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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 Man 2018 Chat with Halcyon). Currently a resident at Habitat Seattle, Caravan, and Reflect, Chris continues to capture the heart-centered truth of the community through her sound and commitment to community building and collaboration. Burner Podcast Presents: Alkaline The Soundtrack to Your Burn [4/12/26] Session a069 Connect & Learn More
Ben Haldeman is backing up our collective memories across the stars
Published [3/28/26] 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 species. If the Burn is an exercise in the ephemeral, building a temporary city only to let it go, Ben's work represents the ultimate counterbalance: a community-driven effort to ensure the human story survives among the stars. From his hippie parents' Volkswagen van in Nova Scotia to landing a pyramid on the Moon in March 2025, this is an audio memoir of a man following the signs through ayahuasca ceremonies, dusty sunrises at Robot Heart, and asteroid missions - dedicated to preserving the seeds of Earth and spreading life into the cosmos. Episode Info
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 sounds familiar, it’s because she was a part of Burner Podcast’s 2025 Pre-Playa Planner crew. This set, recorded on Wednesday at Camp YOUniversal in Black Rock City during Burning Man 2022. Full Set: https://on.soundcloud.com/BaFGFP6y4cbj3yhRWr Connect & Learn More Instagram: instagram.com/shamiran_sateri SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/shamiransateri Camp YOUniversal Distrikt: instagram.com/distrikt_org Hear Shamiran in conversation: Burner Podcast Episode 159 The Alkaline Archive: Explore a decade of sonic documentation at burnerpodcast.com/alkaline. Burner Podcast Episode 136 with Gregg Fleishman: soundcloud.com/burnerpodcast/136-accidentally-spiritual
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 morning at Bubbles & Bass in the Karoo Desert. Additionally, let it be said that your Persian Podcast host appreciated Piccaya casually dropping a Persian tune into the mix. Links piccaya.com → https://www.piccaya.com/about Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/piccaya/ Kosmozoo → https://www.kosmozoo.org/ Camp & Event Bubbles & Bass → https://www.bubblesandbass.com/ Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/bubbles.and.bass/ Listen & Context Full mix → https://on.soundcloud.com/mFvDaw1BqKK9lJOK7s Previous appearance (Burner Podcast Episode 90) → https://www.burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes/episode-90-rise-of-the-regionals Curated by Burner Podcast host Arash (aka Miraḡe the Pluronaut), Burner Podcast Presents: Alkaline showcases mixes by DJs active across the global Burning Man community. New episodes now drop on the same feed as Burner Podcast. Explore the original Alkaline archives (Sessions A001–A066), hosted and produced by Navjeet Sarna: https://www.burnerpodcast.com/alkaline
A Post-Burning Man 2025 chat with 20-year veteran & camp lead Rand Pate
The dust has barely settled, and Arash is still shaking it out of his hair—and maybe out of his brain. In this post-Burning Man 2025 debrief, he sits with Rand Pate, a 20-year veteran and long-time camp lead of Bubble Lounge, to unpack what might have been the roughest year on record. From hurricane-force whiteouts and shattered shade structures to an unexpected birth, a tragic homicide, and the most international population in playa history, 2025 pushed the community to its edge. They talk about the evolution of playa culture, the loss of Center Camp Café, camp leadership under pressure, and why radical inclusion sometimes has limits. Rand shares lessons from two decades on the dust and how Bubble Lounge held its spirit through chaos. The conversation closes with gratitude, gallows humor, and a new DJ set by Todd Spero, recorded at Slut Garden in 2017 Episode Links / Resources
Show CreditsBurner Podcast Episode 160 Recorded in Los Angeles 10/24/25 Host / Producer: Mr Arash Guest: Rand Pate Contributing Producer: Public Menace Music: Todd Spero – Slut Garden 2017 Set Theme: “Horse With No Name (Remix)” by Joman
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:
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 Cover Photo: Mark Fromson Fun Fact: This is Burner Podcast’s first ever episode edited with AI
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
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
CoLab - San Diego's Maker & Community Space
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. Episode Info 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 Connect & Learn More 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
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. Get Involved: How You Can Help 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. |
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