Deviate

“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.

“It’s better for characters if their arc isn’t a straight line. You get to see how far they will go for something. You get to test them.” – Latoya Morgan LaToya Morgan (@MorganicInk) is screenwriter who currently serves an executive producer on AMC’s Into the Badlands. Previously, she has worked on the shows Shameless and Turn. She is currently developing a drama for AMC based on Wesley Lowery’s best-selling book They Can’t Kill Us All. In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and LaToya talk about her early upbringing and influences (2:30); diversity on television (8:30); her decision to become a writer (15:00); the role of research versus personal experience in writing (28:00); the the experience of working in a writers’ room (34:00); and managing work/life balance (48:00). Notable Links: Stephen King (author) The Twilight Zone (television show) Black Mirror (television show) General Hospital (television show) One Life to Live (television show) Oprah (television personality / media executive) Friday Night Lights (television show) Mad Men (television show) Game of Thrones (television show) The X-Files (television show) John Steinbeck (author) American Film Institute Charlie Chaplin (actor) City Lights (film) Final Draft (screenwriting software) Melrose Place (television show) Sunset Boulevard (film) Warner Brothers Television Writers’ Workshop Southland (television show) Books mentioned: Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck The Art of Dramatic Writing, by Lajos Egri Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder The Hero’s Journey, by Joseph Campbell Story, by Robert McKee On Writing, by Stephen King Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell 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.

“Punk is not a sound for me. It’s not a style of music. It’s not a look. It’s not even an attitude. For me punk is the free space: It’s the place where new ideas can be presented without having to hew to profit motives.”  — Ian MacKaye Ian MacKaye is the co-founder of Dischord Records and former front man for Fugazi and Minor Threat. He currently performs in the two-piece indie band The Evens with his partner Amy Farina. He curates an informal archive of the Washington DC hardcore and post-hardcore music scenes, including the Fugazi Live Series, an extensive online library of digitized concert recordings. In this episode of Deviate Rolf and Ian discuss the “Nirvana moment” of the early 1990s, how new ideas find their way into music, and how lesser known acts influence the dynamic of popular culture (8:00); the task of archiving and preserving evidence of music that was created outside the commercial music industry (29:00); skateboarding and punk rock as lenses through which to see the world in a different way (45:30); and the lessons and experiences of traveling the world as a musician. Notable links: Our Band Could Be Your Life, by Michael Azerrad (2001 book) Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century, by Greil Marcus (1989 book) Get in the Van: On the Road With Black Flag, by Henry Rollins (1994 book) “Why Do So Many Kids Think Fugazi is God?” 1993 Washington Post article Henry Rollins’ 2018 KCRW interview with Ian MacKaye Woodstock (documentary film) The Vietnam War (Ken Burns TV documentary series) Thích Quảng Đức (Vietnamese monk who died by self-immolation) Phonograph cylinder (19th century recording technology) Dada (early 20th century avant-garde art movement) Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (museum) Bands, musicians, and music mentioned: Henry Rollins (vocalist, author, and performer) Dave Grohl (rock musician) Kurt Cobain (rock musician) Ted Nugent (rock musician) Jimi Hendrix (rock musician) The Stooges (rock band) Black Flag (hardcore punk band) Bad Brains (hardcore punk band) Lungfish (post-hardcore Dischord band from Baltimore) Empire (post Generation X English punk band) Dead Moon (DIY garage punk band fronted by Fred Cole) Heatmiser (early 1990s Elliott Smith post-hardcore band) The Wipers (1970s Portland punk band) Greg Ginn and Chuck Dukowski (Black Flag band members) “The Laughing Song” (late 19th century recording by George W. Johnson)   Look what my hero Ian Mackaye (Minor Threat/Fugazi) just found: a letter I wrote to him when I was 14! Haha! pic.twitter.com/Ak8gxZz5m6 — Foo Fighters (@foofighters) May 28, 2015 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.

“Social capital is as important as formal training when it comes to disaster response. We see in every event people who have never had emergency training playing critical roles.” – Daniel Neely Daniel Neely is the Manager of Community Resilience and Regional Recovery Manager at the Wellington (New Zealand) Region Emergency Management Office. In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Daniel discuss the importance of community relationships when it comes to responding to a disaster (4:00); emergency preparedness tips (8:00); disaster response strategies (13:00); and preparing for a disaster from both a personal and business perspective (19:00). For more disaster preparedness information, check out https://www.ready.gov/ and https://getprepared.nz/ Notable Links: “Teen who rescued 17 in Harvey flooding wins national Citizen Hero award” Federal Emergency Preparedness Resources FEMA (US Agency) National Flood Insurance Program (FEMA program) 100 Resilient Cities (Rockefeller program) “How to Step Up in the Face of Disaster” (TED Talk) “How to survive a disaster” (BBC article) “Recovering from disasters” (Conversation article) Neighborhood Empowerment Network (community resilience alliance) Cajun Navy (volunteer group) John Leach (survival psychologist) Laurie Johnson (survival consultant) 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’s nothing that will stop white people from trying to do some black shit. It’s fundamentally baked into every aspect of American popular culture. It is the first thing that we invented that was entirely ours — white people dressing as black people and entertaining other people.” — Wesley Morris Wesley Morris (@Wesley_Morris) the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic at large for the New York Times. Formerly the co-host of the Grantland podcast “Do You Like Prince Movies?”, he now co-hosts the “Still Processing” podcast with Times colleague Jenna Wortham. In this episode of Deviate Rolf and Wesley discuss the nature of podcast celebrity and how it differs from traditional celebrity (2:45); the stories that sports uniforms tell to the people who watch sports (23:00); the unique task of cultural criticism in the 21st century (30:00); the challenge of being seen as racially representational as a journalist and critic (40:15); and Wesley’s upcoming book about the invention of the performance of blackness in America (51:00). Media personalities mentioned Jenna Wortham (technology reporter and podcaster) Roger Ebert (film critic) Ta-Nehisi Coates (journalist and public intellectual) Bill Simmons (sports columnist and podcaster) Ira Glass (This American Life host) Angelo Moore (lead-singer of Fishbone) Lilly Singh (YouTube star) Rebecca Black (YouTube star) Emily Bazelon (journalist and podcaster) Jordan Peele (film director and actor) Ian MacKaye (DIY punk pioneer) Rany Jazayerli (sports writer) Roxane Gay (writer and commentator) Spike Lee (filmmaker) Sidney Poitier (actor and diplomat) Books and articles mentioned “The Misunderstood Genius of Russell Westbrook,” by Sam Anderson “Bagginess, baseball bodies, and the post-steroid era,” by Wesley Morris “Treme’s Big Problem: Authenticity,” by Rolf Potts “The Frustrating Unlikeability of Treme,” by Alex Pappademas “‘Whitney,’ a Pop Music Tragedy, Is Sad, Strange and Dismaying,” By Wesley Morris The Geto Boys (33 1/3), by Rolf Potts To the Break of Dawn, by Jelani Cobb “The Hug Heard Round the World,” (Malcolm Gladwell podcast episode) Other notable links Slate Political Gabfest (podcast) UniWatch (sports uniform website) Court tennis (archaic sport) ABA/NBA merger (basketball league realignment) Free Spirits (30 for 30 episode about the ABA) Blaxploitation (1970s film subgenre) Blackface minstrelsy (American entertainment form) Stephen Foster (19th century songwriter) Post Malone (rapper) Chromeo (electro-funk duo) Teena Marie (singer-songwriter) Hall & Oates (pop-music duo) 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 the actual facts of what was happening in popular culture in the 1980s — and then there was this tantalizing notion that music played backwards was going to seed our minds with evil. Which was scary, but also kind of cool to a certain kid-like way of thinking. You can almost see a book like Backward Masking Unmasked as young-adult literature.” — Rolf Potts In this episode of Deviate Rolf delves into another musical mystery — the idea of “backward masking” in rock music, and how it came to influence notions of “Satanic Panic” in America over the course of the 1980s. Returning to the show for this musical deep-dive are Jedd Beaudoin (@JeddBeaudoin), who hosts the syndicated music show “Strange Currency,” and Michael Carmody (@Carmody68), a musician, record collector, and donut shop entrepreneur. Together they discuss preacher Jacob Aranza’s underground-classic 1983 anti-rock book Backward Masking Unmasked and its idiosyncratic take on popular music (4:00); the history of rock and roll and American culture that led up to Satanic Panic in the 1980s (31:10); how rock acts exploited the idea of Satanism to sell records just as preachers, politicians, and pop-journalists fixated on its supposed dangers to attract followers (42:10); and the legacy of Satanic Panic and the seeming lack of evil in today’s popular music (1:05:45). Rock and roll curiosities mentioned Backmasking (audio technique) Gene Simmons’ Tongue (Snopes article) Blood in KISS Comic Book (Snopes article) Paul is Dead (Beatles urban legend) Aleister Crowley (English occultist) Robert Johnson sold soul to the devil (blues myth) Sign of the horns (rock hand gesture) Eddie (zombie-like Iron Maiden mascot) Dark Side of the Rainbow (movie/album mashup) Acid rock (psychedelic rock subgenre) Judas Priest suicide lawsuit Ozzy Osbourne suicide lawsuit Norwegian black metal (extreme metal genre) Classic rock is not dead. Classic rock is undead (podcast episode) Hammer of the Gods (controversial book about Led Zeppelin) Movies and TV shows mentioned CHIPs “Rock Devil Rock” episode (1982) The Decline of Western Civilization (Penelope Spheeris documentary) Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (documentary) Rosemary’s Baby (horror movie) The Exorcist (horror movie) Trick or Treat (horror movie) Manic Pixie Dream Girl (stock movie character) Dream Deceivers (Judas Priest suicide trial documentary) Other people, institutions, and events mentioned Satanic Ritual Abuse (moral panic) Day-care sex-abuse hysteria (moral panic) James Vicary (subliminal advertising researcher) James Watt (Interior secretary under Reagan) Tipper Gore (senator’s wife and anti-rock crusader) Captain & Tennille (soft-rock artists) Bette Midler (singer-songwriter) Church of Satan (religious organization) Transcendental Meditation (spiritual practice) Dada (avant-garde art movement) 1 Samuel 15:3 (genocidal Bible verse) West Memphis Three (wrongfully convicted ritual-murder suspects) Shout at the Devil (Motley Crue album) Columbine High School massacre (mass shooting) The weird history of America’s national anthem (podcast episode) Manson murders (cult killings) Rock Devil Rock CHiPs TV clip Quincy punk-rock episode clip This episode was engineered by Torin Andersen of KMUW studios in Wichita. 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 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 Winona Dimeo (@winona_rose) is the managing editor of Livability.com, a website that ranks America’s most livable small and mid-sized cities. 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). For more livability tips, check out 2018 Top 100 Best Places to Live. 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.

“The traditional black experience is not the traditional white experience, so until we recognize that I don’t think it’s going change. But I think that is the first hurdle—compassion and consciousness.” – Candacy Taylor Candacy Taylor (@candacytaylor) is a writer, photographer and cultural critic. She is the founder of Taylor Made Culture. In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Candacy discuss the African American experience along Route 66 (2:30); the history of The Negro Motorist Green Book (15:00); and the current travel issues facing African Americans (27:30). Notable Links: The Negro Motorist Green Book (guidebook) Victor Hugo Green (founder of The Green Book) Sundown Town Fantastic Caverns (show cave) John A. Williams (author) The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson (book) Esso (oil company) Harlem Riot of 1935 Laura Spelman Rockefeller (abolitionist and philanthropist) Sammy Davis Jr. (musician) Duke Ellington (musician) Pearl Bailey (actress and singer) Jackie Robinson (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.

“Once again road trips are becoming more about the journey rather than the destination and I see that as a very encouraging sign that maybe people are realizing the merit of enjoying the journey.” – Richard Ratay Richard Ratay (@RichRatay) is the author of Don’t Make Me Pull Over!, an informal history of the family road trip. In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Richard discuss the history of long-haul automobile travel and the interstate highway system (6:00); the effects of interstate highways on American travel culture (19:00); the station wagon and the evolution of the road trip car (35:00); and the decline of the road trip Golden Age (48:00). Notable Links: Henry Ford (founder of Ford Motor Company) Horatio Nelson Jackson (automobile pioneer) Desert Solitaire, by Edward Abbey (book) Howard Deering Johnson (entrepreneur and businessman) Motel 6 (hotel chain) Ralph Teeter (inventor of cruise control) I Can’t Drive 55 (song by Sammy Hagar) Citizens Band Radio (short distance radio communications) Convoy (song) Convoy (movie) Wooly Willy (toy) Handheld electronic games Mattel (toy manufacturing company) The Sears Christmas Wish Book was (truly) great American literature (Deviate podcast episode) 8-track tape (sound recording technology) Bill Lear (inventor and businessman) Barry Manilow (musician) M*A*S*H (TV series) MacArthur Park (song) Duran Duran (band) Herb Kelleher (founder of Southwest Airlines) Airline Deregulation Act 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 should not be a checklist; it should be about having new experiences” – Catherine Price Catherine Price (@Catherine_Price) is a journalist and author of How to Break Up with Your Phone and 101 Places Not to See Before You Die. In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Catherine discuss digital distractions and their effects on our brains (2:00); reframing the way we think about our smartphones (9:30); being deliberate with our attention (12:30); setting ourselves up for success and creating the necessary “speed-bumps” (17:00); paying attention to our body (21:30); developing a technology-separation practice-trial, and using technology to protect ourselves from technology (29:00); and getting existential about how we think of time management (42:00). For more from Catherine, check out her website at phonebreakup.com Notable Links: “What Would It Take for You to Be Still?” by Catherine Price (article) “How to Break Up With Your Phone” by Catherine Price (article) Edward Tronick and the “Still Face Experiment” University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness The Craving Mind, by Judson Brewer (book) Freedom (computer program and app) Inbox When Ready (computer program) 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.