Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

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