It has turned into a political podcast.

Fantastic episode. Richard Wolfes greatest mistake impacted so many lives I can’t imagine that being a mistake. Thank God you remained a profesor. Cornell Wests greatest mistake is such an indictment of the Democratic Party. I love all these men because of the positive impact they have had on millions of lives. I pray you never forget that.

Robinson is like Slow Rogan in that he’s really dumb but unlike him, he brings on true American patriot leftists. I appreciate him platforming the left even though he’s a bit of a chud. Ads are truly insane though. Absolute garbage editing.

Now mostly anti-trump train which is tiresome

Please fix the volumes so your pod matches the ad volume. The ads are very jarring when they come on.

Advertisements ruin this otherwise excellent podcast. Too bad Robinson won't put the ads at rhe beginning of the show like Lex Fridman, Matt Beall and others do. It's unlistenable in its current form.

Robinson please check the audio levels before publishing. The ads are so loud and sudden when I have my airpods in they nearly give me a heart attack

He has Richard Wolfe on and repeatedly misses opportunities to push back on lie after lie. For example, he said that millions of Palestinians have been killed. Also Wolfe seems to have no understanding of the dynamics in the region between the gulf states and Iran. He says that America is no longer a superpower. America has destroyed Iran in weeks, meanwhile after years of war, Russia can barely put a dent in a country next door. Regardless if this war is a good idea, America can still project power across the globe with no rival.

Is always good to hear crazy voices but this guy is Putin's useful fool and not much else.

This is one of my favorite podcasts I’ve ever listened to. The interviewees are often people who explain their ideas for a living, so they can talk about even quite complicated things in very clear, understandable ways. Instead of simplifying ideas, they clarify their communication. The interviewer also has a background in philosophy and it shows. It stands out from the majority of podcasts about academic topics, because it gets into the meat of specific ideas rather than introducing broad topics. You’ll leave feeling like you actually have a grasp of the idea at hand.

I enjoy your interviews but Please sound level your ads. They are much louder than the content which is so jarring. I like to listen to this at bedtime but I will no longer until these ads are sound leveled

This used to be a great physics and math podcast. Now it is either all political nonsense or about aliens and AI conspiracy theories.

I discovered this podcast while looking for AI information from outside the usual (albeit valuable) tech silo. I’ve been delighted to find the discussions here so deep and wide-ranging. Excellent interviews. I rank this alongside Sean Carroll’s Mindscape and the better Lex Friedman stuff. I play new episodes as fast as they drop, and am gleefully working through the back catalog.

It used to be a pretty good podcast with accredited physicists, but now Robinson seems to have taken a liking for pro-Palestine/Hamas ‘scholars’ like Norman Finkelstien (5 episodes) without giving a real voice to actual Jews and Israeli scholars. I’m not sure if there’s a deep seated antisemitism here or moral confusion, but it’s a major intellectual failing on Robinson’s part and it seems so obvious which side guys are the bad guys in that debate. Lost all credit to this podcast.

Fantastic podcast, but please please have the volume of the advertisements be at the level of the podcast. Very abrupt and startling.

Robinson is free to choose his guests in whatever way he wishes. That said, it’s worth noting that of his 250 episodes so far, only 13% feature women. As his guests are primarily from the fields of philosophy, mathematics and economics, the gender disparity of his podcast could be explained by the existing male dominance of these fields. But, of the academics working in those fields, approximately 25%- at least- are women. So, Robinson features even less women than the average percent of women in the field, which is already quite small. The best research on why this disparity exists rightfully concludes that it’s complicated, and there’s no way to know. Arguments about whether the male brain is predisposed to the types of thought required by these fields, or arguments about implicit bias or explicit hostility (which are generally anecdotal and cannot be proven)- each of these explanations fall apart under scrutiny, thetefore I can’t make any assumptions about Robinson’s reasoning for having so few women on his show. Maybe gender is not an important consideration in deciding who to platform. Or maybe women are not interesting. Maybe he invites them but they don’t want to talk to him, out of fear of stereotype threat. Maybe he doesn’t think about it, implicit bias. Maybe, and I doubt this but there’s no way to know, maybe he has an explicit hostility towards women. Again, on this issue, one can only conclude “there’s no way to know” and “we’re not sure it’s even important” and “for whatever reason, Robinson, who has full control of who he chooses to speak with, overwhelmingly chooses to speak to men”. I enjoy aspects of the podcast, and am not writing this with intent to smear, cancel or even persuade him to have more women guests (again, it’s his choice), but only to say the disparity is unusual and significant enough to be worth noting.

Longtime listener, really enjoy the show! Came here to say the Hanson, Wolff, Finkelstein run has been rough. 3 blowhard hacks in a row! I think it’d be more bearable if Robinson engaged more, perhaps even interrupting the ramblings every once in a while.

The best podcast episode of any podcast I’ve listened to this year, Loewer and Robinson. Excellent questions and the responses will leave me researching through 2025.

Love the math philosophy of early episodes but also enjoying more recent physics. Great guests with clear arguments. Challenges you to listen a second time to decide what you think.

Please consider lowering the volume of commercials during the show. They are so much louder than the content that they significantly detract from a great podcast. I can’t listen with earbuds because they are so loud.

This is great! length/detail, conception of what a socially productive intellectual interview is. Its not about platforming people who pass a Moral-Political Purity test, and either not-platforming people who don’t pass, or inviting them on to ambush them and expose the evil and stupidity of their Impure views. Give this guy a pat on the back. This is so hard to pull off as a phd student (speaking as a phd student in an adjacent field at the same school). So he interviews VDH in Hoover tower? What is wrong with that? Yes Hoover is a retirement home for undead old war criminals to collaborate with surveillance capitalists and younger war criminals. But it doesn’t mean hearing what VDH has to say is causing harm to progressive ideals. VDH is a smart, even-keeled, extremely well read person, who also seems kind. I disagree strongly with many of his views too. But it’s very valuable to hear a smart person (ratheir than an idiot) defend these views. The host also interviews radical persona non grata like MICHAEL HUDSON(!!), one of the least-known smartest political economists/historians alive, and never in my wildest dreams did I think there’d be a podcast where he’s a regular guest. I’m so grateful for these interviews. This podcast is really valuable. And truly it’s amazing that it is a PhD students’ side project. Thank you, and I just want to say (speaking from experience as as a grad student recovering workaholic) don’t work too hard for too long without serious rest periods. It can mess you up in lasting ways that are not simple to recover from, and professors/older grad students at Stanford, even nice ones, are not likely to give you a heads up on this.

This podcast was once a unique place that one could hear academic philosophy discussed in depth with experts. Now it seems to be one of several dozen other podcasts that covers politics. It’s not necessarily bad, it just seems to be losing some of what made it special.

You lost me with all the political episodes. It’s not about the episodes it about how you approach it. You do not interact with your guest, you just provide a platform for contentious views. There is no conversation, just strange opinionated monologue. This leads to a perception of your support for terrible views, even if that is not how you vote. Your interview style has also degraded. Your speaking style has always been hard to listen to but it has gotten worse. A constant robotic cadence coupled with stringing together way too many questions into one, is unusual, friction filled and none consumable. If you care about the future of the world. Act like you do. Because providing a platform for views is directly providing support, regardless of how you rationalize it.

Focus is a superpower. Thank you for showing respect to your guests with your undivided attention. Your podcast is a gift.

Just listened to Richard Wolff— great guest to have on. I’m a history teacher and every time I hear Wolff speak I wish I had had him as a teacher. Strongly recommend.

Just started listening to your podcast it is the most informative and interesting and entertaining out of the half dozen podcast that I follow

Responding to the comment about repeating guests and subjects… of course there is repetition, but that’s great! It’s important to hear extended conversation and the guests put in the position that they must respond to things other guests (with whom they may differ) have said since. The subject matter often involves so much translation (in each guest’s own style) into podcast-friendly presentation: a risk, like any translation. How to confront the risk? Invite opportunities to hone the message each time one guest refers to another. In essence, nice work Robinson.

The host pays attention to and is genuinely interested in his guest’s ideas and expertise. Thoughtful and informative.

Great guests, great conversations

Truly mind blowing

This podcast exists!

Robinson’s is the best podcast that I listen to, a true gem.

I am writing this review because I love listening to this podcast and have learned so much from it. It truly deserves the highest rating available.

This isn’t slavoj obviously but I love his episodes on the show!

I love the show, especially the episodes with physicists. They’re accessible and Robinson does a great job organizing the discussions!

Smart, engaging, and often surprising... after many months of listing to the back catalogue it's become clear that you can always expect a conversation that will drive, shape, or point to an expansive intellectual engagement with the domains of the possible.

I was Robinson’s student at Stanford! He is the best!!

Robinson is doing amazing job interviewing! Discussions are in depth and focus is on guests. Super professional, and interesting!!!!

Best guests + best discussion = best podcast. The math checks out!

Robinson’s podcast and Sean Carroll’s Mindscape are my two essential science podcasts. I never miss an episode. Batsy’s owner.

This show has great in depth philosophy with terrific philosophers and physicists

One of my favorites, up there with Mindscape!

i learn fifty new things in every episode. the sapolsky episode was the best of the many he’s done lately that i’ve heard

This show has some of the best guests of any podcast and the host Robinson does a great job preparing for each of them with thoughtful questions.

This is the best philosophy podcast out there!

So nice to hear actual, real conversations with genuine interest from the host. His excitement and attention to his guests is palpable and contagious.

Robinson's podcast has really found a unique niche - the presentation of detailed discussions on a range of fascinating issues, with an attentive and highly-informed host who gives guests the space to fully lay out their ideas. Many skilled guests return for multiple episodes, and are often paired with other experts to allow for back-and-forth discussions of complex ideas like quantum mechanics. Bravo to Robinson!

I’ve been listening to podcasts for a decade or more now but have never actually reviewed one previously. But this has quietly grown into a must-listen for me and I’ve enjoyed digging back into the archive and listening to old episodes. I am reviewing primarily because I want to keep listening and hope the audience keeps growing. I love science/philosophy podcasts (Mindscape being my personal favorite) and I think this podcast has a unique viewpoint and refreshing take on the format. Robinson’s skills as an interviewer just keep improving too. He’s well prepared and the guest roster is incredible. Nothing is dumbed down yet the material all is accessible to a curious listener. I highly recommend this podcast.

My love language is choosing the perfect episode to share with each person in my life to introduce them to Robinson’s Podcast. Covering such a wide range of subjects on one show creates threads of (unexpected) connection and a sense of cohesion. Really incredible stuff, thank you.

The first time I listened to this (because of a link from a guest) I was unimpressed. But, boy, was I wrong! This is one of the best “intellectual” podcasts you’ll find. I put that word in quotes because there’s nothing pretentious about Robinson’s podcast, but the topics are all challenging for and demand my full attention. I LOVE IT!!