After seven years and more than 180 episodes, this is the final episode of Life Is a Festival in its current form. It felt right to close this chapter with a conversation with my friend Jenna Ansell, cofounder of Medicine Festival about what festivals have promised, what they’ve delivered, and what still matters. In this conversation, we explore why the utopian promise of festival culture feels strained in 2025, whether large gatherings can still act as engines of cultural change, and the differ...
Dec 19, 2025•59 min•Ep. 181
At Burning Man 2025 inside the Playa Alchemist Pyramid, I sat down with legendary mycologist Paul Stamets to explore mushrooms, mycelium, and the cosmos. Through scratchy playa dust voices, we connected fungal intelligence with Burning Man culture, random acts of kindness, and the future of psychedelic medicine. Our conversation ranged from Stamets’ new book Psilocybin Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats ,, to reflections on mycelium as a cosmic organizing principle and the healing power of biod...
Sep 10, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 180Ep. 180
There’s no greater mythic mind in modern podcasting than Josh Schrei, the voice and vision behind The Emerald . If you, like me, are already a fan of his deeply poetic and perspective-shifting show, then you’ll understand why I’ve wanted to have him on Life is a Festival since the moment I heard his episode on festivals. In this conversation, Josh and I explore the revival of myth in our modern moment. We talk about the ancient power of festivals, structure and fluidity of gender, the soul’s lon...
Mar 27, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 179
I recently revisited Iboga — the psychedelic root bark from Equatorial West Africa — six years after first experiencing it in a traditional Bwiti ceremony in Gabon. This time, I received Ibogaine treatment at Beond in Cancún. (Full disclosure: I produce their podcast, Ibogaine Uncovered. ) To my surprise, my mentor Benjamin also spends time at Beond, quietly supporting others through their Ibogaine journeys. After my own treatment—complete with a flood dose and a booster dose—the best way to sha...
Jan 21, 2025•55 min•Ep. 178
In the aftermath of the 2024 election, as half the country celebrates and the other half mourns, Alex Ebert and I find ourselves doing what grown men often do to process complex emotions—we make a podcast about it. It's our fourth time using this particular hack for male friendship, but something feels different, more urgent this time. The exit polls reveal young men swinging dramatically rightward, and I can't help but see this through the lens of masculinity—specifically, the left's failure to...
Dec 04, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 177
On the eve of the U.S. presidential election, we’re exploring the theme of participation, a principle central to both Burning Man culture and our role as citizens. In this episode, I’m joined by Megan Miller, former Director of Communications for Burning Man, to talk about how civic responsibility and active engagement can help us navigate this complex cultural moment. I’ve also included a clip from a recent Substack article by one of my favorite thinkers, Jamie Wheal, to set the stage for our c...
Nov 04, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 176
Atish last joined us four or five years ago for a powerful conversation about authenticity, anxiety, and life as an artist. Now, as he takes a break from touring to prioritize mental health, I knew it was time to have him back for an inspiring and candid conversation. In this episode, Atish and I discuss the challenges of touring, redefining success as a DJ, and Atish’s unexpected desire for a “day job.” We explore the validation cycle between DJing and social media, the courage in vulnerability...
Oct 25, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 175
How does Burning Man stay relevant for a new generation and beyond the Black Rock Desert? The dust has settled from Burning Man, and the photo dumps have all been dumped but today we're diving into a deeper conversation about the relevance of the event itself. My guest, Will Chase was Burning Man’s Minister of Propaganda until 2016. He’s done more than most to bring the open-hearted play of Burning Man to the default world (ie make life like a festival). In our conversation, we explore Burning M...
Sep 28, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 174
Today's podcast is in two parts: First, my reflections (rant) on Burning Man 2024, and second, a repost of my appearance on the Burning Man Live Podcast from a few years ago. During my solocast, I celebrate recent changes in Burning Man, read from a short section of my upcoming book about the concept of cool, and share part of Caveat Magister’s piece about Burning Man passing the torch to the regional network. Finally, I share some changes in the Life is a Festival podcast moving forward. On the...
Sep 12, 2024•57 min•Ep. 164
Today’s episode is an encore presentation of a show that aired live on Burning Man Information Radio (BMIR) in 2019 to get you all juiced up for this year’s dirt rave. It features a playful conversation about vulnerability, consent, the trickster, and instant manifestation with Jax, Wolverine, and David Block, the Human Experience. Also, every year, I give a Harm Reduction talk at my camp. For the first fifteen minutes of this episode, I’m offering that information. Please check out more info ab...
Aug 21, 2024•53 min•Ep. 172
You know those pithy BuzzFeed listicles about being too old for music festivals? Well, the idea is rather silly. Festivals are multi-generational celebrations where children with glittering faces play alongside elders who share their wisdom. The adventure of a festival is enriched by all ages, much like how our lives are enriched by various stages and transformations. Today's episode is special because we have a returning guest, my longtime friend and mentor, Chip Conley. I used to work with Chi...
Jul 19, 2024•52 min•Ep. 171
In a world beset by tragedy its important to learn how to grieve. If you don’t feel your feelings you’re going to have problems, but how exactly should we tend to our grief? Today, we are welcoming back Camille Barton to celebrate the publication of their first book, Tending Grief: Embodied Rituals for Holding Our Sorrow and Growing Cultures of Care and Community . In our conversation today, you'll learn how untended grief can have harmful consequences. We begin with one of my favorite topics: h...
May 16, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 170
Tina Nance, yin yoga and embodiment specialist returns to Life is a Festival to share her evolving ideas around gender, trauma healing, and embodiment. In today's episode, we continue our exploration of gender and sexuality. We dive into processing trauma within the nervous system and whether a finite amount of psychological "garbage" needs to be processed for healing. Our conversation spans mythopoetic femininity through the lens of the Egyptian pantheon and masculinity through archetypes. We a...
Apr 23, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 169
Today's episode is about love and all its messy colors. Guinevere Rhonwen & Lizz Larouge created the festival Colours of Love on the island d of Koh Phangan as their wedding celebration and continued it even as they were separating. In this episode, we explore how they embraced love while parting ways at the place of their union. We cover a wide range of topics, including the festival's nature, whether it could be dubbed a "big gay wedding," the influence of female leadership on festival cul...
Mar 19, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 168
I've never had so many requests for guests to return to the show as I have for Sami and Sharon. As you may recall, a few days after the events of October 7th, I asked Midburn co-founder and artivist Sharon Avraham, and his Palestinian theme camp co-lead, peace activist Sami Awad, to come on the show and share their immediate experience. Much has happened since then, and many of you have wanted an update from these two friends. You will be happy to know that they are involved in an ambitious peac...
Feb 15, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 167
Does open relating always lead to polyagony? Or is there a way to heal the wounds of gender and experience love free from fear? Today we are revisiting an episode originally released in 2019 with Ian McKenzie and Julia Maryanska about the Love School at Tamera. Their documentary "Village of Lovers," will be available at a global streaming premiere on February 7th. We revisit this discussion about love, relationships, and intentional communities today in a new edit. In this episode, we dissect th...
Feb 06, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 166
In Part Two of our Taoist sexuality series, focusing on woman’s body’s and yin principles, I speak with the Senior Woman’s Instructor at Tao Garden, Gillian Reid. Gillian shares her insights on yin and yang energy, self-love, and intimacy. Beginning each day with gratitude and stretching, she highlights the importance of focusing on the heart and finding balance in one's daily activities. She also discusses how to harness one's energy using principles of Taoism, including the microcosmic orbit a...
Jan 14, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 165
Guys, have you ever wished that instead of ejaculating and falling asleep, you could shoot orgasmic energy up the back of your spine to revitalize your mind and experience rolling orgasms? Well, it turns out there's an ancient Taoist practice that teaches just that, and all it takes is a bit of training. After an erotic detox last year, I embarked on a pilgrimage to the renowned Tao Garden, located just outside of Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, to learn from Master Mantak Chia. Master Chia, a ...
Jan 09, 2024•51 min•Ep. 164
Lately I've noticed a curious trend: many of my female friends, particularly those from the Burning Man community, are exploring a path of sexual healing by becoming Professional Dommes. To shed light on this phenomenon, I spoke to Colette Pervette, a professional dominatrix and the mentor behind MistressClass, an immersive program designed to guide women into the realm of becoming a dominatrix. In this episode, we explore the origins and motivations behind kink and Colette and I role play a man...
Dec 25, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 163
Today we're immersing into immersive experience design through one of the world's most iconic theatrical experiences, Sleep No More. Joining the production right out of college, my guest Ilana Gilovich-Wave is now Sleep No More’s Chief Storyteller. In today’s episode, I chat with Ilana about Sleep No More, immersive experience design, and carving out a path as a young artist. We also delve into how Ilana’s career path can inspire those just starting out. We cover advice for young creatives in ex...
Dec 07, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 162
Apparently, ancient Ireland was like the Amazon, with impenetrable forests navigable only by rivers, deep mysticism, and its very own indigenous medicine, the psychedelic Liberty Cap mushrooms. Today on the show, recorded in Southern Ireland, I’m speaking with Darragh Stewart. Darragh is not only a molecular biologist and a passionate advocate of Celtic mysticism and Irish culture, but he's also the co-founder and scientific lead facilitator at Inward Bound, one of the world's first psychedelic ...
Nov 17, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 161
On October 7th, Natalie Sanandaji, a Persian Jew from New York, attended a psytrance festival, to dance and feel the acceptance she only finds among her fellow peace-loving trancers. The events of that day and what has followed are deeply etched in our global consciousness. Today on Life is a Festival, Natalie tells her story. Our conversation today isn’t about sensational details or moral positions. Instead, Natalie and I have deliberately chosen to focus exclusively on the experience of a youn...
Nov 09, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 160
In light of the recent tragic events in Israel, particularly the horrific attack at Nova festival, I wanted to offer the global festival community a conversation centered on hope. Today's Life is a Festival episode features Sharon Avraham, co-founder of Midburn, and his theme camp co-producer, Palestinian activist Sami Awad, as they extend a call for healing. On the show we discuss Midburn, Israel's Burning Man regional event, and Sami’s dedication to nonviolence. The two talk about their joint ...
Oct 12, 2023•55 min•Ep. 159
Today we dive deep into the magical world of shenanigans — or immersive experience design for the uninitiated — with our guest, Tyler Hanson, the brain behind Kulturehaus, a trailblazing agency for festival immersive imagineers. On the show, we explore the crucial role of humor in human survival. We take a historical journey of immersive art from the circus to vaudeville to Dada, to beatniks and hippies, and all the way to the Cacophony Society and Burning Man. Tyler shares how he became a Possi...
Oct 02, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 158
Burning Man 2023 was many things, most of which were not accurately portrayed in the media. We experienced a weather event that united us, tested our resilience, and sparked a renewed sense of purpose while also accelerating a critical examination of where Burning Man stands in the broader context of sustainability. Today on the show, I've asked five different guests to help craft a comprehensive picture of the 2023 event, the state of our culture, and the future of Black Rock City. (01:00) - Ea...
Sep 15, 2023•2 hr 20 min•Ep. 157
Happy procrastination week, my fellow burners! In aid of my own procrastination, I've repurposed an early episode, which is still my favorite on the subject of Burning Man. In this interview, I discuss the philosophy of Black Rock City with Burning Man’s Philosopher Laureate, Caveat Magister (the pen name of Benjamin Wachs). Additionally, I offer a short excerpt from the book I’ve been writing. On the show, we discuss what it means to burn, the power of gifting in building community, and how Bur...
Aug 23, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 156
My guest today is Max Stossel, an award-winning poet who was named by Forbes as one of the best storytellers of the year. Max and I are talking about one of my all-time favorite subjects: our relationship with the creative muse. You might learn a thing or two about getting unstuck creatively, but at the very least, you are about to hear some exceptional poetry. The show opens with a candid discussion of authentic vulnerability. We discuss the creative process, how to use and break structure, and...
Aug 14, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 155
Today's episode is dedicated to my dear friend, Eviatar Frankel, who died a week ago from complications related to a rare lymphoma. I was privileged to sit with Ev in a men's circle throughout his battle with cancer. Each week, and in countless private conversations, he displayed remarkable grace. This podcast features readings from Eviatar's personal philosophy, deeply rooted in determinism, and includes two interviews. On the show we hear from Erica Dean, a mutual friend pivotal in Ev's care j...
Jul 28, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 154
Psychedelic Science, the largest psychedelic conference in history, put on by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, has come and gone. Today, to recap this event and to emphasize the vital role of the trickster in the psychedelic movement, I'm speaking with Dennis Walker, the Instagram satirist well-known for his roastings of all things psychedelic. In this episode, we explore the role of satire in holding social movements accountable—a necessity in our current times. We dis...
Jul 17, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 153
Today on the show, I'm speaking with the Godfather of ketamine therapy, author of The Ketamine Papers, and creator of the ketamine lozenge, Dr. Phil Wolfson. This episode marks the first time Phil has shared his insights on this mercurial molecule for those who use it recreationally, or as he prefers to term it, "ground use." As Phil stresses on the show, he doesn't condone any illegal behavior and provides his comments strictly for educational purposes. Our conversation starts with Phil's activ...
Jul 06, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 152
