Episode 178: Borges' Obsession-Obsession ("The Zahir")
Very Bad Wizards
Tamler Sommers & David Pizarro
4.8 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 10 December 2019
⏱️ 101 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
David and Tamler happen across Jorge Luis Borges' "The Zahir" and now they can't stop thinking about it. What is the 'Zahir' – this object that can take many forms and that consumes the people who find it? What does it represent? Is it the fanaticism of being in love? The ever-present threat (and temptation) of idealism? A subtle critique of Christian theology? Is the Zahir a microcosm of everything? Why is Borges so obsessed with obsession?
Plus, it's the annual drunken end-of-the night Thanksgiving 'debate' between Tamler and IDW stepmother extraordinaire Christina Hoff Sommers. Topics raised and then quickly dropped include Bernie for President, Melinda Gates, critic reviews of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and more. Stay tuned for the end when Christina finds her "notes". (And for special cameos from David Sommers and Eliza).
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Very bad wizards is a podcast with a philosopher, my dad, and a psychologist, Dave Pizarro, |
| 0:05.9 | having an informal discussion about issues and signs and ethics. |
| 0:09.3 | Please note that the discussion contains bad words that I'm out of allow to say, |
| 0:13.6 | and knowing my dad some very inappropriate jokes. |
| 0:16.8 | Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a quick solo adventure to go on, and this one will not be |
| 0:22.1 | directed by Ron Howard. He's going to go poop when Grandfreypats his belly like that and leaves |
| 0:25.7 | with that word he means he's going to go poop. |
| 0:55.8 | He's lost and with no more brains than you have. |
| 0:59.1 | Wait for our attention. Come on, man. |
| 1:05.1 | Anybody can have a brain. |
| 1:09.1 | You're a very bad man. |
| 1:11.6 | That's a very good man. Just a very bad wizard. |
| 1:16.1 | Welcome to very bad wizards. I'm Tamler Summers from the University of Houston. |
| 1:20.8 | Dave, what do you think about Melinda Gates's billion dollar initiative? |
| 1:27.9 | Yeah, I didn't know about it until I listened to your forthcoming segment with Christina |
| 1:34.3 | House Summers. I had no idea. But when I heard about it, the billion dollars, and I heard Christina's |
| 1:40.5 | strong negative reaction to it, I thought, why would anyone be opposed to getting money? |
| 1:48.6 | That seems like it seems great. Bill Gates wanted to give like white Hispanic guys a billion |
| 1:55.2 | dollars. I wouldn't ask questions. You just take it. Yeah, no, I think, and I say this, and I've |
| 2:02.2 | edited it loosely, that segment. I'm still not totally sure what the initiative does and why |
| 2:11.7 | my stepmother is opposed to it. To be fair to her, she did not have her notes at the |
| 2:22.0 | comes up multiple times at the end. If you are going to listen to this segment, which is upcoming, |
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