Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

Bruce Damer is a Canadian-American multi-disciplinary scientist, designer, and author. He collaborates with colleagues developing and testing a new model for the origin of life on Earth and in the design of spacecraft architectures to provide a viable path for expansion of human civilization beyond the Earth. He began his career in the 1980s developing some of the earliest user interfaces for personal computers, led a community in the 1990s bringing the first multi-user virtual worlds to the Internet, and since 2000 supported NASA and the space industry on numerous simulations and spacecraft designs. He has spent 25 years chronicling the history of computing in his DigiBarn Computer Museum and curates archives of counterculture figures such as Dr. Timothy Leary, Terence McKenna and others. He currently serves as Principal Scientist at DigitalSpace; Associate Researcher in the Department of Biomolecular Engineering at UC Santa Cruz; Associate of the NASA Astrobiology Center; Member of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life, and Founding Director of the Contact Consortium. He also served as Visiting Scholar at the University of Washington and as a member of the Faculty at Charles University, Prague. Bruce also hosts a podcast called Levity Zone. 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

Johann is the author of Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections -- both of which are largely about the traumas created by trying to live in a pathogenic society. He's a brilliant writer and conversationalist. In the first part of this podcast, we're in his hotel room in Beverly Hills (Thanks, Rupert Murdock!). The second part is in my car, headed south on the 405. I had a great time hanging with Johann, and hope you enjoy it, too. 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

Steve Silberman is an award-winning science writer whose articles have appeared in Wired, the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Financial Times, the Boston Globe, the MIT Technology Review, Nature, Salon, Shambhala Sun, and many other publications. He is the author of NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity (Avery 2015), which Oliver Sacks called a “sweeping and penetrating history…presented with a rare sympathy and sensitivity.” Follow Steve on Twitter: @stevesilberman. 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

Host of the Michael Brooks Show, and contributing host for the four time award winning independent political talk show, The Majority Report, Michael appears regularly as a political and cultural analyst on outlets including Huffpost Live, SirusXM, AlJazeera English, CCTV and France 24. His writing has appeared in Al Monitor, Al Jazeera, the Washington Post, among others, and he has blogged for leading trend watch site PSFK. He is also know for his impressions of cultural figures from Donald Trump to Nelson Mandela. 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

Jamie was a prominent stand-up comic before he drifted into political commentary, eventually becoming a leading voice among the social justice warrior crowd, with his radio show (Citizen Radio). That ended when he was accused of "inappropriate behavior" and he suddenly found himself the target of the same kinds of uncritical condemnation he'd directed at others. It's been a wild ride, but he's back on his feet, and wiser for it. 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

David Stansfield has spent many years studying Arabic and the cultures of the Middle East. Together with his partner and wife of 42 years, Denise Boiteau, he has produced documentaries for television and written several books. He's a sophisticated, kind, and fascinating man. 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

David Beckingham is a Canadian musician who drove down to Oregon to catch the eclipse with me this summer. Afterwards, we hung out in the woods and on the slopes of Mount Hood for a few days, where we recorded this podcast. 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

Charlotte McKinney is a sweet, kind, smart young woman who happens to occupy the sort of body that many men would sell their soul to get close to. To say that's been a mixed blessing for her is to put it mildly. She's been featured in Super Bowl commercials, on the cover of GQ, in a slew of ads for Guess, and everywhere else sexy women's images are used to sell stuff. In this conversation, we get behind the image and meet the woman who lives there. 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

Dr. Michael Shermer is the Publisher of Skepticmagazine, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism 101. He is the author of Why People Believe Weird Things, Why Darwin Matters, The Science of Good and Evil, and The Moral Arc. His new book is Heavens on Earth: The Scientific Search for the Afterlife, Immortality & Utopia. 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

Just a quick message, wishing you a smooth transition to 2018. 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

Kyle Thiermann is a professional big wave surfer, Patagonia surf ambassador, documentarian, journalist, and pal of mine. We took a drive down to Baja to get some work done and hang out. As a correspondent for Discovery Digital Networks, Kyle Thiermann covered important issues ranging from a little-known indigenous conflict in Southern Chile, to the impact wild pigs have on Hawaii's coral reefs. Thiermann's surfing skills earned him a spot among an elite group of athletes as a Patagonia Surf Ambassador. With Patagonia’s support, Thiermann created and hosted the award-winning documentary series, Surfing For Change. The series included stories about the Indonesia trash epidemic, Hawaii’s Monsanto protests, and the adverse impacts of surf tourism in Nicaragua. Thiermann speaks at universities throughout the country and in 2011 gave a TEDx talk in his wetsuit. His surfing and journalistic successes have earned him Surfrider’s Pro Surfer Environmental Achievement Award, the Brower Youth Award, the American Clean Skies Film Award, and the Peter Benchley Blue Vision Award. Thiermann has spent years becoming an expert in the ocean and is an alternate in the prestigious annual big-wave event at Mavericks. He hosts a weekly podcast that explores subjects that include psychedelics, sex, and surfing. Website link: http://www.kyle.surf/ Video Links: Chasing Mavericks In Real Life Chile's 500-Year Secret Conflict Who Is Kyle Thiermann? 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

Just a few dudes talking. @simonrex415 @cultureschlock 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

Reza is a bestselling author, most recently of God: A Human History. 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

Micah and a friend had been traveling for a year in Africa when she met a Samburu herdsman and quickly fell in love. Her memoir of that voyage is called The Keepers of The Story. 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

Spent 4 hours today in the studio with these two beautiful maniacs. We talked about everything from DMT to the #metoo movement, to the size of Jeff Sessions's schlong. To call it a "wide-ranging" conversation would be an understatement. 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

Simon Rex (aka Dirt Nasty) joined me for a ride down the 405 to visit with Stanley Krippner. Hop in and come along! 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

Kelly Brogan, M.D. is a Manhattan-based holistic women’s health psychiatrist, author of the NY Times Bestselling book, A Mind of Your Own, and co-editor of the landmark textbook, Integrative Therapies for Depression. 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

An addendum for a guy who's a little worried about traveling for the first time. Advice on how to puke, and why anything that's in our gut is kind of outside our body already. 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

Am I an angry aging hippie? Why do we emulate billionaires instead of real geniuses and visionaries? 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

Jude grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, near Pontiac, Michigan. He tells it like it is. He brings the same no-bullshit attitude to his writing, his radio show on Eminem's Sirius XM station (The All-Out Show), and his conversation. Same guy. Same voice. Same authenticity. He's the author of two books, Hyena and Hummingbird. Either one would make a wonderful gift for your mother-in-law. 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

My friends Liam and Allison confronted every parent's worst nightmare when their 8 year-old son fall off a 40-foot cliff, just an arm's length away from them. We talk about how their confrontation with their own helplessness changed their approach to parenting, work, marriage, and ultimately every aspect of their lives. 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

Another episode full of nonsensical advice from a totally unqualified source: Is it always a lie to say you'll love someone forever? Are poly relationships possible? How can one become "a writer"? Why do people take advantage of people who allow themselves to be taken advantage of? 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

Tim Scully produced millions of hits of very pure LSD known as "Orange Sunshine" in the late 1960s, hoping to save the world. He was eventually sentenced to 20 years in prison for his troubles. 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

Asa Akira could be the girl next door -- if you lived next to a super smart, sexy, funny, open-minded, porn star. 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

Listener emails about travel, woman troubles, tipping, letting kink get out of control, and a few other things I can't remember right now. 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

Michael is a musician, vlogger, and strikingly deep thinker. 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 special, very personal episode. Cacilda is going to the Amazon in search of new ways to be a "soul doctor" (psychiatrist). 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

Sol Sebastian leads small groups of men on journeys into the African bush in search of a renewed sense of purpose and meaning in their lives. 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

Geoff is the author of four novels: Paris Trance, The Search, The Colour of Memory, and Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi; a critical study of John Berger, Ways of Telling; two collections of essays, Anglo-English Attitudes and Working the Room; and many genre-defying books: But Beautiful, The Missing of the Somme, Out of Sheer Rage, Yoga For People Who Can’t Be Bothered To Do It, The Ongoing Moment, Zona, about Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker, and Another Great Day at Sea: Life Aboard the USS George H W Bush. (shamelessly copied from geoffdyer.com) 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

Duncan is a stand-up comic, writer, actor, podcast host, and occasional summoner of Satan. He's also one of my best friends. We recorded this shortly after giving the keynote presentation together at the annual float tank conference in Portland, OR. 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

Dr. Jim Fadiman is a psychologist and author best known for his pioneering psychedelic research -- most recently concerning micro-dosing of LSD and psilocybin. 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

A long-awaited TOMA episode in which lots of worlds interconnect: an apartment in Barcelona, a drunken night in Kenai, and a snake at a water trough in Sicily. 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

Neal is a writer, actor, director, and standup comic. He's been involved in everything from Half Baked to The Chappelle Show to Saturday Night Live to the White House Correspondent's Dinner to The Daily Show. His most recent special, called 3 Mics (Netflix) is a work of true genius. 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

Amy Baldwin is a Somatic Sex and Relationship Coach, Certified Sex Educator as well as co-owner of a mother-daughter owned pleasure boutique called Pure Pleasure Shop. Amy has a passion for promoting shame-free, pleasure-focused sexuality education while emphasizing the deep emotional and energetic forces behind great sex and intimate connection, offering everything from how-to workshops to erotic empowerment retreats. 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 answer emails about 3-way etiquette, experience vs. thinking, introverts who want to travel, Burning Man, and the Path of Totality. 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

Hunter Maats is an author, scholar, and co-host of the Mixed Mental Arts podcast. 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

Lyle Estill is a writer, environmentalist, and entrepreneur who thinks way beyond the bottom line. He has founded companies, grown enterprises, and traveled successfully through the business world for several decades -- primarily in alternative energy. 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

When he was young, Godi had a dream that he would leave his small village far behind, but come back to help. Now he's living that dream by directing forest preservation projects in the Congo while raising money and awareness in the U.S. 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

Is "pussy" a bad word? Can marriage survive infidelity? Are middle-class white Americans disgusting? 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

Ryan and Matt (Veterans for Entheogenic Treatment) are working to bring ayahuasca-assisted therapy to veterans suffering from treatment-resistant PTSD. 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

Michael Wood was on the "other side" of the drug war when he realized that it was a colossal waste of money, effort, and time. Rather than just ride it out to retirement, he walked away and became a passionate advocate of reform in how the United States handles criminal justice. 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

Kabui was born and raised in Kenya. He came to the US to study, and has been based in North Carolina ever since. He's a medical anthropologist, chef, and food activist working to bring the wisdom of an African village into contemporary American dialogue. 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

Stanley Krippner is one of the most interesting, funny, kind-hearted men I know. We chatted in his room at the Oakland Marriott about channeling spirits, altered states of consciousness, life after death, and the importance of a good breakfast. 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

Alisa's path to the heart of the community at Sparkroot Farm has been winding and hilly, to say the least. 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 Joseph is an American independent filmmaker and activist. He is best known for the Zeitgeist film series, which he wrote, directed, narrated, scored, and produced. He is the founder of the related The Zeitgeist Movement. (Wikipedia) 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

Toby is continuing a family legacy of film-making. He's a cinematographer, director, whatever it takes. He's been traveling the world with a camera for over 15 years searching for the perfect frames and images. His adventures have brought him from Steven Spielberg sets to Cambodian mine fields to the North Pole. 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

Chris D'Elia is an American stand-up comedian, actor, presenter, writer, and comedy singer. He is known for playing Alex Miller on the NBC sitcom Whitney and for the role of Danny Burton on the sitcom Undateable, also on NBC. 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

Jeff McNairy is the Chief Medical Officer at Rythmia Life Advancement Center in Costa Rica. 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

Gerry made millions, lost them, then made even more. But he was miserable. He'd checked every box on the scorecard of life, but still felt he was losing. Then life took a turn that led him to found the world's first medically licensed center using traditional Amazonian plant medicine. 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

Special 4th of July episode. 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