Paul Giamatti’s CHINWAG with Stephen Asma

Comedian Chris Gethard shares spooky tales from Weird NJ, including encounters with eerie cows, a flannel-wearing Bigfoot, and discussions on paranormal vs. man-made fears. The podcast takes a deep dive into supernatural encounters, Bigfoot confrontations, unsettling events in Nashannik Station, the mysterious Cicada Project, and wraps up with a teaser for a bonus episode featuring Teresa Caputo.

Paul Giamatti, Stephen Asma, and Chris Gethard discuss conspiracy theories, Pizzagate rumors, Mount Shasta mysteries, high school tales, and fan encounters with a psychic goldfish. The hosts share weird and entertaining stories from their live audience, making for a fun and quirky episode.

🗑️🗑️🗑️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 California’s Mount Shasta and the Lemurians rumored to live within its hollow core.Then, talk of the I Am Temple church, Alcatraz’s haunted past, and thoughts on why people need to believe in the unknown and unexplained. Also Valiant Thor, Bigfoot, religious impulses and ascended masters. And what’s this all have to do with the Avengers movies?Finally, it’s what you’ve all been waiting for - Paul on the theremin and Stephen on guitar!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.🗑️🗑️🗑️=========📋 Please help us by completing our Chinwagger Survey 👉🏼 https://gum.fm/chinwag 📋=========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 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 suggest we’re really afraid of? All that and yes, vampirism!BONUS BONUS: In traditional folklore, what do zombies eat to cause them to regain consciousness and rebury themselves? The answer in this Chinwag!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. Lisa Morton is a screenwriter, author, 6-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, and a renowned expert on Halloween and the paranormal. Her recent books include Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances and The Art of the Zombie Movie. She also hosts the weekly podcast “The Ghost Report with Lisa Morton.”  📋 Please help us by completing our Chinwagger Survey 👉🏼 https://gum.fm/chinwag 📋🧟🪦🧟‍♀️=========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

Join Paul and Stephen as they chat with Lisa Morton about the history of spiritualism, mediums, ouija boards, and more. From seances at the Stanley Hotel to regurgitated ectoplasm, they cover it all. Learn about famous mediums, surrealism, and how wars trigger paranormal beliefs.

🇷🇺😵‍💫🌀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 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 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 “Mad Gasser of Mattoon” (look it up!), dancing manias in the Middle Ages, uncontrollable contagious laughing bouts, ergot poisoning, and the little-known Seattle windshield-pitting epidemic of 1954. Stephen takes a left turn into porn (we’ll let him explain) and flexes theoretical causes like socio political stressors, media and cultural influence, and of course, mirror neurons. It all comes back around to Havana Syndrome, psychogenic phenomena, and wait for it, PENIS THEFT.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 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

🤠🤠🤠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 licked, so they went straight to the source - to you, our loyal fans. And you responded in droves! And again, Paul and Stephen are schooled at the knee of you all-knowing Chinwaggers. Listen in and learn this special nugget of knowledge, and then feel free to drop it into conversation at your next dinner party! You’ll look wicked smart and be sure to be asked back!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.Sarah Vowell is an author, journalist, essayist, social commentator and actress. She has written seven nonfiction books on American history and culture including Assassination Vacation, The Wordy Shipmates, and The Partly Cloudy Patriot. She was also the voice of Violet in the 2004 animated film The Incredibles and its 2018 sequel.🤠🤠🤠=========📋 Please help us get to know you better by completing our Chinwagger Survey 👉🏼 https://gum.fm/chinwag 📋=========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

🌺🌺🌺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 how renowned classicist Mary Beard’s approach to the Roman everyman is why she’ll win any debate. Also, what writing about Hawaii taught Sarah about herself, and convinced her she may not want to tackle Rome in a future book. And what’s the use of all this history anyway? Let us know what YOU think -- Chinwaggers, we want to hear from you!Vocab Chin-Word of the Week: KUMOLIPOPaul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. Sarah Vowell is an author, journalist, essayist, social commentator and actress. She has written seven nonfiction books on American history and culture including Assassination Vacation, The Wordy Shipmates, and The Partly Cloudy Patriot. She was also the voice of Violet in the 2004 animated film The Incredibles and its 2018 sequel.🌺🌺🌺=========📋 Please help us get to know you better by completing our Chinwagger Survey 👉🏼 https://gum.fm/chinwag 📋 =========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

👻🥞🥤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. Natasha Lyonne is an actor, director, writer and producer whose recent projects include Netflix’s Orange is the New Black and Russian Doll, which she also co-created, wrote, produced & directed. Next she’ll appear in the film His Three Daughters and the 2nd season of Peacock’s Poker Face. She also directed the new Netflix comedy special Jacqueline Novak: Get On Your Knees!👻🥞🥤=========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