Robinson's Podcast - Robinson Erhardt

Latest Episodes:

181 - Jon Butterworth: The Higgs Boson and the Standard Model of Particle Physics Dec 27, 2023

Show notes

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/robinsonerhardt

Jon Butterworth is Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at University College London, where he works on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland. In this episode, Robinson and Jon discuss his work on the standard model of particle physics, it’s connection to quantum theory, life at the LHC, the search for the Higgs Boson, and its role in physics as we know it and going forward. Jon’s book on the Higgs boson is Most Wanted Particle: The Inside Story of the Hunt for the Higgs, the Heart of the Future of Physics (The Experiment, 2016).

Most Wanted Particle: https://a.co/d/02B0H5C

00:00 Pre-Roll

00:16 Introduction

03:01 Jon’s Interest in Physics

10:02 What Is the Standard Model of Particle Physics?

19:31 How Does Quantum Theory Fit into the Standard Model?

25:28 How Does the Large Hadron Collider Work?

44:39 On The Theory Behind the Higgs Boson

56:45 Is the Higgs Boson the God Particle?

58:50 How Does The Higgs Boson Work (For Dummies)?

01:02:22 Where Does Mass Come From in the Universe?

01:11:01 The Higgs Boson, Quantum Gravity, and Meta-Stability

01:25:28 Life at the LHC

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.

180 - Michael Hudson: Neoliberalism, Industrial Capitalism, and the Rise of Debt Dec 24, 2023

Show notes

Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/robinsonerhardt⁠

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. In this episode, Robinson and Michael discuss this last subject. They begin broadly, with how as an economist Michael even thinks of debt, and move on to questions concerning the rentier class, industrial capitalism usury, and neoliberalism, as well as Michael’s beliefs about what must be done to save the economy. Michael’s most recent book is The Collapse of Antiquity (ISLET, 2023).

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

The Collapse of Antiquity: https://a.co/d/0TMt9Sh

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode

00:25 Introduction

02:55 Michael’s Background in Economics

09:48 How Does an Economist Think of Debt?

22:15 Why Are Rent and the “Rentier Class” Crucial to What’s Wrong with the Economy?

30:21 What Is Industrial Capitalism?

40:58 Why Is Usury So Prevalent in the United States?

46:17 What Is Neoliberal Ideology?

01:00:23 Is China A Good Example of Trickle-Down Economics?

01:03:52 How to Save the Economy from the Upper Class

Robinson’s Website: ⁠http://robinsonerhardt.com⁠

179 - Adam Gazzaley: Neuroscience, Therapeutic Video Games, and the Cognition Crisis Dec 22, 2023

Show notes

Adam Gazzaley is David Dolby Distinguished Professor of Neurology, Physiology, and Psychiatry in the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Adam works on developing new approaches to both assess and optimize human cognition, with particular attention to underutilized but high-potential tools like video games. In this episode, Robinson and Adam discuss the cognition crisis—why our brains seem to be under such duress in the modern age—and the structural features of the brain, as well as its plasticity, and how these things can be modified and optimized to deal with the current environment. Check out Adam’s book, The Distracted Mind (MIT, 2016).

Adam’s Website: https://gazzaley.com

The Distracted Mind: https://a.co/d/aZm8Reg

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:39 Introduction

03:09 Science and Medicine

07:29 What Is Brain Plasticity

11:17 What Is the Cognition Crisis?

31:48 Can Neuroscience Make Us Smarter?

43:17 Can Neuroscience Develop Technological Medicine?

54:45 On Medicinal Video Games

01:04:01 Why Doctors Might Prescribe Video Games For ADHD

01:23:49 Sleep Improvement

01:27:24 The Future of Medicinal Video Game Research

01:43:07 How We Can All Improve Cognitive Function

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

178 - Chike Jeffers & Lucius Outlaw: African & Africana Philosophy Dec 20, 2023

Show notes

Chike Jeffers is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Dalhousie University, where he researches Africana philosophy, the philosophy of race, social and political philosophy, and ethics. Lucius Outlaw is Professor of Philosophy Emeritus and W. Alton Jones Chair Emeritus in the Philosophy Department at Vanderbilt University, where he researches African, Africana, continental, social, and political philosophy. Both Chike and Lou have written widely on African and Africana philosophy, which form the subject of this episode. More particularly, Robinson, Chike, and Lou discuss the origin of Africana philosophy in the diaspora, violence in Africana philosophy, and the role of aesthetics in the tradition. For background, check out Lou’s article on Africana Philosophy in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and Chike’s work with Peter Adamson and Jonardon Ganeri on the History of Indian and Africana Philosophy Podcast.

History of Indian and Africana Philosophy Podcast: https://historyofphilosophy.net/series/africana-philosophy

Africana Philosophy on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/africana/

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode

00:52 Introduction

03:14 What Is Africana Philosophy?

30:16 Distinguishing African and Africana Philosophy

37:16 Violence in Africana Philosophy

01:04:44 Aesthetics and Africana Philosophy

01:28:17 Final Thoughts

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

177 - Juan Maldacena: Quantum Gravity, String Theory, and the AdS/CFT Correspondence Dec 17, 2023

Show notes

Juan Maldacena is Carl P. Feinberg Professor in the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study, where his work focuses on quantum gravity, string theory, and quantum field theories. In this episode, Robinson and Juan discuss the relationship between string theory and black holes, the holographic principle, and Juan’s groundbreaking paper on the AdS/CFT Correspondence.

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:48 Introduction

04:04 What Is the Purpose of String Theory?

16:35 Working at the IAS

17:55 String Theory and The Black Hole Information Paradox

41:19 Is Space Curved?

47:00 What is Conformal Field Theory?

50:24 String Theory and the AdS/CFT Correspondence

01:27:00 Quantizing Gravity

01:40:20 De Sitter Space Correspondences

01:56:36 Fine-Tuning and String Theory

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

176 - Brian Little: Personality Psychology and the Big Five Traits Dec 13, 2023

Show notes

Brian Little is Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at Cambridge University, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus at Carleton, and a Senior Fellow at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is well known for his work on personality psychology and his development of personal project analysis. In this episode, Brian and Robinson discuss the Big Five personality traits, how psychologists measure them, what their predictive power is, and how personal projects give us a new dimension for understanding ourselves. Brian’s latest book is Who Are You, Really? The Surprising Puzzle of Personality (Simon & Schuster, 2017).

Who Are You, Really?: https://a.co/d/cp4QRuE

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:57 Introduction

02:53 An Interest in Personality

10:30 The Origin of The Big Five Personality Traits

20:51 What Are The Big Five Traits?

44:37 How Do Psychologists Measure Personality?

58:06 Is Personality Inherited?

01:07:13 What Is the Ideogenic Self?

01:16:09 What Are Personal Projects in Psychology?

01:31:14 Can We Change Our Personalities?

01:42:21 Managing Our Personal Projects

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

175 - Robert Plomin: Behavioral Genetics and the Blueprint of Human Behavior Dec 12, 2023

Show notes

Robert Plomin is MRC Research Professor of Behavioral Genetics at King’s College London. He has published over 800 papers, is among the hundred most cited psychologists of the twentieth century, and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his research, the best known of which is on twin studies and behavioral genetics. In this episode, Robinson and Robert discuss the distinction between molecular and quantitative genetics, how one researches the question of nature vs nurture, the extent to which genetics determines human behavior, the controversies about these lines of research, and what to expect in the next ten years of behavioral genetics. Robert’s most recent book is Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are (MIT, 2018).

Blueprint: https://a.co/d/eqpK5dB

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

01:06 Introduction

03:22 An Interest in Behavioral Genetics

12:46 The Distinction Between Quantitative and Molecular Genetics

26:12 How Impactful is Genetics on Behavior?

33:25 Twins, Adoption, and Nature Versus Nurture

41:07 Some Remarkable Consequences of DNA Sequencing

50:43 Nazis, Intelligence, and the Controversy of Genetics Research

01:02:16 Is Intelligence Heritable?

01:15:51 The Generalist and Modular Models of Genes

01:21:50 Is Depression Genetically Determined?

01:31:22 What Is The Role of Nurture in Human Behavior?

01:39:08 What Behaviors and Traits are Heritable?

01:44:53 The Next Ten Years

01:52:47 Is Socioeconomic Status Heritable?

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

174 - Rebecca Goldstein: Spinoza, Atheism, and the Philosophy of Literature Dec 06, 2023

Show notes

Rebecca Goldstein is a philosopher and novelist. She received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University and studied with Thomas Nagel. She is a MacArthur Follow and was awarded the National Humanities Medal by Barack Obama. Rebecca is also an expert on Spinoza and Gödel, and has a whole bevy of other wide-ranging interests. In this episode, Robinson and Rebecca discuss her novel the Mind-Body Problem, atheism, Spinoza, and what makes life meaningful in a godless world. Rebecca’s most recent book is Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away (Pantheon, 2014).

Rebecca’s Website: https://www.rebeccagoldstein.com

Thirty-Six Arguments for the Existence of God: https://a.co/d/dAoDqbU

Plato at the Googleplex: https://a.co/d/c1vvVaw

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:45 Introduction

02:40 Publishing a First Novel

14:01 Philosophy and Literature

22:11 From Judaism to Atheism

42:36 Arguments Against the Existence of God

01:02:45 On Spinoza

01:16:14 Mattering

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

173 - Ken Olum: What Are Cosmic Strings? Dec 02, 2023

Show notes

Ken Olum is Research Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Tufts University, where he works on exotic physics and topics in cosmology like cosmic strings, gravitational waves, anthropic reasoning, and inflation. In this episode, Robinson and Ken talk all about cosmic strings, which are spindly, hypothesized astronomical objects of intense mass and energy that may have been created in the earliest periods of the universe.

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:27 Introduction

03:00 Exotic Astrophysics and NANOGrav

16:19 What Are Cosmic Strings?

37:14 String Theory and the Multiverse

42:34 Details About Cosmic Strings

48:46 How Can We Detect Cosmic Strings?

01:00:03 Travel Within the Multiverse

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

172 - Joseph LeDoux: Neuroscience and The Four Realms of Human Existence Nov 29, 2023

Show notes

Joseph LeDoux is Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science, University Professor, Professor of Neural Science, Professor of Psychiatry, and Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York University, where he works in neuroscience and related areas. Though his career is expansive, one major focus of his research has been emotions in humans and other animals. He is also the frontman of The Amygdaloids. Joseph’s most recent book is The Four Realms of Existence: A New Theory of Being Human (Harvard, 2023). In this episode, Joseph and Robinson discuss psychoanalysis, the nature of biological life, how nervous systems evolved, and the relationship between consciousness and cognition.

The Four Realms: https://a.co/d/2wrFGG2

Joseph’s Website: http://joseph-ledoux.com

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

01:06 Introduction

04:29 Thoughts on Psychoanalysis

17:05 The Four Realms of Human Existence

41:29 What Is Life?

48:10 What Are Nervous Systems and How Did They Evolve?

01:10:07 Cognition Substance-Neutral?

01:15:12 What Is Consciousness?

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com