My research program spans reaction development, natural product total synthesis, and natural product-inspired function-oriented synthesis.  This seminar will focus on one program in natural product synthesis that has been of interest to me since the early 2000s — the development of a conceptually unique approach to the de novo synthesis of ryanoids.  A brief history will be presented that spans isolation and synthesis activities, with the bulk of the seminar being focused on how my research group pursued the synthesis of ryanodol. Overall, the complex structure of this target served as the stimulus for invention of a new carbocycle forming reaction. The conceptual origin of this key reaction will be discussed, along with early efforts to establish its generality, concluding with its successful application to the synthesis of anhydroryanodol.  While the synthesis was completed several years ago (during the COVID pandemic), I’ve never given a lecture focused on our journey and hope that your faculty and students enjoy the story.