The Shadow Of The Man

Meet Dan Miller , an original pioneer of Burning Man who has attended every gathering since the inaugural 1986 bonfire on Baker Beach . Miller provides a firsthand historical account of the event’s evolution from a small, radical self-expression ritual among friends to a massive, organized city in the Black Rock Desert . He details his technical role in building and rigging the iconic wooden effig...

Meet Inani Schroinger , a long-time participant who reflects on the evolution of Burning Man culture from the late 1990s to the present. The conversation moves through his early years performing in Pepe Ozan’s burning operas , his time on the DPW and Resto crews , and his eventual leadership in creating the Manticor effigy during the 2021 "Renegade Burn." Central to the text is a critiqu...

Check out episode 16 with Xina Ocasio exploring the transformative power of the Burning Man community . The dialogue moves from Acasio’s initial immersion in rave culture and interactive art to her pivotal role in organizing the first Austin-based village at BRC in 2002. Central to the narrative is her experience of radical self-expression , specifically how the festival provided a safe liminal sp...

This episode of the Shadow of the Man Show features a conversation with a long-time burner known as Nurse , who recounts her extensive history with the Burning Man festival beginning in 1997 . The discussion explores the evolution of the event from its early, less regulated days at Hualapai Playa to its current massive scale, highlighting the transition of her camp, Motel 666 , into an unregistere...

Meet the veteran Burning Man participant from the UK known as Yoms . The conversation explores how Yoms transitioned from an outsider to a deeply committed community leader after a serendipitous encounter with a television broadcast about the event in the late 1990s. Central to the narrative is Yoms’s extensive work in bridging the desert culture with the outside world , specifically through his r...

Meet Patrice Mackey, a long-time Burning Man participant known as Chef Juke , who reflects on thirty years of history and evolution within the event. The conversation transitions from his 1994 arrival at the playa , a time of extreme simplicity when the "Man" stood on the ground and only a handful of cars were present, to his current role managing internal tech support and writing reject...

Welcome to Episode 12 with Amy Bunker , a prolific long-time participant in the Burning Man community . The conversation serves as a professional and personal retrospective, detailing Bunker’s journey from a hesitant first-timer in 2001 to a central figure in the regional network and various operational departments . She explores how the event’s principles of immediacy and gift culture transformed...

Welcome to the first show of 2025 featuring Beth From the show Accuracy Third ( https://accuracythird.com/ ). They are a podcast about Burning Man, or "an oral history of Black Rock City", and they first started their show about 9 years ago. It's a great show and I encourage you to check it out. Meet Beth, a long-term Host for the Accuracy Third podcast, to explore the evolving cult...

This episode of The Shadow of the Man podcast features an interview with Playa Pete , a veteran burner preparing for his thirtieth consecutive year at the Burning Man event. Pete shares his origin story from 1995, recounting how a chance meeting with founder Michael Mikel (Danger Ranger) led to his long-standing role printing official apparel for the organization and the DPW (Department of Public...

In this episode we speak with Tony “Coyote” Perez , a foundational member of Burning Man’s Department of Public Works (DPW) . The conversation serves as a historical retrospective, detailing Coyote’s evolution from a disillusioned San Francisco musician to the City Superintendent responsible for designing the Black Rock City grid . Central to the narrative is the pivotal transition in 1996 , when...

Welcome to Episode 8 with Jennie Kay. Learn about Jenny Kay, a long-time contributor to the Burning Man community , who explores how her conservative evangelical upbringing paradoxically prepared her for leadership within a radical counterculture. The conversation moves from her childhood in Michigan to her pivotal role in organizing regional Burning Man events in Monterey, highlighting her transi...

Our guest today is the long-term Burning Man contributor Andie Grace , known as Action Girl, about her extensive history within the organization and the evolution of the global burner community . AG details her trajectory from a "rank newbie" in 1997 to becoming a central figure in the Regional Network and the lead voice of the Jack Rabbit Speaks newsletter, highlighting how the event tr...

Today's guest is Nati Goldman , an influential figure in the Israeli Burning Man community and a founder of Midburn . The conversation explores Goldman’s personal evolution from a seeker of "party culture" to a philosophical advocate for the ten principles, specifically emphasizing how radical inclusion requires a difficult, conscious shift from egoism to altruism. Goldman recounts...

Meet Otto von Danger , a veteran builder and Marine who offers a gritty, behind-the-scenes perspective on the evolution of Burning Man . Moving away from the typical "hippie" narrative, Otto describes his decades of involvement as a professional job rather than a spiritual pilgrimage, highlighting his technical role in constructing the iconic "Man" and elaborate installations l...

This episode we talk with Tia Coleman , a long-term Burning Man participant and leader who has served as a Regional Contact for Las Vegas since 2004. The conversation traces Coleman’s history with the event from her first trip in 1998, exploring how her background in theater and the arts drew her to the desert for authentic self-expression . As a member of the Meta Regional Committee , she explain...

This episode is all about your host, THAT Andi. You are taken from his beginnings in suburban New Jersey to Manhattan, Vermont, San Francisco, and then wind up in Hawaii. You will learn all about how he first went to Burning Man in 1996, started the Hawaii Regional group (Ka Pilina), started the Regional Information Center, started CORE, retired, and has been getting dragged back into the orbit of...

Meet George Pap, a foundational figure in the Burning Man community who served as the first regional contact and helped establish the oldest regional burn in Austin, Texas. The conversation captures Pap’s personal evolution from a solo traveler at the 1997 event to a community leader who transformed his passion for "tiki fest" parties into Burning Man Texas (later Flipside) , an event th...

What is life like after Burning Man? For that matter, what is Burning Man? If you have chosen to listen to this I am assuming you have a basic understanding of the event and movement. This podcast explores the changes over time brought about by exposure to Burning Man to people, places, and things. To start off these conversations it is important to ground ourselves. I want to set the stage so we...