David and Tamler continue their discussion of Leo Tolstoy’s 'Confession.' When we left him last time, the famous author had bottomed out just years after writing two of the greatest novels ever written. Our eventual death, Tolstoy thought, strips life of all meaning and purpose – all answers to the question “so what?”. How does he emerge from this state of suicidal depression? What role does faith or “irrational knowledge” play in his account? What’s the meaning of the cryptic dream at the conclusion of the memoir?

Plus, bombarded with this recommendation, we were going to talk about a certain article that came out in Qualitative Research about masturbating to Japanese shota comics – we even had a guest – but had to scrap it. Instead, we discuss a recent study on conspiracy theories that shows that liberals are just as likely to believe in them as conservatives. Mostly we just talk about the conspiracies.

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
• Wren.co: Wren is for anyone who wants to tackle the climate crisis but isn't sure where to start. It's an approachable on-ramp to action: First you understand your own impact, and how that fits into the world. Then we help you reduce and offset your footprint while pushing the systems around you to change. Start making a change today--visit wren.co/vbw. Promo Code: VBW

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• Enders, A., Farhart, C., Miller, J., Uscinski, J., Saunders, K., & Drochon, H. (2022). Are Republicans and Conservatives More Likely to Believe Conspiracy Theories?. Political behavior, 1-24.
• A Confession - Wikipedia