Robinson's Podcast

• 252 - David Kipping: Alien Civilizations, Megastructures, Spacecraft, and Artificial Intelligence

  David Kipping is a Professor of Astronomy at Columbia University, where he runs Cool Worlds Lab and researches planets and moons that revolve around stars other than our own, in addition to his own work on the search for—and theorization about—alien life. In this episode, David and Robinson have a wide-ranging conversation about extraterrestrials. They discuss  alien civilizations, propulsion, megastructures, Oumuamua, quantum immortality, Dyson spheres, simulation theory, ancient aliens, and much more. David also runs the YouTube channel Cool Worlds Lab, where he has produced many videos on these topics.Cool Worlds Lab (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@CoolWorldsLabDavid’s Website: http://davidkipping.co.ukOUTLINE00:01:05 Astronomy or Aliens?00:06:12 How Scientists Get Burned by Alien Research00:16:52 Three Big Obstacles to UFO Science00:23:59 What is the Kardashev Scale of Alien Civilizations?00:30:28 Cloaking Devices00:33:46 How To Detect Alien Civilizations with Heat Signatures00:37:21 Other Schemes for Detecting Civilizations00:47:22 Does Alien Life Need Water to Exist?00:51:46 Why Would Aliens Have Very Different Technology From Us?00:55:54 When Did the First Life Form in the Universe?01:07:23 Is the Universe Filled with Ancient Alien Civilizations?01:16:45 What Is the Great Filter Hypothesis For Alien Life?01:19:31 Artificial Intelligence, Aliens, and the End of Humanity01:25:05 How Rare Is the Creation of Life From Nothing?01:31:53 Communicating with Extraterrestrials01:37:28 What Are Alien Megastructures?01:47:07 Can We Engineer the Sun to Live Longer?01:51:08 Clark Belt Detection01:54:35 Should We Look for Alien Life on Exomoons?02:01:33 Could We Find Alien Life on Planets in the Interstellar Medium?02:04:34 Future Telescopes02:13:35 What Is a Warp Drive and Why Can’t We Build One?02:21:47 On Time Travel and the Best Time Machines02:26:40 What Are the Best Interstellar Propulsion Technologies?02:34:07 Was Oumuamua an Alien Spacecraft?02:43:09 Are the TicTac UFOs Alien Spacecraft?02:56:58 Do We Live in a Simulation?03:00:17 What Is Quantum Immortality?Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.comRobinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

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• 251 - Eliezer Yudkowsky: Artificial Intelligence and the End of Humanity

  Eliezer Yudkowsky is a decision theorist, computer scientist, and author who co-founded and leads research at the Machine Intelligence Research Institute. He is best known for his work on the alignment problem—how and whether we can ensure that AI is aligned with human values to avoid catastrophe and harness its power. In this episode, Robinson and Eliezer run the gamut on questions related to AI and the danger it poses to human civilization as we know it. More particularly, they discuss the alignment problem, gradient descent, consciousness, the singularity, cyborgs, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Anthropic, Claude, how long we have until doomsday, whether it can be averted, and the various reasons why and ways in which AI might wipe out human life on earth.The Machine Intelligence Research Institute: https://intelligence.org/about/Eliezer’s X Account: https://x.com/ESYudkowsky?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorOUTLINE00:00:00 Introduction00:00:43 The Default Condition for AI’s Takeover00:06:36 Could a Future AI Country Be Our Trade Partner?00:11:18 What Is Artificial Intelligence?00:21:23 Why AIs Having Goals Could Mean the End of Humanity00:29:34 What Is the Alignment Problem?00:34:11 How To Avoid AI Apocalypse00:40:25 Would Cyborgs Eliminate Humanity?00:47:55 AI and the Problem of Gradient Descent00:55:24 How Do We Solve the Alignment Problem?01:00:50 How Anthropic’s AI Freed Itself from Human Control01:08:56 The Pseudo-Alignment Problem01:19:28 Why Are People Wrong About AI Not Taking Over the World?01:23:23 How Certain Is It that AI Will Wipe Out Humanity?01:38:35 Is Eliezer Yudkowski Wrong About The AI Apocalypse01:42:04 Do AI Corporations Control the Fate of Humanity?01:43:49 How To Convince the President Not to Let AI Kill Us All01:52:01 How Will ChatGPT’s Descendants Wipe Out Humanity?02:24:11 Could AI Destroy us with New Science?02:39:37 Could AI Destroy us with Advanced Biology?02:47:29 How Will AI Actually Destroy Humanity?Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.comRobinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

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• 250 - Norman Finkelstein: Trump, Israel, Gaza, and the Criminalization of Dissent

  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, and 244, 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, the current state of Gaza, the fate of Palestine, wokeness, Bernies Sanders, Chuck Schumer, antisemitism, free speech, and other topics. Norman’s most recent book is I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It! Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic Freedom (Sublation Media, 2023).Norman’s Website: https://www.normanfinkelstein.comOUTLINE00:01:11 Norman’s Predictions for the War00:10:12 Trump and the End of the Ceasefire00:14:29 Why Didn’t The Democrats Strike a Ceasefire in Israel?00:25:50 A Jeremy Corbin Witch Hunt?00:29:52 On Wokeness and DEI00:54:01 Bernie Sanders and the Working Class00:57:16 Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer, and Anti-Semitism01:04:17 Is Trump a Slave to Money, Power, and Putin?01:11:02 Is Chuck Schumer’s Definition of Anti-Semitism Terrible?01:19:52 Free Speech and Academia01:24:34 How Norman Feels About Being Academically Canceled01:27:45 On Noam Chomsky’s Deceptiveness01:29:42 More on the Cancelation01:34:13 How Should We Define Anti-Semitism?01:43:45 What Should We Do With Holocaust Deniers?01:47:14 On W.E.B Du Bois01:58:31 On Race and IQ02:01:35 Suppression of Free Speech02:09:02 How to Prevent Another Holocaust02:18:18 Chuck Schumer is Wrong About Media Echo Chambers02:22:01 How to Fight Violent Hate02:35:58 On Chuck Schumer’s Backstory and the Holocaust02:40:05 Cleaning the Augean Stables of Gaza Scholarship02:46:21 What Changed on October 7th02:48:59 Gaza Is Already Rubble: What’s Next?

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• 249 - Chris Hedges: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the Rise of American Fascism

  Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize–winning author and journalist who was a foreign correspondent for fifteen years for The New York Times. He has covered numerous wars across the decades, written many books—including America: The Farewell Tour and American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America—and has been involved in work for prisoner advocacy. In this episode, Robinson and Chris discuss Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the rise of American fascism. More particularly, they address comparisons between Trump and Hitler, DOGE, the new crisis for the Democratic Party, Israel and Palestine, the Christian far right, Marxism, and more. Chris’s latest book is A Genocide Foretold (Penguin Random House, 2025). Chris’s YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@chrishedgeschannel?si=XIMAFyQFmWGoYyuOThe Chris Hedges Report Substack: https://chrishedges.substack.comA Genocide Foretold: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/786808/a-genocide-foretold-by-chris-hedges/OUTLINE00:00:00 Introduction00:00:59 PTSD and Weightlifting00:06:49 The Decline of the American Empire00:11:10 The Strongest Dimension of Trump’s Presidency00:17:20 Was Hitler a Better Speaker than Trump?00:19:54 How the Democratic Party Sold Out the Working Class00:22:21 Elon Musk and the Oligarchic Takeover of America00:28:26 Is Elon Musk Wrong About the Efficiency of Government?00:31:02 What Is the Deep State?00:42:46 Is Donald Trump at War with the Deep State?00:49:23 Infiltrating the Far Right Christian Community00:54:04 Becoming a Minister00:57:27 The Christian Right and the Fascist State01:06:26 The Problem of Evil01:10:31 On Sadism and the Decline of Empires01:17:35 Why the Christian Right Supports Israel01:20:20 How Does Trump Think of Israel?01:27:38 On How the CIA Attempted to Recruit Him01:31:06 Is Israel Still Committing Genocide in Gaza?01:40:25 Chris’s New Book01:46:24 On His Time with Hamas01:55:01 Journalism vs Academia01:58:28 Is Zionism Anti-Semitism?02:04:52 How to Read the Bible02:12:01 Where Does Integrity Come From?02:22:26 Dehumanization in Palestine02:26:15 On Marxism and Elon Musk02:31:16 The Farewell Tour02:35:34 On Trump’s Love of TV02:37:50 On Reporting the Middle East02:39:56 Russia and Ukraine02:42:59 Growing Wealth Disparities in the United States02:46:56 Fascist Attacks on Education02:51:39 The Dark Future of the Press02:57:30 Could the American Empire Be Revived?Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.comRobinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

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• 248 - Richard Wolff: Trump, Hitler, and the End of the American Empire

  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 eighth appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. In his last appearance, episode #243, he and Robinson discussed 2025 and the first weeks of Trump’s presidency, as well as what’s to come. More particularly, they discuss the irrelevance of Donald Trump, his domestic and global policies, China, narratives on the right and left, and the future of the United States. In this episode, they continue the discussion by diving deeper into recent events, Doge, Elon Musk, the relationship between Trump and Hitler, and important historical Marxists. Richard’s latest book is Understanding Capitalism (Democracy at Work, 2024).Understanding Capitalism (Book): https://www.democracyatwork.info/understanding_capitalismRichard’s Website: https://www.rdwolff.comEconomic Update: https://www.democracyatwork.info/economicupdateOUTLINE00:00:00 Introduction00:01:27 What Do Trump and Hitler Have in Common?00:09:42 Is This the Democratic Party’s Worst Crisis?00:14:58 Is Trump’s Economic Policy a Hail Mary?00:26:29 The Mexican Deportation Crisis00:30:19 Global Retaliation Against American Tariffs00:33:29 America’s Big Mistake with Russian Sanctions00:40:50 Trump’s Big TikTok Mistake00:47:05 How Adolf Hitler Came to Power in Germany01:08:40 Does Elon Musk Symbolize the End of America?01:16:07 How Bosses Lie When They Fire You01:23:08 On Elon Musk’s Chainsaw Public Relations Disaster01:28:52 On the Drowning American Empire01:34:36 On Elon Musk and the Self-Destruction of Tesla01:39:27 Feudalism, Communism, and the Death of Capitalism01:46:22 Does China Represent a New Breed of Capitalism?01:55:16 What Can the United States Do to Beat China?02:03:46 What Makes Mao an Important Marxist?02:17:56 Richard Wolff’s Mediocre Ivy League Education02:23:59 How Mao Made the China of Today02:40:39 The Myth of European Global Dominance02:52:08 On Antonio Gramsci and Mussolini02:57:03 Why Is Gramsci One of the Great Marxists?Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.comRobinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

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