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.
Episode 294: The Scandal of Philosophy (Hume's Problem of Induction)
CD Broad called induction âthe glory of science and the scandal of philosophy.â As a matter of habit, weâre all confident that the sun will rise tomorrow morning and that we can predict where the planets and stars will be tomorrow night. But whatâs the r...
Episode 293: Who Is the Dreamer? (Borges' "The Circular Ruins")
David and Tamler crawl up a riverbank, kiss the mud, and dream a discussion of Borgesâ âThe Circular Ruins.â We sort through various interpretations and allusions, the story as a metaphor for artistic creation, gnostic cosmology, solipsism, eternal recur...
Episode 292: Boundary Issues
David and Tamler lead off with a breakdown of the new commercial for âfriend (not imaginary)â a new AI necklace that takes hikes with you, interrupts your favorite shows, and will be there for your first kiss. Then we talk about a new paper co-authored b...
Episode 291: Shoe Shining
Cornell philosopher David Shoemaker joins us for a long winding journey up to the Overlook Hotel, a DEEP dive on Stanley Kubrickâs The Shining . We tackle all the big questions - is the hotel truly haunted? What if anything does it symbolize? Why are the...
Episode 290: Blinded by the Light (Plato's Cave Pt. 2)
David and Tamler continue their discussion of Platoâs allegory of the cave. We talk about the connections with mystical traditions including Gnosticism, Sufism, and Buddhist paths to awakening. We also dig deeper into what Socrates calls âdialecticâ â wh...
Listener Reviews
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Neat
Some of the coolest boomers youâll find
Very good but âŠ
I really like this show, the interplay of psychology, philosophy, modern science, timeless classics and pop culture makes VBW an all time favorite. As a pastor and Christian missionary of 20 years I especially appreciate the way the hosts handle questions of religion and spirituality. Iâve learned a lot and been provok...
Read MoreVery bad fun!
Love the intellectual banter, love the prove that intellectuals and academics can be funny, love the bad about this goodness!