Robinson's Podcast

Richard Wrangham is the Ruth Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology, Emeritus, at Harvard University. A primatologist and biological anthropologist, he has studied wild chimpanzees in Uganda since 1987 and is known for his work on human evolution, the origins of violence, and the role of cooking in shaping our species. In this episode, Robinson and Richard discuss how humans diverged from our primate ancestors and the evolutionary importance of learning to control fire. More particularly, they talk about Richard’s cooking hypothesis, how cooking may have transformed the human brain and body, the relationship between fire and culture, and what chimpanzee behavior can teach us about the origins of human violence. Richard’s books include Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence, and The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution.Richard’s Harvard Profile: https://heb.fas.harvard.edu/people/richard-w-wranghamCatching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human: https://a.co/d/0iaxEBhyOUTLINE00:00 Puzzles Posed by Human Beings09:32 The Cooking Hypothesis17:54 Cooking and the Brain22:12 Diverging From Our Ancestors28:27 Playing with Fire35:19 How Cooking Shaped Culture51:29 What Does Chimpanzee Warfare Look Like?01:04:50 Chimpanzee vs Human ViolenceRobinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University, where he is also a JD candidate in the Law School.

Daniel Lieberman is the Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences and Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, where he studies the evolution of the human body and its relevance to health. In this episode, Robinson and Dan discuss the evolution of the human diet. More particularly, they talk about our last common ancestors with chimpanzees, how changes in the gut shaped human evolution, what Homo sapiens actually ate during the Paleolithic, and the transformative role of cooking. They also discuss whether there is such a thing as a natural human diet, why junk food is so appealing, and what an evolutionary perspective can teach us about weight loss and eating well. Dan’s latest book is Fed Up: What Evolution Reveals About Food, Diet, Health, and Eating Well (Knopf, 2026).

Fed Up: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593537998

OUTLINE
00:00 Dan’s Interest in Human Evolution
04:43 Why Our Heads Don’t Topple Over When We Run
07:41 Human Evolution and “Fed Up”
10:40 Understanding the Evolution of the Human Diet
19:12 Our Last Common Ancestors with Chimpanzees
30:05 Evolutionary Changes in the Gut
38:51 Homo Sapiens and the Paleolithic Diet
48:18 The Transformative Power of Cooking
54:30 The Most Important Diets
59:19 Why Are Junk Foods So Appealing?
01:03:19 Weight Loss

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

Adam Mockler is a liberal political commentator, YouTube host, and digital media creator who has become one of the most prominent Gen Z voices in American political media. He hosts The Adam Mockler Show and has built an audience of more than two million subscribers on YouTube, where he produces daily political commentary and reporting. In this episode, Robinson and Adam discuss the changing relationship between politics, media, and the internet. More particularly, they talk about Adam’s liberal values, why independent media can outperform legacy media, the battle for attention online, how clipping has become a new form of political canvassing, and what Democrats need to do to win elections in 2026. They also discuss Charlie Kirk, political conspiracy theories and death threats, what Nick Fuentes is doing effectively as a communicator, Gavin Newsom’s media strategy, and whether Generation Alpha speaks a fundamentally different political language.

Adam’s Website: https://www.adammockler.com

Adam’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adammockler/

Adam’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@adammockler

Adam’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adammockler

Adam’s X: https://x.com/adammocklerr

OUTLINE
00:45 Adam’s Expertise
10:53 Adam’s Liberal Values
14:30 Why Independent Media Beats Legacy Media
18:26 Clipping Is the New Canvassing
20:39 The Battle for the Attention Economy
26:06 How to Win Elections in 2026
31:16 What Constraints Are There on Independent Media?
38:44 On Charlie Kirk, Conspiracies, and Death Threats
41:46 What Is Nick Fuentes Doing Right?
47:18 Gavin Newsom’s Media Strategy, Explained
52:46 Does Gen Alpha Speak a New Political Language?

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 twelfth appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. 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. This is Michael’s eighth appearance on the show. In this episode, Robinson, Richard, and Michael discuss colonialism and the death of modern nations. More particularly, they discuss the evolution of capitalism toward socialism, whether colonialism has officially ended, Russia, China, Israel, Iran, Trump, Putin, and the United States. Richard’s latest book is Understanding Capitalism (Democracy at Work, 2024). Michael’s most recent book is Temples of Enterprise (ISLET, 2024). 

Understanding Capitalism (Book): https://www.democracyatwork.info/understanding_capitalism

Richard’s Website: https://www.rdwolff.com

Economic Update: https://www.democracyatwork.info/economicupdate

Michael’s Website: https://michael-hudson.com

Temples of Enterprise: https://a.co/d/a3c53dm

OUTLINE
00:00 Is Capitalism Evolving into Socialism?
07:20 Is Today the Post-Colonial Period?
18:10 How Colonialism Divided the World
28:54 China and the Revenge of Feudalism
41:06 Productive vs Unproductive Labor
49:24 Overcoming the “Discipline” of Academia
01:01:17 The Danger of Education
01:13:19 Will the United States Break Up?
01:21:22 Why the EU and NATO Will Break Up
01:29:15 Why Michael Believes the US Will Remain United
01:38:37 Trump’s Army and the Militarized Police
01:46:49 Is the US Turning into a Police State?
01:48:49 The Choice Before a Declining Empire
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University, where he is also a JD candidate in the Law School.

Steve Keen is an economist and was most recently Head of the School of Economics, History and Politics at Kingston University in London. He has done research on a wide variety of topics, including Marxist economics, debt, complexity theory, and systems dynamics. In this episode, Steve and Robinson discuss his economic framework in relation to wars around the globe. More particularly, the discuss the importance of oil in the Iran War, the cold war with China, the war in Ukraine, and more.

OUTLINE
00:00 The Crucial Importance of Oil in the Iran War
08:54 Systems Dynamics and Economics
14:22 How Much Inflation Will the Iran War Cause?
18:17 Will the Iran War Cause Famine?
28:56 Conspiracy and the Iran War
30:48 Tariffs and Trade Deficits
46:03 Will Trump’s Tariffs Bring Manufacturing Back to the United States
52:49 Steve’s Motivation
59:25 The Crucial Flaw in Marxism
01:12:43 Understanding the War in Ukraine’s Impact on Europe
01:16:38 On Putin’s Motivations in Ukraine
01:26:32 Understanding Trump through Narcissistic Personality Disorder
01:32:52 Trump and the Takeover of Venezuela
01:38:11 Economists Misunderstand Everything About China
01:53:01 Why Will China Survive Global Warming?
01:57:18 AI and the Future Economics of the World

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