About this episode

Filmmaker Kasimir Burgess documents a journey to revive an ancient tradition of horse herding in Mongolia amidst climate challenges.

Filmmaker Kasimir Burgess travelled to Mongolia to follow two young men on their gruelling journey to bring 2000 horses to safer pastures during an exceptionally brutal winter. For centuries, the herders of Tsakhir Valley in Mongolia have protected their horses from the harsh winters by nominating their bravest young men to move them. But the ancient practice has been forced to stop in recent years due to climate change. Iron Winter documents one community's attempt to revive the tradition by initiating two friends into a rite of passage in danger of being lost. Further information The documentary Iron Winter had a national cinematic release earlier this year. This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the executive producer was Eliza Kirsch. It explores Mongolia horse culture, the Mongolian Steppes, severe weather, ancient traditions and culture, family, mental health, art, films, documentary, viral meningitis, childhood leukaemia, adventure, grief. To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best…

People in this episode

Hosts: Richard Fidler, Sarah Kanowski

Guest: Kasimir Burgess

Topics covered

• horse culture
• Mongolia
• climate change
• ancient traditions
• mental health
• adventure

Keywords

• horses
• Mongolia
• climate change
• tradition
• documentary
• Iron Winter
• adventure
• mental health

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ABC Australia

Books & works: Iron Winter

Places: Mongolia, Tsakhir Valley, Mongolian Steppes

More episodes of Conversations

• 'Propeller vs forearm, croc vs leg': The incredible job of a remote bush doctor · May 3, 2026 · 53 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Conversations podcast page.