
724 - Ryan Norbauer (Retro-futurist)
From Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan by Chris Ryan
May 19, 2026 · 1h 52m
About this episode
Ryan Norbauer discusses his diverse career and the disillusionment with status-driven accomplishments.
Ryan is an aspiring underachiever. He’s worked for NASA, planned and conducted his own scientific research at the CDC, and served as a foreign affairs analyst/speechwriter in the British Parliament; he’s founded four companies and he’s published peer-reviewed scholarship in fancy-pants journals across two separate academic disciplines. All this misguided, insecure early-life ambition mostly just taught him how disappointing and anticlimactic status-driven accomplishments can be. (His words.) 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
People in this episode
Host: Christopher Ryan
Guest: Ryan Norbauer
Topics covered
- retro-futurism
- ambition
- disappointment
- career paths
- science
- society
Keywords
- NASA
- CDC
- British Parliament
- ambition
- retro-futurism
- underachievement
- career
- disappointment
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: NASA, CDC, British Parliament
More episodes of Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan
- 728 - ROMA 110 · June 6, 2026 · 3 min
- 726 - Mehran Seyed Emami (Iranian therapist) · June 3, 2026 · 1h 23m
- Chris and Anya Live · May 28, 2026 · 1h 14m
- 725 - ROMA 109 · May 21, 2026 · 3 min
- 723 - AROMA 11 · May 14, 2026 · 2 min
- 722 - Guustaaf Damave (AI Expert) · May 5, 2026 · 1h 13m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan podcast page.