Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

What is music, anyway? Does a Beethoven sonata elicit the same emotions if played for someone who's never heard western music? Do any other animals experience music? Is singing related to crying? To laughing? These are the sorts of questions an ethnomusicologist thinks about. I learned a lot from Steve, and suspect you will, too.  Steve's site. Find me on Instagram or Twitter. Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my way. 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

Duncan is qualified to receive your reverence. He deserves it, too. You could live many lifetimes without meeting anyone who combines as much humor, wisdom, and sincerity as this guy. I'm always happy when we find some time to hang out, and especially when we're both living such pivotal moments in our lives. Check out The Duncan Trussell Family Hour podcast. Music: "Suffer Well," by Simon van Gend.  Find me on Instagram or Twitter. Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my way. 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

Adi Jaffe, Ph.D. is a nationally recognized expert on mental health, addiction and stigma. He lectures in the Psychology department at UCLA. He is passionate about the role of shame in destroying lives and aims to greatly reduce the stigma of mental health in this country. In this context, Dr. Jaffe has used his personal experience as an incredibly effective inspirational and motivational tool. During his undergraduate career, Adi began struggling with drug issues himself, eventually leading to a 4 year hiatus from studies and into the Los Angeles drug-dealing world, where Adi's days looked more like a re-enactment of a beatnik novel or a Quentin Tarantino film than the life of an upper-middle class suburban kid. Following a SWAT team arrest in his apartment, and extended court case and a year-long jail sentence, Adi began rebuilding his life. This eventually led to his attainment of a Ph.D. from UCLA's doctoral program in psychology.  Music: "Ride," by Brett Newski.  Find me on Instagram or Twitter. Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my way. 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

Weston likes a challenge. He gets things done. At the moment, he's off on a month-long hunting trip in the Colorado Rockies. He took up falconry as a way to transition out of a hyper-vigilant war consciousness back into something more appropriate to suburban Boulder. Thoughtful, generous, tough. I like this 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

In his mid-20s, Seth took a look at his life and realized it made no sense. Rather than doubling down on a losing hand, he basically started over. He changed his life and lost half his body weight in the process. Ten years later, he's a very different man on a path with heart. 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

Layne's research has been focused on extraordinary abilities in people with cognitive deficits. She's recently left a stellar academic career in order to consult directly with families facing the challenges an atypical child will generate. She has been featured on CNN with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, SiriusXM Doctor Radio, The Coffee Klatch – Special Needs Radio, and Rhode Island PBS ‘School Talk’. She is now based at Ghost Ranch, in Arizona. 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

Michael has devoted his life to the simple, radical notion that a home can provide the essential elements of a good life: shelter, food, water, waste management, and energy. His designs for Earthships provide all of this and more, as they're largely made from discarded materials: tires, bottles, cans, and so on. If your home can provide what you need, you've suddenly become free, revolutionary, and very dangerous. 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

Abby Martin is an American journalist who asks questions and challenges assumptions in a way very few journalists ever dare. She speaks truth to power with a snarl. You can see her show, The Empire Files on TeleSur and YouTube. 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

Patrick House explores the brain, how it works, what it is, and the tiny creatures that invade it and rearrange the furniture. This raises fundamental questions like: What are we? What does it mean to be alive? and How conscious are we of our consciousness? 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

Captain James Nash is the fifth generation of his family to live on the 6 Ranch, raising cattle near Joseph, OR. James served in the US Marine Corps as a tank officer and fought in Afghanistan after which he was awarded two Purple Hearts. 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