Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

The first episode in which I just rant for a while, then respond to a few of your emails. 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

Somewhere around 2001 or 2002, a friend gave me a cd of some of his favorite tracks, which included a few by a South African singer I'd never heard of named Simon van Gend. Yesterday, I finally met the man who's been singing to me all these year 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 grew up in the blinding glare of her father's brilliance and fame. It's been a long road, but she's emerged as a smart, funny, relaxed woman. We talk about her life, her new book, and poker. 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

After selling his donkey in Pakistan, Viram's adventures continue... 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 met Viram on a beach in Goa, India in 2003 and we've been close friends ever since. He's one of the most interesting men I know, and I'm very happy to be able to share a taste of our friendship with you. 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 a world-famous authority on parapsychology, altered states of consciousness, mythology, and just about everything else interesting. He's also one of my best friends. 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

Carli Davidson is a well-known animal photographer whose career got a huge boost when she recognized the esthetic potential of dog drool. Seriously. Carli's site: http://www.carlidavidson.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

Justin Alexander was on episode 143, and returns now in a two-part conversation. The first part took place on Venice Beach a few weeks ago, and Part II happened here in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We talk about Justin's 18,000 miles on a motorcycle in the American west, as well as his visit to a hunter-gatherer village in the Philippines and our recent motorcycle trip to a town call Pai, in the mountains north of Chiang Mai. Always fun to chat with this guy. 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

Stephan Schwartz has been involved in trying to make the world a better place for a long time. He's worked in the upper reaches of the defense department, helping transform the military from the draft-era to the professional, volunteer force of today. He's also worked in grass-roots social change organizations fighting for social justice. His insights into the trajectory of history are informed by decades of paying very close attention from multiple perspectives.The Schwartz Report. Amazon link to Stephan's book.Song: "Only a Mirage," by Jean Marc Yee. Information about Jean Marc and his music. 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

Lodhy is my favorite kind of person. An unassuming man who has lived a life full of adventure, learning, challenges, love, and generosity. His life has ranged from living in a house formerly occupied by Winston Churchill in Pakistan to riding a motorcycle from London to Islamabad and from LA to the Arctic Circle. 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

Shane's photography combines the natural beauty of women with the beauty of nature. He's got the focus and obsessional creative need of a true artist. Check his work at http://www.thethingsiveseen.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

Daniele and Thad both teach history in southern California, study martial arts, and have a lot to say about pretty much everything. Join me for this conversation with two of the smartest, most engaging guys I know. 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

Heather was born in Arkansas and grew up with few advantages. But thanks to an indomitable spirit, hard work, and some solid friendships, she's got a great thing going. We talk about poverty, meth culture, Portland, and planning one's escape.Heather's blog. Her Instagram feed.Music: Humans from Earth on iTunes. 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 went to Yale, where he was a stand-out linebacker and came to the attention of the Cowboys, who drafted him in the second round. He brought his laid-back vibe from the beaches of southern California to the NFL, where he excelled for seven years. He now lives in Venice, CA, where he is raising two great kids with his wife, Heather, and does a lot of cooking and painting. 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

Jake Johannsen appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman" 45 times. He has appeared in the “HBO Young Comedian’s Special” and PBS’s “Comedy Tonight” series, and was the host of Comedy Central’s series, “Two Drink Minimum”. He has also been nominated as “Best Male Stand-Up Comedian” for the American Comedy Awards. And he makes fantastic cajun food. 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

Martin is the founder and director of the center, and Maria is a counselor helping patients integrate the experiences they have at Crossroads into more healthy lives. They use ibogaine, a very potent African hallucinogen, to help people with addictive behavior patterns break those patterns and "reset" 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

Tre Hardson is "a journalist of the times" who just happens to be a rapper, dancer, musician, and something of a philosopher as well. Best known as one of the founding members of The Pharcyde, his current band is called Bizarre Ride. This conversation covers the long road from South Central Los Angeles to Laurelhurst Park, in Portland, Oregon. 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

Graham Hancock became a world famous bestselling author with Fingerprints of the Gods, a book that questioned the mainstream narrative concerning the origins of civilization—among many other things. Now, he's just published a follow-up, Magicians of the Gods, bringing recent discoveries to his controversial, compelling narrative. 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 Part 1. Part 2 is on Andy's podcast: On The Block Radio. Check it out! 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

First episode of the SOMA series. We start in Norway, head to Mississippi, Mexico, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Senegal, and then back to Rehab Mountain in Malibu. 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 met Lois in her 83rd year. We talk about her loves, her passions, some of her famous friends, and reflect on special moments from a very special life. 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

Sheldon Solomon is a psychologist and professor of social psychology at Skidmore College, best known for developing Terror Management Theory, along with Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski which is concerned with how humans deal with our own sense of mortality. Solomon co-authored the book The Worm at the Core: On the role of Death in Life with Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski. 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

Mark Davis, ND is a founder and the medical director of Good Life Medicine Center, and his naturopathic practice, Bright Medicine Clinic, focuses on gastroenterological health. Dr. Davis is one of a handful of physicians in the North America with clinical expertise in fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). 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

After spending some time in Thailand teaching tigers not to eat people, Ben went to Chile, bought an old VW camper van, and set off for Alaska. 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

Roger has worked in film and television as a director, writer, producer and editor. He's worked with lots of famous people (Larry David, David Spade, Leonard Nimoy) and has made a series of unique documentaries about fringe communities and thinkers: Trekkies, Suckers (about car salesmen), Six Days in Roswell (UFO enthusiasts), The Nature of Existence. 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

Jonathan is the host of Outside TV's The Road Less Traveled. We talk about everything from the wonders of Colombian women to the dangers of swimming naked in cold water to what Robert Frost really had in mind. 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 bonus episode was recorded last week at The Strand bookstore on Broadway, in New York. The three of us talk about intimacy, sexuality, and the often opposing appetites for novelty and intimacy. 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

Neil and I became friends after he'd already outgrown The Game, his colossal best-seller. The Truth, just released this week is one of the bravest, funniest, most vulnerable books you'll ever read. 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

Jenn and Bryan left the security of good jobs and a nice house in Portland in an old VW van and spent a year meandering south with Karma, their dog. 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

West stopped in Portland on his way back to Cambridge from a research trip to the Amazon. This episode features music by his pal, Kim Churchill. 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

It seemed like a good idea at the time. 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

Lead singer/songwriter of the Canadian band Man Made Lake, Colin is a deep, smart, talented, and very funny 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

Elliott graduated from the Naval Academy and worked as an analyst for the Air Force for six years. This is the third in my series of conversations with veterans. 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

Justin has been there and done that. From western Nepal to Sumatran jungles to Black Rock Desert, he's left footprints and gathered memories. A man after my own heart, Justin travels the way it should be done. 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

Nathaniel started at the Mexican border in April and has been walking north ever since. He's covered thousands of miles through deserts, valleys and ridgelines. We talk about the sorts of people he's met on the trail, the highs and lows of walking several thousand miles, and what sorts of insights one gets about home from wandering so far from 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

Alice recently resigned her position as a professor at Northwestern University's Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program over her refusal to surrender academic freedom. She's the author of Galileo's Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science. 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

Eric Berkowitz is a San Francisco-based author and human rights lawyer. His journalistic work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, California Lawyer, and the Washington Post, as well as websites such as Huffington Post, AlterNet and Salon. His books on sex and the law both kick serious ass. 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

Jon was an active-duty US Army infantryman from 2003 to 2006. A third generation service member, his first tour was in Korea. While there, Jon was part of a historic deployment of an already forward-deployed unit that sent his unit to the Sunni Triangle in September of 2004. They mostly operated in and around the town of Habbaniyah, which was about halfway between Fallujah and Ramadi. Jon is now in Portland, where he lives and works on a small organic farm run by a lesbian couple ... typical Portland. 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

Susan Block has done everything from organizing orgies to climbing the Golden Gate bridge in the middle of the night. She's an adventurer in many realms, but is most well known for her work in sexuality. She's hosted TV programs on HBO, published books and essays far and wide, is a well-known sex therapist, and puts together one of the most bizzare and interesting parties in Los Angeles every Saturday night in Bonoboville, the former motel she and her husband converted into a suite of offices and studios for her various productions. Our conversation touches on all these things, but we focus mostly on her new book, The Bonobo Way, and the relevance of bonobos to our understanding of human sexuality. 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

Mark is a very good writer, blogger, and author. We have a lot to talk about: travel, women, writing, negotiating our need to write about our lives versus the right to privacy of the people in our lives, etc. You can learn more about Mark's work at http://markmanson.net. 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

Aaron uses various methods to help people inhabit their bodies in the best way possible, from rolfing to massage to structural realignment. We had a good time talking in Burnside Park, where we took a break every fifteen minutes or so to allow Aaron to run around, do handstands, and other health-inducing activities. Meanwhile, I shifted my weight from one butt cheek to the other... 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

Rod and Justin (episode 99) met years ago fighting forest fires. Justin and I drove up to Rod's amazing spread east of Mount Rainier and spent a night in Paradise. As you'll see in the photos below, Rod's building skills are equal to his firefighting abilities. He's a tough, smart, open-hearted, humble man who'll no-doubt be embarrassed at being called "legendary," but everyone else says that's the word for him. Get a copy of Rod's book! 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 Steinberg is an author, photographer, and a radically sane guy. We talk about his inadvertent work with the CIA, what it was like to be plugged into the anti-war political world of San Francisco in the late 60s, and his lifelong refusal to accept shame as a sensible response to human sexuality. Join us in Portland's Laurelhurst Park for this wide-ranging, intimate conversation.Music:Opening theme: Basin and Range.Kim Churchill, "Don't Leave Your Life Too Long." iTunes link.Closing theme: Carsie Blanton, "Smoke Alarm." 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

From a very cold houseboat on Dal Lake in Srinagar to the Deluxe Video Coach, this one is all about changing plans at the last minute. 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 their 23rd year of marriage, Sonya's husband, Richard, suffered a brain trauma that erased his memories of their life together. He didn't know her, didn't recognize their children, and had to re-learn how to live his life. He'd forgotten everything—even sex.An excerpt from her book on Salon.com.Music. "Flag" by Ed Dupas, "Love" by James Thomas & "Smoke Alarm" by Carsie Blanton. 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

Jared joined the Marines just before 9/11, and participated in the invasion of Iraq with the Marine Corps in 2003. 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

Joe Winke and Shannon Drake are partners in crime and commerce. We talk about what it's like to get a socially-conscious business up and running, the winding paths they each took, their aspirations for the future, and what it all has to do with a little dog called Jambo.Music: Going Through the Motions, Joel Havea. 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

For just an instant, Devlin Baker created a tiny star in a warehouse outside Bellingham, WA. He's working on a project he (and his backers) hope will result in medical technology, the production of vital materials, and eventually, cheap, clean, limitless energy. Devlin's site is 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

Kevin Johnson is a key player in the growing float movement. He designs, sells, and installs the most cutting-edge float chambers all over the U.S. But he's also a very serious musician, songwriter, and cave explorer. Talk about a multi-faceted mofo! 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

Bailey Jay is a trans woman who is a pornographic actress, adult model, and podcaster. She's very smart, very funny, and pretty much my kinda girl. She's a regular on Jim Norton's show on Sirius XM, and was recently featured on Inside Amy Schumer.Bailey's site (NSFW). 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