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Blair Braverman

@blairbraverman.bsky.social

writer and dogsledder, host of story podcast “what to carry, what to burn”

1164 Posts15761 Follower294 Folgt
Blair Braverman@blairbraverman.bsky.social · 20h ago

New podcast episode is out today at What to Carry, What to Burn! This one's the story of Valerian Albanov, who escapes an icebound ship and ends up the reluctant leader of a trek across the frozen sea. Featuring thieves, lice, kayaks made out of barrels, and polar bear livers.

A blue-tinged artwork of a polar bear looking down off a rock into a gray-blue sea. This is modified from James Audubon's artwork that's in the public domain.
Blair Braverman@blairbraverman.bsky.social · 22h ago

My theory: survival stories and true crime are actually photo negatives of each other, because in true crime, someone's dead who should be alive, and in survival, someone's alive who should be dead, and in both cases you're trying to figure out why

Jeff Sharlet@jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 23h ago

One more thing on What to Carry, What to Burn: Podcasting's devolution into chat /true crime has depressed me as listener & writer. It's labeled--wrongly--as latter, & at first seems to be @blairbraverman.bsky.social "just" talking. But it's so arfully structured! podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/w...

Bartholomew Collins@bigfatbartolocolon.bsky.social · 2w ago

only a well-orchestrated marketing campaign can produce material this slick bsky.app/profile/bigf...

Bartholomew Collins@bigfatbartolocolon.bsky.social · 3mo ago

unfortunately listening to you and Sarah discuss survival has put the character of Marshall Braverman, a woman who patrols the old west righting wrongs, into my mind, and now I have to make it everyone else's problem. I promise this picture is not meant to mock you or Sarah, it's the best I can do

Just the worst goddam sketch of a woman in a long coat with a star pinned to it and what could be a cowboy hat and boots. she looks like she is out to get whoever drew her face like this.
Blair Braverman@blairbraverman.bsky.social · 2w ago

Just learned that Noah Kahan’s Willing and Able is (maybe?) a reference to Cain and Abel and I’m not sure why but it is ruining me 😩 I didn’t listen carefully before and just assumed it was about a breakup

Blair Braverman@blairbraverman.bsky.social · 2w ago

10000% fine for the podcast to not be someone’s thing (for any reason! not everything is for everyone!) but I PROMISE I am not running a sketchy astroturfing / sock puppet marketing campaign. 😭 But thank you to the people who said so many sweet things that other people decided they must be fake!

A screenshot from Reddit of the following: flava_town_420 • 5h Really enjoyed the first few episodes of What to Carry, What to Burn! -8 votes arb7721 • 4h Not sure why this podcast is being pushed all over the place, it's meh, I don't understand the hype. It's possible there's a marketing campaign that is blasting it in this sub. The storytelling is meh and, dare to say, boring, especially when she describes stuff like she was there personally when it happened 100 years ago, let alone when the finishes the podcast with some cringy generic "you can do it" cliche. If someone likes this genre, l'd suggest Real Survival Stories, accurate storytelling and the survivor recalls their experience as well. edit. just noticed that this account is new with low karma, similar to other accounts who push this podcast. It reinforces my impression that it's an orchestrated marketing campaign ran by the podcast creators themselves. 18 votes
Blair Braverman@blairbraverman.bsky.social · 2w ago

New episode of What to Carry, What to Burn is out today! It tells the story of José Salvador Alvarenga, a shark fisherman who drifted across the sea for over a year in a small open boat after his motor broke. This story, and José’s resilience, absolutely blew my mind.

A digital drawing of a small white boat drifting over a massive spotted whale shark
Blair Braverman@blairbraverman.bsky.social · 4w ago

It's a title I've had for a while, but thought I'd use for a book! The verbs are inspired by survival tasks ofc, but also by O'Brien's The Things They Carried + Regan's Burn the Place. So in my mind, it references both survival and literature/stories, and the podcast is an intersection of both :)

Kaetrin@kaetrin.bsky.social · 4w ago

@blairbraverman.bsky.social really enjoying What to Carry, What to Burn. I'm curious; is there something in particular that inspired the name? I can intuit what it means but I wondered if it comes from somewhere specific?

Budd@n7eoj.bsky.social · 4w ago

It has been criminally underreported but Kelsey Pfendler has just rowed solo across the Pacific Ocean from the US coast to Hawaii in record time. A 2,400-mile unsupported journey in 43 days, 17 hours, and 55 minutes. Notably beating the Men’s record by 9 whole days.

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Espy@esp1371.bsky.social · 4w ago

Finished this episode on my way in to work this morning and, once again, Blair tells a great story about a very difficult situation. It's a good reminder that even the strongest, most confident people can get trapped in a bad situation, but that same strength can ultimately set them free.

Blair Braverman@blairbraverman.bsky.social · 4w ago

The new episode of What to Carry, What to Burn, is a bit different from the others -- it takes place on a deserted island, yes, but that's not the greatest danger that our hero faces. It's a story of how someone can get trapped in abuse, not in spite of her toughness but because of it.