Yet another installment in what’s being called “The Greatest Podcast Crossover Ever”. Listen to Agitator and buy Kelby and David’s books.

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Nobody believes me when I say that John Steinbeck’s short story collection, The Long Valley, is one of the best things ever written. Hopefully this audio reading of “The Murder” can sway you.

Steinbeck captures the central coast of California both tonally and aesthetically in much of his work. I’d argue that “The Murder” may be the best example of this (behind East of Eden, of course). The story is centered around a man married to an Eastern European immigrant who loves her husband dearly, waits on him hand and foot, but doesn’t say much. The mystery of the immigrant wife continues for a long time, until the truth comes out and the story gets even crazier from there. Anyways, enjoy this reading and be sure to share it with anyone you feel would like it. You can access the audio file in this article or on Youtube

Longtime friend of the pod Matthew Fresta (Getting Lit) and new friend Coleman join Glen to discuss a disturbing surrealist “climate fiction” novel, Ice by Anna Kavan. We also talk about drug addiction, abuse, and many other things. Listen to Getting Lit

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JDO and Glen team up for the biweekly RCxAgitator crossover

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Matthew Fresta of Getting Lit joins Glen to talk about Oil! by Upton Sinclair (1927) and Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood (2007). Also a talk about leftism, oil, and much more. Listen to Getting Lit

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Yet another all time horse

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Glen and Psi talk about manspreading, ticks, cancer, paranormal youtube guys, the upcoming midterm elections, and more

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Glen talks about health influencers, Eddie Griffin’s Dysfunktional Family (2003), Undercover Brother (2002), and more

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Kelby and David of Agitator join Glen and Psi for a great discussion on One Straw Revolution (1975) by Masanobu Fukuoka and what a “Do Nothing” approach looks like in farming, politics, health, and much more. Of course this episode drifts off into a massive horse session where we laugh to the point of tears, but that’s why you listen.

Support Agitator h…

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This episode made us both laugh really hard

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Glen addresses the rift in the audience, then lists some of his pet peeves.

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Glen and Psi talk about gentrification, motorcyclists, the Iran situation, and listen to a voicemail from a female listener. Leave us a question, comment, concern on our voicemail line ‪(650) 451-5063

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JDO, Glen, and Psi make fun of writers who cry about Dan Simmons politics and then horse as they always do

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Brad had Glen on his podcast Method and Madness to talk about Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed (1972), stolen art, black conspiracy theories, authors lecturing readers, and much more. Support Brad Kelly and read his stellar book The Earthen Dark

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Glen and Psi talk about acid reflux, sleep apnea, Bafta Awards, Winter Olympics Controversy, Bad Words, Grunge, and more

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Glen and Psi talk about John Denver, Looksmaxxing, male confidence, Glyphosate, Zohran Mamdani, and more

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Glen is joined by Andre, Doug, and Patrick to discuss David Copperfield (1849-1850) and why it still holds up better than ever. Read along with Glen

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Just in case you weren’t aware, the Year of the Horse begins in three short days. This is, of course, fantastic news for anyone that loves to horse around, including, but not limited to the greater Rare Candy cast and crew, friends and family. Truly feels like an auspicious beginning to a great year ahead!

It’s also Valentine’s Day, a day that impotent men fear, as their regrettable lack of vigor is brought into stark relief. Especially for any modern man over the age of 30 (that number seems to keep dropping, too), lapses in libido become more and more prevalent. Even for relatively healthy men — look, we’ve all been there. None of us are batting a thousand. Yet I’ve learned that a few minor tweaks can radically increase male vitality, and there are plenty of men well into the back half of their lives who retain greater than 90% of their youthful energy without much effort at all.

First, let’s get the plug out of the way:

Our partners at Superfeast Herbs have only a few hours left on their Deer Antler sale. Save up to 20% on Deer Antler products, or enjoy many other life enhancers like Schizandra, He Shou Wu, Cordyceps Mushroom, and much more. USE PROMO CODE “RCNOW” at checkout for an additional 10% off, yes, the promotions usually stack! Thank you Superfeast!

As a quick aside, I can’t fully express the joy and humor that Rare Candy is officially partnered with one of the top tonic herb brands out there. I discovered Chinese tonic herbs 15 years ago, as a scattered, depleted young man, and to say they’ve been life-changing would be an understatement. To be able to promote them to our wonderful fans is a dream come true. We’re not really big “ad” or “affiliate” people, perhaps to our financial detriment, but promoting Reishi and other herbs is just a no-brainer for our show.

Now, I consider Deer Antler to be the “nuclear” option. It truly is a special substance, rare and unique, and its price certainly reflects that. Hearing the testimonials from our Discord friends has been nothing short of incredible (and hilarious). Deer antler is not a placebo. If you can afford it, try it. Antler is interesting because it showcases a principle in the herbalism/health/nootropic-sphere that is nuanced and somewhat hard to describe: oftentimes, non-hormonal interventions work as well or even dramatically better than strictly hormonal herbs and supplements. Deer Antler doesn’t reliably increase testosterone or DHT in males, yet it reliably increases drive, passion, libido, and life-force, even in skeptics.

Like Glen says, it makes you feel 19 years old again, but without the 19 year old brain.

Another example of this is Maca. A good quality Maca root supplement will potently amplify “Jing” in men (and women), yet again, doesn’t move the needle in lab hormonal panels. While I appreciate science as an explanatory tool, I still think there are effects beyond the scope of our current understanding, that while we can’t fully explain, we can still harness the effects of reliably. Science is, at its core, the art of observation. I notice a lot of well-meaning herbalists and biohackers try and stuff the tonic herbs into a scientific box, explaining all their magic away with biochemical mechanisms — and to be clear, you can explain a lot with these biomechanics. However, there appears to be more to the story, especially for self-experimenters who have reached a certain degree of inner awareness (not a difficult achievement).

Nothing explains this better than the concept of Jing, particularly Yin Jing. Try taking a good Rehmannia or He Shou Wu extract for a few weeks, and watch your vigor return with a fervor, without any “T boosters” or “nitric oxide enhancers”, and certainly without any pharmaceutical interventions like Cialis. These Yin Jing herbs are effectively non-caloric, and to my knowledge, their deeply restorative actions remain a mystery. As Ron Teeguarden of Dragon Herbs says, these herbs are famous for a reason. For the record, I am absolutely an advocate of the idea that it’s best to focus on Yin Jing herbs for 95% of new herb users, particularly men. While Yang Jing herbs (including Deer Antler) can be fun, if taken by a depleted male, they can exasperate imbalances. At the very least, Yin and Yang herbs should be taken as part of a program, together. Again, the concepts of Yin and Yang have no scientific translation, yet intuitively explain so many concepts beautifully.

Ron Teeguarden of Dragon Herbs also has a wonderful write-up on Deer Antler, along with many other major herbs. I’ll always recommend their products.

There are much cheaper and more foundational entries into vitality that I’ve discovered over the years. Let’s dive into them.

Schizandra

This might be my favorite herb of all time, even more than Reishi, believe it or not. It was Ron Teeguarden’s teacher’s favorite herb, and his number one recommendation for the general population. I like it because even extremely cheap common Schizandra “does the trick”, while a cheap Reishi product is generally worthless and a waste of money. If you want to get started in tonic herbalism right away, go to your nearest health food store or even big box store, and they’ll usually have the Nature’s Way 100-count bottle of Schizandra. I’ve used this product often, still do, and it’s generally ten dollars a bottle, or not much more. You can build up to several capsules a day — its just a ground up berry — and it just works.

Schizandra is extremely underrated as a sexual tonic (I never hear anyone talk about it), especially for women, but it works for men as well. I notice a very profound effect from it. Schizandra destroys prolactin build-up in men, a hormone that many male biohackers have correctly identified as deleterious to dopamine levels and vitality in general, yet again, I never hear about them using Schizandra. Beyond this effect, Schizandra is a premier detoxifier and brain tonic. It truly is a Queen on the chessboard, it does it all.

Maca

Previously aforementioned Maca is an affordable workhorse. Tons of good quality Maca extracts available on Amazon and in stores. I recommend a gelatinized (cooked) version, it’s like a semi-extract of Maca that’s much more absorbable and gentler on the system. It seems to be a fantastic central nervous system tonic that works quickly on many pathways of the body. It’s almost more a food than an herb, can be made into drinks, chocolate milks, in oatmeal or porridge. I happen to love the taste, but some complain about it. If Maca is too intense a flavor for you, you’re probably not gonna make it.

Horny Goat Weed (Epimedium)

We’ve joked on the podcast before that most people first discover a Chinese tonic herb in a 7-11 gas station convenience store, at the checkout counter. While I can’t vouch for any gas station product, the herb is legit and real. Beyond the stated obvious benefits, it appears to be a great nootropic and antioxidant. Try this before a pharmaceutical enhancer, they utilize the same biochemical pathway.

Ice on the Testicles

Ten dollars too rich to get started in tonic herbs? No judgements here, try this free method of biohacking. Ice your testicles with a freezer pack or even a bag of peas for 10 minutes, once or twice a day, while sitting/working at the computer. Heat is the enemy of sperm production, and our entire modern lives seems set up to cook our boys all day long. Through the clothes is fine, I do not recommend direct contact, lol, you just want a noticeable cooling effect. Many men try this and it instantly becomes the most powerful tool in their libido arsenal. It’s absolutely worth a try.

I credit Lucas Aoun of Boost Your Biology on Youtube for popularizing this method. He’s a biohacker that I quite like, and is an herbal power user. Icing can be used to great effect during sauna sessions, when one is at great risk for heat-induced damage. You can completely mitigate this issue with ice.

Cortisol Reduction

So much can be achieved by reducing excess cortisol. Cortisol antagonizes dopamine, which is good to have in spades as a man. This topic points to yet another nuance in health debates that often gets lost in today’s climate. If I may:

Cortisol is good and necessary. Cortisol gets you out of bed in the morning. It naturally spikes early in the day. A cold shower or ice bath spikes cortisol tremendously, yet most report a calm, hormetic effect from regular ice baths. I believe this is because it reduces cortisol during later parts of the day, which is good. I’ve seen a lot of people claim ice baths are bad for this reason, I think they are missing the forest for the trees.

Coffee also spikes cortisol, often quite a bit in some people. I believe I am one of these people. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy coffee — I just find it funny how most in the biohacker scene seem to think it’s a given that we need to drink it. Usually these people use zero tonic herbs, just saying.

Now, just because something does the same thing on paper (“scientifically”, biochemically) as something else, does not make them energetic equivalents. If I take an ice bath every morning, I’m calm, happy, “dopaminergified”, energize, and I sleep fantastic. If I drink too much coffee every day, I’m wired, can’t calm down in the afternoon, and can’t sleep at night. I believe that coffee is one of life’s joys, but we have so many other tools for energy at our disposal in 2026. Ignore them to your detriment.

I give you permission to experiment with cutting back on coffee and caffeine. Maybe it will work for you, it’s worth a shot. Either way, I’d recommend cortisol-clearing later in the evening before bed. My favorite herbal way to do this is with Tulsi tea, one of the cheapest, easiest, and most powerful ways to calm down. This will have indirect benefits on everything else we’ve mentioned above.

Let’s try some new things this Year of the Horse. I guarantee that if you take these herbs with keen inner attention, you will open up a whole new world within yourself that will keep you young in body, mind and spirit for decades to come. To your health!

Thanks for being a part of RC, and don’t forget to use code RCNOW at superfeast.com upon checkout! Happy Horsin’!

Glen and Psi talk about political echo chambers, fine dining, Michelin Stars, Burnt (2015), Washington Post Journalism Layoffs, and more

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