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. 

September 10, 2024
292
01:15:1769.14 MB

Episode 292: Boundary Issues

David and Tamler lead off with a breakdown of the new commercial for “friend (not imaginary)” 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...

August 27, 2024
291
02:12:12121.25 MB

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 Kubrick’s The Shining . We tackle all the big questions - is the hotel truly haunted? What if anything does it symbolize? Why are the...

August 06, 2024
290
01:37:16111.53 MB

Episode 290: Blinded by the Light (Plato's Cave Pt. 2)

David and Tamler continue their discussion of Plato’s 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 ‘dialectic’ – wh...

July 23, 2024
289
01:12:1882.95 MB

Episode 289: Shadows on the Wall (Plato's Cave Pt. 1)

Over the years we’ve referred repeatedly to Plato’s cave, Platonic forms, and phrases like “copies of copies” without ever really explaining what we mean by these things. So as part of a new mini-series we’re going dive deeper into Plato’s famous images ...

July 09, 2024
288
01:30:05103.31 MB

Episode 288: The Despised Foot (The Denial of Death Pt. 2)

David and Tamler conclude their discussion of Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death . We talk about Becker’s philosophy of science (does he have one?), his sweeping explanations for strongman leaders, neuroses, mental illness, sexual fetishes, and the refr...

Listener Reviews

Read what other people are saying about our podcast!

Apple Podcasts
Very good but …

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. I’ve learned a lot and been provok...

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Apple Podcasts
Very bad fun!

Love the intellectual banter, love the prove that intellectuals and academics can be funny, love the bad about this goodness!

Apple Podcasts
Great show

Makes me laugh. Makes me think. Two of my favorite things.