Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

Jesse Bering is an award-winning science writer specializing in evolutionary psychology and human behaviour. He is the author of The Incredible Afterlives of Dr. Stevenson, about the world's leading reincarnation researcher. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Peter Michael Bauer is an internationally known leader in the cultural rewilding movement. For over 20 years he has written and taught about rewilding. He has served as an expert source in multiple academic articles and books on the subject. He is the founder and director of Rewild Portland, a trend setting community based nonprofit. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Tao is a magical man, living a magical life. Film director, musician, philosopher, bon-vivant, and all-around lovely human being. I’m thrilled to bring him back into our party again (for the fourth time?). Anya, Tao and I recorded this in our van at his recent 50th birthday celebration. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

I got an email from a guy named Nick, who suggested I might like to meet his buddy, Ryley, who happened to be in Baja. I could sense the love and respect Nick felt for his friend. And then fate placed Ryley just a few miles down the coast from where we were camped out, so it all came together pretty organically. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comProbably our last AROMA from Baja. This one comes to you from a campfire on the beach. We talk about education, the war in Iran, and the ones who walk away from Omelas, among other things.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comIn this one we talk about our reactions to “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” by Ursula K. LeGuin. Is there any walking away? What are we walking away from? Is there a way to live in this world without the stain of guilt and corruption? What does it mean to be in the world but not of it?

We figure out the framing a minute in. Thank you Nickalas Chisari, Bob Goldsmith, Dustin Fenster, Devin McManus, Raymundo Ortiz, and many others for tuning into our live video! Join us for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Barbara, Anya’s grandmother, has lived a full life of 91 years and going strong. She’s lived all over the world, raised two sons, studied Jungian psychology, loved and lost and loved some more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comUpdates on our Mexico travels, my attempts to master the flip-flop, my dermatological disabilities, Anya’s thing for older men (and why older isn’t necessarily better), and the blessings and burdens of being recognized for who we really are (and the complicated role of the recognizer).

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comWe respond to questions from listeners about therapy, whether shame fuels eroticism, why neither of us wants to have kids (or dogs), and whether we are in an “age inappropriate” relationship.

Greetings from the lagoon in the oasis town of San Ignacio, Baja Sur, Mexico. We talk about our (maybe) upcoming retreat this summer in Montana, answer a few listener questions (Chomsky/Pinker and Epstein), talk about the wind at our backs, and driving in Baja. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comI tell my Peter Attia story and we explore the nature of evil on Epstein Island. Are we all evil? How can we know? Are there justifications for the worst crimes? How can we minimize the harm we cause when we live in a world in which harm is unavoidable?

One of the best things about Crestone is that it attracts people like Goldie. She came here to build an Earthship with her partner, Matt, and everyone agrees that it’s a richer place with them in it. She’s a big part of the annual Crestone Energy Fair and works with the Crestone End of Life Project as a death doula, helping people on their way to whatever comes next. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about James’ journey from ministry to technology, the importance of critical thinking and humility, the role of ideology in political discourse, and the philosophical roots of Unitarianism. We even get into the nature of belief and behavior, and the implications of animal consciousness. Are critters dreaming all the time? We discuss the importance of detribalization in modern society and the role of love in ethical decision-making. Hope you enjoy it.James’ Substack is here. I had this conversation with an interesting guy named Piero San Giorgio recently. Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “Temazcal,” by Monsters of Folk. Outro: “Rock Bottom,” by Colby Kent.If you buy from Amazon, my link is here. (You can click on it once, then bookmark that as your go-to Amazon link so it’ll always work.)Buy some merch from my mom here.Grab a copy of my books: Sex at Dawn, Civilized to Death, Tangentially Reading, Talking Drugs, and Talking Sex here.Find other Tangentialistas around the world!Instructions for getting the paid RSS feed in apps is here.If you don’t want to subscribe, but want to support this podcast with a one-time donation, please click here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comLooking for silver linings of very dark clouds. Muss es sein? Es muss sein. Beethoven. Lessons learned from hopping a coal train in the Finger Lakes. Why do I ban listeners? Lee Atwater. Reagan. Carter. Is our current crisis the bitter fruit of what was planted in 1980? Answ…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comWhat is the connection (if any) between football, musicals, dancing, and prostitution Some thoughts on Tears for Fears. A bunch of other random nonsense.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comThis one gets dark at the beginning. Could this Epstein/Trump stuff be worse, much worse than even a cynical old bastard like me could have imagined? Stuff that’s been bending for decades all feels like it’s breaking now. What does Occam’s Razor have to say about ICE raids in Minneapolis? Or Trump’s obsession with Greenland? Tariffs? Putin?

Liam and his wife, Abbey have been together for over thirteen years and have been consensually non-monogamous for eleven of those years. Their podcast, Evolving Love, seeks to help people find whatever relationship structure works best for each couple hoping to nurture depth and authenticity. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comListener voice memos. Am I a good mentor? If “the medium is the message,” what’s the message of the podcasting medium? Is non-monogamy a behavior decision, a relationship configuration, or an inner state? If it’s an inner state, how can we determine compatibility with a potential partner? How can we really know what we want/need, and how to communicate …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comWill 2026 be the end of the beginning of the end or the beginning of the beginning of a new era?Are we learning that we have been led into darkness by monsters?Are the “basic illusions” of this era exhausted?What does Santa have to do with my general disillusionment and the fear of death in western societies?

Ed Dupas is an Americana artist with a knack for crafting songs that stick with you — songs that balance grit and vulnerability while cutting to the heart of things. His music has earned airplay across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, resonating with listeners drawn to its emotional weight and lyrical honesty. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe