Deviate

“Compared to the pop music that I was listening to at the time, there just seemed to be something deep and mysterious and enigmatic and sexy and scary about classic rock” – Steven Hyden Steven Hyden ( @Steven_Hyden ) is a music critic. He currently works as a culture critic for UPROXX where he writes about all things music and hosts the Celebration Rock podcast. His book, Twilight of the Gods , is...

“Every good story is two stories: the story of the place and the story of what happened to you as a result of being in that place” – Alden Jones Eddy Harris ( @EddyLHarris ) is a writer, filmmaker, and author of Mississippi Solo ,  Native Stranger , and Still Life in Harlem . Alden Jones ( @jones_alden ) is an author and writer of The Blind Masseuse . Thomas Swick ( @roostertie ) is an author and...

“John Hughes, and really all of best 1980s teen movies, were saying that the stories of teenagers are the stories of all of us. They have the same human need and longing that the stories of adults have.” —Kevin Smokler In this episode of  Deviate , Rolf discusses classic coming-of-age films with Kevin Smokler ( @Weegee ), author of  Brat Pack America: A Love Letter to ’80s Teen Movies . The discus...

“The greatest blessing for me, from having all these losses, has been the otherworldly, supreme clarity about what’s important to me—about how much I love and how much I am loved.” – Heather Dobbins In this episode of Deviate , Rolf, Heather Dobbins, and Jamie-Lee Josselyn discuss personal loss, grief and mourning, including the importance of gestures over words (2:30); the rituals that surround l...

“All writing is trying to destroy a stereotype, and the individual that you’re writing about — the figure in the landscape — is actually the ideal.” —Paul Theroux Paul Theroux ‘s highly acclaimed novels include Blinding Light , My Other Life , and The Mosquito Coast . His 1975 book The Great Railway Bazaar is credited with revitalizing the genre of literary travel writing, and his more recent trav...

“I think the fate of humanity ultimately rests on how we conserve and protect that thin, magical layer of soil on this planet” – David Van Tassel David Van Tassel is a lead scientist at The Land Institute , a non-profit research, education, and policy organization dedicated to sustainable agriculture. In this episode of Deviate , Rolf and David discuss Agriculture 101 (3:00); the impact of agricul...

“I met people who would say, ‘I wish I had more time to travel like you do.’ They had more money than time, and I had more time than money. In terms of traveling it’s much better to have more time than more money. …If you have a chance to travel, just do it. You won’t regret it.” – Kevin Kelly Kevin Kelly ( @kevin2kelly ) is a polymath in the truest sense of the word. Aside from being a co-founder...

“My specializations come from who I am. I’m a little unusual in the therapy field because I state very clearly what my identifications are. Which is that I’m kinky, and that I’m poly, and that I identify as queer, and that I’m gender fluid, and that I’m a former sex worker.” –Dulcinea Pitagora Dulcinea Pitagora ( @KinkDoctor ) is a New York-based psychotherapist specializing in alternative sexuali...

“Better or happier usually takes much less time than we think.” – Sarah Von Bargen Sarah Von Bargen ( @yesandyesblog ) is a writer, teacher, and business/lifestyle consultant. Her work focuses on goal-setting, work/life balance, productivity habits, money management, and the pursuit of happiness. In this episode of Deviate , Rolf and Sarah deconstruct her six principles for identifying, embracing,...

“All lessons are delayed. Very few of us actually receive the lesson right there, when it is delivered to us.” –Al Filreis Al Filreis ( @Afilreis ) is a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the founder and Faculty Director of The Kelly Writers House , a non-profit, community organiz...

“What we have found is that technologies are not prolonging human life. They are really just prolonging human death.” – Ann Neumann Ann Neumann ( @otherspoon ) is a visiting scholar at the NYU Center for Religion and Media and author of the book, The Good Death . In this episode of Deviate , Rolf and Ann discuss what got her involved in the topic of death and dying (5:00); end-of-life care (13:00)...

“That’s the lovely thing about a souvenir: It’s a touchstone that reminds you of what you can do, and what you have done, and what you can be proud of. And what can make you laugh.” –Jeanmarie Theobalds To celebrate the debut of his new book  Souvenir , Rolf invited various writers, performers, and world-wanderers onstage at New York’s underground  Cornelia Street Cafe to tell travel stories. Stor...

“ Essentially, a romance is a courtship story. And if you think about it, courtship stories are part of the foundation of human storytelling ” –Sarah Wendell Sarah Wendell ( @SmartBitches ) is an author and blogger whose work primarily focuses on the romance fiction genre. She is co-author of the book, Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels . In this episode of Deviate ,...

“This is a thing that journalists do—they take a ‘two is a coincidence, three is a trend’ sort of thing and try to manufacture an idea out of it.” – James Greer James Greer is a screenwriter, music critic, author, and former rock musician. He-wrote the screenplay for Steven Soderbergh’s film  Unsane , which is set for release on March 23rd. In this episode of Deviate , Rolf and James discuss his e...

In the spirit of March Madness, Rolf brings us special episode of Deviate from the American heartland, where he tells us a basketball story about one of those “never before seen” sports moments. Notable Links: Kipp, Kansas (town) Aurora, Kansas (town) Schilling Air Force Base Donald J. Sobol (writer) Encyclopedia Brown , by Donald J. Sobol (book series) Encyclopedia Brown’s Second Record Book of W...

“I think fear comes out of ignorance.” – Tim Cahill Tim Cahill is a journalist, author, and pioneering travel writer. In this episode of Deviate , Rolf and Tim discuss hooking the reader from the first line of a story (2:15); the start of Tim’s career and his early experiences in journalism (8:50); travel writing in the 1970s, and the evolution of travel writing (16:30); his relationship with risk...

“I tell people that all the time. Just do it. Just dive in and figure it out. And you’re going to make mistakes and you’re going to fail. But I learned incredible things from that first experience…just from doing that first film.” – Rod Pocowatchit ” Rodrick Pocowatchit ( @rawd ) is a journalist, screenwriter, actor, and film director. In this episode of Deviate , Rolf and Rod discuss Native Ameri...

“When you are more focused with how other people are practicing their faith than how you are practicing it yourself, you have gone down the wrong path.” – Rany Jazayerli Rany Jazayerli ( @jazayerli ) is a Chicago-area dermatologist, sportswriter, and co-founder of the Baseball Prospectus website. In 1998 he developed the statistical concept of Pitcher Abuse Points (PAP), which evaluates the impact...

“You have to understand your own particular journey — and what you need as a writer, and who you are, and what you want out of the publishing process — because that’s what is going to help you make decisions.” – Sophfronia Scott In this episode of Deviate , Rolf speaks with Sophfronia Scott about her working-class Ohio upbringing, and the background behind her name (2:40); her beginnings at TIME M...

“The magic of history is that the simple, received wisdom we have turns out to be just one part of the story, and we discover a lot about ourselves when we go deeper into it.” – Mark Clague In this episode of Deviate , Rolf deep-dives into the Star Spangled Banner , covering topics including the origins and historical backdrop for the writing of Star Spangled Banner (9:20); the irony of using a Br...

“I want to be as clear as I can be on this. Mental health is one of the largest problems we have in society today.” – James Espinoza Lt. James Espinoza is a 25-year veteran of the Wichita Police Department. His father, John Espinoza, who came from a large Mexican-American family in Hutchinson, Kansas, was also a career police officer. James and Rolf attended Wichita North High School together in t...

“We have a lot of conflict in this world because we’re too busy putting ourselves into groups.” – Bear Manuel Jerry “Bear” Manuel is a detective assigned to the gang unit in the Wichita Police Department. Prior to his work as a police officer, Bear was a teacher at Head Start, which provides comprehensive early childhood education services to low-income children. He attended junior high and high s...

“I think in every era of music you can find stuff like this — and sometimes you’ll find that it’s superior to the music that really was making it big commercially.” –Michael Carmody In this episode of Deviate Rolf delves into a musical mystery — tracing the fate of ten rock and pop albums (found in a thrift store record bin) that evoke the quintessential look and sound of 1980s music, even though...

“To be creative, you have to live. You have to exist on this planet for a little bit” – Tod Goldberg Tod Goldberg ( @todgoldberg ) is an American author and essayist, best known for his novels Gangsterland and Gangster Nation , and the tie-in novels to the television show Burn Notice . He directs the UCR Palm Desert Low Residency MFA program in Creative Writing. In this episode of Deviate , Rolf s...

“Go forward, have strength in your own convictions, enjoy what you’re doing, and you’ll be fine.” – David Latt David Latt ( @DavidMLatt ) is the co-founder of The Asylum , which is the most prolific independent film studio in Hollywood. In this episode of Deviate , Rolf speaks with David about his path into B-Movies and the beginnings of The Asylum (8:30); independent filmmaking and “mockbusters”...