Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comWhat the hell is going on? Why does the mainstream narrative seem to be increasingly unbelievable? Is decency outdated? Why were Paul Newman and Robert Redford important? Is the future female? Is competence necessary to run a country?

Tom is a fascinating man. He’s shot lasers at the moon and measured their reflection. After studying astrophysics at Cal Tech he taught at UCSD for years. But there came a point where his awareness of the destructiveness of the machine made it impossible to keep making adjustments to its smooth functioning. Unlike many people confronted with that contradiction, Tom walked away, choosing freedom of thought over financial stability and ego gratification. This is the first part of what I hope will be an on-going conversation. Part two is coming next week.You can read Tom’s thoughts at his newsletter, called Do the Math.Here’s a taste of our conversation. If you prefer to see/hear the whole thing, here’s a link to the full video.Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “Whiter Shade of Pale,” performed by Steve Winwood and Carlos Santana. Outro: “Smoke Alarm,” by Carsie Blanton.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.Find other Tangentialistas around the world! 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

Lloyd is one of the most curious, delighted, resilient people I’ve ever known. In his ninety years, he’s been a father, husband, builder, publisher, traveler, writer, athlete and a slew of other things, including a very good friend to many, including Anya and me. 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.comHow was Charlie Kirk the same as the people who hated him most? What’s the dangerous appeal of simplicity and clarity in a complex world? Can/should we tolerate intolerance? The trick of valuing the things we DON’T have or need. All this and more!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comWhat happens to famous people who get lost in their own show and gradually start playing themselves in the movie of their lives?

Dan Blumstein and I explore the multifaceted nature of fear, its evolutionary significance, and its impact on both human and animal behavior. The conversation also delves into existential fears, the manipulation of fear by society, and the importance of understanding and managing fear in a complex world. Dan’s book is The Nature of Fear. 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

Alan Collinge is the founder of StudentLoanJustice.Org, author of The Student Loan Scam: The Most Oppressive Debt in U.S. History and How We Can Fight 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

Are we (am I) “stuck in honoring the context of the social media platform,” that is podcasting? Is there a way not to be trapped in playing the commercial game? Did Joe and Duncan sell out, or did their platforms just capture them? I discuss some of the accusations leveled in “Comedy Jonestown” and Marc Maron’s recent appearance on Pod Save America. 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

Mike just finished his stint in the army and is celebrating by riding a bicycle from El Paso to Canada. He passed by Crestone recently, and we sat down to get to know each other. Pull up a chair and join us! 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.comMore blathering. This time, talking about: — Epstein and how fame/power/money distort one’s sense of the possible/permissible;— The joys of watching the Little League playoffs;— A friend’s hard fall. Here’s the link to give Charles some love.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comMy friend Riley Morton and I sat down for about six hours over two days and he picked my brain about who I am, who I’ve been, and the experiences and ideas that formed the foundation for what eventually became a book called Sex at Dawn. This is the second of a four-part series.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comIt’s the back to school episode! Do you feel like the year begins at the end of summer? Can anyone really be helped (or just supported in helping themselves)? A study showing how we find what we expect to find. Some thoughts on budgeting energy and attention and learning how to invest both more…

Kevin is my go-to guy when I have questions about AI, cutting edge technologies, and crypto currencies. But he’s not just some freakishly smart super-nerd; he thinks of these seemingly cut and dry issues with all the juiciness of mythology, Jungian archetypes, and a deep appreciation of world 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

Our uncle Dan was a huge influence on both of us, albeit in very different ways. For Dave, Dan was a surrogate father figure who helped guide him through adolescence. For me, Dan was more of a kindred spirit, and our friendship mostly happened in the last decade or so of his life. When we combine our memories, we get a more complete understanding of the man. (How did I not know he loved jazz?) 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 were camping at the Tom Thorn/Beth Williams Wildlife Habitat Management Area in southern Wyoming when we recorded this, yesterday. It’s raw. It’s real. Maybe you can hear the birds chirping. Anya and I recap the retreat and give some thoughts about being on the road. 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

Erik’s is the brain behind one of my favorite accounts on Substack, Poetic Outlaws. If I were a woman, I’d be chasing guys like him: smart, tough, adventurous, well-read, sensitive, funny, talented, and way more humble than a guy like that has any right to be. He writes beautifully, takes great photos, has impeccable taste in literature. 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 Sisson is widely regarded as the founding father of the ancestral health movement. His number-one-ranked blog and Primal Health Coach Institute have paved the way for primal enthusiasts to take personal responsibility for their 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

Manvir is an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of California, Davis. He holds a bachelor’s degree in human biology from Brown University and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He has studied Indigenous psychedelics use in the Orinoco river basin of Colombia and, since 2014, has conducted ethnographic fieldwork with Mentawai communities on Siberut Island, Indonesia, focusing on shamanism and justice. His book is Shamanism: The Timeless Religion. 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 Czuleger is an author and geopolitical analyst who has lived, worked, and traveled through 47 countries including conflict zones like Iraq, Lebanon, and Somalia. His book You Are Not Here: Travels Through Countries That Don’t Exist covers a year of living in unrecognized countries to find out what a nation is in the first place. 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.comSome of the topics discussed include the fact that I was an illegal immigrant for years, some recent personal health issues, prepping for our trip to Montana, two spots that just opened up for women in the upcoming retreat, avoiding audience capture, seeking beauty in pain and destruction (the life and work of Sebastião Salgado).

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comLet’s get into it! Issues discussed include: Scott Galloway on the sickness of money, David Sedaris on the sickness of fame, Why some people sacrifice intimacy for attention, and Was it hard for me to transition out of my “adventure years” into “settling down?”

Everyone should have a friend like Josh. Solid dude who knows how things work on both sides of the 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comOn principled thinking vs tactical thinking. Is AI coming to “save” us or “destroy” us? Is there a middle ground? Can it love us? Comfort us? Thinking of relationship issues in terms of new shoes. Break-in pains or wrong size pains?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comIn which I rip Fareed Zakaria a (new) new one, talk about the abject stupidity of the intelligensia, play a song sung by a bunch of cool alley cats, applaud a Scott Galloway rant on the hypocrisy of the American ruling class and ponder “Dover Beach,” a poem by Matthew Arnold.

David was raised in a conservative Christian reality that he eventually came to question, without questioning his love and respect for the people around him. How do we negotiate that kind of growth, where we step away from a shared reality without hurting the people we were sharing it with? That’s an eternal question of the highest order. 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 Mauer is the brains behind I Might Be Wrong, here on Substack. He was head writer for Last Week Tonight, with John Oliver and before that, wrote speeches at the EPA. He’s smart, funny, and thoughtful — and savvy enough to shut the fuck up when Chris Rock walks into the room. 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 I first came across his Instagram account, I assumed he was a comedian of some sort, as he is so deft at taking the piss out of the New Age, Shamanic, Mother-Aya nonsense. Then I read his essay on Substack and realized that this dude is very, very smart and his humor — like all the best humor — is fueled by wisdom, compassion, disappointment, and rage. 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

Anya and Nadia have helped lead our retreats in Montana for the past few years. In this conversation, we talk about the different kinds of movement they’ve studied and teach and how — along with Cameron and Melayne — we try to create a place and time where people can get very real with themselves and each other. Learn more about the event here.Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “The Fade Out Line,” by Phoebe Killdeer and The Short Straws. Outro: “Smoke Alarm,” by Carsie Blanton.My Amazon link 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

Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “Tear,” by Red Hot Chili Peppers. 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

Allene would never describe herself in such grand terms, but the fact is that she’s spent a long career in law working hard to defend and promote the fundamental decency that is at the heart of the American justice system — or should be. 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

Thank you Daniele Bolelli, Douglas Rushkoff, Jesse Damiani, Michael Scarmack, and many others for tuning into my live video with Daniel Pinchbeck! Join me 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

Erin is closing in on her PhD in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. We’ve been very close since 1/1/16 and she’s one of my all-time favorite people. If I get arrested and have one call, her phone might be ringing. She’ll be joining us at the Becoming Uncivilized event at the Budokon compound this summer. Consider joining us!Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “Low Rider,” by War. Outro: “Smoke Alarm,” by Carsie Blanton.My Amazon link 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

Thank you Nikita Petrov, Lacey Delayne, Dr Doug, Andrew Ramos, Eamon Cullen, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comIn this, the first walking ROMA episode, I ramble: Our world is ruled by unloved men. What’s it mean to be “driven?” Would the spirit of the angry prepper be ok with what we’ve done with his cabin?

You know those kids — toddlers, even — where you see the fully-formed person in their eyes? That’s how this guy has always been for me. He was cracking me up and blowing my mind before he could pronounce my name. Smart, kind, and very wise for his age (or any age). 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.comMy friend Riley Morton is a film-maker, documentarian, world traveler, back country skier, deep thinker and all-around badass. He and I sat down for about six hours over two days and he picked my brain about who I am, who I’ve been, and the experiences and ideas that formed the foundation for what eventually became a book called Sex at Dawn.

Does Trump have the wrong answers to the right questions? It feels like things are falling apart, but have they been falling apart for a long time? How long? When did this process of collapse begin? Why do intelligent people sometimes say incredibly stupid things? Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. Paid version: Outro: “Politic Amagni,” by Amadou and Miriam.Amazon link 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

Simon first came on the scene as an MTV personality, then starred in the Scary Movie franchise, appeared in a slew of TV shows, and toured the world as parody rapper, Dirt Nasty. Now he’s appearing in films with the likes of Al Pacino and Vince Vaughn. What a trip! 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 uncle Dan died on February 13th, my birthday. Here’s a look back at his life and mine. 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

Young guy writes a Substack piece about his favorite author, Cormac McCarthy. It gets a few reads, and turns out that one of those readers knows old Cormac and actually reads him the piece. In fact, she’s known and loved old Cormac for 40+ years. She corresponds with the young guy and eventually decides he’s the right person to tell her story, which is a love story that began almost half a century ago, when she was a homeless 16 year-old girl who randomly met a not yet famous author in his 40s sitting by the pool at a run-down motel in New Mexico. Crazy, wild love story/lifelong friendship commences. Young guy writes this forbidden love story, publishes it in Vanity Fair in prissy, easily offended 2024, and all hell breaks loose.Vincenzo’s Substack is here. Vincenzo’s professor’s Substack is here.Dare to join us in Montana this summer!If you’re gonna buy stuff on Amazon, please use this link.Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “Star People,” by George Michael. “Come on in My Kitchen,” sung by Chris Thomas King. 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.comA few of the questions I ponder in this one: How can we distinguish what’s true for me from what’s just true? How can we tell when the shit’s hitting the fan? Is it always hitting the fan? When is a dress not a dress? How is a bikini like “the N-word?” Was Trump inevitable? Do we choose our world, or are we just observers? Intro music “Brightside of the…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comWhat does it mean to be a “consenting adult?” (Thoughts on the Neil Gaiman mess.)Why podcast?David Milch: “People who are unable to turn their wishes into passions … sit passively in mute outrage, anticipating disasters.” The original article accusing Gaiman is here. Kat Rosenfield’s thoughts are here. Information about the Becoming Uncivilized event is

This conversation was originally recorded in September, 2018, when Theo was famous, but not yet FAMOUS. We talked about his recent trip to China, whether mental health issues can be considered a luxury, the ethics of sleeping with married women, Louis CK’s fall from grace, obscure masturbation techniques, and the strangeness of fame. The main thing I felt re-listening to this conversation was just how real Theo was/is. He seems to instinctively understand the power of vulnerability. No pretense with this guy.Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “Big Time,” by Peter Gabriel. Outro: “Party at the End of the World,” 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comCameron has been studying and sharing martial arts, yoga and mobility for over 30 years producing hundreds of highly skilled teachers world wide. He currently lives and runs Budokon University Montana with his wife Budokon University Director Melayne Shayne.Come decivilize yourself with us in Montana this summer. More info h…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comPete and I entertain a few questions and we talk by the fire. Among them: What is soul? Is there a purpose in learning these lessons as we get older? Are silence and solitude necessary components to the soul’s maturity? Are silence and solitude even available in a world overrun by the “attention economy?”

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comSome stuff I didn’t get to yesterday. Who was inside Aubrey Plaza’s consciousness, watching her have a stroke? Do podcasters like Rogan and Theo Von have a responsibility to change what they do in light of their massive audiences?Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. Outro: “That’s What I Got,” by Marcelo D2.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comA few of the issues stumbled over: The complicated ethics of revenge against a corporation. Yet more evidence that we don’t live in the real world. On old creeps like Woody Allen, Cormac McCarthy, and me. And more!Here’s the article about Cormac McCarthy I mentioned and the response from The Guardian.Here’s that holiday Amazon link.Intro music “Brightsi…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.com— Responses to comments on the Wim Hof thing.— Is football like sex work? — How to behave in the End Times.— A few words in defense of Woody Allen and Joe Rogan.— The night Daryl Hanna asked me to sign a copy of Sex at Dawn.Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “Party at the End of the World,” by Carsie Blanton. “Accidentall…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comMeet me in the kitchen! Anger vs gratitude. The perverse appetite for disaster. Who are we to judge? Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. "Roll the Bones,” by Shakey Graves. “Watch it Fall,” by Billy Strings.Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan is a reader-supported publication. To support this thing, please consider becoming a free…

This was originally episode 122, recorded in Portland, OR, in April, 2015. This conversation is about as uninhibited as they come. We bounce from shitting in Asia to how to compliment someone’s genitals to my experience giving a TED talk to eating disorders to group sex. Never a dull moment with Nikki. I’m so glad to see her getting the attention she deserves these days. Sometimes, the good guys win.Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “Wicked Little Pill,” by Bird York. Outro: “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