Listen now | 0:00 Tom’s Pulitzer-Prize hat trick 1:03 Why Beijing is relatively calm about Trump’s reelection 9:33 China hawkism in the AI community 15:24 What’s Trump’s logic re Greenland and Panama? 22:44 On Israel-Palestine, is a two-state solution still possible? 31:06 How a stable ceasefire in Gaza could transform Israeli politics 36:17 Why Trump may be better than Biden on Israel-Palestine 43:46 Bob and Tom debate a possible strike on Iran 52:42 Prospects for peace in Ukraine under Trump 55:24 How America is making a Chinese invasion of Taiwan more likelyRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Thomas Friedman (The New York Times). Recorded January 21, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods
I always enjoy it when Friedman is a guest, and I learn a lot. But I seriously wonder whether he knows much about the early history of the European Union. It’s a challenging subject, because it’s shrouded in self-flattering narratives and bureaucratic tedium. I studied this for a few years, in the US and in Europe. It’s been around for more than 70 years, and I’m not sure there is a great book on its history in English still. But I’ll suggest a few insights about which I’m confident. First, the original six was a coalition of the badly defeated. they didn’t come together for idealistic reasons, this was a Hail Mary pass. And if even one of the original members had more stature than the others it might have never come to pass. But second, these were all countries which had been through the Industrial Revolution, were on a similar level economically, and had some sense of shared cultural patrimony. This is the first I’ve heard Friedman speak of his belief that the EU might serve as some sort of template for the Middle East. Color me skeptical. But I appreciated Friedman’s insights. Maybe he should make the EU the topic of his next book! There is a great untold story here waiting to be mined, and the timing is right for someone to tell it.
I always enjoy it when Friedman is a guest, and I learn a lot. But I seriously wonder whether he knows much about the early history of the European Union. It’s a challenging subject, because it’s shrouded in self-flattering narratives and bureaucratic tedium. I studied this for a few years, in the US and in Europe. It’s been around for more than 70 years, and I’m not sure there is a great book on its history in English still. But I’ll suggest a few insights about which I’m confident. First, the original six was a coalition of the badly defeated. they didn’t come together for idealistic reasons, this was a Hail Mary pass. And if even one of the original members had more stature than the others it might have never come to pass. But second, these were all countries which had been through the Industrial Revolution, were on a similar level economically, and had some sense of shared cultural patrimony. This is the first I’ve heard Friedman speak of his belief that the EU might serve as some sort of template for the Middle East. Color me skeptical. But I appreciated Friedman’s insights. Maybe he should make the EU the topic of his next book! There is a great untold story here waiting to be mined, and the timing is right for someone to tell it.