The Wright Show

Paul Krugman says Americans took 9/11 "pretty calmly" ... Bob: America's overreaction to 9/11 paved the way for Trump ... Would Biden just bring back the pre-Trump foreign policy status quo? ... Mickey on the Woodward book: Trump bullshits everyone ... Mickey's new "mafia" theory about the secret Epstein tapes ... Considering Matt Yglesias's new book (without having read it) ... The anti–Jeffrey Goldberg line that Trump failed to use ... Americans are falling in love with Joe "Cadaver" Biden! ... Why there hasn't been a second round of stimulus ...

How Sharon became one of the first Americans to study Buddhism in India ... Sharon's new book, Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World ... Does meditation seal you off from the world? ... Mindfully coping with anger on social media ... There's more political diversity among meditators than you might think ... Sharon explains lovingkindness meditation ... The difficult work of finding compassion for your enemies ... Planting seeds in a garden you never get to see ...

Why the polls may be significantly understating Trump’s support ... Bob and Mickey offer Biden some "Sister Souljah" options ... Anonymous sources say Trump calls dead soldiers losers ... What did Trump mean by "dark shadows"? ... Are things so screwed up that a second Trump term could usefully “heighten the contradictions”? ... Mickey: Democrats are about to flip-flop on mail-in voting ... Bob fears an escalation in violent confrontation between left and right ... Possible pandemic October surprises ... Bob and Mickey on Ben Smith on Andrew Sullivan ... NYT anti-Trump bias (cont’d) ...

Defining "liberal internationalism" ... Should US policy toward another nation depend on its internal character? ... Tensions within liberal internationalism ... The club of democracies, Rooseveltian internationalism, and neoconservatism ... Debating whether liberal democracies are more likely to play by the rules ... How John would shape US policy toward China ... Bob: Our main task should be making America a shining city on a hill ... John's advice for the next administration ... Bob nominates John for Secretary of State ...

Mickey’s unfavorable review of Trump’s speech ... Why Trump is far from doomed ... Does Trump have anything to brag about in his foreign policy? ... How much blame does Trump deserve for the pandemic's toll? ... The open-carry shooting in Kenosha ... What Jerry Falwell Jr. and Jimmy Swaggart have in common ... Both parties have unstable coalitions, so why hasn't there been a realignment? ... Bob and Mickey both attempt to claim the mantle of Ricky Ricardo ...

Ingrid's new book, Animalkind ... Animal rights vs. animal welfare ... Amazing facts about animals (and the many things we still don't know) ... Is it bad to call your dog a “pet” (or for that matter “yours”)? ... Contemplating animal consciousness ... How unethical is Bob's pescatarian diet? ... The rise of artificial meat ... Ingrid asks, "Do you think that animal was a volunteer?" ... Ingrid's extremely unusual last will and testament ...

A live conversation with Josh Summers on cognitive empathy and mindfulness. ...

Was Biden's convention speech just a bunch of blarney? ... The political convention as infomercial ... Is Steve Bannon toast? ... Mickey defends the recent controversial changes at the Postal Service ... The Kamala 25th Amendment scenario ... Bob tries to get Mickey to admit he wants Trump to win ... What is the "Charlottesville lie"? And is it really a lie? ... Decoding the Israel–UAE deal ... Covid and herd immunity ...

Eric's new book, Lying in State: Why Presidents Lie—And Why Trump Is Worse ... What sets Trump's lying apart ... The ideals of America vs. the facts of empire and white supremacy ... FDR's lies in the run-up to US entry into WWII and at Yalta ... Lies told by Washington, Wilson, and JFK ... The many lies about our covert acts during the Cold War ... Jimmy Carter’s unusual relationship to lying ... How the press let Reagan get away with his lies ... Eric is surprised by Bill Clinton's honesty ... Eric: Obama almost always told the truth ...

A conversation in memory of the late journalist and podcaster Michael Brooks. ...

The ambitions of Kamala Harris, pt. 1 ... Can Trump win by playing the law and order card? ... Face it, boomers: the meaning of “racism” is changing ... Leon Wieseltier’s return from #MeToo miscreant purgatory ... Is the normalization of Israel-UAE relations a big deal? ... The ambitions of Kamala Harris, pt. 2 ...

Heather defines her foreign policy vision ... Critiquing liberal internationalism ... Has "human rights" become a cynical geopolitical tool? ... Why Heather isn't ready to swear off military intervention ... How middle powers operate within the system ... Heather: We can't decouple from China ... Is democracy promotion inherently flawed? ... What economic engagement can and can't do ... Against restorationism ... Heather on the burgeoning movement devoted to military restraint ...

It's finally happened: Bob and Mickey are starting a Patreon! ... Biden commits a Kinsley gaffe ... Mickey to Trump: Soldier on! ... The Joe Pesci formula for getting Trump out of office ... Mickey roots for Kamala to win the VP nom ... Should it worry us that Mickey has been tweeting in ALL CAPS lately? ... Are Latinos a more natural constituency for Dems or the GOP? ... Bob goes on TikTok and lives to tell the tale ... Appraising Andrew Sullivan’s take on critical theory and woke culture ... Many worlds, many truths? ... Introducing: The Parrot Room ...

Defining foreign policy realism ... Emma fears that China will disrupt global trade and energy flows ... Is there a role for idealism within realism? ... Does economic engagement promote democratization? ... A realist take on Russia's annexation of Crimea ... Emma doubts a major power would willingly bind itself to international law ... What Emma wishes America hadn't done over the past 30 years ...

Mickey: The LBJ '68 scenario is gathering steam ... The perfect storm that would get Trump reelected ... Bob vs. Mickey on America's posture toward China ... Hydroxychloroquine and sex with demons ... Woke denialism about moral progress ... Mickey’s unconventional plan for socioeconomically integrating the suburbs ... Weighing Susan Rice as VP ... Do the new Epstein revelations support the Mossad theory? ... Can Alan Dershowitz sink any lower? ... Mickey: If the GOP loses the Senate, the party is history ...