Every year around this time, I try to put together a little toolkit for the drive to Burning Man. It usually lives at BurnerPodcast.com, but this year I decided to put it up here. I’ll get back to more naval-gazing after Burning Man, I promise.
Some episodes to queue up, a few useful links, and a handful of reminders.
The drive/flight/whatever to Burning Man is its own ritual. It’s a pilgrimage.
Preparing for Take Off
First things first:
Do you have your ticket?
No, seriously.
Do you have eyes on it? Is it in your hand? Is it in the vehicle? Did you check the envelope? Did you check the other envelope?
It happens to the best of us, and there is nothing worse than realizing in Fernley that your ticket is still on the fridge.
Did you set your email away message?
Did you tell the neighbor where the spare key is?
Did you download the things you meant to download before cell service disappears?
Did you pack socks, electrolytes, your ID, your meds?
Do you have a clean outfit tucked away somewhere for after you leave the playa? People in Reno are super cool but tracking in all that playa everywhere you stop is not cool.
Do you have a plan for your trash? Because you know who sucks the most? Assholes who leave trash along the route back through default.)
Ok cool.
Let’s go Home.
Episode B163: So You’re Going to Burning Man!
https://www.burnerpodcast.com/explore-episodes/so-youre-going-to-burning-man
We wanted to create an episode for the virgins. Burning Man can be overwhelming, beautiful, stupid, profound, annoying, hilarious, and occasionally all of those things before breakfast. This episode is meant to help orient the spirit a bit. If you know anyone new to our culture, send them this one when it goes live.
Episode B162: A Symphony of Steel
Interview with mutant vehicle legend Henry Chang
burnerpodcast.com/explore-episodes/burner-podcast-a-symphony-of-steel
This one just went live, and I’m really quite proud of it. Henry Chang is the Leonardo Da Vinci of Burning Man. Without a doubt one of the most interesting people I’ve ever interviewed - and that’s saying something since I’ve been doing this for 15 years.
Burner Podcast Presents: Alkaline
Session A071 - Tormenta at Spanky’s
Listen on Apple and lots of other places
The Burner Podcast RSS feed is home to the flagship show itself, as well as other Burner Podcast Presents spinoffs including Burner Podcast Presents: Alkaline, a show featuring DJ mixes as the sonic documentation of the global Burner community — the soundtrack to your burn.
Over the next couple of years, we intend to collect DJ sets from every Burning Man regional event in the world.
160+ episodes and 11-ish years
Burner Podcast is ranked in the top 5% of podcasts in the world. It’s an artist-documentarian project for and about burners; not a podcast about Burning Man.
You can browse the full feed here:
burnerpodcast.libsyn.com
And where they live on the website:
burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes
You can listen to Burner Podcast from pretty much any platform.
Do note that Spotify has stopped carrying Alkaline. Probably due to music copyrights. But the Burner Podcast proper episodes seem to remain untouched as of now.
Here are a few I’d suggest adding to your pre-playa download pile:
Packing for Burning Man
burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes/episode-84-packing-for-burning-man
Yes, it may already be too late for this one but hey, maybe you got a last minute ticket. Useful if you’re currently surrounded by bins, costumes, half-charged devices, and the sinking suspicion that you have packed three capes but no underwear.
Also, Rebecca’s packing list is linked in the show notes, which may save you from at least one preventable meltdown.
Un[censored] Your Burn with Wolverine
burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes/episode-132-unfuck-your-burn-with-wolverine
Safety Third. This episode gets into Narcan, hydration, drug interactions, physical health, and the deeply underrated spiritual practice of washing your hands.
There are no magic pills. There is no secret veteran hack that replaces taking care of yourself and the people around you.
The Ten Principles Episode with Halcyon
burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes/episode-105-the-ten-principals-episode-finally
Whether you’re brand new or you’ve been going long enough to have opinions about “how things used to be,” it’s worth revisiting the Ten Principles before arrival. A very interesting deep dive with Pink Jesus himself, Halcyon.
Rockstar Librarian
rockstarlibrarian.com
burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes/category/episode-89
Kate’s music guide is one of those beloved burner resources that feels impossible until someone actually does it. Also, yes, she is an actual librarian, which makes the whole thing even better.
The 2026 guide will go live here.
Useful links before you lose signal
Official Burning Man events:
playaevents.burningman.org
Burning Man art listings:
burningman.org/black-rock-city/black-rock-city-2026/2026-art-listings
Previous Pre-Playa Planners:
burnerpodcast.com/previous-episodes/category/pre-playa-planner
Burner Podcast Spotify playlists:
burnerpodcast.com/spotify-playlists
(they’re not super current but whatevs - I got prep to do)
Burner Podcast closing DJ sets: https://on.soundcloud.com/vXoVNddwleAvFcMuwf
Burner Podcast Presents: Alkaline - Archives of the previous seasons
burnerpodcast.com/alkaline
For when you’re almost there
At some point, the signal will start dropping. Maybe around Pyramid Lake.
Whatever you forgot, it is probably too late now.
Don’t panic. Someone on playa will have exactly the thing you need at exactly the perfect time, or the lack of that thing will become part of the story you tell later when you’re pretending you were totally fine.
Have your ticket and ID ready at Gate.
Don’t get out of the car unless you’re told to.
Keep it at 5 mph.
Don’t crack the beer until you are parked and done driving.
Love bomb the folks working the entry points.
And take care of each other.
Find Me in Black Rock City
I don’t know where I’m dropping anchor this year. The crew I’m camping with is keeping it loosey goosey on purpose as it’s their off duty year. So we’re called Camp Off Duty. We’ll be out in the city somewhere. But…
Come find me Tuesday at 10:30 A.M. at Center Camp!
My bff and Burner Podcast contributing editor and multi-time guest, Dr. Kim Perkins, is giving a talk entitled:
“Kindness & Snark: Twin Forces of Counterculture at Burning Man”
I’ll be there. Her talk is scheduled at 10:50 A.M.
And I may make some updates to this post before I go off grid.
https://www.burnermap.com/ĀrashFromBurnerPodcast
Until then…
Love, light, and all that other crap.
See you in the dust, my friends.
—Ārash
@mrarash
@burnerpodcast
