Paul Giamatti’s CHINWAG with Stephen Asma

🌒🌒🌒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 PAREIDOLIAPaul 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: SISYPHEANPaul 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 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: HERMENEUTICSPaul 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: PERSEVERATIONPaul 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