Very Bad Wizards is a podcast featuring a philosopher (Tamler Sommers) and a psychologist (David Piz
David and Tamler welcome Barry Lam back to the show. In the first segment we violate one of our own
VBW favorite Paul Bloom joins us to break down the Severance season finale and season 2 in general.
What has four thumbs and can effortlessly glide from the a priori to the a posteriori in a single ep
Everyone knows Tamler hates numbers but he’s not the only one who worries about them. We talk about
What makes something weird? What makes something eerie? David and Tamler wander into Mark Fisher’s T
It’s Back 2 Basics: Psychology edition! Do coins look bigger to poor people? Do hills look steeper t
David and Tamler celebrate their 300th episode with a deep dive into the movie that inspired the pod
David and Tamler talk wrap up the new year talking about intellectual virtues and Rachel Fraser’s ex
Why do we punish people? How did our punishment practices evolve and what is their primary function?
David and Tamler face off with the Misfit in Flannery O’Connor’s classic short story “A Good Man is
David and Tamler share a few brief thoughts on the election and then raise some questions about Tuck
David and Tamler hop into their Scooby Van and drive into Tobe Hooper’s mad and macabre horror class
CD Broad called induction “the glory of science and the scandal of philosophy.” As a matter of habit
David and Tamler crawl up a riverbank, kiss the mud, and dream a discussion of Borges’ “The Circular
David and Tamler lead off with a breakdown of the new commercial for “friend (not imaginary)” a new
Cornell philosopher David Shoemaker joins us for a long winding journey up to the Overlook Hotel, a
David and Tamler continue their discussion of Plato’s allegory of the cave. We talk about the connec
Over the years we’ve referred repeatedly to Plato’s cave, Platonic forms, and phrases like “copies o
David and Tamler conclude their discussion of Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death. We talk about Bec
David faces his greatest fear as he and Tamler dive into Ernest Becker’s 1973 Pulitzer Prize winner
