This episode includes an Overtime segment that’s available to paid subscribers. If you’re not a paid subscriber, we of course encourage you to become one. If you are a paid subscriber, you can access the complete conversation either via the audio and video on this post or by setting up the paid-subscriber podcast feed, which includes all exclusive audio content. To set that up, simply grab the RSS feed from this page (by first clicking the “...” icon on the audio player) and paste it into your favorite podcast app. If you have trouble completing the process, check out this super-simple how-to guide.
0:00 Teaser
0:53 Sam’s epic new biography of William F. Buckley
5:56 Was Buckley the original Tucker Carlson?
12:38 Buckley’s paradoxical upbringing
22:39 How Yale turned Buckley into a “counter-intellectual”
36:11 Was Buckley racist or tribalist or what?
54:48 Buckley v. the Civil Rights Act
1:03:46 Heading to Overtime
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Sam Tanenhaus (Louis Armstrong: Musician, Whittaker Chambers: A Biography, Buckley: The Life and Revolution That Changed America). Recorded November 25, 2025.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods
Discussed in Overtime:
What Bob most admires about Buckley.
Buckley is to Birchers as Tucker is to Groypers?
Was Buckley guided more by principle or pragmatism?
Buckley’s favorite enemy.
Why did Buckley go to bat for a killer?
The Buckley moment that (almost) won Bob over.
Overtime video:








