Podcasts about tortuga backpacks

How would you like $350 worth of Tortuga backpacks gear - FREE!? Tune in for all the details and a chance to win.   How to Enter the Giveaway:  Leave an honest, 5-star review for Badass Digital Nomads on your favorite podcast platform or our website, https://www.badassdigitalnomads.com Take a screenshot of your review. Email your review to hello [at] travelingwithkristin.com with the subject line: Podcast Review.   BONUS! - For additional chances to win, post your review on social media. Each post on a separate social media site will equal one additional entry (maximum one entry per social media platoform). Also include these screenshots in your email. For posts on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, tag @TravelingwithKristin. For tweets on X, tag @WheresKristin. For posts on LinkedIn, add link to the podcast website or any episode. (Connect with Kristin here on LinkedIn.)   (Again, also include a screenshot of your social media post(s) in your email.)   DEADLINE TO ENTER: JUNE 20, 2024 WINNER ANNOUNCED: JULY 2, 2024   By entering the giveaway, you agree to our Terms & Conditions below.   Check out Tortuga Backpacks gear:  40L Travel Backpack Pro 40L Travel Backpack Lite All Pro Bundle (Save $100)   Related Podcast Episode:  How to Close the Gender Wage Gap for Remote Workers with Tortuga Backpacks   $350 Tortuga Backpacks Gift Card Giveaway Terms and Conditions Eligibility: This giveaway is open to listeners of Badass Digital Nomads podcast who are 18 years of age or older as of the date of entry. Employees of Tortuga Backpacks, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion, and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors, as well as the immediate family members and persons living in the same household of such persons, are not eligible to participate in the giveaway. How to Enter: To participate, entrants must follow these steps during the entry period from May 21, 2024, to June 20, 2024: Leave a 5-star, honest review about Badass Digital Nomads on any podcast platform or on www.badassdigitalnomads.com. Screenshot the published review and email it to hello [at] travelingwithkristin.com. For additional entries, post the screenshot of the review on social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok) and tag @travelingwithkristin. If posting on Twitter/X, tag @whereskristin. Also attach your social media screenshot(s) to the email.  Each review on a unique platform counts as one entry. Duplicate reviews on the same platform will not be counted more than once. Prize: One winner will be randomly selected to receive a $350 gift card for Tortuga Backpacks. The prize is non-transferable, and no cash alternative is offered. Selection of Winner: Winners will be chosen at random from all eligible entries received by the closing date. The draw will take place within 7 days of the closing date. The winner will be notified by email. If the winner does not respond within 7 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner. General Conditions: By participating in the giveaway, participants agree to these terms and conditions, and to the decisions of the promoter, which are final and binding in all respects. No purchase necessary. A purchase does not enhance the chance of winning. Publicity: Except where prohibited by law, participation in the giveaway constitutes winner's consent to the promoter's use of winner's name, likeness, voice, opinions, biographical information, hometown, and state for promotional purposes in any media without further payment or consideration. Privacy: Any personal data relating to participants will be used solely in accordance with current United States data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the individual's prior consent. Limitations of Liability: The parties offering the giveaway (Tortuga Backpacks, Badass Digital Nomads podcast, and the host, Kristin Wilson) are not responsible for late, lost, misdirected, or undeliverable entries, or for any computer, online, telephone, or technical malfunctions that may occur. Law and Jurisdiction: The giveaway will be governed by the state of Florida, USA, and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of St. John's County, FL.   Connect with Kristin and Support the Show: *   Become a Patron *   Buy a Coffee *   Follow on Instagram *   Join the Facebook Group *   Leave a 5-Star Review *   Subscribe on YouTube  

Hey, it's Alex from Remote Work Life. On today's episode of the Remote Work Life Business Spotlight, I'm featuring Tortuga Backpacks @ tortugabackpacks.com. Want to work remotely from home or anywhere so you can avoid the morning commute and have more freedom? Download a list of 100 tech businesses that hire remote professionals and freelancers

“Riding trains offered a great chance to chat with people we’d never cross paths with in our lives normally.” –Monisha Rajesh In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Monisha discuss how her interest in train-travel dates back to a series of journeys she took around India (2:00); her more recent experience of taking the Trans-Mongolian train across Russia and into Asia (14:00); what it was like to travel by train in North Korea, China, and Southeast Asia, and how they differ from European trains (28:00); what it was like to take trains across Canada and the United States, and which global trains Monisha likes best (45:00). Monisha Rajesh (@monisha_rajesh) is a travel journalist, and the author of Around India in 80 Trains, and Around the World in 80 Trains. She currently lives in London with her husband and two daughters. Notable Links: Indrail Pass (Indian rail-pass for foreign nationals) Saint Basil’s Cathedral (church in Moscow’s Red Square) Eurail Pass (rail-pass covering 33 European countries) Trans–Mongolian Railway (long-haul train route) Circum-Baikal Railway (railway in Russia’s Irkutsk region) War and Peace (novel by Leo Tolstoy) Game of Thrones (fantasy TV series) Korean State Railway (train system in North Korea) Southwest Chief (American Amtrak route) German Baptist Brethren (Anabaptist group) Qinghai–Tibet railway (Asian train route) Skeena (Canadian passenger train service) Mandovi Express (train route in India) Flight shaming (environmental social movement) Sunset Limited (American Amtrak route) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“The best experiences in life can be had for the price of showing up.” –Rolf Potts In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Kiki take a road-trip to Colorado (with Salvie the cat yowling in his pet-carrier) and discuss how Rolf’s 2010 essay “5 Travel Lessons You Can Use at Home” can apply to home-life during a time of pandemic, including the notion that “Time = Wealth” (5:00); the importance of knowing how to “Be Where You Are” (8:30); the advantages of knowing when to “Slow Down” (20:00); the merit that comes in knowing how to “Keep it Simple” (25:00); and how life is more dynamic when you “Don't Set Limits” (39:00). Kristen “Kiki” Bush is an actress, known for Paterno (2018), Liberal Arts (2012), and Synecdoche, New York (2008). Her TV credits include The Affair, The Good Wife, Elementary, and Law & Order: SVU. She has performed onstage at Manhattan Theatre Club, The Public, the Old Globe, Goodman Theatre, and Lincoln Center. For information on the Paris-based Travel Memoir classes Rolf is offering to Deviate listeners in 2021, inquire at deviate@rolfpotts.com, or via the online forms at the Paris Writing Workshops website. Notable Links: “5 Travel Lessons You Can Use at Home,” by Rolf Potts (essay) “A personal history of nostalgia” (Deviate episode) Late Night with Seth Meyers (news satire talk show) Rocky Mountain National Park (American wilderness area) Geographers’ A–Z (British street atlas) Thomas Guide (Los Angeles street atlas) Marie Kondo (Japanese organizing consultant and author) No Baggage Challenge (Rolf’s 2010 minimalist journey) Hoarders (reality TV series) Bumble (dating app) Atomium (landmark building in Brussels) Kanopolis State Park (hiking area in Kansas) Marquette Pioneer Trail (hiking area in Kansas) Lindsborg (Swedish-settler town in Kansas) Sterling (small-college town in Kansas) Coronado Heights (sandstone overlook in central Kansas) Richard Rohr (American spiritual writer) This Week in Flips (producer Justin Glow’s YouTube channel) This episode of Deviate alludes to Rolf’s experiences with Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“A lot of people seek out spiritual travel-sites without any ties to a specific religion: When they’re in Israel and they’ll go to the Western Wall and feel so spiritual there; a month later they’re in Thailand and they’ll go to a Buddhist retreat. They just glom on for a minute and play pretend.” – Ari Shaffir Note: Rolf is giving away copies of books by Deviate guests (like Paul Theroux, Kate Harris, and Chris Guillebeau) for people who buy Tortuga backpacks online, or who buy copies of Vagabonding at local independent bookstores. Just email a receipt (and, if applicable, a photo of yourself at your local bookseller) to deviate@rolfpotts.com, and Rolf will share a list of available books and mail a free copy of your choosing to any USA address. In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Ari discuss Rolf’s pilgrimage across Israel 20 years ago and why he took it, and Ari’s experiences there in a yeshiva and on a kibbutz as a young man (4:45); what it was like to walk in the agricultural north of Israel near the Sea of Galilee, and navigating the Jewish versus Arab cultural aspects of the country (15:00); longing as a part of travel, and what it was like to go to Israel as young man and see women in swimsuits after traveling in conservative Arab lands (29:00); the proliferation of Christian sites throughout Israel, getting picked up by Israeli girls while hitchhiking and going to Tel Aviv (36:00); the difference between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and what it was like to visit sites like the Wailing Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (51:00); Rolf’s experience of canvassing for a pub in Jerusalem as an act of self-abnegation, and fasting on the Mount of the Temptation near Jericho (1:13:00); and the tendency of some travelers to superficially embrace the local spiritual tradition in places like Israel and India and Thailand, and how travel is in itself a spiritual act (1:26:30). Ari Shaffir (@AriShaffir) is a comedian, writer, podcaster, and actor. He is the current host of the Skeptic Tank podcast. For more information on Ari, visit his website. Notable Links: Galilee (region in northern Israel) Orthodox Judaism (traditionalist Jewish sect) Yeshiva (Jewish educational institution) 613 commandments (tradition from the Torah) Messianic Judaism (sect that combines Christianity with Judaism) Oslo Accords (1993 Israel/PLO agreement) Yardenit (baptismal site on the Jordan River) Saint Helena (influential 4th century Christian pilgrim) Megiddo (ancient city site in Israel) South Lebanon Army (Christian militia) Jerusalem Syndrome (mental disorder) Wailing Wall (site in the Old City of Jerusalem) Al-Aqsa Mosque (Muslim site in Old City of Jerusalem) Via Dolorosa (processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem) Souvenir, by Rolf Potts (book) Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Christian holy site) Tom Rhodes (American comedian) Zion Square (public square in Jerusalem) Jericho (Palestinian city in the West Bank) Mount of Temptation (Christian pilgrimage site) Pai (town in northern Thailand) Yetzer hara (in Hebrew, the inclination to do evil) Karen people (ethnic group in Myanmar) Rohingya people (ethnic group in Myanmar) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Earnest, hard-won failure can teach you as much as anything.” – Rolf Potts Note: For information on the Paris-based Travel Memoir classes Rolf is offering to Deviate listeners in 2021, inquire at deviate@rolfpotts.com, or via the online forms at the Paris Writing Workshops website. In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Jeremy discuss breaking into travel writing and learning through failure (4:00); what defines travel memoir, and how it’s different from other kinds of travel writing (11:00); the role of research in travel writing, and the balance between personal expression and reportage (17:00); the travel writing industry, and what topics are covered in Rolf’s Paris Writing Workshop (25:00); and how “flaneuring” in place like Paris can lend a new perspective on place (37:00). Jeremy Bassetti (@jeremybassetti) is a writer, editor, educator, and host of the Travel Writing World Podcast. His website, travelwritingworld.com, features interviews with travel writers, book reviews, author profiles, and resources for travel writers and their readers. For more about Jeremy, check out jeremybassetti.com. Notable Links: Storming the Beach, by Rolf Potts (essay) Van Life before #VanLife (Deviate episode) The Last Whalers, by Doug Bock Clark (book) Deviate interview with Doug Bock Clark (podcast) Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert (book) On the Plain of Snakes, by Paul Theroux (book) Deviate interview with Paul Theroux (podcast) Braver Than You Think, by Maggie Downs (book) Deviate interview with Maggie Downs (podcast) Writing Away, by Lavinia Spalding (book) Deviate interview with Lavinia Spalding (podcast) Drunk in China, by Derek Sandhaus (book) Deviate interview with Derek Sandhaus (podcast) The Painter of Modern Life, by Charles Baudelaire (essay collection) Psychogeography (urban exploration strategy) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets.

This episode of Deviate explores the benefits of minimalism (3:00); changing ones life philosophy and getting rid of bad habits (11:00); pragmatic approaches to personal finance and avoiding debt (20:00); living off the grid and life tips (29:00); and finding a life purpose (42:00). Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“The perception that most Americans have about the original Thanksgiving is very much a Hallmark-card stereotype, where the native people and the colonists came together and broke bread and sang ‘Kumbaya.’ In truth, there was a great deal of trepidation on both sides.” – Paula Peters Full video episode In this episode of Deviate, Rolf presents an audio remix of American Pilgrim, the Thanksgiving Special he hosted for the Travel Channel in 2008. The episode begins with some contextual history of the Pilgrims’ voyage from England, and a visit to chef Bryant Alden’s kitchen in New Hampshire to discuss what food the Pilgrims ate (5:00); next, Rolf sails out of Plymouth Harbor with John Brewster, and learns about the sea conditions the Pilgrims faced coming over from England (12:00); at Mayflower Brewing Company in Plymouth, brewer Drew Brosseau talks about the importance of beer to the Pilgrims (17:00); elsewhere in Plymouth, Reverend Bill Fillebrown talks about how religious convictions shaped the lives of the Pilgrims (21:00); at Plimoth Plantation, indigenous descendants talk about relations between with Pilgrims and the native people in the area (27:30); in rural Connecticut, Rolf talks with farmer Courtland Kinnie about the Pilgrims’ agricultural practices (30:40); finally, at Fort Hood in Texas, U.S. Army Major Chuck Assadourian talks about the Pilgrims’ approach to defense and security (34:00). As the holiday season gets underway, a reminder that Rolf’s travel books make great Christmas stocking-stuffers. Vagabonding is a perennial gift favorite for travelers, though please also consider Rolf’s travel-essay collection Marco Polo Didn’t Go There, his travel-history book Souvenir, or his comic-book adaptation of an ancient Egyptian travel tale, The Misadventures of Wenamun. Fort Hood deleted scene Notable Links: Pilgrims (English settlers in North America) Plimoth Plantation (living history museum) Mayflower II (replica of 17th century ship) Wampanoag (Native American people) John Alden (Mayflower Pilgrim) Squanto (Patuxet tribal liaison) Pottage (thick stew) Edward Winslow (Mayflower Pilgrim) William Brewster (Mayflower Pilgrim) Mayflower Compact (governing document) Barque Eagle (U.S. Coast Guard training cutter) Mayflower Brewing Company (craft-beer business) Cooper (profession) William Bradford (Governor of the Plymouth Colony) Peregrine White (baby boy born on the Mayflower) Puritans (English Protestant sect in the 17th century) Pilgrim Progress (church-procession reenactment) Patuxet (Wampanoag village affected by plague) Wampum (traditional Native shell beads) Richard Warren (Mayflower Pilgrim) Fort Hood (U.S. Army post) Isaac Allerton (Mayflower Pilgrim) Myles Standish (military adviser for Plymouth Colony) Wampanoag deleted scene This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Savoring is attending to the moment.” – Stephanie Rosenbloom In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Stephanie discuss solitude versus loneliness (3:00); the joy of eating alone (14:00); the art of being a flaneur and savoring experiences (22:00); the joy of going to museums alone (32:00); the relationship between anticipation, experience, and retrospection (43:00); and exercising your travel muscles as part of everyday life (54:00). Stephanie Rosenbloom (@stephronyt) is a travel writer for The New York Times, where she has been a reporter for more than a decade, and the author of the book, Alone Time: Four Seasons, Four Cities, and the Pleasures of Solitude. For more about Stephanie, check out http://www.stephanierosenbloom.com.  Notable Links: Abraham Maslow (psychologist) AllTrails (website) Bella DePaulo (Professor of Psychology) Thích Nhất Hạnh (Vietnamese Buddhist monk) Savoring: A New Model of Positive Experience, by Fred Bryant (book) The Lonely Guy (Steve Martin movie) Charles Baudelaire (poet) Sandro Botticelli (painter) The Birth of Venus (painting by Botticelli) Elizabeth Dunn (psychologist) On Photography, by Susan Sontag (collection of essays) Marcel Duchamp (painter / sculptor) LiveTrekker (app) A Philosophy of Walking, by Fredric Gros (book) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Getting in touch with reality is literally the essence of spiritual life.” – Rolf Potts In this episode of Deviate, Rolf remixes his interview from the Far Out Podcast, by Julie-Roxane and Alasdair. They discuss “Time Wealth,” and vagabonding as a philosophy for life (3:00); sifting through mediated information, versus getting local information on the road, and “reality” as the essence of spirituality (13:00); appreciation versus achievement, embracing the possibility of travel, and how you get smarter about travel the more you travel (24:00); seeking to have an “option-rich” life, the freedom that comes with not having preconceptions about where to go or what to do, and the joy of being surprised on the road (46:00); travel as a way to find out what you value and love in life (58:00); and the importance of slowing down, on the road and in life (1:03:00). Julie-Roxane and Alasdair (Instagram: @thefaroutcouple) are travelers, entrepreneurs, guides, coaches, and co-hosts of the Far Out Podcast, where they chronicle their adventures in unconventional living. For more about Julie-Roxane and Alasdair, check out https://www.jrkrikorian.com and https://alasdairplambeck.com. Notable Links: John Muir (naturalist) Stoicism (school of Hellenistic philosophy) Platonic idealism (philosophical doctrine of ideas) Rolf on the Tim Ferris Show (podcast episode) The Snow Leopard, by Peter Matthiessen (book) Henry David Thoreau (philosopher) Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman (poetry collection) Situationist International (French avant-garde movement) Dérive (experimental urban behavior) The best hostel ever, in Cairo (Deviate episode) Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer (book) Falling Upward, by Richard Rohr (book) Antonio Machado (Spanish poet) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig (book) Paris Writing Workshops (Rolf’s summer writing classes) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“That sort of fearlessness, and the assumption that the world is a good place – I like holding onto that idea to this day.” – Pam Mandel In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Pam discuss the good that can come out of bad travel, and how Pam became a person who spent a lot of her teen years outside of the US (2:30); how Pam came to travel to Israel and work on a kibbutz as a teenager after high school (9:00); the magic of traveling while young, and Pam’s experiences of hitchhiking across Europe (21:00); Onward travel to Egypt, Pakistan, and India, and how the assumptions of travel as a woman in certain countries are different from those of young men travelers (30:00); what it was like to write a book about experiences that happened 40 years ago (45:00); and how Pam now sees her coming-of-age travels as a complicated mix of good and bad experiences (51:30). Pam Mandel (@nerdseyeview) is a travel writer and co-founder of The Statesider, a travel newsletter. Her book The Same River Twice, comes out this November. For more about Pam, check out her Nerd's Eye View blog.  Notable Links: Hippie trail (1960s and 1970s travel subculture) Kibbutz (collective community) Tony Wheeler (founder of Lonely Planet) Squatting (practice of living in abandoned buildings) Child marriage in Pakistan Fields & Stations (magazine) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Face the fear, and go for it.” – Cory Lee In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Cory discuss what challenges disabled travelers contend with, and how Cory got started as a traveler with spinal muscular atrophy (2:30); good destinations for travelers with mobility issues, and what challenges present themselves on the ground for travelers with disabilities (10:00); non-traditional activities like adventure travel or volunteering for people with disabilities, (20:00); and what it’s been like for Cory to write and blog about disability travel, and how it became his full-time job (26:00). Then, Rolf is joined by listener Zachary York to discuss what it’s like to travel with Neurofibromatosis type I (32:00). Cory Lee (@coryleetweets) is the founder of Curb Free with Cory Lee, a travel blog sharing his experiences from a wheelchair user's perspective. Cory is a 2-time Lowell Thomas Award winner for Best Travel Blog and was named the 2018 Person of the Year by New Mobility Magazine.  Notable Links: Spinal muscular atrophy (neuromuscular disorder) The Wheel Chair Singers (disabled gospel singing group) Accessible Travel Club (Facebook Group) Accessible Travel Online Resource Book (Travel Book) Americans with Disabilities Act (civil rights law) Volunteering for the Disabled in Northern Ireland, by Cory Lee (blog post) Saku Travel (Estonia tour agency catering to disabled travelers) Gatorland (Florida theme park) Zachary York (traveler with Neurofibromatosis type I) Mount Whitney (tallest mountain in the contiguous U.S.) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Embrace your travel mistakes. You can’t ‘fail’ at travel; you can only learn from travel.” –Rolf Potts In this episode of Deviate, which excerpts a keynote talk from TravelCon, Rolf talks a bit about his background of growing up in Kansas and dreaming about travel, his earliest vagabonding travels, and his first forays into travel writing (3:30); then Rolf shares his “20 lessons learned from 20 years as a travel writer,” (7:30). Notable Links: TravelCon (travel-media conference) ​Don George​ (travel writer) Rolf’s ongoing travel writer interview series Eva Holland (travel writer) Bachata (Dominican dance style) Merengue (Dominican dance style) Omo Valley (tribal region in Ethiopia) Mursi people (ethnic group in Ethiopia) Ranong (town in Thailand) Gringo Trails (2013 travel documentary film) Podcasts and essays alluded to: Nomadic Matt Kepnes on travel (Deviate episode) Van Life before #VanLife (Deviate episode) A Trans-Siberian story (Deviate episode) No Baggage Challenge (round-the-world video series) The wrong town in Morocco (blog/video dispatch) Up Cambodia without a phrasebook (travel essay) Cowboys and Indians, Thai-style (travel essay) Going Native in the Australian Outback (travel essay) A Vagabond Finds a Home (essay) Toura Incognita (Conde Nast Traveler article) 20 lessons learned from 20 years as a travel writer 1) Relationships count more than platforms 2) Distinctive content counts more than self-promotion 3) If in doubt, ask for help 4) If in doubt say yes 5) There is always more to learn 6) Don't postpone things 7) Be an expat at some point in your travel career 8) Take it slow 9) It’s OK to make mistakes 10) Don't set limits 11) Walk until your day becomes interesting 12) Meet people 13) Report back on the human world 14) Try something different 15) Actively learn new skills 16) Dare to be lonely, lost, and bored 17) Remember the ethical dynamic of travel 18) Develop a notion of home 19) Success is a matter of doing it long enough 20) Make the lessons last a lifetime OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Sometimes we do things for ourselves in the name of adventure, without thinking about how this affects other people.” – Suzanne Roberts In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Suzanne discuss what it means to be a bad traveler, and the ethical quandaries that come with being a tourist (3:00); examples from Suzanne’s book about her interacting from a position of privilege with trekking guides during a mudslide in Peru, giving a Power Bar to a leper in India, or wanting to help underaged prostitutes in Nicaragua (12:00); burning-ghat tourism in Varanasi, and how places where death is more public make one confront the notion of death and “aliveness” in a more realistic way (23:00); sex, dating and relationships abroad (34:00); and the challenge of writing about sensitive cross-cultural topics, and the utility of “sensitivity readers” versus good on-the-ground reporting in travel writing (55:00). Suzanne Roberts (@SuzanneRoberts) is a travel writer, memoirist, and poet. Her books include the 2012 National Outdoor Book Award-winning Almost Somewhere, her new travel memoir Bad Tourist, and four collections of poetry. For more about Suzanne, check out https://www.suzanneroberts.net/  Notable Links: A Small Place, by Jamaica Kincaid (book-length essay) Postcolonialism (academic critical theory) White savior complex (trope applied to some travelers) Aguas Calientes (place in Peru) Ghats in Varanasi (riverfront area along the Ganges) Memento mori (artistic or symbolic reminder of death) Thomas Merton (Christian writer / theologian) Attar of Nishapur (Sufi poet) Sholeh Wolpé (Iranian-American poet) Favela (type of slum in Brazil) Poverty porn (media stereotype) Souvenir, by Rolf Potts (book) AWP Conference (American literary event) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“There is this arrogant assumption that the things we don't know or understand must be bad, because if they were good, we would already know about them or understand them.” –Derek Sandhaus In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Derek discuss the culture and traditions of baijiu liquor in China (4:00); Derek's introduction to China and baijiu, and how Sichuan, more than any other province, is known for making baijiu (15:00); the history of baijiu, its significance to Chinese culture, and the rules that surround its consumption at meals (22:00); how alcohol influenced Chinese culture and agriculture over the years, and how foreigners have interacted with baijiu (31:00); the challenge in introducing baijiu to the American market, how it has as many variations as different as vodka and tequila, and how to find and enjoy baijiu in the United States (36:30). Derek Sandhaus (@dsandhaus) is a writer, traveler, and author of several books on Chinese history and culture, including Baijiu: The Essential Guide to Chinese Spirits and Drunk in China. He is a cofounder of Ming River Sichuan Baijiu and currently serves as the brand's communications director. He is also the editor of DrinkBaijiu.com.  Notable Links: Baijiu (Chinese liquor) William of Rubruck (missionary / explorer) Marco Polo (explorer) Chengdu (capital of Sichuan province in China) Zhou Enlai (first Premier of the People’s Republic of China) Chiang Kai-shek (Chinese politician) Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove (Chinese scholars) Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup (Chinese scholars) Jiahu (Neolithic settlement in China) Henry David Theroux (author) Ernest Hemingway (author) Taoism (philosophy) Richard Nixon (American president) Ming River (baijiu brand available in the U.S.) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“There are so many ways travel can change your life, in ways you could never imagine before you leave home.”  –Daniel Neely In this episode of Deviate, Rolf reads his essay, Backpackers' Ball at the Sultan Hotel (7:30) before he and Dan reflect on the international cast of characters they met at at the Sultan Hotel in Cairo, and how workaday activities can make the city more interesting than tourist attractions (36:30); the friendships you make in hostels and how they end up shaping your life (44:45); how smartphones may have changed the vibe of some hostels, and how interacting with strangers at hostels can change your life (60:00). A native of Arizona, Daniel Neely served as Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras in the early 2000s. He now works as a Senior Advisor in Emergency Preparedness at the Wellington (New Zealand) Region Emergency Management Office. He previously appeared on Deviate episode 42, “How to survive a natural disaster.”  Notable Links: Backpackers' Ball at the Sultan Hotel, by Rolf Potts (essay) Marco Polo Didn't Go There, by Rolf Potts (book) Flaubert in Egypt: A Sensibility on Tour (collection of letters) Il signor Bruschino (Rossini operatic farce) Kuchuk Hanem (19th century Egyptian belly dancer) Johnnie Wadie Red Tabel (Egyptian spirit) Herodotus (ancient Greek historian) Hello America (2000 Egyptian movie) Saqqara (ancient burial ground in Egypt) Pyramid of Djoser (archaeological site in the Saqqara necropolis) Giza Necropolis (Egyptian pyramid complex) Djellaba (Arab robe) Keffiyeh (traditional Arabian headdress) Hijab (Muslim veil) “Kicking & Screaming” might be the best movie ever (Deviate episode) Kushari (Egyptian street food) Dahab (backpacker town in the Egyptian Sinai) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Realizing that you will die greatly clarifies your vision of life, and stimulates opportunities for making the vision real.”  –Ed Buryn In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Ed discuss the impetus behind Ed’s first travels to Europe by van in the 1960s, and his early forays into self-printed and self-promoted books about the experience (3:00); how travel to Europe was different 50 years ago, and the joy and freedom that comes with not knowing what happens next (14:30); Ed’s philosophies and influences, including living in “the now” (21:00); how travel allows you to reinvent yourself, and how meeting people is the best gift of travel (36:00); and Ed’s ambitions for poetry and travel, and his advice to travelers in today's world (44:30). Ed Buryn is an author and photographer who was one of the first to popularize the term “vagabonding” through the publication of his books Vagabonding In Europe and North America and Vagabonding in America. For more about Ed, check out https://edburyn.com. Notable Links: Kevin Kelly (writer, editor, and publisher) Tony Wheeler (founder of Lonely Planet travel guides) Bill Dalton (founder of Moon travel guides) Charles Plymell on the Beat Generation (Deviate episode) The Drifters, by James Michener (book) Zorba the Greek, by Nikos Kazantzakis (book) Henry Miller (author) CouchSurfing ((homestay and social networking service) Richard Halliburton (traveler and author) Tarot (playing cards used for divination) Nevada City (community in northern California) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. AirTreks has employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“The Lamalerans hunt in a way that is almost exactly the same as the way people hunted during Moby Dick’s time. Going on one of these hunts is analogous to what Ishmael or Queequeg was doing.” –Doug Bock Clark In this episode of Deviate Rolf and Doug talk about how he came to write about the Lamalerans, and how he aimed to evoke a sense for what it’s like to live in the isolated fishing communities of that part of the world (2:30); how and why the Lamalerans came to embrace a traditional hunting and barter lifestyle, and what indigenous groups are trying to live similar lifestyles (7:30); unique social rituals, spiritual systems, and ways of speaking carried out by Lamalerans (18:30); what aspects of modernity had been embraced by the tribespeople, and why, when Doug went to that part of the world (25:00); Doug’s personal experience of living on the island with the Lamalerans, and how he chose to tell the story of the islanders​ (33:00); how the influence of technology and the outside world, including tourism, is affecting the Lamalerans (41:00); and what encounters with cultures like this can teach us about who we are, who we were, and who we will be (53:00). Doug Bock Clark (@DougBockClark) is a GQ correspondent and a contributor for the website of The New Yorker. His first book, The Last Whalers, was a New York Times Notable Book for 2019. He also produced the feature documentary Assassins, which premiered at Sundance in January 2020 and was inspired by one of his investigations. Notable Links: Aboriginal whaling (traditional hunting method) Lembata (island in Indonesia) John Allen Chau (American missionary killed on North Sentinel Island) “The American Missionary and the Uncontacted Tribe” (article) Lashed-lug boat (ancient boat-building technique) Melanesians (indigenous peoples in the South Pacific) Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville (novel) 19th century American whaling (industry) Ishmael and Queequeg (Moby-Dick characters) Amish (traditionalist Christian sect) Rumspringa (Amish rite of passage) Bahasa Indonesian (language) Lamaholot (language) Siberut (largest the Mentawai Islands, near Sumatra) Human Planet (TV documentary series) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. AirTreks has employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“You can't ever really know what a museum will offer you until you get there.” – Kendra Green In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Kendra discuss their own earliest fascination with museums (2:40); the appeal and particularities of Icelandic museums (10:00); museums as a form of national identity (24:00); the relationship of collecting to the creation of museums (35:00); and museums as a way of engaging with one's imagination (46:00).  Kendra Greene is a writer, artist, and author of The Museum of Whales You Will Never See. She has worked at various museums, including the Museum of Contemporary Photography, and the Chicago History Museum. Karen is currently Associate Editor of prose at the Southwest Review and a Fellow at Harvard University’s Library Innovation Lab. For more about Kendra, check out http://akendragreene.com.   Notable Links: Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (museum) Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago museum) La Brea Tar Pits (Los Angeles attraction) Icelandic Phallological Museum (penis museum) Museum of Jurassic Technology (Los Angeles museum) Cabinets of curiosities (pre-museum collections) Jack London (author) John Steinbeck (author) Nábrók (Icelandic necropants) Egil's Saga (Icelandic saga) The Tourist, by Dean MacCannell (book) Elgin Marbles (Greek sculptures) Petra's Stone Collection (museum) Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft (museum) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. Airtreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The Airtreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. This episode of Deviate is also brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, and many other industry outlets. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Travel is often one part geography and nine parts imagination.” –Kate Harris In this episode of Deviate Rolf and Kate discuss Kate's early fixation with exploration and interest in Mars (3:00); science as a catalyst for exploration (10:30); the universality of the human experience and her trip through Asia (21:00); the concept of borders (32:00); nostalgia and the transformational effect of travel (43:00); the role of home in relation to travel (52:00); and letting adventure into your life (1:02:00). Kate Harris (@kateonmars) is an adventure writer, named by Condé Nast Traveler as one of the “world's most adventurous women.” Her work has appeared in Outside, The Walrus, and Georgia Review. Her book, Lands of Lost Borders, is a national bestseller For more about Kate, check out www.kateharris.ca Notable Links: Rolf’s Q&A with Kate Harris (book foreword) Silk Road (network of trade routes) Mars Desert Research Station (Mars simulation in Utah) Morehead-Cain Scholarship (UNC program) Ernest Shackleton (explorer) Fridtjof Nansen (explorer) Annie Dillard (American author) Wind, Sand and Stars, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (book) Henry David Thoreau (writer) My Journey to Lhasa, by Alexandra David-Neel (book) Aksai Chin (region administered by China) Marco Polo (historical figure) Tomas Tranströmer (poet) Atlin (community in British Columbia) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. AirTreks has employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“I had a great day in Cambodia, and I was like, ‘Oh my god I’m so happy right now.’ I had no idea what I was doing, or what I would discover, and I just trusted that I would be OK.” –Andrew McCarthy In this episode of Deviate Rolf and Andrew discuss his relationship with interviews and the origin of the Brat Pack (3:30); fear and journaling in the time of pandemic, and treasured possessions (12:30); regrets, and artistic truth (23:00); writing as a way of thinking, and what Andrew values in his friends (29:00); and happiness, quarantine-reading, The Great Gatsby, and coming to terms with ones youthful success (38:00). Andrew McCarthy (@AndrewTMcCarthy), who rose to fame as a teen actor during the John Hughes 80's era, is a television director and writer of such books as The Long Way Home and Just Fly Away.  Notable Links: Proust Questionnaire (set of interview questions) Confession album (19th century autograph book) Pretty in Pink (1986 film) St. Elmo's Fire (1985 film) Camino de Santiago (pilgrimage route) Weekend at Bernie's (1989 film) “Hollywood's Brat Pack,” by David Blum (article) Brat Pack (group of young actors in the 1980s) Mannequin (1987 film) Emilio Estevez (actor) George Carlin on “stuff” (comedy routine) Off the Road, by Jack Hitt (travel book) Joan Didion (American author) The Art of Memoir, by Mary Karr (book) The Big Lebowski (1998 film) Stoner, by John Williams (book) The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (book) This episode is brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. This episode is also brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories made with the traveler in mind. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber.  Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Even the briefest trip into a tunnel or a cave can feel like an escape into a parallel reality, the way characters in children’s books vanish through portals into secret worlds.”  –Will Hunt In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Will talk about our imaginative relationship with underground places, and how it often starts in childhood (4:30); the concept of “urban exploration” in the industrial spaces underneath cities, and Will’s fascination with a NYC graffiti artist named REVS (11:00); the catacombs of Paris, how easy it is to get lost underground, and how hard it is to map underground passages (26:15); going underground as a form of time travel, the microbes that live underground, and the relics that can be found underground (40:00); the spiritual aspect of spending time underground in the dark zone of a cave (51:00); and how and why to get started exploring underground (59:00). Will Hunt's (@willhunt__) writing, photography, and audio storytelling have appeared in The Economist, the Paris Review Daily, The Atavist, The Guardian, Discover, Audible Originals, and Outside, among other places. He is currently a visiting scholar at the NYU Institute for Public Knowledge. Underground is his first book. More about Will at: https://www.willhunt.net/ Notable Links: Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá (underground church in Colombia) Mount of the Temptation (hill in the Judean Desert) Panoptikum (labyrinth in Budapest) Freedom Tunnel (railway tunnel in NYC) Urban exploration (exploration of abandoned places in cities) Revs (graffiti artist) Catacombs of Paris (tunnel network) Philibert Aspairt (man who died in the Paris catacombs in 1793) Cataphiles (urban explorers who illegally tour the Mines of Paris) Metro-2 (purported secret underground metro system in Moscow) How Getting Lost in a Cave Affects the Brain (article) Strataca (salt-mine museum in Kansas) Lakota Wind Cave (site in South Dakota) Homestake Mine (deep South Dakota gold mine) Gregory of Nyssa (Christian saint) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“I reached out to dozens of potential mentors. The two that that changed my life are the ones who didn’t give me advice upon first meeting me, but asked me questions..” –Alex Banayan In this episode of Deviate, Rolf, Cal, and Alex discuss how Alex realized he desperately he needed help in writing his book The Third Door, how Cal Fussman came to help him with the project, and why asking questions is as essential of a mentor as is giving advice (5:30); why the vulnerability and tension of good storytelling is more essential than conveying dry facts in writing a business book, and how Cal encouraged Alex to recount a humiliating story about sending a single shoe to Warren Buffet at the behest of a bad-faith mentor (23:00); what happens when a would-be mentor gives the mentee advice out of narcissism or bad faith, and how to know when not to heed the advice of a mentor (35:00); how to find and recount the most vulnerable and appealing part of your own life-narrative, and how Cal taught himself how to tell good stories (42:00); what Cal and Alex’s mentoring sessions looked like, in terms of what Cal was trying to get Alex to understand (51:00); what Cal learned from Alex as his mentor, how Alex’s insights improved his career, and what older people in general can learn from younger people (56:30); and what kinds of advice Cal and Alex have for people seeking to discover and fine-tune mentor-mentee relationships (1:02:00). Cal Fussman (@calfussman) is a journalist, author, and Writer at Large for Esquire Magazine, where he has interviewed the likes of Muhammad Ali, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Robert DeNiro and hundreds of others who've shaped the last half-century. Alex Banayan (@AlexBanayan) was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30, and Business Insider's “Most Powerful People Under 30” lists. He is the author of the international bestseller The Third Door. For more about Cal and Alex, check out their websites, https://www.calfussman.com and https://thirddoorbook.com. Notable Links: Larry King (television host) Warren Buffett (American investor) Reid Hoffman (American internet entrepreneur) Nelson Mandela (former President of South Africa) Muhammad Ali (boxer) Gary Vaynerchuk (entrepreneur) Elliot Bisnow (entrepreneur) Tim Ferriss on how to create a successful podcast (Deviate episode) The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho (book) Sonia Sotomayor (Supreme Court Justice) Charles Dickens (writer) Fyodor Dostoevsky (author) O. Henry (writer) Sugar Ray Leonard (boxer) Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer (SNL sketch) @lukeoakvt (TikTok account) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, the New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber.  Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“This is another thing that travel teaches you: It reminds you that you have to live now, and travel is a way of living now.” – Rolf Potts In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and his parents convene in quarantine to reminisce about their old trip to Paris and Prague together, and how it deepened their memories, their understanding of Europe, and their relationship with each other. They begin by talking about why exactly they went to Paris and Prague (8:00); what sights they saw in Paris, both intentional and accidental, and how they remember their experience there (13:00); how in some ways travel to other cultures is a form of “time travel” (18:00); how travel has a way of reverting travelers into a childlike awareness of their surroundings (24:00); why Père Lachaise Cemetery is a fascinating place to visit in Paris (30:00); how a hostel made for a good place from which to base an exploration of Prague, and what they found in the city by walking everywhere (36:00); the joy of taking public transport into unfamiliar neighborhoods and finding Corvette rallies and street performers and old citadels (43:00); and what their strongest memories of the travel experience were (52:00). George and Alice Potts are retired schoolteachers based in Kansas. Alice taught second graders in the Wichita public schools for more than 30 years. In 1994 her classes succeed in promoting legislation to declare the barred tiger salamander the Kansas State Amphibian. George taught science at various Wichita high schools, as well as at Friends University, where he pioneered graduate-level programs in Zoo Science and Environmental Studies. He also helped facilitate the Outdoor Wildlife Learning Sites (OWLS) program for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Notable Links: 2020 COVID-19 pandemic (global viral outbreak) The Decameron (novellas collection by Giovanni Boccaccio) Black Death (14th century pandemic) China and Mongolia with my parents (Deviate episode) Paris Writing Workshop (summer creative writing class) SkyEurope (defunct budget airline) Souvenir, by Rolf Potts (book) Jardin des Plantes (botanical garden in Paris) Sainte-Chapelle (Gothic chapel in Paris) Palace of Versailles (old French royal residence outside of Paris) Père Lachaise Cemetery (largest cemetery in Paris) Frédéric Chopin (Polish composer) Jim Morrison (American rock singer) Abelard and Héloïse (French lovers) Czech Inn (hostel in Prague) Prague astronomical clock (medieval clock) House of the Black Madonna (Cubist building in Prague) Dancing House (Vlado Milunić/Frank Gehry building in Prague) Chevrolet Corvette (classic American sports car model) Výstaviště Praha (exhibition ground in Prague) Defenestrations of Prague (historical incidents) Charles Bridge (historic bridge over the Vltava river) This episode of Deviate is also brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks, and AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, and can customize the route to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Travel is kind of strength-training for your soul.” –Tara Quinn In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Tara talk about she got started coaching people pm setting up work sabbaticals, what her clients’ most common concerns are, and how Americans’ attitude toward work are different from the rest of the world (3:00); common tactics and techniques she employs as a sabbatical coach, and what kinds of clients she attracts (17:00); how to use travel as a pretext for professional development, self-education, and changing careers (28:00); the importance of imperfection and failure in learning useful lessons from travel (40:00); and ending a long-term sabbatical journey and transitioning back into professional life (48:00). Tara Quinn (@threemonthvisa) is a certified life and career coach with a passion for working with clients who dream of taking time off to travel, live, work, study or volunteer abroad. Tara roster of clients includes people from companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, Bank of America, UC Berkeley, and The United Nations. For more on Tara and her career, check out http://www.threemonthvisa.com/. Notable Links: Dude, Where’s My Car? (movie) Vagabonding, by Rolf Potts (book) Wanderlust, edited by Don George (book) “Why We Travel,” by Pico Iyer (essay) Pico Iyer on what Japan can teach us about life (Deviate episode) Tales of a Female Nomad, by Rita Golden Gelman (book) Gap year (yearlong break before or after university) Wharton School (business school at UPenn) Gap analysis (comparison of desired versus actual performance) Explore Europe on Foot (Deviate episode) Le Cordon Bleu (culinary school) Digital nomadism (mobile work-travel movement) Bodh Gaya (Buddhist pilgrimage site in India) Culture shock (anxiety from being in an unfamiliar place) CSI: Miami (police procedural TV drama series) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“It doesn’t matter where you’re going. Just find a reason to go.” –Ari Shaffir Ari Shaffir (@AriShaffir) is a comedian, writer, podcaster, and actor. He is the current host of the Skeptic Tank podcast. For more information on Ari, visit his website. This episode of Deviate is excerpted from Ari Shaffir's Skeptic Tank episode #298: Vagabonder. ​In this episode of Deviate, Ari and Rolf sit down in New York’s Tompkins Square Park and talk about the esoteric obsessions that lead you into unique adventures in faraway countries, and the best way to meet people on the road (4:20)​; ​learning languages other than English (11:30); how the presence of communication technology has changed travel, including its social dynamic (17:30); using toilets, eating unfamiliar food, and haggling in markets in non-Western countries (28:00); how travel changes once you’re more experienced as a traveler (53:00); comfort food, ordering food overseas, living as an expat overseas, and getting started out in your career overseas (1:04:00); how expectations affect a journey, and how expectations affect one’s task as a travel writer (1:17:00). Notable Links: The Chernobyl Podcast (HBO companion podcast) Scriptnotes (screenwriting podcast) Another Name for Every Thing (Richard Rohr podcast) Qamishli (Syrian-Turkish border town) Ulpan (school for the intensive study of Hebrew) Yinzer (Pittsburgh vernacular word) Quiet, by Susan Cain (book) Squat toilet (toilet common in Asia and Africa) A few notes on wiping your ass (Barry Sonnenfeld essay) Marco Polo Didn’t Go There, by Rolf Potts (book) Souvenir, by Rolf Potts (book) Hogg Market (Kolkata market) Kelsey Timmerman (author) “Man bites dog,” by Rolf Potts (dog meat article) Balut (Asian street food, boiled egg embryo) Vélib’ (bicycle sharing system in Paris) Mandarin Oriental (Bangkok luxury hotel) Yeshiva (Jewish educational institution) “On the Trans-Siberian Express,” by Rolf Potts (travel essay) Freighthopping (riding a railroad freight car) Van Life before #VanLife (Deviate podcast episode) Donahue Show (TV talk show) Thomas Merton (Trappist monk and author) Postcolonialism (academic study of the legacy of imperialism) Cockfighting (blood sport) “Turkish Knockout,” by Rolf Potts (travel essay) Skeptic Tank interview with Henry Rollins (podcast episode) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

Fred Perrotta of Tortuga Backpacks takes a contrarian view when it comes to scaling a successful brand. But his approach has allowed him and his team scale Tortuga Backpacks into a multiple-seven-figure business through bootstrapping alone. They haven't raised any outside venture capital, and they've managed to build a fully remote team from day one.  Designing and manufacturing products require capital. This is the biggest constraint for bootstrapped businesses. You have to figure out how you can afford to scale as the demand for your products increase.  We talk to Fred about how he co-founded the business, how they've scaled it, and how they've overcome capital constraints resulting from not raising any outside funding. We also explore the tactics Tortuga Backpacks has used for managing inventory issues, covering employee salaries, and marketing their brand.  If you're looking to take a bootstrapping approach to growing your business, you'll learn how Fred and his team have been able to scale Tortuga Backpacks into a multimillion-dollar brand.  “You have to focus on what's actually working for you, what's possible, and what you can afford. That's a muscle you have to develop.” - Fred Perrotta, Tortuga Backpacks (15:06-15:15) Some topics that were discussed include: The “levers” that Tortuga Backpacks used to hit their first seven figures in revenue How to learn from the feedback you get from customers so you know what will work How profitable (and for how long) you have to be to get conventional funding  Accidental scarcity can create a bigger demand for your products.  Getting your audience to buy up your inventory can be as easy as just sending out an email.  How much revenue does it take to fund your inventory and production runs while keeping your products in stock at all times? Where you need to allocate your profits when growing a bootstrapped business What percentage of your marketing needs to go to performance marketing  Magazines have become online publishers that rely heavily on affiliate revenue. Tortuga Backpacks' philosophy on remove versus non-remote teams Navigating the drawbacks and limitations of remote teams Contact Fred Perrotta: Fred Perrotta on Twitter Fred Perrotta's Website References & links mentioned: Tortuga Backpacks Website Subscribe & Review The Commerce Lab Podcast: Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode of The Commerce Lab Podcast! If the information shared in these weekly conversations and interviews have helped you in your business journey, please head over to iTunes, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver great, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more amazing entrepreneurs just like you! How to get involved Join the community of brand owners and industry influencers in the Facebook group The Commerce Lab or visit thecommercelab.com. Visit www.bluestout.com for more info If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we'd love for you to help us spread the word!

“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 The 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 bestselling business author of The Third Door, which chronicles his five-year quest to track down Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, Warren Buffett, Maya Angelou, Steven Spielberg, and dozens more of the world's most successful people to uncover how they broke through and launched their careers. Alex has been named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list, Business Insider's Most Powerful People Under 30, and been featured in major media including Fortune, Forbes, and Businessweek. For more about Alex, check out https://thirddoorbook.com/. Notable Links: Tim Ferriss (entrepreneur) Bill Gates (businessman) Lady Gaga (singer) Maya Angelou (poet) Warren Buffett (businessman) Steven Spielberg (filmmaker) Elliott Bisnow (investor) Cal Fussman (journalist) Tools of Titans, by Tim Ferriss (book) Tribe of Mentors, by Tim Ferriss (book) The Odyssey, by Homer (epic poem) Aaron Sorkin (screenwriter / director) Elon Musk (entrepreneur) Kurt Vonnegut (author) Steve Jobs (businessman) “Think Different” internal meeting (video) Jerry Seinfeld (comedian) Jane Goodall (anthropologist) Macbeth (Shakespeare tragedy) Hero’s journey (narrative template) Pitbull (rapper) Jessica Alba (actress) Quincy Jones (producer) Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand (book) Jiro Dreams of Sushi (movie) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by the Paris Writing Workshop, which features a one-week Big Idea Book Bootcamp, which teaches people with expertise in a specific professional field — business, medicine, science, sports, finance, etc — to channel that expertise into a book-length narrative that inspires, enlightens, and transforms readers’ perspectives of the world, and of life.  This episode of Deviate is also brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks, and AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, and can customize the route to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“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). Spud Hilton (@SpudHilton) is a travel expert, speaker, writer and host of the Inappropriate Traveler podcast. Notable Links: Pico Iyer (travel writer) Paul Theroux (travel writer) Tim Cahill (travel writer) Jan Morris (travel writer) Vagabonding, by Rolf Potts (book) The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje (book) Rolf unpacks his very first vagabonding journey (Deviate podcast episode) Travel hookups with Flybrother Ernest White II (podcast episode) Nude in Hvar with Joel Riddell (podcast episode) Pam Mandel and Seattle's secret piles of pot (podcast episode) AFAR (magazine) Experiential travel (form of tourism) The Atlanta Hotel (Bangkok) Stag party (pre-marriage ritual) Tinder (dating app) Grindr (dating app) French Quarter (New Orleans neighborhood) Mile high club (slang for airplane sex) “The Death of the Mile-High Club,” by Rolf Potts (article) Andrew McCarthy on how travel changed his life (Deviate podcast episode) Camino de Santiago (pilgrimage road) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“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 breaking the myth of expensive European travel (51:00). Tim Leffel (@timleffel) is an award-winning travel writer and author of The World’s Cheapest Destinations and A Better Life for Half the Price. He is the editor of the narrative web publication Perceptive Travel. For more about Tim, check out https://timleffel.com. This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“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-political complexities between the two countries (29:00). Paul Theroux (@PaulTheroux_) is a pioneer of travel writing and author of many highly acclaimed books, including The Great Railway Bazaar and The Tao of Travel. His work has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian. In 2015, Paul Theroux was awarded a Royal Medal from the Royal Geographical Society – an award, approved by the Queen, which is the highest award attainable for a traveler. His latest book, On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey, was released last month. He last talked with Rolf on Deviate Episode 31, “Paul Theroux on the art of listening, and the necessary obstacles of deep travel.” Notable Links: Sinclair Lewis (writer) William Faulkner (writer) Jorge Luis Borges (writer) Gabriel García Márquez (writer) Magical Realism (style of fiction) James Joyce (writer) Aldous Huxley (writer) Jack Kerouac (writer) Rebecca West (writer) Harriet Doer (writer) Leonora Carrington (artist) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, by B. Traven (novel) Nathaniel Philbrick (author) Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville (book) Subcomandante Marcos (revolutionary) Zapatista Army of National Liberation (militant group) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“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 impact of global over-tourism (38:00); and the pitfalls of travel, and how to start the process of planning one’s next trip (46:00). Pauline Frommer (@Frommers) is the co-President of Frommer Media LLC, publisher of the Frommer’s Travel Guidebook series, for which Pauline is the Editorial Director. She is the author of the best-selling travel guide, Frommer's EasyGuide to New York City and her writing has appeared in such publications as Budget Travel and Newsweek. Pauline is the co-host of Frommer's Travel Show.  Notable Links: Arthur Frommer (travel writer) The GIs Guide to Traveling in Europe (guidebook) Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference The Beach (movie) Lonely Planet (guidebook) Rick Steves (guidebook) Hawaii Revealed (guidebook) Let's Go (guidebook) 60 Minutes (television program) Fodors Travel Guide (guidebook) Moon Travel Guide (guidebook) World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (organization) Workaway (travel platform) Anthony Bourdain (celebrity chef / travel documentarian) Midnight’s Children, by Salman Rushdie (novel) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“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 North America back in 1994, how they prepared for it, and how it differed from current-day #VanLife excursions (5:30); how they exercised on the road, and how the conditions and travel-hacks of van journeys were different for two young men in 1994 (23:30); the route they took through North America, what happened along the way, and how they kept daily journals recounting events (36:00); the experience riding with cops in Houston, celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans, volunteering at a church in Mississippi, meeting girls in Florida, and seeing New York for the first time (51:00); the experience of staying at a Trappist monastery in Massachusetts for one week (1:14:30); visiting National Parks in the American South, Northeast, and West, and memorable books read along the way (1:28:00); and why the trip was life-changing (1:42:00). Van trip preparation and planning links: Digital nomadism (travel lifestyle) #VanLife (travel lifestyle) Composting toilet Blue Highways, by William Least Heat-Moon (1982 book) On the Road, by Jack Kerouac (1957 book) Travels With Charley, by John Steinbeck (1962 book) Vanagon (Volkswagen van) Volkswagen Westfalia (camper van) Trangia (alcohol-burning camp-stove) A (literal) photo album from my 1994 van vagabonding trip (blog post) Links regarding early months of the 1994 trip: 924 Gilman Street (Berkeley punk club) Northridge earthquake (1994 earthquake) “The Mystical High Church of Luck” (Salon essay about Las Vegas) Lollapalooza (music festival) O. J. Simpson murder case (1994 media incident) USCGC Northwind (Coast Guard icebreaker) Bourbon Street (historic street in New Orleans) The Geto Boys, by Rolf Potts (2016 book) Fifth Ward (Houston neighborhood) Cops (TV show) Canton (town in Mississippi) In His Steps (Mississippi Christian outreach ministry) Waffle House (southern restaurant chain) Savannah State (historically black university) Debbie Does Dallas (1978 pornographic film) Tompkins Square (New York park) Trappist monastery experience links: St. Joseph’s Abbey (Massachusetts monastery) Trappists (order of Catholic monks) Thomas Merton (Trappist monk and writer) Memento Mori (existential expression) Chant (1994 Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos album) Compline (end-of-day church service) Links regarding the final months of the 1994 trip: Ocala National Forest (protected area in Florida) Shenandoah National Park (Virginia wilderness area) Mount Washington (tallest mountain the northeast U.S.) Arches National Park (Utah wilderness area) Fisher Towers (photogenic cliffs near Moab, Utah) Desert Solitaire, by Edward Abbey (1968 book) Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman (1855 poetry collection) The Razor’s Edge, by W. Somerset Maugham (1944 book) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M Pirsig (1974 book) Uinta National Forest (protected area in Utah) Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming wilderness area) Glacier National Park (Montana wilderness area) Pike National Forest (protected area in Colorado) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“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 in bookstores this week. In this episode of Deviate, Ryan and Rolf talk about “Big Idea” books, how Ryan’s philosophical trilogy of books came about, and how word-of-mouth works better than categorization in helping people find your books (3:00); how storytelling is better than dry analysis when it comes to writing books on a topic like Stoicism, and how writing for general audiences differs from writing for “elite” audiences (16:00); why ancient ideas and examples are often more dependable than contemporary ones, and why it’s good to read as diversely as possible (25:00); what a “commonplace book” is, and how it can fuel your creative life (32:30); the difference in focus between the research phase of a book and the writing phase, and how to best plan and structure books (48:00); Ryan’s writing habits, how he balances his day with non-writing tasks, and the importance of maintaining momentum (1:01:30); and the process of how he decides on which themes and projects to explore next (1:06:00). Books mentioned: The 4-Hour Work Week, by Tim Ferriss Vagabonding, by Rolf Potts The 48 Laws of Power, by Robert Greene The History of the Peloponnesian War, by Thucydides Cash: The Autobiography, by Johnny Cash The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield Range, by David Epstein The Daily Stoic, by Ryan Holiday The Hero With a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell Notable links: Big Idea Book Bootcamp (writing class) Tim Ferriss book club How a book on stoicism became wildly popular at every level of the NFL (article) How And Why To Keep A “Commonplace Book” (article) Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum Marina Abramovich “The Artist is Present” A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Mister Rogers movie) Stanford Prison Experiment (psychology experiment) Dorothy Day (American Catholic social activist) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“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.” –Cassandra Overby In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Cassandra talk about Cassandra’s early decision to focus on trekking-travel rather than standard tourism in Europe (3:30); how trekking in Europe is cheaper, more immersive, and more social than American trekking (11:30); which classic European trails make for “bucket list” hikes, and how to find and research less-famous ones (19:00); strategies for combining hikes with public transportation, choosing the best time of year to hike, preparing physically for the journey, and whether to hike alone or with a companion (26:00); how to reserve trails, facilities, luggage-transfers, and guides in advance (32:45); useful apps, navigation aids, guidebooks, and gear for trekking in Europe (38:00); and how to use mountain huts and plan “rest days” on treks (52:30). Cassandra Overby is the author of Explore Europe on Foot: Your Complete Guide to Planning a Cultural Hiking Adventure, which aims to help travelers find ways to discover Europe without depending on cars, buses and trains. The book provides overviews of fifteen long-distance trails (and day hikes) in Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey, with itineraries that range from one to fifteen days. Notable links: Alpine Pass Route (long-distance hiking trail in Switzerland) Alpenhorn (musical instrument) Dirndl (traditional Alpine dress) Tour du Mont Blanc (long-distance hiking trail in Switzerland/Italy/France) Tour of the Lake District (English walking route) Camino de Santiago (network of pilgrims’ ways into Spain) GR Routes (network of long-distance footpaths in Europe) EuroVelo (network of long-distance cycling routes in Europe) English Way (Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route) Alsace Wine Route (hiking route through the Alsace region in France) WhatsApp (text-messaging app) GPS Tracks (navigation app) Gaia GPS (navigation app) Trekking poles (hiking accessory) Half-board (accommodation rate) Mountain hut (trekking shelter) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“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 Forrest talk about how they know each other, and how Forrest got into travel (4:00); the time-honored tradition of walking, and why hiking is a fantastic way to travel in and experience other countries (9:45); the tradition of the Camino de Santiago, and Forrest’s humbling early experiences with international trekking on the West Highland Way (21:30); Forrest’s further adventures and counterintuitive tips for how to prepare and what to pack on a trek (37:00); the appeal of hiking in Slovenia (45:00); and advice for getting started, saving money, meeting people, and getting in touch with yourself while trekking (49:00). Forrest Mallard is the founder of Tramposaurus Treks, a camping and adventure-travel planning community that aims to show people just how accessible, affordable and doable international hiking excursions can be. Forrest currently splits his time between Dubai and far-flung destinations and backcountry trekking trails around the world, including – in recent months – Pakistan, Hunza Hanging Bridge, Fairy Meadows, Chilas, Granada, and Valencia. Notable Links: Werner Herzog on “The Portal” (podcast episode) Flâneur (French concept of an urban wanderer) Camino de Santiago (pilgrimage route in Spain) The Pilgrimage, by Paulo Coelho (book) West Highland Way (long-distance path in Scotland) Europe on a Shoestring (travel guidebook) Caminho Português (Camino route starting in Portugal) Camiño francés (Camino route starting in France) Slovenian Mountain Hiking Trail (long-distance trail in the Julian Alps) Alpine Association of Slovenia (hiking club) Simien Mountains National Park (Ethiopian hiking area) Tiger Leaping Gorge (Chinese hiking area) Torres del Paine National Park (Chilean hiking area) Hostelworld.com (lodging booking service) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“The boundaries of life are responsible for the beauty of life.” – Pico Iyer In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Pico discuss the people we become when we travel (4:00); what led Pico to travel (10:00); travel in the age of technology (20:00); finding the remarkable in the unremarkable (32:00); ping pong as a metaphor for life (40:00); the importance of impermanence (50:00); and the idea of being versus becoming (1:01:00). Pico Iyer (@PicoIyer) is a novelist, essayist, and one of the most influential travel writers of his generation. He is known for such books as Video Night in Kathmandu and The Lady and the Monk, with many of his works receiving significant critical acclaim. He has also written for such publications as The New York Times, Time, and Harper's. For more about Pico, check out http://picoiyerjourneys.com/ Notable Links: A Beginner's Guide to Japan, by Pico Iyer (book) Autumn Light, by Pico Iyer (book) Walt Whitman (poet / essayist) John Muir (naturalist) Herman Melville (writer) Let's Go (travel guide series) Salman Rushdie (writer) John Burroughs (naturalist / writer) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“If you think your thing is to write for an audience, write for yourself first and see what comes up.” – Lavinia Spalding In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Lavinia discuss the benefits of keeping a journal, and doing it by hand (3:00); the importance of writing what you feel rather than what you do (16:00); the beauty of spending time with your journal as a way of hearing yourself (24:00); and practical strategies for starting and keeping a journal (34:00). Lavinia Spalding (@laviniaspalding) is a travel writer and series editor of The Best Women's Travel Writing. She has author of Writing Away, and co-author of With a Measure of Grace and This Immeasurable Place. For more about Lavinia, check out http://laviniaspalding.com/. Notable Links: Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott (book) Writing Down the Bones, but Natalie Goldberg (book) Four Seasons in Rome, by Anthony Doerr (book) Stolen, by Lavinia Spalding (essay) A Sort of Homecoming, By Ivana Was (essay) Lonely Planet's Best Places in Asia Pacific (guide) Find New Orleans's Soul at These 6 Mini-Museums, by Lavinia Spalding (article) Meet the Revolutionary Women of Flamenco Guitar, by Lavinia Spalding (article) Journaling for Mental Health, by University of Rochester Medical Center (article) 7 Health Benefits Of Writing And Journaling, From Treating Asthma To Depression, by JR Thorpe (article) The Benefits of Journaling, by UW Health (article) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“It's a recurring theme within the movie – the idea of taking these heightened, dramatic moments and mining humor out of the ordinariness of them.” – Jason Bailey In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Jason discuss the 1990s and the early influence of Pulp Fiction (3:45); set the context for the plot of the movie (15:30); deconstruct the first third of the plot (28:00); explore the idea of fate and one of the most disturbingly iconic scenes of the 1990s (55:00); and answer the big picture questions and major themes of the movie (1:15:00). Jason Bailey (@jasondashbailey) is an author and film critic, whose writing has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Vice, and Rolling Stone. He is also the author of four books, including Pulp Fiction: The Complete Story of Quentin Tarantino's Masterpiece. He is a former regional independent film director, whose work includes My Day in the Barrel.    Notable Links: True Romance (film) Reservoir Dogs (film) Jackie Brown (film) Easy Rider (film) Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, by Peter Biskind (book) Psycho (film) Deliverance (film) Leon: The Professional (film) American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince (documentary, by Martin Scorsese) El Mariachi (film) Go (film) John August (screenwriter) Scriptnotes (podcast) Misirlou, by Dick Dale (song) My Sharona, by The Knack (song) Beastie Boys (band) Paul's Boutique (album, by Beastie Boys) A Tribe Called Quest (hip hop group) Down and Dirty Pictures, by Peter Biskind (book) Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, by Syd Field (book) This episode is brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. This episode of Deviate is also brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Don't miss an opportunity to travel, if you have a chance. Decades from now you will always look back and be thankful you did” – Matt Kepnes In this bonus episode of Deviate, Rolf and Matt discuss 19 lessons Matt has learned from a decade of travel. The entire list is included below.   19 Lessons from a Decade of Travel It's not that hard You learn a lot of life skills You are never alone You meet some of your closest friends traveling Relationships come and go on the road But chase the ones you like It's good to try new things Be adventurous There is no such thing as a mistake Don't be cheap That being said, don't be wasteful Drop the guidebook It's never too late to change Relax Learn more languages (seriously) Wear more sunscreen People are good There's no such thing as must-see Just go Matt Kepnes (@nomadicmatt), commonly known as “Nomadic Matt,” is a travel blogger and the New York Times bestselling author of Travel the World on $50 a Day. He is also the founder of TravelCon, a yearly conference to help people learn the skills needed to develop a profitable and sustainable career in the travel industry. His newest book, Ten Years a Nomad, debuted this month.  This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“It's the serendipity of travel that makes it so amazing” – Matt Kepnes In this episode of Deviate, Matt discusses what led him to travel, and adapting to life on the road (3:00); planning his first trip, and the early days of travel (13:00); the impact of travel, and the concept of being “interesting” (21:00); travel friendships and relationships (30:00); travel obstacles (39:00); and his evolution as a traveler over the course of a decade. Matt Kepnes (@nomadicmatt), commonly known as “Nomadic Matt,” is a travel blogger and the New York Times bestselling author of Travel the World on $50 a Day. He is also the founder of TravelCon, a yearly conference to help people learn the skills needed to develop a profitable and sustainable career in the travel industry. His newest book, Ten Years a Nomad, debuted this month.  This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“For too long I had thought adventure was life. But, actually, life is the adventure. And that is not the same thing at all.” –Alastair Humphreys In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Alastair Humphreys discuss Alastair’s history as an adventurer, beginning with his four-year bicycle trip around the world (3:00); Alastair’s new book, his fear of performing, and his effort to be vulnerable (10:00); the way the notion of adventure changes as he got older and become a father (16:00); the specifics of walking across Spain with no money and a violin (23:00); the stakes of adventure the 21st century, and the joys to be found the journey (38:00); the task of making the most of the time you’re given in life (44:00); and the definition of microadventures, how they can enhance your life (48:30). Alastair Humphreys (@Al_Humphreys) is an English adventurer, author and motivational speaker. He is responsible for the rise of the idea of the microadventure – short, local, accessible adventures. Alastair was the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year in 2012, and has written nine books, including Microadventures: Local Discoveries for Great Escapes (2014), and My Midsummer Morning, which came out in May. Notable Links: Busking (street performance) As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, by Laurie Lee (book) Kleos (Greek concept) Achilles (Greek Trojan War hero) Pico Iyer (travel writer) Nonverbal communication (communication strategy) Digital detox (organized break from electronics) Microadventure (local travel initiative) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“What changed in my travels was my own realization of what our impact is as travelers.” – Pegi Vail In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Pegi Vail discuss how art changes the way places are visited (3:00); backpacker culture and what can go wrong with it (14:00); the impact of travel on local people and promotion of responsible tourism (25:00); and how to protect local culture (38:00). Pegi Vail is an anthropologist and filmmaker who directed the documentary Gringo Trails.  She is also a sustainable-travel consultant whose academic work has focused on visual anthropology, Indigenous media, and the role of storytelling to the political economy of tourism in the developing world. She is the Co-Director of New York University's Center for Media, Culture, and History. Vail is a founding member, curator, and featured storyteller of the popular not-for-profit storytelling collective, The Moth. Notable Links: Yossi Ghinsberg (adventurer) Jungle, by Yossi Ghinsberg (book) The Beach (film) Lawrence of Arabia (film) Eat Pray Love (film) Under the Tuscan Sun (film) Wild, by Cheryl Strayed (book) Costas Christ (travel writer) The Venice Syndrome (documentary) Tyson Mowarin (filmmaker) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode of Deviate is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“The reason to go to a place is not to have just been to that place…travel is not just a bunch of checklists.” – Seth Kugel  In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Seth Kugel discuss the danger of relying on TripAdvisor and the importance of getting off the beaten path (3:00); travelers versus tourists and the concept of organic travel (16:00); and Bucket Lists and the idea of authenticity (48:00). Seth Kugel (@sethkugel) is a travel writer, freelance journalist, and host of the Amigo Gringo YouTube channel. He was the Frugal Traveler columnist for the New York Times from 2010 to 2016, and he is most recently the author of the book Rediscovering Travel: A Guide for the Globally Curious. For more on Seth, check out his website http://sethkugel.com/ Notable Links: The Tourist, by Dean MacCannell (book) Abroad, by Paul Fussell (book) Booking.com (website and application) Maps.me (application) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“We are all one seat away on the train from meeting the person that could change our lives.” – Kevin Smokler In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Kevin Smokler do a deep-dive on travel movies, starting with a discussion of The Beach (2:00) before delving into what constitutes a travel movie (12:00); and their top travel and road movies, focusing on Into the Wild, Lost in Translation, and Before Sunrise (1:01:00). Kevin Smokler (@weegee) is a writer, public speaker, critic, and author of Brat Pack America and Practical Classics. He speaks on the future of media and culture and his written work has appeared in such publications as the Los Angeles Times, Buzzfeed, and Vulture. He previously appeared as a guest on Episode 33 of Deviate, Why 1980s coming-of-age movies matter. Notable Links: Before Sunrise (movie) Lost in Translation (movie) Sofia Coppola (writer-director) My Bloody Valentine (band) Jesus and Mary Chain (band) Into the Wild (movie) John Krakauer (author) Christopher McCandless (subject of Into the Wild) Sean Penn (director of Into the Wild) Almost Famous (movie) Thelma & Louise (movie) Trainspotting (movie) Easy Rider (movie) Motorcycle Diaries (movie) Walter Salles (film director) Southside with You (movie) Midnight Express (movie) Hostel (movie) The Straight Story (movie) The Way (movie) Stand by Me (movie) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (movie) Grizzly Man (movie) The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (movie) Freaks and Geeks (television show) Danny Boyle (director) Roger Ebert (film critic) Travels with Charley (travel book) John Steinbeck (author) Che Guevara (revolutionary) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode of Deviate is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“The movie does feel so dated…and yet, there’s a part of me that can relate to traveling across the world, landing somewhere, finding yourself surrounded by what's all too familiar, and wanting something more. I think that sort of theme is still probably as relevant as ever.” – Jim Benning This episode of Deviate focuses on the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio movie that was based on Alex Garland’s book, The Beach. Rolf begins by reading his essay Storming the Beach (6:00), followed by a discussion with Jim Benning on post-modern travel and the differences between the book and movie (42:00); the impact of social media, and previously, Lonely Planet, on travel (1:08:00); and authenticity of travel in 2019 (1:35:00). Jim Benning (@jimbenning) is a travel writer and co-founder of the online travel magazine World Hum, which eventually was acquired by the Travel Channel. His work has appeared in such publications as The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, BBC.com, and National Geographic Adventure. Jim now serves as editor-in-chief of Texas Journey and as a features editor of Westways for AAA publishing. For more about Jim, check out http://www.jimbenning.net. Notable Links: Marco Polo Didn't Go There, by Rolf Potts (collection of travel stories) A spy on “The Beach”, by Rolf Potts (travel dispatch) Live from the trans-global Beach Nation, by Rolf Potts (travel dispatch) The Significance of Salon Travel, by Jim Benning (article) Bill Bryson (author) Salon (online magazine) Don George (writer and editor) Alex Garland (writer and director) Andrew Macdonald (film producer) Lonely Planet (guide book publisher) DiCaprio Swims With the Plankton in Paradise, by Elvis Mitchell (film review) Khao San Road (Bangkok backpacker ghetto) The Place to Disappear, by Susan Orlean (article) The Same River Twice: Bangkok in Three Acts (Rolf on Khao San Road in 2010) Thailand bay made popular by ‘The Beach’ to remain closed for two more years (article) Banana Pancake Trail (travel route) Legend (Bob Marley and the Wailers album) Henry Rollins (musician)   Six random insights from Henry Rollins' 2018 Travel Slideshow Tamarindo, Costa Rica (beach town) Endless Summer II (movie) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode of Deviate is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you've ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals.  AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Some of the most character-building and hilarious stories come from situations that did not necessarily work out according to plan.” – Sarah Von Bargen Sarah Von Bargen (@yesandyesblog) is a writer, teacher, social media consultant, and course-creator. For more about Sarah, check out https://yesandyes.org/, where she is editor-in-chief, or her Instagram.  In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Sarah talk about personality types and aligning of values (3:00); why traveling light is important (9:00); Sarah's most commonly received travel-related questions, and navigating the fear of travel (28:00); advice for female travelers (41:00); and taking the experience of travel back home with you (56:00). Notable Links: Myers-Briggs (personality “test”) Numbeo.com (website) Livability.com (website) Bank Boost (book and course) Sarah von Bargen is here to help you correct your bad self-help habits (podcast) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Enjoy reallocating your energy into the experience [when you travel with no bags], because experience is the medium of our lives.” – Jonathan Yevin Jonathan Yevin is a travel writer known for his minimalist approach to traveling. He is recognized as a pioneer of “no-baggage” travel, having embarked on many voyages around the world with only a passport, money, phone, and toothbrush. He has written for Rough Guides, Fodor's, Frommer's, Conde Nast Traveler, Outside, Matador Travel, and been profiled by Lonely Planet, Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report, Travel & Leisure, Details and Maxim.  In this episode of Deviate, Rolf starts by speaking with show producer Justin Glow about their experiences together in traveling with no luggage in 2010 (3:00) before interviewing Jonathan Yevin about his first trip without baggage and the difficulties he faced (12:00); his basic no-baggage “kit” and what not to bring (21:00); the philosophical underpinning of his minimalist travel approach (43:00); and strategies and tips for people getting started with travel minimalism (48:00). Notable Links: Rolf’s 2010 No Baggage Challenge blog No Baggage Videos, produced by Justin Glow, from 2010 LG V20 (phone) Rolf’s 2015 interview with Jonathan Yevin Q&A with Jonathan Yevin, no-luggage traveler (2010 interview) Why This Man Travels Without Luggage (2016 CNN Traveler interview) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“The secret of the bucket list is that what's on it doesn't matter, because the doors that will open up once you're out looking for your bucket list item will be more amazing than anything you could have dreamt up at home.” – Rolf Potts Sean Keener (@SEKeener) is the Cofounder and CEO of the BootsnAll Travel Network, a travel media network focused on planning complex, multi-stop, round-the-world travel. He is also the Chairman of Airtreks, a travel network specializing in multi-stop international travel.  In this episode of Deviate, Rolf reads his essay “5 ways indie travel has changed (and stayed the same) since 1999” (8:00) before speaking with Sean about how travel has changed over the past 20 years and the impact of technology (24:00); the benefits of travel and the importance of failure (48:00); and photography and the selfie generation (54:00). Notable Links: Airtreks (travel company) Maps.me (offline map app) On Photography, by Susan (collection of essays) Temi (speech to text transcription software) Lonely Planet (travel guide) Kevin Kelly (editor / publisher) Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman (book) Humans of New York (website) Couchsurfing (travel website) Anthem Soul, by Rolf Potts (essay) Writing Away, by Lavinia Spalding (book) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“In the end, you'll have this [psychedelic] experience that people paint about, people write about, and musicians compose songs about.” – Ari Shaffir Ari Shaffir (@AriShaffir) is a comedian, writer, podcaster, and actor. He is the current host of the Skeptic Tank podcast. For more information on Ari, visit his website, where you can read the Shroomfest Primer discussed in this episode. In the Season Two premiere of Deviate, Rolf reflects on his first psilocybin mushroom experience with Ari (13:00); his view on how mushrooms enhance appreciation of travel and living in the moment (59:00); the reaction to one’s surroundings on psychedelics, and how setting matters (1:19:00); the language of psychedelics and journaling (1:30:00); and the idea of performance, along with final reflections (2:06:00). Notable Links:    Tim Ferriss (author / entrepreneur)    The Joe Rogan Experience (podcast)    Ari Shaffir's Skeptic Tank #353: Modern Hippie, with Tim Ferriss (podcast)    Michael Pollan (professor / author)    How to Change your Mind, by Michael Pollan (book)    Tim Ferriss Show (Episode 340) interview with Paul Stamets (podcast)    Tim Ferriss Show (Episode 365) interview with Michael Pollan (podcast)    Timothy Leary (psychologist)    Aldous Huxley (writer / philosopher)    The Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum, by Norman Stiles (book) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.