Bad Philosophy

Bad Philosophy Episode 132 "Of Television" Recorded 02-01-13 Bad Philosophers: Stephen Torrence, Kevin Saunders It's a nice day to start again, folks. The end of January marked the beginning of the first Coursera MOOC purely focused on the venerable phield of philosophy. In this first application of the first week of material (what I meant but forgot to call "Coursera Diaries Part I"), Kevin and I test out Dave Ward's conception of philosophy as "the activity of working out the right way of thinking about the things that matter most to us." Television happens to matter quite a bit to me and Kevin, so we put on our best drinking caps for one of our more intentionally F-isodes in a while. So man the boats, don't touch that dial, and prepare to go meta, it's BF time! This Week's Post-Show Song Pimpage: "Kill Your Televion" by God Fodder

Bad Philosophy Episode 131 "Cheating Our Way to Mars" Recorded 01-11-13 Bad Philosophers: Stephen Torrence, Kevin Saunders, Matt Legler Recently our favorite behavioral economist, Dan Ariely, made an appearance on Triangulation to talk about his many works on the predictable irrationality of mankind. Conveniently enough, he's also written and done a bit of work on the subject of essay mills and student plagiarism, a topic our good friend and fellow former student Matt Legler got to thinking about it as a result of that interview. On short notice he joined me and Kevin to touch on automated grading, education, reform, and Mars for a whirlwind show. Calling all Gen M-ers! Grab your table-sized tablet, reticulate your charter, and make your voice heard... it's BF time!

Bad Philosophy Episode 130 "High Framerate Train Wreck" Recorded 01-01-13 Bad Philosophers: Stephen Torrence, Kevin Saunders, Oso Perez

Bad Philosopy Episode 129 "Poddly-Woddly" Recorded 12-20-12 Bad Philosophers: Stephen Torrence, Kevin Saunders Time is hard! It ebbs and flows and sometimes just goes off on its own without even telling you. No one knows this better than everyone's favorite Doctor, of course. But is Doctor Who a religion? We recently discovered PBS Idea Channel, who has, conveniently enough, asked this very question. Kevin and I had some thoughts on this, as well as some (completely unrelated) ruminations on Facebook, memory and identity. Oh, and while we're on the subject of Facebook and science fiction, you might want to unfriend these people. So grab your sonic screwdriver, update your status, and have a listen! This Week's Post-show Song Pimpage: "Doctor Who" Ultimate Title Mix Questions Answered in This Week's FormSqueeze: What ARE you guys?

When James Bond isn't busy fighting himself nowadays, he's busy being the blandest (or the boldest) he's ever been in the franchise. But how much "Bond" is too much for Bond? If the last 50 years have shown us anything, it's that the perfect mix of Bond-i-ness may be more complex than shaking a martini. After seeing the unfortunately-named Skyfall, Kevin and I had some thoughts to share on this beloved series. So put on your best suit and hop in an Aston Martin, it's time for some Philosophy. Bad Philosophy. Oh, and if you're looking for Episode 127... let's just say it got "lost in space." On a completely unrelated note, FTL is a fantastic game. You should play it. Seriously. Bad Philosopy Episode 128 "Shoefoot" Recorded 11-18-12 Bad Philosophers: Stephen Torrence, Kevin Saunders This Weeks Post-Show Song Pimpage: "Spy Hard" by Weird Al Yankovic

Bad Philosophy Episode 126 "Mosquitos Suck!" Recorded 10-02-2012 Bad Philosophers: Stephen Torrence, Kevin Saunders To much fanfare, the world got a new time travel movie recently. Looper did alright at the box office, but Kevin and I expected something a bit different from the movie we got. Despite annoying police helicopters and a plague of mosquitos, the two of us recorded our thoughts on the film immediately after seeing it this past Looper Tuesday (sorry Kevin, I had to use the joke) in the beautiful open air of The Domain. The Wachowskis have a new TV show, spaceship simulators are AWESOME, and Daikatana is still funny all by itself. It's BF time! This Week's Post-Show Song Pimpage: "Everything You Know is Wrong" by Weird Al Yankovic Questions Answered in This Week's FormSqueeze: Deconstruction is cynicism? Are you bored?

Bad Philosophy Episode 125 "The Princess's Curfew" Recorded 09-08-2012 Bad Philosophers: Kevin Saunders, Stephen Torrence, Adam Easterling, Britton Peele "Tim is off on a search to rescue the Princess. She has been snatched by a horrible and evil monster. This happened because Tim made a mistake." So begins Braid, a game that captivated me completely just a short time ago. It stretches the bounds of the traditional platformer, interweaving gameplay and story in a way few video games manage so elegantly. Dead though the author may be, I value Jonathan Blow's extensive thoughts on his masterpiece, so we rallied the troops and got indie game hobbyist Adam Easterling, alongside aspiring game industry pundit Britton Peele and gall bladder-less Kevin Saunders to put Braid into vaguely philosophical context, among many other things. So grab your Move, pull the leg off a giant spider, and get ready for some Mad Beats, it's BF time! This Week's Post-Show Song Pimpage: "Maenem" by Jami Sieber

Bad Philosophy Episode 124 "Finches on a Guitar"

Bad Philosophy Episode 123 "Gray" Recorded 06-13-2012 Bad Philosophers: Stephen Torrence, Kevin Saunders Playwright Cormac McCarthy has been to some dark places. His works are generally somber, morbid, or just downright depressing. The Sunset Limited is no exception. A month or so back one of our listeners suggested we tackle this film as a follow-up to our take on Synecdoche, New York. Suffice it to say we we had some very mixed thoughts on it as a work of philosophy, film, and theatre. I mean, it's no Star Wars Holiday Special, especially if you throw in the Rifftrax. Regardless, it got our noggins rockin', so have a listen! (I'm really proud of the audio on this one)

Bad Philosophy Episode 122 "Disruption!" Recorded 05-31-2012 Bad Philosophers: Kevin Saunders, Stephen Torrence The future is a funny thing. We've talked on the show before about the many theories that abound about how we'll evolve as a species and a society. Especially since the introduction of Google Glasses the future (or a future) feels closer than ever. This episode Kevin and I discuss the many ways that a continuous, shared perception could alter society, all while hanging out in line for the best barbecue in America. So order up a pound of fatty, put on your Eyes, and have a listen!

Bad Philosophy Episode 121 "Contrabass French Horn" Recorded 05-08-2012 Bad Philosophers: Stephen Torrence, Kevin Saunders, John Elliott Continuing our foray into post-structuralism, we felt it only appropriate to dive next into the world of postmodern music. Such disruptive composers as Wagner, Cage, and Glass have pushed the boundaries of how we define tonality, form, and even music itself. On this episode newcomer/musician John Elliott joins myself and Kevin to explore our experiences, feelings, and thoughts on the subject (somewhat respectively). So whether you're sitting in a video room, a regular room, or just playing a giant-ass French Horn... listen up! It's BF time...

Bad Philosophy Episode 120 "Intellectual Simulation" Recorded 04-30-2012 Bad Philosophers: Stephen Torrence, Kevin Saunders When I first started writing these introductory paragraphs for our episodes, I tried to make them as wacky and witty as possible. Using inside jokes, obscure references, and other crudely fashioned humor I endeavored to give them some spice that would entice the potential listener to click the "Play" button. As time went on, however, I found myself being less and less creative and enthusiastic about the construction of the introductory paragraph. It is the penultimate step in my workflow, and by the time I get here I'm usually just ready to get things over with and click "Publish." Yet still I write them... never knowing whether anyone reads or appreciates my work. Anyways, this episode we (attempt to) do what I have (sort of) done above and give you, our listeners, a (very, very) brief introduction to the deeply disruptive world of post-structuralism. You can read up on it, mull it over in your mind, and then read some more, but get ready to question everything you (think you) know and hold to be true (the idea of "truth" included, of course). What you come out with is both up to you and entirely not up to you, all at once. Have a listen...

Bad Philosophy Episode 119 "Giant Monster Whiteboard" Recorded 04-18-2012 There comes a time in every genre's life when it must look upon itself in a mirror, carefully inspecting the features and subtleties that have shaped and defined it... then scream in terror as the monster to end all monsters suddenly materializes in the reflection, spurring the genre to fight tooth and nail, pulling on everything it is to become something stronger, deeper, more utterly kickass. You might say Cabin in the Woods, love child of Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon, does just this for the horror movie genre. On this episode Kevin and I discuss the film immediately after seeing it. We highly recommend that you see the movie yourself before listening since we dive freely into its structure and themes. Cabin is undeniably hot right now, and for many good reasons. See the movie, listen to our take, and give us your opinion in the comments!

Bad Philosophy Episode 118 "Fire Sale" Recorded 03-28-2012 If the Cohen Brothers had invented a role-playing game based on the essence of their movies, what would it look like? Well, we here at BF think it might resemble a little ol' indie creation from the folks at Bully Pulpit Games called "Fiasco." Kevin brought this to my attention recently and I could not wait to play it! We got our good friend and movie buff Brian Morgan to join in, and together spawned one monster of a case study in collaborative, combinatorial storytelling. There was blood, betrayal, burgers... and it was our longest episode ever! Have a listen...

Bad Philosophy Episode 117 "Mintyvan" Recorded 03-20-2012 Bad Philosophers: Stephen Torrence, Kevin Saunders, Kiki Canon, Matt Epperson Bullies. Troublemakers. Destroyers. We all know them, we all detest them, and some of us actively fear them. But are "Jokers," the wildcards of society, actually a fundamental reason why society works? Writing for ThisOrThat.com, Benjamin Chabot-Hanowell recently summarized a study out of Spain that first ran in the Journal of Theoretical Biology concluding just such a possibility. Never ones to take science at face value, Kevin, Kiki, and I joined forces with fan-turned-guest Matt Epperson to tackle this proposal head-on. So get ready for a wild ride through Gotham, game theory, and cooperative action... it's BF time!