Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

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Following up on the previous ROMA where I explore the bird’s-eye view of AI. Is our behavior driven by a parasite? Is AI a self-replicating techno-virus? Is it “speciesist” to lament the demise of Homo sapiens as the next form of life rises from our ashes?

Somehow, my mic never got turned on, so this one is all-guest. The perfect episode! Lloyd is a builder, a writer, a photographer, a publisher, an athlete and a great friend.

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We dig into what it feels like to come of age under a permanent sense of "the world could end any moment," comparing Cold War duck-and-cover anxiety to a millennial generation shaped by 9/11, economic collapse, and climate dread. Anya shares thoughts about turning 38. We talk about our past lives, Anya’s formerly unhealthy focus on health, reckoning wit…

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Are we like beavers who drown in pools we’re busy building?

I sat down over coffee with Kyle on my recent drive through Santa Cruz. Our spontaneous, far ranging conversation included birding in Manhattan, our differing learning styles, how we share the curse of having been raised by loving parents, One Last Question Before You Go — Kyle’s wonderful book about interviewing our parents, and how to optimize one’s life by opting out.

Richard is one of my favorite writers and one of my favorite people. His books have followed his interests, from chili peppers to the Cuban revolution to eels to homelessness to life after death to cockroaches to the mysteries and intricacies of farming octopus. The phrase “insatiable curiosity” comes to mind. But he’s not just curious, he’s a very fine writer and a compassionate reporter. His books take you places that are fascinating, touching, and totally unexpected. I hope you’ll pick one up.

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The world cup, seen through the eyes of an anthropologist. The significance of Barca. Why it’s “more than a club.” Why Argentinians can be so obnoxious. How being alone in Spain can feel less lonely than being among Americans.

Dave has been around. He spent eight years in the navy, lived in Bali for a while, led hundreds of intimacy workshops, explored non-monogamous relationships and intentional communities, been to Burning Man five times, studied with various gurus and legit teachers, and doesn’t take any of it (including himself) too seriously. He writes self-reflective songs and sings them from the heart. He leans into his fears and nurtures vulnerability in himself and others. He’s on a path, in other words. My kinda guy.

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Are the vikings cool yet? The importance of distance in historical thinking. Some really shitty, misguided dating advice. My own insecurities around giving advice. Graham Platner and the possibly self-defeating desire to elect nice, healthy, honest people to represent us in the snake pit located in our nation’s capital.

With almost 800 episodes in the archives, new listeners (and old) often ask me for recommendations. In response, I’ll occasionally re-post some of my favorites. This was my first conversation with Rick Beato (Episode 420, 5/18/2020).

Some reasons you might want to listen to this episode.

On what Rick Beato actually does for people who love music:

Chris Ryan: “He is like the Anthony Bourdain of music. He takes you to a place you’ve never been — or you have been, but you just never noticed it the way he does. And you’ll never experience...

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Accents. The World Cup. How soccer strategies reflect on contemporary American politics. Marvin Harris, Cannibals and Kings, and the Big Man theory of leadership.

Jan is a historian specializing in telling the stories of the many extraordinary women of the Old West — many of them madams and prostitutes. She’s written many books, including: Brothels, Bordellos & Bad Girls: Prostitution in Colorado, 1860-1930, Red Light Women of the Rocky Mountains, and Extraordinary Women of the Rocky Mountain West.

I love talking with Kevin about cutting-edge technology. He’s up to his neck in the stuff. He doesn’t just dabble in it. He’s practically submerged in it. I hope you enjoy this conversation with someone who knows what’s happening, because he’s one of the people making it happen. If you appreciate commercial-free, bullshit-free conversations like this one, please consider helping to support the podcast.

Robert Wright is the New York Times bestselling author of The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning. His previous books include: The Evolution of God (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), Nonzero, The Moral Animal, Three Scientists and their Gods (a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award), and Why Buddhism Is True. He is the cofounder and editor-in-chief of the widely respected Bloggingheads.tv and MeaningofLife.tv. He has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Time, Slate, and The New Republic. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania...

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Would it be such a bad thing if Iran nuked up? Robert Thurman lived a great life. Fukuyama on our innate lack of gratitude for liberal democracy. Some great writing advice. A beautiful song in mystery languages.

Dadaonysus is an artist, scientist, gamer, adventurer, deep-thinker. Our conversation covers a lot of ground, from a difficult childhood to homelessness to being neurodivergent to prehistory. I like this guy, and think you will, too.

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Is Graham Platner the Trump of the left? Could there even be a Trump of the left? Are the pitchforks about to come out? Here’s the article about the pitchforks that I mention. And this is another essay well worth reading, about how the super-rich are building bunkers to hide in when shit gets real.

George Orwell, writing in 1943:

Mehran Seyed Emami is an Iranian therapist, podcaster, and founder of Ravannama (Persian Psychedelic Society), a community focused on psychedelic education, awareness, and harm reduction for Farsi speakers around the world.

Thank you Bejinha, Midwest Timecapsules, John Climenhaga, david price, Ryan Hichens, and many others for tuning into this live video with Anya Kaats! Join us for our next live video in the app. Check out the documentary I mention. It’s awesome.

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What are some of the potential unintended positive consequences of this shitstorm we’re all living through in 2026? Is there a way to question the US/Israel relationship without being accused of anti-semitism?

Ryan is an aspiring underachiever. He’s worked for NASA, planned and conducted his own scientific research at the CDC, and served as a foreign affairs analyst/speechwriter in the British Parliament; he’s founded four companies and he’s published peer-reviewed scholarship in fancy-pants journals across two separate academic disciplines. All this misguided, insecure early-life ambition mostly just taught him how disappointing and anticlimactic status-driven accomplishments can be. (His words.)

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We respond to a listener's question about our own addictive behaviors and addiction in general. How to engage with the inner voices. Why would one be sexual with a close friend? Why do some men prefer to scan the radio stations even if they don’t like the music very much? Upcoming Substack live about DTF St. Louis.

Guustaaf Damave is a Dutch technologist and writer based in Taiwan. He has been writing a weekly newsletter about AI, culture, and the future since 2023. You can read it at guustaaf.substack.com. He is also the author of The Minimum You Need to Do Before AI Changes Your Life: A No-Panic Checklist for Normal People in an Abnormal Moment. Learn more about the situation we all face here.

Author, historian, professor, podcaster, father, partner, son, funny and smart dude. Daniele is a man of many dimensions. We just bullshit for an hour or so, but I’d like to think it’s Grade A Prime bullshit. After this, we went out for Thai food. Wish you’d been there.

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Is violence ever justified? Is structural violence different from interpersonal? What about violence against property? What about when property is violent against us? Is the US/world approaching a tipping point? Deep issues considered from a shallow bathtub.

https://warehousefire.watch/

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Conspiracies and collapse. Felt the lightning. Waiting on the thunder.

The QWERTY keyboard and its resonance with cognitive and behavioral assumptions we all carry within us that are designed around conditions that no longer exist. And other stuff.

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On this AROMA, we answer a listener’s question about whether non-monogamy is an expression of a desire for escapism, fantasy, and a lack of commitment — a perpetual state of discontent. We talk about the nature of falling in love, projection, and what our longing can teach us if we engage with it intentionally. We also discuss the puer aeturnus archetype in connection to these themes, and how that energy manifests not only in people, but also within subcultures like Burning Man...

Andy grew up in the UK, but a series of events led him to drop his life there fly off to a place where he knew no one (although he was born there). As you’ll hear, that gutsy decision paid off very well.

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In which we talk about our last days in LA, our impressions of the tenth Bombay Beach Biennale, our arrival back in Crestone, and the importance of choosing your discomforts wisely.

Jesse Bering is an award-winning science writer specializing in evolutionary psychology and human behaviour. He is the author of The Incredible Afterlives of Dr. Stevenson, about the world's leading reincarnation researcher.

Peter Michael Bauer is an internationally known leader in the cultural rewilding movement. For over 20 years he has written and taught about rewilding. He has served as an expert source in multiple academic articles and books on the subject. He is the founder and director of Rewild Portland, a trend setting community based nonprofit.

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.

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.

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Probably our last AROMA from Baja. This one comes to you from a campfire on the beach. We talk about education, the war in Iran, and the ones who walk away from Omelas, among other things.

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In 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.

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.

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Updates on our Mexico travels, my attempts to master the flip-flop, my dermatological disabilities, Anya’s thing for older men (and why older isn’t necessarily better), and the blessings and burdens of being recognized for who we really are (and the complicated role of the recognizer).

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We respond to questions from listeners about therapy, whether shame fuels eroticism, why neither of us wants to have kids (or dogs), and whether we are in an “age inappropriate” relationship.