Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

My second summer in Alaska. This time, I got a job on a tender, and found myself engaged in an epic struggle for the soul of a young man. Photos at chrisryanphd.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

I don't always agree with renegade historian Thad Russell—you'll hear that we disagree passionately about "Death Panels" and whether Americans die in the streets—but I respect his intelligence and ballsy insistence on telling it like he sees 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

You may know her from her very popular web series, Ask a Mortician, from a previous episode of this podcast (#25), or as the author of the fantastic book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory. Caitlin and I talk about life, death, and publishing.  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

Mitch Schultz wrote and directed the documentary, DMT: The Spirit Molecule (narrated by Joe Rogan). We talk about consciousness, making movies, and the joys of Austin, Texas. Find out more at spectralalchemy.com.Sponsors:SureDesignTshirts (code: sexatdawn)Audible 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

Coupla very smart, very funny guys. They've been on Letterman, Conan, and late night what have you. Zach does crazy videos and rap, while Myq is a wordsmith extraordinaire. If you want to hear the part of the conversation where they were asking me questions, you'll find that 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

It's 1983, and I'm on my first trip to a foreign culture with a sharpened Kung-Fu star hanging from my neck. One thing leads to another and I realize I've stumbled into something far deeper, and more dangerous, than I could have imagined. 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 spend some time working the slime line, scam my way out the door, and wake up on the wrong side of a jealous performance artist. 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 Korean kid in the American South, adopted by people who probably shouldn't have, lesbian, super-smart Harvard student, stand-up comic, diagnosed with an incurable disease at 30 ... Mandy has been there and there and there and back. Please join us for this powerful, heartfelt conversation about belonging, family, and that familiar feeling that we're getting better and dying at the same 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

The only man I know who has passed a joint to a chimp sitting next to him in a tree, (or at least, who's admitted it to me!) Richard is a man of many dimensions. In part 1 of what I hope will be a multi-part series, we talk about his education, his first foray into business with one of America's first mountain bike shops, and what lessons rugby imparts in the "third half," among many other fruitful tangents.  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

Ceara is a sweet, smart, sexy young woman who degrades, dismisses and denigrates men over the internet. And they pay her handsomely to do it! What a 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