Tom’s scoop on Zelensky’s worsening reputation in the White House ... Why Tom thinks a diplomatic resolution should come sooner rather than later ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Rajan walks through three ways the war could end ... Assessing Ukraine’s and Russia’s military aims ... The causes and consequences of Ukraine’s optimism ... What might weaken Ukrainian and western resolve? ... How America’s toxic political discourse prolongs the war ... Does Biden have a plan? ... Do we understand Putin’s motivation ... Will Putin accept anything short of taking the entire Donbas? ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Mickey lives in darkness ... Dems rise in the polls as Trump falls ... The case that Trump was trying to obstruct Congress on January 6 gets stronger ... Steve Bannon’s role as January 6 ringleader ... How susceptible is the left to election fraud fantasies? ... Are we ready for the current Covid wave? ... Why do we need Saudi Arabia’s oil? ... Will higher wages for unskilled labor stick around? ... NYT columnists admit their errors ... The SPLC attacks Andrew Yang ... A new study challenges the link between low serotonin and depression ... Will Joe Manchin sink the global minimum corporate tax? ... Ukraine update ... Parrot Room preview: Bob and Mickey react to Jonah Goldberg’s trash talk, Bill Gates throws his money around, Washington corruption, Oz vs. Fetterman, What another Trump presidency would be like, the holograms are coming for us, Mickey’s childlike reactions to Biden and Fetterman, an interesting Supreme Court case, Ethan Hawke’s Ukraine peace plan, the Bonesaw Golf Circuit, an

Ross to Bob: In a parallel universe, you are a media god. ... The non-zero-sum nature of disagreement in the blog days ... Ross’s time as an Atlantic blogging big-shot ... Will Twitter-style discourse last forever? ... Technology, politics, and polarization ... Ross’s niche in the conservative ecosystem ... Globalization vs. the (new) “new nationalism” ... Can the world afford a Cold War II? ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Mickey admits he was wrong about the 10-year-old abortion story ... The Atlantic’s conveniently timed story about MBS’s widow ... Is Biden doing MBS a favor by investigating the PGA? ... Mickey: Democrats are still overperforming in midterm polls ... January 6 hearings update ... Working with, or around, Joe Manchin ... Has Elon Musk actually thought through free speech on Twitter? ... Ukraine war update ... Mickey: The Peter Thiel candidates will decide the fate of the Senate ... Parrot Room preview: Bob’s Atlantic conspiracy theory revealed, the British Open and LIV, Starbucks store closings, Biden and military force in Iran, NAIRU news, the Hunter Biden cloud leak, the value of the Iraq war, sucking up to Saudi Arabia, Bob complains about a terrible WaPo headline, the annoyances of “agency,” Jill Biden’s breakfast taco faux pas, and fertilizer in Sri Lanka ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.co

Why David thinks better US policy could have prevented the Russia-Ukraine war ... Bob: Explaining Putin’s criminal invasion is not the same as justifying it ... How understanding other minds sheds light on international politics ... The importance of speaking out ... What Silicon Valley doesn’t get about international politics ... In what sense does Silicon Valley care about the future? ... When cancel culture meets foreign policy ... David on his political ideology ... Possible endgames in Ukraine ... Could the war tank Biden’s presidency? ... A few words on cryptocurrency ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Mickey: Inflation could abate by the midterms, saving the Dems ... Bob: Congress’s inability to act meaningfully on guns is outrageous ... How the 14th Amendment could support federal pro-abortion legislation ... Does Boris Johnson’s fall reflect disenchantment with Brexit? ... Build Back Better is back ... Liz Cheney, Democratic presidential candidate? ... Bob’s somewhat intrusive gun control workaround ... Harvard’s pandemic stimulus check study ... Parrot Room preview: A Ukraine update, Blake Masters, good career news for two TNR alums, Mickey attacks Mark Leibovich, January 6, corporatism, naming names in the Epstein case, Bari Weiss gossip, Minions and TikTok, Bob saw Memorial and you didn’t, and the abortion-seeking ten-year-old story ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Thinking back fondly on the time Dick Cheney shot a guy ... David: Online journalism leveled the media playing field ... Is Russiagate an example of Democratic demagoguery? ... Mickey’s little-known past as a squire to DC’s elite ... The rewards of outrageousness ... What does it take to get drummed out of public life in 2022? ... David: It’s sad that so many Americans accept Trump’s prolific lying ... Does backlash against perceived media bias explain Trump’s support? ... The undiminished shock value of January 6 ... Is there any Democratic alternative to Biden and Harris in 2024? ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Cassidy Hutchinson’s credible-seeming January 6 testimony ... Are the January 6 hearings hurting Trump’s 2024 chances? ... Mickey: I’m surprised the press is giving Hutchinson such a hard time ... Bob: The hearings are going to be a very important historical document ... Are the Republicans putting all of their non-Trump eggs in the DeSantis basket? ... Will the Democrats retain the Senate? ... Is the Supreme Court’s EPA ruling a judicial power grab? ... Is this Supreme Court philosophically conservative or politically conservative? ... Ukraine update ... Parrot Room preview: Ghislaine Maxwell, Woke Boris Johnson, wokeism in general, Ukraine, the Cafe Milano leak, Sonny Barger and the Hell’s Angels quiz, media bias, and Mickey’s four points about Bob’s conversation with Matt Yglesias ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Bob and Matt reflect on the early days of Bloggingheads ... The decline of print and the rise of blogging ... How Matt made blogging work for him ... The shifting incentives of digital publishing ... Matt: Filter bubbles are more real than the research seems to suggest ... Bob: To succeed in modern journalism, it helps to like being hated ... The positive side of social media ... Slippage between news and opinion at the NYT ... The worrisome incentives of Twitter for academics ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

An important announcement for Bloggingheads fans ... Was Roe v. Wade doomed from its inception? ... Will the Supreme Court’s gun ruling get people killed? ... Bob: Democrats should weaponize the gun ruling ... Mickey: The January 6 hearings have been effective if unbalanced ... The pragmatic case for not indicting Trump ... Bob’s Biden replacement proposal of the week: Van Jones ... Two Trump-related hurdles for Ron DeSantis ... Ukraine update: the momentum shift is official ... A bittersweet farewell to Bloggingheads ... Mickey clarifies: He does not think sex should be illegal ... Parrot Room preview: Media bias on Ukraine, Juneteenth, Mark Shields, Bob’s killer argument against Nick Bostrom's simulation argument, Undone, we’re all the Beatles now, a crucial test for Brexit, Mickey’s prediction about the lab leak hypothesis, Lightyear bombs, Ben Smith’s Semafor, immigration news, a “Bonesaw Golf Circuit” update, and should the government regulate AI? ... This is a public episode. If you’d like

Why Matt thinks progressives should support giving military aid to Ukraine ... Bob defends much of the left-wing critique of America’s Russia-Ukraine policies ... How the "Putin's talking points" smear shuts down criticism of US foreign policy ... Is the “democracy vs autocracy” framework leading the world to Cold War II? ... Assessing possible endgames in Ukraine – and what comes after ... Did Biden make a serious diplomatic effort to prevent Putin’s invasion? ... Making free trade agreements a tool for advancing left-of-center policy ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Mickey implores Bob: “Leave Biden alone!” Bob proves incapable. ... Democrats’ surprisingly good Senate race poll numbers ... Mickey: Immigration numbers are climbing, but the media isn’t covering it ... The downsides of framing US foreign policy as a “struggle against autocracy” ... How courageous was Pence on January 6? ... Did Trump both plan and fan the violence on January 6? ... Mickey: Trump and DeSantis are neck and neck as 2024 prospects ... Will Biden lift Trump-era tariffs on China? ... Bob: Ukraine may soon run out of ammo for its Soviet-era artillery ... Parrot Room preview: Exciting child tax credit news, Jeffrey Epstein news, a new angle on the Dave Weigel affair, Stanford eliminates fun, a deep dive into Bob’s views on consciousness, the dating habits of Richard Spencer, the US Open, Bob pummels an NYT headline, the Proud Boys, and Kurt Gödel ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com

Nikita’s exciting—but daunting—new creative venture ... What responsibility do the Russian people bear for their government’s actions? ... Seeing clearly the many perspectives in the “Russian perspective” ... When does blaming propaganda go from explanation to excuse? ... Was this war with Russia the least bad option for Ukraine? ... Is fighting the power a fool’s errand? ... Assigning credit (and blame) for post-Soviet Russia ... Did US interests want Russia to invade Ukraine? ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

What did we learn from the primetime January 6 hearing? ... Bob: “Our foreign policy is virtue signaling, and it’s very, very costly” ... The alarming threats against Supreme Court justices ... WaPo’s dismissal of Felicia Sonmez ... Does Chesa Boudin’s recall mark the end of criminal justice reform? ... The Iran Deal teeters on the edge of collapse ... Bob tears Biden and Blinken’s sanctioning policy a new one ... Mickey: Biden should prepare for midterm losses by pivoting now ... Why haven’t Ukraine’s new weapons slowed Russia down? ... Parrot Room preview: Felicia Sonmez, Saudi Arabia’s LIV golf tour, why Microsoft may own the metaverse, The Glitch in the Matrix, an under-reported Jeffrey Epstein-Elon Musk connection, a lab leak hypothesis update, Mickey’s un-PC thoughts about Ken Bode, and Mickey wrestles with his own ideological affiliations ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Josh: World War I shattered empires, ethnic cleansing created nation-states ... How the US and Russia wound up cooperating to fight ISIS and Sunni militias ... Why Turkey is holding up NATO membership for Sweden and Finland ... By helping to keep Syria divided, is the US giving ISIS free rein? ... What Turkey wants in exchange for letting Sweden and Finland into NATO ... In retrospect, should the US not have intervened in Syria? ... Why Russia-Ukraine might become another devastating frozen conflict ... Josh: Putin misapplied the lessons of Syria to Ukraine ... How US sanctions impede conflict resolution in the Middle East ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Mickey’s ingenious—and not at all far-fetched—solution to the Kamala problem ... Failures to unravel the Gordian knot of gun control ... Has Biden’s approval hit rock-bottom? Mickey hopes not ... The most plausible path to a ceasefire in Ukraine ... The Hillary Clinton-Cold War II connection ... Hillary lawyer Michael Sussmann acquitted ... Trump aide Peter Navarro indicted ... Inflation and Omicron: good news, bad news for Biden? ... Parrot Room preview: Depp-Heard verdict, the Ben Wittes defense of Michael Sussmann, what’s up with Tucker Carlson’s son?, Sheryl Sandberg’s political ambitions, prospective chief of staff replacement’s Harvey Weinstein problem, Ann Coulter starts a Substack, Freddie deBoer gets Ben Smith’d, making heads or tails of rising non-binary rates, Ukraine War spin, Dead End, Undone, Severance ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

Why Jon’s dire Atlantic piece demanded a Bob-response ... Are today’s problems typical technological growing pains or alarming signs of demise? ... How much blame should social media get for the mess we’re in? ... Do today’s progressives recognize social progress? ... Jon: Productive “managed conflict” has become nearly impossible ... Will self-help save the planet? ... Can America survive without cultural common ground? ... Will the flip side of intranational tension be international cohesion? ... The three changes Jon thinks could save American society ... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nonzero.substack.com/subscribe

A brief word about civility. Why is Elon Musk feuding with AOC? Mickey vs. Andy McCarthy on the Sussman case. Is the FBI really the bad guy? Is it crazy to think video games can cause violence? Run, Michelle, run! Is Pakistan coming apart? Shouldn’t Frank Foer defend his Alfa Bank story again? The case for Peter Beinart. Kerry’s failure to undermine Trump on Iran. Biden’s failure to reverse Trump on Iran. Kelly Anne Conway pushes Trump’s hot button. Why Trump can’t quit Jared. Bob’s Dead End update. Mickey thinks it’s time for an Yglesias self-reckoning. Everybody likes Goodfellas, but the Copacabana is not the longest tracking shot. And everybody likes After Hours. Will Peter Thiel control two senators? Three generations of Bushes are enough. Do the Clintons really need all that money? Is writing about national service inherently boring? Does Ukraine show that all big military platforms are dead ducks? Will Bob ever stop talking about Ukraine media bias? Mickey’s Inferno: sports talk radio. Severance and Sta

California voting information materials fail the cognitive empathy test ... Will the latest mass shooting spur effective federal gun legislation? ... Mickey: Schumer will learn from Obama’s post-Sandy Hook political mistakes ... Are elites and geniuses more juvenile than the rest of us? ... Bob asks: Why is Western media so slow to report bad news from Ukraine? ... Do we really know “what the Ukrainian people want”? ... The status of the US’s “strategic ambiguity” toward Taiwan becomes more ambiguous ... Mickey: Americans’ enthusiasm for funding Ukraine is cooling ... Trump’s Republican bêtes noires win in Georgia ... Parrot Room preview: Franklin Foer’s role in the Sussman case, Severance, Kellyanne Conway’s book, Elon Musk’s tweets, Peter Thiel the kingmaker, the Bush dynasty vs. the Clinton dynasty, Luke Russert reopens the national service debate, monkeypox, the Institute for the Study of War’s role in the Ukraine bad news lag, the Iran nuclear deal, the Dead End podcast, and Station Eleven ...