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Rating
5from
This podcast has
81 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
Joseph RussExplicit
Yes
Date created
2021/10/19
Latest episode
2026/06/30
Average duration
57 min.
Release period
63 days
Description
The synthesis of tabletop roleplaying games, philosophy and theology! RPGs are full of opportunities to make choices, face ethical dilemmas, and use the fantasy world as a proxy for considering our own reality. They're basically trolley problems on steroids! Join Joe and Matt as we reflect on what RPGs can teach us about philosophy, theology, and political theory, and what these fields can teach us about RPGs. How can RPGs help us understand the world? How can these reflections help us become better players and Dungeon Masters? Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/dnd_philosophy
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Check latest episodes from Dungeons & Dialectics podcast
S2 E14 Magnifica Humanitas: the controversial bits pt. 2
2026/06/30
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 about TTRPGs??? If anything...
You might be surprised...
Matt's a philosopher studying communities beyond the human, Faraz a computer scientist studying AI, and Joe a theologian studying how AI impacts our theology. The perfect combination of practical experience, academic rigor, and f*cking around.
Follow us on Twitter or Bluesky, and support us on Patreon!
Link to Ilia Delio's Substack.
S2 E13 Magnifica Humanitas: AI, faith and TTRPGs (oh my!) pt. 1
2026/06/16
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 human, Faraz a computer scientist studying AI, and Joe a theologian studying how AI impacts our theology. The perfect combination of practical experience, academic rigor, and f*cking around.
Follow us on Twitter or Bluesky, and support us on Patreon!
Read the encyclical.
S2 E12 The Binding of Isaac: Sacrifices in TTRPGs
2026/03/24
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 Twitter or Bluesky and support us on Patreon!
S2 E11 An Erotic Valentine's Day pt 2: Sex in your game
2026/03/17
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 theologian Marcella Althaus-Reid suggests Christians handle sex and orient their theologian around the (t)horniest topics in our modern world.
You won't want to miss it.
Follow us on Twitter or Bluesky and support us on Patreon!
S2 E10 An Erotic Valentine's Day: Sex in your game
2026/02/20
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 Christians handle sex and orient their theologian around the (t)horniest topics in our modern world.
You won't want to miss it.
Follow us on Twitter or Bluesky and support us on Patreon!
S2 E9 Dispensationalism 2: why do they need red heifers?
2026/01/27
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 the Rapture come from? Why do so many people think we're living in the end of the world???
And why do we need some red cows to get there?
Only one way to find out...
Follow us on Twitter or Bluesky and support us on Patreon!
S2 E8 Dispensationalism pt. 1: interpreting prophecies poorly
2026/01/12
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 the Rapture come from? Why do so many people think we're living in the end of the world???
Only one way to find out...
Follow us on Twitter or Bluesky and support us on Patreon!
*Does not include the answer to questions about the red heifers... until PART II. Yes, we buried the lead.
S2 E7 The Gift pt. 2
2025/12/30
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
S2 E6 The Gift pt. 1
2025/12/16
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.
S2 E5 Who is Vecna? pt. 2
2025/11/25
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, our podcast is relevant for the show! Sort of...
Follow us on Twitter or Bluesky and support us on Patreon!
S2 E4 Who is Vecna anyway?
2025/11/11
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 Patreon!
S2 E3 Shadow of the Demon Lord: Eschatology and roleplaying at the end of the world
2025/10/14
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 t*****s?
The answers lie within. Happy Halloween!
Keep in touch on Twitter and support us on Patreon!
S2 E2 Sin 2
2025/09/30
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?
There's only one way to find out... PART II
Keep in touch on Twitter and support us on Patreon!
S2 E1 Sin
2025/09/14
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 support us on Patreon!
51. The Big Bad Two Year Dungeons & Dialectics Quiz! PART 2
2024/02/08
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.
Podcast reviews
Read Dungeons & Dialectics podcast reviews
imtotallykool 2022/12/22
5 stars
I am their first patreon, and I am also friends with Joe which strongly influenced my decision to give them money. But love them, I’ve literally never...
fRaz3672 2021/12/09
I love this podcast
I’m friends with the hosts and everyone told me the podcast sucked and not to listen to it, including them. While that was probably true for the first...
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