Episdoe 33: Gatekeeping, Snark, & Psychosocial Safety (Deirdre & Felipe)
In this episode we get into a spirited discussion with Felipe and Deirdre about their interconnected Bonza Summit presentations regarding the urgent need to foster psychosocial safety and inclusive communication within their community. Felipe highlighted how ingrained behaviors like snark and gatekeeping are fundamentally ego-driven and destructive, disproportionately harming neurodivergent individuals and eroding community bonds through negative emotional contagion. Complementing this perspective, Deirdre emphasised that volunteer leadership must actively design environments that prioritise psychological well-being - treating it with the same gravity as physical workplace safety - to prevent volunteer burnout and counteract exclusionary practices. Together, their insights advocate for a critical cultural shift away from toxic, power-driven dynamics and toward a supportive environment that truly embodies the foundational practices of community-building, healthy communication, participation and radical inclusion.
Host: Stevan ‘Silent Disco’ Lay
Guests: Felipe Aires & Deirdre 'Daydream' Mansell
Produced by PY Wong & Stevan Lay
Theme music by Will & Kate
BoNZA summit 2026 | May 30-31 | Sydney, Australia
Photo credit: Shannon Clark
USEFUL Links:
Bonza Community: https://bonzacommunity.org/
Sunburnt Arts: https://sunburntarts.org.au/
Underland: https://underland.au/
Common Arts Victoria: https://commonarts.org.au/
Burning Man Project: https://burningman.org/
Burning Man Virgins & Veterans - No Snark/Trolling/Ticket Selling/Begging Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1173209246053005
Rainbow Serpent/Spirit: https://rainbowspirit.net/
Deirdre's presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyFCFSo1P34
Felipe's presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6qQni8vOc8
Timestamps:
[00:00:00] Intro theme
[00:00:30] Intro panel
[00:02:59] Roles and contributions
[00:05:46] Burner origins
[00:10:47] Bonza summit
[00:16:38] How did you select your topic?
[00:27:43] Neurodivergent
[00:35:11] Public speaking
[00:38:07] Sense of humour
[00:44:20] Pilotburn was pivotal
[00:51:27] Harm of snark and gatekeeping
[00:54:26] Banter vs Snark
[00:58:29] Impact of snark
[01:02:20] Cognitive load
[01:07:16] Healthy snark?
[01:08:38] Body language
[01:11:20] Snark vs Roasting vs Satire vs Parody
[01:17:13] Emotional contagion
[01:22:47] Online personas
[01:27:56] Privilege
[01:34:36] Gatekeeping
[01:38:23] Culture survives through transmission
[01:39:41] Burner identity
[01:40:41] Unfuck your burn
[01:44:40] Too much passion
[01:47:59] Psychosocial safety
[01:55:23] Shoutouts and gratitude
[01:58:59] Feedback
[02:00:55] 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 23 July, 2026
