x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Life is a Festival

Eamon Armstrong

Through intimate, long-form interviews, Life is a Festival unlocks the wisdom of cultural pioneers to help listeners integrate transformational experiences and create more joy and adventure in their daily lives.

society & culture

All Episodes

01:12:46

#160 - Natalie Sanandaji: The Good Souls of the Nova...

Life is a Festival ·

2023/11/09

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 young

en-us

00:55:02

#159 - Sharon Avraham & Sami Awad: The Prayers of an...

Life is a Festival ·

2023/10/12

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

en-us

01:14:45

#158 - Tyler Hanson: Shenanigans! The Art of...

Life is a Festival ·

2023/10/02

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

en-us

02:20:03

#157 - Marian Goodell et al: Inside Burning Man’s...

Life is a Festival ·

2023/09/15

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) -

en-us

01:26:13

#156 - Caveat Magister - At Burning Man, We're All...

Life is a Festival ·

2023/08/23

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

en-us

01:19:57

#155 - Max Stossel: Romancing the Muse

Life is a Festival ·

2023/08/14

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 Max

en-us

01:11:47

#154 - Eviatar Frankel: Facing Death with Grace

Life is a Festival ·

2023/07/28

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

en-us

01:06:24

# 153 - Dennis Walker (Mycopreneur): The Court Jester...

Life is a Festival ·

2023/07/17

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

en-us

01:23:11

#152 - Phil Wolfson: Is Recreational Ketamine...

Life is a Festival ·

2023/07/06

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

en-us

01:08:16

#151 - Sophie Strand: A Mythic Probiotic for Masculinity

Life is a Festival ·

2023/06/21

Today on the show, I'm in conversation with Sophie Strand, the mistress of mycelial masculinity and author of The Flowering Wand. Healthy masculinity has been a passion of mine for years and it was an honor to learn from this neo-troubadour animist and her poetic insights. During our discussion, we discuss the androgynous rockstar Dionysus, modern misunderstandings of Odysseus, and the theriomorphic archetype of masculinity. Sophie elucidates why healing is always relational and the role of the

en-us

01:10:39

#150 - Jetta Blaine: The Marvelous Peptides of Kambo

Life is a Festival ·

2023/06/13

Kambo, an Amazonian medicine derived from the secretions of the Phyllomedusa bicolor—also known as the giant monkey tree frog—has been instrumental in maintaining my mental health for the past six years. Today's guest, facilitator Jetta Blaine, helps us understand why, and it boils down to peptides. Our episode begins with essential considerations about vetting practitioners and contraindications for sitting with kambo. We then delve into the basics of the medicine and the origin of kambo as an

en-us

01:17:16

#149 - Nick Powers: The Revolution Will Be a Carnival

Life is a Festival ·

2023/05/22

Would you believe that carnivals are a crucial element of social movements? Indeed, today's guest, Professor Nick Powers, suggests that by emphasizing fun, sacrilege, and even the grotesque, we can safeguard social justice against dogmatism and self-righteousness, preventing its co-option. During our conversation, Nick and I reminisce about our early days as passionate, albeit somewhat overzealous, young activists. We share our mutual love of Burning Man, where he co-founded the People of Color

en-us

00:59:39

[Repost] Mitchell Gomez: How to Stop Fentanyl Deaths

Life is a Festival ·

2023/05/10

Today is National Fentanyl Awareness Day, and I believe this issue to be the most pressing concern facing our community of cognitive liberty. I use drugs and psychedelics to explore my consciousness, and many of the people I love do the same. The issue of fentanyl adulteration and the 100,000 deaths categorized as overdoses in 2020 indicate that this problem affects us all. I personally have friends who have died from fentanyl adulteration. In this episode, I am reposting a conversation I had with

en-us

01:13:19

#148 - Snow Raven: The Unexpected Sweetness of Darkness

Life is a Festival ·

2023/04/27

People in conscious communities often pay lip service to shadow work, but what does it truly mean to embrace darkness—both the darkness of the world and within our own hearts? Snow Raven (Haar Suor), a member of the shamanic Sakha people from Arctic Siberia, knows darkness intimately, and it has inspired her transformative music from America's Got Talent to Burning Man. On the show, we discuss the Sakha Republic as one of the darkest places on Earth and explore how mental health challenges can

en-us

01:15:58

#147 - Victorien Mulliez: The Path of Joy

Life is a Festival ·

2023/04/19

Victorien is one of the most joyful people I know. The French DJ, flutist, and social impact entrepreneur seems to have a few things figured out. From Vipassana meditation to sobriety, he shares his secrets with us today. On the show, we begin by discussing the nature of joy and despair. Victorien shares his tools for cultivating joy, starting with creativity, and offers advice to young artists who would also love to be big in Pakistan. We discuss the power of nature and delve deep into Vipassana

en-us

01:28:56

#146 - Stephen Jenkinson: Personal Growth Won't Save Us

Life is a Festival ·

2023/03/30

Today's conversation is a serious one, yet it is approached with the poetic grace that only Stephen Jenkinson can deliver. Personal growth and healing alone won't shield us from impending catastrophes, but perhaps embracing them might... just maybe. In this episode, we discuss why personal growth for its own sake can resemble a tumor and examine the issues surrounding healing culture. We discuss the concepts of wholeness versus goodness and listen to Stephen's experiences in Cadiz,

en-us

01:08:49

#145 - Ian MacKenzie: The Masculine Longing for...

Life is a Festival ·

2023/03/14

Today Ian Mackenzie returns to Life is a Festival to discuss mythopoetic masculinity. Ian is a filmmaker, essayist, and host of the Mythic Masculine Podcast and A Gathering of Stories. He is teaching a new online class called Re-storying Masculinity with Advaya which starts on March 14th. Our conversation begins with a history of the Mythopoetic Men's Movement and its splinter, Men’s Rights activism. We talk about how mainstream culture is really an anti culture that eats culture, including mens

en-us

01:18:54

#144 - Android Jones: The Transformative...

Life is a Festival ·

2023/03/02

Just over a month ago, the beloved Visionary Artist Android Jones lost his life's work and all his tools for creation in a fire on his property in Colorado. Today, Android returns to Life is a Festival to share his experience of loss, the profound opening of asking for help and his thoughts on AI art. On the program Android describes how he designed his studio as a runway to attract the muse. He discusses his experience of losing the barn and how he processed his grief with kickboxing and the

en-us

01:28:28

#143 - Monique Shiess, Co-founder of AfrikaBurn: The...

Life is a Festival ·

2023/02/13

In 2017 I attended Afrikburn, the Burning Man regional event which takes place a few hours north of Cape Town in the Tankwa Karoo. Afterwards, I wrote an article called “Afrikburn: The Unbearable Whiteness of Burning” with the wisdom and support of Co-founder and Creative Director Monique Shiess. Today on the show, I reconnect with Monique to discuss how things have change for Afrikaburn in the last five years. On the show Monique shares her experience growing up in South Africa and producing events

en-us

01:14:43

#142 - How to Earn a Secure Attachment Style | George...

Life is a Festival ·

2023/01/10

Why is a Buddhist meditation teacher trying to heal attachment styles? Aren’t Buddhists supposed to be all about non-attachment? Today's guest, George Haas, has been teaching meditation since 2000, and lately focuses primarily on preparing the path to enlightenment by resolving maladaptive responses to difficult childhood experiences. On the show we talk about different insecure attachment styles, including anxious-preoccupied, avoidant and disorganized. We talk about what an earned secure

en-us

182 results

Similar Podcasts

Voices of Life

APG Mannheim

Promo Estereo Podcast

Promo Estereo

Talking Timelines Podcast

Talkingtimelines

גיקונומי

ראם שרמן ודורון ניר

Drømmefanger

Drømmefanger