Everytime Adolf Hitler was mentioned in Very Bad Wizards
Everytime Adolf Hitler was mentioned in Very Bad Wizards
Episode 77: On the Moral Nature of Nazis, Jerks, and Ethicists (with Eric Schwitzgebel)
Very Bad WizardsSpecial guest Eric Schwitzgebel joins David and Tamler to discuss the moral behavior (or lack thereof) of ethicists. Does moral reflection make us better people, or does it just give us better excuses
Nov 9, 2015·1h 20m·0(-)Episode 55: Rooting for Evil (With Paul Bloom)
Very Bad WizardsPaul Bloom joins us to talk all things villainous -why we sometimes root for the bad guys, why we admire them even when we don't, why they are much more compelling than some of our heroes. Then more ev
Oct 21, 2014·1h 18m·0(-)Episode 145: Lost in Borges' Garden
Very Bad WizardsDavid and Tamler go deep into Borges’ labyrinth to discuss the fascinating, multi-dimensional story “The Garden of Forking Paths.” What is the underlying reality of this story? What demands does
Aug 7, 2018·1h 37m·0(-)Episode 163: Should I Stay or Should I Go? (Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas")
Very Bad WizardsDavid and Tamler are pulled into Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas." Omelas is a truly happy city, except for one child who lives in abominable misery. Is that too high a moral co
May 1, 2019·1h 34m·5.0(1)Episode 208: Dream Theater
Very Bad WizardsWe’ve always had nothing but praise for neuroscientists and their work, and today is no exception. We talk about a fantastically rich and ambitious essay by Erik Hoel that offers a theory of dre
Mar 9, 2021·1h 42m·0(-)Episode 69: CHiPs on Our Shoulders (Lessons in Objectivity)
Very Bad WizardsDave and Tamler try to figure out what we talk about when we talk about objectivity. In past episodes we’ve claimed that logic and science (when it isn't fraudulent) are objective. Tamler has claimed
Jun 17, 2015·1h 33m·0(-)Episode 184: Tainted Glove
Very Bad WizardsDavid and Tamler start off talking about the infamous Richard Dawkins eugenics tweet. What does it mean for eugenics to “work”? And given the sensitive nature and horrific history of eugenics, is i
Mar 10, 2020·1h 25m·0(-)Episode 240: Evil
Very Bad WizardsDavid and Tamler descend into the dark pits of Hell to look Satan in the eyes and discover the nature of evil. OK…that’s not fully accurate, we just read and talk about a couple of philosophy artic
Jul 6, 2022·1h 33m·5.0(1)Episode 274: Can I Get a Kidney Voucher? (with Vlad Chituc)
Very Bad WizardsRETURNING guest Vlad Chituc joins us for a wide-ranging discussion about donating his kidney to a stranger, the effective altruism movement, and his sexuality. Was EA’s turn to ‘long-termist’ goa
Dec 13, 2023·1h 35m·4.8(4)Episode 9: Social Psychology, Situationism, and Moral Character
Very Bad WizardsAfter discussing some listener feedback about the movie Swingers, Tamler and David talk about two classic experiments in social psychology: the Milgram Experiments and the Zimbardo Prison experiment. T
Dec 3, 2012·1h 8m·0(-)Episode 3: "We believe in nothing!" (Cultural diversity, relativism, and moral truth)
Very Bad WizardsTamler and Dave discuss recent work in philosophy and psychology about the differences in moral values and practices across cultures. We talk about the implications of moral diversity: does it mean tha
Sep 8, 2012·1h 1m·5.0(1)Episode 230: Be Happy (Lars von Trier's "Melancholia")
Very Bad WizardsDavid and Tamler sink deeper and deeper into Melancholia, Lars von Trier’s harrowing and stunningly beautiful depiction of depression, anxiety, and a wedding reception that just won’t end. They bri
Feb 8, 2022·1h 50m·0(-)Episode 158: False Dichotomies and Oral Reciprocity
Very Bad WizardsDavid and Tamler talk about the invasion of dual process theories in psychology. Why do we love theories that divide complex phenomena into just two categories? Is there any evidence to back up these t
Feb 19, 2019·1h 36m·0(-)Episode 67: Funny How?
Very Bad WizardsDave and Tamler break the cardinal rule of comedy by trying to analyze it. What are the origins and functions of humor? Can a theory explain what makes us laugh? Is humor entirely subjective? Why would
May 18, 2015·1h 17m·0(-)Episode 130: Dehumanization and Disintegration (with Paul Bloom)
Very Bad WizardsIn this Very Special Boxing Day edition of the podcast, Tamler and David welcome back honorary Third Wizard Paul Bloom to discuss his latest article in the New Yorker about dehumanization and cruelty.
Dec 26, 2017·1h 32m·0(-)![Episode Image for [BONUS] Overton Windows Episode 1: Israel and Palestine](https://verybad.fm//static/cdn/img/show/6574d609-ffa1-4dec-7d7e-3101b17afb88/5b0ef34fcce6e31947f3068cba43ba0d09a94b536363acd94fbc37a04cd24d07.jpg)
[BONUS] Overton Windows Episode 1: Israel and Palestine
Very Bad WizardsA new mini-series with Tamler Sommers and Robert Wright on the range of politically acceptable discourse for a given topic and how this “Overton window” changes over time. This episode is available
Jul 18, 2023·1h 8m·5.0(1)Episode 162: Parents Just Don't Understand (with Paul Bloom)
Very Bad WizardsAs parents we like to think we have an impact on our children - their future, their happiness, the kinds of people they turn out to be. But are we deluded? Dave and Tamler are joined by empathy's krypo
Apr 16, 2019·1h 26m·0(-)Episode 249: Phlegm and Carelessness (Hume's "The Sceptic")
Very Bad WizardsDavid and Tamler gild and stain David Hume’s essay “The Sceptic†with their sentiments. If nothing is inherently valuable or despicable, desirable or hateful, then what do philosophers
Nov 22, 2022·1h 25m·5.0(1)Episode 41: Moral Dilemmas at the Movies
Very Bad WizardsDave keeps trying to explain to Tamler that we're not a movie podcast, but somehow they're doing another podcast about movies. This time they each list their top 5 movies featuring moral dilemmas. Also
Feb 19, 2014·1h 37m·5.0(1)Episode 4: Revenge, Pt. 1
Very Bad WizardsDave allows Tamler to rant about Sam Harris’s strawman attacks on moral relativism before launching into discussion about revenge, justice, True Grit, and Michael Dukakis. Though they differ on many
Sep 20, 2012·0h 51m·0(-)Episode 180: Chekhov's Schrödinger's Dagger (Kurosawa's "Rashomon")
Very Bad WizardsEleventh Century Japan. A samurai and his wife are walking through the forest and come across a bandit. The bandit attacks the samurai and has sex with/rapes his wife. A woodcutter finds the samurai, s
Jan 14, 2020·1h 56m·0(-)Bonus Episode: More Doobie-ous Theories About "Mr. Robot" (Season 2)
Very Bad WizardsHello friend, did you come from the Berenstein with an 'E' universe? Or have you lived in the Berenstain with an 'A' universe? David and Tamler try to make sense of what's going on in Season 2 of Mr. R
Aug 9, 2016·0h 29m·0(-)Episode 64: Believing in a Just World
Very Bad WizardsDave and Tamler talk about the human tendency to believe in a just world. Why do we have the belief? Does it make us less motivated to fight injustice? How does it connect to our beliefs about free wil
Mar 19, 2015·1h 13m·0(-)Episode 221: Granite Cocks vs Robot Overlords
Very Bad WizardsDavid and Tamler wind their way through the long-requested “Meditations on Moloch” by Scott Alexander, a comprehensive account of the coordination problems (personified by Allan Ginsberg’s demon-
Sep 21, 2021·1h 50m·0(-)Episode 224: Hurts So Good (With Paul Bloom)
Very Bad WizardsVBW favorite Paul Bloom joins us to talk about the pleasures of suffering, flow states, Sisyphus, meaning, and dating questions. Check out his new book The Sweet Spot which comes out today! Plus what a
Nov 2, 2021·1h 42m·0(-)Episode 80: The Coddling of the Wizard Mind (with Vlad Chituc and Christina Hoff Sommers)
Very Bad WizardsIt's our last episode on campus protests and political correctness for a while, we promise! But it's a fun one. David and Tamler welcome two guests on the opposite side of the debate spectrum. Recent Y
Dec 21, 2015·1h 40m·0(-)Episode 101: Having Desert and Eating It Too
Very Bad WizardsWhy do we call Mozart a creative genius? He created his music, but do we also think that he created himself? How do we determine who deserves praise as an artist? What about athletes? What standards do
Nov 1, 2016·1h 28m·0(-)Episode 227: A Terrible Master (David Foster Wallace's "This Is Water").
Very Bad WizardsDavid and Tamler dive into David Foster Wallace’s celebrated and surprisingly earnest Kenyon College commencement speech “This is Water”. How can we escape the prison and prism of our (literally)
Dec 21, 2021·1h 38m·0(-)Episode 257: Aural Fixation
Very Bad WizardsDavid and Tamler deliver a PODCAST episode, one of many that comes from the INTERNET, that you’ll probably listen to through Air Pods or some other kind of WIRELESS HEADPHONES as you go about your da
Mar 28, 2023·1h 39m·5.0(1)Episode 79: Good Lives, Good Friends, and Gay Mormons (with Valerie Tiberius)
Very Bad WizardsSpecial guest Valerie Tiberius joins us to talk about values, well-being, and friendship. What role should reflection play in the good life? What about emotion? How can we make our values more consiste
Dec 4, 2015·1h 47m·0(-)Episode 265: Kekulé (Oh Yeah!)
Very Bad WizardsThe Summer of Cormac McCarthy continues – this time we dive into his one piece of non-fiction, the short essay “The Kekulé Problem.” How does our unconscious mind solve problems that conscious d
Jul 25, 2023·1h 20m·5.0(1)Episode 46: The Real Josh Knobe
Very Bad WizardsMay I have your attention please? Will the real Josh Knobe please stand up? Will the real... [you know what, screw this--we're just dating ourselves.] X-phi phenom Josh Knobe rejoins the podcast to tal
May 5, 2014·1h 4m·0(-)Episode 96: Memory and Meaning in "Memento" (with Paul Bloom)
Very Bad WizardsSo where are you? You’re in some house. What am I listening to? Sounds like the radio. Is it the radio? No, you’re not allowed to use that language on the radio. What are they talking about? A movi
Aug 16, 2016·1h 26m·0(-)