Hello Strangers. It’s been a wild few years.

Much has changed since my last season. We went in and out of lockdown. For almost two years, the closest we got to travel was on a screen or a book on our couches. Not being able to move freely was an extremely unsettling and startling surprise as someone who feels most alive when I am traveling. I know for me and a lot of other creatives, it was difficult to stay creative as we watched the world be smothered by so much sadness and pain and isolation infected the world.

But during that time I could slow down and figure out how to tell travel stories from my living room instead of venturing out into the greater unknown. How could I still inspire more people, inspire more women, to go out and travel from the safety of my home?

From Quarantine to Inspired

***People were not interested in traveling.***

I know because I launched my second season on March 16th, 2020, also my birthday, and the response was curbed. Everyone else was focused on much larger problems, as was I.
I quarantined with my (very) new boyfriend, (now fiance), in upstate New York near my family on a sheep farm. We both work in podcasting, so when we wanted space from our screens, we would take these long walks along the dirt roads. We talked about everything, especially how can I still tell travel stories without traveling?

And one day during those long walks, I was reminded that one of my guests in the first season of Strangers Abroad told me about the Nellie Bly race around the world in under 80 days story. I was also jonesing to produce a serialized podcast and take on that creative challenge. So I started researching Nellie Bly’s record- breaking journey and realized Nellie wasn’t the only woman to race around the world, but two. The other female writer, Elizabeth Bisland, also jumped ( albeit, pushed) into the race on November 14th, 1889.

Following Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bislands's

Footsteps Around the World

The more I read Nellie Bly’s and Elizabeth Bisland tales and first hand experiences, I saw so much of my own solo female travel experiences reflected back. I was stunned how so much has changed in terms of technology and transportation but not much has changed around the experiences women have when they travel solo. ( photo source)

A Century Apart:

Navigating Solo Female Travel Challenges through the Ages

As a solo female traveler– I’ve been to five continents, 35 counties, and 20 US states and stayed in some cities and countries for months at a time– I also know the flavor of loneliness and existentialism that happens when you travel; I’ve had homesickness and unwarranted marriage proposals and magical moments with strangers; I know the high of feeling so free and independent and strong in a way no pet, no relationship, no career path would ever make me feel. I wanted to honor these two women who did what I did at a time where flights and vaccines were nonexistent and sexism was rampant, when most women around the world had no rights and were considered second class citizens.

Forgotten Women’s History

Beyond both women’s achievements, what surprised and upset me the most was the fact that this story is relatively unknown. The term Around the World in 80 Days has not left our zeitgeist in the X years since Jules Vern published his fictional bestseller. But this story, about two women who actually did race around the world in under 80 days is relatively unknown. And that is a testament to how much women’s accomplishments and women’s achievements are written out of history. They turned fiction into reality and we forgot about them. And I couldn't let them be forgotten any longer, especially at a time when women’s rights in America are being encroached upon.

I became obsessed

I read their first hand accounts and broke up the series into eleven episodes ( it takes a long time to go around the world, even when you are writing about it). And fortunately for me, their true story breaks down very nicely into a story arch, with two backstory episodes about each woman and nine episodes dedicated to the race itself.

The Remarkable Race Around the World:

Nellie Bly vs. Elizabeth Bisland

In 1889, the world witnessed a historic race between two female journalists. The trailblazer, investigative journalist Nellie Bly, employed by the New York World, conceived the audacious idea. With a mere 56 hours to prepare after receiving editorial approval, she embarked on a steamship bound for London on November 14th.

On the same fateful day, another editor realized the potential to boost his newspaper's circulation by sending his own female writer on a parallel journey. Enter Elizabeth Bisland, a literary editor, who had a mere six hours to prepare. Instead of following Nellie's eastward route, Elizabeth boarded a train to San Francisco.

Fate couldn't have chosen more contrasting individuals. Nellie hailed from the north, while Elizabeth was a product of the south. Nellie was a hard-hitting reporter, whereas Elizabeth's heart beat to the rhythm of poetry. Nellie ventured eastward as Elizabeth embraced the western path.

Thankfully, the fastest route around the world remained consistent. With slight variations, both women journeyed through the same countries and cities, including England, France, Italy, Egypt, Yemen, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Penang, Singapore, Hong Kong, Yokohama, and across America. Podcast listeners will encircle the globe with both of these solo female travelers. Listeners will explore the same locations through the contrasting lenses: Nellie's action-oriented perspective and Elizabeth's poetic sensibilities. Both women travel solo, without a male companion and few items to their names as they both circumnavigate the globe in opposite directions. Although they both are following a straight line, their adventures are filled with ups and downs.

When news of their race hit the newspapers, America and the world at large became captivated by their adventure, with thousands placing bets on their return dates.

This serialized podcast peels back the layers of solo female travel, revealing how little of the emotional exploration has changed for women over the past century. This women’s history podcast delves deep into the female specific feelings and perspectives that arise when exploring new corners of the world and stepping out of one's comfort zone and doing the unimaginable.

You can listen here on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to join these two intrepid female travelers on their extraordinary journey around the world and how they lived to tell the tale.

Resources

80 Days by Mathew Goodman

Around the World in 72 Days and Other Writings by Nellie Bly

In Seven Stages: A Flying Trip Around the World by Elizabeth Bisland

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