Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -2:02 Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Always choose the photo in which the woman looks good — even if you look like a grumpy weirdo. 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.

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -2:47 Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Are we like beavers who drown in pools we’re busy building? The Ludlow mining massacre I talk about is here. Love the new Iowa state motto: Check out Fabrizio. Here’s a bit about him: “Fabrizio grew up in poverty in Huánuco, Peru, and moved to the US at age fifteen, where he worked the lowest level jobs—busboy in a Mexican restaurant, door-to-door sales, etc.

“What’s Up, Doctopher?” is a free occasional newsletter. To gain access to all that juicy bonus content including ROMAs, TOMAs, AROMAs, travel updates, AMAs, What Makes this Book Great?, the DJCPR series, and an exclusive forum where you can interact directly with others in the Tangentially Speaking community, please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5/month or $50/year — less than a buck a week! If you’ve already subscribed, much obliged.

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -1:11:45 Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. 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.

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -2:47 Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. 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. Tangentially Speaking is a reader-supported publication.

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.

Rick (center) with Geddy and Alex, from Rush. 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). 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.

“What’s Up, Doctopher?” is a free occasional newsletter. To gain access to all that juicy bonus content including ROMAs, TOMAs, AROMAs, travel updates, AMAs, What Makes this Book Great?, the DJCPR series, and an exclusive forum where you can interact directly with others in the Tangentially Speaking community, please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5/month or $50/year — less than a buck a week! If you’ve already subscribed, much obliged.

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -16:56 Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Took this shot of the pyro-cumulus cloud formed by the fire just over the mountains. It’s creating its own weather systems. Crazy. Accents. The World Cup. How soccer strategies reflect on contemporary American politics. Marvin Harris, Cannibals and Kings, and the Big Man theory of leadership. If that sounds intriguing, please subscribe: Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Chris Ryan.

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 (available via Amazon or Jan’s site.) Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan is a reader-supported publication.