logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2012
1h 5m

Episode 5: Revenge, Pt. 2: The Revenge

Tamler Sommers & David Pizarro
About this episode

Dave and Tamler continue their discussion about their favorite topic.  They talk about the evolutionary origins of retributive behavior, cross-cultural differences in revenge norms, and the proportionate punishment for someone who gives your wife a foot massage. They also play a clipfrom an interview they conducted in Nosara with local attorney Andres Gonzalez about the Costa Rican treatment of the criminals they call ‘pobrecitos.’

Links

“Would you give a man a foot massage?”  

Robert Frank’s Passions Within Reason, one of the best books of the last 100 years.

Tamler’s article “The Two Faces of Revenge”

Dave’s post for the Harmony Blog: “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Become a Philosopher-in-Residence.”

Support Very Bad Wizards

Up next
Jul 1
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 and voted by our beloved Patreon patrons. 
1h 26m
Jun 10
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 new Psychological Science article expresses skepticism about the existence of peo ... Show More
1h 14m
May 27
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 hidden cosmic forces of the universe? Can it take us into depths of our unconscio ... Show More
1h 23m
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2023
#126 — In Defense of Honor
Sam Harris speaks with Tamler Sommers about cultures of honor. They discuss the difference between honor and dignity, “justice porn,” honor killings, honor and interpersonal violence, prison and gang culture, collective responsibility and collective punishment, retributive vs res ... Show More
46m 19s
Dec 2021
Cancel Culture, Cheating Men, & The Character Development of Billie Eilish
Listen to the full episode of Culture Vulture on Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spotify here. FILL OUT OUR SURVEY BESTIES!SO MANY CHEATING MEN THIS WEEK! We start off by discussing 'The Lovely Bones' author Alice Sebold's apology to Anthony Broadwater, the man who was falsely convict ... Show More
31m 48s
Dec 2022
#411: Profiling the Murders of Laci Peterson and Conner Peterson | Part 4
We continue our analysis of Scott Peterson’s behavior before and after Laci Peterson went missing on Christmas Eve 2002. We discuss the book “For Laci” that Laci’s mother, Sharon Rocha wrote which gives a lot of insight about that time. Sharon specifically writes about Laci’s pre ... Show More
32m 50s
Aug 2023
The Death and Life of Amy Robsart
Robert Dudley is famous for being the favorite of the "Virgin Queen" Elizabeth I, but the death of his first wife, Amy Robsart would be his most enduring scandal. Amy, the jilted wife of a man who ignored her in favor of social climbing at court, was found dead at the bottom of a ... Show More
43m 12s
May 2022
Bigger Than the Pope: Jennings Brown on Teal Swan & The Fellowship of Friends (Part 1)
[Content Warning: This episode contains references to suicide, mental illness, and sexual assault. Listener discretion advised.] Youtube spiritual guru Teal Swan says she saves lives. Others say she’s dangerously death-obsessed. We say she’s serving strong “9 Perfect Strangers” v ... Show More
1h 4m
Feb 2019
E18. Melissa Monte Believes the Opposite of Self-Love is Self-Destruction
Melissa Monte is a mindfulness coach, certified yoga teacher and reiki healer. She and Bridget reminisce about how they met on a party bus of 40 women heading to Vegas and reflect on surviving a series of rock bottoms from sexual assaults to eating disorders, to the loss of loved ... Show More
1h 34m
Apr 2024
From Betty Friedan to Ballerina Farms: Lisa Selin Davis on the conceptual housewife
This week, author and journalist Lisa Selin Davis returns for her third visit to The Unspeakable. Lisa is best known to listeners for her thorough and rigorous reporting on the new gender movement and her probing insights into how ideas around gender nonconformity have shifted ov ... Show More
29m 2s
Dec 2021
S10 E10: [Mia] Violated
This week survivor Mia shares her story.Mia spent years hiding her sexuality because of religious shame. Even though she was married to man out of “obedience” to church teachings, he knew she was gay and they were able to have a good friendship. Mia thought she had met a kind, be ... Show More
32m 45s
Mar 2021
E121. Nancy Rommelmann Wants To Create New Beauty And Make More Pie
Nancy Rommelman, journalist & author, sits down with Bridget for an in-depth conversation about her feature for Reason Magazine The Dream of The 90’s Dies in Portland, covering the Portland protests. They discuss what the endgame is for people whose skill set only involves destru ... Show More
1h 39m