Robinson's Podcast

Robinson Erhardt
  • 4.7 (244)
  • NATURAL SCIENCES
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Robinson's Podcast

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. https://linktr.ee/robinsonerhardt

  1. JUL 6

    254 - The Yale US-China Forum: Slavoj Žižek, Richard Wolff, Yannis Varoufakis, Robin Visser, Yascha Mounk, Pei Wang, Daniel Mattingly

    In this special episode, Robinson and Karl Zheng Wang co-host at the Yale US-China Forum. Return guests from the show include Slavoj Žižek, Richard Wolff, and Yascha Mounk. Slavoj Žižek is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New York University, and a senior researcher at the University of Ljubljana’s Department of Philosophy. 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. Yascha Mounk is a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University. He is also a Contributing Editor at the Atlantic, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the host of The Good Fight podcast. Yannis Varoufakis is a Greek economist and politician, and current Secretary-General of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025. Robin Visser is Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she researches modern Chinese and Sinophone literatures, urban cultural studies, and environmental studies. Pei Wang is Professor in the Chinese History and Culture Program at the University of Hong Kong, where she specializes in comparative philosophy, psychoanalysis, and more. Daniel Mattingly is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Yale University, where he studies the domestic and international politics of authoritarian regimes, with a focus on China.   OUTLINE 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:46 The Future of Europe and China 00:10:40 There Is No Such Thing as Trade Wars, They Are All Class Wars 00:15:50 How Wall Street’s Failures Fueled the Rise of Tech 00:20:02 Why Is There a New Cold War Between the US and China? 00:27:18 Why the United States Is Abandoning Democracy and Why China is Yannis Varoufakis’s Only Hope 00:29:26 Richard Wolff to Yannis Varoufakis: Are We Heading Toward Nuclear War with China? 00:35:58 How Class WARFARE Shaped the World Superpowers CLIP 00:41:01 Is China Capitalism’s Final Form? 00:52:03 Is There Any Way that China and the United Stated Could Avert Conflict? 00:59:16 Varoufakis to Wolff: Is a Tariff Hail Mary Trump’s Only Remaining Option? 01:03:39 Daniel Mattingly on China’s Sociopolitical Organization 01:08:39 How Does Xi Jinping Talk About Socialism? 01:13:47 Yascha Mounk on US-China Competition 01:22:36 Philosophy, Socialism, and Capitalism 01:48:40 Pei Wang on the Hero and Father in US-China Competition 01:54:31 Hero and Father Archetypes in Politics Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

    2h 4m

  2. JUN 22

    253 - Peter Zeihan: China’s Fall, America’s Rise, and the End of the World Order

    Peter Zeihan is a geopolitical analyst, futurist, and best-selling author who researches and strategizes around demography, economics, energy, politics, technology, and security. In this episode, Peter and Robinson focus on revisiting content from his latest book—The End of the World is Just the Beginning—in the context of today’s developments. More particularly, they discuss, Donald Trump, tariffs, ICE Raids, deportations, how demography and geography will affect the future balance of world powers, the impact of AI on global economics, what the end of the world order could look like, Trump’s immigration policies, and more. You can keep up with Peter through his website or YouTube channel, links to which are below. Peter’s Website: https://zeihan.com Peter’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ZeihanonGeopolitics The End of the World is Just the Beginning: https://a.co/d/bZJES4t OUTLINE 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:09 Trump and the End of the American-Led World Order 00:06:49 Does AI Change the Economics of the Future? 00:14:39 The 2,000,000,000$ Failure of the F-35 Fighter Jet 00:25:00 Why the United States Needs Immigrants 00:33:03 Is There Any Strategy Behind Donald Trump? 00:41:43 Why Food Will Become Weaponized in the Near Future 00:50:39 Why China’s Economy is Doomed to Recession 00:53:55 How Do We Prepare For China’s Collapse? 01:00:37 Trump’s Tariffs and the Fall of America 01:01:54 Was Russia Doomed to Fall Even Before Ukraine? 01:05:51 The Biggest Underestimated Global Conflicts Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

    1h 8m

  3. JUN 8

    252 - David Kipping: Alien Civilizations, Megastructures, Spacecraft, and Artificial Intelligence

    David Kipping is a Professor of Astronomy at Columbia University, where he runs Cool Worlds Lab and researches planets and moons that revolve around stars other than our own, in addition to his own work on the search for—and theorization about—alien life. In this episode, David and Robinson have a wide-ranging conversation about extraterrestrials. They discuss  alien civilizations, propulsion, megastructures, Oumuamua, quantum immortality, Dyson spheres, simulation theory, ancient aliens, and much more. David also runs the YouTube channel Cool Worlds Lab, where he has produced many videos on these topics. Cool Worlds Lab (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@CoolWorldsLab David’s Website: http://davidkipping.co.uk OUTLINE 00:01:05 Astronomy or Aliens? 00:06:12 How Scientists Get Burned by Alien Research 00:16:52 Three Big Obstacles to UFO Science 00:23:59 What is the Kardashev Scale of Alien Civilizations? 00:30:28 Cloaking Devices 00:33:46 How To Detect Alien Civilizations with Heat Signatures 00:37:21 Other Schemes for Detecting Civilizations 00:47:22 Does Alien Life Need Water to Exist? 00:51:46 Why Would Aliens Have Very Different Technology From Us? 00:55:54 When Did the First Life Form in the Universe? 01:07:23 Is the Universe Filled with Ancient Alien Civilizations? 01:16:45 What Is the Great Filter Hypothesis For Alien Life? 01:19:31 Artificial Intelligence, Aliens, and the End of Humanity 01:25:05 How Rare Is the Creation of Life From Nothing? 01:31:53 Communicating with Extraterrestrials 01:37:28 What Are Alien Megastructures? 01:47:07 Can We Engineer the Sun to Live Longer? 01:51:08 Clark Belt Detection 01:54:35 Should We Look for Alien Life on Exomoons? 02:01:33 Could We Find Alien Life on Planets in the Interstellar Medium? 02:04:34 Future Telescopes 02:13:35 What Is a Warp Drive and Why Can’t We Build One? 02:21:47 On Time Travel and the Best Time Machines 02:26:40 What Are the Best Interstellar Propulsion Technologies? 02:34:07 Was Oumuamua an Alien Spacecraft? 02:43:09 Are the TicTac UFOs Alien Spacecraft? 02:56:58 Do We Live in a Simulation? 03:00:17 What Is Quantum Immortality? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

    3h 5m

  4. MAY 25

    251 - Eliezer Yudkowsky: Artificial Intelligence and the End of Humanity

    Eliezer Yudkowsky is a decision theorist, computer scientist, and author who co-founded and leads research at the Machine Intelligence Research Institute. He is best known for his work on the alignment problem—how and whether we can ensure that AI is aligned with human values to avoid catastrophe and harness its power. In this episode, Robinson and Eliezer run the gamut on questions related to AI and the danger it poses to human civilization as we know it. More particularly, they discuss the alignment problem, gradient descent, consciousness, the singularity, cyborgs, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Anthropic, Claude, how long we have until doomsday, whether it can be averted, and the various reasons why and ways in which AI might wipe out human life on earth. The Machine Intelligence Research Institute: https://intelligence.org/about/ Eliezer’s X Account: https://x.com/ESYudkowsky?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor OUTLINE 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:43 The Default Condition for AI’s Takeover00:06:36 Could a Future AI Country Be Our Trade Partner?00:11:18 What Is Artificial Intelligence?00:21:23 Why AIs Having Goals Could Mean the End of Humanity00:29:34 What Is the Alignment Problem?00:34:11 How To Avoid AI Apocalypse00:40:25 Would Cyborgs Eliminate Humanity?00:47:55 AI and the Problem of Gradient Descent00:55:24 How Do We Solve the Alignment Problem?01:00:50 How Anthropic’s AI Freed Itself from Human Control01:08:56 The Pseudo-Alignment Problem01:19:28 Why Are People Wrong About AI Not Taking Over the World?01:23:23 How Certain Is It that AI Will Wipe Out Humanity?01:38:35 Is Eliezer Yudkowski Wrong About The AI Apocalypse01:42:04 Do AI Corporations Control the Fate of Humanity?01:43:49 How To Convince the President Not to Let AI Kill Us All01:52:01 How Will ChatGPT’s Descendants Wipe Out Humanity?02:24:11 Could AI Destroy us with New Science?02:39:37 Could AI Destroy us with Advanced Biology?02:47:29 How Will AI Actually Destroy Humanity? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

    2h 51m

  5. MAY 11

    250 - Norman Finkelstein: Trump, Israel, Gaza, and the Criminalization of Dissent

    Norman Finkelstein received his PhD from the Princeton University Politics Department, and is best known for his research on Israel and Palestine.  Norman also appeared on episodes 192, 218, 228, and 244, where he addressed the facts and fictions generated by the Israel-Hamas War, October 6th, allegations of genocide and apartheid, Hezbollah, the Holocaust, and more. In this episode, Robinson and Norman discuss Trump, the current state of Gaza, the fate of Palestine, wokeness, Bernies Sanders, Chuck Schumer, antisemitism, free speech, and other topics. 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 00:01:11 Norman’s Predictions for the War 00:10:12 Trump and the End of the Ceasefire 00:14:29 Why Didn’t The Democrats Strike a Ceasefire in Israel? 00:25:50 A Jeremy Corbin Witch Hunt? 00:29:52 On Wokeness and DEI 00:54:01 Bernie Sanders and the Working Class 00:57:16 Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer, and Anti-Semitism 01:04:17 Is Trump a Slave to Money, Power, and Putin? 01:11:02 Is Chuck Schumer’s Definition of Anti-Semitism Terrible? 01:19:52 Free Speech and Academia 01:24:34 How Norman Feels About Being Academically Canceled 01:27:45 On Noam Chomsky’s Deceptiveness 01:29:42 More on the Cancelation 01:34:13 How Should We Define Anti-Semitism? 01:43:45 What Should We Do With Holocaust Deniers? 01:47:14 On W.E.B Du Bois 01:58:31 On Race and IQ 02:01:35 Suppression of Free Speech 02:09:02 How to Prevent Another Holocaust 02:18:18 Chuck Schumer is Wrong About Media Echo Chambers 02:22:01 How to Fight Violent Hate 02:35:58 On Chuck Schumer’s Backstory and the Holocaust 02:40:05 Cleaning the Augean Stables of Gaza Scholarship 02:46:21 What Changed on October 7th 02:48:59 Gaza Is Already Rubble: What’s Next?

    3 hr

  6. APR 27

    249 - Chris Hedges: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the Rise of American Fascism

    Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize–winning author and journalist who was a foreign correspondent for fifteen years for The New York Times. He has covered numerous wars across the decades, written many books—including America: The Farewell Tour and American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America—and has been involved in work for prisoner advocacy. In this episode, Robinson and Chris discuss Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the rise of American fascism. More particularly, they address comparisons between Trump and Hitler, DOGE, the new crisis for the Democratic Party, Israel and Palestine, the Christian far right, Marxism, and more. Chris’s latest book is A Genocide Foretold (Penguin Random House, 2025).  Chris’s YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@chrishedgeschannel?si=XIMAFyQFmWGoYyuO The Chris Hedges Report Substack: https://chrishedges.substack.com A Genocide Foretold: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/786808/a-genocide-foretold-by-chris-hedges/ OUTLINE 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:59 PTSD and Weightlifting 00:06:49 The Decline of the American Empire 00:11:10 The Strongest Dimension of Trump’s Presidency 00:17:20 Was Hitler a Better Speaker than Trump? 00:19:54 How the Democratic Party Sold Out the Working Class 00:22:21 Elon Musk and the Oligarchic Takeover of America 00:28:26 Is Elon Musk Wrong About the Efficiency of Government? 00:31:02 What Is the Deep State? 00:42:46 Is Donald Trump at War with the Deep State? 00:49:23 Infiltrating the Far Right Christian Community 00:54:04 Becoming a Minister 00:57:27 The Christian Right and the Fascist State 01:06:26 The Problem of Evil 01:10:31 On Sadism and the Decline of Empires 01:17:35 Why the Christian Right Supports Israel 01:20:20 How Does Trump Think of Israel? 01:27:38 On How the CIA Attempted to Recruit Him 01:31:06 Is Israel Still Committing Genocide in Gaza? 01:40:25 Chris’s New Book 01:46:24 On His Time with Hamas 01:55:01 Journalism vs Academia 01:58:28 Is Zionism Anti-Semitism? 02:04:52 How to Read the Bible 02:12:01 Where Does Integrity Come From? 02:22:26 Dehumanization in Palestine 02:26:15 On Marxism and Elon Musk 02:31:16 The Farewell Tour 02:35:34 On Trump’s Love of TV 02:37:50 On Reporting the Middle East 02:39:56 Russia and Ukraine 02:42:59 Growing Wealth Disparities in the United States 02:46:56 Fascist Attacks on Education 02:51:39 The Dark Future of the Press 02:57:30 Could the American Empire Be Revived? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

    3 hr

  7. APR 13

    248 - Richard Wolff: Trump, Hitler, and the End of the American Empire

    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 eighth appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. In his last appearance, episode #243, he and Robinson discussed 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. In this episode, they continue the discussion by diving deeper into recent events, Doge, Elon Musk, the relationship between Trump and Hitler, and important historical Marxists. Richard’s latest book is Understanding Capitalism (Democracy at Work, 2024). Understanding Capitalism (Book): https://www.democracyatwork.info/understanding_capitalism Richard’s Website: https://www.rdwolff.com Economic Update: https://www.democracyatwork.info/economicupdate OUTLINE 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:27 What Do Trump and Hitler Have in Common? 00:09:42 Is This the Democratic Party’s Worst Crisis? 00:14:58 Is Trump’s Economic Policy a Hail Mary? 00:26:29 The Mexican Deportation Crisis 00:30:19 Global Retaliation Against American Tariffs 00:33:29 America’s Big Mistake with Russian Sanctions 00:40:50 Trump’s Big TikTok Mistake 00:47:05 How Adolf Hitler Came to Power in Germany 01:08:40 Does Elon Musk Symbolize the End of America? 01:16:07 How Bosses Lie When They Fire You 01:23:08 On Elon Musk’s Chainsaw Public Relations Disaster 01:28:52 On the Drowning American Empire 01:34:36 On Elon Musk and the Self-Destruction of Tesla 01:39:27 Feudalism, Communism, and the Death of Capitalism 01:46:22 Does China Represent a New Breed of Capitalism? 01:55:16 What Can the United States Do to Beat China? 02:03:46 What Makes Mao an Important Marxist? 02:17:56 Richard Wolff’s Mediocre Ivy League Education 02:23:59 How Mao Made the China of Today 02:40:39 The Myth of European Global Dominance 02:52:08 On Antonio Gramsci and Mussolini 02:57:03 Why Is Gramsci One of the Great Marxists? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

    3h 11m

  8. MAR 30

    247 - Garry Nolan: Aliens | The Case They’re Already Here

    Dr. Nolan is the Rachford and Carlota A. Harris Professor in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine. He has published over 350 research articles and is the holder of 50 US patents, and has been honored as one of the top 25 inventors at Stanford University. He specializes in groundbreaking cancer and immunotherapy research. Yet Garry is also a world-renowned UAP investigator and Executive Director of the Board at the Sol Foundation, one of whose unofficial mottos is: Science, Policy, and Public Education for a Post-UAP World. In this episode, Robinson and Garry discuss the evidence that aliens exist and have already visited Earth. More particularly, they discuss various hypotheses about what aliens are—interdimensional travelers, visitors from other planets, Boltzmann Brains, and others—the Atacama Mummy, Garry’s own UFO encounter, the relationship between aliens and national security, the Pentagon Videos, the Fermi Paradox, and more. Keep up with Garry through X and the Sol Foundation. Garry’s X Account: https://x.com/GarryPNolan The Sol Foundation: https://thesolfoundation.org OUTLINE 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:23 Garry’s Interest in Aliens 00:05:03 How Garry’s Medical Research Turned into Alien Investigations 00:14:44 The Alien Controversy Around the Atacama Mummy 00:24:08 What Is the Definitive Proof for Aliens? 00:29:34 What Are UAPs 00:32:46 What Are Interdimensional Aliens?? 00:36:03 What Are Ultraterrestrial Aliens? 00:40:01 The Time-Traveling Alien Hypothesis 00:41:13 The Angry-Monkey Alien Hypothesis 00:43:35 The Panspermia Alien Hypothesis 00:48:20 Could Intelligent Aliens Have Come to Earth? 00:54:50 Garry’s Background in Genetics 00:57:13 Does Extraterrestrial Life Need Air and Water to Live? 01:07:16 What Is the Fermi Paradox? 01:15:56 UFOs and Government 01:22:23 Garry’s UAP Experience 01:35:27 On Telepathy and Paranormal Abilities 01:39:31 On the Credibility of Alien Witnesses 01:41:34 Does the Government Suppress UFO Reports? 01:49:11 Why Are Aerospace Companies Hiding UFO Data? 01:51:53 Does the Government Possess Alien Metals? 01:58:29 Is Knowledge of Aliens a National Security Threat? 02:02:15 On Alien Abductions and Animal Mutilations 02:06:28 The Violent Changes to Brains Exposed to UFOs 02:17:56 Garry’s Top Secret Clearance 02:19:15 The Truth About the Tic-Tac UFO Incident 02:37:25 What Is the Skywatcher UAP Contact Program? 02:46:01 The Sol Foundation 02:58:24 Why Alien Research Can Prevent Nuclear War 03:02:03 What Are Transmedium Alien UAPs? 03:04:50 Are UAPs Biological Threats? 03:06:31 On Avi Loeb’s Pioneering UAP Research 03:12:49 Is Jacques Vallee One of the Most Important Alien Researchers? 03:18:17 What Should You Tell Someone Who Doesn’t Believe in Aliens? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

    3h 22m
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About

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. https://linktr.ee/robinsonerhardt

Information

  • Creator
    Robinson Erhardt
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2025
  • Episodes
    256
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Robinson Erhardt
  • Show Website
    Robinson's Podcast

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