What Is Roll On and Why Return to the Basics?

TL;DR

Roll On returns to its original conversational format, with Rich Roll and Adam Skolnick combining personal updates, listener questions, news, remembrance, and humor. They discuss travel during the Omicron variant, Rich’s plant-based events in Vancouver, nearly 200 listener stories collected for an end-of-year episode, and the life and conflict photography of Tom Stoddard.

Transcript

(upbeat music) Alrighty, after an extended series of format deviations, which were met with, let's just say a diversity of reactions. Today Roll On Original, "Original" returns featuring my favorite and let's face it, the audience favorite scuba masked, Paul to my John, Cale to my Reed jokes, which will soon be understood, Sir, Adam Skolnick. How a... Read More

Key Insights

• Roll On is an inconsistently biweekly format that combines news, entertainment, listener questions, important matters, intriguing subjects, nonsense, and humor. Its identity depends less on one major story than on the informal exchange between Rich Roll and Adam Skolnick across many topics.
• The original Roll On partnership has a dedicated audience that specifically wants to hear Adam Skolnick alongside Rich Roll. Rich notes that listeners responded vocally to format deviations and repeatedly asked when the regular version of the program would return.
• Travel during the Omicron period involves rapidly changing restrictions and uncertainty. Adam says Mexico had no listed entry requirements when he checked, while both hosts question whether another variant would actually discourage holiday travelers after nearly two years of pandemic disruption.
• Rich Roll’s Vancouver visit combined plant-based nutrition, public speaking, and community conversation. He spoke at the Planted Expo and joined Zach Berman and Dean Morris for a live podcast event held in a church before an audience of roughly 200 people.
• The listener-story project received close to 200 voicemail submissions describing how the podcast affected people. The production team is editing selected stories into a special end-of-year episode, turning audience experiences into a central part of the show rather than treating them as routine feedback.
• Tom Stoddard was a photojournalist who documented conflicts and major historical events for approximately 40 years. His assignments included Lebanon’s civil war, the siege of Sarajevo, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
• Tom Stoddard’s photographic approach emphasized black-and-white images and Leica cameras. Adam recalls a quotation Stoddard used to express his philosophy: color photography shows clothing, while black-and-white photography reveals the subject’s soul.
• Adam Skolnick worked with Tom Stoddard on a 2007 Men’s Health feature about doctors and healthcare workers connected to displaced communities from Burma. Their reporting took them through Bangkok, Mae Sot, Karen State, and camps occupied by people whose villages had been burned.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the Roll On format on the Rich Roll Podcast?

Roll On is described as an inconsistently biweekly mixture of news, entertainment, listener questions, significant issues, intriguing subjects, nonsense, and humor. Rich Roll and Adam Skolnick loosen the usual structure and move among personal updates, cultural topics, audience participation, and remembrance. The episode marks a return to that original two-person conversational approach after several deviations from the established format.

Q: Why did Rich Roll and Adam Skolnick return to the original format?

The hosts returned to the original format after experimenting with several variations that generated a wide range of audience reactions. Rich says Adam has a vocal, dedicated fan base, and listeners had been asking when the regular Roll On would return. Although Rich enjoyed episodes featuring other contributors, the audience clearly valued the familiar conversational chemistry between Rich and Adam.

Q: How did Omicron affect Adam Skolnick’s Mexico travel plans?

Adam was still preparing to travel to Mexico and obtain the first passport stamp for Zuma, but he was monitoring rapidly changing conditions connected to the Omicron variant. When he checked the entry guidance, Mexico listed no requirements. He hoped reduced travel might make airports less crowded, while Rich doubted that another variant alone would cause many people to cancel holiday plans.

Q: What did Rich Roll do at the Planted Expo in Vancouver?

Rich participated in the Planted Expo, a plant-based nutrition event in Vancouver organized by Stevan Mirkovic. He delivered a talk and also recorded a live podcast conversation in a church with Zach Berman and Dean Morris of A Little More Good. The smaller event drew roughly 200 people and gave Rich an opportunity to engage with an in-person community again.

Q: Who are Zach Berman and Dean Morris?

Zach Berman and Dean Morris host a podcast called A Little More Good. Zach co-founded Juice Truck, which Rich describes as Canada’s first cold-pressed juice bar, founded in 2011. Dean is a pastor as well as a vegan, runner, and Lululemon ambassador. They joined Rich for a live podcast conversation during his Vancouver visit.

Q: What is the Rich Roll listener-story project?

The listener-story project invited people to leave voicemail messages describing how the podcast had affected them. The show received close to 200 submissions, including stories Rich considered remarkable. The production team planned to edit those recordings into a special end-of-year episode, allowing listeners’ personal experiences to become the primary material for a forthcoming installment of the podcast.

Q: Who was photojournalist Tom Stoddard?

Tom Stoddard was Adam Skolnick’s friend and a photojournalist who covered conflicts, humanitarian crises, and historic events for about 40 years. His work included Lebanon’s civil war, the siege of Sarajevo, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He began by asking his local newspaper for work in Northern England.

Q: How did Adam Skolnick work with Tom Stoddard?

Adam worked with Tom Stoddard on a 2007 Men’s Health feature about American and Korean doctors and healthcare workers operating around Burma and Thailand. Their reporting included Bangkok, Mae Sot, Karen State, and displaced-person camps. They crossed the border and met villagers whose homes had been burned and who were seeking safety near Thailand while receiving food and medicine from aid workers.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Rich Roll and Adam Skolnick restore the original Roll On format after several experimental episodes. They describe the show as an inconsistently biweekly combination of news, entertainment, listener questions, important issues, intriguing subjects, nonsense, and humor. Adam’s vocal audience support and the hosts’ easy rapport help frame the return to basics.

• The hosts exchange personal updates about holiday travel and recent events. Adam is preparing for Mexico while monitoring Omicron-related restrictions, and Rich is heading to Austin for a running-industry event with Salomon. Rich also recounts speaking at Vancouver’s Planted Expo and recording a live podcast conversation in a church.

• Rich thanks listeners for submitting nearly 200 stories about the podcast’s impact, which the team plans to edit into an end-of-year episode. The conversation then turns to remembrance, beginning with photojournalist Tom Stoddard, whose four-decade career documented conflicts, humanitarian crises, political figures, and displaced communities around the world.