Deviate Live in NYC: The Vagabond’s Way (onstage at KGB Bar with Ari Shaffir)

“There’s no getting lost when you travel, because you’re already there. You’re already where you’re supposed to be, which is somewhere in this new place.” –Ari Shaffir

In this episode of Deviate, which took place at New York City’s KGB Bar, Rolf and Ari talk about the premise of Rolf’s new book The Vagabond’s Way (2:20); why it’s important not to postpone one’s dream travels to a seemingly more appropriate time of life, and how it’s hard for your friends to appreciate and understand your travels when you get home (7:30); how to not let your smartphones and photographs get in the way of your best journey (15:00); how to best decide where to start on a journey, and why allowing yourself to get lost is sometimes the best way to find experiences a place (23:00); why the philosophical concept of “time wealth” is important to Rolf, and how travel allows you to express a unique feeling freedom (31:30); how the The Vagabond’s Way is the “spiritual successor” to Vagabonding, and how Rolf keeps travel in conversation with his home life in Kansas (36:00); and how to savor a new place in the moment, even as that place is changing (44:00).

Ari Shaffir (@AriShaffir) is a comedian, writer, podcaster, and actor. He is the host of the Skeptic Tank podcast. His new comedy special, JEW, is available on YouTube.

Notable Links:

• Paris Writing Workshops (Rolf’s summer creative writing classes)
• The Vagabond’s Way, by Rolf Potts (travel book)
• Henry Rollins on Ari’s podcast Skeptic Tank
• Commonplace book (method of compiling knowledge)
• Jasmin Shah (photographer)
• Wenamun (ancient Egyptian traveler)
• Matsuo Bashō, (Japanese poet and traveler)
• On Photography, by Susan Sontag (book)
• Mentawai people (inhabitants of islands near Sumatra)
• Cypress Hill (American hip-hop group)
• Pico Iyer (travel writer)
• Pagan Holiday, by Tony Perrottet (book)
• Icelandic Sagas (Nordic historic narratives)
• Koshary (Egyptian national dish)
• Chefchaouen (city in Morocco)
• Tétouan (city in Morocco)
• Inle Lake (lake in Myanmar)
• Eddy L. Harris (travel writer)
• Aosta Valley (region in the Italian Alps)
• Instagram shot of Rolf’s first vagabonding trip
• Mary Oliver (American poet)
• Lindsborg, Kansas (“Little Sweden”)
• Lower East Side (neighborhood in Manhattan)
• Umbria (region in Italy)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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