“We all have different priorities in life, and there is a place for each of us where we can live according to what those priorities are.” – Winona Dimeo In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Winona discuss what people are looking for in a place to live (2:00) and Livability.com’s latest rankings for America’s most livable cities (23:00). Then, Rolf takes recommendations from listeners on their favorite places to live in America (53:00). Winona Dimeo (@winona_rose) is the managing editor of Livability.com, a website that ranks America’s most livable small and mid-sized cities. For more livability tips, check out its rankings of the best small to mid-sized cities in the USA. Livability also publishes its methodology. Cities mentioned in the main interview include: Portland, OR; Austin, TX; Minneapolis, MN; Pittsburgh, PA; Manhattan, KS; Lawrence, KS; Overland Park, KS; Lindsborg, KS; Ottawa, KS; Wichita, KS; Buffalo, NY; Rochester, MN; Kingsport, TN; Sevierville, TN; Fargo, ND; Savannah, GA; New Orleans, LA; Cincinnati, OH; Yellow Springs, OH; Athens, OH; Astoria, OR; Lincoln City, OR; Nashville, TN; Asheville, NC; Black Mountain, NC; Brevard, NC; Traverse City, MI; Marfa, TX; Charleston, SC; Bend, OR; and Hood River, OR. Notable Links: Konza Prairie (biological preserve) Tallgrass National Prairie Preserve Kanopolis State Park Stiefel Theater "One of the Coolest Cities in America Doesn't Even Realize It Yet" (Thrillist article) Dollywood (theme park) Alicia Underlee Nelson (travel writer) Gooding (band) 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, by Patricia Shultz (book) Oregon Shakespeare Festival Transcendental Meditation Wollowa Mountains (mountain range) Terminal Gravity (brewery) Maharishi Vastu Architecture Audio contributors: Adam Karlin (Staunton, VA) Alicia Ard (Bend, OR) Sarah Bell (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania) Gooding (Kingston Springs, TN) Steven Gray (Pensacola, FL) Avery Gunns (Truth or Consequences, NM) Max Hartshorne (Northampton, MA) Michele Hermann (Buffalo, NY) Karen Hugg (Ashland, OR) Jamie-Lee Josselyn (Galena, IL) Brian Kevin (Joseph, OR and Enterprise, OR) Tim Leffel (Chattanooga, TN) Deborah Lewis (Middlebury, VT) Dinty W. Moore (Athens, OH) Chrystine Olson (Graham, NC) Patricia Schultz (Beacon, NY) Jessica Voigts (Traverse City, MI) Jason Wisdom (Fairfield, IA) 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.

Deviate with Rolf Potts

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

"Holiday gave its writers room to tell a comprehensive story. A place was evoked in thousands of words instead of the usual 800 we are now accustomed to reading." – Pamela Fiori In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Pamela talk about the origins of Holiday Magazine, why it attracted good writers, and how its creation was connected to advertising markets (2:15); famous articles to appear in the magazine, and why it was successful (7:00); who the magazine's audience was, how television and political-cultural changes in America affected things in the 1960s (15:00); the decline of Holiday Magazine magazine amid the economic and cultural changes of the 1970s, and why there are no archives (24:30); and the legacy of Holiday Magazine in the 21st century. Pamela Fiori made publishing history in May 1993, when she became the first woman to be named editor in chief of Town & Country, America's oldest continuously published general-interest magazine. She is the author of Holiday: The Best Travel Magazine that Ever Was. Notable Links: Holiday Magazine (travel publication) See the USA in Your Chevrolet (song performed by Dinah Shore) The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1950s TV show) Travels with Charley (1962 John Steinbeck travel book) Saturday Evening Post (American general-interest magazine) Ladies' Home Journal (American women's magazine) Curtis Publishing (American magazine publisher) Ted Patrick (magazine editor) Joan Didion (American essayist) Roger Angell (American essayist) Here is New York (essay and book by E.B. White) Mad Men (TV show about advertising) Big Sur (coastal region of central California) Travel + Leisure (American travel magazine) Mag Men, by Walter Bernard (book) 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 writing in the “Mad Men” era: The myth and legacy of Holiday Magazine

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

“Don’t define your journey while you’re still on it. Be open to it. Don’t think it’s only going to be one way.” – Paul Barach In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Paul discuss why Paul chose Japan for a pilgrimage, and the seven categories of disciplines he used on the hike (1:40); the route and history of the Shikoku Pilgrimage (9:40); Paul’s experiences on the trail (21:00); and Paul’s lessons and regrets from the trip, including why you shouldn’t define your journey while you’re still on it (34:30). Paul Barach is a stand-up comic, storyteller, producer, and writer. He is the author of Fighting Monks and Burning Mountains, about his experience hiking the Shikoku Pilgrimage trail. Notable Links: Kūkai (Japanese Buddhist monk) Burning Mountain Temple (Shikoku pilgrimage site) Camino de Santiago (Spain pilgrimage route) Shikoku Henro Trail (online resource) Ryokan (Japanese inn) Kyokushin (karate style) Gōjū-ryū (karate style) Ichiro Suzuki (Japanese baseball player) 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.

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

“Travel is life’s best education, if you allow it be.” – Rolf Potts In this episode of Deviate, Rolf remixes his interview from the Looking Up Podcast, by Max McCoy. They discuss why travel is a great catalyst for finding direction in life (1:30); how being lonely, lost, and bored allow you to experience travel in a deeper, more vulnerable, more spiritual way (12:30); how traveling and journaling about it can focus one’s writing discipline (20:00); the relationship of one’s travels and one’s work over time (31:00); how to whet your travel appetite by finding adventures at home, and how to navigate relationships as a traveler (41:30); the weird ways souvenirs can deepen the experience and memory of travel (46:00); and Rolf’s life advice to his younger self (50:00). Max McCoy is the host of the Looking Up podcast. Notable Links: Van Life before #VanLife (Deviate episode) Epiphanies of expatriate life in Korea (Deviate episode) Time Wealth and the spiritual texture of travel (Deviate episode) Thomas Merton (American monk and writer) Rumi (13th-century Persian poet) Stephen King (American horror author) Astronaut pen (writing tool) Paris Writing Workshops (Rolf’s writing classes) Geoarbitrage (lifestyle-location strategy) Robert Creeley (American poet) Souvenir, by Rolf Potts (book) One Month On the Mekong, by Rolf Potts (essay) Donald Barthelme (American author) 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.

Vagabonding audio companion: How your earliest journeys transform you

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Life changing travel experiences: Epiphanies of expatriate life in Korea

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

hubhopper

Deviate with Rolf Potts

hubhopper