Paul Giamatti

Shows

Episodes

  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. The Great Fortean Taylor Swift Conspiracy

    12/18/2024

    The Great Fortean Taylor Swift Conspiracy

    🐰👣😱 Paul and Stephen welcome back Ian Simmons from the Fortean Times for another dive into the eccentric, the uncanny, and the downright bizarre. In this episode, the trio explores everything from conspiracy theories’ transformation from quirky fun to dangerous obsession, to the KLF’s wild antics, including burning a million pounds and wielding fake machine guns. They also venture into giant rabbit sightings, Taylor Swift’s rumored occult connections, and the enduring weirdness of Aleister Crowley’s alleged descendants. They dive deep into the mysteries behind Havana Syndrome and explore the strange intersections of social panics, urban legends, and technological anomalies. From phantom jetpack sightings and the eerie behavior of drones near military sites, they weave through bizarre contemporary events with the precision of conspiracy theorists—minus the paranoia. It’s a freewheeling Chinwag filled with folklore, conspiracies, and questions best left unanswered. Wag on, weirdos! Ian Simmons is the News Editor of Fortean Times, the world's leading magazine for weird news. He has written for Fortean for over 30 years. 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

  4. ENCORE: Hanksgiving

    11/27/2024

    ENCORE: Hanksgiving

    🦃🎞️⏳ As we approach Thanksgiving, we're revisiting one of our favorite conversations with the legendary Tom Hanks. Paul, Stephen, and Tom discuss the speed of information, ChatGPT, cognitive dissonance in AI, and even question the use of Waze to beat traffic. How have our memories changed since the advent of cell phones? Are acting skills useful when it comes to writing a book? Plus, Tom still recalls his Bosom Buddies co-star Peter Scolari’s lines from 1980 and shares a baseball/acting analogy that puts it all in perspective. Why are time travel fantasies the perfect escape, and where does Tom dream of going? What’s the logic of time travel, and what would be better: going back to the past or moving forward into the future? Tom shares cautionary food for thought from Thornton Wilder and Charlton Heston, along with lessons gleaned from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes. Also, what are the rules of infidelity in time travel, and has there ever been a true golden age? Tom explains what it means to be a “presentist,” why he’s a bit of a skeptic, and joins the guys in exploring whether or not human nature has really changed over time. 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. Tom Hanks is a 2-time Academy Award winning actor, writer and author. His novel The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece is a New York Times Best Seller. His charitable coffee line, Hanx: For Our Troops, can be found at givehanx.com or on instagram @givehanx. All profits go to those who serve, and their families. 🦃🎞️⏳ ========= 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

  5. Stuff You Should Chinwag About with the Silurian Hypothesis

    05/29/2024

    Stuff You Should Chinwag About with the Silurian Hypothesis

    ☢️☢️☢️ 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

  6. 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

  7. Paul Reads H.P. Lovecraft Part 3

    11/13/2024

    Paul Reads H.P. Lovecraft Part 3

    🌌☄️☠️ In this third and final installment, Paul reads aloud the eerie saga of The Colour Out of Space, one of his favorite stories from the master of cosmic horror, H.P. Lovecraft.  So far in our reading, we felt the creeping dread as the Gardner farm transformed under the influence of a sinister meteorite. Strange colors, twisted vegetation, and a growing sense of madness gripped Nahum Gardner and his family. But the worst is yet to come. In Part Three, the horrors deepen. A member of the Gardner family vanishes without a trace, and what Ammi Pierce discovers will leave you questioning reality itself.  What unspeakable secrets lie in the well? What force drives the cursed light spreading through the trees? As Ammi Pierce faces the final horrors of the Blasted Heath, prepare for a chilling conclusion that will haunt you long after the episode ends. What is lurking in that ancient well... and will anyone escape its grasp? Tune in for the epic finale of The Color Out of Space. You won't want to miss it. 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