Burner Podcast
A snarky roundtable to comfort listeners in the default feeling FOMO Published [9/1/26] You’ve done a lot of Burning Man! In fact, you’ve done so much Burning Man, that you’ve gotten to the point where you’re actually kinda happy to be sitting this one out and not dealing with all the heat and dust. Maybe you’re feeling a little giddy even, being all super comfy in your pajamas and snuggling with your cats. Maybe you’re even feeling a little guilty about how good it feels? Is this... Are you experiencing the opposite of FOMO? Is this JOMO that you’re feeling?? ...
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Meet your mentors as you embark on your Hero's Journey through Black Rock City Published: 8/20/26 Burning Man is a lot! It's overwhelming even for the veterans. But this particular episode is for the newest additions to our global community; those embarking on their first ever Burning Man. Welcome to your own personal Hero's Journey. In this episode, you'll meet your mentors: Superglue, Magician, and Sam. The guests on this episode are three Burners with years of large-scale camp experience. You may have already left your Ordinary World and Crossed the Threshold by committing to...
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Burner Podcast Presents: Alkaline The Soundtrack to Your Burn Session A072: Go South Recorded live at Spice of Life Campout outside Sydney, Australia Based in Sydney, Australia, Go South is a melodic house and techno DJ on a single mission: make people melt down on the dance floor, captivating hearts, souls, minds and hips with melodies where resistance is futile. A Pete Tong DJ Academy graduate, Go South is a mainstay of the Sydney club scene and a veteran of Burning Man and Burning Seed, where she's played aboard art cars and camps including Mystic Flyer, Fluffy, Charlie the Unicorn,...
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Mutant vehicle creator Henry Chang on art, engineering, and courage in the face of cruelty Published [8/11/26] Henry Chang can be described in so many ways and they’d all be accurate. Jazz-pianist-turned-electronic dance musician and self-taught mechanical engineer. Or a political scientist turned musician. Or a home builder turned sculptor. While most in Black Rock City recognize his iconic stainless steel creations like Valyrian Steel and the Flux Capacitor, this conversation dives deeper into the overall symphony of art, one of its many expressions being the machines most know...
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Burner Podcast Presents: Alkaline The Soundtrack to Your Burn Session A071: Tormenta at Spanky’s Wine Bar Recorded live at Spanky’s Wine Bar, Black Rock City 2025 Based in Berlin, Germany, Shirin — aka Tormenta — is a regular in the European burn scene, including NoWhere in Spain. In 2025, she made her first trip to Black Rock City, where her playa initiation came complete with storms, mud, and cancelled gigs. Fittingly, tormenta means “storm” in Spanish. This set was recorded at the iconic Spanky’s Wine Bar in BRC 2025: music for pleasure, self-determination, and moving like you...
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Based in the Bay Area of California, Priscilla Hernandez (aka DJ Priscilla) is a pillar of the burner community. She is a resident DJ with the Heavy Petting Zoo, a Burning Man camp and mutant vehicle dedicated to building a community of creative dancers and free spirits. In addition to DJing great sets around Burning Man and Regional events, Priscilla hosts a mini camp within the Illumination Village theme camp where she holds daily ‘Learn to DJ’ classes on playa during Burning Man to help aspiring DJs learn the art of mixing. This session was recorded on the El Pulpo mutant vehicle...
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Born on the South Side of Chicago and based in Seattle, Chris Offutt (aka Black Velveteen) is a pillar of the Pacific Northwest creative community and the founder of the Sage Rites record label. Her musical foundation, built on a childhood range of Motown to Mozart, manifested in a career navigating the cultural textures of San Francisco and Seattle, including her 2011 London-based radio show Progressions in House. This session, recorded at sunrise on ¡AXOLOTL! Art Car, Burning Man 2024. Black Velveteen first appeared on Burner Podcast with the closing set for Episode 88 (Post Burning...
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Ben Haldeman is backing up our collective memories across the stars Published [3/31/26] Ben Haldeman is an engineer, explorer, and the visionary founder of LifeShip — designing pyramids filled with DNA archives and cultural time capsules to send to the Moon and beyond. A former early employee at Planet Labs, Ben left to follow a calling that crystallized during a vision quest through the forests of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. In this conversation, Arash and Ben look past technical specifications to explore the existential heart of why we document ourselves as a...
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Alkaline A068: Shamiran (Camp YOUniversal) 📅 [3/18/26] The Soundtrack to Your Burn In this session, we welcome a true sonic ambassador of the global community. Born in Iran and based in Los Angeles, Shamiran is an artist, musician, and sonic selector who has become a mainstay at Camp YOUniversal, known for their Persian Tea House (designed by the legendary Gregg Fleishman). A community activator and human rights activist to the bones, Shamiran can usually be found on playa with the sound and production team for Distrikt and coordinating Woman Life Freedom events in the default world. If she...
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Burner Podcast Presents: Alkaline A067: Piccaya at Afrikaburn 2025 Welcome to the all new, all different (but mostly the same same) Burner Podcast Presents Alkaline — the soundtrack to your burn. Our new season opener welcomes back Piccaya, last featured in episode 90 of Burner Podcast, this time sharing one of his many sets from Afrikaburn 2025. Piccaya is a sonic traveler and storyteller based between Brussels and Barcelona, known for deep, organic, tribal-infused soundscapes that bridge the spiritual and the dancefloor. This mix captures a warm, glowy, hip-shaking journey recorded Friday...
info_outlineAnd on his seventh Burn, Tyler Williams truly came Home
For his first six Burns, musician and professional Las Vegas community builder Tyler Williams attended Burning Man the millionaire way — flying in late, partying big, and heading out before the Temple burn. After the tragic death of his friend and boss, Zappos founder Tony Hsieh, Tyler returned to the playa — this time sober and with a deeper sense of intention.
In this interview memoir, Tyler shares his story of growing up in the church, landing in Las Vegas with his band, and eventually working alongside Tony during the Downtown Project’s legendary revitalization of Fremont Street. Along the way, Arash and Tyler explore the lows of Ketamine and the real highs found in purpose, community, and creative contribution.
Burner Podcast | Episode 158
Recorded on Bicycle Day of 2025 in Las Vegas, NV
🔗 Tyler’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tyler-williams-53089b20
🔗 Tyler’s music: reverbnation.com/theoryofflightmusic
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🌟 About the Show
Featuring in-depth conversations with artists, leaders, and visionaries shaping Burner culture year-round, Burner Podcast is the longest-running traditional audio podcast in the global Burning Man community. Ranked among the top 5% of podcasts worldwide by Listen Notes, it has been exploring international Burner culture for over a decade.
🎧 Dive into the archive at burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes
📲 Follow @BurnerPodcast on Instagram and facebook.com/burnerpodcast for wildly irregular updates
🌟 About the Host
Burner Podcast host Arash Afshar is an Iranian-American, SoCal-born, and Las Vegas-based cultural strategist, creative director and professional photographer.
🔗 Explore his projects at arashafshar.com
📸 Follow him on Instagram: @mrarash
💌 Send love (or hate) mail: mrarash.com/hello
