Very Bad Wizards

About the Show

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, and who have a marked inability to distinguish sacred from profane. Each podcast includes discussions of moral philosophy, recent work on moral psychology and neuroscience, and the overlap between the two.

Your Hosts

David Pizarro

Tamler Sommers

Very Bad Wizards on Social Media

Episode List

Episode 73: Authentic Apes and Infinite Torture

August 11th, 2015 | 1 hr 8 mins

In what is possibly our most repugnant first segment ever, David and Tamler break down the ethics of zoophilia and investigate the true nature of consent. In the second segment we answer some listener emails and address our first question in our new capacity as International Ethics Experts.

Episode 72: Tweenie Turing Tests, AI, and Ex Machina (with Joshua Weisberg)

July 28th, 2015 | 1 hr 32 mins

It finally happened: David and Tamler welcome special guest Joshua Weisberg to the podcast to talk about Turing machines, Chinese Rooms, and AI. Plus, a spoiler-filled discussion of the recent movie "Ex Machina."

Episode 71: The Murky Morals and Mysterious Metaphysics of "Mr. Robot"

July 14th, 2015 | 1 hr 6 mins

David and Tamler go deep into the best TV show of the summer, "Mr. Robot."

Episode 70: Some Favorite Things

June 28th, 2015 | 1 hr 34 mins

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, papers by Williams and movies from Sweden. Long graphic novels that celebrate being. These are a few of our favorite things.

Episode 69: CHiPs on Our Shoulders (Lessons in Objectivity)

June 17th, 2015 | 1 hr 33 mins

Dave and Tamler try to figure out what we talk about when we talk about objectivity.

Episode 68: Risky, Reckless, and Regretful

June 1st, 2015 | 1 hr 14 mins

Dave drags Tamler into the nerd abyss by making him watch an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (“Tapestry,” from the 6th season). We talk about the themes of the episode: regret, risk aversion, the arrogance of hindsight, and the dream of living your past “knowing what you know now.”

Episode 67: Funny How?

May 18th, 2015 | 1 hr 17 mins

Dave and Tamler break the cardinal rule of comedy by trying to analyze it. What are the origins and functions of humor? Can a theory explain what makes us laugh? Is humor entirely subjective?

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 65: Philocalypse Now

April 6th, 2015 | 1 hr 19 mins

Holy crap, it's the apocalypse!!!!...for philosophy. Maybe.

Episode 64: Believing in a Just World

March 19th, 2015 | 1 hr 13 mins

Dave and Tamler talk about the human tendency to believe in a just world. Why do we have the belief? Does it make us less motivated to fight injustice? How does it connect to our beliefs about free will and punishment?

Episode 63: Stalemates and Closets (with Sam Harris)

February 27th, 2015 | 2 hrs 46 mins

Sam Harris gets back in the VBW ring for another round on moral responsibility, ethical theories, and the grounds for our obligations to other people.

Episode 62: Brain Jizz and "Black Mirror"

February 9th, 2015 | 1 hr 1 min

Dave and Tamler discuss a new study that, according to Tamler, offers decisive support for restorative approaches to criminal punishment (the only problem is he didn't read past the introduction). And speaking of justice, we talk about "White Bear"--the most disturbing episode of the UK series Black Mirror that doesn’t involve sex with a non-kosher animal.

Episode 61: Putting a Little Meaning in Your Life

January 19th, 2015 | 1 hr 15 mins

Dave and Tamler take a break from blame and responsibility to tackle a much easier subject: meaning in life.

Episode 60: Drunk on Intuitions

January 1st, 2015 | 1 hr 12 mins

Dave and Tamler argue some more about the role of emotion and intuition in blame judgments, and then offer some moral psychology-related recommendations for your New Year’s viewing and reading pleasure.

Episode 59: Tumors All the Way Down (With Sam Harris)

December 15th, 2014 | 2 hrs 32 mins

Bestselling author and friend of the podcast Sam Harris joins Tamler and Dave for a marathon podcast. (Seriously, pack two pairs of astronaut diapers for this one).