“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.
What it’s like to travel 37 countries (and counting) in a wheelchair
20 lessons learned from 20 years as a travel writer: A TravelCon keynote
Sex, travel, and the art of being a better bad tourist (with Suzanne Roberts)
Drunk in China: A vicarious Middle Kingdom adventure via its favorite booze
Growing up racially diverse: A not-so-politically-correct roundtable
Eric Weiner’s journey into the ways philosophy compels us to live better
Life changing travel experiences: The best hostel ever (in Cairo)
Brian Koppelman on the intimacy of podcasting and the genius of Iron Maiden
Vagabonding pioneer Ed Buryn on what indie travel was like in the 1960s
Kevin Kelly on how travel has changed over the past 50 years [rebroadcast]
Remembering Bettina Gilois (and what writers can learn from her work)
Talking with my parents about how to handle it when your parents die
Bonus: Unpacking the mission of travel-writing in the 21st century
What the world’s last subsistence hunters can teach us about humanity
Revisiting The Great Gatsby, high-school-style, in quarantine
Why travelers visit museums (in places like Iceland), and what they find there
Life changing travel experiences: Jumping freight trains in the Pacific NW
Kate Harris on the way travel can lead us into deeper questions about the universe
Andrew McCarthy on the Proust Questionnaire (and Brat Pack legacy)
How to balance creative success with business success: An open chat
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