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Paul Giamatti’s CHINWAG with Stephen Asma

The Twilight Zone and the Matrix We Live In

Paul Giamatti’s CHINWAG with Stephen Asma

Treefort Media & Touchy Feely Films

History, Society & Culture, Science

4.92K Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2024

⏱️ 46 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

📺🤖🧐 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

Transcript

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0:00.0

Professor, how is your sleep these days? It could be better. It could always be better.

0:07.7

I understand. I understand. I'm here to save the day, Steve. I highly recommend you check out

0:12.1

Miracle Maid's bed sheets. Did you know that your temperature night can have one of the greatest

0:15.9

impacts on your sleep quality? Oh yeah, I agree. I'm here to tell you, absolutely. Miracle made uses silver-infused

0:22.7

fabrics so you can sleep at the perfect temperature all night long. Silver, Steve. Nice. Silver. I've

0:29.1

tried these. One of the best sleeps of my life. And listen, they're inspired by NASA as well.

0:34.7

NASA, Steve. That's the science. Science, Steve. So go to try miracle.com

0:41.3

slash chinwag to try it today or gift it to someone you love. And we got a special deal for

0:46.0

our listeners save over 40%. And if you use our promo chinwag at checkout, you'll get three free

0:52.0

towels and save an extra 20%.

0:54.9

Miracle's so confident in their product, it's backed with a 30-day money-back guarantee,

0:58.9

so if you aren't 100% satisfied, you'll get a full refund.

1:02.6

Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made.

1:04.7

Go to try miracle.com slash chinwag and use the code Chinwag to claim your free three-piece

1:09.8

towel set and save over 40% off.

1:12.3

Again, that's try miracle.com slash chinwag to treat yourself.

1:17.2

And thank you, Miracle Made for sponsoringma here, reporting for duty.

1:41.1

And today, we've got a great one.

1:43.5

I've got a special office hours where I'm

1:45.6

jumping into one of my favorite topics of discussion, namely the question, are we living in a

1:51.6

simulation? This has gotten very hot lately, very interesting stuff. Maybe we're trapped in a video

1:57.5

game, but we don't know it. Fascinating. As Paul would say, fascinating.

...

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