Rick Rosner: What should I ask next? I haven't had many direct experiences. Still, I've had brief contact with so many people in show business that it feels surreal—almost like I'm playing the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" game. What do you think about that? I'm probably only two degrees away from most famous people. …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1273: How did we get on Kevin Bacon again?
Rick Rosner: We missed our session last night because I was busy with our show, which is now called Naked at Night—although it's really "Lance versus Rick." We've been doing it since mid-2017—around eight years now, with a couple hundred episodes under our belt. I'm a liberal, while Lance is fully MAGA. I started the …
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Russia's significant concern is being drawn into a conflict and potentially becoming increasingly dependent on China—a trend that's observable. Russia's population is approximately 145 million, while China experienced a population decline of nearly 1.4 million in 2024. Projections indicate that Russia's population could decrease to around 126 million by 2050, while China's population …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1271: China’s Decline, Russia’s Future, and Africa’s Growth by 2050
Rick Rosner: It's worth noting that in the United States, tragic events occur regularly—consider school shootings, for example. While mass casualty events like these are not everyday occurrences, they generate significant social and political fallout. According to the Associated Press, large-scale air disasters are rare in the U.S., making incidents like this particularly impactful. Trump is …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1270: Early Trump Administration
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What did you think of the international reaction to Elon Musk's speeches to conservative and far-right groups? Rick Rosner: Musk appears almost eager to imply that he has a Nazi-ish streak. His parents reportedly held pro-apartheid views and may have had far-right ties. He's a creepy guy and the richest man on …
Rick Rosner: So, I've read two debunkings in the past couple of weeks. What's the name of that Black Swan guy? Nicholas Taleb. He demolishes the idea of IQ. Then, the guy you interviewed said that IQ is bullshit beyond three standard deviations from the mean—that is, below 50 or above 150. What the fuck …
Rick Rosner: So, you've got more powerful propaganda now. We no longer have the fairness doctrine—the policy Reagan eliminated in the 1980s—which required opposing candidates to be given equal airtime. Although many news outlets still try to adhere to that principle, I'm not exactly sure what the doctrine originally stated. Essentially, if you aired a …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1267: Inflection Upon Inflection
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: For instance, if we were to discuss how one defines antisemitism, that remains an open question. How do you define antisemitism? What is antisemitism? In general, it is the hate and prejudice directed against Jews. You have not experienced much of it. Rick Rosner: Beyond the cliché of a blonde white guy …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1266: Hustlers in History and Prejudice
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: If you were to take the collective energy and matter of the universe and condense it into the head of a pen, how much energy would that be? By "universe," the observable universe, to be straightforward. We're considering the standard Big Bang theory instead of informational cosmology since space would be rescaled …
Rick Rosner: Now, regarding Pete HegSeth, a guy who was confirmed by a tied Senate vote of 54–50, with JD Vance (the Vice President) breaking the tie—he was confirmed as Secretary of Defense by the smallest margin in history. However, he has well-documented alcohol problems and even paid off a woman $50,000 who had accused …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1264: AI and Energy Demands, and Pete Hegseth
Rick Rosner 