“We do not just keep and collect things. We trouble ourselves to repurpose, create, and invent things just to carry, a little easier, those stories we cannot live without.” —Kendra Greene
In this episode of Deviate, Rolf speaks to the directors of two very different museums — Dawn Hammat of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home in Abilene, Kansas, and Greg Long of Long’s Collectible Showplace & Gift Shop in Salina, Kansas (0:00); what people are drawn to in a given museum, and how a kind of nostalgia drives what people look for there (5:30); the ways all museums change and adapt over time, and how museums can surprise their visitors (12:00).
Notable Links:
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.
Paul Theroux on the merits of travel and the paradoxes of the global economy
Seeking real crowds beats crowdsourcing (from The Vagabond’s Way book launch)
Preconceptions can blur what you see firsthand on the road (with Eddy Harris)
Travel deviations can be as appealing as travel plans, with Ari Shaffir
The Vagabond’s Way: An audio introduction to Rolf’s new book
Vagabonding audio companion: Love, finding home, and telling TV travel stories
“On the Ice”: What it’s like to live and work at Antarctica’s McMurdo Station
A Critical Race Theorist’s guide to writing smut novels, with Dr. Kevin Harrison
Traveler ideals, hospitality, and the disappearance of an Italian priest in Syria
Refuse to be Done: The art of creative persistence for long-haul projects
Marcia DeSanctis on revisiting places, souvenirs, and travel as self-reinvention
Chris Guillebeau on life goals, work, and travel as alt-university [encore]
Hitchhiking for pastries: The art of structuring a journey with an obsession
How to embrace uncertainty and redefine success by taking a “pathless path”
What travel teaches you about the human body, with Dr. Jonathan Reisman
The creative art of making a living as an adventurer, with Alastair Humphreys
The strangers we meet on the road, and how they can deepen our journey
Vagabonding audio companion: What it’s like to come home after a long trip
Meghan Daum on career-reinvention, flyover country, nuance, and Gen X
Paul Theroux on reading, teaching, and slow travel in Mexico [encore]
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