In this fair dinkum episode of the podcast we continue our conversations with SBA board members, Leanna and TJ, and chat with them about "Pilot Burn," the inaugural event for their newly formed organisation, Sunburnt Arts. Following a community restructuring and a departure from their previous Matong site, the team is thrilled to host this genuine and intimate 500-capacity-person gathering from May 15th to 18th in the breathtaking Capertee Valley, a spectacular canyon located a few hours west of Sydney. The team transparently discuss the logistical triumphs and hurdles of starting from scratch on a private farm, highlighting the mobilisation of shipping containers for infrastructure, the rollout of a new ticketing and volunteer platform, and the essential need for community participation and self-reliance. Ultimately, Pilot Burn serves as an emotional, back-to-basics test run designed to foster community trust, establish a respectful relationship with the new landowners, and lay a solid, scalable groundwork for the future of our regional burn culture.

In this episode we review the 2026 Kiwiburn: A Work of Heart event with a panel of kiwiburners (Hippathy, Kym, & Shelley) to talk about the burn from their own perspectives. The panel reflects on the muddy yet magical Kiwiburn 2026, aptly themed "A Work of Heart". Despite the unpredictable weather and persistent rain, the challenging conditions actually fostered deep community solidarity by forcing participants to hunker down in shared spaces, eventually rewarding kiwiburners with spectacular rainbow displays. The discussion highlights the beautiful duality of the burner experience: the poignant, collaborative effort behind a faceted heart temple that provided a vital space for collective grief and healing, contrasted with the hilarious chaos of interactive telephone art, a dramatic Effigy lift malfunction, and the perennial Argentinian-style BBQ cookup that brings-in community. Ultimately, the episode captures the community's profound resilience and creativity, while candidly acknowledging ongoing logistical challenges like volunteer burnout and the need for future leadership.

In this episode, PACT (People’s Art Collective of Tasmania) founding members Lara, Kat, and Karl share the origin story and success of Tasmania’s inaugural regional burn, Aurora 2025. Driven by a desire to establish a localised event rooted in Burning Man principles, the group successfully navigated the challenges of forming a democratic non-profit organisation focused on consent, safety, and decommodified community art. The inaugural November event, held on a stunning conservation property, drew around 250 attendees and featured unique Tasmanian elements, including a beautiful Thylacine (also commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger) effigy. Looking ahead to Aurora 2026, the collective remains dedicated to sustainable, grassroots growth, fostering skill-sharing with other Australian burns, and preserving the profound, co-created spirit of their emerging community.

In this special conversation episode about the regional burning man network around the world we have invited a knowledgeable, long-time burner and community contributor, Jarred Taylor, to talk about their recent think-piece titled “Is it time for Burning Man Regionals to Glow Up?”. We unpack and do a deep dive into this well-received write-up; chat about the key ideas and themes of the article; and take an anthropological look at festival and burner culture – underlining the philosophical, behavioural, psychological, and spiritual aspects of the burn experience. Drawing on their own extensive experience attending and organising international burns, Jarred explains how the global network of over 110 official and unofficial regional events has outgrown its dependency on the central Nevada-based Burning Man organisation.

In this candid and spirited podcast episode, community leaders Marcelo, Tereasa, and TJ (who insists on the title "King Dingaling") reflect on the turbulent but deeply rewarding evolution of Australia's Burning Seed community into its new organisational entity, Sunburnt Arts. Driven by personal artistic awakenings - from Tereasa's community-supported "mystical music box" to TJ's humorous appreciation for the board's tax benefits and dry finger biscuits - the trio highlights the vital shift away from the former privately-owned "Red Earth City" structure toward a collaborative, membership-based model. Following the unfortunate cancellation of the 2025 "Metamorphosis" event, which was derailed by poor ticket sales and a structural governance disconnect between Sunburnt Arts and Sunburnt Events, the newly elected seven-member board is now focused on radical accountability and addressing volunteer fatigue. By streamlining chaotic infrastructure and championing transparent, bottom-up decision-making, this dedicated team is determined to learn from past missteps and sustainably reignite the magic of the East Coast burn. This podcast episode focuses on the pivotal SBA/Burning Seed community townhall meet back in July 2025.

This episode we review the 2025 Underland Pop! event with a panel of burners from varied experiences. The conversation features host Stevan speaking with four guests - Dylan, Jenny, Sacha, and Lydea - who share their experiences from different roles at the event. The discussion covers Dylan's journey as a first-time burner who designed and built the serpent effigy, Jenny's role leading the Artery art grants program, Sacha's work at Center Camp and civic infrastructure, and Lydea's involvement with gate, sanctuary, and the Toad Hall theme camp. Key themes include the importance of participation and volunteering, the inclusive family-friendly atmosphere with 10% children attendance, the powerful ritual of the temple burn, the growth of theme camps and art installations, and the community's values around consent, radical expression, play, and creative collaboration. The podcast also explores topics like onboarding new burners, future planning considerations including an extra event day, photography etiquette, AI's role in artistic expression, and concludes with gratitude for the volunteers and community members who made the event possible.

This episode features four board members of The Third Degree - Ruth, Dale, Caer, and Tyne - to explore the NSW Central Coast's family-friendly regional burn. Discover how this intimate 400-person event evolved from a pandemic-era one-off at a scout camp into an intentional experiment in radical inclusion and in accessible burner culture. The conversation covers the event's distinctive features - running water, hot showers, radical inclusion for families and disabled participants, and mandatory volunteer shifts that transforms attendees into active participants - while exploring how their innovative approaches to consent culture (piloting the BED framework), burnout prevention (three-year rotation system), and accessibility (low-income tickets, disability accommodations), and the challenges of building elaborate temple and effigy structures under tight timelines. Board members also share personal burner origin stories, discuss the post-COVID fragmentation of Australia's burn community, and explain how The Third Degree serves as an incubator for testing innovations like emergency pager systems and consent protocols that can scale to larger events, all while maintaining a collaborative (magic of participatory culture), transparent governance structure focused on sustainable growth and making burner culture welcoming for newcomers who might find the overwhelming intensity of larger events or larger-scale burns intimidating.

In this episode we review the 2025 Kiwiburn: Trash Renaissance Fair event with a panel of experienced kiwiburners and a first-time kiwiburner from Australia. We discuss some of the things that went right and talk about what went wrong. A reflective episode to learn, raise awareness, educate, and archive for future reference. We also discuss the fun and magical moments; the arts, theme camps, events, workshops, the burns and the shenanigans; and also the controversial or uncomfortable conversations coming out of Kiwiburn 2025.