Dave Seminara – Rolf Potts

Rolf Potts

Travel Writer, Essayist, Adventurer, Teacher

Rolf Potts

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The curious case of a con-man who infiltrated the world of elite travelers

Deviate With Rolf Potts

Deviate

The curious case of a con-man who infiltrated the world of elite travelers

00:00 / 00:51:44

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Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:51:44 | Recorded on June 1, 2021 | Speakers: Dave Seminara, Rolf Potts

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Author Dave Seminara on how a man named William Baekeland conned an elite travel community.

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Books by Rolf

Podcast: Deviate with Rolf

What movies (do and don’t) show us about places before we travel there May 5, 2026
Exploring the idiosyncrasies of male friendship, with Andrew McCarthy April 8, 2026
Debunking the mythology of BEFORE SUNRISE, with co-writer Kim Krizan (in Paris) March 10, 2026
Super Bowl special: Why football kind of matters, with Chuck Klosterman (kind of) February 5, 2026
Time is your truest form of wealth (and travel helps you embrace your riches) January 8, 2026

Recent Blog Posts

It would seem that I have a strange weakness for souvenir socks May 21, 2026
9 outtakes from Yi-Fu Tuan’s 1977 book “Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience” May 14, 2026
Travel Writer: Caroline Van Hemert May 1, 2026
Talking about sense of place and “Kansas Never Plays Itself” on Yonder Radio April 30, 2026
Outtakes from an interview about ecotourists who share the the Darien Gap with migrant travelers April 23, 2026
7 outtakes from Christine Rosen’s 2024 book “The Extinction of Experience” April 9, 2026

Travel Writer Interviews

Travel Writer: Caroline Van Hemert May 1, 2026
Travel Writer: Rachel Rudwall April 2, 2026
Travel Writer: Erin Levi February 26, 2026
Travel Writer: Jen Rose Smith January 29, 2026
Travel Writer: Natalie Compton January 1, 2026
Travel Writer: Mark Orwoll December 4, 2025

Books

Vagabonding

Vagabonding

The Vagabond’s Way

The Vagabond’s Way

Souvenir

Tools of Titans

Kansas Matters

The 33 1/3 B-sides

Souvenir

50 Ways of Looking at Nostalgia

Recent Podcasts

What movies (do and don’t) show us about places before we travel there

Exploring the idiosyncrasies of male friendship, with Andrew McCarthy

Debunking the mythology of BEFORE SUNRISE, with co-writer Kim Krizan (in Paris)

Super Bowl special: Why football kind of matters, with Chuck Klosterman (kind of)

Time is your truest form of wealth (and travel helps you embrace your riches)

Kansas Never Plays Itself: How movies lie when they take us places

Traveling as a writer, and awkward book-tour experiences, with Anthony Doerr (from 2012)

Talking with my parents about how to handle it when your parents die (in memory of Alice Potts, 1943-2025)

An audiobook about how (not) to write a travel book: 9 lessons from my failed van-life memoir

Vagabonding pioneer Ed Buryn on what indie travel was like in the 1960s and 1970s (encore)

Travel Writers

Travel Writer: Caroline Van Hemert

Travel Writer: Rachel Rudwall

Travel Writer: Erin Levi

Travel Writer: Jen Rose Smith

Travel Writer: Natalie Compton

Travel Writer: Mark Orwoll

Travel Writer: I have been interviewing one writer a month for the past 25 years

Travel Writer: Rebecca Hall

Travel Writer: Jen Murphy

Travel Writer: Robin Esrock