On the eve of the U.S. presidential election, we’re exploring the theme of participation, a principle central to both Burning Man culture and our role as citizens. In this episode, I’m joined by Megan Miller, former Director of Communications for Burning Man, to talk about how civic responsibility and active engagement can help us navigate this com…

Atish last joined us four or five years ago for a powerful conversation about authenticity, anxiety, and life as an artist. Now, as he takes a break from touring to prioritize mental health, I knew it was time to have him back for an inspiring and candid conversation. In this episode, Atish and I discuss the challenges of touring, redefining succes…

How does Burning Man stay relevant for a new generation and beyond the Black Rock Desert? The dust has settled from Burning Man, and the photo dumps have all been dumped but today we're diving into a deeper conversation about the relevance of the event itself. My guest, Will Chase was Burning Man’s Minister of Propaganda until 2016. He’s done more …

Today's podcast is in two parts: First, my reflections (rant) on Burning Man 2024, and second, a repost of my appearance on the Burning Man Live Podcast from a few years ago. During my solocast, I celebrate recent changes in Burning Man, read from a short section of my upcoming book about the concept of cool, and share part of Caveat Magister’s pie…

Today’s episode is an encore presentation of a show that aired live on Burning Man Information Radio (BMIR) in 2019 to get you all juiced up for this year’s dirt rave. It features a playful conversation about vulnerability, consent, the trickster, and instant manifestation with Jax, Wolverine, and David Block, the Human Experience. Also, every year…

You know those pithy BuzzFeed listicles about being too old for music festivals? Well, the idea is rather silly. Festivals are multi-generational celebrations where children with glittering faces play alongside elders who share their wisdom. The adventure of a festival is enriched by all ages, much like how our lives are enriched by various stages …

In a world beset by tragedy its important to learn how to grieve. If you don’t feel your feelings you’re going to have problems, but how exactly should we tend to our grief? Today, we are welcoming back Camille Barton to celebrate the publication of their first book, Tending Grief: Embodied Rituals for Holding Our Sorrow and Growing Cultures of Car…

Tina Nance, yin yoga and embodiment specialist returns to Life is a Festival to share her evolving ideas around gender, trauma healing, and embodiment. In today's episode, we continue our exploration of gender and sexuality. We dive into processing trauma within the nervous system and whether a finite amount of psychological "garbage" needs to be p…

Today's episode is about love and all its messy colors. Guinevere Rhonwen & Lizz Larouge created the festival Colours of Love on the island d of Koh Phangan as their wedding celebration and continued it even as they were separating. In this episode, we explore how they embraced love while parting ways at the place of their union. We cover a wide ra…

I've never had so many requests for guests to return to the show as I have for Sami and Sharon. As you may recall, a few days after the events of October 7th, I asked Midburn co-founder and artivist Sharon Avraham, and his Palestinian theme camp co-lead, peace activist Sami Awad, to come on the show and share their immediate experience. Much has ha…

Does open relating always lead to polyagony? Or is there a way to heal the wounds of gender and experience love free from fear? Today we are revisiting an episode originally released in 2019 with Ian McKenzie and Julia Maryanska about the Love School at Tamera. Their documentary "Village of Lovers," will be available at a global streaming premiere …

In Part Two of our Taoist sexuality series, focusing on woman’s body’s and yin principles, I speak with the Senior Woman’s Instructor at Tao Garden, Gillian Reid. Gillian shares her insights on yin and yang energy, self-love, and intimacy. Beginning each day with gratitude and stretching, she highlights the importance of focusing on the heart and f…

Guys, have you ever wished that instead of ejaculating and falling asleep, you could shoot orgasmic energy up the back of your spine to revitalize your mind and experience rolling orgasms? Well, it turns out there's an ancient Taoist practice that teaches just that, and all it takes is a bit of training. After an erotic detox last year, I embarked …

Lately I've noticed a curious trend: many of my female friends, particularly those from the Burning Man community, are exploring a path of sexual healing by becoming Professional Dommes. To shed light on this phenomenon, I spoke to Colette Pervette, a professional dominatrix and the mentor behind MistressClass, an immersive program designed to guid…

Today we're immersing into immersive experience design through one of the world's most iconic theatrical experiences, Sleep No More. Joining the production right out of college, my guest Ilana Gilovich-Wave is now Sleep No More’s Chief Storyteller. In today’s episode, I chat with Ilana about Sleep No More, immersive experience design, and carving o…

Apparently, ancient Ireland was like the Amazon, with impenetrable forests navigable only by rivers, deep mysticism, and its very own indigenous medicine, the psychedelic Liberty Cap mushrooms. Today on the show, recorded in Southern Ireland, I’m speaking with Darragh Stewart. Darragh is not only a molecular biologist and a passionate advocate of C…

On October 7th, Natalie Sanandaji, a Persian Jew from New York, attended a psytrance festival, to dance and feel the acceptance she only finds among her fellow peace-loving trancers. The events of that day and what has followed are deeply etched in our global consciousness. Today on Life is a Festival, Natalie tells her story. Our conversation toda…

In light of the recent tragic events in Israel, particularly the horrific attack at Nova festival, I wanted to offer the global festival community a conversation centered on hope. Today's Life is a Festival episode features Sharon Avraham, co-founder of Midburn, and his theme camp co-producer, Palestinian activist Sami Awad, as they extend a call f…

Today we dive deep into the magical world of shenanigans — or immersive experience design for the uninitiated — with our guest, Tyler Hanson, the brain behind Kulturehaus, a trailblazing agency for festival immersive imagineers. On the show, we explore the crucial role of humor in human survival. We take a historical journey of immersive art from t…

Burning Man 2023 was many things, most of which were not accurately portrayed in the media. We experienced a weather event that united us, tested our resilience, and sparked a renewed sense of purpose while also accelerating a critical examination of where Burning Man stands in the broader context of sustainability. Today on the show, I've asked fi…

Happy procrastination week, my fellow burners! In aid of my own procrastination, I've repurposed an early episode, which is still my favorite on the subject of Burning Man. In this interview, I discuss the philosophy of Black Rock City with Burning Man’s Philosopher Laureate, Caveat Magister (the pen name of Benjamin Wachs). Additionally, I offer a…

My guest today is Max Stossel, an award-winning poet who was named by Forbes as one of the best storytellers of the year. Max and I are talking about one of my all-time favorite subjects: our relationship with the creative muse. You might learn a thing or two about getting unstuck creatively, but at the very least, you are about to hear some except…

Today's episode is dedicated to my dear friend, Eviatar Frankel, who died a week ago from complications related to a rare lymphoma. I was privileged to sit with Ev in a men's circle throughout his battle with cancer. Each week, and in countless private conversations, he displayed remarkable grace. This podcast features readings from Eviatar's perso…

Psychedelic Science, the largest psychedelic conference in history, put on by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, has come and gone. Today, to recap this event and to emphasize the vital role of the trickster in the psychedelic movement, I'm speaking with Dennis Walker, the Instagram satirist well-known for his roastings of a…

Today on the show, I'm speaking with the Godfather of ketamine therapy, author of The Ketamine Papers, and creator of the ketamine lozenge, Dr. Phil Wolfson. This episode marks the first time Phil has shared his insights on this mercurial molecule for those who use it recreationally, or as he prefers to term it, "ground use." As Phil stresses on th…

Today on the show, I'm in conversation with Sophie Strand, the mistress of mycelial masculinity and author of The Flowering Wand. Healthy masculinity has been a passion of mine for years and it was an honor to learn from this neo-troubadour animist and her poetic insights. During our discussion, we discuss the androgynous rockstar Dionysus, modern …

Kambo, an Amazonian medicine derived from the secretions of the Phyllomedusa bicolor—also known as the giant monkey tree frog—has been instrumental in maintaining my mental health for the past six years. Today's guest, facilitator Jetta Blaine, helps us understand why, and it boils down to peptides.Our episode begins with essential considerations a…

Would you believe that carnivals are a crucial element of social movements? Indeed, today's guest, Professor Nick Powers, suggests that by emphasizing fun, sacrilege, and even the grotesque, we can safeguard social justice against dogmatism and self-righteousness, preventing its co-option. During our conversation, Nick and I reminisce about our ear…

Today is National Fentanyl Awareness Day, and I believe this issue to be the most pressing concern facing our community of cognitive liberty. I use drugs and psychedelics to explore my consciousness, and many of the people I love do the same. The issue of fentanyl adulteration and the 100,000 deaths categorized as overdoses in 2020 indicate that th…

People in conscious communities often pay lip service to shadow work, but what does it truly mean to embrace darkness—both the darkness of the world and within our own hearts? Snow Raven (Haar Suor), a member of the shamanic Sakha people from Arctic Siberia, knows darkness intimately, and it has inspired her transformative music from America's Got …

Victorien is one of the most joyful people I know. The French DJ, flutist, and social impact entrepreneur seems to have a few things figured out. From Vipassana meditation to sobriety, he shares his secrets with us today. On the show, we begin by discussing the nature of joy and despair. Victorien shares his tools for cultivating joy, starting with…

Today's conversation is a serious one, yet it is approached with the poetic grace that only Stephen Jenkinson can deliver. Personal growth and healing alone won't shield us from impending catastrophes, but perhaps embracing them might... just maybe. In this episode, we discuss why personal growth for its own sake can resemble a tumor and examine th…

Today Ian Mackenzie returns to Life is a Festival to discuss mythopoetic masculinity. Ian is a filmmaker, essayist, and host of the Mythic Masculine Podcast and A Gathering of Stories. He is teaching a new online class called Re-storying Masculinity with Advaya which starts on March 14th. Our conversation begins with a history of the Mythopoetic Me…

Just over a month ago, the beloved Visionary Artist Android Jones lost his life's work and all his tools for creation in a fire on his property in Colorado. Today, Android returns to Life is a Festival to share his experience of loss, the profound opening of asking for help and his thoughts on AI art. On the program Android describes how he designe…

In 2017 I attended Afrikburn, the Burning Man regional event which takes place a few hours north of Cape Town in the Tankwa Karoo. Afterwards, I wrote an article called “Afrikburn: The Unbearable Whiteness of Burning” with the wisdom and support of Co-founder and Creative Director Monique Shiess. Today on the show, I reconnect with Monique to discu…

Why is a Buddhist meditation teacher trying to heal attachment styles? Aren’t Buddhists supposed to be all about non-attachment? Today's guest, George Haas, has been teaching meditation since 2000, and lately focuses primarily on preparing the path to enlightenment by resolving maladaptive responses to difficult childhood experiences. On the show w…

If you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you may know that I have a mentor and spiritual guide named Benjamin, an extraordinarily generous man who seems to have inexhaustible time for me in guiding my path forward. For many years, Benjamin has been working on a process of dissolution of the constructed self. In this conversation, Ben an…

For Part 2 of our exploration of the psychedelic plant iboga, I have the honor of sharing a conversation with Apollon, a Bwiti N'ganga from Gabon. On the show we open with the colonial history of Gabon and the difference between Bwiti Fang in the North and Bwiti Missoko in the South. Apollon describes the meaning of Bwiti and how Westerns can conne…

In the first of a two part exploration of the psychedelic West African shrub Tabernanthe iboga, this podcast investigates the Western clinical model and the extract ibogaine HLC. I visited Beond Clinic in Cancun to discuss addiction and trauma treatment with Medical Director Dr. Felipe Malacara and Nursing Lead Vianey Ariadna Perez. On the show we …

To celebrate four years of Life is a Festival, today I’m sharing a conversation I had with my friend Ian MacKenzie about how to conduct a good interview. Whether you want to start a podcast or are simply interested in being a better conversationalist, I think you’ll find this helpful. On the show we go over how to research your guest so you can bri…

As Colorado’s Natural Medicine Health Act goes to voters, it's the perfect time to consider how powerful psychedelic molecules should enter mainstream consciousness. Today on Life is a Festival Ismail Lourido Ali, Director of Policy and Advocacy for the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) explains the various pathways to leg…

Mayan Warrior is one of the most iconic mutant vehicles at Burning Man and its impact goes far beyond the Playa. This week on Life is a Festival, founder Pablo González Vargas talks about gifting, Mayan culture, and the challenges of bringing an art car 8,000 kilometers to That Thing in the Desert.On the show Pablo shares his initiation into Burnin…

In the countryside of Ibiza there is a strange and challenging movement practice called Primal Moves. Founder Nick Brewer’s personal history is stranger still. Today on Life is a Festival, Nick shares his incredible life story from South American smuggler to yogi and the daily practice which became his refuge and his dharma. On the show, Nick share…

If we want to actually live in our bodies, sexuality should be a daily practice. Today on Life is a Festival, Chloe Macintosh, founder and CEO of Kama, teaches us the importance of pleasure for healing and growth. On the show we talk about the importance of embodiment and the gap in adult sex education. We explore pornography addiction, erectile di…

Have you found yourself caught up in a never-ending healing journey? Are you rushing from workshop to ceremony to retreat trying to peal all the layers of your existential onion? Maybe what you need is healing from your healing! Today on Life is a Festival, Adam Andros Aronovich, creator of “Healing From Healing” offers us levity and a much needed …

Today on Life is a Festival in a talk recorded live at Burning Man, I share my personal kink journey and how I learned to alchemize adolescent sexual shame through the archetype of “Daddy.” I was interviewed by the brilliant Chloe Macintosh, founder of the sexual wellness app, Kama, who will be a guest on a forthcoming episode. On the show we discu…

For those about to Burn! I have procrastinating my own packing for That Thing in the Desert by making you this compilation of my best Black Rock City conversations. From asking the Big Meow Marian whether Burning Man is a festival, to fumbling towards inclusivity with activist Nexus, from Burners without Borders to the Nordic Borderland, these are …

The Wizard of Awe, Jason Silva, returns to Life is a Festival to discuss festival consciousness and how we, the refugees from the mundane, can unleash the brave and reckless Gods we really are at Burning Man and beyond.On the show we discuss freedom from self and expanded circles of moral concern. We talk about using avatars to explore and create o…

This podcast has highlighted many long-standing issues with New Age spirituality and the dark side of “good vibes only,” but according to today’s returning guest, rockstar philosopher Alex Ebert, dunking on the New Age has become boring and there is much that is still valuable and relevant from its perspective and rituals. On the show we begin with…

We who attend Burning Man and other multi day mass gatherings have long felt that these events are personally and lastingly transformational. In May of this year, Dr. Molly Crockett and their team at Crockett Lab at Yale University published research demonstrating what we always believed. Today on Life is a Festival, Dr Crockett explains their find…