Robinson's Podcast

Tim Maudlin is Professor of Philosophy at NYU and Founder and Director of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. In this episode, Robinson and Tim discuss the nature of philosophy. More particularly, they discuss philosophy’s origin, its connections to physics, what characterizes some of its well-known sub disciplines, and some of its biggest problems. 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 The Beginning of Philosophy
06:53 Where Physics and Philosophy Diverged
14:07 Quantum Gravity
18:30 Physicists and Philosophers on Space and Time
23:10 Is Metaphysics Different From Physics?
34:54 Why Don’t Universities Have Departments of Metaphysics?
49:27 Are Numbers Real?
01:07:50 What Are Continental and Analytic Philosophy?
01:14:58 The Age-Old Puzzle of the Statue and the Clay
01:28:05 What Is Epistemology?
01:38:57 Is the World Around Us an Illusion?
01:49:13 What Are the Biggest Open Problems in Philosophy?
01:57:00 A John Bell Institute Update

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University, where he is also a JD candidate in the Law School.

Craig Callender is Professor of Philosophy and Co-Director of the Institute for Practical Ethics at UC San Diego, where he is a leading philosopher of science and physics. Craig also appeared on episode 73, in which he and Robinson discussed pseudoscience and conspiracy theories, and epidote 114, where he, Robinson, and Tim Maudlin discussed the philosophy of time, including the reality of the past, present, and future, the direction of time, its relationship to relativity and quantum mechanics, and time travel. In this episode, Robinson and Craig turn to a different assortment of topics. They talk about disinformation, lab-grown meat, de-extinction, scientific communication, quantum mechanics, and the Tolman-Ehrenfest Effect.

Craig’s Website: https://www.craigcallender.com

OUTLINE
00:00 Craig’s Interest in Lab-Grown Meat
04:25 Disinformation and the Philosophy of Science
18:18 The Root of the Error
23:43 The Importance of Science Communication
31:12 What Is De-Extinction?
47:28 What Is the Tolman-Ehrenfest Effect?
1:00:00 Tolman-Ehrenfest, Continued
01:15:07 A Philosopher’s Perspective
01:23:05 What Is The Problem with Quantum Mechanics?
01:24:56 What’s the Best Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics?

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University, where he is also a JD candidate in the Law School.

Nate Soares is the President of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, and plays a central role in setting MIRI’s vision and strategy. Soares has been working in the field for over a decade, and is the author of a large body of technical and semi-technical writing on AI alignment, including foundational work on value learning, decision theory, and power-seeking incentives in smarter-than-human AIs. Prior to MIRI, Soares worked as an engineer at Google and Microsoft, as a research associate at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and as a contractor for the US Department of Defense. In this episode, Nate and Robinson discuss the problems of AI from the ground up. They touch on how AI is trained, why it will surpass human intelligence, why this is dangerous, how it could wipe out humankind, and more. Nate’s recent book, co-written with Eliezer Yudkowsky, is If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies (Little, Brown and Company, 2025).

If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies

Nate’s X: https://x.com/So8res

MIRI: https://intelligence.org

OUTLINE
00:00 Nate’s Existential Dread
07:11 What’s the REAL Problem with Artificial Intelligence?
11:39 How Is AI Trained?
17:15 The Vital Importance of Interpreting AI
20:53 Why AI Will Soon Surpass Human Intelligence
32:58 Why Solving the AI Alignment Problem is Crucial to Human Survival
38:40 Will AI Render Human Software Engineers Obsolete?
48:03 Does It Make Sense to Say AI Has Goals?
01:00:02 Why AI Consciousness Is Unimportant
01:11:33 How, Realistically, Could AI Wipe Out Humanity?
01:35:27 A Sci-Fi (But Realistic) AI Doomsday Scenario
01:44:34 Is There Hope that Humans Will Survive AI?

Norman's Upcoming Book, Gaza's Gravediggers: https://orbooks.com/catalog/gazas-gravediggers/

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, 244, and 250, 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, Netanyahu, Putin, the wars in Ukraine and Iran, and more. Norman’s new book is Gaza’s Gravediggers: An Inquiry into Corruption in High Places (OR Books, 2026).

Norman’s Website: https://www.normanfinkelstein.com

OUTLINE
00:00 No Investigation, No Right to Speak
02:15 Why the War with Iran is Unjustified
09:07 Israel Violated Article II of the UN Charter
13:44 Will the Iran War the End the World in Nuclear War?
21:03 Why Trump Is Underestimating Iran
30:55 How Israel and the United States Tried to Deceive the World About Iran
38:27 Is Israel’s Mentality “Homicidal”?
44:43 What’s Less Justified: Putin’s War on Ukraine or Netanyahu’s on Iran?
01:00:00 More on Ukraine
01:12:31 What Should We Make of Joe Kent?
01:21:00 More on Kent

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University, where he is also a JD candidate in the Law School.

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 tenth  appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. In this episode, Richard and Robinson discuss the ongoing war in Iran. More particularly, they discuss whether it was predictable, how it will affect the United States, Israel, and Europe, what really motivated the war, and more. 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 Was the Iran War Predictable?
05:43 How History Made Trump’s War with Iran Inevitable
15:00 The Historical Perspective
24:45 The War in Iran Is a Catastrophic Mistake for Israel
32:03 Will Europe Survive the War in Iran?
46:32 Is the Iran War the Last Straw for Donald Trump?
53:48 Why China Is Obliterating American Companies
01:03:17 How Trump and Israel Are Ending the American Empire
01:08:35 Is the United States Turning on Donald Trump?
01:13:54 Why Mamdani Is Winning Over New Yorkers
01:17:20 The Iran War Is Really About Oil
01:28:20 What Happens When The People of Iran Say “No More”?
01:39:13 Does AI Mean the End of Capitalism?
01:50:55 Will the United States Lose the War in Iran?

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University, where he is also a JD candidate in the Law School.