Here’s my 2017 conversation with ROBERT WRIGHT on his best-seller WHY BUDDHISM IS TRUE. Wright has been asking big questions for nearly four decades in books like THE MORAL ANIMAL, NON-ZERO, and THE  EVOLUTION OF GOD. On Substack, he’s persuasively critical  of much of what happens in Washington under either party. Why in the fall of Trump’s first year, first term, did he put out WHY BUDDHISM IS TRUE: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment? We talk evolutionary psychology, cognitive delusions, tribalism, and Trump. We asked then, what can mindfulness offer people trying to make sense and justice of contemporary politics? Almost exactly 8 years later, the question now, how can mindfulness help us deal with a dictator? 

The American people usually come together when confronting huge challenges – think of WWII and the attacks of 9/11. But today, facing the global pandemic, we are divided – on nearly every aspect of the crisis. In NONZERO, ROBERT WRIGHT contends that evolution and history move us toward greater cooperation, collaboration, and win-win outcomes. We talk about why – though individuals act heroically – the nation remains tribalized.

With his latest book, WHY BUDDHISM IS TRUE (#4 NYT Best-seller), ROBERT WRIGHT, who’s been asking big questions for at least three decades, asks another: What can mindfulness offer people trying to make sense and justice of contemporary politics, culture, and economics? We talk evolutionary psychology, confronting cognitive delusions, tribalism, and Trump.

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  Recorded 06/05/09 Christianity, Judaism and Islam are both peaceful and violent. Robert Wright discusses what circumstances bring out the best and worst in religion. Is religion a force for good or ill? This question has been more energetically debated over the last few years, globally, due to the West's confrontation with radical Islam, and in the U.S., to the political emergence and activism of evangelical Christians. This was brought to a head with the misadventures of George W. Bush, from Teri Schiavo to Bagdhad. Robert Wright takes on big questions, and he's taken this one on in his new book, The Evolution of God. He follows the changing moods of God as reflected in ancient Scripture, to see what circumstances brought out the best and worst in religions. According to Wright, "The moral of the story is simple: When people see their interests threatened by another group, this perception brings out the most belligerent parts of their religion. Such circumstances are good news for violent extremists and bad news for moderates. What Obama is trying to do -- make Palestinians feel less threatened, and make Muslims generally feel more respected -- may now, as it did in ancient times, bring out the tolerant side of a religion." Wright is a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, and founder and editor of www.bloggingheads.tv His books include: Three Scientists and Their Gods: Looking for Meaning in an Age of Information; The Moral Animal: Evolutionary Psychology and Everyday Life; and Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny. www.meaningoflife.tv and www.bloggingheads.tv.