Robinson's Podcast

This is great! length/detail, conception of what a socially productive intellectual interview is. Its not about platforming people who pass a Moral-Political Purity test, and either not-platforming people who don’t pass, or inviting them on to ambush them and expose the evil and stupidity of their Impure views. Give this guy a pat on the back. This is so hard to pull off as a phd student (speaking as a phd student in an adjacent field at the same school). So he interviews VDH in Hoover tower? What is wrong with that? Yes Hoover is a retirement home for undead old war criminals to collaborate with surveillance capitalists and younger war criminals. But it doesn’t mean hearing what VDH has to say is causing harm to progressive ideals. VDH is a smart, even-keeled, extremely well read person, who also seems kind. I disagree strongly with many of his views too. But it’s very valuable to hear a smart person (ratheir than an idiot) defend these views. The host also interviews radical persona non grata like MICHAEL HUDSON(!!), one of the least-known smartest political economists/historians alive, and never in my wildest dreams did I think there’d be a podcast where he’s a regular guest. I’m so grateful for these interviews. This podcast is really valuable. And truly it’s amazing that it is a PhD students’ side project. Thank you, and I just want to say (speaking from experience as as a grad student recovering workaholic) don’t work too hard for too long without serious rest periods. It can mess you up in lasting ways that are not simple to recover from, and professors/older grad students at Stanford, even nice ones, are not likely to give you a heads up on this.

Focus is a superpower. Thank you for showing respect to your guests with your undivided attention. Your podcast is a gift.

This podcast was once a unique place that one could hear academic philosophy discussed in depth with experts. Now it seems to be one of several dozen other podcasts that covers politics. It’s not necessarily bad, it just seems to be losing some of what made it special.

You lost me with all the political episodes. It’s not about the episodes it about how you approach it. You do not interact with your guest, you just provide a platform for contentious views. There is no conversation, just strange opinionated monologue. This leads to a perception of your support for terrible views, even if that is not how you vote. Your interview style has also degraded. Your speaking style has always been hard to listen to but it has gotten worse. A constant robotic cadence coupled with stringing together way too many questions into one, is unusual, friction filled and none consumable. If you care about the future of the world. Act like you do. Because providing a platform for views is directly providing support, regardless of how you rationalize it.