Maintaining creative fitness: How my podcast augments my writing career

“Putting together the podcast has been like swimming laps or practicing free-throws — it’s creative cross-training that benefits my broader writing pursuits, even as it allows me to explore esoteric topics that fascinate me.” – Rolf Potts

In this episode of Deviate (which is remixed from Jay Acunzo’s 3 Clips podcast) Rolf and Jay talk about how a visual medium like travel gets translated to audio, and how podcasting serves Rolf’s creative career (4:00); how the walking episode differed from normal ones, and the walk naturally mixed spiritual and practical themes (10:00); how to approach an interview without an outline, creating unstructured content that is beholden to things like having to take a pee (15:00); ow smooth conversation is often the result of planning and effort, deviating yet remembering what the core topic is (22:00); using spontaneous moments in a strategic way, and how Rolf will organize and plan the podcast looking forward (34:00).

Jay Acunzo has worked for companies like Google and ESPN, and his projects (such as his 3 Clips podcast) aim to demystify the creative process behind creating memorable projects, careers, and companies.

Notable Links:

• Long-distance hiking at home (Deviate episode)
• Idiosyncrasies of global train travel (Deviate episode)
• Thich Nhat Hanh (Buddhist monk)
• Paris Writing Workshops (creative writing class)
• Guildhall School of Music and Drama
• Archive of Deviate episodes with Ari Shaffir
• Scriptnotes (screenwriting podcast)
• The Rewatchables (movie podcast)
• Super Bowl special (Deviate episode)
• Why dinosaurs matter (Deviate episode)
• J. Yuenger on music and long-term travel (Deviate episode)
• Ian MacKaye on rock music (Deviate episode)

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.