Episode 319: The Shadow of the Object (Freud's "Mourning and Melancholia")

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. Dave and Tamler offer some mora...

29 Jun 20151h 34min

Dave and Tamler try to figure out what we talk about when we talk about objectivity. In past episodes we've claimed that logic and science (when it isn't fraudulent) are objective. Tamler has claimed ...

17 Jun 20151h 33min

Dave drags Tamler into the nerd abyss by making him watch an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation ("Tapestry," from the 6th season. It's available on Netflix instant in the US, and likely worldwi...

1 Jun 20151h 14min

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? Why woul...

18 Mai 20151h 17min

Special guest Yoel Inbar (author of Hitchcock's Women: From Margaret Sullivan to Tippi Hedren) joins us to talk about Hitchcock's long take masterpiece/gimmick Rope. Based loosely on the case of Leopo...

20 Apr 20151h 24min

Holy crap, it's the apocalypse!!!!   ...for philosophy. Maybe. Has this 2500 year old discipline become too technical, too disconnected from the real world? Is it just a handmaiden to the sciences? (W...

6 Apr 20151h 19min

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 wi...

19 Mar 20151h 13min

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. Are we at a genuine stalemate when it comes to bl...

28 Feb 20152h 46min