Episodes
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Richard Wolff is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor at The New School, where he works on economics in the Marxist tradition. This is Richard’s seventh appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. In his last appearance, episode #230, he and Robinson discussed Richard’s arguments against electing Donald Trump for president, as well as his analysis of the election. In this episode, Richard and Robinson talk about 2025 and the first weeks of Trump’s presidency, as well as what’s to come. More particularly, they discuss the irrelevance of Donald Trump, his domestic and global policies, China, narratives on the right and left, and the future of the United States. Richard’s latest book is Understanding Capitalism (Democracy at Work, 2024).
Understanding Capitalism (Book): https://www.democracyatwork.info/understanding_capitalism
Class Theory and History (Book): https://a.co/d/ht4trZN
Understanding the 2024 Elections (Article): https://asiatimes.com/2024/08/capitalism-mass-anger-and-2024-elections/
Richard’s Website: https://www.rdwolff.com
Economic Update: https://www.democracyatwork.info/economicupdate
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
05:48 Three Months Later: Why Did Trump Defeat Harris?
08:34 How the Left Can Defeat Donald Trump
12:57 Donald J. Trump Is a Naughty Boy
15:06 Why Kamala Harris Lost the Election
16:27 Why Trump Won the Longshoremen’s Union (Because the Left Failed Them)
25:23 Is Victor Davis Hanson Wrong About the Elites’ War on the Working Class?
36:31 Did West Coast Elites Cause the LA Wildfire Disaster (Is Victor Davis Hanson Wrong?)?
42:26 Why Richard Wolff Enjoys Tucker Carlson
47:02 Can Psychoanalysis and the Subconscious Explain Donald Trump’s Victory?
54:32 Why Unemployment Tanked Harris in the Election
59:45 Deep Seek, The Chinese Phenomenon
1:05:31 The Astonishing Story of How China Came to Dominate Elon Musk Over Electric Cars
1:13:25 Donald Trump’s Huge Misunderstanding About Tariffs
1:17:44 Donald Trump’s Irrational Bluster Tactics
1:20:04 Richard Wolff Exposes Donald Trump’s Contradictions About Immigration
1:34:23 The Marxist Truth About Why Immigrants Are a Gift to the United States
1:41:37 The Weakness of the American Empire
1:44:34 Why Trump’s Policies Will Increase Illegal Mexican Immigration and Drug Trafficking
1:47:58 Should Trump Make Canada the 51st State?
1:51:04 How Elites Rejected Donald Trump and Created the Man He Became
1:54:45 On Larry Summers’s Debacle at Harvard (And How Donald Trump Did It Better)
1:59:25 Why Donald Trump Wants to Take the Panama Canal (And the Actual Best Reason to Control It)
2:02:33 How American Neocons Failed to Stop China From the World Superpower
2:13:29 How the BRICS Are Drastically Outperforming the American Economy
2:20:14 On Europe’s Impending Economic Doom
2:25:18 Is There a Fatal Contradiction in Trump’s Climate Policy?
2:30:03 On Donald Trump’s Anti-Elitist, Anti-DEI Rhetoric
2:33:20 How Will AI Affect China and America’s Economic War?
2:43:19 How Elon Musk is Only an Unsuccessful Bureaucrat
2:45:04 How China’s Communist Government Is More Efficient than the United States’s
2:48:11 Why the United States Is the Aggressor Against China
2:51:10 Why Trump Thinks We Should Conquer Greenland
3:02:18 On China’s Number One Global Priority
3:09:41 What Marxists Learned from the Failure of the Soviet Union
3:15:23 Some Key Lessons from Marx’s Kapital
3:21:56 On How History Will Overwhelm Trump In the Next Four Years
3:26:30 Donald Trump and the Gulf of America
3:28:28 Why We Should Expect More of the Same from Donald Trump
3:32:26 On His Hope For a Brighter Future From the Left
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.
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Victor Davis Hanson is a renowned classicist, military historian, and political commentator. He is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow in Residence in Classics and Military History at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Among numerous other awards, Victor was presented with the National Humanities Medal in 2007. Victor most recently appeared on episode #231, which came out just before the 2024 election, and where he made a case to vote for Donald Trump. In this episode, Robinson and Victor discuss the results of the election and President Trump’s inauguration. More particularly, they talk about the biggest challenges he will face as president, the class- and culture war in the United States, Trump’s rhetorical abilities, the California wildfires, and geopolitics, including our relationships with China, Canada, Russia, and the Middle East. Keep up with Victor on Twitter, through his website, and on his podcast, The Victor Davis Hanson Show.
Victor’s Website: https://victorhanson.com
Victor’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/VDHanson
The Victor Davis Hanson Show: https://art19.com/shows/the-victor-davis-hanson-show
The End of Everything: https://a.co/d/46O0mMB
The Case for Trump: https://a.co/d/8Bf0OdC
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
00:53 Victor’s Biggest Worries For Donald Trump’s Presidency
06:38 Donald Trump, The Troll
10:53 Should Donald Trump and the United States Annex Greenland and Canada?
12:50 Will President Donald Trump Take Over the Panama Canal?
14:57 Why the World Fears Donald Trump
17:53 Are the CIA and FBI More Damaging to the United States than Donald Trump?
25:33 The Ideological Disease that Caused the California Wildfire Disaster
28:33 How Victor’s Life Was Saved by Three Hispanic Women
30:08 Is Donald Trump the Problem with America, or Something Else?
32:13 The Real Reason People Hate Donald Trump
34:04 Victor Davis Hanson’s Rude Awakening at Stanford from University Elites
37:43 How California’s Incompetence Destroyed Its Own Water Supply
45:16 Did California Elites Cause the Los Angeles Wildfire Disaster?
50:48 Why Competence Defeated Ideology in Trump’s 2024 Election Victory
54:41 Does Donald Trump Have an Incompetent Cabinet?
1:04:45 Who’s More Competent? Blue Collar Americans or Bicoastal Elites?
1:07:07 Is China Trump’s Biggest Challenge?
1:11:44 Will the Middle East Finally See Peace Under Trump?
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.
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Missing episodes?
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Raphael Bousso is the Chancellor’s Chair in Physics at the Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics, where he leads the Bousso Group in research on quantum gravity and quantum information. He is a renowned string theorist famous also for his development of the string theoretic landscape and the Bousso bound in holography. In this episode, Robinson and Raphael talk about the foundations of quantum mechanics and whether or not there are any deep mysteries within the theory that remain to be solved, and whether philosophical discussion of these issues is overblown. More particularly, they get into what quantum theories tell us about the world, whether we need different interpretations of quantum mechanics, whether the final theory of the universe will be quantum mechanical, how quantum mechanics connects to cosmology, the multiverse, and quantum gravity, and more.The Bousso Group: https://lightsheet.berkeley.eduOUTLINE00:00 Introduction00:58 Raphael’s Interest in the Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics06:11 What Does Quantum Mechanics Tell Us About the World?19:43 Just What Is an Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics?26:17 Are There Serious Holes in Quantum Mechanics?31:01 Schrödinger’s Cat45:11 UV Completion48:57 Will The Final Theory of Physics Be Quantum Mechanical?58:00 How Cosmology Might Help Answer Questions About Quantum Mechanics1:13:44 String Theory and the Multiverse1:20:39 How the Multiverse Can Explain Probability1:30:01 Will the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics Help Us Solve Quantum Gravity?Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.comRobinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.
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Robinson’s Podcast #240 - Peter Godfrey-Smith: Cuttlefish, Octopuses, and the Consciousness of Mysterious Minds
Peter Godfrey-Smith is a professor in the School of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney. He has also taught at Stanford University and Harvard University. Among other topics, he has researched the philosophy of biology and mind, and is very well-known for his book Other Minds: The Octopus, The Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness (FSG, 2016). In this episode, Peter and Robinson discuss that book, as well as his latest, Living on Earth (William Collins, 2024). More particularly, they discuss cuttlefish, octopuses, consciousness, metaethics, and animal welfare.
Peter’s Website: https://petergodfreysmith.com
Living on Earth: https://a.co/d/9MvUFHV
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
01:10 Scuba Diving with Cuttlefish and Octopuses
09:43 Why Did Creatures Evolve Nervous Systems?
16:18 Why Did Conscious Minds Evolve?
27:23 Why Do We Believe that Other Animals Have Minds?
36:49 Do Shrimp or Fish Feel Pain?
47:01 What’s It Like to Be an Octopus?
57:32 What Is Metaethics?
1:04:57 First-Order Ethics
1:08:12 Is It Morally Acceptable to Eat Animals?
1:16:04 What Does Peter Eat?
1:29:49 Future Work
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Ned Block is Silver Professor at New York University in the Departments of Philosophy and Psychology, where he works on the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of neuroscience, and cognitive science. In this episode, Robinson and Ned discuss some of the titans he studied under, ChatGPT and the nature of artificial intelligence, the Turing Test, androids, consciousness, the connection between seeing and thinking, blindsight, change blindness, and more. Ned’s most recent book is The Border Between Seeing and Thinking (OUP, 2023).
Ned’s Website: https://www.nedblock.us
The Border Between Seeing and Thinking: https://a.co/d/fqVb7gj
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
00:53 Ned’s Entry into Philosophy of Mind
02:08 On Hilary Putnam, John Rawls, and Philippa Foot
08:10 Can ChatGPT Do Multiplication?
10:57 Does Noam Chomsky Understand ChatGPT?
13:11 Is the Turing Test Completely Wrong?
17:52 On Daniel Dennett
23:46 On Michael Graziano and the Attention Schema Theory of Consciousness
26:03 Are Animals Conscious?
30:51 Does ChatGPT Pass the Turing Test?
36:53 Mary in the White Room
41:16 The Blockhead Thought Experiment
45:53 How to Show that ChatGPT Is Dumb
48:51 Why Can’t ChatGPT Reason About Images?
51:48 How to Create an Android
55:10 What Is Thought?
1:00:13 Susan Carey
1:03:19 Are There Different Kinds of Consciousness?
1:05:10 On Psychoanalysis
1:06:08 What Are Blindsight and Change Blindness?
1:11:38 The Difference Between Seeing and Thinking
1:16:03 Was Helen Keller Conscious?
1:18:39 Are Salmon Conscious?
1:20:58 What Are the Dominant Theories of Consciousness?
1:27:35 Do We Know What Consciousness Is?
1:31:25 Functionalism and Mental Properties
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.
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Barry Loewer is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers. Before that he did his PhD in philosophy at Stanford. Barry works largely in the philosophy of physics, the philosophy of science, and metaphysics. This is Barry’s third appearance on the show. He was last on episode 189 with David Albert, in which Robinson, David, and Barry discussed David and Barry’s joint program known as “The Mentaculus”, which they use to solve many problems in the foundations of physics, from probability to the direction of time. In this episode, Barry and Robinson discuss the philosophical foundations of science, touching on the relationship between science and pseudoscience, Karl Popper, string theory, scientific realism, and many other important debates and figures. If you’re interested in the foundations of physics, then please check out the the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics, which is devoted to providing a home for research and education in this important area. Any donations are immensely helpful at this early stage in the institute’s life.
The Probability Map of the Universe: https://a.co/d/4XoYTMY
The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
7:53 On Pseudoscience and Astrology
11:40 Falsification as a Criterion of Science
16:40 Is String Theory Pseudoscience?
20:14 On Marxism
24:45 What Is Scientific Realism?
34:35 On Hilary Putnam
42:16 Science Vs Metaphysics
48:32 Time in Science and Metaphysics
52:38 On Fundamentalia
56:01 On Reductionism
1:00:04 On Consciousness and Emergence
1:04:56 On Causation
1:25:52 On Time Travel
1:28:29 On Explanation and Thermodynamics
1:39:23 On Free Will
1:47:00 The Laws of Nature
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.
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Tim Maudlin is Professor of Philosophy at NYU and Founder and Director of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. This is Tim’s seventh appearance on the show. He last appeared on episode 210 with David Albert for a discussion of the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. In this episode, Tim and Robinson talk about Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity, explaining it from the ground up and elucidating some common misconceptions. More particularly, they get into Einstein’s magnificent mind, how special relativity displaced the theory of the ether, absolute and relative space, the speed and nature of light, the possibility of time travel, relativistic quantum mechanics, and more. If you’re interested in the foundations of physics, then please check out the JBI, which is devoted to providing a home for research and education in this important area. Any donations are immensely helpful at this early stage in the institute’s life.
Tim’s Website: www.tim-maudlin.site
The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
01:59 The Amazing Fertility of Einstein's Mind
08:50 The Mysterious Ether and Why It Isn't All Around Us
25:01 Einstein Versus Relative and Absolute Space
29:58 The Single Most Important Experiment in Physics
45:23 Special Relativity and Absolute Space
53:56 The Conceptual Clarity of Genius Physicists
1:01:05 A Thought Experiment to Explain Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity
1:13:48 Is the Speed of Light an Illusion?
1:23:33 Richard Feynman's Big Mistake About Einstein
1:34:23 On Einstein and the Possibility of Time Travel
1:42:53 Is Special Relativity Compatible with Quantum Mechanics?
1:49:55 Relativistic Bohmian Mechanics
1:57:00 Does Anything Move Faster than Light?
1:59:03 The John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.
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David Albert is the Frederick E. Woodbridge Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, director of the Philosophical Foundations of Physics program at Columbia, and a faculty member of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. This is David’s ninth appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. He last appeared on episode 221 to discuss the measurement problem of quantum mechanics. In this episode, David gives a pedagogical and introductory overview of the problem of time’s arrow, which is one of the most enduring of all physical and philosophical puzzles. David’s most recent book is A Guess at the Riddle (2023). If you’re interested in the foundations of physics, then please check out the JBI, which is devoted to providing a home for research and education in this important area. Any donations are immensely helpful at this early stage in the institute’s life.
A Guess at the Riddle: https://a.co/d/6qcsidl
The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org
OUTLINE
00:58 The Tension Between Past and Future in Physics
8:56 The Arrow of Time in Life and Physics
12:26 The Three Arrows of Time
18:12 Entropy and the Direction of Time
29:12 Thermodynamics and the Problem of the Past
38:26 Why Do We Remember the Past But Not the Future?
48:46 Two Ways to Understand the Past
1:04:21 Why Can We Affect the Future But Not the Past
1:17:51 Why Can Agents Control the Future but not the Past?
1:26:57 Can the Laws of Quantum Physics Be Run Backward?
1:33:11 The Connection Between the Foundations of Quantum Physics and Statistical Mechanics
1:41:53 Cosmology and the Past Hypothesis
1:44:25 Why are Left and Right Different from Past and Future?
1:49:28 The Difference Between Space and Time
1:57:14 Is Time a Fundamental Part of Reality?
1:59:14 Future Work
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University
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Janna Levin is the Claire Tow Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. She is also the Chair and Founding Director of the Science Studios at Pioneer Works. In this episode, Robinson and Janna talk all about black holes and how to survive them. More particularly, they discuss how black holes were discovered both theoretically and empirically, common misconceptions about black holes, their role in theories of quantum gravity, and how they do and will contribute to both the life and death of the universe. If you’d like to learn more about black holes, read Janna’s latest book, Black Hole Survival Guide (Anchor, 2022).Janna’s Website: https://jannalevin.comBlack Hole Survival Guide: https://a.co/d/biGGqZcPioneer Works: https://pioneerworks.orgOUTLINE00:00 Introduction06:10 The Original Theory of Black Holes14:45 Is There Gravity in Space?20:40 Just What IS a Black Hole?38:47 Why Physicists Resisted the Possibility of Black Holes50:44 What’s at the Center of a Black Hole?55:34 What Happens When Something Falls into a Black Hole?1:03:23 Is Leonard Susskind a Genius Physicist?1:12:07 What Is the Fine-Tuning Problem?1:17:52 How Close Can You Get to a Black Hole and Still Survive?1:25:10 Why Are Black Holes Perfect Objects?1:32:12 How Do Black Holes Form?1:41:31 What Will Happen to the Sun When It Dies?1:50:38 Black Holes, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Universe1:54:45 The Heat Death of the Universe1:59:18 Pioneer WorksRobinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.comRobinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.
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This episode came on the heels of a traumatic, eight-interview sprint in NYC. As you’ll see, this one was particularly chaotic, but the stars aligned to make it happen. Camera switches, bathroom breaks, health concerns, equipment malfunctions, and even a robbery didn’t prevent the conversation from coming together. With this in mind, I hope you’ll forgive how crazy and inconsistent the video is; the fact that it even got put together is courtesy of my friend and editor Yu Guo (a philosopher who got his PhD from NYU with past guest Paul Boghossian). Given that there’s some new intro music, and you’re already getting an abundance of distracting production nuggets, I decided to show the soup being made. My thanks go to Richard, who met with me twice in three days (not to mention his wife, who allowed it), and Michael, who put up with me for over four hours.
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Richard Wolff is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor at The New School, where he works on economics in the Marxist tradition. Michael Hudson is Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and President of the Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends. He researches domestic and international finance, the history of economics, and the role of debt in shaping class stratification, among many other topics.
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
00:51 Michael and Rick's Histories with Marx
16:50 A Marxless Education
29:42 Marxism and the West
35:18 Marx and the Emergence of Capitalism
43:59 Socialism Vs State Capitalism
49:21 The Culmination of Economics in Marx
57:16 The Crucial Features of Marxism
1:12:15 Marx, China, and the BRICS
1:25:57 The Laws of Motion of Finance Capitalism
1:28:58 Why Won't Mainstream Media Interview Michael Hudson and Richard Wolff?
1:42:16 Why is the American Empire Crumbling?
1:54:51 Is the Dollar Destroying the United States?
2:01:38 Marx as the Culmination of Classical Economics
2:10:19 Will Trump's China Tariff Policy Spell Disaster for America?
2:22:43 Is Trump's Policy on Russia Idiotic?
2:27:23 Does It Matter for America Who Wins the Election?
2:37:13 Michael's Rhetorical Abilities
2:43:54 How Can We Use Economics to Forecast the Future?
2:54:48 Does Paul Krugman Know Anything About Economics?
2:57:57 How Michael Got His PhD
3:04:59 What's Wrong With the Nobel Prize in Economics?
3:10:04 The Long and Short of Marx's Kapital
3:17:20 Capitalism and Labor
3:31:51 The Biggest Myth About Karl Marx
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Judith Butler is Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School and formerly the Maxine Elliot Chair in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Program of Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley. In this episode, Robinson and Judith discuss three broad topics. First, they talk about Judith’s latest book, Who’s Afraid of Gender? (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024). In particular, they touch on the dynamics of sex and gender, as well as their political dimensions. Second, the conversation turns to the 2024 presidential election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Finally, they broach the topic of Israel and Palestine, with particular attention to the questions of genocide and anti-semitism.Who’s Afraid of Gender?: https://a.co/d/beDcQ1SOUTLINE00:00 Introduction01:03 Judith’s Introduction to Philosophy and Gender Studies11:00 Who’s Afraid of Gender?22:11 On Trans and Intersex Olympics Controversies26:09 Is the Man/Woman Binary a Fantasy?35:17 Are Putin and Orban Transphobic?41:49 How to Change One’s Gender47:25 Language and Gender52:16 On Psychoanalysis58:49 On Gender Issues and the 2024 Election1:04:30 On Trump 20241:06:14 On Harris 20241:10:39 Is Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitism?1:18:51 Is Gaza a Concentration Camp?1:20:49 How Will the War in Israel and Palestine End?Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.comRobinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, historians, economists, and everyone in-between.
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Sir Niall Ferguson is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and a senior faculty fellow of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, where he served for twelve years as the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History. In this episode, Robinson and Niall discuss three of the biggest conflicts currently gripping the news—the election in the United States and the two wars between Israel and Hamas on the one hand, and Russia and Ukraine on the other. Undergirding the entire discussion is the question of whether the United States is an empire, whether it is failing, and what the world needs America to be. Niall's most recent book is Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe (Penguin, 2021).
Niall's Website: https://www.niallferguson.com
Doom: https://a.co/d/eWAx65C
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
00:44 Niall's Take as a Scottish Historian
05:20 Is the United States an Empire?
12:49 What Does the World Need the United States to Be?
19:47 Is Trump or Harris Better for the Russia-Ukraine War?
26:35 Is Trump Too Dangerous to Have the Nuclear Launch Codes?
29:54 How Terrible Was Biden's Withdrawal from Afghanistan?
34:22 Is the United States on the Precipice of Self-Destruction?
41:08 Will Donald Trump Actually Help the Suffering Poor of America?
46:23 Will Niall Ferguson Vote For Donald Trump?
50:31 The Dangers of American Politics
54:55 The Right Versus the Left on the Wars in Ukraine and Israel
1:00:07 How Has the Media Fed the Israel-Hamas War in Palestine?
1:06:35 Is Benjamin Netanyahu a Satanic Figure?
1:11:19 Is Israel Committing a new Holocaust—Genocide—in Palestine?
1:17:21 Trump, Harris, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Palestine: Do They Even Matter?
Robinson's Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.
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Victor Davis Hanson is a renowned classicist, military historian, and political commentator. He is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow in Residence in Classics and Military History at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Among numerous other awards, Victor was presented the National Humanities Medal in 2007. In this episode, Robinson and Victor discuss the 2024 presidential election. More particularly, they review some of the main arguments for and against electing Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. This includes their records, domestic and foreign policies, recent assassination attempts, and more. Victor also appeared as a guest on episode #112, in which he and Robinson talked about what was at the time Victor’s latest book, The Dying Citizen. He was also a guest on episode #191, which covered Victor’s views on the current crisis in Israel and Palestine. Most recently, on episode #208, they spoke about Victor’s most recent book, The End of Everything. Keep up with Victor on Twitter, through his website, and on his podcast, The Victor Davis Hanson Show.
Victor’s Website: https://victorhanson.com
Victor’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/VDHanson
The Victor Davis Hanson Show: https://art19.com/shows/the-victor-davis-hanson-show
The End of Everything: https://a.co/d/46O0mMB
The Case for Trump: https://a.co/d/8Bf0OdC
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
03:56 Why Is The 2024 Election So Important?
10:18 Is Trump Innocent of All Charges?
20:19 Is Trump a Unique Election Denier?
27:30 On the Trump Assassination Attempts and Anti-Trump Conspiracy Theories
35:21 The Best Reasons to Have Voted for Joe Biden
44:44 Will Kamala Harris Bring a New Radical Agenda to the White House?
48:49 Why You Shouldn’t Vote for Kamala Harris
55:51 The Case for Trump
1:01:50 On Hillsdale College
1:07:52 On Hard Political Discussions in Hard Times
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, historians, economists, and everyone in-between.
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Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Robinson’s Fashion Empire: http://bit.ly/3XBKqO2
Richard Wolff is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor at The New School, where he works on economics in the Marxist tradition. This is Richard’s fifth appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. In episode #127, he and Robinson discussed some of the most profound criticisms of capitalism; in #154, they focused on the myths surrounding Marxism and Marx himself; in #190 they covered the Israel-Palestine conflict from a Marxist perspective; and in #222 they assess the end of the American Empire. In this episode, Richard and Robinson talk about the 2024 election. More particularly, they discuss the irrelevance of Donald Trump, both candidates’ economic policies, the Biden administration’s track record, Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, the promise of Kamala Harris, immigration, and the future of the United States. Richard’s latest book is Understanding Capitalism (Democracy at Work, 2024).
Understanding Capitalism (Book): https://www.democracyatwork.info/understanding_capitalism
Class Theory and History (Book): https://a.co/d/ht4trZN
Understanding the 2024 Elections (Article): https://asiatimes.com/2024/08/capitalism-mass-anger-and-2024-elections/
Richard’s Website: https://www.rdwolff.com
Economic Update: https://www.democracyatwork.info/economicupdate
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
01:08 Is it Possible to Predict the Future?
07:51 The Irrelevance of Donald Trump
12:15 The United States vs The Savages
15:41 Does the Government Even Matter?
18:26 On Young Frankenstein and the Declining American Empire
20:49 On Richard’s Astounding Rhetorical Abilities
29:40 What Makes Donald Trump Great?
37:38 Was Trump Good for the Economy?
40:52 Did Trump Win the Economic War Against China?
43:46 Were Trump’s Tax Cuts Disastrous for Americans?
50:00 Why Won’t Trump Just Go Away?
52:29 Is Ukraine Doomed to Lose the Russian War?
54:26 On Private Versus State Capitalism (Or, American vs Russia)
1:00:21 Who Will be Left When America Crumbles?
1:05:04 How Can We Sum Up Biden’s Presidency?
1:13:14 What on Earth Should We Make of Kamala Harris
1:23:24 Donald Trump Versus Marxism
1:29:30 The Republican and Democratic War on Immigrants
1:37:38 Trump Vs Harris on Economics | Who Wins?
1:43:44 Trump Vs Harris on Russia, Ukraine, Israel, & Palestine
1:50:37 Trump, Harris, and the War on Data
1:55:10 On Richard Wolff, the Man, and Donald Trump
1:57:43 Will Trump or Harris Win 2024?
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, historians, economists, and everyone in-between.
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Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Robinson’s Fashion Empire: http://bit.ly/3XBKqO2
Some speakers, like Norman (https://youtu.be/vhFm62msNGc), are whip-smart and all I can do is ask a question before letting them take me along for the ride. Others are just as sharp, but the interview is an entirely different experience. I feel silly being this dramatic, so forgive me; it just seems that what follows is the proper extended metaphor to describe our conversation. Rashid crackles with energy when he talks, just as if he were a fighter. Even if he’s not using his fists, his cadence is like a boxer’s and I had to roll with the punches. This was another great one, and as usual I bear very little responsibility beyond sticking it out in the ring. I’m going to resist the urge to make any more boxing comments and instead finish with this: Thanks for listening.
- Robinson
P.S. In a number of recent episodes I’ve mentioned Maui Nui Venison, which is a company operating out of Hawaii that manages the invasive deer population of Maui that is decimating the landscape. Instead of culling the animals and disposing of their bodies, the meat is butchered and sold. It is the only meat I eat, full-stop, and the ethical reasons are sufficient for this, but it is also the best meat that I have ever eaten. I reached out to Maui Nui and told them that I support what they are doing and would like to be of any help that I can. They gave me this coupon code—ROBINSON—which you can use for 20% off. I am not being paid for this in any way. I believe in what they are doing and I want this model to succeed. People are going to be eating meat for the foreseeable future and I would be happier if it was not factory-farmed meat. So please check Maui Nui out and give them a try!
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Rashid Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor Emeritus of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University. He was editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies, President of the Middle East Studies Association, and an advisor to the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid and Washington Arab-Israeli peace negotiations from October 1992 until June 1993. In this episode, Rashid and Robinson discuss the history that culminated in October 7th, 2023, what has happened since then, and what might happen in the future. More particularly, they talk about Zionism, the Nakba, how Gaza was created, the war between Israel and Hamas, Egypt’s role in the crisis, the question of genocide, and the future of Palestine. Rashid’s most recent book is The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine (Metropolitan Books, 2021).
The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: https://a.co/d/7Mrwuz9
The Neck and the Sword: https://shorturl.at/N7HRo
A New Abyss (The Guardian Long Read): https://shorturl.at/oVn5j
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
01:07 On His Palestinian Ancestors’ Battle Against Zionism
04:04 Is the Israel-Hamas War an American War?
06:04 How Far Back Must We Go to Understand October 7th?
07:33 The Nakba Versus the Bible
12:42 The Zionist Propaganda War
15:40 Is the War Between Israel and Hamas Fought in the Media?
18:52 Is All Zionist History Propaganda?
22:12 How Did the Nakba Create Gaza?
27:16 How Rashid’s Family Was Scattered by the Nakba
28:45 Has Gaza Become a Concentration Camp?
33:10 Did Hamas Cause the Apocalyptic Blockade on Gaza?
38:04 Did the Election of Hamas Further Doom Gaza?
40:21 Is Israel Committing Genocide in Gaza?
45:17 Were the War Crimes of October 7th Justified?
46:52 Can Israel’s War Crimes Against Gaza Be Justified?
48:48 Can Israel Destroy Hamas?
51:30 Is Egypt Responsible for the Gaza Crisis?
53:30 Who Are the Biggest Players in the Israel-Hamas War?
54:30 Is the Israel-Hamas War Just Beginning?
01:00:07 How Soon Will Israel Conquer Gaza?
01:05:19 Rashid’s Hope for the Future of Israel and Palestine
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.
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Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Robinson’s Fashion Empire: http://bit.ly/3XBKqO2
Norman Finkelstein received his PhD from the Princeton University Politics Department, and is best known for his research on Israel and Palestine. In this episode, Norman and Robinson sit down for a discussion centered around the anniversary of October 7th, and they speak about the immensity of what has happened in the Israel-Palestine region in the time before and since. Norman also appeared on episode 192, where he and Robinson discussed allegations of genocide and apartheid, Hamas and Hezbollah, and connections between the war and the Holocaust. Norman was also featured on episode 218, where he addressed the facts and fictions generated by the Israel-Hamas War. Norman’s most recent book is I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It! Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic Freedom (Sublation Media, 2023).
Norman’s Website: https://www.normanfinkelstein.com
OUTLINE
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:44 Why Norman Couldn’t Have Predicted October 7th
00:04:45 Gaza’s Last Victim
00:07:55 Is the Palestine Question Dead?
00:11:13 What Hamas in Gaza and American Slave Rebellions Have in Common
00:17:22 How the Nakba Created Gaza in 1948
00:21:21 Is Gaza a Concentration Camp?
00:25:20 High-Tech Israeli Killing Sprees in Gaza
00:29:23 The Butcher of Beirut & The Sabra and Shatila Massacre
00:31:20 On the First Intifada and the Silencing of Gaza
00:37:11 On Hassan Nasrallah, Leader of Hezbollah
00:41:59 How Israel Will Destroy Hezbollah
00:42:35 Israel Vs The Party of God
00:45:32 On the Courage of Dying for a Cause
00:48:24 On His Time with Hezbollah and Nasrallah
00:52:41 Noam Chomsky on Hezbollah’s Threat to Israel
00:56:30 On Nasrallah’s Prophetic Speech Before His Assassination
01:02:10 On Martin Luther King Jr’s Final Words
01:04:35 On Nasrallah and the Assassination of Pro-Palestine Leaders
01:07:08 The Parallel Between American Slaves and Gazan Palestinians
01:12:37 Will the Gazans Be Emancipated like American Blacks from Slavery?
01:19:16 Norman’s Big Question for Noam Chomsky
01:21:26 The Question of Gaza as a Concentration Camp
01:23:03 The Crushing Toll of the Holocaust on Norman
01:32:08 On His Mother, Piers Morgan, and Gaza as a Holocaust
01:34:14 On the Rise of Hamas
01:38:49 On Hamas, Nasrallah, and the Sealed Fate of Gaza
01:41:36 Does Israel Have the Right to Commit Genocide?
01:45:48 Does Israel Intentionally Murder Innocent Civilians?
01:50:10 Just How Brutal Are Israel’s High Tech Military Operations?
01:54:09 On Gandhi’s Meditations in Jail
01:56:07 Does Israel Go on Killing Sprees in Palestine?
01:58:43 Are the Leaders of Hamas Rich Billionaires?
02:04:43 Comparing Gaza and the Warsaw Ghetto
02:09:33 The Absurdity of Gaza’s Economy
02:15:11 What Was Hamas’s Intentions on October 7th?
02:18:14 Did Hamas Commit Sexual Violence Against Israelis on October 7th?
02:24:07 On Israel’s Violent Revenge Against Hamas
02:26:50 Has Israel Restored Its Fearsome Reputation in the Middle East?
02:30:34 Has Israel Exterminated Gaza?
02:36:31 The Bottom Line on Israel and the Desolation of Gaza
02:39:39 Will There Be a Ceasefire in Gaza?
02:43:58 Why Does Israel Always Win?
02:52:40 On Philosophy, Chattel Slavery, and Justice in Palestine
02:58:02 On Justice and Norman Finkelstein’s Purpose in Life
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, historians, economists, and everyone in-between.
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Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Robinson’s Fashion Empire: http://bit.ly/3XBKqO2
David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Stanford University who works on synesthesia, brain plasticity, and sensory substitution, among other topics. He is also a bestselling author, the host of the Inner Cosmos podcast, and writer and presenter of the international PBS series The Brain with David Eagleman. In this episode, Robinson and David discuss brain plasticity and its optimization, the neuroscience of language-learning, consciousness and animal minds, synesthesia, sensory substitution, artificial intelligence, conspiracy theories, and more. David’s most recent book is Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain (Vintage, 2021).
David’s Website: https://eagleman.com
Livewired: https://a.co/d/67w3TQ3
Inner Cosmos: https://eagleman.com/podcast/
OUTLINE
00:00:53 David’s Interest in the Mind
00:02:52 Solving A Problem of Kant with Modern Neuroscience
00:06:08 On Brain Plasticity and How to Maximize It
00:15:23 Do Children Really Learn Languages Faster than Adults?
00:19:46 Using Neuroscience to Maximize Weight Loss and Improve Diet Outcomes
00:22:09 Was Helen Keller Conscious?
00:24:14 Why Neuroscience Hasn’t Figured Out Consciousness
00:28:32 What Really Is Synesthesia?
00:36:44 On Animal Consciousness and Eating Meat
00:42:56 What Is Intelligence?
00:45:52 What Is the Intelligence Echo Illusion?
00:52:02 Will ChatGPT Surpass Our Greatest Thinkers?
00:55:50 Do We Need to Replace the Turing Test?
01:05:57 Inner Cosmos
01:09:16 Why Does the Brain Love Conspiracy Theories?
01:11:33 Why Does the Brain Fall for Magic Tricks?
01:13:14 Why Can’t We Tickle Ourselves?
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, historians, economists, and everyone in-between.
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Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
David Builes is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University, where he works in metaphysics and epistemology and has made serious contributions to the philosophies of mind, science, and mathematics. In this episode, Robinson and David discuss the metaphysics of time—including debates about the reality of the past, present, and future—the question of whether science can explain consciousness, and whether numbers exist as abstract objects.
David’s Website: https://davidbuiles.com
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
01:05 David’s Interest in Philosophy
05:47 On the Philosophy of Time
16:01 In Defense of Presentism
24:21 How Long is the Present?
25:58 Humean and Non-Humean Laws
28:02 Can Science Explain Consciousness?
40:25 Does David Believe His Work?
43:32 First-Person Realism
53:18 Is First-Person Realism Correct?
57:42 The Philosophy of Math
01:01:45 Do Numbers Exist?
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, historians, economists, and everyone in-between.
-
Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Alexander Nehamas is the Edmund N. Carpenter II Class of 1943 Professor in the Humanities, both of philosophy and comparative literature, at Princeton University. He is best known for his work on ancient philosophy, literary theory, the philosophy of art, and his scholarship on Friedrich Nietzsche. In this episode, Robinson and Alexander primarily discuss the latter, though they also delve into some of his other work. More particularly, they discuss Nietzsche’s writings on eternal recurrence, the will to power, and morality, among other topics, as well as the perils of doing history as a philosopher, the infamous Elgin marbles, great works of literature, and personal style. Alexander’s most well-known work on Nietzsche is Nietzsche: Life as Literature (Harvard, 1987).
Nietzsche: Life as Literature: https://a.co/d/7V3MYk0
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
3:07 The Essentials of Nietzsche
11:42 Nietzsche and Eternal Recurrence
14:46 Nietzsche on Free Will
19:06 Nietzsche on Art and the Ideal Life
20:41 Nietzsche on Herd Morality and Mediocrity
23:20 Nietzsche on the Will to Power
27:02 Nietzsche on Our Dominance Over Animals
30:41 Was Nietzsche an Anti-Semite?
33:02 Nietzsche’s Relationship to Animals
36:53 Was Nietzsche an Enemy of Morality?
39:54 Nietzsche and the Worship of Greatness
41:06 Favorite Literature
48:39 Nietzsche and the Perils of the History of Philosophy
1:05:43 The Elgin Marbles
1:13:50 On Plato and Ancient Philosophy
1:22:34 Nietzsche on Animal Agriculture
1:29:10 Nietzsche on Seeing Life as a Literary Work
1:34:10 Nietzsche on the Weak and the Great
1:39:32 Philosophy and Life
1:46:11 On Philosophy and Fashion
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, historians, economists, and everyone in-between.
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Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Peter Woit is a senior lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at Columbia University, where he researches quantum field theory and quantum gravity. Peter is one of the most well-known critics of string theory, and in this episode he and Robinson discuss his work and research in the area, which is encapsulated in his book Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory and the Search for Unity in Physical Law (Basic Books, 2007), as well as his website by the same name. More particularly, they talk about the standard model of particle physics, the problem of quantum gravity, the main figures in string theory, the arguments for and against this approach to physics, its many alleged failures, and the future of research in the area.
Not Even Wrong (Book): https://a.co/d/iVnPEi1
Not Even Wrong (Website): https://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
02:29 Peter’s Training in Physics
06:21 What Is the Standard Model of Physics?
10:42 What Is Symmetry?
21:37 Experiment and the Standard Model of Particle Physics
26:15 What’s Wrong with the Standard Model of Particle Physics?
29:36 What Are Grand Unified Theories in Physics?
34:47 What Is Supersymmetry?
40:15 On Ed Witten and the Genius Mind Behind M-Theory
49:08 What Is String Theory?
1:04:56 What Is M-Theory?
1:07:59 On AdS/CFT
1:16:03 On Holography and Quantum Gravity
1:20:27 String Theory and the Sokal Hoax
1:24:09 Peter’s Love of Physics
1:32:13 On the String-Theoretic Landscape and the Multiverse
1:41:51 What’s the Path Forward for Physics?
1:47:52 Is String Theory the Only Game in Time?
1:53:17 How Did String Theory Become Dominant?
1:56:45 String Theory: Not Even Wrong?
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, historians, economists, and everyone in-between.
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