Episodes to get you Started (or to Revisit)

With over 500 episodes to choose from, here are a few curated lists.

Sometimes I’ll get an email from someone saying, “Hey, I just found your podcast. Can you send me a list of your favorite episodes?”

Actually, no, I can’t. While it’s nice to hear from a new listener, that’s an impossible ask. I have no clue who this person is, so I don’t know what would resonate with them. And I’m sure my experience as a participant in the conversation is radically different from a listener’s experience. Also, I’ve been doing this since Barack Obama’s hair was black, Osama Bin Laden was happily watching porn in a cave, and Joe Rogan loved California. So let’s say my memory of all 550+ episodes isn’t exactly crystal clear.

But I spent a recent afternoon looking through the archives and, while I can’t say which episodes are my personal favorites, I’ve put together some lists of good ones to get you started (or to go back to if you missed them). These are in no particular order, and roughly categorized. You’ll see some cross-posting, because some folks are prime examples of two or three categories (i.e. famous and an author and a porn star and a comic, etc.).

Without further ado, here you go. (Drop me a line if you think of some I should add.) Also, lots of these folks have been on more than one episode, which is signified by “++.” In those cases, I’ve linked to their first appearance, but if you want to hear more with them, just do a search of the archives for the additional episodes.

Freakin’ Famous. Other stuff too, but pretty freakin’ famous:

• Joe Rogan and Duncan Trussell ++ (Comics/podcasters)

• Wim Hof ++ (“The Iceman”)

• Simon Rex ++ (“Dirt Nasty,” star of Red Rocket)

• Peter Sagal (NPR host)

• Angela White (World’s #1 Porn Diva)

• Dan Savage (Sex and relationship guru)

• Dr. Andrew Weil (Early psychedelic researcher/alternative health pioneer/best-selling author)

• Neil Brennan (Co-creator of The Chapelle Show, comic)

• Tony Gonzalez (Hall of Fame NFL player)

Amazing Stories. Prison, tragedy, hard-won wisdom, unusual obsessions:

• Lodhi (Solo motorcycle trip from London to Islamabad in 1968)

• Troy Mitchell (Fourteen bank robberies/prison escape)

• Bruce Lisker (Falsely convicted of murder/28 years in prison)

• Richard Bandy (Awoke from surgery with no memory of his previous life)

• John Porter (Rattlesnake obsessive)

• The Death Letter (Mysterious and moving)

• Alisa Esposito (On death, grief, redemption)

• Tim Scully (Major LSD chemist in 1960s)

• Chris Jaymes ++ (Best man at his mother’s wedding … to his best friend)

• Charris Ford (Ecological rapper)

• Aron Ralston (Cut off his arm to survive hike in Utah desert, played by James Franco in 127 Hours)

• J.R. Martinez (Severe burns in Iraq/motivational speaker)

Scientists. Lots of these folks are also authors, as well as researchers:

• Bruce Damer (Origins of life/Space exploration)

• Jeff Leach (Microbiome/anthropologist)

• Jesse Bering (Sexologist, author)

• Frans de Waal ++ (Primatologist, author)

• Stanley Krippner ++ (Parapsychologist, author)

• Dacher Keltner (Psychologist, human nature)

• Charlie Zender (Climate scientist)

• Brian Hare (Primatologist/canine behaviorist)

• Dean Radin (Parapsychologist)

• Charles Grob (Psychiatrist, psychedelic therapy)

• Carl Hart (Neuroscientist)

• Ginger Norwood (Physicist/mathematician)

Music:

• Rick Beato ++ (Multi-instrumentalist/producer/educator)

• Carsie Blanton ++ (Truth-teller, singer-songwriter)

• Colin Craveiro (Singer-songwriter)

• Greg Simmons (Preserving endangered music.)

• Tao Ruspoli ++ (Flamenco guitarist/Italian royalty)

• Steve Mullins (Ethnomusicologist)

• Simon von Gend (Singer-songwriter)

Comics:

• Joe Rogan ++

• Neil Brennan

• Jake Johannson ++

• Nikki Glazer

• Chris D’Elia

• Bryan Callen ++

• Theo Von

• Ari Shaffir ++

Friends and Family:

• Julie Ryan (my mom)

• Beth Ryan (my sister)

• Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan ++

• Justin deRuyter ++ (Firefighter, crazy rafting experience)

• Cacilda Jethá ++ (Partner, psychiatrist, co-author of Sex at Dawn)

• Anya Kaats ++ (Partner, podcast host, writer)

• Tao Ruspoli ++ (Film-maker, photographer, musician)

• Debra Berger ++ (Artist, designer, bohemian)

• Chris and Nani (Hosts of luxury camp spot in rural Tanzania)

• Murphy Pelot ++ (At 13 and at 21)

• Stanley Krippner ++ (Friend, professor, mentor).

Authors (Pick one at random or see whose name you recognize):

• Dennis McKenna

• Wade Davis

• Neil Strauss ++

• Mary Roach

• Tim Cahill

• Richard Schweid

• Tucker Max

• Gabor Mate

• Danielli Bolleli ++

• Tony Perrottet ++

• Dan Carlin

• John Colapinto

• Michael Shermer ++

• Eric Berkowitz ++

• Geoff Dyer

• Jude Angelini

• Johann Hari ++

• Rutger Bregman

• Robert Wright

Sex:

• Angela White (“The Meryl Streep of Porn”)

• Greg Lansky (Hugely successful porn producer/director: Blacked/Tushy)

• Nina Hartley (Maybe the biggest porn star of the 70s/80s)

• Icy Mike (Co-Founder of Reality Kings, huge online porn company)

• Dan Savage (author, columnist: Savage Love)

• Betty Dodson (Pioneer in women’s empowerment/masturbation)

• Susie Bright (Feminist icon, author, former sex worker)

• David Ley (Psychologist, expert in men’s sexuality, author)

• Asa Akira (Former porn star)

Travel/Adventure:

• Justin Alexander ++ (World traveler/disappeared in India)

• Wade Davis (Author/adventurer/NatGeo explorer)

• Bruce Parry (Explorer, TV host: Tribe/Going Tribal, with Bruce Parry)

• Callie Russell (Alone, season 7)

• Pree Kastelic (Hiked Appalachian trail)

• Nathaniel Farmer (Hiked Pacific Crest trail)

• Fabian Dittrich (Congo to Silicon Valley to Montenegro)

• Don Mirra (Special forces/Yosemite climber/SCUBA expert)

• Aidan Raley (Modern hobo)

• Peter Gorman (Editor of High Times, Amazon explorer, sapo pioneer)

• Tim Cahill (Author, Founder: Outside magazine)

• Ricardo Serpa (Motorcycle explorer)

• Paul Kloppenburg (Hitched from Amsterdam to India in 1969, when he was 18)

• Akshay Nanavati (Fearvana)

• Jeff Shapiro (Base jumper, wingsuit flyer, paraglider)

• Zofia (Motorcycle from Europe to Thailand)

• Ben Horton (NatGeo explorer, photographer, paraglider)

• Kraig Adams (Solo hiker, minimalist)

• Malith (Hitching rides on sailboats)