Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchWhat Is It Like To Be a Robot Fish Man? (with Ted Chiang)
Episode 213
We've done deep dives on three of his stories, and now THE MAN HIMSELF, multi-award winning science fiction author Ted Chiang, joins us to explore th…
5 years, 4 months ago
Follow Your Nose (with Yoel Inbar)
Episode 212
Canada's leading Russian literature scholar Yoel Inbar joins us to try to make sense of Gogol's 1836 short story "The Nose." A nose goes missing from…
5 years, 4 months ago
To Live and Die in Kurosawa's "Ikiru"
Episode 211
"Sometimes I think of my death," Akira Kurosawa said, "I think of ceasing to be...and it is from these thoughts that Ikiru came." David and Tamler ex…
5 years, 5 months ago
The Priming of the American Mind (with Jesse Singal)
Episode 210
Journalist, podcaster, and rapper Jesse Singal joins us to talk about his new book The Quick Fix, positive psychology (scam?), cancel culture in the …
5 years, 5 months ago
Basic Instincts (with Paul Bloom)
Episode 209
VBW favorite Paul Bloom joins us to talk about William James' account of instinct and its parallels to the nativism/empiricism debates in development…
5 years, 6 months ago
Dream Theater
Episode 208
We’ve always had nothing but praise for neuroscientists and their work, and today is no exception. We talk about a fantastically rich and ambitious…
5 years, 6 months ago
Sometimes a Paper Tray is Just a Paper Tray
Episode 207
David and Tamler wander through the maze of Room 237, the great documentary by Rodney Ascher about five people and their views about what Stanley Kub…
5 years, 7 months ago
Angel Chasing (Ted Chiang's "Hell is the Absence of God")
Episode 206
David and Tamler return to the TCU (Ted Chiang Universe) to talk about his short story "Hell is the Absence of God." How would we behave if we had un…
5 years, 7 months ago
Making Your Nervous System Your Ally (William James on "Habit")
Episode 205
Ever wonder why you're still listening to VBW all of these years? Or why you check your phone 50 times a day? Or why you put on your pants the same w…
5 years, 7 months ago
Happy Freedom Day! (with Lauren Anderson)
Episode 204
The legendary Houston Ballet dancer Lauren Anderson joins us to talk about the Atlanta Episode "Juneteenth" (Season 1, Episode 9), a hilarious explor…
5 years, 8 months ago