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Artwork for Deviate

Deviate

Rolf Potts
Travel
Travel Writing
Vagabonding
Hippie Trail
Before Sunrise
Human Connection
Bicycling Across America
Cultural Experiences
Super Bowl
Kansas
Kindness
Travel Experience
Spirituality
Atacama Desert
Slum Tourism
Family
Empathy
California
Kansas City Chiefs
Time Wealth

Rolf Potts veers off-topic in this unique series of conversations with experts, public figures, and intriguing people.

PublishesMonthlyEpisodes255Founded9 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
Places & TravelPersonal JournalsSociety & Culture

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Artwork for Deviate

Latest Episodes

"All writing is trying to destroy a stereotype, and the individual that you're writing about -- the figure in the landscape -- is actually the ideal." —Paul Theroux

Paul Theroux's highly acclaimed novels include Blinding Light, My Other Life, and Th... more

“"When I was in the third grade my teacher announced to our class that Ronald Reagan had been shot. When she asked if we had questions, I raised my hand and asked her if the Indiana - North Carolina basketball game was still going to happen that nigh... more

“A joke is kind of like a little life-lesson in addition to being funny. If your joke is really good, there's a little nugget of truth in it.” – Cedar Van Tassel

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Cedar discuss why kids want to be paleontologists ... more

“When we don't foster local filmmaking traditions, we end up making movies about what we think life is like in the cities we do see movies about.” – Jason Bailey

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Jason talk about how being from Kansas influenced ... more

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Recent Guests

Paul Theroux
Travel writer and author of Figures in a Landscape
Independent author / Writer
Episode: Best of Travel: Paul Theroux on the necessary obstacles of meaningful journeys
Chuck Klosterman
Writer; guest on Deviate discussing sports and place in media
Episode: The geography of sports movies (with Chuck Klosterman and Michael Weinreb)
Michael Weinreb
Writer; guest on Deviate
Episode: The geography of sports movies (with Chuck Klosterman and Michael Weinreb)
Cedar Van Tassel
Guest, author/artist of Appleguy and Beefwood
Self-published author/artist, publisher Drawn & Quarterly
Episode: Designing a creative life on your own terms (with Cedar Van Tassel)
Jason Bailey
Movie critic, author of Fun City Cinema
Fun City Cinema; The New York Times
Episode: What movies (do and don't) show us about places before we travel there
Kristen Bush
Filmmaker and Rolf's wife
Episode: Kansas Never Plays Itself: How movies lie when they take us places
Ed Buryn
Vagabonding pioneer and author of Vagabonding In Europe and North Africa
Episode: Vagabonding pioneer Ed Buryn on what indie travel was like in the 1960s and 1970s (encore)
Ash Bhardwaj
Travel journalist and TV presenter, author of Why We Travel
Author of Why We Travel
Episode: Why We Travel: Happiness, curiosity, wonder, sex, healing, and other motivations for hitting the road
Kim Krizan
Screenwriter known for co-writing the film Before Sunrise.
Episode: Before Sunrise: Screenwriter Kim Krizan on what led up to the classic 1995 travel-romance movie

Host

Rolf Potts
Host of the show, core interviewer and travel writer.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 230 ratings
  • Insightful, meaningful travel conversations

    I discovered this podcast after reading Rolf’s book (The Vagabond's Way: 366 Meditations on Wanderlust, Discovery, and the Art of Travel) — which I highly recommend.

    This podcast is a great resource to dive deeper into interesting and important travel topics.

    Rolf is a great interviewer who always asks insightful questions.

    Each episode offers greater nuance into the complex world of travel, which I greatly appreciate as a passionate traveler myself.

    - gottacaseofwanderlust podcast :)

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Aidyl S
    United States2 years ago
  • Love this podcast

    I read Vagabonding years ago and met Rolf at a travel event. Was great to recently discover his podcast. Great interviews

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Travel in 10 Podcast
    Canada2 years ago
  • Great podcast and nuanced conversations

    Rolf has a pleasant Kansas twang to his voice, and his conversations range from travel stories, musings, tips, to non-travel topics that push a more nuanced view of the world. Highly recommend! Also, highly recommended to read his book Vagabonding.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Ilikewaterbottles
    United States3 years ago
  • Best Travel Podcast

    Deviate is my favorite travel podcast. Rolf is a great host in several ways.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    cgutfhj
    United States3 years ago
  • What has happened to you?

    This used to be a wonderful pod, full of the wonder, beauty and adventure of travel. Now you just slog your latest book with tired diatribes against people who aren’t privileged enough to travel the way you do. Hope you get back to relevance

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    berlaewhsdahic
    United States4 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Host engages with wide-ranging topics beyond travel, yielding rich discussions.
A few critics note occasional drift from travel-centric topics to broader cultural ideas.
Listeners appreciate the breadth of guests and the curiosity-driven approach.
Thoughtful, nuanced travel conversations with insightful guests.
Production is simple and authentic, with high-quality dialogue and ideas.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Best of Travel: Paul Theroux on the necessary obstacles of meaningful journeys
Q: What makes a portrait of a place come alive beyond the traveler's own experiences?
A compelling travel portrait relies on the human factor—the stories of the people who actually live in the place, told in their own words and through long, intimate conversations rather than a superficial traveler-centric account.
Best of Travel: Paul Theroux on the necessary obstacles of meaningful journeys
Q: How much time do you need to write about a place, and does it matter more about time or approach?
Theroux suggests that it's less about the absolute amount of time and more about the approach—spending sustained, attentive time with people and letting the relationships and observations drive the narrative.
What movies (do and don't) show us about places before we travel there
Q: What does the rise of independent cinema mean for portraying places like Wichita or Kansas more authentically?
It opens up room for diverse, place-rooted storytelling, allowing smaller productions to showcase local texture and voices, which can counter the homogenizing effect of big-budget, location-agnostic filmmaking.
What movies (do and don't) show us about places before we travel there
Q: Why were so many New York films shot outside New York for decades?
Because of the bureaucratic nightmare of permits, police coordination, and the weather realities of shooting on the East Coast, filmmakers increasingly used soundstages in Los Angeles, which gradually trained audiences to accept a non-locally shot New York as a stand-in.
Exploring the idiosyncrasies of male friendship, with Andrew McCarthy
Q: For many of us, St. Elmo's Fire was a turning point for friendships; is there a sense that the film's portrayal of friend groups mirrors what you observed on the road, and do you see a Deviating Part II in that dynamic?
The guest acknowledges that friendship remains central and that media portrayals of friendship mirror real-life dynamics; he suggests that while cinema often centers romance, friendship is a powerful driver of connection and narrative in life, and wonders about the potential for broader exploration of friendship in media.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Deviate

What is Deviate about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The show centers on thoughtful conversations with writers, filmmakers, and cultural commentators who explore travel, place, and storytelling through a wide cultural lens. Episodes often thread lessons from travel into broader topics like creativity, friendship, cinema, and regional identity, featuring guests who bring a mix of memoir, journalism, and art. Listeners can expect thoughtful questions, nuanced takes on how locations shape culture, and a relaxed, curiosity-driven vibe that rewards long-form dialogue over quick takes. A standoutquality is the ability to weave personal experience with professional artistry, producing conversations that feel intimate yet broadly insightful for curious, creative audiences.

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Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Deviate. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Deviate and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does Deviate get?

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What are the audience demographics for Deviate?

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How many subscribers and views does Deviate have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Deviate has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Deviate?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Deviate:

1. The Rich Roll Podcast
2. Zero To Travel Podcast
3. The Tim Ferriss Show
4. Travel with Amateur Traveler Podcast
5. Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin

How many episodes of Deviate are there?

Deviate launched 9 years ago and published 255 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Deviate?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Deviate?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Deviate from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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What guests have appeared on Deviate?

Recent guests on Deviate include:

1. Paul Theroux
2. Chuck Klosterman
3. Michael Weinreb
4. Cedar Van Tassel
5. Jason Bailey
6. Kristen Bush
7. Ed Buryn
8. Ash Bhardwaj

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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