Robinson's Podcast

Andrew Knoll is the Fisher Professor of Natural History in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. Andy’s work straddles the line between the early evolution of life on Earth and our planet’s environmental history. He has written numerous books on these subjects, most recently A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters (Custom House). In this episode, Robinson and Andy discuss when and how life arose on earth—and, just as importantly, what and how we know about it. Then they turn to some related topics, such as the diversity of microbial life on Earth and how it shaped our environment. They finish off with the possibility of life on Mars, as Andy was part of NASA’s MER mission to Mars, which examined the soil and geology of Mars’s surface through two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. A Brief History of Earth: https://a.co/d/dLrMhVz OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:51 Introduction 03:23 On Walt Whitman and The Learn’d Astronomer 11:36 Big Numbers Concerning Life and the Age of the Universe 29:47 On The Earliest Life on Earth 46:29 How Did Life Begin? 58:21 How Far Back Can We Trace Humans on the Tree of Life? 01:08:42 The Diversity of Microbial Life 01:19:43 The Branching of the Tree of Life 01:24:08 How Did Microbes Shape Our Atmosphere? 01:34:48 What Does Martian Soil Tell Us About The Life That Might Be Found There? 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, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Tim Maudlin is Professor of Philosophy at NYU and Founder and Director of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. Tim is renowned as one of the leading philosophers of physics, and he also works in the philosophy of science and metaphysics. This is Tim’s fourth appearance on the show. Tim was also a guest on episode 46 (laws of nature, space, and free will), episode 67 with David Albert (the foundations of quantum mechanics), and episode 115 with Craig Callender (the philosophy of time). In this episode, Robinson and Tim dig into some of the crucial developments in the philosophy of science that took place during the 20th century. Then they move on to John Bell and the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. If you’re interested in the foundations of physics—which you absolutely should be—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 In This Episode… 00:41 Introduction 04:56 What’s the Point of Philosophy of Science? 10:38 Carnap and Logical Positivism 26:30 Thomas Kuhn and the Structure of Scientific Revolutions 42:52 What is Scientific Realism? 01:02:44 Instrumentalism and Scientific Anti-Realism 01:06:08 Who Was John Bell? 01:20:15 Einstein, Quantum Mechanics, and Bell’s Inequality 01:45:34 The John Bell Institute 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, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Norman Naimark is Robert & Florence McDonnell Professor of East European History at Stanford University. He is also Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution and the Institute of International Studies. He has worked on a wide array of topics related to the Cold War, genocide, communism, Hitler, Stalin, and more. In this episode, Robinson and Norman talk about the world history of genocide. After discussing just what constitutes genocide, they begin with the most distant reaches of prehistory—neanderthals and beyond—before moving up through biblical times, the Mongol conquest, the crusades, the colonial period, and more modern events.  Genocide: A World History: https://a.co/d/7o4tG25 OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:55 Introduction 05:13 Norman’s Background 16:24 What’s an Archival Historian? 21:12 What is Genocide 35:59 Prehistoric and Biblical Genocide 48:20 Genghis Khan and the Mongolian Genocide 01:08:05 Were the Crusades Genocidal? 01:24:07 The Spanish Colonial Genocide 01:39:02 Race, Economics, and the Settler Genocides 01:48:02 The Genocides of Modernity 01:55:07 The Armenian Genocide 02:04:49 Is There a Genocide in Ukraine? 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, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

John Burgess is John N. Woodhull Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University, where he works in mathematical and philosophical logic and the philosophy of mathematics. In this episode, Robinson and John discuss realism in the philosophy of mathematics, and while the nature of this question is itself disputed, it can be roughly described as concerning the extent to which we should be committed to the mind-independent truth of mathematical theorems, or to the existence of the objects they apparently describe. Robinson and John begin by addressing the nuances of this question, and they then turn to various developments in mathematics that have been historically associated with realism—set theory, in particular—as well as specific philosophical positions associated with realism (such as Platonism) and anti-realism (such as conventionalism). John’s most recent book is Set Theory (Cambridge, 2022). Set Theory: https://a.co/d/cF305wf OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:22 Introduction 03:17 Mathematics or Philosophy? 08:06 What is Realism in the Philosophy of Mathematics? 14:11 Objectivity and Mathematics 24:34 What Is Set Theory? 47:29 Platonism and the Continuum Problem 01:15:42 Conventionalism 01:22:06 Finitism 01:31:17 A Cap on Infinity? 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, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Lawrence Summers is the President Emeritus and Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University. He also served as the 71st Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton Administration, as Director of the White House National Economic Council in the Obama Administration, and as the Chief Economist of the World Bank. In this episode, Robinson and Larry discuss two topics close to his heart and work. First, they talk about the relationship between economic research and economic policy, both at a broad, theoretical level and with respect to cases, such as the current problem of inflation and Larry’s own work on global investments in the education of women. Second, they explore free speech and the social function of the university, including its commitments to the pursuit of truth, the promotion of opportunity, and an increase in prosperity. Larry’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/LHSummers Larry’s Website: https://larrysummers.com/ OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 01:06 Introduction 05:19 Theory, Research, and Policy in Economics 18:15 Using Research to Debunk Theory 23:00 Investing in Women’s Education 27:33 Free Speech at Harvard 34:52 Harvard and the Purpose of the University 38:17 Why Larry Ran Harvard 41:50 The STEM Revolution 54:03 Anti-Semitism in the University 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, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Konstantin Batygin is Professor of Planetary Science in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at the California Institute of Technology, where he works on a wide variety of problems related to the formation and evolution of the solar system, the dynamical evolution of exoplanets, and physical processes that occur in planetary interiors and atmospheres. In this episode, Robinson and Konstantin discuss interstellar interlopers in our solar system, planet and satellite formation, the death of Pluto, Planet Nine, and the newest music from his band, The Seventh Season. Konstantin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/kbatygin Konstantin’s Website: https://www.konstantinbatygin.com/ The Seventh Season: https://theseventhseason.band/ OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:37 Introduction 03:56 Konstantin’s Background 07:53 Was Oumuamua an Alien Spacecraft? 16:17 Planetesimals, Planet Formation, and the Size of the Solar System 25:15 Are there Extrasolar Objects in our Solar System? 35:06 How do Planets Form? 48:54 Is Our Solar System Falling Apart? 54:46 How Do Moons Form? 01:04:20 The Complexity of the Outer Solar System 01:07:12 The Death of Pluto 01:17:21 What and Where Is Planet Nine? 01:41:59 The Seventh Season 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, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Joyce Carol Oates, a widely-recognized writer, discusses technique and form in fiction and poetry. Topics include the work of James Joyce, Stephen Crane, Vladimir Nabokov, and Edgar Allan Poe, as well as the significance of the first sentence in a novel, repetition techniques, and the influence of personal experiences on writing.

Andrew Strominger is Gwill E. York Professor of Physics and Director of the Center for the Fundamental Laws of Nature at Harvard University, where he works on some of the deepest questions in physics, including black holes and the unification of quantum field theory and general relativity in the form of string theory. In this episode, Robinson and Andy discuss the basics of string theory, including its unifying role in physics, its application to outstanding and once-intractable problems of black holes, and the conceptual difficulties of thinking about higher-dimensional spaces. OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:32 Introduction 05:03 Andy’s Entry into String Theory 20:49 The Irreconcilable Clash between General Relativity and Quantum Field Theory 47:02 String Theory, Fine-Tuning, and the Anthropic Principle 59:20 The Basics of String Theory 01:12:50 String Theory and the Reductionist Program of Physics 01:27:25 When Will We Observe the Strings of String Theory? 01:43:45 How Many Dimensions are There in String Theory? 02:12:50 Aesthetics in String Theory 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, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Thomas Hertog is Professor and Head of Theoretical Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at KU Leuven in Belgium. He was a doctoral student and close collaborator of Stephen Hawking. In this episode, Robinson and Thomas discuss his recent book, On the Origin of Time: Stephen Hawking’s Final Theory. More particularly they discuss his collaboration with Stephen Hawking Hawking’s work on black holes, and the three stages of his cosmological research, which culminated in his final theory, which Thomas worked on with him, called Top-Down Cosmology.  On the Origin of Time: https://a.co/d/ihrMoCZ OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:53 Introduction 04:19 Thomas’s Entry into Physics 05:49 What Was It Like to Work with Stephen Hawking? 09:46 Stephen Hawking and the Death of Philosophy 16:42 What is Cosmological Inflation 23:28 The Big Bang, Fine-Tuning, and the Anthropic Principle 41:15 On Penrose, Hawking, Black Holes, and the Big Bang 01:01:27 Stephen Hawking’s Final Theory of Top-Down Cosmology 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, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Christopher Capozzola is Professor of History and MacVicar Faculty Fellow at MIT, where he works on the history of citizenship, war, and the military in modern American history. In this episode, Robinson and Chris discuss his first book, Uncle Sam Wants You: World War I and the Making of the Modern American Citizen (Oxford, 2008). More particularly, they talk about the background of the famous Uncle Sam “I Want You!” image and its status as a piece of propaganda, how it functioned in the United States during World War I, the domestic reception and consequences of the draft, and how patriotism resulted in violent vigilante justice. Chris’s latest book is Bound by War: How the United States and the Philippines Built America’s First Pacific Century. Uncle Sam Wants You: https://a.co/d/gBodfCL OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 01:04 Introduction 03:50 History as Narrative 08:01 Teaching History at MIT 12:21 Chris’s Interest in American History 14:42 The Origin and Purpose of Uncle Sam 32:48 Political Obligation and the Draft in World War I 45:06 History and Unwritten Facts 50:07 Draft Dodgers, Conscientious Objectors, and Vigilantes in WWI 01:04:35 Historians, Philosophers, and Political Obligation 01:16:50 How World War I Was Caused by Bad Leaders 01:23:01 Free Speech During and After the War 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, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.