Dungeons & Dialectics

Two weeks ago, we raved about Pope Leo XIV's Magnifica Humanitas ! Now, Matt and Joe join FARAZ's podcast to take aim at the most bold, questionable and controversial takes from the encyclical. Should AI really be a public good? Can a robot have a soul? What do Catholic theologians like Ilia Delio have to say about Leo's vision of humanity? And most importantly, what does this say abou...

The internet's been abuzz about Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical: Magnifica Humanitas ! Join Matt, Joe and SPECIAL GUEST Faraz as we break down the Catholic take on how artificial intelligence will impact our faith communities and our world. And more importantly, how Faraz's D&D characters predicted the advent of data centers! Matt's a philosopher studying communities beyond the...

Remember that time God ordered Abraham to kill his son Isaac? Or was it Ishmael? What if everything you thought you knew about that story was WRONG??? What if Abraham DID kill Isaac the whole time? Why does he walk home all alone, after all? But most importantly, what does this most famous of sacrifice stories tell us about how to use sacrifices in D&D and other tabletop RPGs? Follow us on ⁠⁠T...

Happy horny Valentine's Day! THIS IS NSFW! Join Matt and Joe as they plumb the depths of the (in)famed Book of Erotic Fantasy, a book for D&D 3.5 about using sex in your Dungeons and Dragons game. Discover the lost rules of bondage, voyeurism, tantric spells and goblin gestation periods. But it's not just fun and games... Discover how Hesiod places love ABOVE the gods and how queer the...

Happy horny Valentine's Day! THIS IS NSFW! Join Matt and Joe as they plumb the depths of the (in)famed Book of Erotic Fantasy, a book for D&D 3.5 about using sex in your Dungeons and Dragons game. Discover the lost rules of bondage, voyeurism, tantric spells and goblin gestation periods. But it's not just fun and games... Discover how queer theologian Marcella Althaus-Reid suggests Chr...

FINALLY! All Trevor's questions will be answered!* Almost a year ago, our friend Trevor became obsessed with the red heifers raised in Texas and flown to Israel for the inauguration of a new Temple . wtf is going on??? Join Matt and Joe as Joe struggles to explain a weird non-scholarly way to interpret biblical prophecies that he doesn't know anything about. What are the dispensations? Where does...

FINALLY! All Trevor's questions will be answered!* Almost a year ago, our friend Trevor became obsessed with the red heifers raised in Texas and flown to Israel for the inauguration of a new Temple. wtf is going on??? Join Matt and Joe as Joe struggles to explain a weird non-scholarly way to interpret biblical prophecies that he doesn't know anything about. What are the dispensations? Where does t...

In this THEORY HEAVY and CONFUSING ASS episode, Matt completes the great work of explaining Derrida on the nature of gifts by also explaining Kantian transcendental idealism. If he made any mistakes, please blame JOE. Happy Holidays, all! Purchase Hagglund's book here: https://www.sup.org/books/theory-and-philosophy/radical-atheism

In this special Christmas episode, join Matt and Joe as they discuss the nature of gift giving! Can giving a gift ever be a purely selfless act, or must gifts always have ineliminable reference to exchange and the obligations consequent upon economic relationships? Matt approaches the question from a Derridean angle, spending 40 minutes explaining why reading is hard.

Ready for the new season of Stranger Things? Or could you use a brush up on who Vecna is? Well join us for PART II of our hour+ bonanza going through every adventure Vecna appears in, and diving into the story of how he went from getting rejected at prom to drawing hentai for demons. Plus, find out how this fits into the REAL story of Stranger Things (based on a TRUE story)! In a remarkable twist,...

Ready for the new season of Stranger Things? Or could you use a brush up on who Vecna is? Well join us for an hour of minutia about the origins of Vecna in D&D. Go through EVERY SINGLE ADVENTURE he appears in which will certainly have no relevance to the show whatsoever! Hey... you knew what you were getting yourself into! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Keep in touch on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  and support us on  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreo...

It's the end of the world and we know it! This spooky season, join us for our recap of our first time playing Shadow of the Demon Lord, a medieval-renaissance fantasy roleplaying game at the end of the world. Did our heroes* stop the Demon Lord from rising? Did they die trying? Did Matt drink demon breastmilk straight from the witch's titties? The answers lie within. Happy Halloween! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

We're back and better than ever on SEASON 2 of Dungeons & Dialectics! After a year's hiatus, catch up with your favorite podcast about tabletop RPGs, philosophy and theology. Part II of our dive into sin! Sounds like Joe does believe in sin, but as always, he's obnoxiously pedantic about it. Can Matt get a straight answer out of this guy and settle the debate once and for all? Ther...

We're back and better than ever on SEASON 2 of Dungeons & Dialectics! After a year's hiatus, catch up with your favorite podcast about tabletop RPGs, philosophy and theology. What is sin??? Does Joe even believe in sin? And what would Dietrich Bonhoeffer have to say about shooting your friend in the back on accident? There's only one way to find out... ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Keep in touch on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  and s...

⁠Take the Quiz here before Matt does!⁠⁠ Welcome back travelers! We're celebrating TWO YEARS of Tabletop RPGs, philosophy and theology by finishing up this big, bad quiz about EVERYTHING we've ever said on the podcast! Go toe to toe with Matt and Joe as we finish the quiz and reveal more secrets. ⁠⁠

⁠Take the Quiz here before Matt does!⁠ Welcome travelers! We're celebrating TWO YEARS of Tabletop RPGs, philosophy and theology with a big, bad quiz about EVERYTHING we've discussed on the podcast so far! REAL fans can test their knowledge of the deep deep lore of Dungeons & Dialectics and compare their results to Matt's score after he takes the quiz LIVE on our podcast. Today.

Where does Christmas come from? Some of you may have heard it's secretly a pagan subterfuge infiltrating our beloved Jesus's bday with trees and demon worship. Some of you may have heard actually all that plus the rampant consumerism was all part of God's plan! Matt and Joe are here to set the record straight once and for all about the magical beginnings of Christmas. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Keep in touc...

More than just a review of the hot new TTRPG Mothership! Hear about our new favorite sci-fi horror RPG by Sean McCoy, and dive into the meaning of technology and how viewing technology through Heidegger's analysis can help us understand capitalism: the true horror of Mothership. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Keep in touch on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ! Sources: ⁠⁠Guignion, David. Theory and Philosophy Podcast: "Martin H...

More than just a review of the hot new TTRPG Mothership! Hear about our new favorite sci-fi horror RPG by Sean McCoy, and dive into the meaning of technology and how viewing technology through Heidegger's analysis can help us understand capitalism: the true horror of Mothership. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Keep in touch on Twitter⁠⁠⁠  and support us on  ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠ ! Sources: ⁠Guignion, David. Theory and Philosoph...

THERE'S MORE??? Hell yea there is! Learn about the future potentials of AI in D&D and other TTRPGs... What about an AI for every NPC in history??? Is this exciting... or terrifying? ⁠⁠⁠⁠Keep in touch on Twitter⁠⁠  and support us on  ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ ! Sources: The vast knowledge of Faraz ⁠⁠Cairn RPG⁠⁠ ⁠Owen S. Good, D&D publisher updates policies after AI art discovered in latest book, 2023...

Today, continue our WAY TOO LONG deep dive into AI in the game as we ask our guest Faraz about what we could do with AI. Could AI replace DMs? What about artists? Has it done so... already??? And if that's the case, does this say more about art, technology or capitalism itself? ⁠⁠⁠Keep in touch on Twitter⁠  and support us on  ⁠Patreon⁠ ! Sources: The vast knowledge of Faraz ⁠Cairn RPG⁠ ⁠Albert...

Last time we talked about what is Artificial Intelligence. Today, we ask our guest Faraz about the limits of AI. What COULDN'T we do with AI? Is Joe's job as a professional DM in danger??? Is the PODCAST IN DANGER??? The answer to this and more today on Dungeons & Dialectics. ⁠⁠Keep in touch on Twitter  and support us on  Patreon ! Sources: The vast knowledge of Faraz Cairn RPG Albert...

Join us for the follow-up on this month's interview with Faraz on AI in TTRPGs like D&D, Pathfinder and Mothership. Today, we dive into what AI means for the game and for our lives! How can we use it? What does it mean? ⁠⁠⁠Keep in touch on Twitter⁠ ⁠ and support us on Patreon ! Sources: The vast knowledge of Faraz The Chinese Room Argument The Grasshopper, Bernard Suits, 2014.

AI has the potential to change the world, but more importantly, to change the way we play TTRPGs! Join Matt and Joe as they probe the mind of artificial intelligence EXPERT and friend of the channel Faraz to find out how AI works and what that means for roleplaying games like D&D, Pathfinder and Mothership, and life as we know it. ⁠⁠Keep in touch on Twitter and support us on Patreon ! Sources:...

In this THRILLING episode, Matt and Joe discuss their favorite Gods--money, medicine, and sports! Given the ambiguous nature of religion, how might one play a non-standard cleric who isn't bogged down by Abrahamic presuppositions? Could my cleric score a home run while performing a triple bypass heart surgery? Seek the answers within.