Deviate With Rolf Potts

“Beliefs are contagious. The stories we tell take on their own logic and become real, in a way. As travelers in another culture part of your role is to try and understand what narrative ecosystem you’re a part of.”  – Frank Bures In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Frank discuss “culture shock,” and the origins of Frank’s book (2:00); narrative ecosystems, “penis theft,” and culture as a lens to view to the world (10:00); the form cultural panics and idiosyncrasies take in the West (23:00); and how to treat conditions that are both cultural and biological (30:00). Frank Bures is a writer and the author of The Geography of Madness, which Newsweek called one of the best travel books of the decade. His writing has appeared in such publications as Harper’s, Lapham’s Quarterly, and the Best American Travel Writing. For more about Frank, check out www.frankbures.com. Notable Links: Penis theft (culture-bound syndrome) Culture shock (cross-cultural anxiety) Korean fan-death (culture-bound syndrome) Traditional Chi