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 Rebecca’s past work on mind and matter(ing)
3:24 Rebecca’s new book, The Mattering Instinct
8:00 Varieties of mattering experience
14:44 Mattering type 1: Heroic Strivers
18:05 Mattering type 2: Socializers
25:56 Mattering type 3: Transcenders
30:13 Mattering type 4: Competitors
39:44 “The” meaning of life problem
42:55 Does what drives us divide us?
49:00 Heading to Overtime
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Rebecca Newberger Goldstein (The Mind-Body Problem, Plato at the Googleplex, Betraying Spinoza, The Mattering Instinct). Recorded April 27, 2026.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods
Overtime titles:
0:00 How do Steven Pinker and Bob matter?
4:20 Good vs bad mattering (and thermodynamics)
13:55 Finding meaning in absurdity
21:36 Is there a best way to matter?
28:34 The AI threat(s) to human flourishing
34:53 Why consciousness matters—even if there’s only matter
Overtime video:
