Joe Yannetty has been around the block a time or two. He's been doing standup comedy around the world for a couple decades, as well as writing for film and TV. Amidst all that, he went through a cancer ordeal and emerged a better man. Thoughtful, funny, and deeply kind, Joe is an inspiration. Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my way. Intro music: “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range; "A Good America...
Jul 04, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Miguel Romero is my pal in Mexico City. He writes for The Daily Grail , does graphic design , and has interests ranging from crop circles to psychic phenomena to UFOs to ... you get the idea. He's a smart dude with informed, thoughtful perspectives on the current mess we're in. Miguel on Twitter and Instagram . Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my way. Intro music: “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Ran...
Jun 24, 2021•1 hr 39 min
I first met Richard Schweid over a poker table many moons ago. A native of Nashville, he has lived in Barcelona for a good spell. He is a founder and senior editor of the city magazine Barcelona Metropolitan. His previous books include Consider the Eel, Hereafter: Searching for Immortality, and The Cockroach Papers: A Compendium of History and Lore . He served as production manager for the Oscar-nominated film Balseros, a documentary feature about Cuban refugees. Richard's latest book is The Car...
Jun 18, 2021•1 hr 24 min
Buddies since their tours in Iraq in the Marines, Joe and Jesse founded Solution Point + in order to use their experience as police officers to bring better training models to police departments around the country. Their approach relies on collaborative partnerships within local communities and prioritizing behavioral and cultural change within law enforcement agencies to better handle calls involving mental health crises. Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast...
Jun 12, 2021•1 hr 15 min
Tao Ruspoli is a dear friend of mine and one of the most creative, magical people I know. He makes films, music, photographs, festivals ... worlds. We had this conversation in the music studio (former garage) at his compound near Joshua Tree, CA. Tao's podcast is called Being in the World . Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my way. Intro music: “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range; "A Thought is Jus...
Jun 10, 2021•1 hr 27 min
Kraig Adams is a filmmaker, hiker and minimalist living in New York City. I like this dude. Kraig on Instagram and YouTube . Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my way. Intro music: “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range; "Little Gardens," by Eric Vitoff ; "Faith," by Joshua Redman ; "Smoke Alarm," by Carsie Blanton . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get ...
May 24, 2021•2 hr 5 min
Dr. Paul Saladino is the author of The Carnivore Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Optimal Health by Returning to Our Ancestral Diet. He has used the carnivore diet to "reverse autoimmunity, chronic inflammation and mental health issues in hundreds of patients, many of whom had been told their conditions were untreatable." In addition to his personal podcast, Fundamental Health , he can be found featured on numerous podcasts including The Minimalists, The Model Health Show, Bulletproof Radio, The D...
May 16, 2021•2 hr
Dean Radin, PhD, is Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and Associated Distinguished Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies. He earned a BS in electrical engineering (magna cum laude, with honors in physics), and then an MS in electrical engineering and a PhD in psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Before joining the IONS research staff in 2001, Radin worked at AT&T Bell Labs, Princeton University, University of Edinburgh, and SRI I...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 45 min
A few amazing intro snips from listeners (including a guy up a tree rescuing a cat), some talk about the nature of "friendship" in Hollywood, and an in-depth rant about this article and the problem with contemporary tendencies to argue backwards from a desired belief, rather than forward from data. Music: "Beyond Belief," by Elvis Costello. Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my way. This is a public episode...
May 04, 2021•1 hr 14 min
Here's the audio from this month's video ROMA that I make for supporters of the podcast. No video for you (!) but some extras, including talking about when/how to offer advice to friends, and how sometimes it's not about what the friend needs, it's what YOU need. Plus, what to do when you can't find your path, how to negotiate (or not) at the beginning of a relationship, and lots of other interesting issues. Music: " The End ," by the Stereo MCs; " Daniela ," by the John Butler Trio. Find me on ...
Apr 30, 2021•1 hr 33 min
ERIC BERKOWITZ is a writer, lawyer, and journalist. He has a degree in print journalism from University of Southern California and has published in The Los Angeles Times and The Los Angeles Weekly , and for the Associated Press . He was an editor of the West Coast’s premier daily legal publication, The Los Angeles Daily Journal . He lives in San Francisco. He is the author of: The Boundaries of Desire: Bad Laws, Good Sex, and Changing Identities and Sex and Punishment: Four Thousand Years of Jud...
Apr 29, 2021•1 hr 43 min
Jamie is an expert in peak performance and leadership, specializing in neuroanthropology––the intersection of culture, biology and psychology. He is the co-author of the global bestseller and Pulitzer Prize nominated Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, Navy SEALs and Maverick Scientists are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work and the founder of the Flow Genome Project, an international organization dedicated to the research and training of ultimate human performance. His new book, Recapture ...
Apr 27, 2021•1 hr 33 min
" Tracy Clark-Flory grew up wedged between fizzy declarations of “girl power” and the sexualized mandates of pop culture. It was “broken glass ceilings” and Girls Gone Wild infomercials. With a vague aim toward sexual empowerment, she set out to become what men wanted—or, at least, understand it." Tracy's book, Want Me: A Sex Writer's Journey Into the Heart of Desire , is intimate, courageous, vulnerable, and beautifully written. Follow Tracy on Twitter . Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please...
Apr 21, 2021•1 hr 36 min
Steven Donziger is a renowned lawyer, writer, and public speaker with a focus on addressing human rights abuses and corporate malfeasance. He is part of the team working with indigenous and farmer communities in an area of the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest suffering from high cancer rates and other health ailments related to the massive oil pollution caused by Texaco, now owned by Chevron. Due to highly suspicious legal maneuvers on the part of Chevron and their lawyers, Steven has been under hou...
Apr 15, 2021•57 min
Robert Wright is an American journalist and author who writes about science, history, politics, and religion. He has written five books: Three Scientists and Their Gods: Looking for Meaning in an Age of Information (1988), The Moral Animal (1994), Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny (1999), The Evolution of God (2009), and Why Buddhism is True (2017). He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Bloggingheads.tv and the founder and editor-in-chief of Meaningoflife.tv . (Conversation begins at 35 ...
Apr 12, 2021•1 hr 58 min
Rafe Kelley is an unusual guy. As focused on ideas as he is on physical movement, Rafe has studied martial arts, philosophy, parkour, anthropology, gymnastics, and evolution. He comes from an unusual family background (to put it mildly), and now teaches natural movement to everyone from UFC fighters to retired grandmothers. Super interesting, introspective, honest guy. Rafe on Insta and Twitter . Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast. This Amazon affiliate lin...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 57 min
This is one of those "flush the pipes" ROMAs, where I talk about a slew of things that seemed unrelated until I started talking about them. By the end, I realized that they're all aspects of the same issue. Anyway, it goes from a defense of Dan Savage to the demise of organized religion to the necessary irrationality of group identity to institutional momentum to whether sex and gender are biological or merely cultural phenomena. This episode is sponsored by Lelo , creator of the world's most am...
Mar 24, 2021•56 min
Jenny is a multi-disciplinary artist and writer based in Oakland, California, whose work generally involves acts of close observation, whether it's birdwatching , collecting screen shots , or trying to parse bizarre forms of e-commerce . Her work has been exhibited at many prestigious museums and galleries, and she was the artist in residence at the San Francisco dump! Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Believer, The Paris Re...
Mar 19, 2021•1 hr 36 min
Dr. Brian Hare is a core member of the Center of Cognitive Neuroscience, a Professor in Evolutionary Anthropology, and Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. He received his PhD from Harvard University in 2004, and in 2005, following his work at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig was awarded the Sofia Kovalevskaja Award, Germany’s most prestigious award for scientist under 40. In 2007, Smithsonian Magazine named Hare one of the top 35 scientists under 36. Hare has published over 100 sc...
Mar 10, 2021•1 hr 41 min
Roger Nygard is perhaps best known for his acclaimed documentary Trekkies , about the most obsessive fans in the Universe. Nygard’s previous documentary The Nature of Existence , addressed the subject of the world’s philosophies, religions, and belief systems. Nygard has also directed television series such as The Office and The Bernie Mac Show . His work as a film editor includes Grey’s Anatomy , The League , and Emmy-nominated episodes of Who Is America? and Veep and Curb Your Enthusiasm . Nyg...
Mar 01, 2021•2 hr 3 min
Bryan Callen is a stand-up comedian, actor, writer, podcaster, and a friend of mine. Bryan, on Instagram and Twitter . Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my way. Intro music: “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range; "Sometimes," by Daniel Lanois; "Smoke Alarm," by Carsie Blanton . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisr...
Feb 19, 2021•1 hr 23 min
John Colapinto is a journalist, author and a staff writer at The New Yorker . In 2000, he wrote the New York Times bestseller As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl , which exposed the details of the David Reimer case, a boy who had undergone a sex change in infancy—a medical experiment long heralded as a success, but which was, in fact, a failure. In 2007, The New Yorker published John's fantastic story of his time in the Amazon with the Pirahã people and linguist Daniel Everett. ...
Feb 18, 2021•2 hr
Over the past few years, people keep asking me if I'd read The Way of the Superior Man , by David Deida. Having long ago given up on being a superior man, I hadn't. Finally got around to reading it, and as you'll hear in this episode, I have some things to say about what I think Mr. Deida gets right and some equally passionate thoughts on what he gets very, very wrong. Find me on Instagram or Twitter . This episode is sponsored by Lelo , maker of the world's best sex toys. Use the code CHRISRYAN...
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Niles is a documentary photographer, filmmaker, and essayist who's work focuses around themes of ageless wisdom for our modern times. Sharing insights in his films, spoken-word essays, podcast "An Infinite Path," alternate media appearances, street photography blog "Philosophical Photography," and in mentorships with others. He is the director of the feature film Transmutation, the documentary series Shamans of The Global Village, the shorts Balanced Opposites and Mystery of History, and a colle...
Feb 10, 2021•2 hr 23 min
What a woman! Deborah Copaken has slept in caves in Afghanistan, produced documentaries, raised three kids, and written best-selling books on the A train under the cold streets of Manhattan. She's smart, funny, tough, and honest. A perfect podcast guest, in other words. Deborah on Instagram and Twitter . Find me on Instagram or Twitter . This episode is sponsored by Lelo , maker of the world's finest sex toys. Use the code ChrisRyan at checkout to get 20% off any and all full-priced items. Enter...
Jan 20, 2021•1 hr 27 min
Welcome to another Ramblin' ROMA. Lots to cover in this one. I talk about: Current events (of course); How/why to compliment the women/men in your life; Why we need to think globally, but act locally; The life and death of my friend Diego Fresco; Why there's no shame in changing course in life; Some suggestions for taking advantage of COVID; Ideas for how to communicate with people enthralled with conspiracy theories; A new consulting service I'm offering, here ; Some ideas for seminars I'm cons...
Jan 17, 2021•1 hr 38 min
Hear that? That's the sound of shit hitting the fan. In this episode (not for the faint of heart), I trace current events back to the marriage of modern advertising and politics in the 1980s and the fragmentation of media. We're in for a wild ride, folks. It's just beginning. Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my way. Intro music: “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range, "American Kid," by Carsie Blanto...
Jan 10, 2021•1 hr 15 min
Eleanor Janega is a very smart, very funny medieval historian, specializing in late medieval sexuality, apocalyptic thought, propaganda, and the urban experience in general, and in central Europe more particularly. She teaches medieval and early modern history at a number of universities across London. She considers herself to be "a sad, sad medievalist," who hopes to "explain the medieval influences on the everyday world, and hopefully to get people through the quotidian grind of life in late s...
Jan 04, 2021•1 hr 57 min
In this episode, I answer listener questions about whether to savor or defend a world that may be dying, how to be single but not alone, how to choose a safe place to make a stand, and my feelings about the holiday season. Check What Makes This Thing Great? Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my way. Intro music: “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss ...
Dec 22, 2020•55 min
In this episode, I talk about how to think independently, why it's an important skill, and how to cultivate it -- all while dipping in and out of Paul Graham's essay, " How to Think for Yourself ." Find me on Instagram or Twitter . Please consider supporting this podcast. This Amazon affiliate link kicks a few bucks back my way. Intro music: “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range, "Disturbed," by Peter Gabriel ; "Distinto," by Orishas ; "Graceland at 4AM," by Bobby Weidman . This is a publi...
Dec 18, 2020•1 hr 36 min
