FEATURED: The DO Lectures (September 2009)
The DO Lecture series features talks and presentations by cutting-edge experts from a wide variety of disciplines — from mountaineers to sustainable architects to graphic designers. In this lecture, Rolf discusses vagabonding and the ethic of long-term travel, challenging the audience to view time as the truest form of wealth in life, and to live a life that is less mediated by electronics and more informed by the people and places that surround you.
FEATURED: Authors@Google (August 2007)
An hour-long video of Rolf talking in depth about vagabonding and the art of long-term world travel. Includes Q&A questions from the audience. A minute-by-minute breakdown of the session’s themes can be found here.
Rolf Potts tells his original Vagabonding Story (September 2014)
At the MeetPlanGo Event in New York City in the fall of 2014, Rolf shares his story and why one should consider traveling the world.
University of Pennsylvania (November 2011)
An hour-long lecture on the influence and example of Emanuel Haldeman-Julius, the “The Henry Ford of Literature,” whose “Little Blue Books” created a mail-order information superhighway that paved the way for the sexual revolution, influenced the feminist and civil rights movements, and foreshadowed the Age of Information.
Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore (Pt. 1) (July 27, 2009)
Rolf Potts @ Shakespeare Book Co., Pt 1
Rolf reads from the “Tantric Sex For Dilettantes” chapter of Marco Polo Didn’t Go There, then goes on to read the humorous annotations from Chapter 15, which highlight the idiosyncrasies of a character named Mr. Ibrahim.
Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore (Pt. 2) (July 27, 2009)
Rolf Potts @ Shakespeare Book Co., Pt 2.
A Q&A session between Rolf and the Shakespeare and Co. audience. Topics discussed include the ethics of tourist economies, the sometimes-tainted reputation of travel writing, how one can get to know a city through a single neighborhood block, the anthropology of tourist behavior, the idea that refugees are the true “adventure travelers,” the origin of the title “Marco Polo Didn’t Go There,” Bruce Chatwin’s decision to not include Salman Rushdie in The Songlines, and the future of travel writing in the digital age.