Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

Janelle is a lot more than a pretty face. She spent months exploring Colombia while bringing attention to the problem of illegal trafficking of endangered wildlife. She's a passionate defender of the natural world and an excellent photographer. Plus, she looks real good on two wheels. Janelle on Instagram: @motogypsy Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast on Patr...

Adam's writing ranges from surprising to insightful to necessary -- normally all of the above. He's been published everywhere from the New York Times to Men's Health to Outside. He's also written a slew of Lonely Planet guidebooks. With no experience or contacts, he decided he wanted to make a living traveling, and he's pulled it off.  Adam's Instagram and Twitter is @adamskolnick Find me on Insta...

Connor lives on a piece of desert that he and his family have shaped and caressed into Paradise. East End Eden is a living, working demonstration of what's possible with knowledge, planning, patience, and hard work. Hell yeah! Learn more about the land here . Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my w...

Bruce Parry is an English documentarian, indigenous rights advocate, author, explorer, trek leader and former Royal Marines commando officer. His documentary series for the BBC: Tribe, Amazon, and Arctic have shown Bruce exploring extreme environments, living with remote indigenous peoples and highlighting many of the issues on the environmental frontline. Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please...

Eleven listener messages and my rambling, non-sensical responses. Hey, it's free! Plus, some cool world music: "Tajabone," by Ismael Lo (Senegal); "Bubi Chen," by Sabah Habas Mustapha and the Jugala All-Stars (Indonesia); "Vivre," by Zap Mama (Democratic Republic of Congo). Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few...

Lloyd Kahn is the founding editor-in-chief of Shelter Publications, Inc., and is the former Shelter editor of the Whole Earth Catalog. He is also an author, photographer, and pioneer of the green building and green architecture movements. Music: “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range ; “I Don't Think You Understand,” by Goliath Flores ; “Smoke Alarm,” by Carsie Blanton . Find me on Instagram...

Stephen is a teacher, author, storyteller, spiritual activist, farmer, and founder of the Orphan Wisdom School , a teaching house and learning house for the skills of deep living and making human culture. It is rooted in knowing history, being claimed by ancestry, working for a time ​yet to come. Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. This Amazon affi...

During his long existential journey, Wim Hof came face to face with nature’s most primordial elements. Staring right back, the merciless cold and bountiful air revealed an energy now lost to most of modern society, dormant inside all of us and waiting to be reawakened. Having embraced these majestic forces, and breaking record after record in a range of death-defying feats, Wim resolved to share t...

I first met Charris at a beach party near Barcelona almost ten years ago. He remains one of the most creative, charming, and inspiring people I know. He’s off the grid, in pretty much any sense you can think of. If you’d like to know more about him and his family, check him out on the MonkeyTooth podcast . Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. This A...

Wednesday Martin's fantastic new book is called  Untrue: Why Nearly Everything We Believe About Women, Lust, and Infidelity Is Wrong and How the New Science Can Set Us Free . The book, like it's author, is smart, funny, surprising, and unapologetic. Twitter: @WednesdayMartin Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few...

Alexandra played Lt. Stephanie Holden for 5 seasons on Baywatch, and has appeared in over 100 feature films and many TV programs. She's a serious activist, using her platform to support voting rights, animal liberation, progressive energy policies, and family planning. Want more? She's an athlete who completed the World Ironman Championship in Hawaii (a grueling 2.44 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride,...

In 1969, 18 year-old Paul left Holland, hitchhiking east, with a vague sense that he wanted to spend time with Tibetans. His life has been a stream of adventure and insight ever since. Traveler, philosopher, builder, designer, artist, forager ... this is a man who knows how to live with depth, passion, and integrity. Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast on Patr...

  Mr. Money Mustache is a very early retiree who writes about how we can all live a frugal yet badass life of leisure. Based in Boulder, CO, he helps young people get their finances arranged to maximize freedom and minimize wasted time and money. Mr. Money Mustache's blog is here . Twitter . Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. This Amazon affiliate...

Theo Von is funny, smart, and deeply kind (and not necessarily in that order). He’s a guy on the fame train, wondering where to get off. I am really enjoying the process of getting to know him better, as you’ll hear. Theo's podcast is called "This Past Weekend." I was his guest on episode 100, here . Music: “Hot Air Balloons,” by Tennessee Bum . Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider su...

Aron Ralston is an avid outdoorsman, author, and motivational speaker. In April of 2003, he dislodged a boulder while descending a slot canyon at Blue John Canyon, in Eastern Wayne County, Utah, crushing his hand and pinning it against a canyon wall. After five days of entrapment with little water and food, Aron resorted to amputating his arm in order to free himself. The incident is documented in...

Ricardo happened to meet my pal Andrew (host of the Monkeytooth podcast) on the road, and Andrew thought we should hang. So we did. A few hours later, we were planning a motorcycle trip to Patagonia together. Trust me on this one. This dude is legit. Ricardo's site . His Instagram . Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. This Amazon affiliate link kic...

Susan is a healer, therapist, and Zen buddhist chaplain. She is also the founder of Willow Farm Contemplative Center , where she works with people facing end of life issues. 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...

If we don't grieve for the dead, are we necessarily cold-hearted? What's behind the collapse of the American empire? How to deal with the chaos and uncertainty of being young? How did disabled people fare among hunter-gatherers?  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....

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 su...

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 Gen...

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....

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...

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 chri...

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 n...

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, a...