Tangentially Speaking With Dr. Christopher Ryan

Amber Lyon is a three-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, filmmaker, photographer, and explorer known for her use of submersion journalism, or becoming part of the story, to find the truth. Lyon is the founder of the news site, www.reset.me and the web show and podcast Reset with Amber Lyon. Lyon has traveled the world investigating natural cures, focusing on the ancient use of entheogens to treat and purge trauma.  She ventured deep into the Amazon to study the Shipibo use of the psychoactive brew Ayahuasca, and studied medicinal mushroom use by native curanderas in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico, Thailand and Indonesia.  Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Professor John Helliwell studies what makes people happy, and how we can maximize life-satisfaction. Learn more about his work here. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

This is a special episode. I was on stage at the Upright Citizen's Brigade theater in Hollywood with comedians Moshe Kasher, Nicky Glazer, and Nick Kroll. I think the idea was roughly to make fun of me and my wacky theories for an hour. I had a blast, as you'll hear, and gave them plenty of material to work with. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

When Aidan's car broke down four years ago, that was the last straw. He quit his job, threw his stuff into a bag, and hit the road, where he's been ever since. A young man who is clearly on an authentic quest of some sort, he's smart, articulate, and very thoughtful. This episode features his original music (and a cameo by Werner Herzog, just because). Download Aidan's music here. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Stephen O'Donnell paints exquisite "historicized self-portraits" in which his face appears in some unexpected places. Check out his work here. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Dr. Tonia Mills is an anthropologist with an additional degree in child development. She lived for years with the Beaver Indians of British Columbia and has studied many aspects of their society—particularly their beliefs around reincarnation. One of the many fascinating people I've met thanks to Stanley Krippner, Tonia shares some fascinating, intimate stories from her life among the Beaver people. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

My second summer in Alaska. This time, I got a job on a tender, and found myself engaged in an epic struggle for the soul of a young man. Photos at chrisryanphd.com. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

I don't always agree with renegade historian Thad Russell—you'll hear that we disagree passionately about "Death Panels" and whether Americans die in the streets—but I respect his intelligence and ballsy insistence on telling it like he sees it. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

You may know her from her very popular web series, Ask a Mortician, from a previous episode of this podcast (#25), or as the author of the fantastic book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory. Caitlin and I talk about life, death, and publishing.  Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Mitch Schultz wrote and directed the documentary, DMT: The Spirit Molecule (narrated by Joe Rogan). We talk about consciousness, making movies, and the joys of Austin, Texas. Find out more at spectralalchemy.com.Sponsors:SureDesignTshirts (code: sexatdawn)Audible Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Coupla very smart, very funny guys. They've been on Letterman, Conan, and late night what have you. Zach does crazy videos and rap, while Myq is a wordsmith extraordinaire. If you want to hear the part of the conversation where they were asking me questions, you'll find that here. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

It's 1983, and I'm on my first trip to a foreign culture with a sharpened Kung-Fu star hanging from my neck. One thing leads to another and I realize I've stumbled into something far deeper, and more dangerous, than I could have imagined. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

In which I spend some time working the slime line, scam my way out the door, and wake up on the wrong side of a jealous performance artist. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

A Korean kid in the American South, adopted by people who probably shouldn't have, lesbian, super-smart Harvard student, stand-up comic, diagnosed with an incurable disease at 30 ... Mandy has been there and there and there and back. Please join us for this powerful, heartfelt conversation about belonging, family, and that familiar feeling that we're getting better and dying at the same time. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

The only man I know who has passed a joint to a chimp sitting next to him in a tree, (or at least, who's admitted it to me!) Richard is a man of many dimensions. In part 1 of what I hope will be a multi-part series, we talk about his education, his first foray into business with one of America's first mountain bike shops, and what lessons rugby imparts in the "third half," among many other fruitful tangents.  Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Ceara is a sweet, smart, sexy young woman who degrades, dismisses and denigrates men over the internet. And they pay her handsomely to do it! What a world. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

One of the leading ethnobotanists in the world, Dennis has just published a fantastic memoir about his fascinating life (much of it shared with his very famous brother, Terence) called Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

When the salmon don't come, there's no work to be had in Kenai, Alaska. So what do you do? Get some tequila! Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

I get meta in this one—reading a paper I wrote 20 years ago about a near-death experience that happened to me 25 years ago. Damn, I'm getting old! Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

I found a mysterious letter on my car this morning. This is what it said. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe