Fay Dowker is Professor of Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London, where she works broadly on quantum gravity, and more particularly on an approach called causal set theory that takes the most basic pieces of the universe to be atoms of spacetime. In this episode, Robinson and Fay begin by discussing her studies with Stephen Hawking and their work on wormholes before turning to quantum gravity and causal set theory. Fay is also a faculty member at 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. The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:50 Introduction 04:49 How Do Physicists Think of Wormholes? 15:56 Stephen Hawking, Philosophy, and Quantum Gravity 26:00 Causal Set Theory and The Problem of Quantum Gravity 43:45 What is the Path Integral? 54:43 Is Spacetime Discrete? 57:40 Causal Set Theory and Black Holes 01:14:27 Lorentz Symmetry, Non-Locality, and Phenomenology in Causal Set 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. 

Tony Padilla is Professor of Physics in the School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Nottingham, where he is the Associate Director of the new Nottingham Centre of Gravity. Tony works in cosmology, quantum gravity, and related areas. He is also a host of the YouTube channel Numberphile, and the author of Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them: A Cosmic Quest from Zero to Infinity (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2022). In this episode, Robinson and Tony discuss some of these fantastic numbers. They begin with the question of how numbers relate to physics and the world more generally before turning to Graham’s Number, Tree(3), and the question of whether or not we have doppelgängers elsewhere in the universe. Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them: https://a.co/d/jiLCOJe Numberphile: https://www.youtube.com/@numberphile OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:13 Introduction 02:57 Tony’s Interest in Numbers 07:51 Are Numbers Parts of the Physical World? 20:12 Do We Have Doppelgängers Elsewhere in the Universe? 54:16 What is Graham’s Number? 01:03:22 Tree(3) 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. 

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 second appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. In episode #127, he and Robinson discussed some of the most profound criticisms of capitalism. In this installment, they focus on Marx himself, including Karl Marx’s background, his most important views, what he wrote and didn’t write, and some of the common—and potentially devastating—criticisms of Marxism. Richard’s Website: https://www.rdwolff.com Economic Update: https://www.democracyatwork.info/economicupdate The Sickness is the System: https://a.co/d/jf5w5wy OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:22 Introduction 03:55 Who Was Karl Marx? 32:15 Karl Marx, Armchair Intellectual? 37:40 Answering Karl Marx’s Critics 50:38 Is Karl Marx Responsible for the Communist Genocides? 01:14:09 Marxism and The World Economy of Today 01:17:53 Is Socialism a Monolith? Does Marxism Evolve? 01:25:13 On Marxism and Mass Death 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. 

Alan Stern is a planetary scientist, space program executive, aerospace consultant, and author. He leads NASA’s 880 million dollar New Horizons mission, which explored Pluto and its moons before heading deeper into the Kuiper Belt that surrounds the solar system. In 2007 and 2008, Alan was also NASA’s chief of space and Earth science programs. In this episode, Robinson and Alan talk all about Pluto and how Earth got there through New Horizons. They begin by discussing whether or not Pluto should be classified as a planet, before turning to the logistics of flying to Pluto and then what the New Horizons probe discovered there. Alan’s book, Chasing New Horizons (Picador, 2018) details the story of the groundbreaking mission. Alan’s Website: https://alanstern.space Chasing New Horizons: https://a.co/d/gwvun3e OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:56 Introduction 02:46 Why Planets? 08:23 Is Pluto a Planet? 22:19 New Horizons’ Journey to Pluto 30:14 NASA’s Flyby-Then-Probe Model 37:20 What Did NASA’s New Horizons Mission Learn About Pluto? 50:11 New Horizons After Pluto and Beyond 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. 

Geraint F. Lewis is Professor of Astrophysics at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy in the University of Sydney’s School of Physics. While the focus of his research is on dark matter and energy, Geraint has written about and worked on many topics in cosmology and astrophysics more generally. In this episode, Robinson and Geraint discuss the question of fine-tuning: Our universe seems extremely well-suited for life, and with just the slightest variations in physics life as we know it would not exist. In what ways does the universe appear finely tuned, and how should we account for this? Geraint’s Website: https://www.geraintflewis.com A Fortunate Universe: https://a.co/d/aLKIcG5 OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:34 Introduction 2:59 The Bigger Questions 05:40 Was the Earth Designed for Humans? 10:33 Fine-Tuning and the Standard Model of Particle Physics 18:40 What Is the Anthropic Principle? 28:46 Is the Weak Nuclear Force Necessary For Life? 36:36 Are The Strong and Electromagnetic Forces Necessary for Life? 52:52 The Higgs Boson and Fine-Tuning 59:23 Is Gravity Necessary for Life? 01:03:10 Fine-Tuning and the Multiverse 01:14:03 Entropy and Fine-Tuning 01:37:54 Dark Energy, Dark Matter, and Fine-Tuning 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. 

Michael Levin, Distinguished Professor at Tufts University and associated with Wyss Institute at Harvard, discusses collective intelligence, morphogenesis, and the concept of synthetic life. They explore problem-solving abilities of slime molds, the intelligence of planarians, and the potential of synthetic life including xenobots.

John Mather is a Senior Astrophysicist in the Observational Cosmology Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He was the recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics for his role as Principle Investigator for the Far IR Absolute Spectrophotometer on COBE, which observed the cosmic microwave background and helped support the big bang theory of the origin of the universe. John has also worked on many other projects for NASA, including the James Webb Space Telescope. In this episode, Robinson and John discuss the big bang and the cosmic microwave background before detailing the COBE satellite, its extraordinary findings, and the work that led to winning the Nobel Prize. The Very First Light: https://a.co/d/6iaWMOK OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:35 Introduction 02:56 John’s Scientific Background 12:50 Where Did the Big Bang Theory Come From 22:28 The Electromagnetic Spectrum 27:48 John’s Thesis and the Road to COBE 42:57 Designing the Nobel-Winning COBE Satellite 01:05:38 Some Further Background 01:08:08 The Cosmic Microwave Background and the Nobel Prize 01:35:52 John’s More Recent Projects 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. 

Jonathan Lear is the John U. Nef Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Philosophy and at the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. He is also a practicing psychoanalyst. Jonathan’s work focuses on understanding the human psyche both through philosophy—with an emphasis on Aristotle and the ancients—and psychoanalysis. In this episode, Jonathan and Robinson discuss three pinnacles of psychoanalysis: free association, the unconscious, and transference. Jonathan’s most recent book is Wisdom Won From Illness: Essays in Philosophy and Psychoanalysis (Harvard, 2017). Jonathan’s Website: https://home.uchicago.edu/~jlear/ Wisdom Won From Illness: https://a.co/d/hxkokCz OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:50 Introduction 03:28 Philosophy and Psychoanalysis 12:29 What Is The Fundamental Rule of Psychoanalysis? 20:02 On Slavoj Žižek and Free Association 25:26 Following Freud 37:55 Transference and Changing One’s Mind 49:22 How the Analyst Listens 01:09:40 Analysis and Contradiction 01:25:44 Dreams and Free-Association 01:34:42 Transference 01:55:12 Who Is Psychoanalysis For? 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. 

Lee Smolin, a founding member of the Perimeter Institute, discusses the philosophical underpinnings of realism in quantum mechanics, contrasting it with various interpretations like the Copenhagen model. He introduces his radical presentism, where only the immediate present truly exists. The conversation also delves into the connections between mathematics and physics, revealing how theoretical frameworks shape our understanding of reality. Smolin further shares personal insights on living with Parkinson’s disease, enriching the discourse with reflections on life and challenge.

Yascha Mounk is a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University. He is also a Contributing Editor at the Atlantic, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the host of The Good Fight podcast. Yascha has written five books, the most recent of which is The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time (Penguin, 2023). In this episode, Robinson and Yascha talk about this latest work. They begin by discussing the interrelationship between political theory, political science, and political philosophy before moving on to the role of equality in the politics on the left over the past hundred years. Then they turn to the rise of identity politics, its dangers, and how we can avoid what Yascha refers to as “the identity trap.” The Identity Trap: https://a.co/d/jh6IZIR Yascha’s Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 01:32 Introduction 04:48 Distinguishing Political Theory, Science, and Philosophy 12:02 Why Focus on the Left Rather than the Right? 27:33 The History of Equality on the Left 32:38The Origin of Identity Politics 44:19 Universalism and Cultural Marxism 50:48 How Did Identity Politics Spread So Fast? 58:16 Do Identity Politics Conflict with Psychology? 01:12:00 How Do We Escape Identity Politics? 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.