Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchKeeping It Surreal (Kafka's "The Trial" Pt. 1)
Episode 233
David and Tamler wander through the bewildering dream-like world of Franz Kafka's "The Trial." In part one of a two-part discussion we discuss the ci…
4 years, 6 months ago
Mind Over Matter
Episode 232
It's the topic voted on by our beloved Patreon patrons, panpsychism! David and Tamler delve into the resurgent debate over whether consciousness is t…
4 years, 6 months ago
Ideal Critics (Hume's "Of the Standard of Taste")
Episode 231
Many of us think that art is subjective, but at the same time it seems like some artistic judgments are better than others. Do you think Crash deserv…
4 years, 7 months ago
Be Happy (Lars von Trier's "Melancholia")
Episode 230
David and Tamler sink deeper and deeper into Melancholia, Lars von Trier's harrowing and stunningly beautiful depiction of depression, anxiety, and a…
4 years, 7 months ago
Skin Deep?
Episode 229
We think racism is wrong but what about "lookism" – a bias that favors attractive people over unattractive ones? If it's wrong to judge people by the…
4 years, 8 months ago
Forever Jung
Episode 228
David and Tamler confront their shadows and dive into Carl Jung's theory of the collective unconscious. What are the central differences between Jung…
4 years, 8 months ago
A Terrible Master (David Foster Wallace's "This Is Water").
Episode 227
David and Tamler dive into David Foster Wallace's celebrated and surprisingly earnest Kenyon College commencement speech "This is Water". How can we …
4 years, 9 months ago
Unraveling Time Traveling (with Barry Lam and Christina Hoff Sommers)
Episode 226
First, it's the return of the annual drunken Thanksgiving segment! Tamler and based wicked stepmom Christina Hoff Sommers fight about JFK, systematic…
4 years, 9 months ago
Forbidden Modules
Episode 225
David and Tamler talk about the often rancorous debate among cognitive scientists and evolutionary psychologists over whether the mind is modular -- …
4 years, 10 months ago
Hurts So Good (With Paul Bloom)
Episode 224
VBW favorite Paul Bloom joins us to talk about the pleasures of suffering, flow states, Sisyphus, meaning, and dating questions. Check out his new bo…
4 years, 10 months ago