Blog - Rolf Potts

Van Life before #VanLife (encore): Revisiting a classic USA road trip 02.11.2021 ↓

Rolf recounts his first 8-month vagabonding trip 27 years ago.

Tales from the vagabonding trail: Discussing “Marco Polo Didn’t Go There” 12.10.2021 ↓

Rolf discusses his travel book "Marco Polo Didn't Go There" with the Nomadic Network book club.

Vagabonding audio companion: Travel brainstorming, with Ari Shaffir 28.09.2021 ↓

In this remix episode, Ari Shaffir and Rolf brainstorm on where to travel next

Maintaining creative fitness: How my podcast augments my writing career 14.09.2021 ↓

Rolf talk about why he created a podcast, in this remix of an episode of "3 Clips"

Finding the best places to live: Searching for home in America [encore] 31.08.2021 ↓

A discussion of the factors that go into choosing where to set up a home in America.

Travel writing in the “Mad Men” era: The myth and legacy of Holiday Magazine 17.08.2021 ↓

Editor Pamela Fiori on the pioneering travel magazine Holiday, and its postwar influence.

The Olympics started out as a travel fest: All about the ancient Greek Games 03.08.2021 ↓

Historian and author on the spectacle and idiosyncrasies of the ancient Olympics in Greece.

Experiencing Japan the slow way (on the 750-mile Shikoku Pilgrimage) 22.07.2021 ↓

The joys and idiosyncrasies of traveling Japan on foot.

Vagabonding audio companion: How your earliest journeys transform you 13.07.2021 ↓

A "Vagabonding Audio Companion" episode, on the mindset and lessons of long-term journeys.

Digital nomadism: A history and future (from a documentary film in progress) 29.06.2021 ↓

Rolf shares audio outtakes from an in-progress film documentary about digital nomadism.

Travel in the “Mad Men” era: Stewardess work at the dawn of the Jet Age 15.06.2021 ↓

Author Julia Cooke on it was like to fly PanAm at the dawn of the Jet Age.

The curious case of a con-man who infiltrated the world of elite travelers  01.06.2021 ↓

Author Dave Seminara on how a man named William Baekeland conned an elite travel community.

Memories you didn’t know you remembered: A deeper dive into nostalgia 25.05.2021 ↓

Rolf and Kiki dig deeper into the notion of nostalgia, and how it frames one's memories of life.

What a 20th century monk can teach us about living (with Sophfronia Scott) 18.05.2021 ↓

The Seeker and the Monk: Why Thomas Merton is as relevant as ever

Life changing travel experiences: Epiphanies of expatriate life in Korea 04.05.2021 ↓

Rolf and his friends recall their formative travel years teaching English in Asia.

Paul Theroux on the necessary obstacles of immersive slow travel [encore] 20.04.2021 ↓

"Mosquito Coast" author Paul Theroux on slow travel and the art of listening [encore]

Triumph in the middle of nowhere: The most 1980s underdog story of the 1980s 07.04.2021 ↓

Remembering the Wichita Wings, and the bygone glories of major-league indoor soccer.

On the road with the superstars of Negro League baseball, 100 years on 01.04.2021 ↓

A look back at baseball's nearly forgotten grassroots superstars (with historian Phil S. Dixon)

Notes on the philosophy (and deeper meaning) of travel, with Emily Thomas 23.03.2021 ↓

The history of how philosophy has influenced (and intertwined with) travel

Pam Houston on home, and the beauty of our pared-down lives [encore] 09.03.2021 ↓

Author Pam Houston on the joys of creating home amid a lifetime of travel.

Long-distance hiking at home: The art of journeying out of your own back door 23.02.2021 ↓

Rolf and Kiki reflect on the philosophy of walking amid at 20+ mile hike.

Pico Iyer on the creative task of travel across the world and deep within [encore] 09.02.2021 ↓

Pico Iyer on travel, impermanence, and what Japan can teach us about life.

What it’s like to take your kids on a three-month journey in the Himalayas 22.01.2021 ↓

Bruce Kirkby on three months of off-grid travel, with kids, in Himalayan India

The joys and idiosyncrasies of global train travel (with Monisha Rajesh) 12.01.2021 ↓

Around the World in 80 Trains author Monisha Rajesh on the joys of rail travel.

Five Travel Lessons You Can Use at Home (a road-trip intro to Deviate Season 4) 30.12.2020 ↓

Rolf and Kiki (and Salvie the cat) talk about how the travel ethos can apply to home life.