Episodes
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14. Fear of Failure OR Car Culture OR There’s More Than One Place Like Home OR The End OR The Beginning OR The Middle OR What You Like
On the final evening of my journey, from a placid camping spot in the heart of California wine country, I plan desperately for my return trip to Chicago and draw conclusions about my nemesis, the BFE.
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13. Hearing Voices OR The Longest Day of the Year
It is my belief that every human being has a natural rhythm, a pace at which he prefers to move. For me, that natural rhythm is the chorus of the 1989 Cher song, If I Could Turn Back Time. On the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, I gain an extra hour crossing from the Mountain to...
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12. At One With Nature / At War With Nature OR G-O-A-T
Four days of isolation take their toll on my determination. Between Yellowstone National Park and the Oregon border, the emptiness and brutality of the remaining terrain nearly turn me against the values guiding my trip. My car begins to experience significant mechanical problems, and I go days…
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11. Bare Territory OR Exposed at Yellowstone
Vegetable oil attracts bears. I’m well aware of this fact as I lie in a cold tent at Yellowstone National Park, smelling like my unconventional fuel, reflecting on the trip so far and owning up to a myriad of failures. I revisit three broken rules, including time spent on I-90. I ask myself…
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10. Scars OR Out in Wood Alone
Stands-And-Looks-Back, whose Wasicu name is Jim, finds me in Wood, SD, and talks to me through his car window for over an hour. The subject matter feels eerily familiar and prophetic at once as he espouses on alcohol abuse, isolation, greed, and the connections among the three. I don’t ask him...
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9. May The Wind Be at Your Back OR She Found Me! I Don't Know How, But She Found Me!
From its thoughtless lack of bathrooms to its unrestrained wildlife, South Dakota does everything it can to kill me—and then it actually comes close. Trapped in a brutal midwestern storm on the side of rural Highway 44, I’m confronted with my dispensability in the great ambivalent cycle of life…
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Middleogue OR About Off Track
A quick word from our sponsor as we enter the second half of the audiobook.
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8. A Tale of Three Cities OR I Have To Tell You About The Future!
After my reenergizing weekend in Wooster, I drive north to meet another college friend, Rob, who lives in a considerably less-thriving place. Rob takes me on a depressing tour of Detroit, including the tragically unmaintained “Central Park of Detroit,” Belle Isle. After leaving Rob and refueling…
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6. Star Turn OR The Silence of a Vacuum
The womb is an incredibly noisy place, so much so that newborns aren’t accustomed to silence until several months after birth. At Cherry Springs State Park, a field in the remotest regions of the Pennsylvania mountains, I wonder if I’m taking longer than the average baby to adjust to the outside...
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7. With Ohio Help From My Friends OR Kerry On, My Wayward Son
There is hope for mankind in Wooster, OH, where two of my best friends from college join me in my local-only vows; as it turns out, their support is only the beginning of the mighty forces that come to my aid. During the second weekend of my trip, I’m offered a much-needed dose of optimism as I’m...
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5. Pie, Part One OR Food, Part Two
Jeff Szymanski is an ex-military man gone veggie-burning blueberry farmer who lives near Olean, New York. I found him on the internet, and he offered to fill up my “veg” tank without asking anything in return—except that I meet him early in the morning, fourteen hours after I received his…
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4. Ship Without a Rudder OR A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Niagara
Watertown, New York was once known as “The Great American City.” Now, its paper industry is collapsing, its economy is dependent on the military, and everything except its one antique store is closed on Sunday. I don’t stay long, opting instead for the shores of Lake Ontario, where I meet a kind...
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3. Unfamiliar Territory OR The Monsters of Saranac Lake
After leaving the familiar womb of New England, I travel through eastern New York and up into the Adirondacks, over 2.5 million acres of which are designated in the state constitution as “forever wild.” I stay the night with John and Anne Fitch, who over 30 years have created a paradise for...
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2. On the Nature of Dialogue OR Taking Sides
Vermont is the perfect starter state for someone taking on the BFE*. There are self-described radicals willing to provide lengthy interviews - and limitless free vegetable oil. There are friends and organic farms. There is natural beauty, curbside compost pick-up, and single-payer health care....
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1. To-Do Lists OR Hamartia? Check!
A car full of stuff, a mind full of ambition, and three hours of planning: the perfect foundation for a trip! The first essay (of fourteen) from OFF TRACK sets the foundation for my vegetable-oil powered trip across the country without fast food, interstates, chain stores, hotels, or credit cards.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
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HOSTED BY
John Michael Manship
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How many episodes does Off Track, The Audiobook have?
Off Track, The Audiobook currently has 15 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
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Off Track, The Audiobook is created and hosted by John Michael Manship.
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