Episode 312: MechaSkeptic
David and Tamler return to David Hume's somewhat slippery brand of skepticism, this time focusing Chapter 12 of his Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Plus speaking of things to be skeptical abou...
15 Juli 20251h 16min
Episode 311: The Way to Dusty Death (Shakespeare's "Macbeth")
David and Tamler screw their courage to the sticking place and talk about their first Shakespeare play – The Tragedy of Macbeth. Plus we select 16 topics for our first VBW topic tournament suggested a...
1 Juli 20251h 26min
Episode 310: Bayes, Brains, and Buddhists
David and Tamler try to wrap their heads around the predictive processing theory of the mind and brain function and talk about a paper that applies the framework to meditation practices. But first a n...
10 Juni 20251h 14min
Episode 309: Dissolving Into the One
David and Tamler heed the call to journey into the realm of Joseph Campbell. What are the unifying elements shared by myths and religions across time and culture? Does myth give us a portal into the h...
27 Maj 20251h 23min
Bonus Episode: Va Va Boom (Robert Aldrich's "Kiss Me Deadly")
We kick off our Bonus "Noir Summer" series with Robert Aldrich's "Kiss Me Deadly" (1956). While the rest of the bonus series will be for Patreon subscribers only, the first is free to all.
20 Maj 20251h 14min
Episode 308: The Gray Man who Dreamed (Borges' "Shakespeare's Memory")
David and Tamler return to their happy place and talk about two pieces by JL Borges – the story "Shakespeare's Memory" and the [essay/story/poem/literary sketch??] "Everything and Nothing." What woul...
6 Maj 20251h 14min
Episode 307: What's in the BOX?
David and Tamler talk about two famous puzzles that for different reasons have bedeviled the rationalist community – The Monty Hall Problem and Newcomb's "paradox." Why is it so hard for people to see...
22 Apr 20251h 16min
Episode 306: What to Expect When You're Expecting (David Lynch's "Eraserhead" with Barry Lam)
David and Tamler welcome Barry Lam back to the show. In the first segment we violate one of our own rules by talking about his new book "Fewer Rules, Better People", a full frontal attack on David's s...
8 Apr 20252h 4min
