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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 05/02/2026

Poxed, pillaged, and a pestilence of Englishmen. It was called The Grand Tour. In the 18th century, British travelers crossed over to the continent in search of education escape, and a bloody good time. New episode out from By Their Own Compass

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 22/01/2026

He spent over three decades living and traveling in Southern and Central Africa and became one of the most famous explorers of Africa in Victorian Britain. But there’s so much more to the story of David Livingstone than what people (including Stanley)…presumed. Link below:

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 20/01/2026

Sacagawea was mostly in the background of the Lewis and Clark Expedition until the Corps of Discovery reached Oregon and, in the middle of a long, boring winter, decided to go to the beach to see a whale...without her. This is our reimagining of that conversation.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 16/01/2026

In the latest episode of @bytheirowncompass.com, Sarah and I delve deeper into the life and legacy of Sacagawea. We also talk about AI and podcast production, and I decide, against all good sense, to write a K-Pop musical about our subject's life. No, seriously. Links below.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 14/01/2026

Forget the "faithful guide" myth. Sacagawea was a young woman compelled into a mission she didn't choose. We're looking at the reality of survival and resilience on By Their Own Compass: Sacagawea. History. Travel. No fluff. Link below.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 24/12/2025

It’s our holiday newsletter in which we look back on 2025, muse about holiday travel, and in which Sarah schools Jeremiah in the proper pronunciation of certain Scottish cities. The link to the latest edition of The Compass Dispatch Newsletter is below.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 18/12/2025

Our holiday gift to you.. Travel plans gone to rubbish? Flight delayed again? Listen to our latest episode on travel plans gone horribly wrong. Your flight might not take off faster, but you'll feel better knowing you didn't bankrupt Scotland. Link below.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 15/12/2025

New bonus episode: Sarah Keenlyside talks with Tina Kanagaratnam from @historicshanghai.bsky.social about Emily Hahn's 1930s world and what remains today. What happened to Emily's Shanghai? Listen now. Link to the full episode in the replies.👇

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 12/12/2025

Jazz, gibbons, and the ghost of the Cathay Hotel. In this special bonus episode, we sat down with Tina Kanagarathnam of @historicshanghai.bsky.social to map out Emily Hahn’s 1930s Shanghai. bytheirowncompass.substack.com/p/bonus-epis... #Shanghai #History #Travel

bytheirowncompass.substack.com

Bonus Episode: Emily Hahn’s Shanghai

A travel companion for finding the ‘Mickey Hahn’ era today with Historic Shanghai.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 08/12/2025

Today is the birthday of writer Bill Bryson, born December 8, 1951: "I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything... Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses."

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 04/12/2025

In this episode, we're following the travels of Emily “Mickey” Hahn in 1930s China. Mickey Hahn was a writer, an adventurer, and a rule breaker whose wanderlust remains an inspiration for travelers in no hurry to get home. bytheirowncompass.substack.com/p/emily-hahn...

bytheirowncompass.substack.com

Emily Hahn

We’re following the travels of Emily “Mickey” Hahn in 1930s China. Mickey Hahn was a writer, an adventurer, and a professional rule breaker whose wanderlust remains an inspiration for travelers in no ...

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 03/12/2025

New Compass Dispatch featuring Kate Simon, born December 5, 1918, who spent decades telling tourists where to find a decent meal before finally publishing the stories she really wanted to write. open.substack.com/pub/bytheiro...

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 27/11/2025

New Compass Dispatch: This week from Egypt. open.substack.com/pub/bytheiro...

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 26/11/2025

On this date in 1922. It was the spark that lit global Egyptomania. Howard Carter peers through a small hole in a sealed doorway in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb of Tutankhamun. Lord Carnarvon: “Can you see anything?” Carter: “Yes. Wonderful things.” #ThisDayInHistory

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 07/11/2025

Happy birthday to Captain James Cook (b. 1728), who proved the Pacific wasn't as empty as Europeans imagined...mainly because millions already lived there. Brilliant cartographer, complicated legacy. Both can be true.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 06/11/2025

In this week’s Compass Dispatch, your correspondent visits the Swiss Alps and ponders the relationship between mountains and the people who climb them. Also cocoa. Lots of cocoa. bytheirowncompass.substack.com/p/compass-di...

bytheirowncompass.substack.com

Compass Dispatches: Eiger Dreams and Overpriced Cocoa in the Swiss Alps

Of humans, heights and the reliably beautiful but historically tragic alpine vistas of Central Switzerland

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 24/10/2025

On the latest episode of Barbarians at the Gate, we look at the 15th-century voyages of the Chinese admiral Zheng He. It’s giraffes, medieval globalization, and what might have been if Zheng He had decided Europe was worth the trip. jeremiahjenne.substack.com/p/barbarians...

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 15/10/2025

Imagine responding to a LinkedIn job offer with "Great! I'll be there for the interview in 2 years. Just need to hang with some sultans, visit a khan, tour Constantinople, and see Central Asia." In this episode of By Their Own Compass, we follow the wanderings of Ibn Battuta.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 29/09/2025

Today is the birthday of explorer Ann Bancroft, born 1955. First woman to reach both North and South Poles on foot. Walked through conditions that would kill most of us in about 90 minutes. Decided sitting still was for people without frostbite goals. An absolute travel legend.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 25/09/2025

William Adams didn’t set out to become the first Englishman in Japan, a confidant of a warlord, or the inspiration for James Clavell’s Shōgun. It just all rather happened. Link to this week's Compass Dispatch Newsletter: bytheirowncompass.substack.com/p/compass-di...

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 24/09/2025

After years teaching and leading educational travel in Asia, I moved to Geneva and had an existential crisis about medieval Swiss politics. What I learned about communication after 20+ years of making history interesting to strangers: open.substack.com/pub/jeremiah...

open.substack.com

The Three Pillars of Great Guiding

Studying a lot of facts is important, but so is the ability to curate that information and deliver a compelling narrative.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 22/09/2025

Junko Tabei would be 86 today. First woman up Everest, but she didn't stop there. Climbed the Seven Summits, cleaned up mountains, took tsunami survivors up Fuji. There's literally an asteroid named after her. "Do not give up. Keep on your quest." What a life.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 19/09/2025

This week's Compass Dispatch includes observations from Sicily on the intersection of film tourism and historical reality. The Godfather locations reveal how Hollywood mythology can overshadow complex local histories. Also mosquitoes. bytheirowncompass.substack.com/p/compass-di...

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 12/09/2025

Pest is your great-aunt who started vaping at age 68 and still outdrinks rugby players at her local. Buda is the great-aunt who summers in Margate with her cats and her collection of Royal Worcester. We picked a side. open.substack.com/pub/bytheiro...

open.substack.com

Compass Dispatches: Budapest

A brief missive from the banks of the Danube, where your correspondents contemplate the fine art of graceful deterioration

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 05/09/2025

Every traveler shares one universal experience, regardless of era: digestive challenges far from home. Our latest newsletter dives into how archaeologists track ancient journeys through the "evidence" left behind. (1/2)

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 31/07/2025

Co-host Jeremiah is on holiday in his homeland, and we offer some thoughts on that most American of travel institutions: The Interstate Highway System. Infrastructure designed for Cold War logistics, now fully weaponized for family vacations. open.substack.com/pub/bytheiro...

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 24/07/2025

From horses to moon landings in 75 years. Meanwhile, it still takes 4 hours to get to Brighton via the M25 on a Friday afternoon. Progress is relative. 🚀 open.substack.com/pub/bytheiro...

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 15/07/2025

July 15 is the birthday of Chinese scholar and geographer Gu Yanwu (1613-1682). When the Ming dynasty fell in 1644, rather than serve the new Manchu conquerors, Gu Yanwu chose early retirement and a life of study and travel throughout northern China.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 24/06/2025

Henry Dunant's unsuccessful business trip to Solferino on June 24, 1859, inspired the founding of the International Red Cross. How a traumatic travel experience ultimately saved millions of lives. #ThisDateinHistory #RedCross #HenryDunant #ICRC #BattleofSolferino open.substack.com/pub/bytheiro...

open.substack.com

Compass Dispatch: How One Man's Terrible Business Trip Inspired the Red Cross

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Solferino

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Alan Allport @alanallport.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

It’s 50 years today that Jaws was released. Here’s the USS Indianapolis speech which (I believe anyway) Robert Shaw mostly improvised. It gets a few of the factual details wrong. But in terms of history as storytelling it remains utterly compelling. youtu.be/4kmMwQ6i6TU

youtu.be

USS Indianapolis Scene | JAWS (1975) Movie CLIP HD

YouTube video by JoBlo Movie Clips

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 20/06/2025

We’re not only about Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta. We also do the impact of famous beach movies on the travel industry, plus BONUS explorations of our co-host’s childhood traumas. Enjoy! open.substack.com/pub/bytheiro...

open.substack.com

Compass Dispatch: Jaws at 50

How the first summer movie blockbuster changed beach travel forever

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 13/06/2025

It’s the 700th anniversary of one of history’s wildest adventures. By Their Own Compass Co-host @jeremiahjenne.com recaps the incredible story of Ibn Battutah.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 06/06/2025

On this day in 1868, Robert Falcon Scott was born. His race to the South Pole with Amundsen became a lesson in how local knowledge and planning (like dogs and skis) can be the difference between triumph and tragedy. bytheirowncompass.substack.com/p/compass-di...

bytheirowncompass.substack.com

Compass Dispatch: Polar Exploration Special – When Getting Lost Becomes Legendary

News from the world of historical travel and past journeys for June 3-10, 2025

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 27/05/2025

Our weekly newsletter from the archives of travel history, notes about historical travelers, and other random travel-related thoughts jotted down while waiting at the intersection of distance and time. open.substack.com/pub/bytheiro...

open.substack.com

Compass Dispatches: Brexit Queues soon to be a thing of the past? Exploring the world without leaving your house, and the joys of (nearly) instant communication

Thoughts and notes from around the world of historical travel (and travel history)

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 20/05/2025

"They weren't stowaways. They didn't dress as women." Steven Schwankert joins us to discuss his book 'The Six' about the Chinese Titanic survivors. A detective story spanning continents, challenging misinformation, and reclaiming erased history. #Titanic #TheSix blubrry.com/barbarians/1...

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 16/05/2025

Our weekly roundup of history, travel, and things that made us chuckle over the past week. substack.com/home/post/p-...

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Paul French @chinarhyming.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Hong Kong, late 1950s (from the Filipino movie The Scavengers, 1959)….

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 02/05/2025

On this day in 1969, the iconic QE2 set sail on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. After 39 years of service, 806 transatlantic crossings, and carrying 2.5 million passengers, she now serves as a floating hotel in Dubai. #QE2Anniversary #TravelHistory

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 29/04/2025

On This Day, April 29, 1770: Captain Cook landed at Botany Bay, Australia. This historic voyage changed Western maps forever while beginning a complex new chapter for Aboriginal peoples who had navigated these lands for 60,000 years with their own sophisticated knowledge systems.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 24/04/2025

By Their Own Compass co-host Jeremiah reviews the classic expat-in-Beijing novel Peking Picnic and reflects on what it means to be a sojourner far from home.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 18/04/2025

“Since April 1, tickets for many historical sites in Greece have become up to 50% more expensive, with the entrance fee to the country's best-known ancient landmark, the Acropolis in Athens, increasing from €20 to €30 for adults.” www.yahoo.com/news/greeces...

yahoo.com

Greece's price hike: Tourist sites drive up prices by up to 50%

Since April 1, tickets for many historical sites in Greece have become up to 50% more expensive, with the entrance fee to the country's best-known ancient landmark, the Acropolis in Athens, increasing...

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 17/04/2025

Some classic travelogues about China (along with a few forgotten gems!) from co-host Jeremiah Jenne’s Archives column at the China Books Review. open.substack.com/pub/bytheiro...

open.substack.com

China Through Travelers' Eyes: Reading Recommendations

Classic travelogues about traveling to the Middle Kingdom

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 16/04/2025

April 16 is the birthday of Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842), a talented artist who turned exile into opportunity. When the French Revolution forced this former Marie Antoinette's bestie to flee France, she embarked on a 12-year tour of European courts, painting portraits of aristocrats.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 28/03/2025

I've been rediscovering classic writings about China for the China Books Review. Check out our first three selections for 2025. open.substack.com/pub/jeremiah...

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 25/03/2025

Today is the birthday of Evliya Çelebi, the ultimate travel blogger, born in Istanbul on March 25, 1611. He spent 40 years documenting journeys across three continents in a massive 10-volume travelogue. A wonderful blend of scholar, humorist, cultural critic, and storyteller.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 19/03/2025

Happy birthday, I presume? Born March 19, 1813, David Livingstone rose from Scottish child laborer to renowned explorer. Livingstone campaigned against slavery, mapped Africa's interior, and documented Victoria Falls. Stanley may have found him in 1871, but Livingstone never considered himself lost.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 27/02/2025

February 27 marks the birthday of British explorer and artist Frederick Catherwood (1799-1854). Catherwood's detailed drawings and lithographs, working with John Lloyd Stephens, challenged European assumptions about the civilizations that existed in the Americas prior to Columbus.

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By Their Own Compass @bytheirowncompass.com · 24/02/2025

February 24 marks the birthday of Ibn Battuta, who was born in Tangier in 1304. Over three decades, this founding member of the Historical Travel Hall of Fame journeyed across the known world, from the Iberian Peninsula to modern-day Beijing, logging an estimated 117,000 km.

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