Shows / Very Bad Wizards
Very Bad Wizards
Very Bad Wizards is a podcast featuring a philosopher (Tamler Sommers) and a psychologist (David Pizarro), who share a love for ethics, pop culture, and cognitive science, and who have a marked inability to distinguish sacred from profane. Each podcast includes discussions of moral philosophy, recent work on moral psychology and neuroscience, and the overlap between the two.
Episodes
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 120: Clap Your Hand for Robert Wright
Special guest Robert Wright joins the podcast to discuss his latest book "Why Buddhism is True." What is the Buddhist conception of not-self? When we become…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 119: A Brief History of Values
What happens when we discover why we believe the things we believe? What if we discover that our values are the product of our cultural tradition, or personal…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 118: We Don't Love Them Hoax
David and Tamler try to put the topic of campus politics to bed once and for all – with limited success. First, we get into a big fight about the prevalence…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 117: Extended Minds, Extended Foreskins
David and Tamler break down a recent classic in the philosophy of mind: "The Extended Mind" by Andy Clark and David Chalmers. What is boundary of your mind? Is…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 116: Pain, Pleasure, and Peer-Reviewed Penises
David and Tamler break down the latest small-stakes academic controversy--yes the one about conceptual penises. Does the recent "Sokal-like" hoax expose the…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 115: Which Field is More Fu@%ed: Philosophy or Psychology?
David and Tamler go ambulance chasing for scandals in their own fields. Inspired by a tweet from Jay Van Bavel, they argue about which of their…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 114: Great Vengeance and Furious Anger (Top 5 Movies About Revenge)
Somehow, after 113 episodes David and Tamler have never done a top 5 movie episode about revenge (so unbelievable that we had to double-check). That changes…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 113: Pascal, Probability, and Pitchforks
David and Tamler break down what may be the best argument that it's rational to believe in God: Pascal's Wager. (No, we're not just trolling our Sam Harris…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 112: Gettier Goggles
For four years Tamler has been bitching about Gettier cases without even explaining what they are or why he hates them. That ends today. David and Tamler talk…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 111: Our Language Doesn't Have a Word For This Title (with Yoel Inbar)
In Part 2 of our episode with film scholar Yoel Inbar (AOS: Quebecois New Wave Cinema), we break down the philosophy and psychology of the movie Arrival…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 110: Stepsisters and Neck Braces (with Yoel Inbar)
Any time the topic is campus politics there's a good chance we'll have to record more than once. True to form, David and Tamler yelled at each other for most…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 109: Moral Pluralism: Behind the Lube
David and Tamler return to their repugnant roots to talk about Cornell's refusal to hire conservative faculty, Milo getting disinvited from CPAC, and a case in…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 108: The Gimp Exception
Inspired by a recent article, David and Tamler try to figure out what's behind our aversion to moral hypocrisy. Why do we have such low opinions of people who…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 107: Winking Under Oppression (with Manuel Vargas)
The philosopher and pride of Bakersfield, CA Manuel Vargas joins us to talk about culpability under conditions of oppression. How should we treat wrongdoers…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 106: American Grandstand
David and Tamler take a break from moral grandstanding to talk about moral grandstanding. How often do we moralize to make us look respectable? Does…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 105: Wizards With (Reactive) Attitudes
David and Tamler go back to basics--discussing a paper (Victoria McGeer on responsibilty and Strawson) and arguing about restorative justice. What is the…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 104: Smelling Salts for Morality: Our Top 3 Movies About Empathy (with Paul Bloom)
Paul Bloom takes some time away from his "Waking Up" appearances to join us for a very special movie episode: our top three films about empathy. Can movies…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 103: Very Bad Utopias
It’s the Thanksgiving episode! David and Tamler give thanks to their listeners and Patreon supporters with an episode chosen by our top Patreon subscribers…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 102: Red, Black, and Blue
David and Tamler stumble their way through talking about the election results, how Trump got elected, the role of racism, sexism, the liberal bubble…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 101: Having Desert and Eating It Too
Why 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…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 100: It's a Celebration
David and Tamler have their 100th episode hijacked briefly before taking it back like Wesley Snipes in Passenger 57. To celebrate the milestone Tamler pops…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 99: Mockingbirds, Destructo-Critics, and Mr. Robot
David and Tamler tackle three topics on their last double digit episode. First, should a middle school perform "To Kill a Mockingbird" even if they have to use…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 98: Mind the Gap
David and Tamler break down the biggest question in moral philosophy -- can we derive value judgments from a set of purely factual claims? Like the Scottish…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 97: Dogmatic Slumber Party
Do you have strong views on climate change, taxes, health care, or gun control? Do you think the evidence and reason support your side of the debate? How do…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 96: Memory and Meaning in "Memento" (with Paul Bloom)
So 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…
- Very Bad Wizards
Bonus Episode: More Doobie-ous Theories About "Mr. Robot" (Season 2)
Hello 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…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 95: The Repugnance of Repugnance
We all remember the famous iTunes review calling David and Tamler "repugnant." (And the T-shirt/mugs are coming soon, we promise!) But what did the reviewer…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 94: Buttery Friendships
Dave and Tamler don't agree about much, but one thing they do share is an affinity for character-based approaches to ethics. Using Tamler's interview with…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 93: Avalanches, Blame, and Cowardice (With Yoel Inbar)
Scandinavian film scholar Yoel Inbar joins the podcast for a deep dive on the Swedish film Force Majeure, a darkly funny meditation on what our instinctive…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 92: Jonathan Edwards' Basement
David and Tamler continue their intermittent "classic paper series" with an episode on Jonathan Bennett's "The Conscience of Huckleberry Finn" (published in…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 91: Rage Against the Machines
Inspired by a recent ProPublica report on racial bias in an algorithm used to predict future criminal behavior, David and Tamler talk about the use of analytic…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 90: Of Mice and Morals
David and Tamler have their first real fight in a while over an article defending "social mixing"--distributing babies randomly across families such that no…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 89: Shame on You (with Jennifer Jacquet)
David and Tamler welcome author and environmental science professor Jennifer Jacquet to the podcast to discuss the pros and cons of shame. What's the…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 88: A Doobie for Elijah
David and Tamler celebrate Passover with a high-spirited episode on guns, revenge, liberals, being offended, the fear of death, and whether kids have a right…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 87: Lucky You (with Robert Frank)
We hit the jackpot with this one! Economist Robert Frank (you may remember him from such episodes as The Greatest Books Ever Written) joins David and Tamler to…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 86: Guns, Shame, and the Meaning of Punishment
We know that criminal punishment has consequences, both good and bad, and that many people think that offenders deserve it. But what does punishment mean? What…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 85: A Zoo with Only One Animal (with Paul Bloom)
Philosophers can be funny and funny movies can be philosophical. David and Tamler welcome frequent VBW guest and arch-enemy of empathy Paul Bloom to discuss…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 84: Lifting the Veil
David and Tamler talk about the perils of trying to step outside of your own perspective in ethics, science, and politics. What do Rawls' "original position"…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 83: Ego Trip
David and Tamler continue their series of breaking down a classic essay/article in their fields. For this installment, David assigns Tamler Anthony Greenwald's…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 82: Totalitarian Slide-Rulers
David and Tamler take a break from their main jobs as TV critics to talk about a masterpiece in political philosophy: "Two Concepts of Liberty" by Isaiah…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 81: Domo Arigato, Mr. Robot (With Yoel Inbar)
Hello, listener. Hello, listener? That's lame. Maybe I should give you a name, but that's a slippery slope. You're only in my head. Or maybe we're in your…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 80: The Coddling of the Wizard Mind (with Vlad Chituc and Christina Hoff Sommers)
It'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…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 79: Good Lives, Good Friends, and Gay Mormons (with Valerie Tiberius)
Special guest Valerie Tiberius joins us to talk about values, well-being, and friendship. What role should reflection play in the good life? What about…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 78: Wizards Uprising
David and Tamler return to the minefield of campus politics and talk about recent events at Yale, Missouri, and Amherst. Are the protests are long overdue…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 77: On the Moral Nature of Nazis, Jerks, and Ethicists (with Eric Schwitzgebel)
Special guest Eric Schwitzgebel joins David and Tamler to discuss the moral behavior (or lack thereof) of ethicists. Does moral reflection make us better…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 76: Cha-Cha-changes
David and Tamler list three things they've changed their minds about in their careers. (This episode was recorded before Episode 75, but that one was way too…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 75: A Golden Shower of Guests
Dave and Tamler celebrate their 75th episode by welcoming six BFFs of the podcast and asking them to share the biggest thing they've changed their minds about…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 74: Lies, Damned Lies, and Ashley Madison
David and Tamler return after an end of summer hiatus to finally talk about the ethics of deception….eventually. But first they break down a recent article in…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 73: Authentic Apes and Infinite Torture
In what is possibly our most repugnant first segment ever, David and Tamler break down the ethics of zoophilia and investigate the true nature of consent. In…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 72: Tweenie Turing Tests, AI, and Ex Machina (with Joshua Weisberg)
It finally happened: David and Tamler welcome special guest Joshua Weisberg to the podcast to talk about Turing machines, Chinese Rooms, and AI. What does it…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 71: The Murky Morals and Mysterious Metaphysics of "Mr. Robot"
David and Tamler go deep into the best TV show of the summer, "Mr. Robot. They talk about the moral ambiguity of its central character, the distorted vision of…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 70: Some Favorite Things
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, papers by Williams and movies from Sweden. Long graphic novels that celebrate being. These are a few of our…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 69: CHiPs on Our Shoulders (Lessons in Objectivity)
Dave 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…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 68: Risky, Reckless, and Regretful
Dave drags Tamler into the nerd abyss by making him watch an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation ("Tapestry," from the 6th season. It's available on…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 67: Funny How?
Dave 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…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 66: Übermensch at Work
Special guest Yoel Inbar (author of Hitchcock's Women: From Margaret Sullivan to Tippi Hedren) joins us to talk about Hitchcock's long take masterpiece/gimmick…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 65: Philocalypse Now
Holy crap, it's the apocalypse!!!! ...for philosophy. Maybe. Has this 2500 year old discipline become too technical, too disconnected from the real world? Is…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 64: Believing in a Just World
Dave 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…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 63: Stalemates and Closets (with Sam Harris)
Sam Harris gets back in the VBW ring for another round on moral responsibility, ethical theories, and the grounds for our obligations to other people. Are we…
- Very Bad Wizards
Episode 62: Brain Jizz and "Black Mirror"
Dave and Tamler discuss a new study that, according to Tamler, offers decisive support for restorative approaches to criminal punishment (the only problem is…