🔮🔮🔮

Recorded live from the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), Paul and Stephen discuss the power and historical impact of Nostradamus, prophets and clairvoyants.

Who was Nostradamus and how did his vague predictions make him a legend in his time? Paul and Stephen reveal his cure for the plague and explain Nostradamus’s popularity in times of crisis. Was he just a shitty astrologer and what’s he got to do with Hitler? What’s the difference between clairvoyance and prophecy, and does a good con artist actually believe his own bullshit? Plus, Paul explains different methods of divination, the age-old tradition of tripping on nutmeg, and the real meaning of “mellow yellow.”

Bonus: Jackie Stallone’s theory of rumpology (it’s exactly what you think)

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Vocab Chin-Word of the Week: SCRYING

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☸️🙃⚛️

Paul, Stephen and fiction writer Ted Chiang discuss the pros and cons of our fallible memories and the human technological interface.

Is that fight with your partner about “who said what” an essential part of developing a human relationship, or is none of that even the point? Is adopting a pact of truth and reconciliation the path forward in relationships as it is in some countries’ politics? Ted discusses the question of self-identity; are we defined by our memories and shared experiences, and how is the “self” affected by changing technology? Does Chiang believe in an immaterial soul or are we only a collection of atoms? And why do many believe materialism implies nihilism when we can make meaning with our own guiding morals?

All this and more on existentialist thought, karma, AI, and moral philosophy! What else could you want? Dig in Waggers!

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.

Ted Chiang is a fiction writer whose works have won him four Hugo, four Nebula, and four Locus awards. He has been featured in The Best American Short Stories and has authored two collections, Exhalation and Stories of Your Life and Others. The title story from Stories was adapted into the feature film Arrival. Chiang is also a frequent non-fiction contributor to the New Yorker Magazine, most recently on topics related to computer technology, and artificial intelligence.

☸️🙃⚛️

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BONUS Chin-Word of the Week: OMPHALOS

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🦾🦾🦾

In this Chinwag, Paul and Stephen are thrilled to be subject to fascinating thought experiments by award-winning fiction writer Ted Chiang. Up for the discussion?

The difference between fact and fiction when it comes to the existence of alien life, and whether Paul is indeed an assassin because he played one in an action film Ted once saw. Imaginations are running amok and people can’t differentiate between what’s real and what isn’t. Is social media to blame or was The National Enquirer the social media of yester-year? Online echo chambers and the dangerous speed of information may be a culprit for conspiracy theories. And is belief in aliens and monsters in pop culture a direct response to higher anxiety levels and an externalization of neuroses? Then, what is singularity and was it born with the invention of the wheel?

Paul and Stephen are happy to learn that Ted’s not afraid that AI will take over, but the natural desire to do less work may lead to more romances between humans and AI robots. So buckle up and plug in your lady-cyborg and get ready for an all new fascinating 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.

Ted Chiang is a fiction writer whose works have won him four Hugo, four Nebula, and four Locus awards. He has been featured in The Best American Short Stories and has authored two collections, Exhalation and Stories of Your Life and Others. The title story from Stories was adapted into the feature film Arrival. Chiang is also a frequent non-fiction contributor to the New Yorker Magazine, most recently on topics related to computer technology, and artificial intelligence.

🦾🦾🦾

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Vocab Chin-Word of the Week: OMPHALOS

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿✍🏼🇺🇸

Welcome to the Bonus-wag with Neil Gaiman!

Neil's got a needy actor story that Paul relates to and understands. How being a Brit helps Neil write about America with the perfect amount of detachment to see it clearly. And is America the land of the trickster and huckster? How are George Santos and Donald Trump perfectly American creations and why are they celebrated?

All this and John Wayne Bobbitt comes up (Google him, ywsm!).

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.

Neil Gaiman is an award-winning, New York Times Best Selling author and prolific creator of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama. His works include the comic book series The Sandman and the novels Good Omens, Stardust, Anansi Boys, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. Neil is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN refugee agency UNHCR and his latest book What You Need To Be Warm is available now and every copy purchased helps refugees stay warm this winter.

📸 credit: Beowulf Sheehan

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿✍🏼🇺🇸

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BONUS Chin-Word of the Week: APOTHEOSIS

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🎄🎄🎄

Wanna go on a tour of fringe places to visit with Paul, Stephen, and award-winning author Neil Gaiman?

Paul, Stephen and Neil love a weird outing and this episode introduces you to a bevy of greats. From Wisconsin’s own House on the Rock, to the Winchester Mystery House. Hear about the Museum of Jurassic Technology in LA, the Soviet Arctic Exploration Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania. If these sound like a dream vacation itinerary, then this is the Chinwag for you!

Plus, Neil recalls the time someone tried to sell him Tang Dynasty antiquities from a museum in China…but at rock bottom prices! Dramatic readings of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and why the Brits love a good, creepy ghost story at Christmas time. Also, Norse Mythology, trickster gods, and why it’s healthy for children to be scared. Also, Gaiman on ghosts, the real definition of bravery, and which body part most helps Paul get into character. It’ll surprise you!

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.

Neil Gaiman is an award-winning, New York Times Best Selling author and prolific creator of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama. His works include the comic book series The Sandman and the novels Good Omens, Stardust, Anansi Boys, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. Neil is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN refugee agency UNHCR and his latest book What You Need To Be Warm is available now and every copy purchased helps refugees stay warm this winter.

📸 credit: Beowulf Sheehan

🎄🎄🎄

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Vocab Chin-Word of the Week: LIMINAL

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🏦 💰 🚔

More behind-the-scenes chat and wisdom with actor, filmmaker, and author Bruce Campbell!

Bruce’s Christian Science upbringing and how it led him on his own spiritual journey. Why humor and horror are a winning combination, and old school Hollywood yarns about Lee Majors, Larry Fine, the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Harry Houdini, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (including impressions).

Paul and Bruce lament their many close-calls on TV and film sets, and why they’ve reluctantly stopped doing their own stunts. All this and Bruce’s silent but almost-deadly turn on Xena Warrior Princess and that time he robbed a bank and drove the getaway car 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.

🏦 💰 🚔

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🌌🌌🌌

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.

🌌🌌🌌

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Vocab Chin-Word of the Week: TRANSCENDENTALISM

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⏳⏳⏳

Part 2 of Paul and Stephen’s chat with Academy Award winning actor, writer, and author Tom Hanks.

Why are time travel fantasies perfect escapes 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 going forward into the future? Tom shares cautionary food for thought from Thornton Wilder and Charleton Heston, and 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 real “golden age”? Tom explains what it is to be a “presentist”, why he’s a bit of a skeptic, and the guys chew on whether or not human nature has 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.

⏳⏳⏳

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Vocab Chin-Word of the Week: PRESENTIST

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🍠🍠🍠

Academy Award winning actor, writer, author and all-around wonderful human Tom Hanks joins Paul and Stephen to help unload specious facts about Quebec, Canada (lowest marriage rate in the world!), Blue Zones and the importance of purple yams.

Paul, Stephen and Tom discuss the speed of information, Chat GPT, cognitive dissonance in AI, and 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 a baseball/acting analogy that puts it all in perspective.

Stick around to hear about Tom’s debut fiction novel The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, the ecosystem and unsung heroes of the Hollywood movie set (focus pullers!) and the thing MOST discussed on set? It’s not what you think! 

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.

🍠🍠🍠

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Vocab Chin-Word of the Week: SPECIOUS

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☥🪦🍕

Bonus time with comedian, writer, director and author Mike Birbiglia.

The guys discuss their thoughts on leaving a legacy, art as a path to immortality, and the enduring comedy of Charlie Chaplin and W.C. Fields. Also, what’s the career advice one should never pass on to others? Lastly, Mike’s love of pizza (and the word “plaza”) leads to the end of the debate on the country’s best pizza. Is it New Haven, NYC, or Chicago? And what’s the correct amount of pizza for one person? Hint: it’s not the whole pie.

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.

Mike Birbiglia is a comedian, actor, storyteller, director, producer, and writer. His podcast Working It Out is available wherever you get your podcasts, and his hit Broadway show Old Man & The Pool is now his latest Netflix Comedy Special of the same name.

☥🪦🍕

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