
Episode 195: Jesus on Trial (Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov")
Explicit content warning
08/25/20 • 115 min
1 Listener
David and Tamler dive into the most celebrated and philosophically rich scenes in Dostoevsky’s masterpiece "The Brothers Karamazov." Alyosha gets in the middle of a rock-fight, Ivan Karamazov makes a devastating moral case against God, and the Grand Inquisitor convicts Jesus Christ of heresy against the church. (Note: this segment is the second of an upcoming five episode VBW miniseries on The Brothers Karamazov – more info on that to come very soon!) Plus one of us has a milestone birthday...
[Special note from Peez: Stick around after the closing music to hear VBWs most frequent guests Paul Bloom and Yoel Inbar talk to David about Tamler behind his back.]
Sponsored By:
- BetterHelp: You deserve to be happy. BetterHelp online counseling is there for you. Connect with your professional counselor in a safe and private online environment. Our listeners get 10% off the first month by visiting Betterhelp.com/vbw. Promo Code: VBW
- The Great Courses Plus: Never stop learning. Pursue your passion. Quench your curiosity. Embark on an educational endeavor. Watch thousands of streaming videos on hundreds of subjects. Promo Code: wizards
Links:
- The Brothers Karamazov - Wikipedia
- The Grand Inquisitor - Wikipedia
- The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky) [amazon.com affiliate link] — This is the edition we used for this episode (and our upcoming 5-part series).
David and Tamler dive into the most celebrated and philosophically rich scenes in Dostoevsky’s masterpiece "The Brothers Karamazov." Alyosha gets in the middle of a rock-fight, Ivan Karamazov makes a devastating moral case against God, and the Grand Inquisitor convicts Jesus Christ of heresy against the church. (Note: this segment is the second of an upcoming five episode VBW miniseries on The Brothers Karamazov – more info on that to come very soon!) Plus one of us has a milestone birthday...
[Special note from Peez: Stick around after the closing music to hear VBWs most frequent guests Paul Bloom and Yoel Inbar talk to David about Tamler behind his back.]
Sponsored By:
- BetterHelp: You deserve to be happy. BetterHelp online counseling is there for you. Connect with your professional counselor in a safe and private online environment. Our listeners get 10% off the first month by visiting Betterhelp.com/vbw. Promo Code: VBW
- The Great Courses Plus: Never stop learning. Pursue your passion. Quench your curiosity. Embark on an educational endeavor. Watch thousands of streaming videos on hundreds of subjects. Promo Code: wizards
Links:
- The Brothers Karamazov - Wikipedia
- The Grand Inquisitor - Wikipedia
- The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky) [amazon.com affiliate link] — This is the edition we used for this episode (and our upcoming 5-part series).
Previous Episode

Episode 194: God Has No Mother (with Chris Matheson)
David and Tamler welcome special guest Chris Matheson - co-writer of the "Bill and Ted" movies and author of "The Story of God" and "The Buddha’s Story" - to talk about religion, immortality, comedy, Freud, and why the secret ingredient to good satire is love. Plus David and Tamler do a conceptual analysis of stoner movies and discuss their favorites.
Special Guest: Chris Matheson.
Sponsored By:
- The Great Courses Plus: Never stop learning. Pursue your passion. Quench your curiosity. Embark on an educational endeavor. Watch thousands of streaming videos on hundreds of subjects. Promo Code: wizards
- BetterHelp: You deserve to be happy. BetterHelp online counseling is there for you. Connect with your professional counselor in a safe and private online environment. Our listeners get 10% off the first month by visiting Betterhelp.com/vbw. Promo Code: VBW
Links:
- Chris Matheson (screenwriter) - Wikipedia
- The Story of God by Chris Matheson [amazon.com affiliate link]
- The Trouble with God by Chris Matheson [amazon.com affiliate link]
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - Wikipedia
- Bill & Ted Face the Music - Wikipedia
- The Roast of Richard Pryor (very NSFW) [youtube.com]
- Dark Side of the Rainbow - Wikipedia
- Friday (1995 film) - Wikipedia
- Tom and Jerry (Gene Deitch Era) - Terrible TV Shows Wiki
- Fantastic Planet - Wikipedia
- Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Wikipedia
- The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) - IMDb
- Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) - IMDb
- Step Brothers (2008) - IMDb
- This Is the End (2013) - IMDb
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - IMDb
- Inherent Vice (2014) - IMDb
- Playtime (1967) - IMDb
- Spirited Away (2001) - IMDb
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) - IMDb
- Dazed and Confused (1993) - IMDb
- Jackie Brown (1997) - IMDb
- Tin Men (1987) - IMDb
Next Episode

Episode 196: The Loneliest Paper in Philosophy
She’s beautiful, smart, funny, and head over heels in love with you. There’s only one problem – she’s from a possible world, not the actual one. What we thought would be a funny opening segment idea turns into a semi-serious discussion of Neil Sinhababu’s 2008 article “Possible Girls.” Plus David and Tamler share some thoughts on teaching in normal times and today.
Sponsored By:
- The Great Courses Plus: Never stop learning. Pursue your passion. Quench your curiosity. Embark on an educational endeavor. Watch thousands of streaming videos on hundreds of subjects. Promo Code: wizards
- BetterHelp: You deserve to be happy. BetterHelp online counseling is there for you. Connect with your professional counselor in a safe and private online environment. Our listeners get 10% off the first month by visiting Betterhelp.com/vbw. Promo Code: VBW
Links:
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