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Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

Chris Ryan

Tangentially Speaking is dedicated to the idea that good conversation is organic, uncensored, revelatory, and free to go down unexpected paths with unconventional people.

chrisryan.substack.com
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  • 35 episodes
  • Avg 52 min
  • English

Episodes 35

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  • Monday · 1 hr 19 min

    Josh Spodek

    Joshua Spodek PhD MBA is the premier voice in sustainability leadership. He hosts the award-winning This Sustainable Life podcast, bestselling author of Sustainability Simplified, Initiative, and Leadership Step by Step, professor at NYU, and leadership coach. He holds a PhD in astrophysics and an MBA from Columbia, where he studied under a Nobel Laureate and helped launch a satellite. He visited North Korea twice, swam across the Hudson River twice, has done burpees daily since 2011 (250,000 and counting), hasn’t filled a load of garbage since 2019, hasn’t flown (by choice) since March 2016, unplugged his refrigerator since September 2021, disconnected his apartment from the electric grid in May 2022, and his carbon footprint is about 1 ton per year. He blogs at joshuaspodek.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

  • October 14 · 2 min

    AROMA 10.13.26 (What is Intimacy?)

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.com What is “intimacy?” Is partial intimacy possible? Is “falling in love” really just falling into our own projections? What are we projecting? What are we protecting? Can we truly love without constantly risking the loss of who/what we love? Is it worth the risk?

  • October 12 · 1 hr 52 min

    Marcus Daniels (Musician, Former Cave Man)

    Marcus grew up in a ghetto in Ohio, moved to Appalachia as a teenager, then to a houseboat among mangroves on Key West til the hurricane hit, stopped for a while in a cave outside of Crestone, and is now building a house for his family here. He’s a success story, if I’ve ever heard one. Dude is full of talent and wisdom, and he makes living in Crestone a lot richer for the rest of 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

  • October 6 · 2 min

    AROMA 10.06.26

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.com Trigger warning. This is a conversation about sexual assault. The obligatory commentary on the Cornell case. But really, we don’t know the details about that particular case, so it’s more about these kinds of cases. He said, she said, they said, he changed his story, she recanted, they said something else and the lawyers said to say nothing at all.

  • October 5 · 1 hr 21 min

    Spencer Grey (Japan/Travel)

    Originally from South Africa, Spencer has lived around the world. He’s been in Japan long enough to learn the language and get real insight into the cultures. I’ve never been, but I’m fascinated by the 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

  • September 29 · 56 min

    Shane Gardner

    Shane has spent the past few years building out a schoolbus, and now he’s taking it out on the road. His first stop was Crestone. Our previous podconvo was ten years ago. Follow Shane’s travels on his Instagram. 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

  • September 28 · 2 min

    ROMA 9.28.26

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.com Is “genocide” the right word? Does it matter? Are our “leaders” psychopaths? Is it possible to do what they do and NOT be psychopathic?Instructions for getting the paid RSS feed in apps is here.

  • September 18 · 5 min

    ROMA 9.18.26

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.com Are we ruled by the Closetocracy? Is Andrew Tate a paragon of unresolved trauma? Would Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton work as national leaders? To what extent does cultural context define our experiences? Are certain experiences universally traumatic, or does it depend on the where, when, and why? What to do about venomous snakes in our midst?

  • September 15 · 2 min

    ROMA 9.15.26

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.com Is Super El Niño gonna kill us? Is AI gonna kill us? Is Donald Trump or Putin or Iran gonna kill us? Are things really as out of control as they seem, or is this just what happens when attention becomes a commodity? What’s happening inside AI? What’s happening inside ANY science? Does anyone really know WTF is going on?

  • September 7 · 1 hr 49 min

    James (Bison Rancher)

    James grew up in suburban Chicago, studied philosophy in college, and after trips to Tanzania (living with the Hadza) and working on farms in New Zealand, he moved with his wife to Colorado’s San Luis Valley. They now run a 66-acre property where they’re raising a young son, planning to fence the land for a small bison herd, and running a business (PurePrairieLife.com) selling freeze-dried bison organ supplements. James also runs a cannabis-focused website. Our conversation ranges from regenerative ranching to hunter-gatherer generosity norms versus Western individualism to religious hypocrisy to “ruthless compassion” — the idea that real kindness sometimes requires harsh boundaries (illustrated through killing rattlesnakes, ending relationships, and giving honest feedback). The episode closes on parenthood, mortality, and the possibility of “joyous grief.” 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

  • September 5 · 2 hr 5 min

    Chris Ingram

    Chris and I are old friends, from back in the 90s, when I lived in a mansion in Barcelona infested with fashion models. He and his lingerie-model girlfriend were my next-door neighbors. One night in Paris, Chris was drugged and raped by a man who moved in the same circles as many of the powerful, wealthy predators associated with Jeffrey Epstein. 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

  • August 29 · 2 min

    ROMA 8.29.26

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.com Following up on the previous ROMA where I explore the bird’s-eye view of AI. Is our behavior driven by a parasite? Is AI a self-replicating techno-virus? Is it “speciesist” to lament the demise of Homo sapiens as the next form of life rises from our ashes?

  • August 24 · 46 min

    Lloyd Kahn at Home

    Somehow, my mic never got turned on, so this one is all-guest. The perfect episode! Lloyd is a builder, a writer, a photographer, a publisher, an athlete and a great friend. 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

  • August 17 · 2 min

    AROMA 8.17.26

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.com We dig into what it feels like to come of age under a permanent sense of "the world could end any moment," comparing Cold War duck-and-cover anxiety to a millennial generation shaped by 9/11, economic collapse, and climate dread. Anya shares thoughts about turning 38. We talk about our past lives, Anya’s formerly unhealthy focus on health, reckoning wit…

  • August 13 · 2 min

    ROMA 8.12.26

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.com Are we like beavers who drown in pools we’re busy building?

  • August 12 · 2 hr 1 min

    Kyle Thiermann (Surfer, Author, Young Dude)

    I sat down over coffee with Kyle on my recent drive through Santa Cruz. Our spontaneous, far ranging conversation included birding in Manhattan, our differing learning styles, how we share the curse of having been raised by loving parents, One Last Question Before You Go — Kyle’s wonderful book about interviewing our parents, and how to optimize one’s life by opting 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

  • August 11 · 1 hr 11 min

    Richard Schweid

    Richard is one of my favorite writers and one of my favorite people. His books have followed his interests, from chili peppers to the Cuban revolution to eels to homelessness to life after death to cockroaches to the mysteries and intricacies of farming octopus. The phrase “insatiable curiosity” comes to mind. But he’s not just curious, he’s a very fine writer and a compassionate reporter. His books take you places that are fascinating, touching, and totally unexpected. I hope you’ll pick one up. 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

  • July 21 · 2 min

    ROMA 114 (Viva España!)

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.com The world cup, seen through the eyes of an anthropologist. The significance of Barca. Why it’s “more than a club.” Why Argentinians can be so obnoxious. How being alone in Spain can feel less lonely than being among Americans.

  • July 13 · 1 hr 31 min

    Dave Booda

    Dave has been around. He spent eight years in the navy, lived in Bali for a while, led hundreds of intimacy workshops, explored non-monogamous relationships and intentional communities, been to Burning Man five times, studied with various gurus and legit teachers, and doesn’t take any of it (including himself) too seriously. He writes self-reflective songs and sings them from the heart. He leans into his fears and nurtures vulnerability in himself and others. He’s on a path, in other words. My kinda 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

  • July 10 · 9 min

    ROMA 113

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.com Are the vikings cool yet? The importance of distance in historical thinking. Some really shitty, misguided dating advice. My own insecurities around giving advice. Graham Platner and the possibly self-defeating desire to elect nice, healthy, honest people to represent us in the snake pit located in our nation’s capital.

Showing 1–20 of 35 episodes