Life is a Festival

What does it feel like to climb every mountain and arrive at the top feeling... nothing? Chris Stakich knows.

Chris is the new CEO of Summit, the 18-year-old community behind Summit at Sea. On today's show we talk about following the script until it breaks, the specific loneliness of high performers, what really happened with Powder Mountain, and what Chris is promising the community now that Summit has been acquired by events.com. This is a conversation about building a life around connection rather than achievement.

Chris Stakich is a Harvard graduate who spent two decades building Rustic Pathways, a global student travel company, into one of the largest of its kind before serving as Chief Experience Officer at YPO. He is now CEO of Summit, the community and events organization behind Summit at Sea, returning April 23-26, 2026 aboard Virgin Voyages.

Links:

Summit Series

Summit (@summit) • Instagram photos and videos

[email protected]

Today on Life is a Festival, Ian MacKenzie and I unpack “Inside the Manosphere:” the performance, the status games, the Lamborghinis that need to be witnessed to exist. We trace it back to father absence, the failure of the nuclear family, and generations of uninitiated men. We explore the distinction between grief and grievance, asking why male pain so readily converts into domination rather than surrender. MacKenzie shares his own four-year cycle of wilderness vigils, sits of four days without food or water, as a counter-image to the Manosphere's hollow heroism, describing initiation not as a heroic feat but as a devastating encounter with one's own smallness. The conversation moves through the crisis of young male loneliness, the complicity of wellness culture in creating the pipeline, and lands on eros and queerness as unexpected antidotes, arguing that the manosphere's deepest poverty is its total absence of genuine intimacy, play, and erotic aliveness.

Ian MacKenzie is a filmmaker, writer, and host of the Mythic Masculine Podcast, which explores modern masculinity through the lens of myth, ritual, and culture-making. He is the co-director of The Village of Lovers, a documentary about the intentional community of Tamera in Portugal, and writes on Substack under The Deep Masculine. He is co-facilitating the inaugural Cascadia Men's Conference later this year near Vancouver, Canada, inspired by the 40-year-old Minnesota Men's Conference founded by Robert Bly.

Links:

• Ian MacKenzie Website
• The Mythic Masculine Podcast
• The Mythic Masculine | Ian MacKenzie | Substack
• The Village of Lovers

Timestamps:

• (05:19) Why Myth Matters
• (12:22) The Manosphere as Hyperobject
• (22:17) Nuclear Family vs the Village
• (28:24) Women as Status Props
• (35:34) Status Scarcity Hierarchy
• (37:38) Tamara Village 
• (46:11)  Crisis of Uninitiated Boys
• (51:02) Ian’s Wilderness Vigil Initiation
• (01:02:12) Eros Queerness Integration

After seven years and more than 180 episodes, this is the final episode of Life Is a Festival in its current form.

It felt right to close this chapter with a conversation with my friend Jenna Ansell, cofounder of Medicine Festival about what festivals have promised, what they’ve delivered, and what still matters.

In this conversation, we explore why the utopian promise of festival culture feels strained in 2025, whether large gatherings can still act as engines of cultural change, and the difference between individual transformation and collective healing. We talk about ancient ritual technologies, the role of land and lineage, the limits of peak experience, and why play, myth, and the trickster still matter in dark times. 

Jenna Ansell is the co-founder and managing director of Medicine Festival in the United Kingdom. With a background in social anthropology from Cambridge and international relations from Johns Hopkins, she has worked across political, cultural, and conscious events for over twenty years. Through Medicine Festival, Jenna has helped create a large-scale ceremonial gathering centered on indigenous wisdom, community healing, and relationship to land, and is emerging as a key bridge-builder between festival culture, academia, and spiritual traditions.

Timestamps

• (08:45) – The missing tipping point: why festival utopia never arrived
• (10:15) – Festivals as liminal spaces and temporary autonomous zones
• (14:00) – Status-quo festivals vs revolutionary festivals
• (17:00) – Land, ritual, and why Burning Man falls short
• (21:00) – What makes Medicine Festival fundamentally different
• (27:30) – Peak experiences, healing culture, and getting stuck in the underworld
• (29:45) – Collective healing, ancient traditions, and remembering community
• (38:00) – Rites of passage, myth, and why festivals still matter
• (44:00) – Advice to young festival builders in 2025
• (47:00) – Utopia, striving together, and redefining success

Links:

• Medicine Festival: Home
• MEDICINE (@medicinefestival)
• rogueriding - 𝐉𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐋
• How Festivals Build Real Communities from Utopian Visions TEDBRC 2015

At Burning Man 2025 inside the Playa Alchemist Pyramid, I sat down with legendary mycologist Paul Stamets to explore mushrooms, mycelium, and the cosmos. Through scratchy playa dust voices, we connected fungal intelligence with Burning Man culture, random acts of kindness, and the future of psychedelic medicine.

Our conversation ranged from Stamets’ new book Psilocybin Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats,, to reflections on mycelium as a cosmic organizing principle and the healing power of biodiversity. We discussed the dangers of misidentification, the promise of clinical trials, and how Burning Man functions as a living ritual for transformation.

Paul Stamets is a pioneering mycologist, author of eight books, and an Invention Ambassador for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has discovered new species of mushrooms (including Psilocybe stametsii), collaborated on breakthrough fungal research, and is known widely as the guide of Fantastic Fungi. His work bridges ecology, medicine, and culture with a vision of mushrooms as allies in human and planetary evolution.

Timestamps

• (04:00) – Stamets introduces his new book Psilocybin Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats
• (06:00) – Trickster mushrooms: dangers of misidentification
• (10:00) – Random acts of kindness vs. AI’s transactional mindset
• (17:00) – Psychedelics as a creative leap 
• (20:00) – Mycelium as metaphor and cosmic network
• (25:00) – Burning Man as default-mode reset and the importance of biodiversity and discomfort.
• (29:00) – Lightning, vibration, and music: how mycelium “listens” to thunder and drums.
• (34:00) – Clinical trials: comparing pure psilocybin vs. whole mushrooms, healing and neuroplasticity.
• (46:00) – Mushrooms vs. other psychedelics, democratization of psilocybin, and accessibility.
• (49:00) – Bees, immunity, and mycelium as planetary medicine: discoveries with pollinators and viral resistance.

Links

• Paul Stamets - Mycologist
• Paul Stamets (@paulstamets)
• Psilocybin Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats

• Fungi Perfecti
• Give Bees a Chance

• PlayAlchemist
• Roots to Thrive: Community-Based Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
• ClinicalTrials.gov

There’s no greater mythic mind in modern podcasting than Josh Schrei, the voice and vision behind The Emerald. If you, like me, are already a fan of his deeply poetic and perspective-shifting show, then you’ll understand why I’ve wanted to have him on Life is a Festival since the moment I heard his episode on festivals. 

In this conversation, Josh and I explore the revival of myth in our modern moment. We talk about the ancient power of festivals, structure and fluidity of gender, the soul’s longing for meaning, and the complex challenges facing young men. We also touch on the pitfalls of self-importance and how myth can humble and reorient us. Finally, we explore the necessity of daily ritual, and how embodiment through practice keeps the sacred alive.

Josh Schrei is a mythteller, teacher, podcaster, and founder of The Emerald, a beloved show that brings together sweeping narratives, cinematic sound design, and interviews with renowned thinkers to reawaken the mythic imagination. A lifelong student of mythologies—particularly from the Indian subcontinent — Josh brings decades of study in yoga, meditation, wilderness rites, music, and the arts into his teaching. He also leads The Mythic Body, an immersive course designed to re-enliven the soul through story and practice.

Timestamps

• (05:03 The Power of Myth in Modern Times
• (23:44) The Role of Festivals in Human Culture
• (39:18) The Mythic Relationship to Gender
• (42:34) The Need for Young Men's Rituals
• (57:33) The Healing Journey and Plant Medicine
• (01:05:36) Daily Practices for Healing and Connection
• (01:10:23) The Importance of Relational Coherence

Links

• Joshua Michael Schrei | Creating The Emerald
• The Mythic Body: Home
• The Emerald | Podcast on Spotify
• Josh Schrei (@the_emerald_podcast)
• Festivals! Initiation and the Brilliance of Eternity

I recently revisited Iboga — the psychedelic root bark from Equatorial West Africa — six years after first experiencing it in a traditional Bwiti ceremony in Gabon. This time, I received Ibogaine treatment at Beond in Cancún. (Full disclosure: I produce their podcast, Ibogaine Uncovered.)

To my surprise, my mentor Benjamin also spends time at Beond, quietly supporting others through their Ibogaine journeys. After my own treatment—complete with a flood dose and a booster dose—the best way to share my experience felt like a conversation with Benjamin himself.

I also interviewed Tom, Beond’s CEO, for The Psychedelic Therapy Podcast — check that out for more details on the clinic and Ibogaine. As always, you’ll find links in the show notes. Now, please join me for my chat with my mentor, spiritual guide, and extraordinary role model, Benjamin.

Links

• Ibogaine Treatment Center in Cancun, Mexico | Beond
• The Yang Container | Benjamin
• To Escape the Tyranny of the Self | Benjamin
• The Psychedelic Therapy Podcast
• Ibogaine Uncovered | Podcast on Spotify

Timestamps

• 05:10 The Ibogaine Process and Its Benefits
• 09:18 Ibogaine and Traumatic Brain Injury
• 20:22 Reflections on Healing and Growth
• 29:57 The Beond Experience
• 30:43 My Ibogaine Journey
• 32:32 Post-Treatment Reflections
• 35:59 Connecting with Others
• 37:38 Understanding Addiction

In the aftermath of the 2024 election, as half the country celebrates and the other half mourns, Alex Ebert and I find ourselves doing what grown men often do to process complex emotions—we make a podcast about it. It's our fourth time using this particular hack for male friendship, but something feels different, more urgent this time. The exit polls reveal young men swinging dramatically rightward, and I can't help but see this through the lens of masculinity—specifically, the left's failure to provide an aspirational vision of what it means to be a man in these complicated times.

On today's show, we dive deep into why progressive spaces have become increasingly inhospitable to young men, who are drifting toward figures like Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson while the left seems to have lost its grip on the masculine imagination. Alex shares his personal journey of integrating the feminine through meditation and inner work, while we examine everything from RFK Jr.'s campaign to Bernie's legacy to the archetypal pull of Elon Musk. We're using this modern ritual—two microphones and a quiet room—to explore the very crisis of connection that makes such spaces necessary in the first place.

Alexander Ebert makes his fourth appearance on Life is a Festival, bringing his unique perspective as an award-winning artist, composer, and philosophical troubadour. Known for fronting both Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Ima Robot, Ebert has evolved into a penetrating cultural critic through his Bad Guru Substack. Having explored spiritual narcissism and psychedelic culture with us before, he's the perfect companion for examining these thorny questions of masculinity, power, and the possibility of healing our collective wounds.

Timestamps

• (09:00) — Toxic vs. aspirational masculinity
• (18:30) — Why the object-acquiring man lacks an integrated feminine
• (28:30) — Are Bowie and Prince integrated?
• (33:00) — The unhelpful narrative of “Boohoo white man”
• (44:00) — RFK and Bernie Bros
• (54:00) — Barack Obama and cool security
• (59:00) — The power of myth
• (1:10:00) — The allure of the unconflicted man

Links

• Bad Guru | Alex Ebert | Substack
• Bad Guru (@alex_ebert) • Instagram
• Life is a Festival: Dunking on the New Age is Boring Now
• Life is a Festival: A Love Letter to Earnestness
• Life is a Festival: Healing New Age Narcissism

On the eve of the U.S. presidential election, we’re exploring the theme of participation, a principle central to both Burning Man culture and our role as citizens. In this episode, I’m joined by Megan Miller, former Director of Communications for Burning Man, to talk about how civic responsibility and active engagement can help us navigate this complex cultural moment. I’ve also included a clip from a recent Substack article by one of my favorite thinkers, Jamie Wheal, to set the stage for our conversation.

On the show, Megan and I discuss the importance of civic responsibility and the role of local government, especially in a time of political polarization. We delve into her 2020 article, Reaching Across Party Lines, and examine how festivals like Burning Man can foster unity. We also touch on gender and the dynamics in the 2024 election, as well as the way forward after November.

Megan served as Burning Man’s Director of Communications from 2014 to 2021 and is a seasoned political strategist with experience in the U.S. Senate, political campaigns, environmental advocacy, and HIV/AIDS prevention. She brings her expertise in public engagement and strategic communications to today’s discussion, helping us think about participation beyond the election.

Timestamps

• (05:00) “The Curse of the Clever” by Jamie Wheal
• (15:00) Burning Man and Civic Responsibility
• (20:00) Megan’s Early Political Career
• (26:00) Cities and the Importance of Local Government
• (33:00) Navigating Political Polarization
• (41:00) The RFK Question in the Burning Man community
• (48:00) Gender and the 2024 Election
• (58:00) The Way Forward After the Election

Links

• Megan K. Miller (@millermegank)
• Megan K. Miller
• Reaching Across Party Lines with Participation and Civic Responsibility
• Jamie Wheal | Substack: Homegrown Humans Newsletter
• The Gender Election - The Daily

Atish last joined us four or five years ago for a powerful conversation about authenticity, anxiety, and life as an artist. Now, as he takes a break from touring to prioritize mental health, I knew it was time to have him back for an inspiring and candid conversation.

In this episode, Atish and I discuss the challenges of touring, redefining success as a DJ, and Atish’s unexpected desire for a “day job.” We explore the validation cycle between DJing and social media, the courage in vulnerability, and what it means to connect with the South Asian community as an artist. Together, we even do a little men’s work, unpacking the ideas of service, legacy, and giving back to one’s community.

As many of you know, Atish is a celebrated DJ, producer, and mentor—he even composed the opening music for this podcast! His unique blend of vulnerability and presence has always inspired me, and I’m honored to share our conversation with you. 

Timeline

• (04:00) — Touring is stressful
• (09:00) —  What it means to “make it” as a DJ
• (16:45) — Atish wants a day Job
• (22:45) — DJing is immediate validation
• (32:00) — Setting a vulnerable example on social media
• (43:30) — What does it mean to be a South Asian artist?
• (49:00) — Atish and I do mens work 
• (55:00) — Serving the South Asian community

LINKS

• atish (@atishmusic) • Instagram photos and videos
• atish: DJ, Producer, Manjumasi, Mentor

How does Burning Man stay relevant for a new generation and beyond the Black Rock Desert?

The dust has settled from Burning Man, and the photo dumps have all been dumped but today we're diving into a deeper conversation about the relevance of the event itself. My guest, Will Chase was Burning Man’s Minister of Propaganda until 2016. He’s done more than most to bring the open-hearted play of Burning Man to the default world (ie make life like a festival). 

In our conversation, we explore Burning Man as a pilgrimage, the magic of serendipity, and the lasting influence of Larry Harvey. Will shares personal stories and thoughtful insights as we explore the magic of Burning Man and what this community should focus on now.

Will Chase was a key figure in Burning Man from 2003 to 2016. He co-founded Fireside Storytelling in San Francisco and is the president of We Are From Dust, which places interactive art globally. He also hosts "Pants Optional" on Shady Pines Radio and co-founded Peak, an immersive experience design company.

Timestamps

• (11:30) Will Chase doesn’t like making things about himself
• (15:45) Larry Harvey had the right ego to crawl with worms
• (19:30) Getting to Burning Man is itself a rite of passage
• (26:30) In Search of Serendipity
• (30:30) No the magic hasn’t changed…
• (39:45) … but we are at a cultural inflection point 
• (47:45) The Minister of Propaganda’s medicine is storytelling
• (52:30) Bringing Burning Man to the Grand Playa

Links:

• Will Chase
• Will Chase | Burning Man Journal
• We Are From Dust
• About Peak Immersive