How closely have you examined your deeply held beliefs? How confident are you that your beliefs are true? What are the reasons you have that give you your level of confidence in your belief?

In this episode we take a critical look at beliefs. Beliefs of all kinds. Belief in God, karma, the law of attraction, ghosts, spirits - anything. In this episode of Isn't Life Curious? I had the chance to sit down for a conversation with Anthony Magnabosco - a leader in a movement that seeks to critically examine and question deeply held beliefs through repeated non-confrontational questioning known as Street Epistemology. Anthony has spent the past eight years or so engaging strangers in short respectful conversations that challenge the participant to pick a deeply held belief and explain why they believe what they believe is true. In Socratic fashion, Street Epistemology relies on repeated questioning to peel away the "baggage" that is stacked on top of a belief so that the core ideas at the center of the belief can be exposed and examined.

Anthony has had several hundred chats (many of them on camera and uploaded to his YouTube channel) on a variety of claims including Gods, ghosts, karma, law of attraction, and a variety of social and political topics. He is a Founder and the current Executive Director of the new nonprofit organization Street Epistemology International. Anthony has given dozens of talks and workshops on Street Epistemology at conferences and events domestically and internationally in an attempt to spread practice of this method far and wide in hopes that it will help lead to a more reasonable and thoughtful society.
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Learn more about Street Epistemology at http://www.streetepistemology.com

Psychedelic retreat centers have become big business, providing a way for curious minds to engage in psychedelic treatments in areas where they are legal. One perfect example are retreat centers located throughout South America where participants gather to drink the strange cocktail of tryptamines and harmalines in a brew called “ayahuasca”. But are these treatments effective?
Dr. Simon Ruffell is a psychiatrist that has specialized his research on understanding exactly what goes on in these ayahuasca ceremonies and how they impact the physical and mental health of participants. To do so, Dr. Ruffell traveled to Peru to spend time in the jungle participating in ayahuasca ceremonies, collecting data from participants and even following up with participants long after a ceremony to understand just what might be going on.

In this episode of Isn’t Life Curious? we dive into this strange world of ayahuasca to unpack both the science and philosophy surrounding this psychedelic brew as we continue our mini-series, Serious About Psychedelics.
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To learn more about Dr. Ruffell’s work with Ayahuasca, check out The Ayahuasca Foundation at https://www.ayahuascafoundation.org/research/the-team
Stay curious and take it easy!