Deviate with Rolf Potts

“Traveling, for me, is all about destroying stereotypes and narratives about people and places.” – Matt Green In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Matt discuss Matt’s mission to walk every street in New York City (3:00); walking across the entire United States and breaking stereotypes (12:00); bucket lists as a catalyst for action (28:00); and Matt’s experiences walking in unfamiliar places and fi...

“Because I was entering football fandom at the same age that Star Wars was blowing up, the Roger Staubach Dallas Cowboys were my Luke Skywalker, and the Steelers and the Raiders were, in my child mind, the Evil Empire.” —Rolf Potts In this episode of Deviate , Rolf shares his 2002 NPR “Savvy Traveler” dispatch about trying to watch the Super Bowl in Thailand (2:00); then he...

“You have to make moves that will not just impact your today but the lives of folks down the road.” —Kaye Monk-Morgan In this episode of Deviate , Rolf and Kaye discuss the life of her grandfather John Monk, growing up in Louisiana during Jim Crow, and the extended impacts of sharecropping (13:00); the challenges of assimilating to military life and overcoming racial adversity during World War II...

“Have a bias toward action.” – Chris Guillebeau In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Chris discuss Chris’ quest to travel to every country in the world (4:30); discovering and fine-tuning your passions through travel (17:00); exploring creativity through various mediums, and discontentment as a catalyst for change (27:00); knowing when to write a book (44:00); and overcoming adversity as a creativ...

“Do not hold on to any one vision of what your life should look like.” – Rachel Friedman In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Rachel discuss perceptions of success (3:15); the upside of failure and non-linear paths to success (13:00); ordinariness and the influence of public validation (23:00); and the reconciling old and new goals and the art of quitting (36:00). Rachel Friedman ( @RachelFriedman...

“Treat Indonesia as a continent, not a country.” – Tim Hannigan In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Tim discuss why Indonesia is underrated (3:00); the role of Indonesia in the popular consciousness (15:00); the history or Bali and the geography of Indonesia (22:00); cultural differences and the influence of travel blogging (38:00); and strategies for first time travelers (55:00). Tim Hannigan (...

“Kicking and Screaming is a more arch and far more intelligent version of the TV show Friends. If you want to experience that feeling of being young and not really knowing yet what you’re doing in life, watch this movie instead.” –Michael Weinreb In this episode of Deviate , Rolf and Michael discuss the plot of Noah Baumbach ‘s debut movie Kicking & Screaming , an...

“The Sears Christmas  Wish Book  was, for me, a kind of foundational text — a secular counterpoint to the Bible stories I learned around that time in Sunday School. I paged through the holiday catalog’s 620 glossy pages as if they amounted to an intoxicating graphic novel of desire, rich with abundance and possibility.” – Rolf Potts, from “Literature of Desire” In this episode Rolf reads an audio...

“Going the longer route through literature, rather than just reading self-help, will ultimately be more satisfying.” – Jeffrey Tayler In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Jeffrey discuss navigating life’s challenges through literature (3:00); Ecclesiastes and the great stories of history (12:00); and using literature to make sense of ones life (19:00). Jeffrey Tayler ( @JeffreyTayler1 ) is an Amer...

“Everything we do in this world comes with a story attached to it.” – Hala Alyan In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Hala discuss narrative therapy and identity formation (3:00); making sense of our youth and life’s challenges (18:00); family and relationship mythology (29:00); how narrative theory addresses common life scenarios (36:00); and narrative theory strategies and techniques (45:00). Ha...

“So much of what is wrong with America today began with the Civil War and Reconstruction” – Jason Cochran In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Jason discuss the monuments at Gettysburg, and the concept of a Civil War “hero” (2:00); the revisionist post-war memorial efforts by Southern organizations (13:00); the concept of memorials, and how they shape memory (26:00); and our relationsh...

“You cannot change your reality until you see your reality.” – Alex Banayan In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Alex discuss mentorship (3:00); the genesis of Alex’s book T he Third Door (10:00); “opportunity hurdles” (30:00); structural storytelling, and the art of learning (54:00); and the importance of thinking differently (1:11:00). Alex Banayan ( @AlexBanayan ) is the bests...

“Pretty much the second you step outside your front door, you have some basis for calling what you do ‘travel’” – Spud Hilton In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Spud talk about the “messy, fun, and naughty side of travel” (3:20); sex and travel (26:00); the overly reverent language we often use to talk about travel (37:00); and the death of the “Mile-High Club” (48:00). S...

“It’s good as you travel to take the time to do nothing, and have nothing planned.” –Tim Leffel In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Tim discuss the advantages of traveling to cheaper parts of the world (3:00); how living overseas can actually be cheaper than your life at home (13:00); strategies to save money on the road (23:00); setting a budget, and counterintuitive sightseeing (34:00); and bre...

“A writer tends to notice things that other people do not notice. And they are noticing so they can write about it.” – Paul Theroux In this episode of Deviate, Paul Theroux and Rolf discuss their travels through Mexico and magical realism (4:30); teaching as a way to get to know a country and the importance of reading (20:00); and Paul’s experience traveling along the US-Mexico border and geo-poli...

“You do not have to feel beholden to the formula, but you do have to know the formula” – Benjamin Percy In this episode of Deviate, we sit in on a lecture that Benjamin Percy gave at the 2019 Paris Writing Workshop, on the craft of screenwriting.  Benjamin Percy ( @Benjamin_Percy ) is the author of four novels, including The Dead Lands , Red Moon , The Wilding , and The Dark Net . His other work i...

“You have to think about the shelf-life of the tension you’re creating. There should be a bigger mystery on the other side of that expiration date.” – Benjamin Percy In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Benjamin discuss the idea that all fiction is essentially genre fiction (3:30); the movement of narrative and the idea that structure underlies all stories (15:00); learning “story math...

“ To go off the beaten path, I use a guidebook. ” – Pauline Frommer, quoting a young reader In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Pauline discuss the founding of Frommer’s guidebooks and the guidebook revolution (3:30); curating content in the modern world (10:30); sidestepping travel-marketing content (17:15); how guidebooks have been tailored to meet the demands of current travelers (29:00); the...

“ All the crowds gravitate towards the name-brand national parks, and even within those parks there’s a handful of famous hikes or viewpoints that everybody visits. With a little knowledge, creative thinking, and physical effort, you can have a wilderness experience that’s peaceful and beautiful — and you’d never know there were big crowds elsewhere in the park. &#822...

“I will never have another vagabonding journey that compares to that first one — even though I have since traveled to far more exotic parts of the world — in part because there’s something special about embarking on a long-term trip for the first time.” –Rolf Potts In this episode of Deviate , Rolf and his old friend Jeff talk about their 8-month van trip across...

“Most people do not wake up and think, ‘I need more philosophy in my life.’ They do wake up and think ‘I have a problem and I need a solution’.” –Ryan Holiday Ryan Holiday ( @RyanHoliday ) is an American marketer and entrepreneur, and the author of eight books, including The Obstacle is the Way , Ego is the Enemy , and Stillness is the Key , which debuts i...

“In American Beauty, Lester Burnham’s rebellions seem adolescent and immature because that’s all he’s got. His world is so stultifying that you can either be a walking-dead adult or a footloose and fancy-free teenager. In retrospect that seems sad rather than triumphant.” –Kevin Smokler In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Kevin talk about how American Beauty ,...

“The importance of Do the Right Thing out-lives all of the arguments against it. It embarrasses its critics, in a lot of ways. Spike Lee really is having the last laugh on this one.” –Wesley Morris In this episode of Deviate, Wesley and Rolf talk about what Do the Right Thing is about, and why it’s a unique and extraordinary movie (2:45); how the characters are both sympath...

“That’s one of the great things about walking-based travel in Europe: You get away from expectations. When you plan a traditional sightseeing trip you already have an idea in your mind of what you’re going to see. But when you just let the trail unfold you can let things go — and let things come to you — and really soak in the culture in a different way.” &#8211...

“I will wake up at 7am and think to myself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ But then I get on the trail and I’m meeting people and seeing things that are just so beautiful, that I never would have seen unless I was walking. When the day ends I’m always thankful that I made that decision to get up and just go.” –Forrest Mallard In this episode of Deviate , Rolf and...