Twitter: @TreefortMedia
Site: www.treefort.fm/series/chinwag
80 episodes
2023 to present
Average episode: 42 minutes
Open in Apple Podcasts • RSS
Categories: Two Hosts
Podcaster's summary: 🚨🚨🚨 ANNOUNCEMENTS 🚨🚨🚨 | | 🗳️ Chinwag was nominated for a 2024 Webby as BEST SERIES, please vote here https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2024/podcasts/features/best-series (until April 18th)! | | | 🎟️ New live tapings added -- CHINWAG is coming to a city near you! | | | | Boston on Friday April 19th ➡ https://chinwagpod.fm/boston | | | Los Angeles on Tuesday May 14th ➡ https://chinwagpod.fm/losangeles | | | Portland on Thursday May 16th ➡ https://chinwagpod.fm/portland | | | Seattle on Friday April 17th ➡ https://chinwagpod.fm/seattle | | | | 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 | | === ABOUT THE SHOW ====== | | chin-wag: to have a chat, a friendly conversation. | | Actor Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma, author and philosopher, join forces for a freewheeling series of conversations that dive deep (like, really, really deep) into the wilderness of the mind. | | Featuring prominent guests from diverse fields, Chinwag is esoteric in the best way possible, as Paul and Stephen delve into anything and everything: Are we living in a simulation? What’s the most perfect sentence in literature? Is Bigfoot interdimensional? Science, the occult, philosophy, magic mushrooms… it’s all fair game! | | Unexpected, hilarious, and maybe even profound — Chinwag is all about having a really, really good chat. | | | New episodes drop Wednesdays for free here: | | Apple: http://apple.co/chinwag | | | Spotify: https://spoti.fi/49ja5iJ | | | | Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 | | YT: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod | | | IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod...
List Updated: 2024-Apr-19 06:06 UTC. Episodes: 80. Feedback: @TrueSciPhi.
| Episodes |
| 2024-Apr-17 • 66 minutes Why Bigfoot Matters Paul and Stephen chinwag with actor Jesse Eisenberg |
| 2024-Apr-12 • 23 minutes Bonus-wag: The Ghost in the Theatre 🎭👻👯♂️ The origin story of Paul and Justin Theroux’s friendship, formed 30 years ago while messing around backstage and onstage in a depressing Chekhov play. Justin’s memory is razor sharp and deep, and he shares the moment Paul first experienced fame after his breakout appearance as Pig Vomit in Howard Stern’s Private Parts. Also, theaters are spooky places and Justin reminds Paul of the eerie ghost (with a woman’s enormous bloody head!) that may or may not have found a home in that Chekhov theater. Pau... |
| 2024-Apr-10 • 68 minutes Justin Theroux Hits Peak Chinwag 🧘🏻♂️🧘🏻♂️🧘🏻♂️ Paul and Stephen are joined by Paul’s old friend, perpetually youthful actor and screenwriter Justin Theroux. Learn all you ever wanted to know about the Oakwoods temporary housing in LA from former inhabitants Paul and Justin. Then rattlesnakes in Runyon Canyon, coyotes in Central Park, and how the Lindbergh kidnapping made pitbulls popular and led to Petey the dog on The Little Rascals. Stephen and Justin reveal a few delicacies they’ve enjoyed overseas, like coffee made from civet cat ... |
| 2024-Apr-05 • 16 minutes Bonus-wag: Errol Morris and The Interrotron 👓🎥🐦 On this Bonus-Wag, Paul and Stephen ask Academy Award-winning director Errol Morris about his ground-breaking invention of the Interrotron camera and how it takes the viewer closer to a documentary subject. Also, what John le Carré says in Errol Morris’s film The Pigeon Tunnel that makes Stephen wonder if being a spy is similar to being an actor. And what separates a good actor from a bad one? All this and the Errol Morris STFU school of directing!? Enjoy this week’s Bonus-Wag! Paul Giamatti is a Go... |
| 2024-Apr-03 • 62 minutes A Heartwarming Tale with Errol Morris 📽️📽️📽️ Paul and Stephen are excited to meet Academy Award-winning Director and avid book collector Errol Morris. Stephen’s funky blue lighting and Paul’s floatation tank-talk mark the start of this Chinwag and in just a few short turns, the conversation goes from the idea of the bodhisattva in Buddhism to the weirdness of Florida, in particular Vernon, FL (aka “Nub City”). In typical Waggy fashion, they’re on to a shared reverence for American novelist Harry Crews and a fascination with notorious serial k... |
| 2024-Apr-01 • 1 minutes April 19th, Boston: One if by land, two if by Chinwag! 🎟️🎟️🎟️ Mark your calendars and set your comedic compass for April 19th Listen my children and you shall hear Of the Chinwag ride of Paul Giamatti, On the nineteenth of April, in twenty-four; Hardly a wagger is immune to the hype Who is present that famous day and year… - Stephen Asma Prepare for a night of hilarious tales and witty banter that'll have you laughing from land to sea. Secure your tickets asap for a comedy voyage through Boston's cultural landscape at The Center for Arts at the Armory! 🎟️🎟️... |
| 2024-Mar-29 • 13 minutes Bonus-wag: Actually, You’re NOT Part Viking ⚔️🇳🇴🦈 Paul and Stephen talk about Stephen’s trip to Norway and his readings from an 8th Century book of spells found in the floorboards of an old church. Is Iceland or Norway known for delicacies like rotten shark? They’re not sure, but still not fans (of the shark meals). And listeners out there, do you want to hear Paul and Stephen explore Berserkers? Let us know! Also, if your genetic analysis says you’re part Viking, you’re actually not. Also not part Berserker, but neither here nor there. Stephen exp... |
| 2024-Mar-27 • 54 minutes ASK THE PHILOSOPHER! PT 1 👔👔👔 Paul puts Stephen in the hot seat for Part 1 of this rigorous round of “Ask the Philosopher!” This is not just your basic Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. You’ll learn the importance of Pythagoras, besides that theorem you learned in grade school (with an obligatory mention of passing gas). Then, hear about the mindf*ck of Zeno’s paradox, famed thinker and nudist Diogenes, all about cynics, roots of empirical thinking, Roman stoicism and Marcus Aurelius, and why prisoners of war like Senator John McCain... |
| 2024-Mar-22 • 22 minutes Bonus-wag: Octopus Dreams 🐙💭🪸 Paul and Stephen have a few more questions for resident Octopus expert, author, philosopher and biologist, Professor Peter Godfrey-Smith. When does consciousness emerge in the evolutionary process and does it exist in every bit of matter - even a grain of sand? Then, do Octopuses have language and what is its function? And controversial questions abound on whether animals dream, the role of memory, and what commonality of sleep phases suggests about our shared evolutionary origins. Dream on Chinwagger... |
| 2024-Mar-20 • 67 minutes Consciousness & The Octopus 🐙🐙🐙 The Octopus is fascinating and mysterious, and as Paul and Stephen discover, a cephalopod that offers incredible lessons in consciousness, intelligence, awareness and being. The octopus might also be the closest we have to studying the alien mind. Peter Godfrey-Smith is an author, Professor of Biology, philosopher of science and skilled scuba diver who’s looked right into the eyes of many an octopus, and they’ve observed him back. Listen as Professor Godfrey-Smith explains how the octopus’s unique bra... |
| 2024-Mar-15 • 21 minutes Chinwag Mailbag: The Drake Equation 📊🔢🧮📐 Paul and Stephen dig into our Chinwag mailbag for this SETI-inspired question (that’s Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence to any novice listeners). The Drake Equation is explained and let’s just say there’s A LOT of math involved. It’s been 60+ years since last estimates were made on the odds of finding intelligent life in the Milky Way, and Chinwag listener Rick B. wants to know, how long could a civilization broadcast its presence through technology, and what current factors might affect a civ... |
| 2024-Mar-13 • 36 minutes THE KRAKEN OF THE BRINY DEEP 🦑🦑🦑 The sea is deep, but it’s no match for Paul and Stephen’s boundless appetite for aquatic mysteries. Follow them as they dip into the strange world of three famed squids: The Giant Squid, the Colossal Squid, and the Bigfin Squid (a BigFoot squid, really??). Then, other Unidentified Submerged Objects (USOs) like humboldt squids, giant albino crabs, boat-attacking-squids (!), megamouth sharks, whale sharks, and the myth of a Japanese moon maiden. And of course, the theory that UFOs originate from the de... |
| 2024-Mar-08 • 16 minutes Bonus-wag: A Fan's Recurring Dream (About Paul!) 📫💭📆 We love our loyal Chinwag listeners and we love your letters! Keep ‘em coming and we may respond to them on the air! Miss B Havin wrote to Paul and Stephen and shared a message she received in a recurring dream about Paul. Does Paul understand the message therein? What does water represent in a dream, and what’s the least lucky month of the year? Put your ears on this Bonus-Wag and find out! Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in t... |
| 2024-Mar-06 • 62 minutes ATLANTIS & THE DEVIL'S TRIANGLE 🔱🔱🔱 Paul and Stephen wade through the deep waters and history of such aquatic mysteries as Atlantis and The Bermuda Triangle. Listen in as Stephen details Plato’s telling of Atlantis, with all its craven needs, imperialist ambitions and loss of virtue. The weird link between Atlantis and UFO/paranormal activity is legend, but did you know of the lasers in Atlantis and its connection to The Bermuda Triangle? It’s also a thing! Then Paul introduces Charles Berlitz (yes that Berlitz) who popularized The Ber... |
| 2024-Mar-01 • 15 minutes Bonus-wag: A Happy Medium 👐🏼✝️👐🏼 Paul and Stephen have a few more questions for the "Long Island Medium," Theresa Caputo. Listen in to hear how she learned to interpret the messages she receives from departed souls and spirits? How Catholics respond to her abilities, and do demons and negativity in the spirit world get her down? And does she fear losing her gifts? T his bonus is Medium-well! Get it? Dig in Waggers! Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the phi... |
| 2024-Feb-28 • 35 minutes Tales of Weird NJ: Bovine, Bigfoot & Frogs 🐄🐄🐄 Recorded live from the (possibly haunted) Marines’ Memorial Theatre in San Francisco at Sketchfest 2024 with special guest, comedian, writer, and host of the Beautiful/Anonymous podcast, Chris Gethard. Chris heard about a lot of brushes with the paranormal during his time at Weird NJ, and he relays one of the spookiest stories imaginable about a band of silent, menacing cows leading the way to a flannel-clad BigFoot lying supine on a mattress. Was there LSD involved? And what’s more terrifying, encoun... |
| 2024-Feb-23 • 26 minutes Bonus-wag: Pizzagate and Psychic Goldfish 🙋🏻♂️🍕🖋️ Paul, Stephen, and comedian Christ Gethard answer the weirdly awesome questions from our live audience at Sketchfest 2024. Have you noticed conspiracy theories have gone from “fun” to “crazy”? You have? Perfect segue to Chris’s rumored involvement with Pizzagate and the real reason behind that fake (but really creepy!) satanic ritual on The Chris Gethard Show with Will Ferrell (uh, ratings!?). Paul fields a doozy of an audience question and sidesteps it masterfully. More Norcal weirdness, Mount ... |
| 2024-Feb-21 • 37 minutes Let's Get Weird, California 🗑️🗑️🗑️ Recorded live from the (possibly haunted) Marines’ Memorial Theatre in San Francisco at Sketchfest 2024 with special guest, comedian, writer, and host of the Beautiful/Anonymous podcast, Chris Gethard. Is it possible someone doesn’t find Paul charming? Hear the real story behind how Paul ended up in a dumpster on Chris’s public access series, The Chris Gethard Show. Explore more folklore from Virginia (Bunny Man!) and Ohio (yes there are Melonheads in Ohio too!) and the many legends of Northern Cal... |
| 2024-Feb-16 • 21 minutes Bonus-wag: Zombies on Film 🧟🪦🧟♀️ Paul and Stephen learn the history of zombies with spiritualism expert Lisa Morton who shares the influence of these phenomena in popular culture, folklore and horror films. Who brought the idea of zombies to mass awareness and what cultures first wrote about these mythical characters? Also, the impact of Bela Lagosi’s film White Zombie, how it gave way to Voodoo zombies, Sci-Fi zombies, George Romero’s human flesh-eating zombies and Frankenstein. Also why are zombies so popular and what do they su... |
| 2024-Feb-14 • 59 minutes Spiritualism, Seance, Ouija, and Ectoplasm 🖤🖤🖤 Welcome Waggers! Come for the ghosts, stay for the vomiting ectoplasm! Paul and Stephen walk through the myriad ways folks talked to the dead throughout history with spiritualism expert and author Lisa Morton. En route they discuss spirits, mediums, oracles, ouija boards, priming, and rampant charlatanry in the business of ghost-hunting. Hear ghostly experiences from the legendary Stanley Hotel (aka- the Disneyland of ghost hotels made famous in The Shining), the birth of the seance and the impact o... |
| 2024-Feb-09 • 14 minutes Bonus-wag: PAUL'S "HAVANA" SYNDROME STORY 🇷🇺😵💫🌀 Paul Giamatti shares a crazy Havana syndrome-like experience he had at the Russian Embassy in Budapest, which somehow leads to his love of acting on stage and sharing that mass-delusion with an audience. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. 🇷🇺😵💫🌀 ========= 📋 Please help us get to know you better by completing our Chinwagger Survey 👉🏼 https://gum.fm/chinwag 📋 ========= New eps ... |
| 2024-Feb-07 • 55 minutes MAD GASSERS & MASS HYSTERIA 😵💫😵💫😵💫 Paul and Stephen strive to understand the phenomenon of mass panic and incidences of collective delusion throughout history. Learn the difference between mass panic and mass hysteria, how our minds influence our physical reactions, and the power of the media in escalating these events. What caused the hysteria that surrounded the Beatles and Elvis, or the outbreak of panic after the infamous Orson Welles radio broadcast of H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds? Paul knows a thing or two about the... |
| 2024-Feb-02 • 20 minutes Bonus-wag: Does A 10 Gallon Hat Hold Water? 🤠🤠🤠 During Paul and Stephen’s first Chinwag with delightful author and historian Sarah Vowell (go back and listen to that episode from 10/4/23 now!), the term “10 gallon hat” came up. Both hosts, as well as Sarah, were stymied on the origin of the term. What does it really mean? Does it refer to the size of a cowboy hat? A measurement of water? Does it have to do with how much water a cowboy hat can hold, and why would you pour all that water into a hat anyway? Well, Paul and Stephen know when they’re li... |
| 2024-Jan-31 • 47 minutes Sarah Vowell Pt 2: The Joy of Coincidence 🌺🌺🌺 Author and historian Sarah Vowell may have spoken a little too soon in her first Chinwag with Paul and Stephen. Behold the incredible tales of coincidence that challenge her literal mind and make Sarah question her woo-woo-ness. From Sacagawea’s chance meeting with her long-lost brother, to John Adams’ and Thomas Jefferson’s shared date of death, and odd details about the Lincoln assassination and the Booth brothers – do serendipitous moments in history actually mean anything? On to Ancient Rome and... |
| 2024-Jan-26 • 17 minutes Bonus-wag: Natasha Lyonne on Aliens, Bigfoot and Ghosts 👻🥞🥤 Natasha shares her beliefs in the possibility of aliens, ghosts and Bigfoot, introduces the Fermi Paradox to the conversation with Paul and Stephen, enjoys a pancake lunch, and tells the story of her life with Rootbeer the dog. Bonus: Did Natasha’s dog Rootbeer get plastic surgery or consult a psychic? Tune in to this week’s Bonus-Wag to find out! Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art.... |
| 2024-Jan-24 • 54 minutes Natasha Lyonne: Armchair Physicist ⚛️⚛️⚛️ Paul and Stephen read a letter from Keith, an airline pilot in Idaho who shares his incredible UFO sighting and belief in Interdimensional Sasquatch Travel. Then.... Natasha Lyonne joins, and that’s when things get weird and quantum-physical. Listen in as Paul and Stephen follow Natasha around her house, feed Rootbeer the dog, and learn why she’s comforted by the dulcet sound of quantum physics audio books at bedtime. Hear why discipline and restraint and the structure of mathematics is grounding ... |
| 2024-Jan-19 • 16 minutes Bonus-wag: THUNDERBIRDS & THE MANDELA EFFECT 🏺🌊🐆 More Cryptid lore for your listening pleasure. Meet one of Stephen’s favorites, the legendary Hodag of Wisconsin. The horned Hodag that never reclines, liked the taste of humans, and just might’ve been a hoax that stoked tourism in 1890s Oneida County. The Hodag conjures Native American folklore of the underwater panther, Mishipeshu, who lives in the water and fights Thunderbirds (a favorite of Paul’s). But have you heard of Thunderbird sightings? They’ve been reported from just about every state in ... |
| 2024-Jan-18 • 1 minutes Catch A Live CHINWAG on January 27th! 🎟️🎟️🎟️ What’s that? You say you want to see your favorite Chinwag hosts live? We thought you’d never ask! Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma are coming to SF Sketchfest 2024 on January 27th, and they’ll leave no urban myth untold! Join them and special guest, comedian, author and host of the Beautiful/Anonymous podcast Chris Gethard. Explore the weird and wondrous intrigue of the City by the Bay. We’d love to see you and we’ll even take all your weird-ass questions! So, get your tickets to this live Chinwag... |
| 2024-Jan-17 • 56 minutes CRYPTOZOOLOGY 101 🫎🫎🫎 Paul and Stephen reveal some of their favorite American cryptids. Skip by the oft-told stories of Sasquatch and Chupacabra and follow Paul into the dark primeval forests of Maine to meet the Spectre Moose. Hear the legend of this mysterious prehistoric-looking giant of the Maine woods. Some sightings recall the Spectre Moose’s faint white glow and an ability to walk through solid objects. And if that’s not trippy enough, Paul recalls the time he took elk velvet to add some pep to his step. Next are s... |
| 2024-Jan-10 • 60 minutes Talking Buffalo with Ken Burns 🦬🦬🦬 Paul and Stephen’s interest in history is deep and windy, so who better to get a riveting lesson from than award-winning documentarian, Ken Burns. Hear why the master auteur has wanted to tell the tragic story of the American Buffalo for 30 years, and trace the path of its near extinction in the late 19th century. Was the buffalo saved by the captive gates of zoos? What is man’s moral responsibility to nature in its quest towards advancement and a global economy? And as savior and destroyer, is man tr... |
| 2024-Jan-08 • 28 minutes Bonus-wag: MASS MoCA Q&A TIME 🕯️⏳🚇 Recorded live from the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), Paul and Stephen field questions from our brilliant and inquisitive Chinwag audience. Paul and Stephen offer insights on precognitive dreams, past lives and reincarnation. The chains of causation and LaPlace’s Demon gets a mention, and what do prophecies in art and science fiction actually reflect? Paul and Stephen talk about their visit to the creepy Hoosac Tunnel of North Adams, MA (also known as the “bloody pit” with a r... |
| 2024-Jan-05 • 21 minutes CHINWAG STORYTIME: The Gift of the Magi ⏱️⏱️⏱️ On the 12th Day of Christmas, Paul Giamatti has a gift for Chinwaggers! Gather round for this dramatic reading of O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi... The moving story of a young couple who long to give each other meaningful Christmas presents and the sacrifices they make to do so. The story was originally publised on December 10, 1905 in The New York Sunday World and subsequently published in O. Henry's 1906 short story collection The Four Million. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and produ... |
| 2024-Jan-03 • 45 minutes NOSTRADAMUS, PROPHETS, & CLAIRVOYANTS (OH MY!) 🔮🔮🔮 Recorded live from the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), Paul and Stephen discuss the power and historical impact of Nostradamus, prophets and clairvoyants. Who was Nostradamus and how did his vague predictions make him a legend in his time? Paul and Stephen reveal his cure for the plague and explain Nostradamus’s popularity in times of crisis. Was he just a shitty astrologer and what’s he got to do with Hitler? What’s the difference between clairvoyance and prophecy, and does a go... |
| 2023-Dec-29 • 20 minutes Bonus-wag: Ted (Chiang) Talks ☸️🙃⚛️ Paul, Stephen and fiction writer Ted Chiang discuss the pros and cons of our fallible memories and the human technological interface. Is that fight with your partner about “who said what” an essential part of developing a human relationship, or is none of that even the point? Is adopting a pact of truth and reconciliation the path forward in relationships as it is in some countries’ politics? Ted discusses the question of self-identity; are we defined by our memories and shared experiences, and how ... |
| 2023-Dec-27 • 55 minutes A Different Kind of Ted (Chiang) Talk 🦾🦾🦾 In this Chinwag, Paul and Stephen are thrilled to be subject to fascinating thought experiments by award-winning fiction writer Ted Chiang. Up for the discussion? The difference between fact and fiction when it comes to the existence of alien life, and whether Paul is indeed an assassin because he played one in an action film Ted once saw. Imaginations are running amok and people can’t differentiate between what’s real and what isn’t. Is social media to blame or was The National Enquirer the social me... |
| 2023-Dec-22 • 14 minutes Bonus-wag: More with Neil Gaiman 🏴✍🏼🇺🇸 Welcome to the Bonus-wag with Neil Gaiman! Neil's got a needy actor story that Paul relates to and understands. How being a Brit helps Neil write about America with the perfect amount of detachment to see it clearly. And is America the land of the trickster and huckster? How are George Santos and Donald Trump perfectly American creations and why are they celebrated? All this and John Wayne Bobbitt comes up (Google him, ywsm!). Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asm... |
| 2023-Dec-20 • 65 minutes Going Hard in the Paint with Neil Gaiman 🎄🎄🎄 Wanna go on a tour of fringe places to visit with Paul, Stephen, and award-winning author Neil Gaiman? Paul, Stephen and Neil love a weird outing and this episode introduces you to a bevy of greats. From Wisconsin’s own House on the Rock, to the Winchester Mystery House. Hear about the Museum of Jurassic Technology in LA, the Soviet Arctic Exploration Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania. If these sound like a dream vacation itinerary, then this is the Chinwag for yo... |
| 2023-Dec-15 • 26 minutes Bonus-wag: More with Bruce "The Chin" Campbell 🏦 💰 🚔 More behind-the-scenes chat and wisdom with actor, filmmaker, and author Bruce Campbell! Bruce’s Christian Science upbringing and how it led him on his own spiritual journey. Why humor and horror are a winning combination, and old school Hollywood yarns about Lee Majors, Larry Fine, the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Harry Houdini, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (including impressions). Paul and Bruce lament their many close-calls on TV and film sets, and why they’ve reluctantly stopped doing their ... |
| 2023-Dec-13 • 55 minutes Bruce Campbell's Cosmic Awakening 🌌🌌🌌 Paul and Stephen are joined by raconteur, actor, author and Hawaiian shirt expert, Bruce Campbell. Tune in to hear about the first time he smoked weed on the set of Evil Dead (yes he got high), how moonshine was used to keep warm, and how Bruce keeps himself amused at horror film conventions. Plus, that time he went in search of the BigFoot trap near his house in Oregon, and heard an eyewitness account from a Sasquatch true believer (he met in a bar). Go deep with our hosts as Bruce explains how perc... |
| 2023-Dec-06 • 45 minutes (Tom) Hanks Again! ⏳⏳⏳ Part 2 of Paul and Stephen’s chat with Academy Award winning actor, writer, and author Tom Hanks. Why are time travel fantasies perfect escapes and where does Tom dream of going? What’s the logic of time travel and what would be better: going back to the past or going forward into the future? Tom shares cautionary food for thought from Thornton Wilder and Charleton Heston, and lessons gleaned from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes. Also, what are the rules of infidelity in time-travel and has there... |
| 2023-Nov-29 • 56 minutes (Tom) Hanks For Coming! 🍠🍠🍠 Academy Award winning actor, writer, author and all-around wonderful human Tom Hanks joins Paul and Stephen to help unload specious facts about Quebec, Canada (lowest marriage rate in the world!), Blue Zones and the importance of purple yams. Paul, Stephen and Tom discuss the speed of information, Chat GPT, cognitive dissonance in AI, and question the use of Waze to beat traffic. How have our memories changed since the advent of cell phones? Are acting skills useful when it comes to writing a book? Plu... |
| 2023-Nov-24 • 13 minutes Bonus-wag: On Life, Death, And Pizza ☥🪦🍕 Bonus time with comedian, writer, director and author Mike Birbiglia. The guys discuss their thoughts on leaving a legacy, art as a path to immortality, and the enduring comedy of Charlie Chaplin and W.C. Fields. Also, what’s the career advice one should never pass on to others? Lastly, Mike’s love of pizza (and the word “plaza”) leads to the end of the debate on the country’s best pizza. Is it New Haven, NYC, or Chicago? And what’s the correct amount of pizza for one person? Hint: it’s not the whole ... |
| 2023-Nov-22 • 62 minutes Birbigs on Tay Tay & TikTok 🤳🏽🤳🏽🤳🏽 Tune in as comedian Mike Birbiglia, also our resident Swiftie expert and anti-hero, explains the Taylor Swift phenomenon to Paul and Stephen. Also, why is TikTok so addictive, and which host shares this obsession with Birbigs and 420 million Gen Zers? Then, how to talk to your kids about death and scary stuff (hint - don’t ask Paul!). Hear about Birbigs’ new Netflix special Old Man & The Pool, his sleepwalking disorder, and his fascination and fear of bears. And don’t sleep on his beliefs surroundi... |
| 2023-Nov-17 • 32 minutes Bonus-wag: Q&A with 2 Pauls, 1 Stephen ✨🤩🌟 Recorded live at the Murmrr Theater in Brooklyn, NY on Oct 17th with the incomparable Paul Rudd. Chinwag’s studio audience jumps in on the action with their burning questions. More in-depth answers about fears, recurring dreams, pretend play and how improv plays a role in one’s success. Plus: Does I Love You Man mirror real life? And what’s its connection to Only Murders in the Building? Which Paul is actually a fan of the Almond Joy? What are Rudd’s favorite tunes from his Bar Mitzvah DJ days? And a... |
| 2023-Nov-15 • 53 minutes Paul Rudd's Too Sexy for this Pod 🛋️🛋️🛋️ Recorded live at the Murmrr Theater in Brooklyn, NY on Oct 17th. Paul and Stephen welcome Paul Rudd to discuss the genesis of his childhood fears, the difference between fears and phobias, and list all the things that give them the willies (puppets, clowns, and cockroaches OH MY!). Join our rapt studio audience as Rudd regales with his creepy childhood bedroom decor (velvet Charlie Brown portrait anyone?), explains why his recurring nightmares always took place in grocery stores, and how he got swal... |
| 2023-Nov-08 • 75 minutes Unwrapping the Toga on Ancient Rome 🏛️🏛️🏛️ Like the popular TikTok meme says about men, Paul thinks about Ancient Rome every 7 seconds. Stephen’s never counted but nonetheless our Chinwag hosts love to talk about the Roman Empire, and there’s one heralded scholar they’ve been wanting to meet: Professor Mary Beard. Sure, Dame Mary Beard has debated former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but now she enters the Chinwag! How much power did Emperors like Caesar, Caligula, Severus, and Nero, actually wield? And how much was just imagined? Hint: ... |
| 2023-Nov-01 • 59 minutes Digging Into The Business of Death 🌺💀🌹 Paul and Stephen are into learning about death. Not just what happens after one departs, not just about ghosts and spirits and the afterlife, but what happens in the days that follow - to the bodies, and to the workers in the trenches of the death industry. Enter journalist and author Hayley Campbell, who after a lifelong fascination with death, sought these answers from the hardworking people who make their living working with the dead. Learn about alkaline hydrolysis (water cremation), cryogenics, th... |
| 2023-Oct-30 • 21 minutes CHINWAG STORYTIME: Paul Reads Poe 🧱🧱🧱 As the weather cools and the light grows dim, Paul and Stephen are possessed by the need for macabre ghost stories to match the ominous mood in the air. Enter Edgar Allan Poe’s classic and haunting The Cask of Amontillado. Pour yourself a glass of Sherry, or a poison of your choice, and tuck in for Paul’s first dramatic reading on our maiden voyage of Chinwag Storytime. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of scien... |
| 2023-Oct-25 • 48 minutes Amy Sedaris Hasn't Been To Her 1st Rodeo 🎴🎴🎴 THIS IS PART 2 of Paul and Stephen’s wild time with Amy Sedaris -- which finds them debating the definition of a few choice sexual terms, discussing their love and appreciation of the grotesque, and hearing about the southern charm she’s cultivated in her home of New York City. Her thoughts on Marie Kondo’s book, which she ALSO got rid of during her great purge to raise money for Diabetes research. Explore the reasons behind Paul’s manic collection of books and why he wants a human skull. Also learn ... |
| 2023-Oct-18 • 36 minutes PHANTOM LAKE PHENOMS 🐦🐦🐦 David from Burlington, VT writes in about Paul and Stephen’s obsession with the famed Loch Ness Monster but elevates the discourse to regale us with the lore of his local lake monster, Champ. This Chinwag explores various theories on cryptids and ponders: has there been a fold in time and are these sea creatures ghostly time-jumpers from the future? Or are they from the past? What’s the famous Mansi photo? Stephen invokes Occam’s razor and for some reason Paul relates all this to the poor vision of chic... |
| 2023-Oct-11 • 72 minutes The Psychedelic Stylings of Dr. Matthew Johnson 🍄🍄🍄 Ever wonder about the real medicinal uses of psychedelics? Wanna hear tales from the guy who did time training in the bad trip tent at Burning Man? Paul and Stephen do, so they go to the tip of the spear - straight to Johns Hopkins’ foremost psychedelics expert, Dr. Matthew Johnson. In this mind-expanding chat, hear about Dr. Johnson’s trailblazing work to help advance the therapeutic use of psychedelics to treat depression, addiction, cancer, trauma, and PTSD. Find out how psychedelics act as lubricant... |
| 2023-Oct-04 • 51 minutes No Woo-Woo for Sarah Vowell ✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼 Paul and Stephen love their history, so who better for this Chinwag than brilliant essayist, author and historian, Sarah Vowell? Listen in as they contemplate the tricky business of retelling history that doesn’t live up to the current moral code. Which President is the biggest zero? The least sexy? And what did Benjamin Harrison – our 23rd president – actually do while in office? You know you want to know! All that and a front row seat to Sarah’s midlife crisis spent watching a difficult camel birth... |
| 2023-Sep-27 • 43 minutes Stephen Colbert Pt 2: More Magical Thoughts 🧙🏻♂️🧙🏻♂️🧙🏻♂️ Catch PART 2 of Paul and Stephen’s dip into the profoundly thoughtful mind of Mr. Stephen Colbert. Explore the power of prayer and magical thinking, the importance of unlearning what you know, and Paul and Colbert’s shared love of sci-fi, or as Stephen Asma calls it, “Gandalf and sh*t.” What’s the difference between sci-fi and fantasy, and can Lord of the Rings help process one’s grief? Tune in for musings on improvisation, zen master Amy Sedaris, and the fantastic conclusion to Colbert’s i... |
| 2023-Sep-20 • 52 minutes Talking Sense with Stephen Colbert 🐟🐟🐟 Paul and Stephen get their daily dose of happiness during PART 1 of this illuminating and hilarious chat with writer, comedian, late night host, Mr. Stephen Colbert. Have you ever wondered why some spell Stephen with a V, while others with a PH? No? It’s great party fodder, trust us! Mr. Colbert captivates with his love of fishing, the evolution of the flounder, the consequences of unaddressed grief, and the religious sermon that changed him forever. Stay tuned for talk of Jungian archetypes and two tr... |
| 2023-Sep-13 • 58 minutes JOURNEY INTO THE HOLLOW EARTH! 🪐🪐🪐 Welcome to Paul’s happy place, discussing the ins and outs of the Hollow Earth Theory! Listen in as Paul and Stephen go deep to the chewy center of this fringe theory that the earth is not a solid sphere but a hollow shell with its own universe living within it. This is not your mama’s flat earth theory, or any of that fake moon landing stuff – welcome to the Hollow Earth. And what’s all this got to do with Nazis, UFOs, AI and the Imp of Perversity? Learn about Cyrus Teed (the hero of the hollow earth t... |
| 2023-Sep-06 • 66 minutes It's All A Show with Derek DelGaudio 🪄🪄🪄 Paul and Stephen are fascinated by magic and the art of deception and they’re thrilled to take this extraordinary ride into the wondrous mind of master illusionist Derek DelGaudio. Listen in as they explore themes of reality, deception, imagination, morality, manipulation, and belief with the sleight of hand maestro. Is authenticity even possible anymore? Is Tik Tok just a series of mini-Shakespearian tragedies? And what’s the fix for the absence of human connection in an online world Bonus: Learn about... |
| 2023-Aug-30 • 36 minutes PHONE CALLS FROM THE DEAD! 📯📯📯 Your fan mail gets answered this week! Arthur from Japan writes in and asks Paul and Stephen to discuss Thomas Edison’s spirit phone, a little known device to contact the dead. What happened with Edison’s quest to prove life after death, and what’s TikTok got to do with it? Also learn about a ghostly human voice recording from the 1840s (predating known technology)! Add to that a bonus visit with William Shatner musing about ghosts and paranormal activity. Your takeaway? As usual, none of us reall... |
| 2023-Aug-23 • 54 minutes Mooning with Mike Massimino 👨🏻🚀👨🏻🚀👨🏻🚀 Paul and Stephen are obsessed with UFOs and life beyond earth–so who better to add to the conversation than a guy who’s been to space twice? This week, our intrepid Chinwaggers are joined by former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, a man who decided that a fear of heights would be best overcome by a trip to space. In this week’s classified file: space toilets, robot arms, and why there should never be more than one comedian per space shuttle. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. S... |
| 2023-Aug-16 • 62 minutes Nnedi Okorafor Sees The Future 🌍📚✍🏾 Award-winning science fiction writer Nnedi Okorafor, who coined the term "Africanfuturism" joins co-hosts Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma on this episode of CHINWAG. Tickling mice, javelin-throwing nuns and making friends with sentient AI are just some of the detours their conversation takes this week. Can Stephen and Nnedi finally bridge the gap between cat people and dog people and bring long-lasting peace to civilization? Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a profess... |
| 2023-Aug-09 • 35 minutes WE'VE GOT MAIL! 📨📨📨 Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma asked for your thoughts, your burning questions, your weirdest musings, and you responded - in droves! Stephen from St. Louis asks, do watershed moments exist and is the term actually overused and misunderstood? Paul and Stephen discuss and wonder what history actually IS after all? And somehow, American soldier Boston Corbett makes an appearance. Then - are you superstitious? Anna from Belfast writes in about the Irish Fairy Thorn Tree which some believe to be the gateway... |
| 2023-Aug-02 • 57 minutes Pillow Talk with Dream Expert Deirdre Barrett 💭💭💭 Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma are fascinated and confounded by dreams and the act of dreaming. Enter renowned dream and hypnosis expert, Dr. Deirdre Barrett and hear Paul and Stephen question the very meaning and purpose of dreams. Are they precognitive? Can dreams tell of past lives? Does imagination and intuition play a role? Do recurring dreams help protect us? What is dream incubation and can we manipulate our dreams to find answers to life’s pressing questions? Answers are revealed during this liv... |
| 2023-Jul-26 • 50 minutes The Marvel-ous Mr. Cheadle 🦶🏽🦶🏽🦶🏽 Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma go deep with Don Cheadle and explore the importance of improv to combat aging, miming to Zapruder films, religion to tame the ego, gorilla trekking, and Paul’s desire to be considered for foot fetish sites. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. Don Cheadle is an award-winning actor, director, activist, musician and golfer. His new Marvel spy series Sec... |
| 2023-Jul-19 • 60 minutes SATANIC PANIC! 👹👹👹 This week, Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma go down a wild rabbit hole on Satanism, a topic they find endlessly fascinating. They ruminate on everything from atheism to Aleister Crowley, pentagrams to Frankenstein. Also hear about sex magick (with a "K"). Bonus: Jimmy Page’s purported Satan worship! You don’t want to miss this deep dive into the diabolical. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, a... |
| 2023-Jul-12 • 46 minutes A Detour Through Life with Amy Sedaris 🚇🚇🚇 Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma host a candid chat with the always effervescent and inventive Amy Sedaris. Hear about Amy’s love of Japanese subways, why she finally broke down and got a phone, her impression of Dolly Parton, and love for the artistic works of George W. Bush, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. Amy Sedaris is a comedian, writer, tale... |
| 2023-Jul-05 • 65 minutes ENCORE: Patton Oswalt and The Mandela Effect 🎭🎭🎭 An encore presentation of Paul Giamatti’s and Stephen Asma’s chat with Patton Oswalt recorded at SXSW 2023 in Austin, TX. Paul and Stephen learn about Oswalt’s current obsession with the Mandela Effect and take an unexpected wild detour through Shakespeare, demons, horror movies and goo pods. Bonus: Paul and Stephen read fan mail and debate a suggested explanation for the Mandela Effect. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the ... |
| 2023-Jun-28 • 53 minutes Are You Still A UFO Skeptic? 🛸🛸🛸 More shocking revelations from Paul Giamatti’s and Stephen Asma’s chat with Mutual UFO Network’s (MUFON) Star UFO investigator Katie Paige. What IS Project Looking Glass, and has this secret operation been part of a cover-up? Hear more about the trauma associated with the purported alien abductions of Whitley Strieber and Betty Andreeason. Bonus: Paul and Stephen learn about the hat man, shadow people, alien cadavers and lizard people. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma... |
| 2023-Jun-21 • 52 minutes Truth & Lies with UFO Investigator Katie Paige 👽👽👽 Katie Paige, Mutual UFO Network’s (MUFON) Star UFO investigator, joins Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma for an enthralling, deeply weird chat on paranormal unknowns like Travis Walton’s alien abduction, crop circles, and cattle mutilation. Bonus: Government involvement and cover-ups, Skinwalker Ranch, disembodied electrical voices, and a connection between UFOs and Bigfoot! Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of scien... |
| 2023-Jun-14 • 33 minutes Billy Bob Thornton TAKE 2: Visions, Phobias, and Obscure Beatles Tracks 🍴🍴🍴 More lively excerpts from Paul Giamatti’s and Stephen Asma’s chat with Academy Award winner and musician, Billy Bob Thornton. This time Billy Bob talks about his psychic mom, his intense dislike of old silverware, Fettuccine Alfredo, and the genesis of Paul’s childhood bug phobia. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. Billy Bob Thornton is an Academy Award-winning actor, screenwriter, a... |
| 2023-Jun-07 • 62 minutes Theresa Caputo Is Never Alone 🐿🐿🐿 Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma have their first-ever readings with the Long Island Medium herself, Theresa Caputo. Join as they post-game about everything from intuition to the afterlife, and hear how Theresa can not catch a break from the spirits, despite her dad’s pleading. Bonus: which pet animal visits from the other side the most? Hint, it’s not Fido. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, a... |
| 2023-May-31 • 53 minutes SO YOU THINK YOU’RE A STARSEED? 🌟🌟🌟 Recorded Live in Denver at SeriesFest 2023, Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma talk to a live audience about the trendy topic of Starseeds, a cosmic mystery whose content has over 1 billion views on TikTok. Also in this episode: the reading of Akashic records, and Exorcism: is this still a thing? Bonus: Paul is left utterly baffled by the coronation of King Charles. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor an... |
| 2023-May-24 • 48 minutes Even Psychopaths Suffer Burnout with Candice DeLong 💊💊💊 Killer Psyche podcast host Candice DeLong spent two decades in the FBI as a criminal profiler tracking serial killers and working such notorious cases as the Unabomber and the Chicago Tylenol Murders. Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma explore the terrifying and tactical world of tracking murderers with Candice and learn that even psychopaths suffer career burnout. Bonus: learn about predictive behaviors of serial killers (bed-wetting?!), Ted Bundy’s incarcerated romance, and a key tip when negotiating to s... |
| 2023-May-17 • 51 minutes Preet Bharara's a Poet, and We Didn't Know It 🌼🌼🌼 Paul and Stephen engage with Preet Bharara on some unlikely topics: UFOs, conjugal relations with chickens, flowers on Mars, the opposable thumbs of aliens, stamp collecting, and the poetry of law. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Preet Bharara is a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the host of the podcast Stay Tuned With Preet. 🌼🌼🌼 ========= New epi... |
| 2023-May-10 • 56 minutes The Cult of Kathryn Hahn 🏐🏐🏐 Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma are fascinated by Kathryn Hahn’s deep knowledge of cults, con men, hypnosis, brainwashing dogs, and the power of late night volleyball sessions. Bonus: Travis the chimpanzee, radical nuns, lice couches, do Popes Netflix and chill, and that time Paul fought off kidnapping Krishnas in Northern Ireland! Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Kathryn Hahn is an a... |
| 2023-May-03 • 61 minutes Tripping with William Shatner 🖖🏽🖖🏽🖖🏽 Stephen Asma and Paul Giamatti are giddy to speak with lifelong hero and Star Trek alum William Shatner on tequila tastings, space travel, bum drug trips, holding on to your inner child and that time he beat up an Australian Olympic swimmer on stage. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. William Shatner is an Emmy award-winning actor, writer, recording artist and director whose new d... |
| 2023-Apr-26 • 62 minutes TALKING MONSTERS live @ SXSW 👺🤠🎸 Recorded live at SXSW 2023, Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma have a spirited conversation about werewolves, Godzilla, the Loch Ness Monster and Sasquatch – and their cultural impact. Chaos ensues in the Q&A with audience. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. 👺🤠🎸 New episodes drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 YT: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod ... |
| 2023-Apr-19 • 62 minutes Mysteries of Ancient Egypt with Dr. Kara Cooney 🌅🇪🇬🌅 Stephen Asma and Paul Giamatti get to the bottom of all your burning questions on Ancient Egypt with UCLA Egyptologist Dr. Kara Cooney. They go deep into mysteries surrounding pyramids, death cults, aliens, mummies and cats from that time period, as well as unexpected topics, like the significant role self-fellatio played in ancient Egyptian religious practices and beliefs. They also hit on Pharaoh Akhenaten and the challenges faced by female rulers in Egypt, as well as their lasting impacts on society... |
| 2023-Apr-12 • 56 minutes Patton Oswalt and The Mandela Effect 😈😈😈 Recorded live in Austin at SXSW, Stephen Asma and Paul Giamatti learn about Patton Oswalt’s current obsession with The Mandela Effect and take a wild detour through Shakespeare, demons, horror movies and goo pods. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Patton Oswalt is a stand-up comedian, actor and writer. 😈😈😈 New episodes drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwa... |
| 2023-Apr-05 • 49 minutes Swapping ghost stories with Billy Bob Thornton 👻 👻 👻 Stephen Asma and Paul Giamatti host a wild conversation with Academy Award-winning actor Billy Bob Thornton that meanders through uncanny and unexplained tales of the paranormal, encountering everything from ghosts, psychics, bad feng shui, sleep paralysis and shimmering blobs. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Billy Bob Thornton is an Academy Award-winning actor, screenwriter, and... |
| 2023-Mar-07 • 2 minutes Trailer for "Giamatti's Chinwag with Asma" A Philosopher, Actor, and Monsters Join Forces in an Unconventional Podcast = CHINWAG! Join award-winning actor Paul Giamatti and writer/philosopher Steven Asthma in their intriguing new podcast "CHINWAG" as they explore the depths of esoteric topics from altered states of consciousness to monsters in a search for the unexpected. "It's not an interview show - it's a conversation with a weird bent on things." ** New episodes drop Wednesdays for free starting April 5th ** Make sure to follow us on YT, IG &... |
| 2023-Feb-09 Treefort Media presents: "Chinwag" *** First episode launches on April 5th *** chin-wag: to have a chat, a friendly conversation. Make sure to follow us on YT, IG & Tik @chinwagpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices |