Why do tens of thousands of people trek to a temporary tent city in a remote Nevada desert in August? Is Burning Man worth the heat and dust? What’s queer about it?

Hear about the massive art, the gift economy, the other-worldly desert location and how to survive alkali dust storms. Is it true that many of the “straight” boys and girls put out with queer folk as they explore who they are and what they might like?   

On this week’s Out in the Bay 2014 flashback, Eric Jansen’s guests are Jennifer Raiser and Sidney Erthal, writer and co-photographer, respectively, of the book Burning Man: Art on Fire; and ‘Foxy,’ past mayor of Camp Beaverton, the main lesbian camp in Burning Man‘s “gayborhood.”

The third edition of Burning Man: Art on Fire, written by Jennifer Raiser with photographs by Scott London and Sidney Erthal, was published July 4, 2023. It is available online and at many independent bookstores, including Books Inc. and Green Apple in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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(The core interview of this Out in the Bay episode first aired August 14, 2014)