Mr. Benjamin Burton joins the WeissCast to talk about all things Montana, hunting, fishing, and his new pup, Boze. Ryan and Ben dive into Ben's incredible story of falling while skateboarding which could have killed him if he wasn't surrounded by friends and family. Bens inspiring story goes to show that through it all, you can come out on top regardless of what life throws at you. This is a special podcast that you'll really enjoy!   Follow Ben on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/halfsmilethroughit

After a 6 month hiatus from podcasting, Ryan sits down with lifelong friend, Bryan White, to discuss all things nerd. After navigating through coffee and how much money the WeissCast makes, Bryan explains why turbulence on an airplane is nothing to worry about. The guys then discuss aliens, cryptocurrency, traveling, Bryan's addiction to the Joe Rogan Experience, and cloud based gaming.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy episode 16!

Prattik Patel joins Ryan on the WeissCast again after popular demand. Show topics range from Indian religions, traveling to Sri Lanka and India, general life outlooks. If you want to be inspired to go on a trip to India, listen to this episode. Check out Prattik's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bekindtoalll

Finally Louis has made it onto the WeissCast! Ryan and Louis navigate through Louis' road trip from DC to Alaska. They dive into hitting the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Banff, and Jasper national parks before taking us on a wild ride into Alaska. The guys talk about the amazing American West and all it has to offer, what it's like being a traveler outside of the US, how to properly fish for king salmon. They end with a riveting story about Louis' encounter with a grizzly while king salmon fishing with locals. This episode will make you want to go on an adventure, so sit back and enjoy the adventure!

Xander is back on the WeissCast! After multiple requests to have Xander back on the show, the guys sit down while in NorCal for New Years to talk about anything and everything. Charlemagne, The Holy Roman Empire, Xander's gender reveal of his child, the Rome, VICE, Dick Cheney, Iraq and the founding of ISIS, but most importantly, Atlantis! Tune in, learn, and have fun with this one.  NOTE: none of the sponsors are really sponsoring this show, but if they want to please email Xander directly...

Jordan joins Ryan on the WeissCast to discuss life growing up in the Mormon Church and his journey to liberation. The guys dive into Jordan's beliefs, issues, and thoughts of the Mormon Church and what led him to leave the church. Other topics include books, relationships, culture, and questioning the solid structures around us. Although this is a long podcast, this is a thought provoking episode. Sit back, listen, learn, and enjoy!

THE JAPAN PODCAST! - Sanaz joins Ryan on the Weisscast to recap their trip to Japan. Learn about the trip and tips for traveling around Japan. Refer to the below info for more Japan travel tips. Also, Sanaz is crazy cool for documenting this whole trip!   TOKYO PT. I Where to Stay: We stayed at an Airbnb in Gotanda. Honestly, Tokyo is so massive, it doesn't matter where you stay as long as you're near a JR station. Tokyo Tips: Tokyo is overwhelming so we split up our stay for a few days in the beginning and a few at the end of trip -- highly recommend this! Day 1 (night) Shibuya crossing Owl cafe Dinner & whiskey bar in Gotanda Day 2 Walk around Imperial Palace Lunch at food hall inside station Walk around Zojoji Temple and Tokyo Tower (night) Shinjuku Walk nearby to Golden Gai for drinks -- our favorite bar was 流民 Omoide Yokocho (aka Piss alley) for dinner Day 3 Breakfast & explored Daikanyama (Tokyo) before heading to Kyoto KYOTO Where to stay: We stayed near the Kyoto train station but there wasn't much going on. I'd recommend staying further north from the station. Kyoto Tips: Kyoto is very laid back compared to Tokyo. Kyoto is known for some amazing coffee spots! Highly recommend getting in 1 tourist activity in the early morning before the crowd Nara Deer Park is about an hour from Kyoto (or Osaka) but I would skip it. Make reservations to go whiskey tasting at Yamazaki Distillery. We couldn't get in :( Day 3 cont. Train to Kyoto (~2.5 hours from Tokyo) Explore Gion Walk Pontocho and grab dinner/drinks Day 4 Walk around Higashiyama Grab coffee at % Arabica (popular Japanese coffee chain) Explore Arashiyama and walk the bamboo grove What did we do this night? Day 5 Go to  Fushimi Inari Shrine and walk through the torii shrine gates (it's quite a hike to go all the way up the mountain, we did < ½ the total walk) Get some sweet mochi treats outside of the temple Grab coffee at Vermillion Cafe (there's 2, go to this one -- nice spot outside and relax) Head over to Kiyomizu-dera temple Grab a matcha ice cream! Craft beer tasting at Kyoto Beer Lab (order the fried chicken!) Obanzai dinner in Kawaramachi neighborhood (was recommended to go to Kokora Ya but it was closed) Day 6 Coffee at Weekenders (famous Kyoto coffee spot) Day trip to Nara Deer Park   OSAKA Where to Stay: Stay in Kita, which is actually a large area. Just make sure you're a near a station. We stayed at the coolest Airbnb - I highly recommend it. There's a few apartments that are similar and owned by the same people. Osaka Tips Osaka is ALL about eating and shopping 2-3 days is all you need here We didn't have time but get ice cream at Zeroku Hommachi, it's like 100 years old Try Osaka's regional foods: Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki Day 6 cont. (night) Check out Dotonbori Find dinner/drinks nearby at Hozenji Yokocho Day 7 Explore Nakazakicho, hipster neighborhood of Osaka Grab coffee at Salon de AmanTo, lunch at Minto, check out the shops Massage at Crocus (I was hurting!) Go to Torame Yokocho for dinner (there's a group of restaurants you can order at, best fried chicken of the trip!) Walk around Ura-Namba and grab drinks Day 8 Go to Osaka Castle Check out Tenma and grab lunch   NAGANO Where to Stay: There's not a lot of options in Nagano City. We stayed at Hotel Kokusai 21 and would recommend it. Hakube is meant to be a nice area to stay as well. Nagano Tips: 1 night would be plenty here, there's not much to do if there's no snow Nagano is only good for the onsens and the snow monkeys Nagano is known for Soba noodles -- order them with tempura! Onsens are similar to Korean Spas we have in LA. Read up on onsen etiquette before you go. Day 8 cont. Train to Nagano (~3 hours) Walk the main street, Chuo dori Grab dinner at Gofuku Day 9 Coffee and toast breakfast at Sunday Life Coffee Check out Zenko-ji temple Spa time at an onsen (only one in Nagano City but there's more near the monkey park) Soba noodles for dinner Day 10 Get coffee at Maruyama in the station Day trip Jigokudani Monkey Park (it's a 50 min bus ride and 30 min hike to the park; at the station you can get discounted bus + park tickets) Train ride to Tokyo (~3 hours) DAY 11 Day trip to Hakone to see Mt. Fuji You can buy a Hakone Free Pass for about ~$50 that will take you to the Hakone and you can use it for the tram, boat, bus etc. in Hakone. It takes about 2-3 hours to get to the top of the mountain This was bust for us because it was totally cloudy and we couldn't see Mt. Fuji. Check the live cam before you head out. It's absolutely not worth going on a gloomy day Back to Golden Gai and Piss Alley for food and drinks Day 12 Shopping day! Explore Harajuku and Akihabara Go to Asakusa (we went at night but would be better during the day) Check out Sensō-ji temple Grab dinner/drinks nearby Day 13 More shopping Edo-Tokyo Museum Grab dinner/drinks nearby in Ryōgoku (ALCOHOL TO 肴 was a cool spot) Day 14 Breakfast and head to the airport   GENERAL TIPS Transportation Get a JR pass! It's about $400 for 2 weeks but well worth it when you do the math. You can use to to get to different cities and locally in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, etc. Order your JR train pass at least 1 week before you go. You must purchase it outside of Japan as it's for tourists only. They will mail a voucher to you and you will pick up your pass at the airport station. There's different sites you can order from, but we got ours here Besides JR, there are many other lines in each city so it can get confusing. For lines besides JR, you'll need to purchase tickets at a kiosk. Taxis can be pretty expensive and we only used them during rainy days. Lockers at station are clutch for leaving your luggage during day trips. Every train station will have lockers. Book reserved seats for longer train rides the day of/day before. You can do this at the ticket counter in any station. Download the Japan Travel app to check transportation routes (Google Maps works too)   Food & Drinks Most bars and restaurant close during the middle of day and open around 6/7pm. For food/drinks don't bother asking for suggestions, just walk around you'll find something interesting. Most coffee shops/cafes don't open until later in the day (i.e. 10am - 12pm).   Etiquette Don't talk on your phone or have your phone ringer on in public settings (i.e. trains) Trash cans are few and far between. Just hold on until you find one. Smoking in public is not allowed and you must smoke in designated areas only.   Other Get international phone service or pocket wifi (~$10/day), which you can pick up near most large train stations - you'll need to find your way around especially for transportation. Most Airbnbs will include pocket wifi. You can have 10 devices on each pocket wifi. Some museums won't have much in English so check before you go. Get at least 1 touristy thing done early in the morning before the crowds, trust me it's worth it. You can drink in public! Grab a beer while you walk around.

Jessica joins the WeissCast this week for a long conversation with Ryan. They literally hit everything from going to LMU, to work, to traveling, to politics (yes I know...), to personality types, and a bunch more. Ryan dives deep into Cambridge Analytica and probably shouldn't have. Jessica tells Ryan about her travel anxiety. Xander comes up as you'd expect. Ryan dives deep into his thoughts on voting and probably shouldn't have. Jessica had to pee. Have fun with this one!

Kevin returns to the WeissCast this week to talk to Ryan about what fatherhood is like. The guys dive into competitiveness and how things change as we get older. Virtual Reality gets touched on along with conspiracy theories and since Ryan liked the random questions at the end of the Tyler episode, a few questions are ask.

Ryan met Tyler when he was in the 2nd grade when Tyler's father was his soccer coach. The two talk about MoviePass and how much that company sucks, as well as how both utilized the service in a way that warrants too many times at the movie theater. They dive into Tyler's thoughts on becoming a father. It gets heavy, but then quickly transition into travel. Lastly, Tyler gives out Matt Janosov's cell phone number. Call it!