Very Bad Wizards

David and Tamler dive back into the Bible, this time to the perplexing and poetic Book of Job. What does this book have to say about the theodicy, the problem of evil? Why does Job (and his children) have to suffer so much just so God can prove a point to Satan? Are the speeches of Job's friends meant to be convincing? Does Job capitulate in the end? Does God contradict himself in the last chapter? What’s the deal with Elihu? So many questions, not as many answers – maybe that's why it's such a classic. Plus, "transhumanism" – dystopian wet dream or perfect moral system of the future based on logic, reason, and code? (Always code).Sponsored By:Simple Habit: Try out Simple Habit--the meditation app that can make your life better in as little as 5-minutes per day. Support Very Bad WizardsLinks:Environmentalists are Wrong: Nature Isn’t Sacred and We Should Replace It - Transhumanist WagerTranshumanism - WikipediaThe Book of Job (New International Version)Book of Job - WikipediaWho really wrote the Book of Job? - Jewish World - Haaretz - Israel News | Haaretz.comSatan - WikipediaMorriston, W. (1996). God's answer to Job. Religious studies, 32(3), 339-356.Misery | The New Yorker

Is social psychology just a kid dressing up in grown-up science clothes? Are the methods in social psychology--hypothesis-driven experiments and model-building--appropriate for the state of the field? Or do these methods lead to a narrowing of vision, stifled creativity, and a lack of informed curiosity about the social world> David and Tamler discuss the strong methodological critique of psychology from two of its leading practitioners - Paul Rozin and Solomon Asch. Plus, food porn, real estate porn, outrage porn, and David's personal favorite - power washing porn. Sponsored By:Simple Habit: Try out Simple Habit--the meditation app that can make your life better in as little as 5-minutes per day. Prolific: Just for listeners of Very Bad Wizards-get $100 added on to your account when you start an account and top it off at $250 or more! Support Very Bad WizardsLinks:Power Washing PornOpinion | Why We Call Things ‘Porn’ - The New York TimesPizarro, D.A., & Baumeister, R. (2013) Superhero comics as moral pornography. In R. Rosenberg (Ed.) Our Superheroes, Ourselves. Oxford University Press.Rozin, P. (2001). Social psychology and science: Some lessons from Solomon Asch. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5(1), 2-14.2nd Annual BEworks Summit for Behavioural Science in Business — Enter “Very Bad Wizards” at checkout if you’re looking to attend!

David and Tamler try to control their emotions (with varying success) as they go deep into Franz Kafka's masterful novella "The Metamorphosis." What kind of a story is this? A Marxist or religious allegory? A work of weird fiction? A family drama? A dark comedy? Why does a story about a man who turns into a giant insect get under our skins so much? Plus a study that links insomnia to our fear of death. What a cheerful summer episode! (Actually we're fairly proud of this one... As always we suggest reading the text before you listen or soon after). This episode brought to you by Prolific.co, and by the support of our listeners.Sponsored By:Prolific: Just for listeners of Very Bad Wizards-get $100 added on to your account when you start an account and top it off at $250 or more! Support Very Bad WizardsLinks:Life is short, stay awake: Death anxiety and bedtime procrastination. - PubMed - NCBI2nd Annual BEworks Summit for Behavioural Science in BusinessThe Metamorphosis - WikipediaOn Translating Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” | The New YorkerFranz Kafka - Wikipedia