Very Bad Wizards

In this first episode of our new Patreon bonus series, Tamler and David discuss S1 E1 of "The Wire." We're reminded what an amazing show this is. Welcome to the Western!  Join our Patreon and you'll get all of our future episodes (along with lots of other bonus content). 

In the final episode of The Lotus Eaters, Tamler and David make their casting decisions (any actors across history) for their dream "Odyssey" film. We then end with some broader thoughts about The Odyssey and our experience doing The Lotus Eaters. Thank you for coming along with us on this journey!

How would you a describe a friend or a co-worker? Would you list their personality traits like generous, aggressive, principled, or stubborn? Or would you give more concrete context-filled descriptions ("she argues with her parents a lot," "she brings us donuts at work sometimes"?) According to Shweder and Bourne's influential 1982 article, culture and the dominant metaphors within it influence how we answer these questions. David and Tamler continue their deep dive into the work of Richard Shweder with a discussion of his paper "Does the Concept of a Person Vary Cross-Culturally." Plus, you might not save baby Hitler from drowning, but would you save his father or his grandfather? Moral psychology has a new paradigm!  Pucci, M., & Gagliardi, L. (2026). The killing baby Hitler dilemma: A novel paradigm for studying causal-temporal distance in moral decision-making. Consciousness and Cognition, 145, 104141. Shweder, R. A., & Bourne, E. J. (1982). Does the concept of the person vary cross-culturally?. In Cultural conceptions of mental health and therapy (pp. 97-137). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.

As foretold in the prophecies, Tamler and David unite in Ithaca to cover the final chapters (23 & 24) of The Odyssey, in which Odysseus passes Penelope's final test, reunites with Laertes, and Athena and Zeus do a little deus ex machina-ing and prevent the suitors' families from getting revenge.

Tamler and David discuss books 20, 21, & 22 of The Odyssey. Beginning with omens and portents and ending with merciless slaughter (with a bow contest in between), we finally see Odysseus' plans for revenge reach fruition.

David and Tamler steal some of Laurie Santos' podcast money (she'll never miss it), drive to LA, and pull over in the rain to spend the night in the Bates Motel. That lanky young man in the office seems nice if a bit awkward, not sure about his mother though. Plus, we share a few things that might turn us into psycho killers. Like we always say, a son is a poor substitute for a lover.   

Tamler and Dave devote a full episode to Book 19 of The Odyssey. In what is one of the most emotionally intense chapters of the story so far, Odysseus continues his Cretan lies, has a long tête-à-tête with Penelope, and finally gets recognized by his former slave Eurycleia.

Tamler and David discuss The Odyssey books 17 & 18, in which Telemachus and Odysseus, back at home, continue their deception and put everyone to the test. Everyone except for Argos, that is, because Argos was (and will always be) a very good boy.

David and Tamler welcome Paul Bloom back to the show for a definitive ranking of classic psychology experiments. Will the shocking results of the Milgram studies earn him a posthumous 'S' ranking? How far will Zimbardo fall? Is the Stroop effect a super effect? Did you see the Gorilla in these notes? Which is more plausible: that we have Paul Bloom as a guest, or we have Paul Bloom and a guest and it's a banger? Note: no dogs or baby monkeys were harmed in the making of this episode. Final Tier List Rankings (episode spoilers!) List of Studies Ranked (all links are to pages on wikipedia.org) Milgram Shock Studies Tversky and Kahneman Linda Problem Loftus Car Crash/False Memory Ekman Basic Emotions Studies Good Samaritan Study Invisible Gorilla Study Shepard Figure Rotation Harlow's Monkeys Seligman Learned Helplessness Asch Conformity Stroop Effect Dunning-Kruger Effect Visual Cliff Experiment Zimbardo Prison Experiment False Belief Task Bem ESP Study Marshmallow Test Bargh Elderly Walking Prime 

In this episode, Tamler and David discuss The Odyssey Books 15 & 16, in which father and son (and father figure and son) are reunited, and in which the Odysseus and Telemachus start planning their revenge against the suitors.