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=XIMAFyQFmWGoYyuO

The Chris Hedges Report Substack: https://chrishedges.substack.com

A Genocide Foretold: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/786808/a-genocide-foretold-by-chris-hedges/

OUTLINE

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:59 PTSD and Weightlifting

00:06:49 The Decline of the American Empire

00:11:10 The Strongest Dimension of Trump’s Presidency

00:17:20 Was Hitler a Better Speaker than Trump?

00:19:54 How the Democratic Party Sold Out the Working Class

00:22:21 Elon Musk and the Oligarchic Takeover of America

00:28:26 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 Community

00:54:04 Becoming a Minister

00:57:27 The Christian Right and the Fascist State

01:06:26 The Problem of Evil

01:10:31 On Sadism and the Decline of Empires

01:17:35 Why the Christian Right Supports Israel

01:20:20 How Does Trump Think of Israel?

01:27:38 On How the CIA Attempted to Recruit Him

01:31:06 Is Israel Still Committing Genocide in Gaza?

01:40:25 Chris’s New Book

01:46:24 On His Time with Hamas

01:55:01 Journalism vs Academia

01:58:28 Is Zionism Anti-Semitism?

02:04:52 How to Read the Bible

02:12:01 Where Does Integrity Come From?

02:22:26 Dehumanization in Palestine

02:26:15 On Marxism and Elon Musk

02:31:16 The Farewell Tour

02:35:34 On Trump’s Love of TV

02:37:50 On Reporting the Middle East

02:39:56 Russia and Ukraine

02:42:59 Growing Wealth Disparities in the United States

02:46:56 Fascist Attacks on Education

02:51:39 The Dark Future of the Press

02:57:30 Could the American Empire Be Revived?

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

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

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_capitalism

Richard’s Website: https://www.rdwolff.com

Economic Update: https://www.democracyatwork.info/economicupdate

OUTLINE

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:27 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 Crisis

00:30:19 Global Retaliation Against American Tariffs

00:33:29 America’s Big Mistake with Russian Sanctions

00:40:50 Trump’s Big TikTok Mistake

00:47:05 How Adolf Hitler Came to Power in Germany

01:08:40 Does Elon Musk Symbolize the End of America?

01:16:07 How Bosses Lie When They Fire You

01:23:08 On Elon Musk’s Chainsaw Public Relations Disaster

01:28:52 On the Drowning American Empire

01:34:36 On Elon Musk and the Self-Destruction of Tesla

01:39:27 Feudalism, Communism, and the Death of Capitalism

01:46:22 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 Education

02:23:59 How Mao Made the China of Today

02:40:39 The Myth of European Global Dominance

02:52:08 On Antonio Gramsci and Mussolini

02:57:03 Why Is Gramsci One of the Great Marxists?

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

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

Dr. Nolan is the Rachford and Carlota A. Harris Professor in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine. He has published over 350 research articles and is the holder of 50 US patents, and has been honored as one of the top 25 inventors at Stanford University. He specializes in groundbreaking cancer and immunotherapy research. Yet Garry is also a world-renowned UAP investigator and Executive Director of the Board at the Sol Foundation, one of whose unofficial mottos is: Science, Policy, and Public Education for a Post-UAP World. In this episode, Robinson and Garry discuss the evidence that aliens exist and have already visited Earth. More particularly, they discuss various hypotheses about what aliens are—interdimensional travelers, visitors from other planets, Boltzmann Brains, and others—the Atacama Mummy, Garry’s own UFO encounter, the relationship between aliens and national security, the Pentagon Videos, the Fermi Paradox, and more. Keep up with Garry through X and the Sol Foundation.

Garry’s X Account: https://x.com/GarryPNolan

The Sol Foundation: https://thesolfoundation.org

OUTLINE

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:23 Garry’s Interest in Aliens

00:05:03 How Garry’s Medical Research Turned into Alien Investigations

00:14:44 The Alien Controversy Around the Atacama Mummy

00:24:08 What Is the Definitive Proof for Aliens?

00:29:34 What Are UAPs

00:32:46 What Are Interdimensional Aliens??

00:36:03 What Are Ultraterrestrial Aliens?

00:40:01 The Time-Traveling Alien Hypothesis

00:41:13 The Angry-Monkey Alien Hypothesis

00:43:35 The Panspermia Alien Hypothesis

00:48:20 Could Intelligent Aliens Have Come to Earth?

00:54:50 Garry’s Background in Genetics

00:57:13 Does Extraterrestrial Life Need Air and Water to Live?

01:07:16 What Is the Fermi Paradox?

01:15:56 UFOs and Government

01:22:23 Garry’s UAP Experience

01:35:27 On Telepathy and Paranormal Abilities

01:39:31 On the Credibility of Alien Witnesses

01:41:34 Does the Government Suppress UFO Reports?

01:49:11 Why Are Aerospace Companies Hiding UFO Data?

01:51:53 Does the Government Possess Alien Metals?

01:58:29 Is Knowledge of Aliens a National Security Threat?

02:02:15 On Alien Abductions and Animal Mutilations

02:06:28 The Violent Changes to Brains Exposed to UFOs

02:17:56 Garry’s Top Secret Clearance

02:19:15 The Truth About the Tic-Tac UFO Incident

02:37:25 What Is the Skywatcher UAP Contact Program?

02:46:01 The Sol Foundation

02:58:24 Why Alien Research Can Prevent Nuclear War

03:02:03 What Are Transmedium Alien UAPs?

03:04:50 Are UAPs Biological Threats?

03:06:31 On Avi Loeb’s Pioneering UAP Research

03:12:49 Is Jacques Vallee One of the Most Important Alien Researchers?

03:18:17 What Should You Tell Someone Who Doesn’t Believe in Aliens?

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

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.