☄️🔭👽 Paul and Stephen are joined by illustrious theoretical physicist, Harvard Professor and space detective, Avi Loeb. And if you think you know his POV already, you may be surprised! Get ready for a cosmic journey as Professor Loeb shares his insights on the mysteries of the universe and the search for extraterrestrial life.  Why, pray tell, isn’t Professor Loeb thrilled about eclipses? And are aliens actually more advanced than us? Here’s a thought: if they find us first, they're probably the smarter ones! And later, what’s the deal with the mysterious space object Oumuamua? What could explain an object with no evaporation, gas, or dust around it, seemingly pushed by a mysterious force from another solar system?  All this and a download of Loeb’s books Extraterrestrial and Interstellar. Why does the idea of intelligent life beyond Earth challenge conventional thinking and spark such intense debate in the scientific community? Tune in for a galactic Chinwag that will leave you starstruck! Chin-word of the week: SPECTROMETER Paul Giamatti is a Golden Globe award winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art.  Avi Loeb is a renowned astrophysicist and author of the groundbreaking books Extraterrestrial and Interstellar, exploring the scientific search for alien life. He is a Professor of Science at Harvard University, founding director of The Black Hole Initiative and has published over 700 research articles. ☄️🔭👽 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🔊🎙️🎧 We here at the Chinwag have been listening to What Could Go Right, a podcast from the Progress Network. We think you're going to love it too.

👨🏼‍🏫🍏🕰️ The Professor is in for Chinwag Office Hours! Professor Stephen Asma offers his rarefied time and detours into more of the unusual topics you crave. This week on Office Hours, Stephen drops his knowledge on the Mothman and the psychology of creepiness. What is the purpose of creepy feelings and eerie sensations? Are they interdimensional beings of energy that exist to warn and protect us? Hear the first sightings of the Mothman, classic stories of Mothman, and question whether this legend is a cryptid or a demon or something else entirely? Maybe it’s really a creature developed in human imagination, as posited by Fortean author John Keel. And what’s the connection to Jacques Vallee, UFOs and fairies? Are Mothmans just the domain of human thought, products of collective consciousness or ultra terrestrials? Brace yourself for firsthand accounts of Mothman that may make you rethink your skepticism! Or maybe the Mothman is just a Blue Heron…either way, we’re glad you swung by the Chinwag basement for our inaugural Office Hours! Chin-word of the week: TULPA Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Triton for the Chinwag. 👨🏼‍🏫🍏🕰️ ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🏐🏐🏐 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 accomplished actress currently starring in Hulu’s limited series “Tiny Beautiful Things.” 🏐🏐🏐 New episodes drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 YT: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm For Treefort details 🏄‍♂️ on over here Site: https://treefort.fm Twitter: https://twitter.com/TreefortMedia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treefort.fm/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🖖🏽🖖🏽🖖🏽 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 documentary You Can Call Me Bill  premiered at SXSW 2023. 🖖🏽🖖🏽🖖🏽 New episodes drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 YT: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm For Treefort details 🏄‍♂️ on over here Site: https://treefort.fm Twitter: https://twitter.com/TreefortMedia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treefort.fm/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

👺🤠🎸 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 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm For Treefort details 🏄‍♂️ on over here Site: https://treefort.fm Twitter: https://twitter.com/TreefortMedia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treefort.fm/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🌅🇪🇬🌅 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. 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. Dr. Kara Cooney is a professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture at UCLA and she’s also the author of 3 books including 2 new ones: The Good Kings & When Women Ruled the World. 🌅🇪🇬🌅 New episodes drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 YT: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm For Treefort details 🏄‍♂️ on over here Site: https://treefort.fm Twitter: https://twitter.com/TreefortMedia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treefort.fm/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

😈😈😈 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 @chinwagpod 👉🏼 YT: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm For Treefort details 🏄‍♂️ on over here Site: https://treefort.fm Twitter: https://twitter.com/TreefortMedia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treefort.fm/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

👻 👻 👻 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 musician who will be touring the US and Europe this summer with his band, The Boxmasters. 👻 👻 👻 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 & Tik @chinwagpod or at http://chinwagpod.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*** 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

🏐🏐🏐 Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma were delighted to speak with the wonderful Kathryn Hahn in this early Chinwag gem. They were fascinated by Hahn's deep knowledge of cults, con men, hypnosis, brainwashing dogs, and the power of late night volleyball sessions. Hear about Travis the chimpanzee, radical nuns, lice couches, whether the Popes "Netflix and chill," and that time Paul fought off kidnapping Krishnas in Northern Ireland! Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Triton for the Chinwag. Kathryn Hahn starred in Hulu’s Tiny Beautiful Things and next she’ll reprise her iconic role as Agatha Harkness in the Marvel Disney Plus series Agatha All Along. 🏐🏐🏐 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

📚🧐🏛 Paul’s been studying up on Western philosophy and has even more burning questions for our exceedingly patient resident expert, Professor Stephen Asma. Lean in to these bite-sized lessons about rationalists, empiricists and idealists, and Stephen’s explanation of the notoriously difficult to understand German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Then it’s on to romantic thinkers like Arthur Schopenhauer, or as Paul describes him “the pessimist.” Next are key figures in the philosophy of existentialism like Kierkegaard, Jean-Paul Sartre and Nietzsche, and don’t forget that famous nihilist Albert Camus. All that and Martin Heidegger, the they-self, and a discussion of what it means to be authentic in the world. If you have even a passing curiosity of philosophy, even in the name of dinner party fodder, this is the Chinwag for you. It’s Ask the Philosopher: Part Deux! Chin-word of the week: PHENOMENOLOGY Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Triton for the Chinwag. 📚🧐🏛 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

😊🎙️👽 It’s the audience’s turn to ask Paul, Stephen and the hilarious Bill Hader anything at this Chinwag recorded live from Dynasty Typewriter in L.A., and things go off the rails pretty quick! If aliens land on Earth, what movie would this trio show them first? Then at the audience’s prodding, hear their favorite alien abduction movies, which cryptids they’d most want to be, and their most common soup order. Is it Split Pea? Tomato? Borscht? You know you want to know! Also the guys meet a surprising number of fans sporting their faces on T-shirts.  Later, Bill and Paul discuss working with legendary makeup artist Rick Baker— and Bill admits he did Men in Black 3 just so he could ask about the transformation scene in An American Werewolf in London. And stick around ‘til the end to uncover the truth: did Ryan Gosling steal Bill’s Elephant Man story? Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Triton for the Chinwag. Bill Hader is an actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director. He rose to fame on "Saturday Night Live" and co-created and starred in the acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning series "Barry." 😊🎙️👽 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🎬🍿🎞 Recorded live at Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles, Paul and Stephen are joined by comedy legend Bill Hader for a night of hilarious and obscure impressions, a rundown of insane B- movies, their shared fear of the school bus, and so much more! What did Hader overhear director Sam Raimi say walking out of a screening of Cannibal Holocaust? What advice did Arnold Schwarzenegger offer young production associate Bill Hader? You know you’re dying to know - and hear Hader’s uncanny Schwarzenegger impression too!  Then, Paul and Stephen probe Bill’s past, asking the first moment in a film that left an indelible mark - the eerie disappearance of a bus in The Children. Armed with his dad’s camcorder, Bill tells how he unleashed his own version of the cult classic Evil Dead, chasing his sisters and summoning the undead. And when the conversation turns to forgotten classics, Bill conjures the ghost of Shirley Temple, while Paul reveals his dream of starring in Chainsaw Massacre 4. Then it’s on to a dissection of the old studio system—actors plugged into roles, shifting from westerns to bellhops overnight - and a mini-cinema master class on The Wolf Man, Spider Baby, Caligula, The Seventh Victim, and The Beastmaster. So put your feet up, grab your popcorn, dim the lights, and behold this Chinwag Live that transcends the silver screen! Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Triton for the Chinwag. Bill Hader is an actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director. He rose to fame on "Saturday Night Live" and co-created and starred in the acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning series "Barry." 🎬🍿🎞 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

📓✍🏽🛢️ In this captivating Bonus-Wag, hosts Paul and Stephen sit down with investigative historian David Grann for a cerebral exploration. Grann’s journey began as a journalist with an insatiable passion for storytelling. How did he transition from reporting facts to weaving gripping narratives? Then, imagine a man unfairly sent to death row, despite evidence screaming his innocence. How could prosecutors ignore the truth? Paul, Stephen, and Grann dissect this real-world mystery, questioning justice and human fallibility. Paul asks about Grann’s process and the fragment of a photograph which led him to embark on a five-year odyssey to write Killers of the Flower Moon. Discover how Grann selects stories worth dedicating years of his life to—unearthing truth, layer by layer. Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Triton for the Chinwag. David Grann is a journalist and author renowned for his investigative work and captivating storytelling. He has written for The New Yorker as well as several acclaimed books, including The Lost City of Z, and Killers of the Flower Moon, which was adapted into a Martin Scorsese’s Oscar nominated film. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, will also be adapted into a film. 📓✍🏽🛢️ ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🌊🏴‍☠️⚓ Paul and Stephen embark on a deep-sea exploration of maritime history with David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon, The Lost City of Z, and most recently, The Wager. The trio unravel tales of mutinies, scurvy, and the enigmatic allure of failure.  Did you know most seamen couldn’t swim? How were sailors selected or found aboard these vessels? David shares how kidnappings were common too—people snatched and pressed into service aboard these floating wooden death traps. Join Paul, Stephen, and David as they navigate the treacherous waters of history, literature, and human nature. It’s a Chinwag like no other—come aboard! Chin-word of the week: DICKENSIAN Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Triton for the Chinwag. David Grann is a journalist and author renowned for his investigative work and captivating storytelling. He has written for The New Yorker as well as several acclaimed books, including The Lost City of Z, and Killers of the Flower Moon, which was adapted into a Martin Scorsese’s Oscar nominated film. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, will also be adapted into a film. 🌊🏴‍☠️⚓ ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 ☠️🤝☠️ Join Paul and Stephen for a special bonus episode as they sit down with investigative journalist Leslie Kean. The topic? Spirit hands—ethereal entities that connect the living and the dead.  Leslie describes witnessing famed British spirit medium Stewart Alexander conjuring spirit hands seemingly from nothing – conjuring a black amorphous goo into undead hands. But…these experiences are not just anecdotal. As Leslie explains, the proof lies in the pudding, which, in this case, are hot wax molds that reside in the Institut Métapsychique International in Paris. Did somebody say European vacation? As the conversation unfolds, Paul, Stephen, and Leslie discuss the resurgence of psychedelic culture and…sensory deprivation tanks.  Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Triton for the Chinwag. Leslie Kean is an investigative journalist who co-authored a series of groundbreaking stories on UFOs for The New York Times from 2017 to 2022. She is the author of two books: UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record and Surviving Death: A Journalist Investigates Evidence For An Afterlife which was turned into a Netflix docuseries.  ☠️🤝☠️ ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🎺🎺🎺 Open your mind as Paul Giamatti and Stephen Asma talk about accessing the spirit world with investigative journalist Leslie Kean — the very journalist who broke the groundbreaking 2017 UFO story to The New York Times and introduced the world to the Pentagon’s UFO videos.  The trio delve into the esoteric world of ectoplasm and explore its weightlessness, spider-webby texture, and the peculiar sound it emits through spirit trumpets. But the questions don’t stop there. Can spirits possess a man’s vocal cords and speak through him? Leslie shares her firsthand account of witnessing such phenomena, including the levitation of a man and objects in a room. Join Paul, Stephen, and Leslie on this metaphysical journey where reality crosses into the ethereal! Chin-word of the week: AMORPHOUS 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.  Leslie Kean is an investigative journalist who co-authored a series of groundbreaking stories on UFOs for The New York Times from 2017 to 2022. She is the author of two books: UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record and Surviving Death: A Journalist Investigates Evidence For An Afterlife which was turned into a Netflix docuseries. 🎺🎺🎺 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🪐🕰️💫 Paul, Stephen and Chuck Bryant on being a strict materialist, natural evolution, Olaf Stapledon, and more Stuff You Should Know. Plus, Chuck shares a creepy ghost story that challenges his skeptical nature to this day.    Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Triton for the Chinwag. Chuck Bryant is the co-host of the award-winning podcast Stuff You Should Know. 🪐🕰️💫 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🔪🔪🔪 This week, one of Paul and Stephen’s favorite Chinwags: Killer Psyche podcast host, Candice DeLong. Candice 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 and Stephen 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 prison romance, and a key negotiating tip that could save your life! 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. Candice DeLong is a former FBI criminal profiler. Listen to her podcast Killer Psyche anywhere you get your podcasts.  And check out Candice’s latest podcast, Natural Selection: Scott v. Wild Bill. It is the true story of a wealthy American retiree framed for multiple murders in the tropical expat hideaway of Bocas Del Toro, Panama. His accuser? A fugitive con man turned serial killer named William “Wild Bill” Holbert. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 🔪🔪🔪 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

☢️☢️☢️ Paul and Stephen are joined by Stuff You Should Know’s Chuck Bryant for a deep wag on lizard people, the importance and impermanence of what we leave behind, the rarity of finding dinosaur bones, nuclear semiotics, and of course, the Silurian Hypothesis. How do we know advanced civilizations didn’t exist before us and what does that mean for life on other planets? How can we be sure that proof of past civilizations hasn’t decayed without a trace? And why does it even matter if intelligent life was here billions of years ago? What counts as a sign of intelligence and can you build technology without thumbs? Paul and Stephen are all too happy to not be considered experts, or even factually accurate, but if there’s one podcast future generations discover, THIS is the Wag that could help define our civilization’s legacy. Or not. Get on board Wagoneers! Chin-word of the week: THE ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Triton for the Chinwag. Chuck Bryant is the co-host of the award-winning podcast Stuff You Should Know. ☢️☢️☢️ ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

📻✋🏼♆ It’s back to the WagBag we go! This week, Chinwag listener Scott S. writes in with an account of his grandfather’s panic during Orson Welles’s famed 1938 The War of the Worlds broadcast. Paul recalls his own grandfather’s memory of that fateful broadcast, as well as that of the Hindenburg! Then, Barbara C. writes us with a fascinating tutorial of different types of intuitives. There are so many ways folks deign to read the future, including tarot cards, palms, crystal balls, and yes, penis shapes. And can you guess the most asked question by women to psychics? It might not be what you think!   Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Triton for the Chinwag. 📻✋🏼♆ ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

📿📿📿 Paul and Stephen are honored to welcome the esteemed Dr. Khy Sovanratana, dear friend of Dr. Stephen Asma, and former monk in the Theravada tradition in Cambodia. After 34 years as a monk, Dr. Sovanratana removed his robe and left the monastery to become the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Cambodian government. Many think they know Buddhism, but Paul and Stephen go straight to the source for enlightenment. This in-depth Wag explores Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths, the five different buddhas, the definition of karma, the causes of suffering, Buddhist beliefs in death, reincarnation, souls, spirits, ghosts, the difference between the Buddha and Bodhisattva, and so much more. What motivates a young man of 17 years old to become a novice Buddhist monk anyway, and what’s a day in the life like? What were the political forces that tried to destroy Buddhism, and how is Dr. Sovanratana using Buddhist teachings in Cambodian diplomacy? If you want to really know the teachings of Buddhism from a master, this Chinwag brings the “bhodi”! Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Triton for the Chinwag. Until recently, Dr. Khy Sovanratana was one of Cambodia’s most senior monks in the Theravada tradition. Currently, Dr. Sovanratana is the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Cambodia in the new cabinet of Prime Minister Hun Manet. 📿📿📿 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🤖🌭🏦 Recorded at Spotify Studios... Elizabeth Banks reflects on her collegiate aspirations to become the next Diane Sawyer, and whether AI could make its own Everything Everywhere All At Once. But…could it replicate the hot dog fingers fight scene? Among other topics, our hosts and Ms. Banks ponder why so many actors are introverts? And what does checking “I’m Not A Robot” really mean? You can take this interview to the "Banks"! Tune in, Chinwaggers! 🤖🌭🏦 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

❄️🐻👻 Recorded at Spotify Studios... Join Paul and Stephen as they sit down to discuss death and their paranormal encounters with Paul’s Fred Claus co-star Elizabeth Banks. They discuss what drove Elizabeth to make her 2023 hit film Cocaine Bear, the omen of the white owl on her doorstep, and how they would all like to be buried or in Stephen’s case— shot into space!  Prepare yourself for Elizabeth’s chilling interaction with the ghost of the woman in the black dress, while Paul shares what he found in the creepy attic of his childhood home. What does Stephen think about all these ghost encounters? It may have something to do with the common thread within all the tales— napping! Chin-word of the week: HYPNAGOGIC Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Chinwag of Triton. Elizabeth Banks is an American actress, director and producer known for her roles in The Hunger Games and The 40-Year-Old Virgin as well as producing the Pitch Perfect franchise. ❄️🐻👻 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🧀🌝🛰️ Paul and Stephen explore more moon theories…is the moon made of cheese? Might the moon be a spacecraft? Are we all descendants of moon-people? And can someone claim the moon? All this and H.P. Lovecraft, burgeoning schools of space law, and real estate on the moon (not to mention Pluto!!) Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of Neptune. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. He also is the acting Minister of Chinwag of Triton. 🧀🌝🛰️ ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🌒🌒🌒 Ever since they tackled the hollow earth, Paul and Stephen have wanted to talk about weird moon conspiracy theories. Was the Apollo moon landing faked or was it really a movie set? Why does the American flag appear to be flapping on a windless moon? Where was Neil Armstrong’s camera in that famed picture and what about those eyewitness accounts of Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin playing the slots in Las Vegas? And then there’s filmmaker Stanley Kubrick’s interview with T. Patrick Murray that cast doubt on the whole thing. Then, Stephen digs into the historical context of the moon and tells of a Syrian named Lucian who imagined a civilization of people on the moon who were at war with folks who lived on the sun! And then the centaurs come in! German astronomer Johannes Kepler and the Copernican view get a mention, ice on the moon, folklore connections from different cultures, legends like the Zulu story of reptilian men bringing the moon to Earth, and yes of course - hollow moon theories are explored.  Chin-term of the week: LUNAR PAREIDOLIA 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.  🌒🌒🌒 ========= 🚨🚨🚨 LIVE CHINWAG TAPINGS ANNOUNCED 🚨🚨🚨 CHINWAG is coming to a city near you! 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 🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️ ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

⭐️📬🌎 Deep into the Chinwag Mailbag we go! Caroline writes about an incredible near-death experience that’s left her feeling like a ghost in her own life. Then, how almost dying can alter religious convictions and spiritual reality, DMT, the Bahá’í faith, and Victor Hugo! 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.  ⭐️📬🌎 ========= 🚨🚨🚨 LIVE CHINWAG TAPINGS ANNOUNCED 🚨🚨🚨 CHINWAG is coming to a city near you! 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 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

⚾️⚾️⚾️ Part 2 of Paul and Stephen’s Chinwag turns to the religion of baseball with writer, comedian and passionate fan, Alex Edelman. If Paul is gonna talk sports, it’s bound to be about its spiritual pull and ability to expand space and time. They’ll get into all of it: superstition, Mark “the Bird” Fidrych, the legendary Bart Giamatti, George Grella, how “home” is a concept and not a translatable word. Then, baseball as a pastoral game and touchstone of American roots, and why the sound of baseball’s distinct silence on the radio is akin to a religious experience. Later, NASCAR and its roots in moonshine, hockey, boxing, bullfighting, and why sports today are like Bravo Housewives. All this, and the harrowing story of the time Paul saw The Palio, the legendary horse race in Siena. Chin-word of the week: SISYPHEAN 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.  Alex Edelman is a writer and comedian whose acclaimed Broadway one-man show Just For Us is now streaming on HBO Max.   ⚾️⚾️⚾️ ========= 🚨🚨🚨 LIVE CHINWAG TAPINGS ANNOUNCED 🚨🚨🚨 CHINWAG is coming to a city near you! 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 🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️ ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

💬🛸🩻 We’re diving back into the Chinwag Mailbag! Billy C. wants to know how Paul would like to see UFOs portrayed in films. Should paranormal encounters be big and fantastical, or what about - no special effects at all? Then, Paul’s got some obscure film recommendations and of course, Betty and Barney Hill, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky make an appearance. Next, Chip writes in with a story about what happened in the ER after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. And somehow we’re onto Plato and off to the Chinwag races! Don’t forget to Wag On! 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.  💬🛸🩻 ========= 🚨🚨🚨 LIVE CHINWAG TAPINGS ANNOUNCED 🚨🚨🚨 CHINWAG is coming to a city near you! 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 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🛸🛸🛸 Paul and Stephen are joined by intrepid investigative journalist Leslie Kean — the very journalist who broke the groundbreaking 2017 UFO story to The New York Times and introduced the world to the Pentagon’s UFO videos. Leslie unveils the intriguing story of Luis Elizondo, the former head of the Pentagon program responsible for the investigation of UFOs—now known as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). Elizondo released groundbreaking videotapes of pilots' first-hand encounters with UFOs, including the white “Tic Tac” shaped unidentified flying object the public often sees alongside news stories of UFOs. Leslie recounts how Elizondo actually found documentation from the 1940s and 50s that describe the same Tic-Tac shaped objects, and discusses the existence of underwater submerged objects, adding a whole new depth to the UFO narrative. And did you know that official, legislated language has expanded to include sightings of this broader phenomena? Then, Jacques Vallee’s and Carl Jung’s perspective on extraterrestrials, and does anyone think these are literally aliens or another unexplained psychological phenomenon? Famed UFO expert Budd Hopkins and Harvard Psychiatrist John Mack get their due, and where does Leslie stand on alien abduction phenomena? Later, the trio dive into accounts from individuals who claim to have had extraterrestrial experiences. Is whistleblower David Grusch more reliable than Bob Lazar? And what motivated the Department of Defense to create the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)? Tune in to this thrilling Chinwag with Leslie Kean and dive into the ocean of UAPs and soar high into the cosmos of possibilities! Chin-word of the Week: ANOMALOUS 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.  Leslie Kean is an investigative journalist who co-authored a series of groundbreaking stories on UFOs for The New York Times from 2017 to 2022. She is the author of two books: UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record and Surviving Death: A Journalist Investigates Evidence For An Afterlife which was turned into a Netflix docuseries. 🛸🛸🛸 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🦈🦈🦈 Paul and Stephen welcome brilliant writer and comedian Alex Edelman for a deep chinwag on spirituality, religion, improvisation, and paranormal leanings. Listen as they dive right in with why the CIA should use Baby Shark in its interrogation program, the importance and virtue of repetition in the process of joke writing, the Socratic method in comedy, and how AI and Chat GPT will affect the future of humor. The conversation then turns to Romanian religious historian Mircea Eliade and the importance and need for rigor in religion. Then, the disappointing physical location of Armageddon, Jewish belief in an afterlife, why murder is mentioned in the commandments, and Alex’s biggest Judaism pet peeve. 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.  Alex Edelman is a writer and comedian whose acclaimed Broadway one-man show Just For Us is now streaming on HBO Max.   🦈🦈🦈 ========= 🚨🚨🚨 LIVE CHINWAG TAPINGS ANNOUNCED 🚨🚨🚨 CHINWAG is coming to a city near you! 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 🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️ ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

📖🫱🏽‍🫲🏾👽 We’re diving into the Chinwag Mailbag! Paul in Australia writes to Paul and Stephen with a topic of biblical proportion! He brings to Chinwag the theory known as Paleocontact, which states that our ancient ancestors experienced contact with other non-terrestrial civilizations. Do ancient texts support the idea that paleocontact goes back to the Bible? Then, Chinwag listeners have asked, so behold, a peak at Paul and Stephen’s favorite sci-fi novelists. Piers Anthony, Ursula K. Le Guin, Philip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clarke, and so many more! Get waggin’ Waggers! Chin-word of the week: HERMENEUTICS 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.  📖🫱🏽‍🫲🏾👽 ========= 🚨🚨🚨 LIVE CHINWAG TAPINGS ANNOUNCED 🚨🚨🚨 CHINWAG is coming to a city near you! 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 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🐒🐒🐒 Paul and Stephen are thrilled to talk Bigfoot with acclaimed actor Jesse Eisenberg who stars in the fantastic new movie Sasquatch Sunset. Sasquatch Sunset is an unprecedented look at a year in the life of a family of Sasquatches, as they forage, mate, and hope to find others like them in the forest. What do Sasquatches do in private, and how do our stories and beliefs about Bigfoot relate to the thoughts of our ancestors? Then, Jesse details the day he spent with the smartest animal in the world, a 43-year-old Bonobo monkey named Kanzi who lives in an ape initiative in Des Moines, Iowa. Evidently, there was plenty of incredible Bonobo behavior on display, including a lot of explicit, quick sex. Then, the physical achievement of capturing the Bigfoot strut, going to Sasquatch boot camp, and learning the “language” (OK, just 10 words). What’s the purpose of wondering about Sasquatch, what does its myth represent to our species, and how does Sasquatch relate to the definition and function of monsters in our society? Wag on Waggers - there’s prime Chinwag material afoot!  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.  Jesse Eisenberg is a talented actor and writer who’s appeared in such films as The Squid and the Whale, Adventureland, Zombieland, The Social Network, Now You See Me, and Batman V. Superman. His latest movie is the Sundance hit Sasquatch Sunset - go see it! Note: Headshot for this week's cover art is courtesy of Wikipedia under the (CC) license. 🐒🐒🐒 ========= 🚨🚨🚨 LIVE CHINWAG TAPINGS ANNOUNCED 🚨🚨🚨 CHINWAG is coming to a city near you! 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 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🎭👻👯‍♂️ 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. 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.  Justin Theroux is an actor, producer, director and screenwriter who’ll next be appearing in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Beetlejuice. 🎭👻👯‍♂️ ========= 🚨🚨🚨 LIVE CHINWAG TAPINGS ANNOUNCED 🚨🚨🚨 CHINWAG is coming to a city near you! 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 🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️ ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🧘🏻‍♂️🧘🏻‍♂️🧘🏻‍♂️ 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 poop and bird’s nest soup. Then, Justin on living in China, Buddhism, his experience learning meditation from David Lynch, dyslexia, and how breathwork can help prevent forward-thinking anxiety. All that and the question of preserving isolated cultures or introducing them to life-changing medicine and say, Ranch dressing. Dive in! This one reaches peak Chinwaggin’. Chin-word of the week: PERSEVERATION 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.  Justin Theroux is an actor, producer, director and screenwriter who’ll next be appearing in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Beetlejuice. 🧘🏻‍♂️🧘🏻‍♂️🧘🏻‍♂️ ========= 🚨🚨🚨 LIVE CHINWAG TAPINGS ANNOUNCED 🚨🚨🚨 CHINWAG is coming to a city near you! 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 🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️ ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

👓🎥🐦 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 Golden Globe Award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art.  Errol Morris is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker whose films include Gates of Heaven, The Fog of War, The Thin Blue Line, A Brief History of Time, American Dharma, and many more. He’s also authored two New York Times bestsellers, Believing is Seeing and A Wilderness of Error and his latest documentary, The Pigeon Tunnel about the storied life and career of spy novelist John le Carré is streaming on Apple TV+. 👓🎥🐦 ========= New eps of CHINWAG drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YOUTUBE x CHINWAG Playlists ▶️ YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Full episodes playlist: https://bit.ly/chinwagYT Animated shorts: https://bit.ly/chinwaganimations Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

📽️📽️📽️ 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 killer Ed Gein (whom Errol actually met and misses!?). Anyway, Errol Morris talked to Gein about Sigmund Freud and somehow Gein is responsible for Errol’s long and successful marriage. Lots of talk about sociopathy, psychopathy and multiple personalities follows and Paul and Stephen wonder if everything is a sort of a function of imagination and fantasy. Then, why this celebrated documentarian is fed up with the medium, and the flack he caught for doing a film on Steve Bannon. And now of course the big questions - does Errol believe in UFOs, and how does that relate to his first colonoscopy? You know you want to know – it’s all in this close-up Chinwag with Errol Morris! Bonus: What reality TV series does this legendary filmmaker watch? Paul Giamatti is a Golden Globe Award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art.  Errol Morris is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker whose films include Gates of Heaven, The Fog of War, The Thin Blue Line, A Brief History of Time, American Dharma, and many more. He’s also authored two New York Times bestsellers, Believing is Seeing and A Wilderness of Error and his latest documentary, The Pigeon Tunnel about the storied life and career of spy novelist John le Carré is streaming on Apple TV+. 📽️📽️📽️ ========= New eps of CHINWAG drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YOUTUBE x CHINWAG Playlists ▶️ YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Full episodes playlist: https://bit.ly/chinwagYT Animated shorts: https://bit.ly/chinwaganimations Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

⚔️🇳🇴🦈 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 explains in this week’s Bonus-Wag! Chin-word of the week: GRIMOIRE Paul Giamatti is a Golden Globe Award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art.  ⚔️🇳🇴🦈 ========= New eps of CHINWAG drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YOUTUBE x CHINWAG Playlists ▶️ YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Full episodes playlist: https://bit.ly/chinwagYT Animated shorts: https://bit.ly/chinwaganimations Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

👔👔👔 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 passed around the stoic text, Enchiridion of Epictetus. All that plus the news that Epicurean philosophy doesn’t come from a love of great food, infinite regress, Stephen shines a much-needed light on great female philosophers like Hildegard von Bingen, and the intermingling of religion and philosophy in the Western tradition. So grab a cocktail, as Socrates would, and settle into Part 1 of “Ask the Philosopher!”   Bonus: Did you know René Descartes invented the necktie? Stephen didn’t, but Paul’s running with it… 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. 👔👔👔 ========= 🎟️🎟️🎟️ New live taping alert!! CHINWAG is coming to Boston on Friday April 19th Tix on sale ➡ https://chinwagpod.fm/boston 🎟️🎟️🎟️ ========= New eps of CHINWAG drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YOUTUBE x CHINWAG Playlists ▶️ YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Full episodes playlist: https://bit.ly/chinwagYT Animated shorts: https://bit.ly/chinwaganimations Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🐙💭🪸 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 Chinwaggers! 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. Peter Godfrey Smith is a Professor of Biology in the School of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney. He’s also a very accomplished scuba diver and the author of many books including “Metazoa: Animal Life and the Birth of the Mind” and the best-seller “Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.” 🐙💭🪸 ========= 🎟️🎟️🎟️ New live taping alert!! CHINWAG is coming to Boston on Friday April 19th Tix on sale ➡ https://chinwagpod.fm/boston 🎟️🎟️🎟️ ========= New eps of CHINWAG drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YOUTUBE x CHINWAG Playlists ▶️ YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Full episodes playlist: https://bit.ly/chinwagYT Animated shorts: https://bit.ly/chinwaganimations Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🐺🐺🐺 Under the shadow of the full moon at the Boston Armory, Paul and Stephen tackle beastly audience questions in this live recording of Chinwag. Ever wondered why cats are such mysterious predators, or if Bela Lugosi really donned werewolf fur? The conversation shifts to popular culture’s take on werewolves, the impact of Twilight on werewolf culture, and Paul's musings on whether his role in The Holdovers is a reverse werewolf. And which of Paul’s roles stands as his all-time favorite?  Later, Paul and Stephen dive into national park disappearances and bizarre phenomena like feet washing up on the shore. Check for the full moon and stash your silver bullets because this is an episode you’ll want to sink your teeth into. Paul Giamatti is a Golden Globe award winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art.  🐺🐺🐺 ========= Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm ========= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🐙🐙🐙 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 brain architecture raises questions about the self. What’s the difference between consciousness and sentience, and does the ability to feel pain change our view of an animal? What about plants? Do sea squirts eat their own brains, and why would they do that? Is there a lights-on moment, or can one be half-conscious (like babies perhaps)? Then, is sentient AI possible, and how important is language to sentience? On to smart insects like bees and flies, and a discussion of whether brain size is a predictor of intelligence. A lot to unpack here…if you want to know what the octopus can teach us about our own minds, you’re Chinwagging in the right place! Bonus Chin-Word: PANPSYCHISM 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. Peter Godfrey Smith is a Professor of Biology in the School of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney. He’s also a very accomplished scuba diver and the author of many books including “Metazoa: Animal Life and the Birth of the Mind” and the best-seller “Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.” 🐙🐙🐙 ========= 🎟️🎟️🎟️ New live taping alert!! CHINWAG is coming to Boston on Friday April 19th Tix on sale ➡ https://chinwagpod.fm/boston 🎟️🎟️🎟️ ========= New eps of CHINWAG drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YOUTUBE x CHINWAG Playlists ▶️ YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Full episodes playlist: https://bit.ly/chinwagYT Animated shorts: https://bit.ly/chinwaganimations Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

📊🔢🧮📐 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 civilization’s ability to remain detectable? Is there a ticking clock to our existence, and what’s Twinkie-lung got to do with all this? 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. 📊🔢🧮📐 ========= New eps of CHINWAG drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YOUTUBE x CHINWAG Playlists ▶️ YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Full episodes playlist: https://bit.ly/chinwagYT Animated shorts: https://bit.ly/chinwaganimations Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🦑🦑🦑 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 deep blue. Yes, it all goes back to the hollow earth! We only know 2% about the ocean, but after this, perhaps even less! Bonus: Another story about Paul getting peed on! 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. 🦑🦑🦑 ========= Bonus Chin-Word: PANSPERMIA ========= New eps of CHINWAG drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YOUTUBE x CHINWAG Playlists ▶️ YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Full episodes playlist: https://bit.ly/chinwagYT Animated shorts: https://bit.ly/chinwaganimations Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

📫💭📆 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 the philosophy of science, religion, and art. 📫💭📆 ========= New eps of CHINWAG drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YOUTUBE x CHINWAG Playlists ▶️ YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Full episodes playlist: https://bit.ly/chinwagYT Animated shorts: https://bit.ly/chinwaganimations Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🔱🔱🔱 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 Bermuda Triangle myth, and the fact that no one actually has the vaguest sense of where the Bermuda Triangle begins or ends! Hear tales of disappearing ships like the USS Cyclops that helped build the mythos of the Bermuda Triangle (and its sister ship that also went missing years later - creepy!). Paul reveals a Speilberg Easter egg, many tales of boats and planes gone missing without a trace, and the unusual case of Donald Crowhurst, amateur sailor. Are these unexplained occurrences due to human error, magnetic fields, harsh weather, or a hoax? And our new tagline “Chinwag: Bear with Me” is born! Would you buy the t-shirt?? Ahoy! It’s a veritable Chinwag ahead! Bonus: Paul’s dramatic reading of the 1950s NY Times piece that first mentioned the mysteries surrounding the massive, mysterious swath of land later known as The Bermuda Triangle. 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. 🔱🔱🔱 ========= Bonus Chin-Word: SARGASSUM ========= New eps of CHINWAG drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YOUTUBE x CHINWAG Playlists ▶️ YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Full episodes playlist: https://bit.ly/chinwagYT Animated shorts: https://bit.ly/chinwaganimations Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

👐🏼✝️👐🏼 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 philosophy of science, religion, and art.  The Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo is on tour. Check out www.TheresaCaputo.com for more information. 👐🏼✝️👐🏼 ========= New eps of CHINWAG drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YOUTUBE x CHINWAG Playlists ▶️ YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Full episodes playlist: https://bit.ly/chinwagYT Animated shorts: https://bit.ly/chinwaganimations Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🐄🐄🐄 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, encounters with man, or the supernatural? You decide Chinwaggers!   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. Chris Gethard is a comedian, author, actor and host of the Beautiful/Anonymous podcast which was recently adapted into a 4-part series streaming on Topic. He also wrote the book “Weird New York” and hosts the podcast New Jersey is the World, a celebration of his home state. If you want to see Chris live, check out his tour dates on chrisgeth.com. 🐄🐄🐄 ========= Bonus Chin-Word: ONG'S HAT ========= New eps of CHINWAG drop Wednesdays for free... n(🧊) Make sure to follow us @chinwagpod 👉🏼 IG: https://www.instagram.com/chinwagpod/ Tik: https://www.tiktok.com/@chinwagpod Website: http://chinwagpod.fm YOUTUBE x CHINWAG Playlists ▶️ YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chinwagpod Full episodes playlist: https://bit.ly/chinwagYT Animated shorts: https://bit.ly/chinwaganimations Send your stories, Qs, or thoughts to 📧 questions [at] chinwagpod [dot] fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices