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0:00 Ross’s new book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious
6:53 An argument for cosmic purpose
14:35 The mysterious persistence of weird shit
18:10 Does human consciousness point to something bigger?
24:09 Tensions between science and Christian orthodoxy
27:39 A few more words about consciousness
34:26 A few more words about weirdness
41:32 Why doesn’t the weirdness show up in controlled studies?
48:20 Heading to Overtime
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Ross Douthat (The New York Times, The Decadent Society, Believe). Recorded March 18, 2025.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods
Overtime titles:
0:00 How Bob got Ross hired at the Times (Bob claims) and invented the podcast (Ross claims)
4:07 Bob’s experience with weird shit
7:26 The religious frame of mind
14:24 Defining God
16:31 One odd legacy of Bob’s religious upbringing
22:59 Buddhism in theory and practice
26:08 “Welcome to the Mystery”
28:59 Drugs and religious experience
31:01 Does Bob believe?
35:59 Why does it matter?
Overtime video:
