The Shadow Of The Man
Why do people go to Burning Man year after year, some for decades? Isn't it all a big party or is there more to it than that? The Shadow Of The Man show explores the impact and influence Burning Man has had on people over time in their own words. New long form interviews from a wide range of participants come out weekly. You will hear from the founders to key volunteers to regular participants. No one person has the answer to what Burning Man is all about but by listening to these series of interviews you get a clue to the glue that binds all of these diverse people (from all over the world) together. Everyone who has been says Burning Man has changed their lives, are you curious to hear what that is all about? #burningman #blackrockcity #burningmanpodcast
Episodes
50 episodes
EP 50 Naomi Most
Episode 50 with Naomi Most is out now! Meet Naomi Most who relates her early, unscripted solo adventures—such as her first trip in a Jetta that broke down—to her later involvement in more organized camps like the "Human Car Wash" ...
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Season 2
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Episode 50
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1:23:47
EP 49 Shadow Shorts #5
Shadow Shorts #5 is out now! Recorded at BRC in 2025 participants were challenged to explain BM‘s impact in 5 minutes or less. Meet Sigardona, a Russian-born Californian who progressed from a curious first-time attendee to a camp lead...
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Season 2
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Episode 49
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8:55
EP 48 Joseph Buchman
Episode 48 with Joseph Buchman is out now! He is a former professor and census volunteer, who details his transformative journey within the Burning Man community. The narrative follows his transition from a grieving, skeptical Scout Master to a...
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Season 2
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Episode 48
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1:21:15
EP 47 Quest Skinner
Episode 47 with Quest Skinner is out now! Meet Quest Skinner, a multi-talented artist and "poly-camperous" burner who shares her transformative decade-long journey at Burning Man. The conversation centers on Skinner’s evolution fr...
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Season 2
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Episode 47
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1:18:26
EP 46 Shadow Shorts #4
Shadow Shorts #4 is out now! Recorded at BRC in 2025 participants were challenged to explain BM‘s impact in 5 minutes or less. Meet an Australian attendee named Mel, who talks about the concept of personal recalibration, expl...
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Season 2
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Episode 46
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9:36
EP 45 Nicholas Powers
Episode 45 with Nicholas Powers is out now! Meet Nicholas Powers, a professor and reporter who details his decades-long journey through Burning Man. His story follows Powers’ evolution from a "lone wolf" seeker to the founder...
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Season 2
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Episode 45
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1:22:01
EP 44 Erin Douglas
Episode 44 with Erin Douglas is out now! Meet Erin Douglas, the visionary creator of the Black Burner Project. The conversation traces Douglas’s evolution from a hesitant first-time attendee in 2017 to a prominent community leader...
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Season 2
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Episode 44
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1:17:44
EP 43 Shadow Shorts #3
Shadow Shorts #3 is out now! Recorded at BRC in 2025 participants were challenged to explain BM‘s impact in 5 minutes or less. Meet Angelina to explore how Burning Man fosters profound personal growth. Angelina describes how...
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Season 2
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Episode 43
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8:37
EP 42 John Law
Episode 42 with John Law is out now! Meet John Law, a foundational figure in the San Francisco underground art scene. He is here to promote an upcoming documentary about SantaCon, while simultaneously tracing the cultural lineage ...
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Season 2
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Episode 42
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1:51:52
EP 41 Joshua Martelli
Episode 41 with Joshua Martelli is out now! Meet Joshua Mortelli, who explores the deep intersections between Burning Man subculture and his professional life as an off-road race promoter. The conversation details Mortelli’...
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Season 2
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Episode 41
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1:30:21
EP 40 Shadow Shorts #2
Shadow Shorts #2 is out now! Recorded at BRC in 2025 participants were challenged to explain BM‘s impact in 5 minutes or less. Meet Jonathan who discusses his transition from a long-time observer to an active participant and first-time volun...
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Season 2
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Episode 40
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7:19
EP 39 Debi "Crackerjack" Mansour
Episode 39 with Debi “Crackerjack” Mansour is out now! Meet Debbie "Cracker Jack" Mansour, a dedicated leader in the regional Burning Man community. The conversation explores the tension between Black Rock City purists and ...
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Season 2
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Episode 39
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1:24:49
EP 38 Tex Burner
Episode 38 with Tex Burner (aka Tex Allen) is out now! Meet Tex Allen, a longtime member of the Burning Man community who shares his journey from a "weird kid out of suburbia" to a prominent performance artist. The conversation explores ...
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Season 2
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Episode 38
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1:18:40
EP 37 Shadow Shorts #1
Shadow Shorts #1 is out now! Recorded at BRC in 2025 participants were challenged to explain BM‘s impact in 5 minutes or less. Each Shadow Short is one person’s story, please enjoy this short story of how Burning Man has impacted and influenced...
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Season 2
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Episode 37
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7:58
EP 36 Harley Dubois
Episode 36 with Harley Dubois is out now! In 1988 She was enrolled at the Berkeley Psychic Institute when she found a great apartment in SF at 1907 Golden Gate. Over the next few years she unwittingly held afterparties for Cacophany Society eve...
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Season 2
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Episode 36
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1:17:03
EP 35 Stuart Mangrum
Episode 35 with Stuart Mangrum is out now! He has worn many hats over the years, currently known as the host of the Burning Man Live podcast. Start has been a member of the Cacophany society for many years and first hit the playa in 1993. His f...
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Season 2
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Episode 35
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1:20:40
EP 34 Dean Barlese
Episode 34 with Dean Barlese is out now! Meet Dean Barlese, a Paiute elder, to explore the complex relationship between the Burning Man festival and the indigenous community whose ancestral lands host the event. Barlese ref...
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Season 2
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Episode 34
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49:57
EP 33 Wolfie
Episode 33 with Wolfie is out now! Meet Wolfie, the current mayor of Illumination Village, an established and art-focused camp at the Burning Man. The conversation explores her decades-long history with the event, begi...
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Season 2
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Episode 33
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1:16:49
EP 32 Kay Morrison
Episode 32 with Kay Morrison is out now! Meet Kay Morrison, a long-time Burning Man organizer and founding board member of the nonprofit Burning Man Project. The conversation traces Morrison's journey from her roots in non-violent dir...
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Season 2
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Episode 32
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1:18:27
EP 31 Paradox Pollack
Episode 31 with Paradox Pollack is out now! Meet Paradox Pollock, an artist and performer who reflects on the experimental origins of Burning Man. Pollock describes his early involvement with Desert Site Works, a collective...
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Season 2
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Episode 31
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1:17:23
EP 30 Metric
Episode 30 with Metric is out now. Meet Metric, a long-time resident of Gerlach and a pivotal figure in the structural evolution of Burning Man. The conversation traces his journey from a San Francisco sound engineer in the 1990s ...
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Season 2
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Episode 30
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1:14:42
EP 29 Diva Marisa
Episode 29 with Diva Marisa is out now. Meet Marisa who first heard about Burning Man as a 12 year old girl living in the bay area by reading about it in a Cacophany Society newsletter. She first hit the playa in 1999 to sing in Pepe Ozan’s ope...
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Season 2
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Episode 29
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1:18:38
EP 28 Monique Schiess
Episode 28 with Monique Schiess is out now. Meet Monique, a pivotal co-founder of AfrikaBurn, the largest regional Burning Man event. The conversation explores the evolution of the burn movement in South Africa, detailing how Schi...
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Season 2
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Episode 28
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1:12:03
EP 27 Danger Ranger
Episode 27 the Season Premiere is out now. Meet Michael Mikel (aka Danger Ranger) a foundational figure in the Burning Man community and a co-founder of the Cacophony Society. He details the movement’s origins in the Suic...
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Season 2
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Episode 27
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1:11:55
EP 26 The First Year In Review
Episode 26 the Season One Recap is out now. The inaugural season of the Shadow of The Man show is now over, next week Season 2 will launch with the Season Premiere EP 27 with none other than Danger Ranger! Learn about what happened behind the s...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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18:34
