Episode 124: Dr. Strawson or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Episodic Life
26 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Do you think of your life as a story? Does your life have a narrative structure or form? Do you iden...
Episode 123: What Chilling Effect? (Intelligence Pt. 2)
12 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It's Part 2 of the Patreon listener selected episode! David and Tamler continue their discussion on ...
Episode 122: Nothing but a "G" Thing (Intelligence Pt. 1)
29 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler do their best to talk frankly about intelligence and IQ research. (It's our Patreon...
Episode 121: The Beauty of Illusion - David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive"
15 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Guest Yoel Inbar joins David and Tamler to break down David Lynch's dreamy masterpiece Mulholland Dr...
Episode 120: Clap Your Hand for Robert Wright
25 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest Robert Wright joins the podcast to discuss his latest book "Why Buddhism is True." Wha...
Episode 119: A Brief History of Values
12 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when we discover why we believe the things we believe? What if we discover that our val...
Episode 118: We Don't Love Them Hoax
28 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler try to put the topic of campus politics to bed once and for all – with limited su...
Episode 117: Extended Minds, Extended Foreskins
13 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler break down a recent classic in the philosophy of mind: "The Extended Mind" by Andy ...
Episode 116: Pain, Pleasure, and Peer-Reviewed Penises
31 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler break down the latest small-stakes academic controversy--yes the one about conceptu...
Episode 115: Which Field is More Fu@%ed: Philosophy or Psychology?
16 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler go ambulance chasing for scandals in their own fields. Inspired by a tweet from Jay...
Episode 114: Great Vengeance and Furious Anger (Top 5 Movies About Revenge)
04 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Somehow, after 113 episodes David and Tamler have never done a top 5 movie episode about revenge (so...
Episode 113: Pascal, Probability, and Pitchforks
18 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler break down what may be the best argument that it's rational to believe in God: Pasc...
Episode 112: Gettier Goggles
04 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
For four years Tamler has been bitching about Gettier cases without even explaining what they are or...
Episode 111: Our Language Doesn't Have a Word For This Title (with Yoel Inbar)
22 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In Part 2 of our episode with film scholar Yoel Inbar (AOS: Quebecois New Wave Cinema), we break dow...
Episode 110: Stepsisters and Neck Braces (with Yoel Inbar)
14 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Any time the topic is campus politics there's a good chance we'll have to record more than once. Tru...
Episode 109: Moral Pluralism: Behind the Lube
28 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler return to their repugnant roots to talk about Cornell's refusal to hire conservativ...
Episode 108: The Gimp Exception
07 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by a recent article, David and Tamler try to figure out what's behind our aversion to moral...
Episode 107: Winking Under Oppression (with Manuel Vargas)
24 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The philosopher and pride of Bakersfield, CA Manuel Vargas joins us to talk about culpability under ...
Episode 106: American Grandstand
10 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler take a break from moral grandstanding to talk about moral grandstanding. How often ...
Episode 105: Wizards With (Reactive) Attitudes
28 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler go back to basics--discussing a paper (Victoria McGeer on responsibilty and Strawso...
Episode 104: Smelling Salts for Morality: Our Top 3 Movies About Empathy (with Paul Bloom)
14 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Bloom takes some time away from his "Waking Up" appearances to join us for a very special movie...
Episode 103: Very Bad Utopias
29 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the Thanksgiving episode! David and Tamler give thanks to their listeners and Patreon su...
Episode 102: Red, Black, and Blue
15 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler stumble their way through talking about the election results, how Trump got elected...
Episode 101: Having Desert and Eating It Too
01 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we call Mozart a creative genius? He created his music, but do we also think that he created ...
Episode 100: It's a Celebration
13 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler have their 100th episode hijacked briefly before taking it back like Wesley Snipes ...
Episode 99: Mockingbirds, Destructo-Critics, and Mr. Robot
27 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler tackle three topics on their last double digit episode. First, should a middle scho...
Episode 98: Mind the Gap
13 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler break down the biggest question in moral philosophy -- can we derive value judgment...
Episode 97: Dogmatic Slumber Party
30 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Do you have strong views on climate change, taxes, health care, or gun control? Do you think the ev...
Episode 96: Memory and Meaning in "Memento" (with Paul Bloom)
16 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
So where are you? You're in some house. What am I listening to? Sounds like the radio. Is it the ...
Bonus Episode: More Doobie-ous Theories About "Mr. Robot" (Season 2)
09 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Hello friend, did you come from the Berenstein with an 'E' universe? Or have you lived in the Beren...
Episode 95: The Repugnance of Repugnance
02 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
We all remember the famous iTunes review calling David and Tamler "repugnant." (And the T-shirt/mugs...
Episode 94: Buttery Friendships
19 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler don't agree about much, but one thing they do share is an affinity for character-bas...
Episode 93: Avalanches, Blame, and Cowardice (With Yoel Inbar)
05 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Scandinavian film scholar Yoel Inbar joins the podcast for a deep dive on the Swedish film Force Maj...
Episode 92: Jonathan Edwards' Basement
21 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler continue their intermittent "classic paper series" with an episode on Jonathan Benn...
Episode 91: Rage Against the Machines
07 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by a recent ProPublica report on racial bias in an algorithm used to predict future crimina...
Episode 90: Of Mice and Morals
25 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler have their first real fight in a while over an article defending "social mixing"--d...
Episode 89: Shame on You (with Jennifer Jacquet)
10 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler welcome author and environmental science professor Jennifer Jacquet to the podcast ...
Episode 88: A Doobie for Elijah
26 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler celebrate Passover with a high-spirited episode on guns, revenge, liberals, being o...
Episode 87: Lucky You (with Robert Frank)
12 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
We hit the jackpot with this one! Economist Robert Frank (you may remember him from such episodes as...
Episode 86: Guns, Shame, and the Meaning of Punishment
22 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
We know that criminal punishment has consequences, both good and bad, and that many people think tha...
Episode 85: A Zoo with Only One Animal (with Paul Bloom)
12 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Philosophers can be funny and funny movies can be philosophical. David and Tamler welcome frequent ...
Episode 84: Lifting the Veil
23 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler talk about the perils of trying to step outside of your own perspective in ethics, ...
Episode 83: Ego Trip
09 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler continue their series of breaking down a classic essay/article in their fields. Fo...
Episode 82: Totalitarian Slide-Rulers
26 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler take a break from their main jobs as TV critics to talk about a masterpiece in poli...
Episode 81: Domo Arigato, Mr. Robot (With Yoel Inbar)
12 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Hello, listener. Hello, listener? That's lame. Maybe I should give you a name, but that's a slippe...
Episode 80: The Coddling of the Wizard Mind (with Vlad Chituc and Christina Hoff Sommers)
21 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
It's our last episode on campus protests and political correctness for a while, we promise! But it'...
Episode 79: Good Lives, Good Friends, and Gay Mormons (with Valerie Tiberius)
04 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest Valerie Tiberius joins us to talk about values, well-being, and friendship. What rol...
Episode 78: Wizards Uprising
24 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler return to the minefield of campus politics and talk about recent events at Yale, Mi...
Episode 77: On the Moral Nature of Nazis, Jerks, and Ethicists (with Eric Schwitzgebel)
09 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest Eric Schwitzgebel joins David and Tamler to discuss the moral behavior (or lack thereo...
Episode 76: Cha-Cha-changes
26 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler list three things they've changed their minds about in their careers. (This episode...
Episode 75: A Golden Shower of Guests
06 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler celebrate their 75th episode by welcoming six BFFs of the podcast and asking them to...
Episode 74: Lies, Damned Lies, and Ashley Madison
16 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler return after an end of summer hiatus to finally talk about the ethics of deception…...
Episode 73: Authentic Apes and Infinite Torture
12 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In what is possibly our most repugnant first segment ever, David and Tamler break down the ethics o...
Episode 72: Tweenie Turing Tests, AI, and Ex Machina (with Joshua Weisberg)
28 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
It finally happened: David and Tamler welcome special guest Joshua Weisberg to the podcast to talk ...
Episode 71: The Murky Morals and Mysterious Metaphysics of "Mr. Robot"
14 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler go deep into the best TV show of the summer, "Mr. Robot. They talk about the moral ...
Episode 70: Some Favorite Things
29 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, papers by Williams and movies from Sweden. Long graphic ...
Episode 69: CHiPs on Our Shoulders (Lessons in Objectivity)
17 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler try to figure out what we talk about when we talk about objectivity. In past epis...
Episode 68: Risky, Reckless, and Regretful
01 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Dave drags Tamler into the nerd abyss by making him watch an episode of Star Trek: The Next Gener...
Episode 67: Funny How?
18 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler break the cardinal rule of comedy by trying to analyze it. What are the origins and ...
Episode 66: Übermensch at Work
20 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest Yoel Inbar (author of Hitchcock's Women: From Margaret Sullivan to Tippi Hedren) join...
Episode 65: Philocalypse Now
06 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Holy crap, it's the apocalypse!!!! ...for philosophy. Maybe. Has this 2500 year old discipline...
Episode 64: Believing in a Just World
19 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler talk about the human tendency to believe in a just world. Why do we have the belief?...
Episode 63: Stalemates and Closets (with Sam Harris)
28 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris gets back in the VBW ring for another round on moral responsibility, ethical theories, ...
Episode 62: Brain Jizz and "Black Mirror"
09 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler discuss a new study that, according to Tamler, offers decisive support for restorati...
Episode 61: Putting a Little Meaning in Your Life
19 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler take a break from blame and responsibility to tackle a much easier subject: meaning ...
Episode 60: Drunk on Intuitions
02 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler argue some more about the role of emotion and intuition in blame judgments, and then...
Episode 59: Tumors All the Way Down (With Sam Harris)
16 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Bestselling author and friend of the podcast Sam Harris joins Tamler and Dave for a marathon podcast...
Episode 58: Do the Right Thing (with Yoel Inbar)
02 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Film critic, VBW regular, and social psychologist Yoel Inbar joins David and Tamler to talk about...
Episode 57: Free Willie
18 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler talk about a new study that links your belief in free will to the fullness of your ...
Episode 56: Moral Heroes and Drunk Utilitarians
03 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Following up their discussion of moral villains, Dave and Tamler argue about what makes a moral her...
Episode 55: Rooting for Evil (With Paul Bloom)
21 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Bloom joins us to talk all things villainous -why we sometimes root for the bad guys, why we ad...
Episode 54: Pooping on Ecstasy (Pain, Pleasure, and the Ethics of Breeding)
24 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Tamler and David get bullied into talking about "anti-natalism," (the view that it is unethical to b...
Episode 53: The Psychology People Love to Hate (Evolutionary Psychology Pt.1)
08 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler take a shot at answering the question: what is an evolutionary psychologist? Is it ...
Episode 52: Thought Experiments (Huh!) What Are They Good For? (Part 2)
25 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Experience Machines, Chinese Rooms, Original Positions, and Ice Buckets. ("I don't know what you h...
Episode 51: Zombies, Trolleys, and Galileo's Balls
12 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Audio Dave and Tamler talk about the value and purposes of thought experiments in philosoph...
Episode 50: Keeping it Unreal
15 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Dude, do you ever think about how, like, we could be all be in the Matrix? Seriously, no no, dude, I...
Episode 49: Psychopaths and Contrastivizzzzzzzz (With Walter Sinnott-Armstrong)
23 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest Walter Sinnott-Armstrong joins the podcast to explain how his theory which desperately...
Episode 48: Restorative Circle Jerk
09 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler take a mulligan and try to resolve their conflict about restorative justice. Do re...
Episode 47: Schooled By Our Listeners
22 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Tamler and David leech off of their listeners and dedicate an episode to their favorite comments, qu...
Episode 46: The Real Josh Knobe
05 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
May I have your attention please? Will the real Josh Knobe please stand up? Will the real... [you kn...
Episode 45: Rounded Brains and Balanced "Play Diets"
21 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A British tabloid article about kids, brains, and spatial skills somehow provokes the biggest argume...
Episode 44: Killer Robots
05 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
David and Tamler argue about the use of autonomous robots and drones in warfare. Could it lead to ...
Episode 43: The Nature of Nudges
17 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler talk about a recent study that seems to support the view that "justice is what the j...
Episode 42: Reason, Responsibility, and Roombas (With Paul Bloom)
03 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Can a fully determined creature deliberate? How big a role does conscious reasoning play in moral ju...
Episode 41: Moral Dilemmas at the Movies
19 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Dave keeps trying to explain to Tamler that we're not a movie podcast, but somehow they're doing ano...
Episode 40: How Many Moralities Are There? Pt. 2 (with Jesse Graham)
03 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Jesse Graham joins us for part 2 of our discussion on the nature of morality, and his recent paper o...
Episode 39: How Many Moralities Are There? (Pt.1)
20 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler bounce back this week after having to trash the last episode. Does morality ultimate...
Episode 38: The Greatest Movies Ever Made about Personal Identity
31 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Who is the real you? What happens to your identity when your body gets cloned or reconstituted with ...
Episode 37: Porn, Poop, and Personal Identity (with Nina Strohminger)
17 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The guest we've been waiting for--Nina Strohminger--joins us to talk about the connection between di...
Episode 36: An Irresponsible Meta-Book Review of Joshua Greene's "Moral Tribes"
25 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Our most irresponsible episode ever! Dave and Tamler talk about two reviews of a book they haven't...
Episode 35: Douchebags and Desert
11 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler talk about the influence of character judgments on attributions of blame. What is th...
Episode 34: Does Reading Harry Potter Make You Moral? (with Will Wilkinson)
28 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest Will Wilkinson joins the podcast to talk about whether fiction makes us better people,...
Episode 33: Monkeys, Smurfs, and Human Conformity (With Laurie Santos)
14 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest Laurie Santos (Psychology, Yale) joins us to talk about what animal cognition can tell...
Episode 32: Disagreeing About Disagreement
30 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Part II of our discussion on Rai and Fiske (sort of): We answer a listener's email and in the proc...
Episode 31: An Anthropologist's Guide to Moral Psychology (Pt. 1)
16 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
In the first of a two-part episode, we discuss one of our favorite recent papers--Tage Rai and Alan ...
Episode 30: The Greatest Books Ever Written
02 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler celebrate their one year anniversary and 30th episode with one of their least cynica...
Episode 29: PEDs, Tenure Pills, and "Hyberbolic Chambers"
19 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler try to artificially bulk up their expertise on the ethics of performance enhancing d...
Episode 28: Moral Persuasion
05 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Tamler try their best to do a show without guests--we talk about moral persuasion, motivate...
Episode 27: You, Your Self, and Your Brain (With Eddy Nahmias)
22 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Our streak of very special guests continues! Philosopher Eddy Nahmias joins the podcast to us why ...
Episode 26: Evolution and Sexual Perversion (with Jesse Bering)
08 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Psychologist and author Jesse Bering joins us to talk about evolutionary psychology and his forthcom...