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.
New Bonus Series! Episode 1: The Low Rises (The Wire S1 E1) [unlocked]
In this first episode of our new Patreon bonus series, Tamler and David discuss S1 E1 of "The Wire." We're reminded what an amazing show this is. Welcome to the Western! Join our Patreon and you'll get all of our future episodes (along with lots of other ...
The Lotus Eaters Episode 13: An Odyssey Dream Cast [unlocked]
In the final episode of The Lotus Eaters, Tamler and David make their casting decisions (any actors across history) for their dream "Odyssey" film. We then end with some broader thoughts about The Odyssey and our experience doing The Lotus Eaters. Thank y...
Episode 343: Culture and the Concept of a Person
How would you a describe a friend or a co-worker? Would you list their personality traits like generous, aggressive, principled, or stubborn? Or would you give more concrete context-filled descriptions ("she argues with her parents a lot," "she brings us ...
The Lotus Eaters Episode 12: Reunited in Ithaca [unlocked]
As foretold in the prophecies, Tamler and David unite in Ithaca to cover the final chapters (23 & 24) of The Odyssey , in which Odysseus passes Penelope's final test, reunites with Laertes, and Athena and Zeus do a little deus ex machina-ing and prevent t...
The Lotus Eaters Episode 11: Cleaning House [unlocked]
Tamler and David discuss books 20, 21, & 22 of The Odyssey. Beginning with omens and portents and ending with merciless slaughter (with a bow contest in between), we finally see Odysseus' plans for revenge reach fruition.
Listener Reviews
Read what other people are saying about our podcast!
Best podcast
These guys are masters of the genre.
1 critique
Excellent topics, but I can’t get past the nearly constant giggling / laughing.
Very Bad Listener
I started listening to Very Bad Wizards in 2026, but went back to their first episode from 2012 and began listening from there. I’d never taken this approach to a new pod, but thinking I’d get a much better picture of the topics discussed if I start from the beginning. Maybe I was hoping these guys would systematically...
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