Neil Strauss is a wildly successful writer and podcaster. He’s written for Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and just about every other high-profile platform you can think of. His best-selling books include The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists (2012), Everyone Loves You When You're Dead: Journeys Into Fame and Madness (2011), and The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships (2015). In January, 2023, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, a book Strauss wrote with music producer Rick Rubin. In 2019, Strauss launched To Live and Die in LA., a true crime podcast following the death of Adea Shabani. It hit No. 1 on the iTunes podcasts, and was in the top 10 for four months. His latest project is To Die For, which explores the world of Russian sex espionage.

Intro music “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range. Outro: “Smoke Alarm,” by Carsie Blanton.

Join us in Montana next month at the Budokon/Sex at Dawn retreat. Pick up some of that whipped tallow skin balm here. (Use code: CHRIS15 for discount.) And check out those Vivobarefoot shoes.

A “director’s cut” of one of my most popular posts on Substack: What We Fall in When We Fall in Love. The Raymond Carver story I mention is in this collection.

Music (paid version): “Trampoline,” by Joe Henry.

Cover versions of well-known songs that illuminate some quality in the original that was dormant, waiting to emerge, like a cicada.