Burning Man LIVE

Leo Villareal is a pioneering light artist, bringing teams and tech together to activate buildings, bridges, and bastions. He started Burning in 1994, founded Disorient camp, and has been to every Burn since. Join Leo sharing his journey from crafting a single beacon for his tent to leading monumental art projects that reshaped skylines. He illuminated the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, the historic bridges over the River Thames in London, and projects everywhere from Washington DC to Iowa, from NYC to Tokyo.Leo and Stuart discuss how the open-source innovation of Black Rock City impacts the default world. Leo shares his process for conjuring tech, from coding sequences, to customizing LED fixtures. He encourages artists to engage with their communities outside of their comfort zones. Plus, he shares his way of being a lifelong learner, and tells stories of the convening power of photons as an artistic medium, as a digital campfire for all.Hear him flip the switch, and stay until the brilliant end.villareal.net/biovillareal.net/urban-scale-artworksburningman.org/about/board-of-directors/#LeoVillarealdisorient.info LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Thunderdome has been part of Black Rock City for 25 years. Marisa Winter has led it for most of that time. One need not experience it to benefit from the wisdom of a high-profile, high-intensity theme camp's insights.Hear Marisa and Stuart talk through the leadership structure and community practices that result in the Thunderdome's chaotic harmony of performance, showmanship, and cathartic “consensual violence.” Marisa shares insights gleaned from decades of theme camp operation. Such insights include: · Letting people make non-permanent mistakes allows them to own the lessons· Prioritizing community is never the wrong answer· Making hard decisions ASAP attracts quality people· How to schedule your crying day!Listen in on the laughter, and tolerate the cringe stories that prove Thunderdome is not cosplay, and you will be rewarded with the inspiration and institutional knowledge of the infamous Death Guild Thunderdome.www.divamarisa.comwww.deathguildthunderdome.comjournal.burningman.org/author/diva-marisaplayaevents.burningman.org/2024/playa_event/48007https://burningman.org/programs/philosophical-center LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Most people in Black Rock City live together in placed camps, aka theme camps, the most unique aspect of this unique event. There are 1200 camps in BRC. Somewhere at the intersection of Communal Effort, Self-Expression, and Immediacy, theme camps provide a uniquely decommodified ‘third place' of goods and services, and ambiance, offered as a gift. The annual Camp Symposium brings together staff and volunteers to share how they gift their interactive camps to participants. There's an art and a science to it. This is an episode of highlights about the art of it.Bryant Tan (aka Level Placerman): head of PlacementAndie Grace: Producer in the Philosophical CenterCharlie Dolman: Director of Event OperationsDA (aka Dominic Tinio): Environmental Restoration ManagerHarley K Dubois: Founder & Chief Cultural OfficerStuart Mangrum: Director of the Philosophical Centerand a keen crew of Placement Team volunteers BravoCosmicGovernessHepkittenHuntressKGBRazzmatazzListen to how it started, how it's going, and how Burners create these unique and interactive passion projects. Camps and Placement | Burning ManPlacement: About Us & VolunteeringCamp Support Team | Burning ManDe-bureaucratizing Your Burn (Burning Man LIVE 2025)Charlie Dolman · The Dust is in the Details (Burning Man LIVE 2022)Dark Angel of Black Rock & Restoration Destiny (Burning Man LIVE 2020) LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Solar power is simple now, thanks in part to Burners who gift the power of the sun. The Burners in this episode also gift steamed rolls with savory fillings called bao — so much delicious bao.The theme camp “Bao Chicka Wow Wow” has been a part of Black Rock City for a decade. They share the prosperity of bao to artist groups, volunteer teams, and participants lucky enough to find their camp or their pop-up “restaurant row” — all powered by their custom solar kits.David Hua (Chairman Bao), Marcus De Paula (Next Level), and their campmates also refined their solar systems to power a charging station for EVs and e-Mutant Vehicles. They share their learnings with neighboring camps, the Temple Builders Guild, and us right here in this episode.This is how to wean off gas generators, or bring more power to your offerings at BRC, your Regional event, your home, or even the collapse of civilized civilization.This conversation is lively and informative. It's a feel-good story set for foodies and those of us who want to up our game of gifting and solar energy.BaoChickaWowWow.comGoGridSystems.comBurning Man 2025: Tomorrow TodayBurning Man Inspires Sustainable Solutions Worldwide (Burning Man Journal)Net Zero Black Rock City 2022 LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Explore the magic monuments of Black Rock City 2025.Katie Hazard, Director of Art, leads the selection, placement, and installation of artwork,  and she leads Burning Man's art grant selection committees. The ARTery is in the center of Black Rock City, slightly offset like the human heart. It's the epicenter of art support for nearly 400 art pieces, from towering sculptures to immersive environments.Before these art projects are sourced, crafted, and assembled with everything from hot glue to heavy equipment, they are first conceptualized by artists and engineers. Burning Man's Honoraria project grants 76 of these art projects about half of the funding they need, a total of $1.3 million.  Katie and Stuart explore how to foster accessibility and agency in artist groups. They describe some of the installations coming this summer, from interactive Sphinxes to a sphere of sinks, from a lost troll of sustainability to a fire-spinning pigeon. Some of the experiences include:an inflatable black cloud from Ukrainean Indigenous deer destined for ceremonial landan Afrofuturist pillar with an ancient modern secreta screaming booth that displays visual reactions to sounda woman with a merry-go-round crown, jump rope dreadlocks, and swing earringsListen in on this sonic journey of how Burner art is co-created and curated, and how BRC's surreal skyline is taking shape.Introducing 2025 BRC Honoraria Art (Burning Man Journal)Black Rock City Honoraria ProgramARTery (Art Services)The ARTery Volunteer TeamsKatie Hazard (Burning Man Journal)2025 Art Theme: Tomorrow TodayBurning Man Art Installation Archive LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Legend whispers of a time when Burning Man was a lawless Eden, a fiery playground of unbridled do-ocracy; no rules, just pure creative chaos. But as Black Rock City has grown into a thriving metropolis, so has the need for structure. We've gone from jokey forms for an ‘artistic license' to complex permit obligations. We've gone from giving ourselves permission to taking on a system that can feel overwhelming.How can we better balance radical self-expression with the necessities of a city? How can we purge bureaucracy, or are all those old rules essential for safety and sustainability?This episode delves into the "agonizing reappraisal" within the Burning Man Project, a movement to streamline processes and discard red tape.Stuart explores the dusty trail from Black Rock City's anarchic origins to the sign marked 2025. He talks with Louder Charlie, the Operations Director of the whole place. He also talks with Chef Juke of the DMV Council, and Level Placerman, Manager of the Placement team.Here's a sneak peek behind the scenesters who are preserving the unique magic while navigating the complexities of growth, and how they ensure that the spirit of creation remains accessible to all.Is it possible to balance the wild heart of Burner culture and the grown-up practices of a city? We're about to find out.The Camp Symposium - March 22, 2025Camps and PlacementThe Department of Mutant Vehicles2025 Ticket Info The 10 PrinciplesBureaucracy (Burning Man Journal) LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Mutant vehicles! Theme camps! Art experiences! It all emanates from the community… overlapping circles of people who are everywhere between being newcomers and seasoned, local and global, young and old.Andie Grace talks with dynamic 20-somethings Taylor Andrews, Kat Ebert, Mani Senthil, and Whitney Wilhelmy about how to find your crew like you never thought possible.They break down barriers and clear pathways through an initiative called “Rising Sparks” which demystifies BRC and Regional events, and guides next-gen Burners to get more from the magic.They explore the art of participation: seeing the sweet spot between being unmoored and overdoing itbalancing of survival and self-expressionfinding fresh takes on mentorshipHear how they claim their place and shape the future. "Rising Sparks is a grassroots collective fostering intergenerational collaboration, connection, and cultural continuity within Burning Man.We cultivate community-driven spaces where emerging leaders, newcomers, and seasoned Burners can connect, dream big, and contribute to the future of Burning Man—both within Black Rock City and globally.Our mission is to inspire participation, address barriers to entry, and cultivate leadership across generations by providing mentorship, community-driven tools, and creative collaboration opportunities.We are igniting the next generation of artists, leaders, and changemakers by stewarding an accessible, culturally diverse, and evolving Burning Man culture." https://linktr.ee/therisingsparks LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Hundreds of people build the temple in Black Rock City. It's a community intent on creating a work of art that is a space for people to grieve and revive. We didn't have a temple in the early versions of Black Rock City. Now, people can't imagine living without it. Each year, participants create messages, tributes, and altars for who and what they want to release. The event culminates with the burning of the temple in what organically evolved to be a silent Burn.Listen to Stuart talk with Miguel Arraiz García, the team lead for this year's “Temple of the Deep.”Hear the stories of how a temple is built, from crew selection to fundraising, from chances taken to lessons learned. This poetic and playful conversation exemplifies how this year's temple is already healing. Miguel says, “We are always looking the answers above us. I was trying to make something just to look for the answer between us or among us. So it was not that much building a temple, it was more building like a shelter for emotions, a safe space where you can be with people.”Burning Man Journal: Introducing the 2025 Templewww.2025temple.comwww.miguelarraiz.comTempleGuardians.burningman.orgRenaixement: Burning Man 2016Burning Man Journal: Tomorrow Today  LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Disasters happen. Communities come together to recover and rebuild. Governments and NGOs help however they know how.  Will Heegaard sees every disaster as a chance to build back greener. His non-profit provides power and water from nature. · power from the sun - instead of gas generators· water from the air - instead of plastic water bottlesHe helped with disaster relief from hurricanes in Florida, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico.He helped in West Africa, in the Philippines, and with the Maui Fires.He's helping with the LA Fires.And he taught himself to create power and water from nature while serving as a paramedic in Black Rock City.These are stories about truths, ideas, and levity in learning. FootprintProject.orgBurnersWithoutBorders.orgBurning Man Project: Philosophical Center LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Back again by popular demand, here are more tales from Burning Man's oral history project, an ambitious endeavor to track down and talk with people who helped shape the culture as we now know it.Stuart and Andie share stories of early technology on the playa, and on the internet.Andie Grace aka Actiongrl interviews from the vantage of having co-created Burning Man's world of communications, from Media Mecca to this very podcast.Brian Behlendorf - technologist and open-source software pioneer. He developed Burning Man's online presence and connected people through the venn diagram of luminaries from SF Raves, to Wired Magazine to the Apache Software Foundation.David Beach - designer, creative director, and instigator of the impossible with early dynamic content on the web. He helped create Burning Man's first live streaming and web presence.Scott Beale - documentarian, founder of Laughing Squid, subculture super-connector of various tentacles of the meta-scene.Stuart Magrum - zinester, cacophonist, billboard liberator, Minister of Propaganda, Director of the Philosophical Center, publisher of the first on-site newspaper of Burning Man (the Black Rock Gazette), and always in the same place at the same time as the characters in these stories of Burning Man's media experiments.Andie GraceBrian BehlendorfDavid BeachScott BealeStuart MangrumLaughing Squid: Burning Man 1996 Netcastdispatch2023.burningman.orgjournal.burningman.org/philosophical-centerburningman.org/programs/philosophical-centerBurning Man Live: A People's History of Burning Man - Volume 2Burning Man Live: A People's History of Burning Man - Volume 1 LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

He is a celebrated author, entrepreneur, leadership maven, and a founding Board Member of Burning Man Project. He's a serial contributor to the culture and the cause.In this episode, Chip and Stuart explore how to use the 10 Principles to make conversations interesting and how a description of Black Rock City always becomes a riddle.They resist the urge to quiz newbies on the 10 Principles, while they also say that Burners should not take themselves too seriously. They try on the notion that nothing matters and everything's humorous.They make sense of big ideas like collective effervescence, emotional equations, and the need for aesthetics and beauty.They talk about a deep diversity of ritual gatherings around the world, and the influence of the global community emanating from Regional Burns.They talk about all this and more, and somehow it all make sense. wikipedia.org/wiki/Chip_Conleychipconley.comwww.meawisdom.com LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Burners often speak about the work it takes to prepare their art, art car, or camp for Black Rock City, but for many, it doesn't end there. A project sparked in the desert or at Regional Events can take on a life of its own, continuing year-round in surprising ways.What happens when a camp or mutant vehicle takes a break from Black Rock City? After all the Communal Effort devoted to their playa project, do they even know how to stop? Apparently not... and the world benefits.kbot and Stuart speak with people who pressed pause on producing in Black Rock City, only to put their time, imagination, and heart into projects that build a better world.Leon & Patrizia of New York Dangerous discuss how their resource rescue nonprofit fosters a ‘pay it forward' form of altruism.Leo & Catarina of Jaguara share how their mutant vehicle has become a vehicle for education and expression in Columbia.Zoe (aka “Jeff”) of Camp Starbarf tells how a year off for her camp spawned a voter support initiative and a punk rock band!Their stories share a theme: the 10 Principles (and playa-born fortitude) inspire their year-round endeavors.https://nyd.nychttps://jaguara.coStarBarf (instagram) LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Tom Price co-founded Burners Without Borders, Black Rock Solar, and a company that gifts clean-burning kitchens to people in Kenya.Tom and Stuart talk about the weather, specifically hurricanes, and how Burners Without Borders started and persists in the face of extreme circumstances because Burners are extreme!Tom's tales of adventure include paperwork pranks and ad hoc Cajun catharsis. If Burning Man is a permission engine, giving people agency in their lives, he says that part of the lesson of Burning Man is finding out what is too much permission, then stepping back, and building aptitude to have agency, and responsibility for it. Note: The sponsor names joked about here are NOT sponsors of Burning Man, because Decommodification!Burners Without BordersBlack Rock SolarTom Price: Burning Man JournalBurning Man LIVE: Tom Price and the Benefactor's Dilemma (2022)Burning Man LIVE: Creative Solutions to Mass Destruction (2020)TEDx Black Rock City: Tom Price: Beyond Burning Man (2011)ecosafi.com LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Academics from everywhere experiment, collaborate, and even interpret our stories of "This one time at Burning Man."In this episode, Stuart talks with people from Burning Nerds, an annual gathering of academics in Black Rock City. They keep it light, though; not too many unnecessarily fancy words. Dr Jukka-Pekka Heikkilä shares about the Open Strategy management technique used by Burning Man Project that gives more power to the people. Bryan Yazell and Patricia Wolf of University of Southern Denmark report on using Flash Fiction in BRC to develop a new subgenre of sci-fi called climate fiction (‘cli-fi'), stories that are less dystopian, even less utopian, more protopian (fancy word) about society that improves over time, rather than transcending all it's problems or descending into dysfunction.Professor Matt Zook of University of Kentucky extols the unique aspects of Black Rock City, from materiality to temporality, to being a place apart. He and Stuart explore the interplay between digital and physical spaces, and what about community actually makes it good.Then Jukka-Pekka Heikkilä returns to reveal how the Burning Stories project, now in its 6th year of tracking tales, is now a cultural repository, and is training a gifted AI on how Burners be Burning.jukkapekka.comsdu.dk/en/persons/yazellsdu.dk/en/persons/pawogeography.as.uky.edu/users/zookburningman.org/programs/philosophical-center/academicsregionals.burningman.org/european-leadership-summitburning-stories.comkk.org/thetechnium/protopiasdu.dk/en/paca-at-burning-man-festival-2024 LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Everywhere? Regional events actively align with Burning Man's 10 Principles. 85 official events happen in 30 countries, with collectively more participants and more art grants than the original Nevada event.After 25 years, the combined regional presence is huge, diverse, and evolving, and it all started in one place: Black Rock City. Whether you're Burning in New York or New Zealand, all backroads lead back to BRC.We called a bunch of the Regional leaders to see how things are going out in their other homes away from home. We heard from Argentina, China, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, and even the far-flung realms of Texas and Kentucky.Play this mixtape of people sharing stories from everywhere in the world.regionals.burningman.orgAnd here's a related episode from 2022: burningman.org/podcast/burning-man-is-not-a-place LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Thousands and thousands of people volunteer each year at Black Rock City, for days, weeks, or months. Add to that the volunteers at the many Regional events around the world and it's more than can be counted on fingers and toes.Why do we volunteer?Is it because we feel we received a gift and we want to pay it back or pay it forward?Is it a meditation of hard work (in a hard place to work) to add dimension to our experience?Is it the chance to be something different, for a pixel pusher to build something with bare hands, an engineer to cook for artists, a project manager to be a… manager of a different kind of project?Yes.We interviewed a few longtime citizens of BRC about why they volunteer with the Greeters, with DPW, and the Man Base. Here are some stories from Topless Deb, Tamsin, Ruin, Terra, and a guy named Fuckyeah.https://burningman.org/event/participate/volunteering/teams LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Burning Man doesn't make itself. The people who share their time and treasure, they create this weird wonder. Each of these people have stories about how Burning Man influenced their lives and how their lives influenced Burning Man. The Flaming Tuba Guy is one of these people. His name is David Silverman aka Tubatron. Andie Grace talked with him about how his animation career started, how his musical career started, how the Mansonian Institute started, how his career with The Simpsons started, and how that influenced his involvement with Burning Man and vice versa. He also volunteers at BRC with the DPW at the Man Pavilion. They recorded this at Burning Man and you can hear in their voices the phonic patina of the playa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Silverman_(animator)https://x.com/tubatronDavid shares more of his story in Episode 27 from 2020: https://burningman.org/podcast/holiday-special-santacon-from-home LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Allow us to introduce you to the people who called the Black Rock Desert “home” way before we did. This is your backstage pass to the original Burners of the Great Basin: The Pyramid Lake Paiute. Strap in for a road trip that's part history lesson, part cultural exchange, and essential listening for when you wonder, "Who lived here before we showed up in tutus?"We're not just passing through, we're digging deep with…Billie Jean Guerrero: Director of the Pyramid Lake Museum Mervin Wright: Environmental Manager James Phoenix: Former Chairman Steven Wadsworth: Current ChairmanDean Barlese: Elder and Spiritual Leader"Double D": A tribal member at at the Golden Spike CeremonyHelpful links:Donate your leftover, non-perishable food to the Pyramid Lake Paiute. Drop it off at Bunny's Tacos in Nixon! Here are Google Map Directions from playa to Bunny's. Camp or recreate at Pyramid Lake. Buy a permit here.Volunteer at the Pyramid Lake Visitor Center and Museum. Help build out the new medicine garden or improve the museum's new haba (traditional Paiute shade structure). Contact Billie Jean Guerrero at bjguerrero@plpt.nsn.usDonate to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. Stop by the Pyramid Lake Museum and Visitor Center. You can donate in person! Gifting! You can also write to the Tribal Secretary at tribalsecretary@plpt.nsn.us with which program, department, or tribal office you'd like to direct your donation. LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Marian Goodell, CEO of Burning Man Project, talks with a lively audience as part of Robot Heart's Residency in Oakland, California. She is joined by Candace Locklear (aka Evil Pippi), Erin Douglas of the Black Burner Project, and Robot Heart's Justin Schaffer and Satya Kamdar.It's casual. It's layered. It's a room of Burners to be.What forms can culture jamming take? Where does Burning Man bridge the divide to bring people together? How have pillars of our culture evolved from awkward beginnings?They swap stories about the perks of unbranding. They joke about gifting and regifting, and the spectrum between talismans and swag. They go off the rails into how mainstream culture plays with Burning Man tropes.Then they go beyond making a party in the desert, out into the world, to the Regional Network as a living embodiment of ‘each one teach one.' They show how collaboration creates the community. They explore actually active inclusivity, and the question “Who Are We?”Marian Goodell: Burning Man Project Board of DirectorsBlack Burner ProjectBurning Man LIVE: The Evolution of Robot HeartBurning Man LIVE: Candace Locklear on Culture Jamming and Welcoming LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Take a trip through the puzzle of porta-potties at a free-range event, highway happenings, and the new news about prep. This is deeper than “What is MOOP?” This is the ART of Leaving No Trace.It's part of the Burning Man ethos, and it's why Black Rock City is the world's largest Leave No Trace event. Now nearly 100 other Burning Man events around the globe adhere to this attitude, this mindset. It's an ongoing quest to leave less and less of a trace. As the principle is written, it invites us to leave spaces in better shape than we found them.The 75,000 citizens of BRC pick up after themselves. It's miraculous. And we can do more.Those of us who take on the challenge, we see it as a process, a practice, a stretch goal. We look at ways to get closer to that zero point. Each of us is at a different point on the LNT learning curve. The next level is to develop techniques to do it collectively. It is a set of behaviors to be cultivated.In this episode, we talk with some of the unsung heroes: blue: DPW Logistics & Project Manager of Recycle CampBarbarella: Resto's Highway Clean-Up ManagerDA: Playa Restoration ManagerHazmatt: Associate Director of BRC Business OperationsWe look at what gets left behind, so we can grok our cumulative impact, and make a better choice, a better cascade of choices, to teach good citizenship. Plus, eh, there may be a few poop jokes.There's an old saying in Black Rock City: “It was better next year.” Let's leave no trace so that there will be a next year.burningman.org/about/10-principlesRecycle Camp2023 MOOP MapDA on Restoration Destiny (Burning Man LIVE) LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Burning Man culture brings people together across all kinds of divides. Yet, we're seeing an uptick of intolerance around art and experiences in our community. The default world is often divided by ideology, religion, and politics. Could that division seep into this culture that aspires to welcome everyone and rise above social schisms?As a community, how can we navigate the turbulent waters between, say, Radical Self-expression and Radical Inclusion? How do we walk the line between free speech and hate speech? How do we keep our global community together in times of outright war?Tune into a roundtable discussion about concerns that don't have easy solutions. Four thinkers in the Burning Man global cultural movement explore how the act of conversation changes what might otherwise seem controversial or divisive:• Stuart Mangrum is Burning Man Project's Director of the Philosophical Center so he directed some philosophers to center around a microphone to discuss.• Caveat Magister debated and discussed Burning Man philosophy, then wrote books about it.• Kay Morrison is a veteran Black Rock City artist, active in the Global Network, and a Burning Man Project board member.• Steven Raspa is Associate Director of Community Events for Burning Man Project, and a co-founder of the Regional Network Committee.This conversation concerns art, yes, and behavior — as participants, as people. It's about being open-minded and open-hearted, even when it's difficult to do. What is a safe space? What is a brave space? How can jackassery be respectful? What's with all the questions? Tune in for the answers that lead to more questions.burningman.org/about/10-principlesTurn Your Life Into Art with Caveat Magister (Burning Man LIVE)Kay Morrison and the Overall Wonderment Quotient (Burning Man LIVE)Remember How to Burning Man with Steven Raspa (Burning Man LIVE)Stuart Mangrum's Serious Philosophy of Shenanigans (Burning Man LIVE) LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Burning Man takes practice. Tony “Coyote” Perez may be the best at thriving (and not dying) at Burning Man. He is the Black Rock City Superintendent, the Burning Man OSHA Instructor, and the 26 year Burner whose job it is to put himself in harm's way, then get out of his own way!His tales stick in the mind to help us thrive. This is not a list of tips and tricks. Those are in the Survival Guide. This is a refreshing penumbra of practices held by the one's having the most fun.Sit in on a chuckling conversation between Stuart and Coyote. They put the wisdom in wise-crack. It's not because they're so smart, it's because they've made every mistake there is, then asked why and how. They debunk fallacies such as:The Hero Factor “The playa provides.”Self-reliance as independenceThey share stories about curious topics, including: The culture of safety (Becoming involved in your own rescue)Situational awareness (Choosing to immerse into your new world)Serious self-care (and care of your people)You may just find that the challenges of your campmates and your camp build (and camp strike) become easier and simpler and specialer (new word). You may just find that you banish bad luck. journal.burningman.org/author/tperezburningman.org/news/books-about-burning-man/built-to-burnburningman.org/about-us/staff/TonyCoyotePerezsurvival.burningman.org LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

400 works of art don't just appear as if in a desert mirage. Well, they do, but not without a lot of people, tools, and funds. Planners are planning. Makers are making. Art grants are granting! Crews all over the world are creating installations for Black Rock City. Katie Hazard, Director of Burning Man Project's art department curates some artist's tales for us. Hear their stories in their voices. Hold onto your headlamp: We've got an interactive Man Base that looks like an octopus or a fjord or bothWe've got a larger-than-life omniscient prankster traffic coneWe've got the insider intentions of this year's temple buildersWe've got artists sharing cultural riches from China, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire and the US.Desert Arts Preview 2024 (burningman.org)Desert Arts Preview 2024 (YouTube)Introducing the 2024 Honoraria Burning Man Journal)The Burning Man Theme: Curiouser & Curiouser LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

“While there are many beloved mutant vehicles out there, El Pulpo, in both of its incarnations, is the most beloved.” ~Chef Juke, Communications lead for the Department of Mutant VehiclesEl Pulpo is a 28-foot tall giant octopus, a demented windup toy, a mobile kinetic sculpture with articulating legs, eyes and mouths. It spews fire from its extremities and it has been stealing the limelight for a decade now, first at Black Rock City, then everywhere from LoveBurn to EDC to fire festivals and engineering events.It's merely the newest and largest expression of artist Duane Flatmo and his team of kinetic engineer artists. Many years ago, he gave up music to pursue art, which he has pursued from New York to London to China. He's a hardworking, paperwork-doing, idea person. Duane shares how his influences inspired his innovations and got him to perform on The Tonight Show, open for Carlos Santana, and compete in Junkyard Wars and the Kinetic Sculpture Race. His curiosity and his resourceful team create surprises for people all around the world. Hear the stories of El Pulpo's predecessors, origins, and worldly adventures!www.elpulpomecanico.comkineticgrandchampionship.comBurning Man LIVE: Chef Juke's Wild Art Car R.I.D.E. LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Back by popular demand, more stories! This collection is from Burning Man's oral history project, an ambitious endeavor to track down and talk with people who helped shape the culture as we now know it.Stuart and Andie remember to remember the most memorable parts. Here's a fresh batch: Chris Radcliffe, artist, con artist, prankster, and shadow founder of Burning Man (perhaps), shares stories of how the Cacophony Society would prank the media and how the Black Rock Desert drove up his fears, then dispelled them. He also hints at the larger-than-life impact of the Billboard Liberation Front.Candace Locklear, aka Evil Pippi, a perturber and social experimenteer (new word) shares how she helped Burning Man manage the mainstream media in the late ‘90s. She also talks about cutesy culture jamming as a scary clown.Summer Burkes is a Southern belle punk who was a nightlife columnist and the media liaison for the DPW. She sees the early days of Black Rock City as the love child of comically aggressive punk rockers and air-kissy techno industrialists and embraces their uneasy peace.Steve Heck brought 88 pianos to Burning Man in 1996, stacked them in a tall circular “piano bell.” People beat it into a cacophonous soundscape until he burned it. That was after he almost died wandering the desert. Then he cleaned it up, and did it the next year, and the next year, and taught the BRC teams the art of packing and moving big stuff.Dr Hal Robins is a beloved Renaissance Man of stage and story, a Cacophonist, an Uber Pope of the Church of the Subgenius, and mellifluous philosopher of sesquipedalians. He shares about the inventiveness and serendipity of Burning Man and why it matters in the world.Part 1 of this series: burningman.org/podcast/a-peoples-history-of-burning-manjournal.burningman.org/category/philosophical-centerburningman.org/programs/philosophical-centerwww.cacophony.orgThe What Where When Guide is here.The 1996 Helco commercial is here. LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Burners from around Europe gather to teach and learn and to conjure ideas for the future. Burning Man's 7th European Leadership Summit just happened, and we recorded some conversations for you.Passionate people from the corners of Europe share with Stuart and kbot what they get from Burning Man culture and what they gift back to it. Hear a cultural spice drawer of stories about how they persevere through politics and pandemics to bring their flavor of Burning Man to their homeland. Baroch - IsraelErin Kiez - GermanyGabriel Muscalu - RomaniaLinus Höök, Caroline Bergmann, and Britta Kronacher - SwedenPille Hedo - EstoniaVinegar Joe - Portugal“Burning Man started with the fire. For me, that is a strong ritual. And it's a harmonious ritual. And it's true. And then you have the gifting, because someone built that fire, someone made it with no expectations. Someone made that fire only to warm up other people. From this idea, everything grew exponentially, but that's the essence. Creating something for you and for others and expressing yourself through your creation. And that can be in all the directions magnified. It's something that creates you. It's a thing that you create and creates you. It's like this beautiful spin.”~Gabriel Muscalu - Romaniahttps://regionals.burningman.org/european-leadership-summithttps://regionals.burningman.org/regionals LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

There are a whole lot of military veterans in Burning Man's history and Black Rock City's neighborhoods. Combat veterans Dr Raymond Christian (Army) and Samuel Williams (Marines) share stories with Stuart Mangrum (Air Force) about transitioning into civilian life, bringing survival skills and leadership chops to BRC, and finding tribal camaraderie… and a party.They explore how hackneyed clichés of the military can wither in an environment of love and authenticity. PTSD, though, that's still a thing. BRC can be like a military operation: the sights, the sounds, the smells... meeting interesting people, and finding forever friendships.“Being in combat, you experience the worst of humanity… It pulls the veil off and you no longer care about the facade. You get raw about it because you've seen the extreme. Burning Man is the opposite of that. It is also extreme, but it is the very best that humanity has to offer. You're not going to experience anything more stimulating, more accepting, more exciting than Burning Man, because everybody there has coalesced and converged on this area to express their art and their love for the celebration of the human experience.” ~Samuel WilliamsLinktr.ee/RaymondChristian LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Robot Heart started with a simple sound system on an old double-decker bus at Black Rock City. Over the years, it has evolved into a bespoke sound system, light arrays, iconic art, and an all-star lineup of musical talent performing to massive crowds at sunrise on Playa.… all on that same old double-decker bus. Robot Heart also expanded its support of arts and artists beyond the playa, including New York's Central Park, Miami's Art Basel, and their residency program in Oakland, California. For the 2nd year in a row, the team brings together various Burning Man camps, artists, and musicians April 25th to May 18th.A few years ago, Robot Heart created a 501c3 Foundation to make all this happen. Stuart talks with President, Gary Mueller, and Board Members Clare Laverty and Justin Shaffer. They trade tales about developing a foundation, collaborating with creatives, and taking pleasure from other people's pleasure. robotheart.orgrobotheartfoundation.orgwww.theloomoakland.comfareforward.comwww.artbasel.com/miami-beachhttps://brandtbrauerfrick.dewikipedia.org/wiki/MuditaLee Burridge - Robot Heart - Burning ManRodriguez Jr. (Live) Featuring Liset Alea  - Robot Heart - Burning Man LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Moshe Kasher has lived many lives as a subculture vulture - a hearing child of deaf parents, an addict at 15, in recovery at 16, a raver, a culturally Jewish standup comedian, an old school Burner and a longtime Gate volunteer. With Andie Grace and Stuart Mangrum he explores how Burning Man is a waterboard of wonder where weirdos go to feel normal, and norms go to feel weird, and that the sweet spot is when you experience something that makes you say “Wait, What?!?”They talk through how Black Rock City has evolved, from subcultures like the rave scene and AA meetings, to the transitional realm from the default world, the infamous Gate. Listen in on their playful tales of culture-jamming and utopia-tizing. It's horribly hilarious, and you might just guffaw at words like gavage. Moshe Kasher (wikipedia)Gate, Perimeter & Exodus (burningman.org)Subculture Vulture: Penguin Random HouseSubculture Vulture: New York Times Book Reviewwww.cacophony.orgThe Endless Honeymoon Podcast LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

This is one of those full-circle stories that makes our dusty hearts glow a little brighter. It's the tale of big art that emerged from a fossil-filled trash heap, came to life in Black Rock City, then returned to its source as a proud symbol of what a community can accomplish together.Tahoe Mack, a Las Vegas artist, tells the story of the Black Rock City Honoraria art piece she started when she was 15 years old. Her final Girl Scouts project became, oh, so much more. Over a few years, she learned to weld, fundraise, and work with acclaimed artists Dana Albany and Luis Varelo-Rico.Her vision drew attention to an urban park with a rich archaeological history. Built from metal detritus that had accumulated there, “The Monumental Mammoth” dazzled Burners in Black Rock City 2019, and is now a permanent installation at a trailhead near the fossil field that inspired it all, and forged new connections between dozens of people.https://www.tahoemariemack.com/themounumentalmammothhttps://protectorsoftulesprings.org/monumental-mammoth-projecthttps://www.danaalbanyart.com/mammothhttps://burningman.org/podcast/dana-albany-dreaming-in-metal-and-glass LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

The Tip of the Iceberg is a 30-foot tall clitoris of stone, steel and cement, fabricated to be monumental like Stonehenge, thus the nickname Clit-Henge. It aroused a lot of conversation at Black Rock City 2023. It's the phallic symbol's sister. It's highly sensitive, and highly talked about, and according to the artist, the more we discover what it does for any of us and all of us, and the more we can celebrate the birthright of pleasure.Melissa Barron a.k.a. Syn has traveled to many places around the world that informed her lens of creativity, sustainability, gender equality. With her family and friends, she co-creates art, from the 2013 Temple of Whollyness to her decade-long regeneration project Art for Trees, to this new intimate inquiry, the Tip of the Iceberg. And what about the aerialist performance involving the Burning Man and wombs and birth, sanctioned by none other than Burning Man founder Larry Harvey?Journey with Syn, Andie Grace and Stuart Mangrum through the Clit Renaissance, the re-thinking of pleasure inequities, the teachings of cancer, the wisdom of aging, and the intuition of radical reciprocity. They explore these complexities, and they keep it light and bright.Tip of the Iceberg (Burning Man 2023 Art Installations)Tip of the Iceberg (Burning Man Gallery)The Temple of Whollyness (Burning Man Journal)Art for Trees (Burning Man Journal)Syn on Social Media (Crone of Arc)  LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Black Rock City is a temporary metropolis of  80,000 people who inhabit 1,600 theme camps and support camps. That means nine out of 10 participants' plans are coordinated by the Placement team — a handful of dedicated staff who decide which camps go where, and why. This year-round process is an art and a science that takes many factors into consideration — from city dynamics, to campers' Radical Self-expressions.As Burning Man Project's Associate Director of City Planning, Bryant Tan manages the Placement team, and oversees the city's annual planning and placement process. Naturally, questions about Burning Man lead to more questions.How do we place like-minded folks together for harmony, not monotony?How are resources shared between camps in this new era?Can you tell me how to get to Center Camp Plaza?What rules cultivate a spirit of lawlessness?Is bigger actually better?Let's go behind the scenes, under the clipboard, and beyond the map, exploring opportunities and obligations to iterate in this experimental city. It's a unique test case for urban planners and any humans who live in semi-civilized situations.“We don't want this just to be an Instagrammable bucket list thing. It's an experiment in community. We want people to show up a certain way, and so I try to just have reasonable conversations with people to help them learn what Burning Man is, and learn how to distribute leadership and responsibility, how to empower people to be their most creative selves.”BurningMan.org: Placement Team: LevelBurningMan.org: Placement ProcessHUBS: Humans Uniting for Better SustainabilityPEERS: Placement's Exploration and Engagement Research Squad LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

It's winter where we are. What are the coldest, most teeth-chattering, brrrr-iest of all the 100 sanctioned Burning Man events around the world?FrostBurn is one, and its participants make it happen in the dead of winter on purpose, annually since 2008. Subzero temperatures, rain, sleet, snow and sometimes sunshine. Why? Because they can.It kinda makes the media look silly for making a big deal out of a little rain at Black Rock City.When the costumes are nothing less than comfy snow pants, when everyone is on the buddy system to ensure they survive the weather, no energy is wasted on facades and FOMO. At FrostBurn people collaborate on Radical Self-reliance, Communal Effort, and all those cultural practices that got us where we are today. Bexx is an event lead at FrostBurn, and still finds time to play music in the Black Rock Philharmonic Orchestra and write academic papers about Black Rock City. She tells tales to kbot and Stuart of a winter wonderland happily crafted by hearty Burners. Share the warmth.www.frostburn.orgBurningMan.org: Programs: Philosophical Center: AcademicsAural Substance: An Ethnographic Exploration of Regional Burn Soundscapes (ACADEMIA) LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Stories. This collection is from Burning Man's oral history project, an ambitious endeavor to track down and record interviews with people who helped shape the culture as we now know it. Stuart and Andie “Actiongrl” Grace share some of the most memorable stories for your gratification and edification. Lamplighters founder Steve Mobia talks about the San Francisco Suicide Club, the even-stranger start to the legendary Cacophony Society.Denzil Meyers recounts the earliest days of the Cacophony event now known as Santa Con.Lexie Tillotson remembers what it was like driving to Burning Man in the wayback days when you needed luck and a compass.Kimric Smythe recalls the year that the Man Burn into a hot mess.Stewart Harvey shares about traveling to Northern Ireland with artist David Best to build a Temple for “The Troubles.”dispatch2022.burningman.org/the-philosophical-centerjournal.burningman.org/category/philosophical-centerburningman.org/programs/philosophical-centerwww.cacophony.org LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Many people are surprised to learn that Black Rock City is home to not just two full orchestras, also a Playa Choir complete with a secular Sunday sermon. Since 2012 Madi has been organizing and arranging the choir's harmonies and happenings, each year with more and more help. In this installment, kbot and Stuart talk with Madi (Choir Director) Tori (Director of Dusty Productions) Leut (Preacher Man)They have stories and more stories of inspiration and elevation. We get to hear many voices resonate with music, recorded live at Burning Man 2023 in the Black Rock Desert. Hallelujah!https://playachoir.com LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Some people are surprised to learn that Black Rock City is home to not just one but two full-fledged symphony orchestras. While the Black Rock Philharmonic kicks out the classical jams, the Playa Pops brings the big-ensemble sound to popular music. Both are composed (ahem) of passionate volunteer musicians – classically trained, self-trained, and otherwise – who come together once a year to perform in the dust (or mud) the songs they have practiced all year at home.In this installment, kbot and Stuart talk to members of the Playa Pops and the Black Rock Philharmonic about their process, their performances, and how the desert hates their instruments. And we get to hear some amazing live music performed by actual humans, recorded live at Burning Man 2023 in the Black Rock Desert.https://www.playapops.comhttps://blackrockphilharmonic.orghttps://www.temple2023.comhttps://www.michaelgarlington.com/chapel-of-babel LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Have you stumbled upon Midnight Poutine in Black Rock City? Maybe you listened to Québecois rock as you waited for some of that crispy, cheesy goodness? As with many camps on playa, Midnight Poutine is the cultural tip of the iceberg of a vast community of creativity and goings-on; this one in Montréal, Québec. Arno Robin, one of Montréal's cultural instigators, spoke with Stuart and kbot about his nine-year journey from Midnight Poutine, to co-creating Montréal's Burning Man Regional Event, to developing a bustling makerspace. It's one of those stories we love — one that travels through Black Rock City and then keeps on going — carrying the Burning Man ethos back home to take root and sprout local mutations.Plus… Stuart learns to swear in Québecois!https://www.linkedin.com/in/arno-robin-9b903936https://losstidburn.org/en/home/https://www.lespacemaker.com/en/ LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Dana Albany has come a long way since her first art project in the Black Rock Desert, a scrap-wood camel that got her started making things out of found materials, from discarded metal and broken glass to sun-bleached cattle bones and deer antlers. She has built flammable targets for the notorious machine-art group Survival Research Labs, worked as the artist-in-residence at a San Francisco dump, and had her large scale metal and mixed-media sculptures exhibited around the world, most recently at the “Radical Horizons” show at England's Chatsworth House. She talks with Stuart about her path to becoming an artist, which began with a spur-of-the-moment trip to Burning Man in 1996, about her mentors and mentees along the way, and about the joys of working with children to create high-impact interactive art.DanaAlbanyArt.comchatsworth.org/news-media/news-blogs-press-releases/burning-man-about-the-sculpturesburningman.org/programs/civic-initiatives/youth-education-spaceship

We committed to be carbon-negative by 2030. How will we do it? Can we even do it? We have “Burning” right in our name.When it comes to solar, biofuels, and energy banks, we have many irons in the fire, or rather, we are planting many seeds. Hear how Black Rock City is a hotbed, or rather, a garden bed, for the innovation of clean energy.Stuart talks with George B Reed III, Associate Director of Burning Man Project's Off Fossil Fuels program about the progress we're making for a brighter future, or rather... yeah, a brighter future.George shares what Burning Man's leadership has been developing to be in integrity with our principles and goals, from composting organic waste for food cultivation, to making renewable diesel from captured carbon. He shares stories of the community preventing and reversing damage to the climate. Hear how we're collectively rewiring reality, showing our work, and sharing what we know. Here's how you can do it for your camp, your cohort, your city.Burning Man Project: 2030 Environmental Sustainability Roadmapburningman.org: About Us / Sustainability (updated Oct 2023) The Renewables for Artists TeamThe Green Theme Camp Community & BLASTBurning Man Journal: Your Checklist for LNT in BRC (2023)Burning Man Journal: Waking Dreams: Evoking Greener Burns (2022)Burning Man Journal: Sustainability Initiatives on the Road to Black Rock City (2022)

The desert is home to bugs, birds and a whole lifecycle of animals from bunnies to foxes, from lions to wild horses to - most dangerous of all - COWS! Hear about the hidden lives of all that's alive around Black Rock City.Stuart talks with biologist Dr Lisa Beers aka Sciprus. When she's not teaching in remote villages on the other side of the planet, she's Burning Man's land fellow studying the Fly Hot Springs territory. In the face of mystery, she has surprising answers, or at least more questions, and aren't questions as good as answers? Aren't they?How do butterflies know to ride the jet stream from Canada to Mexico and back? What do sea monkeys have to do with Fairy Shrimp Scampi?How do feral Burners adapt from arid & dusty to moist & muddy?journal.burningman.org/author/scirpusBurning Man Live: Ep 25: Scirpus and the Majestic Fly RanchThe Black Rock Desert of Nevada (wikipedia)

How would you overcome shyness at BRC?How would you break people's brains at SantaCon?How would you acculturate museum docents to Burner culture?Brody Scotland shares how she did it, and how she went from hating Black Rock City to working year round in the Burning Man Art department.Brody and Stuart delve into the uncommon common sense of self-care and “feelings” in the emo roller coaster of BRC. They explore a style of pranking where no one is the butt of the joke. And they celebrate “Shit Dave X Says.”From hand-crafting iconic costumes, to logistics-crafting “weird little odd art,” this is a string of lively stories about Brody's bespoke approach to increasing happiness.Brody Scotland (Burning Man Journal)Brody Scotland (Burning Man Staff) No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man (Smithsonian Institution)Dave X (Burning Man Journal) & Shit Dave X Says 

Stuart and Burning Man's Community Services head honcho Terry “Retro” Schoop riff on the streets of our fair city and the naming thereof, from the controversial to the miraculous to the misunderstood. Black Rock City has elaborate art themes, each with street names, each with curious conditions. Why does our recreational refugee camp even need street names? Were they always alphabetical around an imaginary clock face? And what's a clock anyway? Hear this year's art theme (ANIMALIA) express itself through cryptids (animals that no one can prove are real). Folklore and fandom brought us our new ABC street names: Afanc, Bigfoot, Chupacabra, Dingbat… and NOT the Easter Bunny, thanks to Encantados, which are were-dolphins that shape-shift into dapper dancers in search of a party.  This is an episode with literature, lore, and laughter — and a pile of BRC trivia for street cred.Streets of BRC 2023: Cavalcade of Cryptids | Burning Man JournalBurning Man 2023: ANIMALIATerry “Retro” Schoop | Burning Man JournalBurning Man Staff: Terry Schoop

Yes, Burning Man has a Chief Technology Officer, and his name is Steven Blumenfeld. In this episode Stuart chats with “Bloom” about art, innovation, immediacy, and the power of the unexpected, with trippy side trips into AR, VR, and AI (and TLA).Yes, we have a CTO. We have all the enterprise tech needs of any not-small non-profit, with the added complications of ridiculously challenging work sites, a staff that's mostly seasonal volunteers, and an ethos rooted in Ten Principles that don't always line up with ideals of Big Tech or engineering efficiency. You don't build a city of 80,000 in the desert — or a global community of dreamers and doers — without bending a few bits and bytes. Or stepping on a few tech-bro toes.Bloom shares stories from his colorful career at the intersection of art and technology, from working with Al Gore at Current Media to pioneering the “always two years away” world of virtual reality. And he does his best to reassure Stuart that AI will not be taking his job… yet.

Psychedelics advocate and amateur Burning Man scholar John Turner's two passions come together in one interdimensional rabbit-hole of a website: Trippingly.net. In compiling the ultimate fan site of Burning Man history, John has captured a lot of great playa stories, and he shares some of the best in this conversation with Stuart.He explores the subjective unknowns of Burning Man events and psychedelics as same-same-but-different. Bring your neural nets to be plasticized. Bring your ego to be dissolved. It's a trip through the past, and a trip through presence.But when an interviewer interviews another interviewer, things can get weird. Together they explore the power of story (good and bad), who remembers what, who takes credit, and the subjective nature of consciousness. It's a reflection on memory, serendipity, and the power of not knowing.“Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” ~Mark Twain (as quoted by Larry Harvey)trippingly.netJohn B Turner (LinkedIn)shulginresearch.netcacophony.orgCacophony Society (Wikipedia)Burning Man 2023 art theme: ANIMALIA

She traveled to six continents for Burning Man Regional Events, to get to the heart of an ever-evolving global culture that creates community in a disconnected world. She wrote a book about it, and we published it!It chronicles her odyssey toAfrikaburn (South Africa)Black Rock City (USA)Blazing Swan (Australia)Burning Japan (Japan)Fuego Austral (Argentina)Midburn (Israel)Nowhere (Spain)Hear Roxane's impressions of each wildly unique event in this audio travelog. She talks with Stuart about how she would work, Burn, write, repeat. They explore how Burning Man culture rubs up against other cultures as it spreads. As an aid worker, Roxane sees first hand how vibrant Burner networks create positive impact. Burning Man events transform people, AND some people become Burners before ever attending a Burning Man event, by resonating with the 10 Principles and crossing paths with Burners up to new good. Once Upon a Time in the Dust: Burning Man Around the World (the Book)Burning Man Journal: Books About Burning Man: Roxane JessiRegionals Reawaken: A Blog Series by Roxane JessiBurnersWithoutBorders.orgregionals.burningman.orgRoxane Jessi

Most people in Black Rock City live together in placed camps, aka theme camps, the most unique aspect of a most unique event. There are almost 1300 camps in BRC. The annual Camp Symposium brought together dozens of staff and volunteers to talk out what they do to gift their interactive camp to BRC.Hear (or read) highlights from the Plenary, many voices sharing knowledge and exploring ideas. Bryant Tan, aka Level, Associate Director of Placement, and a spaghettification of speakers: Breedlove: Director of Civic EngagementCharlie: Director of Event OperationsClaire of the Green Theme Camp CommunityDA: Environmental Restoration ManagerMarian: CEO of Burning Man ProjectTrixxie of the Placement TeamYeti of the Camp Support TeamHere is how to enjoy Leaving No Tracemake frameworks for leadersbuild boundaries of communityhold a center for our cultural visionmake sense of mysterious acronyms!“We build the hive, they bring the honey.” ~Larry HarveyCamps and Placement | Burning ManCultural Direction Setting & DecommodificationPlacement: About Us & VolunteeringCamp Support Team | Burning ManWaking Dreams: Evoking Greener Burnsgreentheme.campthrival.guideLeaving No Trace 2022: MOOP Maps, Inspection, and the #1 MOOPCharlie Dolman · The Dust is in the Details (Burning Man LIVE 2022)Dark Angel of Black Rock & Restoration Destiny (Burning Man LIVE 2020)

Katie Hazard leads Art Management for Burning Man and the committee that grants more than a million dollars to artists each year to create art that's first stop (and sometimes only stop) is Black Rock City.She shares about some of the grant recipients that align with this year's Black Rock City art theme (ANIMALIA). She and Stuart Mangrum discuss Burning Man's art movement in relation to, and sometimes in opposition to, “capital-A art,” and the default art world's manufactured scarcity and opaqueness. They explore how to grant accessibility and agency to artists, professional and amateur, personally and collectively.“Many people come for the art, and they stay for the community.” ~Larry HarveySlides of the Art Projects Mentioned (in the order discussed) Introducing the 2023 Black Rock City Honoraria (Burning Man Journal)Katie Hazard (Burning Man Journal)2023 Art Theme: ANIMALIAThe ARTery at Black Rock CityDesert Arts Preview: Artists of Waking Dreams (2022 podcast)

As a founder and co-producer of one of the largest and oldest Burning Man events, Monique Shiess has a lot going on. AfrikaBurn does too. Started in 2007, it averages 10,000 participants annually in recent years. Monique shares its origins with Stuart and Andie. From the EDM scene, gallery spaces, queer community, and producers of “weird gatherings,” they birthed AfrikaBurn with roots in anarchy, trickster energy and hippie-dom. They explore how to be welcoming, not just radically inclusive, in the aftermath of Apartheid, and the context of global trends, on the land of indigenous people.Then there's the fun part. Monique says that play is the vector for changing the world by accessing aspects of yourself that go dormant in the default world, and that all Burn movements have paradigm shifting potential while also having a ton of fun with “the best humans that exist.”www.afrikaburn.orgAfrikaBurn (Wikipedia)Practising Imagining (TEDx Cape Town)Events Change Lives: AfrikaBurn Legacy Case Study

Athena is a wanderer, an adventurer, a muse. She is Regional Contact emerita from Los Angeles, founder of their nonprofit The LA League of Arts, and a founder of BRCvr — a crown jewel in the tiara of our multiversal experiences online.Athena talks with Stuart about how Radical Inclusion and Immediacy foster human connection, and about how a balance of decommodified spaces and commercial spaces can lead to true Gifting. She says that BRCvr conjured a tight-knit community of creators who love helping each other. See for yourself while you still can. BRCvr co-creates events (like RE-BURN-23) on AltspaceVR, the social VR platform that's about to have its plug pulled. Hear her adventures from Black Rock City to South Central LA, and heed the call to infuse Burning Man's Principles into the fabric of gatherings IRL and in VR.BRCvrRE-BURN-23The 10 Principles of Burning ManLos Angeles League of Arts (LALA)Burning Man LIVE: The 10 Principles in Modern Times IRL and in VRBurning Man LIVE: Mike Zuckerman: Culture Hacking and Gonzo HumanitarianismThe MutaytorNiNo's ATABEY

How are films shot in Black Rock City? Why? And really, HOW? "Profiles in Dust" is the most prolific video troupe that dares to document the dynamic Burning Man events. Since 2011 they have produced 50 mini-documentaries, profiling the inspirational creators in the scene, and behind the scenes. Terry Pratt is their nominal leader. He talks with Stuart about the joy and the turmoil, and adventures had everywhere from Egypt to Ukraine. and with Crimson Rose, Larry Harvey, Pablo González Vargas, and Smoke Daddy.Listen to this conversation about these documentaries:Everyone's an ArtistGoing Solar (rough cut intro)Kids at Burning ManLarry: A Burning Man StoryThe Great Disappearing CityThe Mayan WarriorThe Man's Tailorprofilesindust.netvimeo.com/profilesindustterenceprattdop.netBurning Man Project's Youtube Channel of Profiles in DustBurning Man Journal: The Colors of the Man

What happened at BRC? What didn't happen? Why did it seem that we couldn't get back to interdependence? After the traumas of the pandemic and political vilification, we somehow didn't trust each other at BRC. Or if we did, we didn't seem to know it, or feel it, or enjoy it. Andie Grace swaps stories with Buck Down, a 25-year Burner, Gate Manager, musician, and author of the wildly popular article “What the Fuck Just Happened at Burning Man?”They spitball on how to encourage more play, work, and random participation, and how to split the event into two.Black Rock City changed underneath us. As stewards of this culture, let's remember the parts of the culture that had us commit to it. Let's make this ‘cult that joins you' worth it.FYI: This episode is fun and full of curse words. And as always, the last part is the best.https://buckdown.medium.com/what-the-fuck-just-happened-at-burning-manhttps://buckaedown.bandcamp.comhttps://journal.burningman.org/author/buckdownhttp://brcweekly.com/BRCWeekly2021.pdf