Visit our sponsor, Wealthfront!: wealthfront.com/robinson

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. This is Slavoj’s fifth appearance on the show. On episode 109, he and Robinson discussed wokeness and psychoanalysis. On episode 118, he, Sean Carroll, and Robinson discussed quantum physics, the multiverse, and time travel. And on episode 206 he, Lee Smolin, and Robinson discussed quantum physics. In episode 212, Robinson and Slavoj talk about ancient philosophy, god, communism, quantum mechanics, and psychoanalysis. In this episode, they discuss current political events, marxism, quantum mechanics, and artificial intelligence. Slavoj’s upcoming book is Quantum History: A New Materialist Philosophy (Bloomsbury, 2025).
Quantum History: https://a.co/d/7WFcAGi

Visit our sponsor, Wealthfront!: wealthfront.com/robinson

Promo terms & conditions apply. See our affiliated link for more details.

Robinson Erhardt is a Wealthfront client and was compensated for the testimonial and promotion of the Wealthfront Cash Account. This compensation creates a conflict of interest. Experiences may vary among Cash Account clients, and results are not guaranteed.

The Cash Account, which is not a deposit account, is offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC ("Wealthfront Brokerage"), Member FINRA/SIPC. Wealthfront Brokerage is not a bank. The Annual Percentage Yield ("APY") on cash deposits as of September 26, 2025, is representative, requires no minimum, and may change at any time. The APY reflects the weighted average of deposit balances at participating Program Banks, which are not allocated equally. Wealthfront Brokerage sweeps cash balances to Program Banks, where they earn the variable APY.

If you are eligible for the overall boosted rate of 4.25% offered in connection with this promo, your boosted rate is also subject to change if the base rate decreases during the three-month promotional period.

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

01:07 Marxism and Quantum Mechanics

07:34 Why We Aren’t Pessimistic Enough

16:29 The Wisdom of the First Philosopher

29:27 The Assassination of Charlie Kirk

38:10 On Curtis Yarvin

49:23 The Naivety of Pete Hegseth

51:06 The Contradiction in American Fascism

57:43 Could a Coup Overthrow Trump?

01:04:17 The Utter Shamelessness of Today’s Society

01:14:15 The Danger of the Disappearing Left

01:18:06 AI Is a Tool of Authoritarian Suppression

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.

Struggling German Industry Turns to Defense Manufacturing

State of the World from NPR

Intro

The AI-powered Podcast Player