Episode 22: Is it time for Burning Man Regionals to Glow Up? (Jarred Taylor)

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.

Host: Stevan ‘Silent Disco’ Lay

Guest: Jarred ‘Space Elf’ Taylor

Produced by PY Wong & Stevan Lay

Theme music by Will & Kate

2014 Burning Man: Caravansary | 25 August - 1 September | Black Rock City | Nevada, USA
Photo: Jarred Taylor

USEFUL Links:

Article by Jarred Taylor - Is it time for Burning Man Regionals to Glow Up?: https://jarredtaylor.substack.com/p/is-it-time-for-burning-man-regionals

Sunburnt Arts: https://sunburntarts.org.au/

Burning Seed: https://www.burningseed.com/

Blazing Swan: https://blazingswan.com.au/

Afrikaburn: https://www.afrikaburn.org/

Kiwiburn: https://kiwiburn.org/

Korea Burn: https://burningmankorea.weebly.com/korea-burn.html

Burning Man: https://burningman.org/

Bonza Community: https://bonzacommunity.org/

Nowhere: https://www.goingnowhere.org/

Borderland: https://www.theborderland.se/

Regional BM: https://burningman.org/global-events-groups/

Burns Around the World 2026: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19LLXY1Om77p6UG4Y9wEVw3uaYXSn23xj1yW3s3j8O5g/edit?gid=1618287697#gid=1618287697

Article by Wired Magazine: https://www.wired.com/story/burning-man-regional-burns-around-the-world/

Article by CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/24/health/burning-man-radical-self-expression-wellness

Timestamps:

[00:00:30] Intro

[00:01:51] Space Elf's origin story

[00:05:41] Orphanage theme camp

[00:07:36] Volunteering

[00:12:05] Changes in burner scene

[00:13:57] Bonza community

[00:15:45] Regional cultural flavours

[00:17:23] Korea burn

[00:19:50] Afrikaburn

[00:23:46] Title of article

[00:32:12] Are regionals ruining burning man?

[00:33:37] Target audience

[00:40:14] Franchise effect

[00:44:34] Burning man no longer the centre

[00:46:32] Infrastructural and scale

[00:49:48] Paradoxical

[00:52:24] Gentrification

[00:56:09] Burner adjacent events

[00:58:43] End of an era

[01:04:03] Symbolic vs fiscal pressures

[01:11:42] Regionals are salvations

[01:22:56] Criticisms

[01:27:52] Continuation of BMP

[01:31:51] What comes next?

[01:32:51] Regional burns around the world trivia

[01:43:48] Shoutouts

[01:46:44] End notes

[01:48:29] Outro theme

The information presented in the following audio program is for informational, educational, entertainment, and archival purposes only. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed on the Bonzaar Podcast are solely those of the hosts and the guests and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the entire burner community. Bonzaar Podcast is an independently-produced, volunteer-led, and community-funded project and is not associated or affiliated with the burning man organisation or it's world-wide subsidiaries.

This episode was recorded on 15 February, 2026