Deviate Season One finale with Ari Shaffir

“The hashtag level of social media discourse can be really frustrating. It tends to bend narratives toward the hashtag slogan. But when we start sweeping everything into the same category, we begin to trivialize the core issue.” – Rolf Potts Ari Shaffir (@AriShaffir) is a comedian, writer, podcaster, and actor. He is the current host of the podcast Skeptic Tank. In the Season 1 Finale of Deviate, Rolf and Ari resume their conversation about magic mushrooms (7:00); discuss Ari’s strange bets and the experience of panhandling for money (17:00); reflect on lessons learned from the past year of podcasting (32:00); discuss the shortcomings of travel television (55:00); and explore self-mythology and society’s over-simplification of complex topics (1:07:00). This episode of Deviate is brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you’ve ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Airtreks can help with your international flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The Airtreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, and can customize to fit your journey. Visit https://www.airtreks.com/deviate/ and get a signed copy of Vagabonding when you book your first trip with Airtreks.

Deviate episodes mentioned

• Bestselling author Tim Ferriss on how to create a successful podcast
• Comedian Ari Shaffir on ‘shrooms, hugging, and quitting smartphones
• Ari Shaffir on travel, memory, and the odd psychology of souvenirs
• Satanic backward masking changed 1980s rock (but not in the way you think)
• What it’s like to be a black police officer in America
• What it’s like to be a Latino police officer in America
• The weird and complicated history of America’s national anthem
• Punk icon Ian MacKaye on why we should question the official history of rock music
• Celebrating the best places to live (and the quest for home) in America
• Kink Doctor Dulcinea Pitagora on sex therapy, BDSM, and dominatrix work
• The way we grow food has been broken for 10,000 years (but we can fix it)
• Deviate Live in New York City: Travel Stories and Souvenirs
• White Zombie guitarist J. Yuenger on music, expat life, and long-term travel
• Kevin Kelly on the lost world of 1970s Asia (and why you should travel now)
• Andrew McCarthy on storytelling, celebrity, and how travel changed his life
• Paul Theroux on the art of listening, and the necessary obstacles of deep travel

Other links

• 20,000 Days On Earth (Nick Cave documentary)
• The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand (book)
• Museum of Jurassic Technology
• Scientology Center
• Joe Rogan podcast
• Henry Rollins Travel Slideshow
• Punch Drunk Sports (podcast)
• Cal Fussman podcast
• How Mushrooms Can Save You (Tim Ferriss podcast episode)
• Lok lak (Cambodian beef dish)
• Osprey (backpack brand)
• Tortuga (backpack brand)
• Blundstone (footwear company)
• Evan Williams (bourbon brand)

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 [email protected].