Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

Andy Bellerby, a firefighter-turned-public servant who has lived in the UK, Canada and Mexico. He recounts bold relocations, rapid credential transfer and rising to senior fire leadership. Conversations cover firefighting camaraderie, trauma and mental-health care, serendipitous career turns, and why he felt at home in the Rockies.

They talk about leaving Los Angeles and the feeling of coming home. They describe impressions from the tenth Bombay Beach Biennale. They reflect on returning to Crestone and choosing which discomforts to accept.

Jesse Bering, award-winning science writer and psychologist, discusses Ian Stevenson and decades of reincarnation research. They probe science communication, narrative bias, and ethical storytelling. Conversations jump from primate comparisons and sexuality to Stevenson’s most puzzling cases and methodological rigor.

Peter Michael Bauer, founder of Rewild Portland and veteran rewilding teacher, shares stories of learning ancestral skills and building community resilience. He discusses language and consciousness experiments, polyamory and grammar, and the ethics of engaging with indigenous practitioners. Conversation covers urban rewilding, leveling cultural mechanisms, and plans for courses and a film project.

Tao is a magical man, living a magical life. Film director, musician, philosopher, bon-vivant, and all-around lovely human being. I’m thrilled to bring him back into our party again (for the fourth time?). Anya, Tao and I recorded this in our van at his recent 50th birthday celebration. 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 got an email from a guy named Nick, who suggested I might like to meet his buddy, Ryley, who happened to be in Baja. I could sense the love and respect Nick felt for his friend. And then fate placed Ryley just a few miles down the coast from where we were camped out, so it all came together pretty organically. 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 fireside beach conversation that jumps between education and the war in Iran. They also riff on the moral thought experiment about those who walk away from Omelas. Casual, reflective moments and invitations to future gatherings round out the chat.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chrisryan.substack.comIn this one we talk about our reactions to “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” by Ursula K. LeGuin. Is there any walking away? What are we walking away from? Is there a way to live in this world without the stain of guilt and corruption? What does it mean to be in the world but not of it?

We figure out the framing a minute in. Thank you Nickalas Chisari, Bob Goldsmith, Dustin Fenster, Devin McManus, Raymundo Ortiz, and many others for tuning into our live video! Join us 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

Barbara, Anya’s grandmother, has lived a full life of 91 years and going strong. She’s lived all over the world, raised two sons, studied Jungian psychology, loved and lost and loved some more. 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