Category: Travel

THE PREACHER Jarena Lee

In 1819, an itinerant Methodist preacher set off across a brand-new nation to spread the gospel to its people. Over the decades of her unique ministry, Jarena Lee would witness both incredible progress and maddening injustice – and publish the first spiritual autobiography ever written by an African American woman. But what message was her book actually meant to send? Discover the incredible life of this forgotten spiritual powerhouse with our guests, Lisa Gring-Pemble and …

19th century / Black history / First woman to... / North America / Religion / Travel / United States / Writers

THE KLONDIKE QUEEN Shaaw Tláa (Kate Carmack)

On a day like any other in 1896, Shaaw Tláa was washing dishes in a Yukon creek. But something shiny caught her eye… and the Klondike Gold Rush began. It’s an insane chapter of world history: 100,000 ill-prepared dreamers from all over the world trekked into the subarctic. But what would become of the indigenous woman who started it all? Shaaw Tláa, known to the world as Kate Carmack, was suddenly one the richest people …

19th century / Canada / First woman to... / Indigenous Peoples / North America / on-location / Travel

A WINTER OF CONTENT Laura Lee Davidson

To snowy Ontario, Canada for our 2026 Christmas Special! Living out the dream of countless exhausted women, Laura Lee Davidson retreated to an island in the middle of a lake, and lived there alone through a long Canadian winter. But she wasn’t really alone. Wild creatures became her friends, and she was constantly the recipient of neighborly kindness from folks on the mainland. Laura Lee’s 1922 book about her winter on the island is now …

20th century / Canada / Christmas Specials / North America / Travel / United States / Writers

THE BLACK NATIONALIST Queen Mother Audley Moore

Queen Mother Audley Moore was one of the most respected, most influential, longest-lasting influences on the US Black Nationalist movement, the Pan-African movement, the movement for Reparations, and the Black American organizing community in general across almost the entire 20th century. So why have most of us never even heard her name? Returning guest Ashley Farmer introduces Olivia to the incredible, unexpected force that was Queen Mother Audley Moore. Dr. Ashley Farmer is an internationally …

20th century / Africa / Black history / First woman to... / Ghana / Government / North America / Philosophy / Politics / South Africa / Tanzania / Travel / United States

THE WITNESS Leonora Sansay

Leonora Sansay lived through the last chaotic years of the Haitian Revolution – but the book she wrote about it would tell an entirely unexpected story. Join returning guest Dr. Maria Windell as we explore the fascinatingly “messy-complicated” life of novelist Leonora Sansay – and uncover a fascinating link with “almost-Founding Father” (and 21st century Broadway icon) …Vice President Aaron Burr?   The text of Sansay’s novel Secret History is also available free on Project …

18th century / 19th century / Haiti / North America / Politics / Revolution / Travel / United States / War

THE TUGBOAT PIONEER Thea Foss

135 years ago, Norwegian immigrant Thea Foss lived in a ramshackle driftwood houseboat on the coast of Tacoma Washington. Kind, capable, and hard-working, she was an anchor for hundreds more immigrants during America’s Gilded Age. Thea built the largest maritime company west of the Mississippi- but more than that, she was the heart of the community. (Plus there’s a boat parade, a catastrophic fire, and a truly delightful cow.) Join Katie on location in Tacoma, …

20th century / Europe / North America / Norway / on-location / Travel / United States

THE PEACE WEAVER Eva Palmer Sikelianos

What if we could reopen a primordial spiritual portal, and summon peace on earth? For Eva Palmer Sikelianos in 1920s Greece, world peace wasn’t a lofty dream — it was an achievable goal. The key, Eva believed, was ancient Greek art, returned to Delphi. She had a bold plan, and if she could pull it off, she just might save the world. Join Katie on location at the Benaki Museum in Athens, with Maria Dimitriadou, …

20th century / Activists / Archaeology / Artists / Dancers / Europe / Greece / LGBTQ+ / North America / on-location / Performers / Philosophy / Theater / Travel / United States

THE VAGABOND PRINCESS Gulbadan Begum

At the dawn of the Mughal Empire, a bold and brilliant Princess outlived three Emperors, and managed to create an adventurous, wildly unexpected life for herself during one of the most tumultuous eras in history. And luckily for the rest of us – she wrote it all down! Award-winning historian and author Dr. Ruby Lal is back to introduce us to THE VAGABOND PRINCESS, Gulbadan Begum.     Ruby Lal is Professor of South Asian Studies at …

16th century / Afghanistan / Asia / First woman to... / Government / India / Pakistan / Politics / Religion / Saudi Arabia / Travel / Writers

THE FREE AND INDEPENDENT WOMAN Sayyida al Hurra

Nobody knows her real name. But this “Uncontested Pirate Queen of the Western Mediterranean” certainly earned her title: the Sayyida al Hurra, the Free and Independent Woman. From child refugee fleeing the Spanish Inquisition, to ruling Governor of Tetouan, to the Sultana of Morocco – Sayyida was never one to follow the path society had laid out for her. Author Laura Sook Duncome helps us uncover the mystery of this one and only actual Pirate …

15th century / Africa / Europe / Government / Military / Morocco / Pirates / Politics / Religion / Rulers / Spain / Travel

THE WITCH OF WELLFLEET Maria Hallett

A pirate ship jammed with treasure. The worst storm to ever hit Cape Cod. The mythical shipwreck — 280 years later, found. Everything in this swashbuckling tale (full of impossible things that really did happen) occurred because of Maria Hallett. Did she turn witch, to curse her lover’s ship, or to save it? Join us on location at Real Pirates Museum in Salem, MA. Stephanie Clements is a Cape Cod native and guide at Real …

18th century / Ghosts / North America / on-location / Pirates / Travel / United States / Witches