One On One : Eric Weinstein and Gareth Cliff

Eric Weinstein, renowned for his thought-provoking insights and engaging discussions, is the host of The Portal podcast, and a leading voice in contemporary discourse. He and Gareth sat down and talked about going to St. Helena and then Mars; about neutrinos and Kamala Harris; about music and a good education. From the sublime to the ridiculous, this was a conversation that gave us a little insight into a truly great mind.

[@threedeespace]

Wow, another great surprise! I can to listen to Eric for hours. Thanks for this podcast Mr Cliff

[@thecreativegoose264]

Absolutely agree

[@rdf5356]

I'd love Eric to bring back The Portal

[@thetruthexperiment]

He should just do it occasionally. Perhaps he signed paperwork that makes it impossible for him to do it whenever he wants. After going on rogan people approach you and you end up hiring people and when you let them go you can’t just hire someone else without any.. what am i talking about?

[@jeaniebritz4587]

Please open up The Portal again and invite South Africans on. No better person to shine a light on our country. Great conversation.🇿🇦

[@barendinadrotsky]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Helena_Airport

[@JustSayingOL]

The Weinstein brothers are absolutely mind blowing . Great to see such a guest with you.

[@PJM273]

If by "blowing", you mean your mind could be irretrievably damaged by them, and in particular Bret... then I agree.

[@aninterestingconversation]

Anyone who thinks these brothers are harmful, is afraid of feelings. Period.

[@PJM273]

@@aninterestingconversation Do the brothers give you feelings? Okidokie then...

[@aninterestingconversation]

@@PJM273 No. They are in touch with their own. And thus build thoughts and ideas from those deep insightful places, while encouraging others to do the same for themselves.

[@PJM273]

@@aninterestingconversation WTF does someone with feelings, in touch with or otherwise have to do with truth or validity of claims? You are a caricature of the zombie followers of these fake Gurus. You don't even know why you like them , they just dazzle you with big words and woo-woo.

[@calmlittlebuddy3721]

Eric should be invited to any and all venues, platforms and programs to speak. Such an amazing example of being an independent and fair minded thinker.

[@brianmeen2158]

Eric is one of the most unique thinkers I’ve ever listened to

[@dustyb316sa]

Thanks for an interesting conversation. 🙏🙌 Ruined my plans to fall asleep on the couch, became gripped and had 3 coffees instead. 😎

[@birgittelyngs]

I have said it before and I will say it again: listening to Eric Weinstein is like having a giganomeous intake of fresh air. Im so lucky to stumble over this podcast… I would loveyou to open the Portal again.Love love love❤️

[@VitaminStudios]

This one was mind blowing! I have been following Eric for a long time and every time he speaks he gives just a bit more details about this big problem with the science community and the U.S.'s strange grip on scientific discovery

[@algorsmith8381]

Wow thank you Gareth, this was quite a surprise. As a follower of Erics work and also a South African, i would of never envisioned this conversation in my wildest dreams, so thank you

[@heidi22209]

Thank you for hosting a great guest. Good stuff.

[@chenswaan]

Wow! No way! Can't believe you had him on your show. Keep them coming. Douglas still my favourite.

[@SaintDC42]

Undoubtedly one of my Top 5 guests by Gareth! Thanks for going to (what I suspect is) great length to have a guest of this intellect!

[@Retic_01]

Cliff, what an awesome guest. Eric please enjoy your stay in SA

[@scottwood5184]

Couldn't stop listening. What a great conversation. Thank you.

[@PublikEnimyNo1]

I am a young South African. It is so inspiring to hear Mr.Weinstein echo ideas that many of my peers and I converse about. We have an almost perfect sandbox to implement "radical" new approaches, ironically due to the failure of our state apparatus. We should provide free access to online educational resources across the country. We can experiment with blockchain auditing for state spending to curb corruption. (Possibly democratising the budget creation). There are an infinite number of creative solutions that we have the ability to invent and the duty to test in order to alleviate the suffering of our population. It is time for us to stop peering out at the world and acting as casual voyeurs. We are at the centres of our own perception, thus we see things that nobody else in the world is able to. Our flawed, culturally juxtaposed society is also our greatest strength. 🇿🇦 ❤

[@janndoe3718]

"We can experiment with blockchain auditing for state spending to curb corruption" Genius idea. A fellow South African

[@PublikEnimyNo1]

@janndoe3718 Thank you for your affirmation! Though all credit to Satoshi for enabling such. :) I also find it intriguing, imagine a budget that was fully accounted for and subject to public scrutiny at the lowest levels. A natural extrapolation could even be public control over portions of the budget. True democratisation of state expenditure!

[@steampunkcoffee934]

Such an honour having a South Africa being recognised for such interesting facts by one of the top minds on Earth. Thanks Gareth - leading the charge!!! I offer any help in working with Alien Invader Plant Species for medicine, Herbal and Fungi Extracts or Coffee industry training (including farming)

[@ronelltofte1665]

Thank you for having Mr Weinstein on your show. The "covid epidemic" has brought him and his brother Brett to my attention. I am glad that he addressed the "elephant in the room" namely that we all have different strengths and weaknesses and that by ignoring those distinctions and insisting on "the melting pot" approach, we are doing a great disservice to our country. It is GOOD to know oneself. And to admit shortcomings is GOOD. To humble oneself prevents humiliation. Even God's word teaches that we ought to "humble ourselves under His mighty hand and He will lift us up". I hope that South Africa will listen to his sound advice and take the lead in this "new" age of "self education" (as his son did) once the basics of education has been mastered. Thanks again for sound reasoning👌

[@user-uy7jz6li4h]

What a great interview. I hope you both enjoy the rest of your time together and Mr Weinstein visits South Africa again very soon. I was amazed to listen to his visit to St Helena. I would love to know more about what he discovered. Hopefully he will share more in time. Thank you for hosting him in our beautiful Country.

[@daved777]

Can Eric share the 4 books and physics courses that his son found most useful? Many would love an expert-approved, affordable, and concise route to build a respectable foundation in physics. Would make a great Portal episode :) I'd personally just like to learn to think more like a physicist even if not pursuing a career. Thanks!!!

[@vjfperez]

Landau vol 1, 2, 3 and 5 should be enough to cover 90% of undergrad level theoretical physics. Volume 4 and 6-10 is grad level.

[@vjfperez]

The series was conceived as the theoretical minimum that all professional physicists would have to master in order to be hirable by his lab.

[@daved777]

@@vjfperez awesome thanks!

[@Milestonemonger]

If Eric wants to talk about politics, or any other topic, do not stop him!

[@neilfoster4453]

Great interview. Gareth, hopefully Eric convinced you to visit St Helena. It's an extraordinary place.

[@nonareally5228]

I can't believe this is finally happening! First Douglas Murray, now Eric Weinstein! A year or two ago I asked Eric on instagram if he'd eventually come to SA and he said he very much would like to, but I never thought it would happen! I know I'm behaving like an overexcited fangirl, but... my goodness. I'm so bummed I'm not in my home province of Gauteng right now. If Mr Weinstein has any events or talks coming up in SA, would someone please let me know?

[@christiancastell3685]

Eric...wow kind words for My Bonesharks....you are good enough to be included...xxx we loved seeing you again.

[@theidealisticman]

Great to see you’re in SA Eric! Shoutout to George Ellis and Neil Turok. George Ellis was on my podcast a few days ago by the way!

[@mrgyani]

Indian here, and pleasantly surprised at his mention of Nehru, and tertiary education and the IITs. Eric Weinstein is one of the smartest people I have had the pleasure of listening to. He is our Ed Whitten of the common folks (in terms of how scary smart he is).

[@murjo11]

Fantastic podcast Gareth. Fascinating guy Eric, and easy to watch

[@coreyworthingtonii9230]

The only reason why South Africa punches above its weight in the realm of science is the same reason that makes it unique relative to any other countries in the whole continent. You can’t say it too clearly though or the comment will be banned.

[@ArtU4All]

We know what you mean 😉

[@thinkingcitizen]

its the only african country with Whites and Asians/Indians .... there I said it.... the only LatAm countries that are excelling in science are those with immigrants from Europe, like Brazil and Argentina... again I said it... nothing wrong

[@rajeevgangal542]

People from Holland were in power and some journal publishers are from Holland 😅

[@danieleckstein5689]

Ahhh we NEED more guests like this. Listened to this twice already!

[@MichaelBrown50000]

Keep raising that bar, Gareth! Well done and well interviewed.

[@Zagy21]

Here through Eric's tweet! Love it so far 🖤

[@novascheller5957]

Listening from the US… always a delight to listen to Eric! ❤

[@stephendevine4341]

Two things that are wonderful to discover, new foods and new podcasts (new to me at least). Thank you both. I'm subscribing now. The comments here bear out the great type of global audience I'd like to include myself in. Thanks again.

[@Sawubona-hc2qp]

Excellent interview - Thank you !

[@etiennecfourie777]

How refreshing guys, thank you!

[@ryanviningtube]

I need to see a conversation between Eric Weinstein and Donald Hoffman

[@mdhayes9]

It’s great to see you on another podcast, Eric. Thank you for sharing your son’s idea about a graduate level equivalency exam, I think that’s a great idea. I would be interested in knowing what four books he found that would cover all the physics material along with the free MIT online courses; this is something I would be interested in doing myself.

[@Milestonemonger]

We lived in Botswana in '92 and would drive down to Johannesburg for prenatal care. Gaborone, the capital, did not have a modern hospital at the time. Towards the end of my pregnancy, Botswana opened a well equipped private hospital where our first child was born...Well equipped except for pain killers. It was a most memorable experience. We loved Botswana and South Africa. Both are beautiful and raw. Truly Africa. We haven't been back since, but if the opportunity arises, we would in a heartbeat.

[@sigigle]

Great convo.

[@againsteternity110]

Thanks Gareth - never thought it would be Mr. Cliff restoring my faith in our region by having on heavy weights I love and follow closely, like Eric himself! Thanks my China! lol

[@MCR1565]

Yes Eric! Please get back to work on The Portal! Great discussion by the way! Thank you!🙏💖🙏

[@ct00001]

I love that Eric opened the conversation by referring to a measure of time as space.

[@simonpaulmiddleton]

Fascinating And high quality conversation. Eric's brother Brett and his wife Heather are as accomplished. Take the time to interview Brett Weinstein on his insights and discoveries about the COVID disease, the Vaccine saga and the politics of fear, the abuse of people by their governments and Big Pharma's corruption. He is a facts-based intellectual.

[@ArtU4All]

And the best teacher, Bret that is… Between the two brothers, it would be fascinating to have their parents interviewed 😄🌿

[@ulrikep2728]

Fascinating conversation. Thank you! Lots of food for thought.

[@fendant123]

Great podcast. As a Canadian, I have trouble though with the logo of this channel essentially being the CBC logo turned 45° with some minimal blocks removed.

[@stoggsherfnik4569]

The opening line sent me thinking about a book I read 60 years ago called, the Mulato escape hatch

[@mookimoves9469]

Great interview 👍 welcome to SA Eric Weinstein

[@falldog9]

Wow what a brilliant discussion. Thank you.

[@SurpriseJnr]

Terrific that’s all I can say. One of my favourite interviews ever 🔥❤️

[@noxy.mavundla]

Absolutely and wonderfully high level. Learned a lot. Great interview. 👍🏿

[@MrSiyag]

Welcome back to Mzansi Eric. Love all of your output from the Edge essays until today

[@lopeshernani]

Ok, I gotta say, as a guy that has been in Angola, Namibia and South Africa... St Helena has been there for a long time. It's got Namibia and Namibe(angola) airports as emergency diversion to St Helena since colonial times. Its really not new. None of the less. Yet another great interview. Gareth does gide long conversations well. Awesome!

[@MrTobyjansen]

Eric has great admiration for Ed Witten as far up as probably being the smartest physicist around and I thank Eric for answering my question on Ed Witten, small me ha!

[@kevnajeram9415]

Great interview! If possible please could you bookmark the different topics discussed going forward?

[@iamhuman2525]

Fantastic interview

[@life.esoteric]

great interview

[@skeeterman7144]

Here because Eric posted link on X.

[@jonwhelan2333]

Great chat. But Gareth went full nerd at the end with Cosines and functions 🤣. Love it.

[@AldinCharlesStuart]

We needed this. Very cool to see!

[@helenaborchert3540]

Great discussion...very insightful...making me think more out of the box ... love the inclusion/exclusion description...and distance learning for university will open the doors for many aspirant financially constrained students ...thank you

[@Aapsak69]

Fuck - Well done mate, setting it up, holding your own, against that calibar. I've downloaded this. I do not know if it will ever been seen again.

[@samwebber3109]

I think you should open the portal back up because at this point i think any winning strategy has to use people who have had their reputation demolished, like the idea of trying to get someone through without that happening basically just won’t happen, and also there’s already too much brain power within the compromised community to just not use, and if they work together they could probably prove that it’s too many decent people for it to make sense that they’re all dumb, so i just think whatever strategy we use has to involve basically totally coming from tarnished reputation voices

[@thekikster11]

Wow! Incredible interview thank you

[@barendinadrotsky]

Did you know that Basil Read built St Helena’s airport 🛬 to make it accessible for visitors.

[@bidask123]

I am a subscriber to The Portal, and I am still waiting for a KZbin notification that there is a new episode. In the meantime, I just watched DarkHorse #223 to get enlightened.

[@Brian-nt1hh]

Eric Takes himself, or anyone who is positive curious about life, out of the worst parts of society today. Thx for this

[@imondabass]

Thanks for the interview

[@KrugerFS]

Lets hope to find some solutions for our country and restoring it to what it used to be.

[@roncinephile]

The way Eric talks about St Helena reminds of the Werner Herzog doc Encounters at the End of the World about scientists in Antarctica

[@ktm690endurorally]

This is so flipping awesome

[@MrMarccj]

Great interview. A few comments if you're interested: These days everyone is expected to have an opinion regarding particle physics, which is nuts. I don't really have an opinion on Israel. There, I said it. Loved the 'budget' idea. I'm not saying I understand light but, water can be both wave-like, i.e. a wave on the shore, and particle like, i.e. a river or an ocean or lake. In electrics we have both DC and AC current and really both are happening at the same time. So, if these analogies are correct, I don't see why light sits in this paradoxical wave / particle duality thing. Everything has this property. How do I get in touch with Eric? I have a story I want to share with him that I think will interest him.

[@crocogater]

I know it's not important but why is the camera angle so high?

[@dannyarcher6370]

12:06 - Pull that up, Jack.

[@yr2180]

Love Eric

[@walterstockhecker5579]

We should not judge a person by the worst thing they did on their worst day.

[@timdrummatube]

Holy crap how did you get this one? Amazing guest

[@Baleur]

Eric, please bring back the portal. Many of us DID want to hear about the cutting edge new ideas in physics, even "crazy" ideas that lead us far beyond the solar system. We were NOT your audience out of some expectation of "entertainment" of podcast form. We were with you all this way PRECISELY for your Geometric Unity. So it makes me very confused to hear Eric say he felt disappointed in the audience wanting entertaining interviews, and not any details on the theory. For me, it was all about the theory, from the start. But Eric, with the internet, you can not PREVENT "uninterested" people from randomly stumbling upon your content. That is unavoidable, and should NOT be the focus. Your focus should be on those of us, in the audience, that DO stick around for your ideas and for the theories themselves. It's like a particular vintage of wine. You cant stop random kids from encountering your wine and testing it out on a frat party, but you also should not focus your entire life and business and craft, around what THOSE people have to say (or complain) about your vintage. Because it wasnt for them to begin with. It was for the people who know wine. Imagine if every great thinker or artist on this planet stopped doing their work, because random people didnt see the value? Imagine if Beethoven stopped composing because a drunkard at the pub didnt like his piano riffs? Imagine if Einstein didnt publish any papers because three college kids passing by laughed at his ideas about relativity? Eric, you have to be more broad minded than this. And you are, but NOT in regards to "fame". You have to think about the larger picture, not get bogged down in the unimportant insignificant weeds that prevent you from doing what needs to be done.. Imagine hearing Eric discuss this with Nick Boström in a simulation hypothesis "fact check" (which i personally see have enormous flaws in its logic, which makes it all the more scary that actual young people today, for real, believe it is all as simulation, because they merely parrot back what they THINK a smart person said, without thinking for themselves about what is logical or not). I want Eric to proliferate his theories and thoughts with other minds in the space. Not to debate them or debunk anyone, or for anyone do debunk Eric. But to SHARE ideas. To REVEAL to other scientists, how much they've taken for granted as base assumptions without a seconds thought. I think The Portal could be very beneficial in that way. Not for the audience, but for others in academia, if there was at least just a 1% chance that some idea Eric has could change their thinking.

[@ursulawhite5807]

I am so jealous! I would love to meet Eric Weinstein...

[@mrdmt974]

god i needed this. Love eric. great podcast. defs subbing

[@daynescrowther1736]

Oh wow! What an unexpected but most welcomed surprise! Eric Weinstein!!

[@carldossantos7213]

This is so good!

[@shanijustbelove1704]

Loved this❤

[@markstemmett5296]

Did Adrian Gardner from Port Elizabeth not organise to have an airport built on the island to boost tourism ?

[@Ilovedoggie313]

When a layman dares to venture into the domain of a professional, I would recommend keeping the questions grounded in layman terms. Otherwise, one could end up looking pretentious infront of your guest 😂.

[@MlandoMvubu]

Ouw, Eric was here?? Coool

[@OziBlokeTimG]

I enjoy your intellect and conversation, but you guy's should understand that a person does not need a degree piece of paper to validate their intelect. Yes there are social benefits but it doesn't mean everyone else is thrown under the bus. Love your work, great listening. 👍

[@dannyarcher6370]

18:35 - Sorry, Eric. It doesn't. Until the majority are converted to Western thinking, South Africa will never lead anything. Which is why it will never happen.

[@indylwth2327]

The guy hasn’t spent enough time in SA yet to understand the country. He still thinks it’s a Western outpost. Hahaha! Fast failing African state more like. He’s just here while the dog is giving its last few kicks but he doesn’t realize it yet.

[@matthewmaggio3484]

My thoughts exactly. It's living off the fumes of European colonialism.

[@tuckerbugeater]

You ever watch District 9 as your future

[@markmclean3954]

Shout out to Toti 🕺🏽🕺🏽🕺🏽😂

[@lindsv]

I was an admirer of both brothers for a while - but my simple SA mind could not compute the stand they took on vaccines (well, Brett) when I am living in a 3rd world country and they live in an American bubble? Anyway Eric is always interesting to listen to - good interview Gareth.

[@CiaranWheeler]

Brilliant!

[@YammyG559]

I started a youtube channel 2 months ago. 500k subscribers today! No experience, just hustle. This doesn't seem productive , but maybe I can take some of the resources gained from that for real science. I don't know how but I'm interested.

[@V4per]

Wow Gareth is in the big leagues

[@johangalician620]

I wonder when Eric will finally submit his Geometric Unity paper for peer review.

[@aimhigh3701]

Eric Weinstein and.... GARETH CLIFF??? What the hell planet am I on?

[@wilfredsmith183]

I remember cliff drinking tequila shots at nu bar Somerset West back in the 5 FM days hahaha. How times have changed!

[@rhymeswithteeth]

Oooohhh, now I get it! It's all so clear, now. 🤣

[@andynicoll8566]

Everyone is entitled to a bad day once and a while.

[@Rudlbugg]

I miss the portal podcast

[@winstonsmith8240]

Eric is always interesting, if not somewhat depressing concerning the powers that be.

[@Milestonemonger]

"Something is making sure that there is no alternative to the main narrative." -- Eric Weinstein

[@TruthfromRicky]

At around 40:00 is when both parties start getting heated you can see it on both of their faces and dispositions

[@rawr4444]

Portal, Portal, Portal!