Burner Podcast

Blender brings Burning Man's most useful art installation to Black Rock City Published: [10/10/26] A week after Burning Man 2026, Arash sits down in Los Angeles with Brendon O'Halloran, aka Blender, the lead artist behind The Garage. A familiar suburban space transplanted into Black Rock City, the project honors the builders, workers, craftspeople, and laborers whose behind-the-scenes efforts make things happen—often with little recognition. Blender is also proud to announce that no influencer photoshoots took place at The Garage. In fact, many walked right past it as folks assumed it was a support structure for some other, bigger, and shinier project. In this episode, we'll get to know the delightful 17 year veteran burner behind the art installation that might be the most Burning Man art project ever; one that was not a pretty backdrop for content farmers, served as a community space during some of the longest whiteouts in recent memory, and legitimately provided useful resources for burners in need. Episode Info Burner Podcast | Episode B165 Featuring: Brendon O'Halloran aka Blender, lead artist of The Garage | instagram.com/b.ohalloran Learn more about The Garage: fluxfoundation.org/the-garage | instagram.com/thegaragebrc Recorded in Los Angeles, CA, 9/17/26 Closing DJ Set by DJ Tru recorded on 9/5/26: instagram.com/thedjtru | soundcloud.com/thedjtru For the Record mutant vehicle instagram.com/ftr.artcar Support Burner Podcast If Burner Podcast has ever entertained you, challenged you, introduced you to someone, made you feel connected, or helped you understand this community a little better, please consider making a contribution. BurnerPodcast.com/donate Standard Boilerplate A show for those who burn the other 350 days of the year Burner Podcast celebrates over a decade in production and is listed among the top 5% of podcasts in the world by ListenNotes. An independent gift to the Burning Man community, Burner Podcast episodes feature audio memoirs, roundtables, and deep-dive conversations for and about those who identify as burners. Explore 160+ episodes at: burnerpodcast.com Follow at instagram.com/burnerpodcast | facebook.com/burnerpodcast Episodes of Burner Podcast are produced by a revolving cadre of dusty maniacs. The 2026 team includes Music Director Chris Huber aka M.I.A. and New Media Editor Cable King, among others. Burner Podcast's theme music is produced by Joman | jomanmusic.com | instagram.com/jomanmusic The Burner Podcast RSS feed is home to the flagship show itself, as well as other Burner Podcast Presents spinoffs including Burner Podcast Presents: Alkaline, a show featuring DJ mixes as the sonic documentation of the global burner community — the soundtrack to your burn. About the Host & Founder Ārash Afshar is an Iranian-American writer, photographer, and cultural architect. He champions Artist Consciousness and views his mission as facilitating radical humanization through philosophical memoirs, documentary portraiture, and recorded conversations. Learn more at yesterdayiwasclever.com.  

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??  The Burner Podcast fam wants to fan the flames of whatever that feeling is with this fun little chat. Unstructured, irreverent, silly, and snarky, this episode is all about the joy of missing out on Burning Man. We'll gossip, share some stories, and share admiration for our comforts of the default world.  Don't worry, next year was always better anyway.  Episode Info Burner Podcast | Episode B164  Featuring:  Josherrrssss | instagram.com/jjjjoshers Bexx | instagram.com/bexconnects John Williams aka Shifta | djshifta.com | instagram.com/djshifta Recorded in Las Vegas, NV, in August of 2026 Closing DJ Set:  Lana with a K instagram.com/lana_with_a_k https://soundcloud.com/lana-with-a-k/airpusher-sonic-runway-burning-man-24     Standard Boilerplate A show for those who burn the other 350 days of the year Burner Podcast celebrates over a decade in production and is listed among the top 5% of podcasts in the world by ListenNotes. An independent gift to the Burning Man community, we are an artist-documentarian project dedicated to capturing the stories and heart-centered truth of our global population. Burner Podcast episodes feature audio memoirs, roundtables, and deep-dive conversations for and about those who identify as burners.  Explore 160+ episodes at: burnerpodcast.com Follow us for wildly irregular updates: instagram.com/burnerpodcast | facebook.com/burnerpodcast Episodes of Burner Podcast are produced by a revolving cadre of dusty maniacs. The 2026 team includes Music Director Chris Huber aka M.I.A. and New Media Editor Cable King, among others.   Burner Podcast's theme music is produced by Joman | jomanmusic.com | instagram.com/jomanmusic The Burner Podcast RSS feed is home to the flagship show itself, as well as other Burner Podcast Presents spinoffs including Burner Podcast Presents: Alkaline, a show featuring DJ mixes as the sonic documentation of the global burner community — the soundtrack to your burn. About the Host & Founder  Ārash Afshar is an Iranian-American writer, photographer, and cultural architect. He champions Artist Consciousness and views his mission as facilitating radical humanization through philosophical memoirs, documentary portraiture, and recorded conversations. Learn more at yesterdayiwasclever.com.

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 your first ever trip to Black Rock City. You will be tested, you'll meet allies, and you'll face ordeals. But fret not! You're never alone, and if you take some time to listen to the guidance of some of your many new friends, you'll return to the default world with something much greater than a random set of party memories. You'll be reborn.  Forward this one to your friends who are attending their first burn. Episode Info Burner Podcast | Episode B163 Featuring: Ann Pirone aka Superglue | instagram.com/beefreeandinflow Christopher Walton aka Magician Sam Finley | instagram.com/sam.b.finley Recorded in Las Vegas, NV, on 8/15/26 Contributing Producer: Superglue Closing DJ Set: Johnno The Rhino, founder of The Golden Gate art car, recorded on Wednesday night at AfrikaBurn 2026 instagram.com/therhino_inthemix instagram.com/goldengate.artcar Listen to Johnno The Rhino's full mix: https://soundcloud.com/johnnotherhino/the-rhino-space-cowoboys  Additional Links: Search for "The Ten Principles Episode" of "Burner Podcast" on your podcast platform of choice.  https://www.burnerpodcast.com/explore-episodes/episode-105-the-ten-principals-episode-finally https://open.spotify.com/episode/2atYq7RYngSmcCFwam11p9?si=OLtJGmztSWOXFCep7bkdMw Learn about AfrikaBurn: https://www.burnerpodcast.com/explore-episodes/episode-100-afrikaburn instagram.com/thetwilightlanguage     Standard Boilerplate For those who burn the other 350 days of the year Burner Podcast celebrates over a decade in production and is listed among the top 5% of podcasts in the world by ListenNotes. An independent gift to the Burning Man community, we are an artist-documentarian project dedicated to capturing the stories and heart-centered truth of our global population. Burner Podcast episodes feature audio memoirs, roundtables, and deep-dive conversations for and about those who identify as burners.  Explore 160+ episodes at: burnerpodcast.com Follow us for wildly irregular updates: instagram.com/burnerpodcast | facebook.com/burnerpodcast Episodes of Burner Podcast are produced by a revolving cadre of dusty maniacs. The 2026 team includes Music Director Chris Huber aka M.I.A. and New Media Editor Cable King, among others.   Burner Podcast's theme music is produced by Joman | jomanmusic.com | instagram.com/jomanmusic The Burner Podcast RSS feed is home to the flagship show itself, as well as other Burner Podcast Presents spinoffs including Burner Podcast Presents: Alkaline, a show featuring DJ mixes as the sonic documentation of the global burner community — the soundtrack to your burn. About the Host & Founder  Ārash Afshar is an Iranian-American writer, photographer, and cultural architect. He champions Artist Consciousness and views his mission as facilitating radical humanization through philosophical memoirs, documentary portraiture, and recorded conversations. Learn more at yesterdayiwasclever.com.

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, Bubble Camp and Spanky's Wine Bar. Beyond the decks, she co-founded Cirque de Nuit — nights of music, dance and circus magic where all proceeds go to charity, and Bikram Beats, bringing downtempo beats to hot yoga classes. Melodic house and techno is home, but Go South will branch into any genre the night calls for. This session was recorded live at Spice of Life camp fundraiser hosted by Spice theme camp. Performing one of the key slots of the weekend - Saturday, midnight to 2am, sandwiched between deep house and minimal techno artists - Go South wove a melodic thread through house, techno, electro, dance, pop and even a golden classic. Rumour has it the site owner left a warm bed for a dance. No higher honour. Connect & Learn More Full set: https://soundcloud.com/gosouth/the-spice-must-flow-spice-of-life Go South on Instagram: instagram.com/gosouthmusic Spice Theme Camp: instagram.com/spice.camp Burning Seed — Australia's Burning Man regional: burningseed.com | instagram.com/burning.seed Alkaline's 2026 season is Produced by Burner Podcast Music Director Chris Huber, aka M.I.A. Alkaline was founded by executive producers Navjeet Sarna, Amber Rose, and Ārash Afshar Cover photo by Eleanor Preger | instagram.com/eleanorpreger     Standard Boilerplate For those who burn the other 350 days of the year The Burner Podcast RSS feed is home to the flagship show itself, as well as other Burner Podcast Presents spinoffs including Burner Podcast Presents: Alkaline, a show featuring DJ mixes as the sonic documentation of the global burner community — the soundtrack to your burn. Burner Podcast celebrates over a decade in production and is listed among the top 5% of podcasts in the world by ListenNotes. An independent gift to the Burning Man community, we are an artist-documentarian project dedicated to capturing the stories and heart-centered truth of our global population. Burner Podcast episodes feature audio memoirs, roundtables, and deep-dive conversations for and about those who identify as burners.  Explore 160+ episodes at: burnerpodcast.com Follow us for wildly irregular updates: instagram.com/burnerpodcast | facebook.com/burnerpodcast

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 him for.  A former student of political science and computer science, Henry eventually abandoned the "silos" of the default world to follow a calling that merges the precision of aerospace fabrication with the soul of a musician. In this conversation, Arash and Henry trace his journey beginning in Laramie, Wyoming, where Henry grew up as an 'oddity'. We follow him to university where he faces a life-altering event which leads to a paradigm shift in how he approaches his career. We explore how he integrated his music, his interest in engineering, and his calling as an artist.  Crucially, this episode also explores a side of Henry most do not know: his background as a war historian. The conversation is bookended by a deep look at the responsibility of artists and burners in a world at war.  Episode Info  Burner Podcast | Episode B162  Recorded at Henry Chang Design in Las Vegas on 8/09/26  Contributing Producer: Gordon Katz Learn More   Henry Chang Design – Explore his portfolio of "artgineering" projects, furniture, and minimalist architectural home designs: https://www.henrychandesign.com/ Soul in the Machine – Listen to the "art band" for which Henry built custom stainless steel drum walls and laser harps: https://soundcloud.com/soulinthemachine Beyond Thunderdome (Autocar) – A technical look at the 5.0-litre V8 engines and the World War II-era lathe used to build his sculptures: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/features/beyond-thunderdome-henry-changs-insane-automotive-sculptures The Machine in the Man (Burning Man Journal) – An in-depth exploration of the three-axis Tourbillon and Henry's journey with Radical Inclusion: https://journal.burningman.org/2019/07/burning-man-arts/brc-art/the-machine-in-the-man-henry-chang-and-artgineering/ Inside Henry's studio with Area15: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI9BGitclY8 Henry's camp: instagram.com/miragegaragebrc     Standard Boilerplate A show for those who burn the other 350 days of the year Burner Podcast celebrates over a decade in production and is listed among the top 5% of podcasts in the world by ListenNotes. An independent gift to the Burning Man community, we are an artist-documentarian project dedicated to capturing the stories and heart-centered truth of our global population. Burner Podcast episodes feature audio memoirs, roundtables, and deep-dive conversations for and about those who identify as burners.  Explore 160+ episodes at: burnerpodcast.com Follow us for wildly irregular updates: instagram.com/burnerpodcast | facebook.com/burnerpodcast Episodes of Burner Podcast are produced by a revolving cadre of dusty maniacs. The 2026 team includes Music Director Chris Huber aka M.I.A. and New Media Editor Cable King, among others.   Burner Podcast's theme music is produced by Joman | jomanmusic.com | instagram.com/jomanmusic The Burner Podcast RSS feed is home to the flagship show itself, as well as other Burner Podcast Presents spinoffs including Burner Podcast Presents: Alkaline, a show featuring DJ mixes as the sonic documentation of the global burner community — the soundtrack to your burn. About the Host & Founder  Ārash Afshar is an Iranian-American writer, photographer, and cultural architect. He champions Artist Consciousness and views his mission as facilitating radical humanization through philosophical memoirs, documentary portraiture, and recorded conversations. Learn more at yesterdayiwasclever.com.