Paul Giamatti

Shows

Episodes

  1. Philosophy of Film 101 with Bill Hader

    02/19/2025

    Philosophy of Film 101 with Bill Hader

    🎞️🪖🤡 The incredible Bill Hader drops by Office Hours to dig deep into film, philosophy, and all the weird stuff in between. He breaks down how Taxi Driver and The Thin Red Line made a mark on his psyche, why horror movies are masters at playing with tension, and how directors like Sam Fuller and Terrence Malick weave big existential questions into their work.   Bill and Stephen also dive into the murky morality of Barry, the blurred lines between good and evil, and why we’re all a little obsessed with antiheroes like Tony Soprano and the Joker. Bill opens up about his true crime fixation and how filmmakers like Kubrick and the Coen Brothers use dark humor to explore life’s chaos.   From cosmic horror to cinematic villains, this episode is packed with laughs, wild insights, and plenty of deep dives into why movies mess with our heads in the best way possible. 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.  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 HBO 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

    1h 10m
  2. The Twilight Zone and the Matrix We Live In

    12/04/2024

    The Twilight Zone and the Matrix We Live In

    📺🤖🧐 We’re dipping into the Wagbag as Paul and Stephen kick off a fascinating journey into the Twilight Zone, sparked by a letter from Christopher! Join the lads as they share their favorite episodes like “Time Enough at Last,” “To Serve Man,” and “The Eye of the Beholder,” and celebrate the genius of Rod Serling. The conversation broadens to explore early Hollywood television, highlighting Serling's cultural impact through works like Requiem for a Heavyweight and Planet of the Apes. This is classic Chinwag: part Hollywood history, part existential rabbit hole, all fascinating. Plus, Paul reminisces about his early days in soap operas: why are they called that, anyway? And what made Dark Shadows such a cult gem? With a dash of TV oddities—from Ed Wood to the rise of reality shows—this segment is a smorgasbord of nostalgia, oddball trivia, and quirky asides. Then, we’re stepping into Office Hours with the professor, where he unpacks the daunting question: are we living in a simulation? Can AI, alien civilizations, or an evil genius be behind the game we call life? And even if we are in a simulation, does that strip away meaning—or open new ways to find it? Tune in for an eye-opening journey through philosophy, science fiction, and the unexpected twists of reality. 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. 📺🤖🧐 ========= 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

    49 min
  3. Bruce Campbell's Cosmic Awakening

    12/13/2023

    Bruce Campbell's Cosmic Awakening

    🌌🌌🌌 Paul and Stephen are joined by raconteur, actor, author and Hawaiian shirt expert, Bruce Campbell. Tune in to hear about the first time he smoked weed on the set of Evil Dead (yes he got high), how moonshine was used to keep warm, and how Bruce keeps himself amused at horror film conventions. Plus, that time he went in search of the BigFoot trap near his house in Oregon, and heard an eyewitness account from a Sasquatch true believer (he met in a bar). Go deep with our hosts as Bruce explains how perception is changed by shape-shifting realities, and hear the precise moment Bruce found cosmic wisdom while sitting in an epic LA traffic jam. Oh yes and that time Bruce saw a UFO during a phone interview! Stay tuned for tales of the paranormal and ghostly entries from Bruce’s grandfather’s WWI diary. It’s all on this week’s Chinwag with The Chin himself! 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. Bruce Campbell is an actor and filmmaker who played Ash Williams in the hit horror cult franchise Evil Dead. He’s also a prolific author who wrote back-to-back New York Times Best Sellers, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor, and Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way. 🌌🌌🌌 ========= Vocab Chin-Word of the Week: TRANSCENDENTALISM ========= 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

    55 min
  4. Members Only: Secret Societies and Alchemy

    10/02/2024

    Members Only: Secret Societies and Alchemy

    🧙‍♂️✨👺 Join Paul and Stephen on a wild ride through forgotten lore, secret societies, and the mystical world of alchemy recorded live at Spotify Studios in Los Angeles! Our hosts join forces with special guest Jim Gavin, creator of Lodge 49 and novelist extraordinaire. The trio unravels the hidden links between the Masons and the Templars, delving into their evolution from Europe’s first bankers to whispered accusations of witchcraft and Satanism.  But that’s just the beginning! Jim sheds light on the two faces of alchemy—philosophical and chemical—guiding us through the quest for the legendary Philosopher’s Stone. Plus, meet Paracelsus, the eccentric Swiss wanderer who swapped cow dung for cleanliness in medicine and became a pioneer of modern hygiene. And if you think that’s wild, wait until you hear about the bizarre first step to creating life—using petrified sperm, a gourd, and a horse’s womb to make a homunculus! Curious? You should be. Chin-Word of the Week: ROSICRUCIANISM 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

    36 min
  5. CHINWAG LIVE: Bill Hader Unleashed and Waggin'

    06/19/2024

    CHINWAG LIVE: Bill Hader Unleashed and Waggin'

    🎬🍿🎞 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

    1h 4m
  6. Max Headroom, More Mothersbaugh

    01/29/2025

    Max Headroom, More Mothersbaugh

    🏴‍☠️🍔🥶 Join Paul and Stephen for a double feature that kicks off with a dip into the Wag Bag! Dave writes in about the May Day Mystery, which somehow spirals into airtime pirates, the Max Headroom hijacking, the Ashtar Galactic Federation, and the meaning of this entire podcast (yes, we go there). Then, DEVO co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh crashes the party to talk time travel, AI, Neuralink, and—wait for it—cheeseburgers having sex. He spills on aliens, ghosts, and the time Timothy Leary casually mentioned his cryogenic freezing plans. Meanwhile, Stephen reveals his caveman preference for staying offline forever. The trio also tackles sensory deprivation tanks, tour bus naps, John Lilly chatting with dolphins, and even Dick Tracy. This is a weird one folks… 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.  Mark Mothersbaugh is an artist, composer, and co-founder of the influential rock group DEVO. His latest art book titled Apotropaic Beatnik Graffiti is a collection of neo-dada streams of conscious visual poetry. 🏴‍☠️🍔🥶 ========= 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

    39 min
  7. Stephen Colbert Pt 2:  More Magical Thoughts

    09/27/2023

    Stephen Colbert Pt 2: More Magical Thoughts

    🧙🏻‍♂️🧙🏻‍♂️🧙🏻‍♂️ Catch PART 2 of Paul and Stephen’s dip into the profoundly thoughtful mind of Mr. Stephen Colbert. Explore the power of prayer and magical thinking, the importance of unlearning what you know, and Paul and Colbert’s shared love of sci-fi, or as Stephen Asma calls it, “Gandalf and sh*t.” What’s the difference between sci-fi and fantasy, and can Lord of the Rings help process one’s grief? Tune in for musings on improvisation, zen master Amy Sedaris, and the fantastic conclusion to Colbert’s inspirational chance meeting with astronaut, Orly. Stephen Colbert is an Emmy award winning writer, performer and late night host who also loves to fish. 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. 🧙🏻‍♂️🧙🏻‍♂️🧙🏻‍♂️ ========= A special shout out to Mary Ellen Matthews, who provided such a beautiful headshot of Mr. Colbert for the episodic artwork. More on MEM's portfolio here: https://www.instagram.com/maryellenmatthewsnyc/ ========= 🎥 CATCH A LIVE RECORDING OF CHINWAG 🎥 October 14th at MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA October 17th at the Murmrr Theatre in Brooklyn, NY 🎟️ Buy Tickets before they sell out! 🎟️ ========= New episodes of CHINWAG 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    43 min