Robinson's Podcast

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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.