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 12, 202301:17:2188.74 MB

Episode 268: Blood Meridian, Part 1

In part one of our two-part episode on Cormac McCarthy’s blood-soaked phantasmagorical 1985 masterpiece Blood Meridian, David and Tamler talk about the historical sources of the novel, the cosmic questions the book poses, the capriciousness of the near-c...

August 22, 202301:12:5283.61 MB

Episode 267: The Thickness of Reality

David and Tamler return to the work of old favorite William James and argue about the 6th lecture (inspired by the French philosopher Henri Bergson) of his 1909 book “A Pluralistic Universe.” James attacks the philosophical habit of elevating unchanging ...

August 08, 202301:22:5695.12 MB

Episode 266: I Want to Half-Believe

Last December, with Argentina minutes away from a World Cup championship, friend of the show Yoel texted David “congratulations.” David was furious, and soon after (with less than 2 minutes left in extra time) France’s Mbappe scored a game-tying goal to ...

July 25, 2023
265
01:20:2392.2 MB

Episode 265: Kekulé (Oh Yeah!)

The Summer of Cormac McCarthy continues – this time we dive into his one piece of non-fiction, the short essay “The KekulĂ© Problem.” How does our unconscious mind solve problems that conscious deliberation can’t crack? Why does it often work elliptically...

July 18, 202301:08:5295.03 MB

[BONUS] Overton Windows Episode 1: Israel and Palestine

A new mini-series with Tamler Sommers and Robert Wright on the range of politically acceptable discourse for a given topic and how this â€œOverton window” changes over time. This episode is available for free for everyone, the remaining episodes will appea...

Listener Reviews

Read what other people are saying about our podcast!

Apple Podcasts
Love love love

I love this podcast and these guys. The humour that cuts through the serious topics makes it so enjoyable.

Apple Podcasts
Before the lawsuit happens

I’ve listened to many years on and off, but never left a review. Episodes like I Want to Half Believe are why I keep coming back. It’s a mix between going fairly deep in an interesting topic and a light harted discussion about inner lives. Coming from an engineering background, that seems the only way I can “learn” anything about philosophy or social sciences.

Apple Podcasts
Top tier

Great podcast but the music is cringy I just had to say that