Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Chrestman
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have always been interested in how people think. How we come to our beliefs about the world and where those conclusions take us. Writing and speaking are the best ways we have to communicate these ideas and begin to understand and learn from each other. Starting The Chrestman Conversation was about opening up paths for dialog about topics that can often be difficult to discuss.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The internet has something for everyone. It is amazing how every piece of human ingenuity can be accessed at any time from a little device in our pocket. If I want to learn from a Harvard professor or a Michelin Star chef than all I have to do is find the right link and I can be on the path to knowledge. The downside of the entire world being online is that people feel they have a right to speak and behave in ways that are embarrassing. People online can be nasty to each other, and while I do not find that to be a struggle in the real sense of the word, I do find it to be one of the more interesting parts of my show. I actually do a segment at the beginning of episodes where I read my favorite comment from the last week and I often pick out a troll to highlight how wild people can be behind their keyboard. On an interpersonal level I have always found most people to be polite, but give them a little anonymity and all of a sudden they turn into the worst versions of themselves.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I love to write, but more than that I love ideas. The podcast has always been about taking my ideas and pressure testing them in public. By engaging the public in debate we can find the cracks in our ideas that lead us to either changing our minds or finding supporting evidence to hone that idea into a sharpened point. Writing may be what I love, but more people engage in podcasts these days than read an op-ed in the paper, so the podcast was always the next logical step. If you want to get your work out there you have to go where the people are. I think the thing that really sets this podcast apart is that no topic is too taboo. I think the Overton Window should be kept open as wide as possible and that every belief and bias should be open to reevaluation and revision.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Outside of the podcast, I work as a firefighter paramedic. I love to travel and enjoy combat sports. My biggest influences are Thomas Sowell and Christopher Hitchens.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tylerchrestman.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tylerchrestman
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChrestmanConversation
- Twitter: https://x.com/TylerChrestman
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheChrestmanConversation
