Volume 50 · 2026
An ongoing dialogue from Tamler Sommers & David Pizarro
Very Bad Wizards
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.
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Episode 333: P-hacking the Mind
David and Tamler do another tier ranking--this time on philosophical thought experiments, so as not to further alienate our chemistry-adjacent listeners. We hit most of the big ones: Pascal's wager, Pascal's mugging, Mary the color scientist, the Ring of Gyges, Jarvis Thomson's violinist, the experience machine, the utility monster, and a lot more. Can you guess our grade for the trolley dilemma? The Chinese Room (Searle) [wikipedia.org] Descartes' Evil Demon (Descartes) [wikipedia.org] The Experience Machine (Nozick) [wikipedia.org] Mary the Color Scientist (F. Jackson) [wikipedia.org] Pascal's Mugging (Yudkowsky/Bostrom) [wikipedia.org] Pascal's Wager (Pascal) [wikipedia.org] The Ring of Gyges (Plato) [wikipedia.org] The Shallow Pond (Singer) [wikipedia.org] The Ship of Theseus (Hobbes) [wikipedia.org] The Trolley Problem (Philippa Foot/J.J. Thomson) [wikipedia.org] The Utility Monster (Nozick) [wikipedia.org] The Veil of Ignorance (Rawls) [wikipedia.org] The Violinist (J.J. Thomson) [wikipedia.org]
The archive
Recent dispatches
- 01
Episode 333: P-hacking the Mind
David and Tamler do another tier ranking--this time on philosophical thought experiments, so as not to further alienate our chemistry-adjacent listeners. We hit most of the big ones: Pascal's wager, Pascal's mugging, Mary the color scientist, the Ring of Gyges, Jarvis Thomson's violinist, the experience machine, the utility monster, and a lot more. Can you guess our grade for the trolley dilemma? The Chinese Room (Searle) [wikipedia.org] Descartes' Evil Demon (Descartes) [wikipedia.org] The Experience Machine (Nozick) [wikipedia.org] Mary the Color Scientist (F. Jackson) [wikipedia.org] Pascal's Mugging (Yudkowsky/Bostrom) [wikipedia.org] Pascal's Wager (Pascal) [wikipedia.org] The Ring of Gyges (Plato) [wikipedia.org] The Shallow Pond (Singer) [wikipedia.org] The Ship of Theseus (Hobbes) [wikipedia.org] The Trolley Problem (Philippa Foot/J.J. Thomson) [wikipedia.org] The Utility Monster (Nozick) [wikipedia.org] The Veil of Ignorance (Rawls) [wikipedia.org] The Violinist (J.J. Thomson) [wikipedia.org]
- 02
Episode 332: Talking to Myself ("The Other" by Jorge Luis Borges)
David and Tamler talk about Jorge Luis Borges' disorienting short story "The Other." A 70-year-old Borges sits on a bench by the Charles River and who should he encounter but himself as a 19-year-old, by the Rhône River in 1918 Geneva. Is this a dream? Who is dreaming it? What does the Heraclitean river metaphor reveal about this impossible meeting? (Stick around after the closing music, David reads the story in English and in Spanish.) Plus Richard Dawkins has a memorable encounter of his own, but with his AI Claudia (née Claude). If you think AI isn't conscious then how do you explain Claudia's rapturous and penetrating insight into Dawkins' unpublished novel? When Dawkins met Claude: Could this AI be conscious? (paywalled) [unherd.com] Unpaywalled at archive.org The Other by Jorge Luis Borges [wikipedia.org] The Collected Fictions of Jorge Luis Borges trans. by Andrew Hurley [amazon.com affiliate link]
- 03
Episode 331: Who's Your Law Daddy? (Plato's "Crito")
In another Back 2 Basics episode, David and Tamler talk about Plato's "Crito," a dialogue that takes place two days before Socrates' death by hemlock. His friend Crito wants him to escape, but Socrates will only agree if they judge that it's the right thing to do. One imagined debate between him and the Laws of Athens later, Socrates decides to accept his punishment. Plus we open with "Contrarian Corner" (Cinema Edition), in which we list our top 3 movies where we just don't understand all the love. Crito (Plato's Dialogue) [wikipedia.org]
- 04
Episode 330: A Fact-Based Podcast (Gogol's "The Overcoat")
David and Tamler return to the strange world of Nikolai Gogol and discuss his absurdist masterpiece "The Overcoat," a story that both calls for and steadfastly resists interpretation. But first we discuss a forthcoming Phil Studies article "Philosophy as Fact-Based Discipline: 200 Philosophical Facts." Wait until you hear what they are. Frances, B. (2026). Philosophy as fact-based discipline: 200 philosophical facts. Philosophical Studies, 183(2), 551-581. [springer.com] The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol [wikipedia.org]
- 05
Episode 329: Why We Suffer
David and Tamler return to the work of Richard Shweder and colleagues, focusing this time on his foundational paper "The "Big Three" of Morality (Autonomy, Community, Divinity) and the "Big Three" Explanations of Suffering. What are the various ways that people explain suffering and illness across cultures? What do we lose when we only emphasize biomedical explanations? Why can't social psychology be more like this? Plus a new Chalmers (not that one) paper argues that monogamy is impermissible. Hello ladies! Join at the right Patreon tier and vote on an episode topic! [patreon.com] Chalmers, H. (2019). Is monogamy morally permissible?. The Journal of Value Inquiry, 53(2), 225-241. Harry Chalmers' Substack post on Monogamy Shweder, R. A., Much, N. C., Mahapatra, M., & Park, L. (1997). The "big three" of morality (autonomy, community, and divinity) and the "big three" explanations of suffering. In A. Brandt & P. Rozin (Eds.), Morality and health (pp. 119–169). Routledge.
- 06
Episode 328: Weapons Free
David and Tamler cross the border into Denis Villeneuve's taut and propulsive thriller Sicario, the story of an FBI agent who gets pulled into a task force drawn from the shadiest elements of the US government. The assignment: to disrupt, infiltrate, and take down a major Mexican cartel. But what's the deal with Alejandro, and who does he work for? This is Roger Deakins in God mode and Villeneuve, Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro at the very top of their games. Plus, we select 16 topics from the hundreds submitted by our beloved patrons for VBW Madness 2, a tournament to determine what we discuss on the listener selected episode. Join the VBW Patreon to vote on the winner! Sicario [wikipedia.org]
- 07
Episode 327: You Ain't So Smart (Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People")
David and Tamler return to the Southern Gothic well and talk about Flannery O'Connor's short story masterpiece "Good Country People." A nihilistic atheist philosophy PhD named Joy or Helga (depending on who you ask) lives with her mother and some tenants on a farm in rural Georgia. One day 19-year-old aw-shucksy Bible salesman comes to the house and shakes up her philosophical convictions. Plus a case study of a sexsomniac who masturbates (and more) in his sleep. Support Eliza's film project [seedandspark.com] Brice, M., Gales, A. Z., Attali, V., Chauvin, M., & Arnulf, I. (2026). Left hand sleep masturbation in a right-handed male patient with sexsomnia. Sleep Medicine, 108823. [scientificdirect.com] Good Country People by Flannery O'Connor [wikipedia.org]
- 08
Episode 326: The Most Important Episode of Your (Academic) Life
Are you a college student or about to be one? Do you have friends or family in college? This is the most important episode of your life. David and Tamler do something a little different this episode and tier rank a wide range of academic fields from engineering to art history, computer science to women & gender studies. Step aside U.S. News and World Report, the new definitive rankings have just dropped. Plus, Dave reveals he's in the Epstein files, but do we buy his explanation? Have you always wanted to ask us a question but too cheap to spring for Patreon? Join us Saturday 2/21 at 6pm Eastern for our first ever reddit AUA on r/verybadwizards Final Tier List [spoiler!]
- 09
Episode 325: It Is Happening Again
David and Tamler return to Mircea Eliade's The Sacred and Profane and discuss the chapter "Sacred Time and Myths." How does viewing time as circular give us a periodic window into the sacred? What does it mean to reactualize the creation of the universe in ritual and to view time as "starting anew"? How did Christianity radically change the experience of time by locating the incarnation of the sacred in the historical past? Plus, do you believe in conspiracy theories? A new study says you should think twice about putting them in your dating profiles. Green, R., Kamitz, L. C., Toribio-Flórez, D., Biddlestone, M., Gasking, F., Sutton, R. M., & Douglas, K. M. (2022). Conspiracy theories and online dating: It'sa (mis) match!. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 01461672251399448. Eliade, M. (1959). The sacred and the profane: The nature of religion (Vol. 81). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
- 10
Episode 324: Irruption of the Sacred
David and Tamler consecrate their podcast with a discussion of "The Sacred and the Profane" by Mircea Eliade. We focus on the first chapter on sacred spaces, where the divine breaks through (or irrupts) our homogenous and chaotic reality, creating a center that gives us meaning and allows us to orient our lives. Plus speaking of the profane, a new study shows that cursing makes you stronger – but why in god's living fuck do they always end up spewing nonsense about the "underlying psychological mechanisms"? Stephens, R., Dowber, H., Richardson, C., & Washmuth, N. B. (2025). "Don't hold back": Swearing improves strength through state disinhibition. American Psychologist. Eliade, M. (1959). The sacred and the profane: The nature of religion (Vol. 81). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
- 11
Episode 323: Debate Me 'Phro
David and Tamler dive into Plato's Euthyphro, part of our intermittent Back 2 Basics series. A young cocksure priest, confident in his holiness, bumps into Socrates on his way to court to prosecute his father for a wrongful death. After a few rounds with Socrates on the nature of piety, he becomes a little less sure of himself. We talk about Plato's decision to set the dialogue in the days before Socrates' own trial, the famous Euthyphro dilemma, the seemingly little progress that's made in defining piety, and much more. Plus Oliver Sacks wrote books where the truth seemed stranger than fiction, but how much of what he wrote was really true? Oliver Sacks Put Himself Into His Case Studies. What Was the Cost? by Rachel Aviv [newyorker.com] Plato's Euthyphro [wikipedia.org] We are teaming up with givedirectly, and a whole bunch of podcasters to help families in Rwanda. While match funds last, your donation will be 1.5x matched, meaning every $100 donation will turn into $150 for families in need. Go to givedirectly.org/wizards if you find it in your heart to give a donation.
- 12
Episode 322: A Theater of Simultaneous Possibilities (William James' "The Stream of Thought")
David and Tamler return to William James' monumental "Principles of Psychology", this time wading through his famous chapter "The Stream of Thought." We talk about his rejection of empiricist theories of consciousness in favor of a view that consciousness is a continuous stream of thoughts, sensations, and emotions without any elements (atoms) that repeat or appear in other people's streams. We talk about how vividly James captures certain features of consciousness, like trying to recall a forgotten name, or the ways that the subjective per of two people differ radically in the same environment. And we debate the merits of James' methodology as well as his universalist ambitions. Plus, we discuss one of the early to mid-2000s papers, how seeing Batman on a subway makes you more altruistic because – wait, hold on, what, this study is from 2025?? Pagnini, F., Grosso, F., Cavalera, C., Poletti, V., Minazzi, G. A., Missoni, A., ... & Bertolotti, M. (2025). Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect. npj Mental Health Research, 4(1), 57. James, W. (1890). The principles of psychology. Chapter 9: "The Stream of Thought" [free access to fulltext via psychclassics.yorku.ca] We are teaming up with givedirectly, and a whole bunch of podcasters to help families in Rwanda. While match funds last, your donation will be 1.5x matched, meaning every $100 donation will turn into $150 for families in need. Go to givedirectly.org/wizards if you find it in your heart to give a donation.
By the numbers
50+
Conversations published
74+
Hours of dialogue
2+
Years of inquiry