Today’s Big Story

Is Burning Man Flaming Out?

Rising costs and a climate crisis have played spoilers to the desert celebration

What’s happening with Burning Man? The Nevada desert festival has always played by its own rules. There are no real headliners or scheduled performers. Instead, the participants design and build all the art, activities and events themselves. It’s supposed to be all about self-expression and the rejection of corporatism and capitalism. It’s about creating and viewing art and living in the moment by making a fleeting, self-sustaining community that (theoretically) leaves no trace or trash upon its completion.

It’s seemingly gotten bigger and bigger, becoming a requisite stop for a certain type of people. Of course, to “go to Burning Man” is to embrace camping in a wild desert environment that’s challenging in the best of weather conditions—which can include chilly overnight temperatures, grainy dust storms and extremely low humidity. There was even more extreme weather in the last two years, which followed a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic. Last year, heavy rains turned the festival site into a mud pit that lead to some attendees being trapped for days after the event finished.

Since 2011, it quickly sold out of tickets long before the start date, but Burning Man is set to return this month, and ticket sales have slumped for the first time in over a decade. Tickets are released in tiers—with some going on sale at the beginning of the year and the main sale starting in April. They’re always snapped up, despite ringing in from $225 to nearly $700. But things look a bit different this time around: on July 31, Burning Man, which has a capacity of 73,000, announced a last-minute sale of 3,000 tickets. As of Thursday evening, tickets are still available.

Although weather has been front of mind in past years, one festival organizer told The Guardian that another factor is likely dampening sales this year. “With food and housing making more immediate concerns a priority, many are choosing to skip a year or two in order to solidify their living situation,” said Sinclair. Tickets are expensive, he says, but costs can be much higher than that for many participants: “Many of us greatly enjoy bringing large art. That is almost entirely self-funded and can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

The New York Times points out that this is not the only festival this year to see a ticket sales slump. Coachella was also a hard sell, too. And Burning Man demands a lot more from its guests. When you’re required to pack in one-and-a-half gallons of water per person per day, and pay for the privilege? It’s sometimes easier to say you’ll sit this one out.

Medicare Drug Deal Saves Billions

The Biden administration celebrated the win with drugmakers

The Biden administration on Thursday announced the first results of Medicare’s new power to negotiate drug prices. Democrats and allied groups touted billions of dollars in savings—older Americans will save approximately $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs, and the government will save $6 billion, the White House said.

Both Biden and Kamala Harris announced the agreements at a healthcare event that the Washington Post said took on the energy of a campaign rally. Vice President Harris is expected to continue campaigning on reducing drug prices in the run-up to November’s election. The deal is believed to ease the financial burden on the estimated one in seven older adults in the U.S. who are struggling to pay for their medications.

The drugs that have been made more affordable include those that treat diabetes, blood clots, heart failure, rheumatoid arthritis and blood cancers. According to NBC News, the prices won't take effect until 2026, but the measure is a landmark for Medicare. The federal government has never been able to directly haggle with drugmakers over the prices of their prescription drugs.

The Supermoon Kicks Off Some Lunar Spectacles

Monday’s full moon has several names, including supermoon, blue moon and sturgeon moon

The first of four supermoons this year rises on Monday night, and this one will be particularly cool, so be sure to check it out. What exactly makes a moon super? More a popular term than a scientific one, a “supermoon” occurs when a full lunar phase syncs up with an especially close swing around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year and consecutively, given the moon’s constantly shifting, oval-shaped orbit.

The term was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979, as “either a new or full moon that occurs when the moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth,” according to NASA. They say full supermoons appear approximately 30% brighter and 14% larger than usual. This will also be considered a blue moon and sturgeon moon. The “blue” means that this is the third of four full moons this season, an unusual occurrence. As for “sturgeon”, that refers to the Native American name for August's full moon.

Just how rare is the super/blue combination? A blue moon happens once every two or three years on average, according to NASA, but a blue moon that's also a supermoon is even more uncommon. Super blue moons can come as much as 20 years apart.

It’s Truffle Season

Is it all hype or are the fungi worth the price?

Some of the most prized and priciest dishes on restaurant menus feature the same ingredient—truffles. A few shavings over a plate of pasta, for example, will truly take the simplest dish and blow your mind. And if you want to take a simple thing like scrambled eggs or popcorn to the next level, you simple drizzle some quality truffle oil on it. But, that culinary transcendence will cost you a pretty penny.

Because while truffle-infused honeys and oils are fairly reasonable these days, sampling fresh truffles is still mighty expensive. According to The Takeout, black truffles can cost upwards of $1,800 per pound while white truffles from Alba in Italy can cost a staggering $7,000 per pound. “Prices like this often make people wonder if this is pure highway robbery or, indeed, if the cost is justified. That answer is highly subjective, but it's true that fresh truffles are a coveted rarity, which certainly drives up the price.”

For the most part, truffles are seasonal and only grow in specific locations. The most well-known truffle hotspots are in France, Italy and Spain, although the Pacific Northwest and Australia are also on the truffle map. They’ve proven to be nearly impossible to cultivate, and can't be harvested without canine help. Plus, they have a very short shelf life. All these factors make them highly sought after and expensive.

A Weekend Pairing

‘Bad Monkey’ + a Daiquiri Cocktail

Vince Vaughn returns to TV this week with Apple TV+’s Bad Monkey (streaming now on Apple TV+), an adaptation of Carl Hiaasen’s 2013 novel. The 10-episode crime dramedy, developed by Bill Lawrence (from Ted Lasso fame), gives Vaughn a showcase for the kind of funny he does best—though with a gentler, more mature polish.

Set in Miami, Key West and the island of Andros in the Bahamas, it’s a deeply humorous, sprawling mystery that enlists a cast of eccentric characters longer than the severed arm at the story’s center. Vaughn plays Andrew Yancy, a down-on-his-luck detective, whose defining traits are his inability to shut up or let sleeping dogs lie—so he flirts with medical examiner Rosa (played by Natalie Martinez) as he pressures her to rule the arm’s origin a likely homicide. Critics love it so it should make for easy weekend viewing.

Trust that you will.