Ptolemy, Mercator, and the History of our World Map

How a drawing from the 16th century is still shaping the way we see the world

Oct 2 • By Their Own Compass

1

1

45:21

September 2026

History’s Most Ambitious Missionaries

Matteo Ricci, Mary Slessor and Samson Occom’s world-changing travels in the name of Christianity

Sep 17 • By Their Own Compass

4

2

42:52

Escape to Afghanistan: Ella Maillart, Annemarie Schwarzenbach, and the promise that couldn't be kept

And what happens when two people travel the same road, at the same time, but write two very different travel narratives

Sep 4 • By Their Own Compass

51:37

August 2026

Olaudah Equiano: Research Notes, an Exclusive London Walking Map & Further Reading

Bonus Material for members of the By Their Own Compass Club

Aug 26 • By Their Own Compass

History's Greatest Travel Scams: From Medieval Relic Fraud to the Tea House Scam in Beijing

The tea ceremony scam, the fake taxi, the "found" wallet on the streets of Paris, these cons have been running for centuries. We trace them back to…

Aug 20 • By Their Own Compass

35:39

Olaudah Equiano: The Enslaved Man Who Rewrote History

How a kidnapped African child became a merchant, Arctic explorer and bestselling author

Aug 10 • By Their Own Compass

58:40

Nellie Bly: Deleted Pod Content, Round the World Travel Tips and a Spiderman Connection?

Everything we couldn't fit into the episode on the woman who invented undercover journalism and became an accidental industrialist

Aug 3 • By Their Own Compass

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1

7:13

July 2026

Nellie Bly's Record-Breaking Race Around the World

How a gutsy undercover reporter beat Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days – and became a global sensation

Jul 24 • By Their Own Compass

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3

49:14

The Making of The Game of Their Lives, Exclusive Free Documentary Access and More

Bonus Material for members of the By Their Own Compass Club

Jul 18 • By Their Own Compass

1

North Korea's Improbable, Giant-Killing World Cup Run: Mythical Horses, Scary Crucifixes and a Chef's Revenge

Sixty years before Cape Verde won the hearts of football fans everywhere, another unlikely team pulled off something even more extraordinary in the…

Jul 9 • By Their Own Compass

1

3

48:52

Rolling Stones, Tyson Fury, and the Eagles: More Tales from the Road (and even a bit about Route 66)

Bonus Material for members of the By Their Own Compass Club

Jul 2 • By Their Own Compass

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1

June 2026

Route 66: Cowboys, Cadillacs and Nat King Cole

A true embodiment of the American dream, or US exceptionalism at its finest?

Jun 26 • By Their Own Compass

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58:22