Does peak experience ruin normal experience?

Why not just run ads?

How can we know we’re not full of shit?

Is community possible in the modern world?

All this and more!

Jef Taylor has worked in politics, advertising, and independent filmmaking. His podcast is called onefjef, and you can find on any platform or at onefjefpod.com.

Topics: How is a plate of peas a key to a life well-lived? A few pivotal moments in my early 20s. Respond to the argument, not the person making it. Are there really “rules of war?” The enraging hypocrisy of intelligent people concerning American foreign policy. The time I stood between two famous gay men, pissing in a trough. And more!

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A recent health scare. What do I miss about living in Europe? Where do I think AI is taking us, and how will it affect human relationships? How is travel different now from 30 years ago? What food changed my thinking? What’s the evolutionary significance of celebrity? All this and more in ROMA 98.

Adam is a well-known author, journalist, and podcaster. He’s covered travel, adventure sports, human rights and the environment for many outlets. He’s perhaps best known as the ghostwriter and audiobook narrator of the pair of smash-hit memoirs by David Goggins, but he’s also the author of One Breath - Freediving, Death and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits. Adam’s debut novel, American Tiger, is out now.

Does raging against the machine serve as a distraction from trying to control or unplug the machine? Gender reveal parties don’t reveal gender! Cameron Shayne's inspirational visit. My three-day fast. Did my dad give up or was he just tired?

An award-winning journalist, pro big wave surfer, and podcast host with more than four hundred episodes, Kyle Thiermann is a good friend and long-time tangentialista.

His first book is called One Last Question Before You Go: Why You Should Interview Your Parents.

This one happened fast. A week ago, a publicist reached out to ask if I’d possibly be interested in helping to promote a documentary about a guy (a white guy) who thinks he’s supposed to bring together the native people of South and North America — whose combined teachings will then spread across the planet and save us all. My first impression was that this one sounded crazy, possibly racist, and not something I really want to spend time on. But the fact that the director had worked with Werner Herzog caught my attention. (I love me some Werner Herzog.) So I agreed to check out a screener, and last night, Anya and I sat down to watch at least the first few minutes — reluctantly.

WTF?! We were hooked immediately, watched the whole thing in amazement, and this afternoon, less than 24 hours later, Gabe Polsky and I sat down to talk about his film. If it’s playing anywhere near you, trust me, go see it. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll get a little confused and grossed out … but you will not — guaranteed — get bored.

Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. “I Saved the World Today,” by The Eurythmics. Outro: “Invocation (A Prophecy),” by Richard Bona.

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If you buy from Amazon, my link is here. (You can click on it once, then bookmark that as your go-to Amazon link so it’ll always work.)

Buy some merch from my mom here.

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In this last episode of the series, Riley Morton and I talk about the period beginning when I chose to write about prehistoric human sexuality in graduate school through the writing and publishing of Sex at Dawn. It gets personal. I talk about how some of my own sexual experiences informed my thinking about how sexuality functioned in ways I hadn’t considered and I get into Cacilda’s crucial participation in the creation of our book.

Words that mean both what they mean and the opposite of what they mean. Early days of learning Spanish and the psychological repercussions of not knowing exactly what you’re saying. When philosophy conflicts with reality. Open borders. “The past was horrible!”