Paul Giamatti’s CHINWAG with Stephen Asma

🌋🏹🐷

This is it. The wag of all wags. The waggiest wag to ever wag. The final wag. But this one’s for you, Waggers—so we’re diving into the WagBag one last time.

Schrödinger’s cat, Pompeii, volcanoes—oh my! We’re tackling everything from gulags to the greatest literary whodunit of all time: Did Shakespeare actually write his own plays? (Or was it, like, some guy named Francis?)

And because no farewell would be complete without a little chaos, Paul and Stephen are getting their Nick Cage on—yes, it’s finally time to steal the Voynich Manuscript.

Oh, and after this episode? You’ll never hear the word piggyback the same way again.

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. 

🌋🏹🐷

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WANT MORE STEPHEN?

Check out his Youtube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/@GuideToUnusualKnowledge

And catch him as The Monster Guide on the Storyrabbit app. Download here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/storyrabbit/id6502330315

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🎞️🪖🤡

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. 

🎞️🪖🤡

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🐢🎸🌆

Paul and Stephen’s Q&A at Harvard! Megaliths! French comics where Gauls endlessly pummel Romans. Paul’s unexpected relationship with the theremin. And the big question—should Paul and Stephen finally start their paranormal blues band? Theremin, guitar… what more do you need? Let us know in the comments if you’d give that album a listen. Plus, will today’s skyscrapers become the megaliths of the future? 

And stay tuned for a special treat—live from Sketchfest in San Francisco, Stephen sits down with Beth Lisick and Arline Klatz at the iconic Great American Music Hall for their fantastic Porchlight Storytelling Series. Stephen shares a pretty wild story that of course combines extreme sledding, the Great Wall of China, and male enhancement. You know the drill, Waggers!

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. 

🐢🎸🌆

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🗿🗿🗿

Live from the hallowed halls of Harvard University, Paul and Stephen tackle one of the universe's greatest enigmas: monoliths. What's the deal with Stonehenge? Why were mysterious bodies buried nearby? Are aliens behind these stone wonders, or is it just really bored Druids? Paul’s got theories—and a suspicious amount of insider knowledge. Did he really climb Stonehenge? And how in the world did he fall asleep in a neolithic tomb?

Animal carvings, Gobekli Tepe, and a mini ice age—yes, all in one episode. Don’t miss this whimsical wander through history’s strangest rock stars!

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. 

🗿🗿🗿

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🏴‍☠️🍔🥶

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.

🏴‍☠️🍔🥶

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👽🛸👾

Brace yourself for an intergalactic Chinwag as Professor Asma brings you into Office Hours to take on the ultimate extraterrestrial thought experiment: how would we deal with aliens? From UN protocols and risk management strategies to spotting laser pulses and heat signatures, they explore the practical, the philosophical, and the downright bizarre. Stephen looks at sci-fi classics like HG Wells’ War of the Worlds, and contemporary works like Zixin Liu’s Three-Body Problem.

Do aliens think like us, or is their science beyond our logic? Could ancient Cambodians have glimpsed serpentine visitors from the stars? And is it possible to think of aliens as modern-day gods? This cosmic wag is out of this world—don’t 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.

👽🛸👾

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🧜‍♂️👻👹

Paul and Stephen hit Town Hall in Seattle for a wild audience Q&A. Paul’s crowned King of Neptune, a Brooklynite gets deep with hardcore Buddhist philosophy, and Bigfoot? He’s back—and Stephen’s sure he’s still out there, buried somewhere. Fans fire off questions about ghosts, cryptids, mermaids, and Guillermo del Toro… 

Later, Stephen drops a demon-hunting masterclass in Office Hours, featuring St. Anthony, St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Heinrich Kramer, the Inquisitor.

Buckle up, Waggers—this one’s a ride!

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.

🧜‍♂️👻👹

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🧜🦕🦇

Live from Town Hall Seattle, Paul and Stephen venture into the Pacific Northwest’s strangest and creepiest cryptids. What’s the deal with Batsquatch, the massive winged terror spotted near Mount Rainier? Or the Gumbaroo, a rubbery bear-like creature rumored to explode during forest fires? They also unearth the legend of the dog-headed saint—how does it stack up on the ultimate creepiness test? And let’s not forget "Caddy," the mysterious sea serpent lurking in Puget Sound. Packed with weird tales, sharp insights, and a dash of humor, this episode is a thrilling exploration of the eerie unknown.

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.

🧜🦕🦇

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🎆🎆🎆

To ring in the New Year, we’re celebrating with a special encore featuring Natasha Lyonne, where the conversation takes a wonderfully strange and quantum-tinged turn. Paul and Stephen read a letter from a very interesting Wagger before they follow Natasha around her home, feed Rootbeer the dog, and uncover her unusual bedtime habit: falling asleep to quantum physics audiobooks. Hear why discipline and restraint and the structure of mathematics is grounding and leads to talk of Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, and Peter Sellers.

Paul quotes French writer Gustave Flaubert and kills the vibe, and this is before he reveals his desire to try cat food. Natasha’s man of choice is a doomsday prepper and there’s a crisis in American masculinity (ask yourself men, can you fix a toilet?) Next they go deep into body horror films, and Natasha goes down a Google search rabbit hole about the movie Slither (not a Cronenberg picture). Existentialism is definitively defined (thanks Stephen!), Russian Doll is unpacked, along with Kierkegard, Ted Chiang, and Albert Camus. That’s a LOT - thanks Natasha! And have a happy New Year!

Natasha Lyonne, an actress, writer, and producer, is best known for her roles in Poker Face, Orange Is the New Black and the acclaimed Russian Doll, which she co-created and stars in.

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.

🎆🎆🎆

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🥳🎁🎄

This holiday season, we’re looking back at one of our favorite guests of 2024, with an encore incomparable Paul Rudd recorded live from Brooklyn! Two Pauls and one Stephen dive into fears, phobias, and weird childhood memories, exploring everything from stage fright to public speaking. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Chinwag without creepy puppets, recurring nightmares, and tales of real-life bears on a movie set. Ring in the joy, laughs, and a touch of weirdness—perfect for the holiday season!

Paul Rudd is an American actor known for films like Clueless, Anchorman, and his role as Ant-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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.

🥳🎁🎄

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