Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

Tucker Max famously declared himself an a$$hole. Whatever the veracity of that claim, he's undoubtedly very smart, very funny, and a savvy businessman. In this conversation—one of the first to be recorded in his Austin studio—Tucker talks about the long and winding road from trouble-making law student to mega bestselling author. 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

Happy May Day! Daniel Vitalis is all about rewilding the human species. He wants to go beyond food and exercise to deeper questions about what is the proper and natural way for us to live on this planet. 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

Author of The Paleo Manifesto, pal of Steven Pinker, Harvard graduate, John Durant is also a really nice guy — much to my surprise and chagrin. We talk evolution, disgust, and the precise meaning of "virginity," among other things. 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

So this psychologist walks into a firing range with two comedians... Hanging out with Duncan, Joe Rogan, and some big guns. 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

Author, former go-go dancer and professional dominatrix, Arden Leigh has been around. We talk about sleep orgasms, the healing power of BDSM, seducing Sting's son, and compare the seduction styles of Northern vs. Southern European men. 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

Pere is a science journalist who's not afraid to talk about taboo subjects. After finishing a PhD in biochemistry, he spent time at MIT and Harvard, finally deciding that he preferred writing/speaking about science to spending his life in labs. I met him in Puebla, Mexico. 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

Cesare is a professor of law at Loyola Law School, and an expert in international human rights. We discuss his amazing arrival in New York (punctuated by being offered $3 million by a stranger), cultures of bureaucracy vs. punitive lawsuits, European community vs. American "freedom," and why there are no curtains in Amsterdam's Red Light district. 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

Jincey has been called, "the lesbian Hugh Hefner," and named one of the 100 most influential gay people by Out Magazine. We talk about the challenges of being an openly gay lawyer in Jacksonville, FL, whether female orgasm is faked in lesbian porn, and the proper way for a gentleman to pee in public. 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

LA is black widow country! We talk about disaster tattoos, penis nicknames, Fabio, the dangers of professing certainty in evolutionary theory, how the NAZIs ruined legitimate branches of scientific inquiry, plant neurobiology, and what scientists can learn from historians—among other things. 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

Gloria is Daniele Bolelli's bad-ass mother. We talk about Gloria's fearless approach to motherhood, magical dreams, travel, and the ever-present mysteries of 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

Daniele and I talk about Guatemalan death squads, the differences between strip clubs in the US and Europe, and his world travels with his mother, Gloria. 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

Mary has written a whole slew of bestselling books, including Bonk, Gulp, Stiff, and Packing for Mars. In this IPA-fueled conversation, we range from bungee jumping in New Zealand to stunt flying with Tom Cruise off the coast of Malibu. Also, the best place to hide after robbing a bank. 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

We talk tripping jaguars, Aubrey's four fascinating parents, being a guinea pig for the Los Angeles Lakers, antibiotic-induced impotence and the spiral of death, Miss USA's vagina, and the untold (until now) story of the origin of the Fleshlight. 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

Cindy Gallop went from a high-level position in advertising to starting companies focused on making the world a better place. She's a unique, fascinating woman, bursting with energy and intelligence. Her apartment (where this conversation took place) was a set for The Notorious B.I.G.'s music video "Nasty Girl." 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

Ginger Norwood is exceptional in many ways. She's a bona-fide mathematical genius, the first woman to have taught at USC's School of Engineering, and she directed the project that designed and launched the first LandSat, a satellite that scans the Earth from orbit. I'm way out of my intellectual depth on this one. 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 a self-proclaimed Bad-Ass Historian, as well as an Italian intellectual/martial artist/historian. 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

We range from Moby's birthday party, the perks of minor-league fame, the upside of living in LA, being up to my neck in salmon mucus, the secret to Playboy centerfolds, and requests for sperm donation. Just your average conversation, in other words. 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

If there's anything sweeter than finding a new friend, it's becoming friends with two guys who go way back. Joe and Duncan are old pals, and I'm honored to have joined the crew. Duncan got me started on this podcasting thing (and coined my moniker: The Shame Exorcist), and Joe's generosity helped get it off the ground. I love these guys. 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

As a 17 year-old, Bruce was sent to prison, convicted of murdering his mother. But he was innocent; something the state of California finally acknowledged over 26 years later. What more can I say? 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

To call this conversation with Sex Nerd Sandra "wide-ranging" would be like calling Nepal "hilly." We talk about being hit by lightning, how to use lube on your laptop, the truth about female ejaculation, women who name their sex toys, and whether romantic love is a human universal. 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. Jason G. Goldman is a cognitive scientist and science writer based in Los Angeles. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Southern California, where he conducted research at the intersection of developmental psychology and animal cognition. 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. Stanton Peele is a prominent, outspoken critic of the disease model of addiction and the author of over a dozen books (most recently, Recover!: Stop Thinking Like an Addict and Reclaim Your Life with The PERFECT Program). Join us for a very personal conversation about addiction, the treatment industrial complex, and the dubious joys of writing for a living. 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

Join me in conversation with one of the most interesting guys I know. Writer, musician, director, Chris Jaymes opens up and shares amazing stories from his life, ranging from being strapped to a gurney in Boston, to meeting his mother's new boyfriend (surprise!), to digging up the bodies of tsunami victims in Thailand. This guy is LIVING. 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

Betty Dodson is a well-known pioneer in women's sexual liberation, having sold more than 1 million copies of her first book, Sex for One. Much of her fame has come from her work not only advocating masturbation, but conducting workshops for more than 30 years in which groups of about 10 or more women (and at least once a group of men) would talk, explore their own bodies, and masturbate together. She is a founder of the pro-sex feminist movement, having left behind the more traditional feminist movement because she considered it banal, antisexual and over-politicized. 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

Thad is the author of "A Renegade History of the United States," and teaches at Occidental College. He's also a very smart guy, full of surprises, with whom I don't always agree—but with whom I always enjoy debating! If you don't find yourself shaking your head in amazement at some of the things Thad says in this one, you get your money back. 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 which I introduce the series, talk about why I’m telling these stories, and lay out the ground rules I’ve set for myself. Then, I get into the first story, which covers my last two years of high school in Fairfield, CT and Cazenovia, NY. 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

TSS was born to make movies, and that's what he does. He directed the 3D A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas, as well as a whole slew of other things—many of which are hilarious short films. Check out his latest, a very funny 10-minute look at the misery of heartbreak. Dude is very talented and seriously funny. 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

Join Ari and me in the bar at The Jane Hotel, in the West Village, where we talk about the debilitating effects of New York weed on Ari’s vocabulary, how to deal with dismissive (but hot) waitresses, what lies beyond atheism, why there are no Scientologist comics, and why you can’t get decent placebo pills at CVS anymore—among other urgent matters. 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

Rapper, entrepreneur, and my son in law, Hugo is part of the new, vibrant Africa that is bursting with energy, creativity, and optimism. 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

He doesn't drink Mexican beer, but Frank Delaney is definitely one of the most interesting men in the world. His career includes over a dozen best-selling novels, a truck-load of non-fiction books, and a slew of articles and TV programs. Frank is smart, funny, candid, and open-hearted. 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

Marissa was born a boy, but eventually realized she was a girl. She's still got a male side—who comes out when yard work needs doing—but has transitioned primarily to living as a woman. I felt deeply honored to have this opportunity to share Marissa's experience and insight. 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

If you don't know who Dan Savage is, you haven't been paying attention. Sex advice columnist, humorist, political activist ... Dan has spent the past 22 years using his wit, smarts, and compassion to drag American culture toward equality and decency—and away from a rising tide of Santorum threatening to engulf us all (Google it—I dare 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

Scientist, skeptic, intellectual, magician extraordinaire ... Jamy Ian Swiss is a fascinating man. For a guy who specializes in creating illusions, Jamy has a strikingly deep love and respect for 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

Dr. Gabor Mate is a Canadian physician and author who specializes in the treatment of addiction and mind-body interaction. He's published four bestselling books (in twenty languages) exploring attention deficit disorder, stress, developmental psychology, and addiction. 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. Carl Hart is a serious man with a fascinating life. His book, High Price, tells the story of his journey from the bad part of Miami to the upper reaches of Ivy League academia. In this conversation, we talk about why drugs are so hard for our society to get real about, and how often they've been political tools used against marginalized populations and how antithetical to good research and decent society these political uses are. 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

Fifteen years ago, Dave Asprey took a look at himself and didn't like what he saw: he was about 100 pounds overweight, had chronic nosebleeds, slept poorly, and felt like crap. But unlike most of us, he had the time and financial resources to focus his considerable intelligence on his predicament. What he discovered about his own condition turned out to be applicable to the rest of us: chronic infections, fungal contamination, vitamin deficiencies, dietary craziness—you name it. Bio-hack your way to health. 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

We talk sparkling water, nitrous oxide, political consulting, Mormonism, strip clubs, the war on drugs, revolution, and murses (man-bags, European carry-alls). 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

Kim Airs is a sex toy entrepreneur (I had to look up the spelling), motorcycle maven, and militantly free spirit. She rode her motorcycle into the depths of Topanga Canyon to chat with me about working for Larry Summers at Harvard, cornering the market on dildos, and "flatbacking for fun and profit." 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

Natasha is a very smart high-energy actress/comedian who's blazing a meteoric path across the Hollywood sky. We talk about everything from women's rights to dogs giving birth to Fleshlights in the shower. 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

Man, this one ranges far and wide. We talk comedy (these dudes are hilarious), good ways to use bad words, porn in the Vatican, and what it's like to be raised by deaf parents. 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

Conner Habib is a gay porn star, a scholar of human sexuality, and an evolutionary biologist with thoughtful insights on all those subjects and far more. Join us in a cloud overlooking the Pacific Ocean for this wide-ranging conversation. 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

Comedian, Ari Shaffir and I talk about everything from Elvis, to fat Jesus, to our private fears to advice on peeing in public in this podcast that flows deep and wide as the mighty Mississippi. 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 the madman who first got me into podcasting, as well as various other kinds of trouble, so it's fitting that he and our mutual pal, Daniele help me celebrate this 30th episode of Tangentially Speaking. There must be some numerical convergence there: 3 & 30. Our friend Kyle Del Bonis joined us on the spur of the moment and although we only had 3 mics, he chipped in some of his characteristically deep shit. 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

Baron Vaughn is a comedian and actor based in Los Angeles. He and Chris talk about comedy, acting, and growing up on the rough side of Vegas. 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

Nina Hartley is a legendary porn star, actress (Boogie Nights), sex-positive feminist, nurse, and sex educator extraordinaire. In this wide-ranging, intimate, and surprising interview, she talks about her parents' politics, studying medicine, and the nature of her own 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

Chris is joined by 9 year-old Charlie and 11 year-old Liam in this special episode. Both these guys are wise way beyond their years, and offer wonderful insights into what it's like to try to prepare for a trip that's already under way. In some ways, a very unusual episode. In others, it fits right in. 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 the first of a series of interviews with high IQ porn stars, Chris is joined by Nica Noelle, who schools him on the many sub-genres of porn as well as questioning Chris' stance regarding Steven Pinker's views on prehistoric warfare. Nica also gets Chris to talk about his own time working in the porn business in Spain. 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

Join Chris and hipster mortician, Caitlin Doughty as they take a shameless look at things we're told to ignore: death, sex, and sexy death. 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

Road Trip! Chris is joined by his amazing friend, 80 year-old parapsychologist, Dr. Stanley Krippner. They're heading south on Route 5, from Bakersfield to LA. Hop in. 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 joins Voodoo in his Barcelona tattoo shop for a very tangential conversation between two old 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