BhTV: The Wright Show (audio)

Why understanding "no-self" matters: it might get you to Nirvana ... "Tanha"—the root of our suffering ... Miri's maverick interpretation of the no-self doctrine ... Miri and Bob talk about their meditation retreats ... Things get weird: A universal field of consciousness? ... Does losing your self making you a better (non-)person? ...

David: Why I was wrong about those Gaza photos ... Are there images from Gaza that we aren't seeing? ... The shrinking center, the dwindling hopes for peace ... Is the Gaza war increasing anti-Semitism? ... Bob: Hatred itself is the enemy ... How the conflict might end ...

What's the end game in Gaza? ... Israel's existential fears ... Do Israelis actually support the two-state solution? ... Lisa: The Israeli media is dehumanizing Palestinians ... A shift in the liberal Zionist discourse ... Does Netanyahu get that the narrative has changed? ...

The psychology of collectivized hatred in Israel/Palestine ... Carlo: The Arab League Peace Initiative is the answer ... Is recognition of Israel as a Jewish state a cynical demand? ... Are Americans becoming more critical of Israel? ... Blame Bibi, or blame Israeli society? ... The banality of evil in the Middle East ...

A unified theory of Hillary Clinton ... Hillary's surprising cultural conservatism ... How Hillary's key flaw brought her down in 2008 ... Peter's sharp critique of Obama's Iraq policy ... Bob: Let's not freak out about ISIS ... The perils of writing critically about Israel ...

Jim's critique of "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" ... What's so bad about raising taxes on the rich? ... Can America accept Russia's sphere of influence? ... Jim predicts a future of American abundance ... Cliven Bundy's standoff as a hinge point in US history ... Why progressives should love fracking ...

Rodney's book Awakening: A Paradigm Shift of the Heart ... Getting to “no self”: DIY ... Resistance is futile ... Trying to describe the indescribable feeling of not-self ... How surrendering your objection to a problem solves it ... An essential part of Buddhism is skepticism of essence ... Bob fails to awaken ...

Inside the brain of a meditator ... The part of the brain that separates you from not-you ... Choiceless awareness ... A scientific version of karma ... Does mindfulness hurt creativity? ... Distraction as a form of emotional control ...

Does a man’s physique shape his ideology? ... The modular view of the mind ... What is this thing you call "you," anyway? ... Conscious and unconscious modules ... Addiction and the ancestral environment ... Can evolutionary psychology save the world? ...

Why John wrote a new history of Israel's founding ... How Harry Truman saw the Middle East ... What if the US hadn't recognized Israel? ... John engages critics of "Genesis" ... Varieties of Zionism ... Does Kerry's peace process stand a chance? ...

Doug's book, "The Rational Animal" ... How our seven "subselves" see the world differently ... Beauty, strength, and status ... How humans evolved to be bad at economics ... Is objectivity possible? ... When a caveman gets behind the wheel ...

Three varieties of suffering ... Western misconceptions about Buddhism ... Are emotions real? ... Does the self exist? ... Who you callin' an enlightened vegetable? ... Goodness, righteousness, and truth ...

The Buddhist concepts of mindfulness and awakening ... Feelings, meditation, and the struggle with fear ... Aversion, impermanence, and the Four Noble Truths ... The foundations of mindfulness ... Joseph: Our thoughts are like dictators ... Reconnecting with the self ...

Jim's deep pessimism on China ... Bob's deep pessimism on the Middle East ... Marijuana, cocaine, and Chinese cyber-warfare ... Will Obamacare survive? ... Why we need better elites ... The urgent need to colonize outer space ...

Mark's new e-book, "The Zen Predator of the Upper East Side" ... The double injury of abuse by a spiritual teacher ... Is Buddhism particularly susceptible to sexual predators? ... Mark meditates with the predatory Zen master ... Meditation and sociopathy ... The addictive appeal of meditation ...