Roadtrip to Burning Man 2025

The Annual Pre-Playa Planner™

It’s that time again, kids! The Pre-Playa Planner is the yearly tradition where Arash delegates all the actual research to his way-more-responsible guests. This year’s dialed-in crew to help you mentally prepare for your adventures ahead:

• Esquire, founder of Bubble Lounge
• Saffron aka Sara Barnett, repping Art Support Services (A.S.S.) instagram.com/cornepeli
• Shamiran, artist, musician, sonic selector and Camp YOUniversal mainstay instagram.com/saterishamiran

The crew breaks down some of the 2025 art projects we're excited to see, rituals we’re bringing back, new surprises we're bracing for, and logistics that separate the veterans from the sparkle ponies.

Burner Podcast Episode 159

Recorded in Los Angeles on August 2, 2025

📅 playaevents.burningman.org

🌀 2025 Art Installations: burningman.org/event/2025-art-listings

🎧 Here Shamiran’s full set here: https://on.soundcloud.com/26hAaDXocNpuuuMIWU

🛻 Your Pre-Playa Audio Toolkit: burnerpodcast.com/roadtrip

🗃️ Previous Pre-Playa Planners: burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes/category/pre-playa-planner

Contributing Producer: Public Menace of Bubble Lounge

🏹🪽✂️

Hosted by (mr)Arash, Burner Podcast is the longest running traditional audio podcast in the global Burning Man community. Independently produced and focused on Burner consciousness and topics of intracultural interest, explore 150+ conversations at burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes.

Burner Podcast host Arash Afshar is an Iranian-American SoCal-born (and sometimes Vegas-based) professional photographer. You can learn more at arashafshar.com and reach out directly at mrarash.com/hello.

Follow instagram.com/BurnerPodcast and facebook.com/burnerpodcast for wildly irregular updates.

And 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

If this episode resonates with you, share it with a friend, and if you're feeling extra generous, check out BurnerPodcast.com for ways to support 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

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

Anthony Bondi refuses to let Las Vegas’s arts history disappear

For over two decades, Anthony Bondi has been a living archive of Las Vegas’ arts and counterculture movements. From his large-scale tactile installations at Burning Man to his massive independent archive, Las Vegas Arts in Print Media, 1990–2015, Tony has tirelessly documented the ephemeral and forgotten corners of creative expression in Sin City.

In this conversation, Tony and Arash explore the nature of cultural memory and the role of artists and storytellers. Tony guides Arash through an experiential journey into the hidden history of Las Vegas and its underground arts scene.

Burner Podcast | Episode 157

Recorded in Las Vegas on March 28 and published March 31, 2025

🔗 Las Vegas Arts in Print Media LasVegasArts.org

🔗 anthonybondi.com

📺 Anthony on Parts Unknown

🎧 DJ Set Featured: Tomothy Bee aka Tasty Tim

🎵 soundcloud.com/tastytim

Burner Podcast Presents The Dispatch 

Joseph Mancuso, better known as Joman, is the producer behind the Burner Podcast theme song, a remix of America’s “Horse With No Name.” In this Dispatch, Arash and Joman catch up about dance music culture, his move from Denver to Austin, and his latest evolution as a video content creator. From viral bootlegs to Beatport charts, Joman’s journey weaves through Denver’s underground, Burning Man, and beyond.

🎧 Featured Tracks:

• “Distance and Time (for Allie)”
• “Drunk in 1999”
• “Footwear” (feat. Kaya)

🔗 More from Joman:

Website | YouTube | Instagram

Guest: Rat Lady Recorded on: 2/28/25

Arash hops on a call with Rat Lady of Mobility Camp to discuss practical ways we can all practice Radical Inclusion by making our Burns more accessible for participants with disabilities—and how to bring that mindset into the default world. Fun takeaway: No one gets to be a sparkle pony, not even at Mobility Camp! We don't have to be perfect but a little effort goes a long way.

mobilitycamp.org

Quick-bite conversations with Burners around the world. Featuring past guests and new voices, The Dispatch keeps the signal alive with check-ins to keep the seat warm between full episodes of Burner Podcast, which go live at the end of each month.

Guest: Jonny aka Public Menace

Recorded on 2/25/25

Jonny, also known as Public Menace, shook up Reddit with his independent 180-page audit of Burning Man. In the inaugural episode of The Dispatch, Arash and Menace hop on a call to chat about some takeaways.

• Transparency, Transparency, Transparency
• Burners are usually 10 years ahead on everything—why not this?
• How do we as Burners want to be governed?

Reddit: @Public__Menace

Email: [email protected]

thealvara.com

***

Quick-bite conversations with Burners around the world. Featuring past guests and new voices, The Dispatch keeps the signal alive with check-ins to keep the seat warm between full episodes of Burner Podcast which go live at the end of each month. 

📅 2/29/2025

The importance of physical community spaces has never been greater.

In this episode, we dive into the story of CoLab, San Diego’s maker space—where it started, what it took to get to where it is now, and why spaces like this are essential for the future of our communities.

The go-live day of this episode marks CoLab's 11th birthday! CoLab’s lease began on March 1, 2014—making it the perfect time to reflect on how it came together and why having a dedicated space for creators, builders and community matters more than ever.

🎧 Burner Podcast | Episode 156

📍 Recorded on January 23, 2025, in San Diego

📝 Featuring: Jon Ray, Diane Hoffoss, Cecile Pham, Vic "Jolly Rancher" Liao, J-Good

🔗 CoLab: sdcolab.org

🔗 Jon Ray: facebook.com/jondray

🔗 Diane Hoffoss: dianehoffoss.com

🔗 Cecile Pham: instagram.com/cecileqpham

🔗 Vic "Jolly Rancher" Liao: instagram.com/jollyrancher28

🔗 J-Good: continuum-designs.com

🎧 DJ Set Featured: Tomothy Bee aka Tasty Tim

🎵 soundcloud.com/tastytim

📍Tim’s DJ set was recorded live at Disorient, Burning Man 2024

📷 Cover photo by Justin Wojdula

If this episode resonates with you, share it with a friend, and if you're feeling extra generous, check out BurnerPodcast.com for ways to support the show.

Featuring in-depth conversations with artists, organizers, and visionaries shaping Burner culture year-round, Burner Podcast is the longest-running traditional long-form audio podcast in the global Burning Man community. Ranked in the top 5% of podcasts globally by Listen Notes, it has been exploring 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

Burner Podcast host Arash Afshar is an Iranian-American, SoCal-born, and Las Vegas-based professional photographer and community-building addict.

🔗 Explore his projects at arashafshar.com

📸 Follow him on Instagram: @mrarash

💌 Send love (or hate) mail: mrarash.com/hello

Dispatch from the LA Fires

In this episode, we take a very personal look at the devastating LA fires, Burners stepping up to help, and the way our community shows up in moments of crisis. Today’s episode features a conversation with Burner Podcast regular Dr. Kim Perkins and her husband Ranger Philtopia, both Black Rock Rangers, as they reflect on their experience living just around the corner from the the Altadena burn perimeter.

Before that, you’ll hear a 15-minute call with Efrain Vega De Varona, who has been working tirelessly on the front lines, coordinating direct relief efforts for those impacted by the fires. Efrain shares how he found himself in impromptu disaster relief, what’s happening in real-time in Los Angeles from his perspective, and how you can help support those affected.

While Kim and Phil’s home was spared, many others were not. Our primary incentive for getting this episode out ASAP is the show notes. Below you’ll find a list of fundraisers, GoFundMe pages, and direct action efforts that you can support.

🔥 Contact Efrain: Efrain Vega De Varona on Facebook

🔥 Support efforts via Debs: Debs on Facebook

🔥 Full list of fundraisers and resources: Google Drive

🛠️ facebook.com/BurnersWithoutBordersLosAngeles

🛠️ burnerswithoutborders.org

🎙️ burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes/episode-75-to-build-a-better-tomorrow

🎧 Episode 155

📍 Recorded in Pasadena, CA

📝 Contributing Producer: Kim Perkins

Burner Podcast is independently produced and fueled by a rotating crew of amazing contributors. If this episode resonates with you, share it with a friend, and if you’re feeling extra generous, check out burnerpodcast.com for ways to support the show.

Love, light, and all that other crap. 💜

Arash reconnects with Halcyon for a lively and candid conversation about Burning Man 2024. In this episode, they kick off by reflecting on Burner culture at large and frustrations with the growing toxicity in online spaces like the Facebook group. From there, they dive into some favorite art pieces, highlights from the playa, and a bit about attendance. They also chat about e-bikes and why having a ‘sparkle pony year’ brings some unexpected advantages.

Episode number 154

Recorded in San Diego, CA on October 12, 2024

Contributing Producer: John Halcyon - hugnation.com @halcyon

Photo by Mark Fromson @autobiographica

About Burner Podcast:

Independently produced by a revolving team of volunteers and hosted by founder ‘Mister Arash,’ Burner Podcast has been a fixture in the global Burning Man community since 2013. Focused on year-round Burner consciousness and topics of intracultural interest, it ranks in the top 5% of podcasts worldwide (Listen Notes). Discover a decade of meaningful conversations at burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes.

DJ sets featured on Burner Podcast can be found here: soundcloud.com/burnerpodcast/sets/burner-podcast-closing-sets

Follow instagram.com/BurnerPodcast and facebook.com/burnerpodcast for wildly irregular updates.

Burner Podcast host Arash Afshar is an Iranian-American SoCal-based(ish) professional photographer, writer, and community-building addict. Find him at arashafshar.com

For bookings and inquiries, contact Arash’s manager and Burner Podcast Executive Producer Patrick Dylan Riley at properconcept.us/contact-us.

The Annual Pre Playa Planner™

For this year’s annual Pre Playa Planner, Arash joins Dusty Bottoms, Fantastic Sam, Nikki Darling in Long Beach, CA to geek out about all things Burning Man 2024. As always, this is the episode where Arash outsources all the real work to the his guests. The group chats about art projects we’re eager to see, dance floors we love and experiences we’re looking forward to diving into as well as some semi-valuable survival tips for your so called ‘vacation’ in the inhospitable Nevada Black Rock Desert.

Episode 153

Recorded in Long Beach, CA on July 13, 2024

Learn more about the 2024 Temple: burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes/an-ego-cant-build-a-temple

Your playa roadtrip audio toolkit! burnerpodcast.com/roadtrip

Previous Pre Playa Planners: burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes/category/pre-playa-planner

The Unofficial Mini-Encyclopedia BURN-tanica Kindle Edition by Karnitas Talk-oh - https://a.co/d/01toZnja

Contributing Producer: Dusty Bottoms of Camp Acorn Oasis

About Burner Podcast:

Independently produced by a revolving team of volunteers and hosted by founder ‘Mister Arash,’ Burner Podcast is the longest-running traditional podcast in the global Burning Man community and is listed among the top 5% of podcasts globally. Focused on year-round Burner consciousness and topics of intracultural interest, explore a decade’s worth of conversations at burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes.

DJ sets featured on Burner Podcast can be found here: soundcloud.com/burnerpodcast/sets/burner-podcast-closing-sets

Follow instagram.com/BurnerPodcast and facebook.com/burnerpodcast for wildly irregular updates.

Burner Podcast host Arash Afshar is an Iranian-American SoCal-based(ish) professional photographer, writer, and community-building addict. Find him at arashafshar.com

For bookings and inquiries, contact Arash’s manager and Burner Podcast Executive Producer Patrick Dylan Riley at properconcept.us/contact-us.