The great railway bizarre: A Trans-Siberian story (plus audio endnotes)

“If there is any revelation to be gleaned from spending several days on a single train, it will come from the bizarre details that lurk beneath the mundanity of the trip itself.” – Rolf Potts

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf reads his essay On the Trans-Siberian Express (2:00) and then recounts, with Jonathan Arlan, the story behind the story, discussing his approach to writing about his experiences on the Trans-Siberian railroad (1:17:00).

Jonathan Arlan (@JonathanArlan) is the author of the book Mountain Lines: A Journey through the French Alps and a recent Tablet essay titled Off the Rails in Birobidzhan.

Notable Links:

• Marco Polo Didn’t Go There, by Rolf Potts (book)
• Genghis Khan (historical figure)
• David Foster Wallace (author)
• In Xanadu, by William Dalrymple (book)
• Naadam (festival)
• Ulan-Ude (Russian city)
• Elderhostel, i.e., Road Scholar (non-profit organization)
• Hunter S. Thompson (journalist and author)
• Douglas Coupland (author and artist)
• Fyodor Dostoevsky (author)
• William S. Burroughs (writer)

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.