Bad Philosophy

Bad Philosophy Episode 055 "Twenty, Not Two Thousand" Recorded 01-01-10 I know, I know... I was horribly late with the editing on this one, but I swear that two weeks ago we recorded a new BF on the first day of the new decade! This one was a pretty straightforward retrospective, but the first time we actually had an episode one year ago that we could pull our predictions from. That's right folks! BF's run now straddles two new years! The venerable Kevin Saunders joined me, alongside Matt Legler, fulfilling his BF-imposed new years' resolution... one year later. There was reflection, prediction, and a solid dose of classic BF. Have a listen! And have a most excellent decade, everybody.

Unless you’ve been living under a diamond the size of Manhattan recently, you’ve no doubt noticed the release of the much-hyped movie Avatar, James Cameron‘s latest bulldozer-full of eye candy. It’s got noble savages, heavy-handed environmentalism, and more stunning CGI visuals than anything George Lucas could ever hope to conjure forth. Shortly after BF newcomer and certified geek Kristin DeGroot watched the film, we sat down with Kevin Saunders over Skype to banter and bash on it. Aside from a huge recording fail on my part, we had a darn good episode. Have a listen! This weeks post-show song pimpage: “DotA” by Basshunter

Bad Philosophy Episode 053 "Kevin Squared" Recorded 12-06-09 First off, I would like to express my apologies for the lack of WIN here recently on BF. We are college students after all, with all the lack of sleep, homework, and other rigmarole that entails. BUT we're back for another episode, though the relevance is about a week late. If you've been following Dollhouse, you'll know it has been rather full of WIN lately, so full in fact that we needed to get an additional Kevin to talk about it all. BF fan and fellow podcaster Kevin Miller joined me and Kevin Saunders to discuss our pet show a bit. There were SPOILERS GALORE, so if you're averse to that... tough. Suck it up and listen anyway.

Have you ever been sitting in a horror movie and right after that moment when the bad guy leaps out and you spring about four inches off your seat, turned to yourself and gone “Why did I do that? I know this isn’t real.” If so, then you’ve most definitely experienced the Paradox of Fiction. The Texas Tech Philosophy Department‘s own visiting professor Dr. Darren Hick recently joined us on BF to discuss this crazy conundrum in the world of aesthetics. The indomitable Kevin Saunders also dropped by to pitch in his two cents on the subject. So please, suspend your disbelief, go irrational, and remember that Batman is most certainly not Clark Kent as you enjoy this episode of BF… This week’s post-show song pimpage: “My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors” by Moxy Fruvous

It’s easy to take our perceptions for granted. Colors, shapes, smells, and so forth are for the most part universal. But some people have this kickass condition called synesthesia, where their wires get crossed and their perceptions get… interesting. BF was privileged to get a man who sees letters and numbers as colors on the show, Shawn Brackett. Never one to miss out on a good freak show, Damn Good Philosopher of Religion Dr. Mark Webb also decided drop by, with Numero Uno Fanboy Jed Cummins and the Uke-tastic Kevin Saunders. Best f***ing believe, it was the trippiest BF ever. Take a look… This week’s post-show song pimpage: “Roy G. Biv” by They Might Be Giants

Bad Philosophy Episode 050 "Includes Teeth" Recorded 10-25-09 Can you believe it? Fifty episodes! FIVE OH! Well... that is if you sorta count Episode Zero, don't count the Lost Episode, count Episode 21b as Episode 21, count Episode 42b as Episode 42, count Episodes 46 and 49 even though they're video only and... aw, screw it, just humor us, okay? So in homage to our very first gathering, Kevin, Jed, Bryan, David, Matt, Michael Atellano, and I all gathered at the Freebird's in Lubbock where it all started over a year ago and recorded the downright shittiest episode since that fateful day (audio-wise, at least). Plenty of B, sprinkled with a little F, all wrapped up in a FAILtilla - just like you like it. Have a listen (and please, for the love of God, buy something from us). We love you!!!

We hear a lot of talk these days about “Integrity,” and how it’s all good to have and such. But what does it even mean to have integrity? In this episode BF took a trip to Curzertown (the realm of Texas Tech philosophy professor Dr. Howard Curzer) to find out the answer. Ad-hoc philosopher Michael Hayslip also joined us for another appearance, and sadly we did without the presence of the good Kevin Saunders. Somehow we survived though, and came up with quite the F-isode in the process. Check it out! This week’s post-show song pimpage: “A Talk With George” by Jonathan Coulton

Bad Philosophy Episode 047 "A Big To Do About WOO" Recorded 10-04-09 Input, Achiever, Restorative, Deliberative... to many these are but a few odd-sounding words, but to those of us here at BF they are the vocabulary of success and self-knowledge itself. They are Strengths, as defined by the Gallup Organization's StrengthsFinder assessment. This past weekend Jay Killough of Texas Tech University Career Services joined us to discuss the assessment, its philosophy of success, and his own WOO-nature. Kevin Saunders and Jed Cummins also came along for the ride, with Bryan Mitchell providing camera support. We had a grand old time. Enjoy!

Stop me if you’ve heard this one… a pianist, a mathematician, and a crab walk into a bar. No wait… I forget how the rest goes. Anyway, this week Julie Meadows, now back from the future, joined me alongside sneezing philosopher Michael Hayslip and spaghetti extraordinaire Kevin Saunders to talk about some music. I think it’s safe to call this one a solid F-isode, people. So grab yourself a bowl of Raisin Brahms, hang onto your mobius strip, and enjoy this aurally stimulating installment of BF… (No embedded video, but you can check out the archived clips here) This week’s post-show song pimpage: “Hurt” by Johnny Cash

Bad Philosophy Episode 044 "BYOBF" Recorded 09-06-09 Beer. That oh-so-ubiquitous alcoholic beverage. It has been the bane and boon of many a man's life over the centuries, and now it has finally arrived (officially) here at Bad Philosophy. Local Texas Tech physics student Catherine Chesnutt kindly hosted the show in her back yard shack, where Eric Beutlich, Josh Clemmons, Kevin Saunders and I came together in splendid inebriation to talk causation, epistemology, and much more over some delicious Planters Peanuts. Grab a cold one, settle in, and enjoy...