Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

Murphy first appeared on this podcast seven years ago, in episode 121. He was 13 1/2 years old at that time, getting ready to swim across the river of adolescence. Seven years later, he’s experienced many of the things he was anticipating then. He’s every bit as thoughtful, kind, and insightful as I figured he’d become. If you sometimes feel despair about “kids these days,” people like Murphy can melt your cold, cold heart into a puddle of liquid hope. 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’ve known Stanley Krippner since the mid-1990s, when he invited me to join him on a three week trip to Brazil. He’s a world-famous researcher and author who has has hung out with everyone from Timothy Leary to Alan Watts to the Grateful Dead. He and I have traveled together to all over the planet, from a shamanism conference in Bavaria to a Psychoneuroimmunology conference in Buenos Aires to an adventure in search of the desert spirits in Morocco. We entered the “Sistine Chapel of Prehistoric Art” together at Lascaux, France and visited religious scholars in Kerala, India. I’m leaving out A LOT. He’s been a close friend for 25 years, and was one of the first (and most frequent) guests on the podcast. Here are links to previous episodes: 5, 24, 82, 169, 211 (with Wim Hof), and 263. He celebrated his 90th birthday yesterday. This conversation was recorded (with Anya Kaats) recently. As you’ll hear, he’s sharp as ever and full of wisdom and humor.Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “A Memory from a Past Life Keeps Calling Me Back,” by The KLF; Outro: “Homens,” by Manu Chao.And now for something extra, just for Substack subscribers, Stan discussing gender and sexuality from an anthropological perspective: 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 love this guy. He exudes kindness, generosity, and intelligence. This is the fourth time Rick’s been on Tangentially Speaking, but the first time we’ve met in person, so it’s a special conversation. We don’t talk about music as much this time around, but we go deep on family, dads, and how life looks from sixty. 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 mini-ROMA was recorded streamside at a Lund Park campground in Oregon. It includes an update on my dance with covid and some thoughts on a very strange word: bosom. 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

DEBORAH EDEN TULL, founder of Mindful Living Revolution, is a Zen meditation and engaged dharma teacher, public speaker, author, and sustainability educator who trained for seven and a half years as a Buddhist monk at a silent Zen monastery and has taught engaged dharma for over 20 years. Her most recent book is Luminous Darkness: An Engaged Buddhist Approach to Embracing the Unknown.Click here to listen to Anya Kaats’ conversation with Deborah Eden Tull on A Millennial’s Guide to Saving the World.Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “Dark Cloud,” by Chris Thomas King; Outro: “Smoke Alarm,” by Carsie Blanton.Here’s the link to our meetups. Check in, if you’re somewhere between Whitefish and Santa Cruz.And now for something extra, just for Substack subscribers. I’ve been listening to Peter Zeihan’s geo-political thinking lately. Here’s his take on Covid (recorded while on a month-long hike in the Sierras). 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

Alex Cody Foster’s next book, The Man Who Hacked the World: A Ghostwriter’s Descent into Madness with John McAfee, will be published November 15th (2022). In the meantime, the crazy story is told in the Netflix documentary called “Running with the Devil.” He’s ghostwritten eight #1 Amazon Bestsellers, written for one of the U.K's most successful thriller writers, and worked as John McAfee's biographer for six months. Before all that, Alex built a solar-powered trike, hitchhiked across America, was homeless in LA where he was nearly murdered, lost his mind, got it back, crewed on a yacht, and became a writer.Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “The Mark of a Good Man,” by Bimini Road; Outro: “Smoke Alarm,” by Carsie Blanton.And now for something extra, just for Substack subscribers:If you prefer to watch, click through to the Substack page and you’ll find a video of our conversation (including extra bonus content I edited out of the podcast recording, including a look at his shiner and a reference to an orgy with Mick Jagger). 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

Katherine Halper is an American comedian, writer, filmmaker, podcaster, and political commentator. She is the host of the podcast The Katie Halper Show and co-host of the Useful Idiots with Aaron Maté. 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

Zappy Zapolin is driven by his belief that psychedelic medicine is the most powerful tool available to quickly raise consciousness and alter humanity’s direction from a destructive path. He has made it his life's mission to increase accessibility to psychedelic compounds through education, media, research, clinical development, and commercial enterprises. Zappy’s Instagram account is here.Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “Pop Culture,” KnowMads; Outro: “Smoke Alarm,” by Carsie Blanton. Here’s the map tool for Tangentialistas.And now for something extra, just for Substack subscribers: 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 was recently on Cory’s podcast, and I enjoyed our conversation so much that I proposed we keep it rolling on mine. That’s how it works with us podcasters. Dinner at my place, dinner at your place. In addition to hosting his very successful podcast, Cory has published a book about mindfulness, and has written, produced, and engineered his own music and helped lots of other musicians through the creative process. Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “Jungle,” Tash Sultana; Outro: “Smoke Alarm,” by Carsie Blanton.Info about the Ancestral Health Symposium is here. You can get tickets to Rick Beato’s event in LA here.And now for something extra, just for Substack subscribers: 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

On his second visit to the podcast, Frans discusses his latest book, Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist, as well as one of my favorite books, Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape, which he co-authored with photographer Frans Lanting.Frans received his Ph.D. in Biology and Zoology from Utrecht University, the Netherlands, in 1977. He completed his postdoctoral study of chimpanzees while associated with Utrecht University, in 1981, and moved the same year to the USA. He is C. H. Candler Professor Emeritus of Primate Behavior at Emory University and the former director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia. If you’d like more, here is my previous conversation with Frans, from 2015:Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “Monkey,” by Joe Henry; Outro: “Smoke Alarm,” by Carsie Blanton.And now for something extra, just for Substack subscribers:Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan is a reader-supported publication. To receive bonus material, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. 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