Very Bad Wizards

Episode 212: Follow Your Nose (with Yoel Inbar)

May 11th, 2021  |  1 hr 45 mins

gogol, journal of controversial ideas, russia, the nose, yoel inbar

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 a Russian official’s face and winds up in the barber’s loaf of bread. A few hours later, the nose has rocketed up the social hierarchy and denies his connection to the official. What’s going on? Is Madame Alexandra Grigorievna up to something?

Plus we can’t say how but we got access to submitted abstracts for the new Journal of Controversial Ideas. We read a few of them in the opening segment, and let’s just say this journal is living up to its name.

Episode 93: Avalanches, Blame, and Cowardice (With Yoel Inbar)

July 5th, 2016  |  1 hr 39 mins

Tamler and David are joined by VBW regular Yoel Inbar to discuss the themes of cowardice and character in the recent Swedish film "Force Majeure."

Episode 75: A Golden Shower of Guests

October 6th, 2015  |  2 hrs 29 mins

Dave and Tamler celebrate their 75th episode by welcoming six BFFs of the podcast and asking them to share the biggest thing they've changed their minds about in their professional careers.

Episode 66: Übermensch at Work

April 20th, 2015  |  1 hr 24 mins

Special guest Yoel Inbar joins us to talk about Hitchcock’s masterpiece/gimmick "Rope."

Episode 58: Do the Right Thing (with Yoel Inbar)

December 1st, 2014  |  1 hr 30 mins

Film critic, VBW regular, and social psychologist Yoel Inbar joins David and Tamler to talk about Spike Lee's controversial 1989 film "Do the Right Thing," a movie about a day in the life of a small Brooklyn community on the hottest day of summer, and how the day's events lead to a race riot.

Episode 11: It is Morally Wrong to Kill Morgan Freeman (with Yoel Inbar)

December 28th, 2012  |  1 hr 15 mins

Social psychologist Yoel Inbar joins Tamler and David to discuss Clint Eastwood's masterpiece of the Western genre: "Unforgiven." The discussion includes the nature of revenge, the requirements of justice, the rules of nicknaming, and who or what was being referred to as "unforgiven" in the movie's title.