Very Bad Wizards

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. [https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2027-01514-001.html] American Psychologist. Eliade, M. (1959). The sacred and the profane: The nature of religion (Vol. 81). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

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? [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/15/oliver-sacks-put-himself-into-his-case-studies-what-was-the-cost] by Rachel Aviv [newyorker.com] Plato's Euthyphro [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 [https://Your%20favorite%20podcasters%20are%20teaming%20up%20to%20send%20~$1,100%20via%20digital%20transfer%20to%20all%20700+%20families%20across%203%20villages%20in%20the%20Bikara%20region%20of%20Rwanda%20to%20spend%20and%20invest%20on%20what%20they%20need%20most.%20%20While%20match%20funds%20last,%20your%20donation%20will%20be%201.5x%20matched,%20meaning%20every%20$100%20donation%20will%20turn%20into%20$150%20for%20families%20in%20need.] if you find it in your heart to give a donation.

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. [https://www.nature.com/articles/s44184-025-00171-5.pdf] npj Mental Health Research, 4(1), 57. James, W. (1890). The principles of psychology. Chapter 9: "The Stream of Thought" [https://psychclassics.yorku.ca/James/Principles/prin9.htm] [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 [https://Your%20favorite%20podcasters%20are%20teaming%20up%20to%20send%20~$1,100%20via%20digital%20transfer%20to%20all%20700+%20families%20across%203%20villages%20in%20the%20Bikara%20region%20of%20Rwanda%20to%20spend%20and%20invest%20on%20what%20they%20need%20most.%20%20While%20match%20funds%20last,%20your%20donation%20will%20be%201.5x%20matched,%20meaning%20every%20$100%20donation%20will%20turn%20into%20$150%20for%20families%20in%20need.] if you find it in your heart to give a donation.

Episode 321: The Journey Begins (Plus Blind Ranking Philosophers)

David and Tamler begin their long journey home to Homer's Odyssey, the tale of king Odysseus' 10 year journey home after the Trojan war (maybe the greatest story ever told). We dive into the first two books, which focus on Odysseus' 20-year-old son Telemachus, the swarm of suitors who have descended on Odysseus' house during his long absence in the hopes of marrying his clever and beautiful wife Penelope, and the goddess Athena, whose plan to get Odysseus home to Ithaca is finally set into motion. (Much more to come on this monumental work for our beloved Patreon supporters). Plus for all you Homer haters, David makes Tamler blind rank a list of (pre-1950) philosophers. The Odyssey [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey] [wikipedia.org] The Odyssey (transl. by Emily Wilson) [https://amzn.to/3XPc76k] [amazon.org affiliate link]

Episode 320: Forgive Me (Kafka's "A Hunger Artist")

David and Tamler return to one of their favorites, Frans Kafka, this time on his beautiful and distressing short story "The Hunger Artist," a story that brims with metaphorical possibilities but also implores us to accept it on its own mysterious terms. Plus gooning. The Goon Squad [https://harpers.org/archive/2025/11/the-goon-squad-daniel-kolitz-porn-masturbation-loneliness/] by Daniel Kolitz [harpers.org] "Gooning" definition [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gooning] [urbandictionary.com] A Hunger Artist [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hunger_Artist] [wikipedia.org] A Hunger Artist (full text) [https://www.kafka-online.info/a-hunger-artist.html] [kafka-online.info]