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Nicholas Wright: When Ancient Brains Meet Modern War

12/18/2025 • 41 min

Neuroscientist Nicholas Wright explains why big powers "lose" wars they dominate on the kill ratio—and why counterinsurgencies (Vietnam, Afghanistan, maybe Iraq) reliably punish the side with less at stake. His new book, Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain, argues that identity, surprise, and revenge are ancient brain features, while metac… Play episode

James Clyburn: "The World Would Much Rather See a Sermon Than Hear One."
Mikhail Zygar: From Glasnost Whiplash to Social-Media Smog
Chris Dalla Riva: "Billboard's become a Christmas chart."
Finding the Next Terry Gross with Daniel Oppenheimer
Shadi Hamid: The Left Should Learn to Love American Power
Not Even Mad: Anthony Weiner & John Ketcham
Holiday Suicides: Is That BS? with Sadie Dingfelder
Mark Rowlands on Memory and the Stories We Tell Ourselves
Daniel Zoughbie: The Mightiest Turns an Enemy into a Friend
Mike Pesca on the Vig, the Fix, and the John Goodman Thumb
Funny You Should Mention: Mohanad Elshieky
TJ Raphael on the Liberty Godparent Trap and the Cost of Coercion
Rachel McCarthy James on Axe Murder, Salad Spinners, and the Hat-Brim Line
Daniel Brook & Brandy Schillace: The Sex Expert Who Scared Hitler
Murdaugh Showrunner Michael D. Fuller: Power Metastasizes
Jesse Eisenberg: "Marv Albert Is My Therapist"
Bob Saget & Chuck Klosterman: "I Really Have Become Liza Minnelli"
Henry Winkler & Clint Watts: "Three Little Fonzies and a Trail of Dead Rus…
Abby Phillip: "The Stones for David's Slingshot"
Not Even Mad: Russ Muirhead & Nick Gillespie
Mike Vuolo & Bob Garfield: "Life Is a Flat Pizza Bagel"
Mike on Matt Lewis Can't Lose
Funny You Should Mention: Myq Kaplan
Fareed Zakaria on Revolutions, Backlashes, and the High Cost of Not Fixing…
James Patterson: "My Time Here Is Short. What Can I Do Most Beautifully?"
John Amaechi: "Excellence Isn't Sorcery"
Nicole Gelinas on Crime, Bail, and Mamdani's Vibesy Criminology
David Ignatius on Space Wars, Skepticism, and His Father's Legacy
Katie Herzog Is the Kind of Person Who Googles Recidivism Rates in an AA M…
Not Even Mad: Charles Lehman & Brad Carson
John J. Lennon — "I'm Owning My Sh*t on the Page"
Jon Levy: "We Don't Really Want Authenticity"
Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon on Life After Cars
The Good Fight Club, or Good Fight Club?
Funny You Should Mention: Dusty Slay
Sadie Dingfelder on "Hair, Feathers, and the Theater of Disgust."
Colin Woodard: The Federation Is the Fault Line
The Wars Trump Says He Ended, and the One Cheney Began
Matthew Hiltzik on the Craft of Crisis Communications
Mike Pesca on "Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em"
Art Cullen on Iowa's Corn Gospel, Cancer, and Capture
Beth Macy: "When the Local Paper Dies, the Community Follows"
Karine Jean-Pierre: "Independent," Evasion, and the Party She Says Left Her
Steve Hayes & Damon Linker: The Hole Truth
Barista Michelle Eisen on Face Tattoos, Short Staffs, and Union Shots Fired
Jeremy Workman — "Walking Every Block, Hiding in a Mall"
Funny You Should Mention: Ariel Elias
No Capes, Real Peace: U Thant's UN and What We Lost
Alicia Wanless — "The Ecology of Information"

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