Episode 38 with Tex Burner (aka Tex Allen) is out now! He first experienced the Black Rock desert in 2006 when he went to 4th of Juplaya. 3 years later he returned to go to Black Rock City in 2009. His first time out he camped with Unicorn Ranch in Illumination Village. The following year he began to volunteer with the Greeters and Arctica. He gave out over 50,000 red clown noses on playa (and wore a red clown nose) for around 7 years on playa until 2017. Since 2017 he has been an integral part and an originator of the Church Of Free Hugs which now has chapters around the US and the world. He talks extensively about the power of (consentual) free hugs to heal and transform. It seems rather simple and small but it is an act that has significant power to heal and transform. I apologize in advance if the levels are a little off in this episode it was my first recording with some new equipment

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1KcaG9pLvA/

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Shadow Shorts #1 is out now! Recorded at BRC in 2025 participants were challenged to explain BM‘s impact in 5 minutes or less. Each Shadow Short is one person’s story, please enjoy this short story of how Burning Man has impacted and influenced people over time.

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Episode 36 with Harley Dubois is out now! In 1988 She was enrolled at the Berkeley Psychic Institute when she found a great apartment in SF at 1907 Golden Gate. Over the next few years she unwittingly held afterparties for Cacophany Society events. In 1990 when the SF park police shooed away Larry Harvey and friends from Baker beach a meeting was convened in her living room to decide what to do with this “Burning Man”. She didn’t take the bait originally in 1990 but after hearing from the “Zone Trip #4” returnees (like her neighbor Miss P Segal) she first hit the Black Rock Desert in 1991. One can argue that Harley and Miss P started the first themecamp. Music was not central to BRC in the beginning, only in 1993-94 did Larry invite Turbo Ted (he ran raves in SF at the time). In 1995 Harley started the Themecamp Placement department. She was instrumental in organizing and professionalizing the Burning Man Project. Currently she serves as the Chief Cultural Officer. Over the years she has come to define her meaning of transformational experience as 4 parts:

1. Meaningful work
2. Being pushed out of your comfort zone
3. Feeling safe/no judgement
4. Presence of ritual/ceremony

Please give this episode a listen, you will learn not just some early history but the inspiring story of one of the founders of BRC.

harley@burningman.org

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Episode 35 with Stuart Mangrum is out now! He has worn many hats over the years, currently known as the host of the Burning Man Live podcast. Start has been a member of the Cacophany society for many years and first hit the playa in 1993. His first year at Black Rock City he was roped into doing the playa’s first newspaper, the Black Rock Gazette which he was the editor of for a few years. In 1995 he started what is arguably the first real themecamp (Tiki camp) that was designed in advance and implemented on playa. He argues that the previous “Christmas camp” was impromptu and kind of mean. After the crazy year of 1996 he pulled back from being part of the event organization and in 1997 while still going joined a part of BRC that was at the time called the “Neigh-bar-hood”. In 2012-13 Larry Harvey needed help with the theme and invited Stuart in to help build a new educational department called the Burning Man Philosophical Center. Together with Caveat Magister they wrote many articles about the nature of Burning Man over the years. Together with others at the Burning Man Philosophical Center he started the Burning Man Live podcast in 2020 which has had 125 episodes aries to date. Please give the show a listen and find out all about the man behind one of my favorite podcasts (I have listened to them all).

https://burningman.org/podcast/

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Episode 34 with Dean Barlese is out now! He is an elder in the Piute community who has been going to Black Rock City since 2001. He is involved with Protect Thacker Pass which is a group that wants to preserve sacred land that is a historical massacre site from being destroyed by a lithium mine. Dean says traffic is the biggest impact but he has spent many years among friends at Burning Man. This interview was done with Dean on the phone so I apologize in advance for any extra noises.

https://www.protectthackerpass.org/

Protect Thacker Pass (Facebook)

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Episode 33 with Wolfie is out now! She grew up in Pacifica where she encountered people burning this wooden “Man” on the beach in the early 1990’s. It turns out it was Larry Harvey and early burners replicating their Baker beach experience for a small group back in those early days. Wolfie first went to BRC in 2013 and by her 3rd year she was already a camp lead. She has been a part of Illumination Village (started by Charlie Gattigan around 30 years ago) her entire time going to BRC and now she is the Mayor. Also called Illville the village hosts a number of camps including many fire artists like the Flaming Lotus Girls. She has also been involved with The Box Shop maker’s space in Hunter’s Point in San Francisco. Wolfie is a truly dynamic person and quite inspirational, give her story a listen today!

https://boxshopsf.org/

https://www.illuminationvillage.org/

https://www.flaminglotus.com/

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Episode 32 with Kay Morrison is out now! Before discovering Burning Man Kay was involved in the world of protests in Seattle and internationally. She first landed in BRC in 2000 and then camped with the Space Virgins in 2001 (and then Area 47 village). In 2004-5 Seattle started to organize as a Regional group with the first Critical Massive. Kay helped to start Ignition Northwest and became a Burning Man Regional Contact for Seattle, a part she played for 7 years. She then became a member of the Metaregional Committee and in 2012 she became a Burning Man Board Member. Kay also helped to found the Iron Monkeys metalworking collective in 2007 which she is still very active in to this day. This interview with Kay is a great one, please give it a listen. Note: the Flaming Lotus Girls hoax thing never actually happened on the playa this year, but it was a good laugh!

https://www.ironmonkeyarts.org/

https://ignitionnw.org/

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Episode 31 with Paradox Pollack is out now! Please give it a listen today. He ran away from home and went to San Francisco, almost dying in a fire on the way. Paradox is one of the founders of Cell Space, an iconic event venue in SF where many early Burning Man events were held. He first went to the Black Rock desert in 1991 and was part of Desert Site Works. In 1992 he returned and was part of a 48 hour performance organized by Pepe Ozan that covered the life cycle from conception to death. Paradox was part of Pepe Ozan’s operas from 1995-2001, and part of One People Voice (Gamalon?) from 2001-2005. Paradox was also part of the Dream Circus from 1994 and the Mystic Family Circus from 1997/98. He has worked in the film industry as a movement director, cultural designer, actor, and choreographer in many notable films.

https://paradoxpollack.com/

Threadseyeseesitself

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