Tangentially Speaking With Dr. Christopher Ryan

Pere is a science journalist who's not afraid to talk about taboo subjects. After finishing a PhD in biochemistry, he spent time at MIT and Harvard, finally deciding that he preferred writing/speaking about science to spending his life in labs. I met him in Puebla, Mexico. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Cesare is a professor of law at Loyola Law School, and an expert in international human rights. We discuss his amazing arrival in New York (punctuated by being offered $3 million by a stranger), cultures of bureaucracy vs. punitive lawsuits, European community vs. American "freedom," and why there are no curtains in Amsterdam's Red Light district. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Jincey has been called, "the lesbian Hugh Hefner," and named one of the 100 most influential gay people by Out Magazine. We talk about the challenges of being an openly gay lawyer in Jacksonville, FL, whether female orgasm is faked in lesbian porn, and the proper way for a gentleman to pee in public. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

LA is black widow country! We talk about disaster tattoos, penis nicknames, Fabio, the dangers of professing certainty in evolutionary theory, how the NAZIs ruined legitimate branches of scientific inquiry, plant neurobiology, and what scientists can learn from historians—among other things. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Ginger Norwood is exceptional in many ways. She's a bona-fide mathematical genius, the first woman to have taught at USC's School of Engineering, and she directed the project that designed and launched the first LandSat, a satellite that scans the Earth from orbit. I'm way out of my intellectual depth on this one. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Gloria is Daniele Bolelli's bad-ass mother. We talk about Gloria's fearless approach to motherhood, magical dreams, travel, and the ever-present mysteries of life. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Daniele and I talk about Guatemalan death squads, the differences between strip clubs in the US and Europe, and his world travels with his mother, Gloria. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Mary has written a whole slew of bestselling books, including Bonk, Gulp, Stiff, and Packing for Mars. In this IPA-fueled conversation, we range from bungee jumping in New Zealand to stunt flying with Tom Cruise off the coast of Malibu. Also, the best place to hide after robbing a bank. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

We talk tripping jaguars, Aubrey's four fascinating parents, being a guinea pig for the Los Angeles Lakers, antibiotic-induced impotence and the spiral of death, Miss USA's vagina, and the untold (until now) story of the origin of the Fleshlight. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Cindy Gallop went from a high-level position in advertising to starting companies focused on making the world a better place. She's a unique, fascinating woman, bursting with energy and intelligence. Her apartment (where this conversation took place) was a set for The Notorious B.I.G.'s music video "Nasty Girl." Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

We range from Moby's birthday party, the perks of minor-league fame, the upside of living in LA, being up to my neck in salmon mucus, the secret to Playboy centerfolds, and requests for sperm donation. Just your average conversation, in other words. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

If there's anything sweeter than finding a new friend, it's becoming friends with two guys who go way back. Joe and Duncan are old pals, and I'm honored to have joined the crew. Duncan got me started on this podcasting thing (and coined my moniker: The Shame Exorcist), and Joe's generosity helped get it off the ground. I love these guys. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

As a 17 year-old, Bruce was sent to prison, convicted of murdering his mother. But he was innocent; something the state of California finally acknowledged over 26 years later. What more can I say? Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

To call this conversation with Sex Nerd Sandra "wide-ranging" would be like calling Nepal "hilly." We talk about being hit by lightning, how to use lube on your laptop, the truth about female ejaculation, women who name their sex toys, and whether romantic love is a human universal. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Dr. Jason G. Goldman is a cognitive scientist and science writer based in Los Angeles. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Southern California, where he conducted research at the intersection of developmental psychology and animal cognition. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Dr. Stanton Peele is a prominent, outspoken critic of the disease model of addiction and the author of over a dozen books (most recently, Recover!: Stop Thinking Like an Addict and Reclaim Your Life with The PERFECT Program). Join us for a very personal conversation about addiction, the treatment industrial complex, and the dubious joys of writing for a living. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Join me in conversation with one of the most interesting guys I know. Writer, musician, director, Chris Jaymes opens up and shares amazing stories from his life, ranging from being strapped to a gurney in Boston, to meeting his mother's new boyfriend (surprise!), to digging up the bodies of tsunami victims in Thailand. This guy is LIVING. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Betty Dodson is a well-known pioneer in women's sexual liberation, having sold more than 1 million copies of her first book, Sex for One. Much of her fame has come from her work not only advocating masturbation, but conducting workshops for more than 30 years in which groups of about 10 or more women (and at least once a group of men) would talk, explore their own bodies, and masturbate together. She is a founder of the pro-sex feminist movement, having left behind the more traditional feminist movement because she considered it banal, antisexual and over-politicized. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

Thad is the author of "A Renegade History of the United States," and teaches at Occidental College. He's also a very smart guy, full of surprises, with whom I don't always agree—but with whom I always enjoy debating! If you don't find yourself shaking your head in amazement at some of the things Thad says in this one, you get your money back. Get full access to Tangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan at chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe

In which I introduce the series, talk about why I’m telling these stories, and lay out the ground rules I’ve set for myself. Then, I get into the first story, which covers my last two years of high school in Fairfield, CT and Cazenovia, NY. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisryan.substack.com/subscribe