In 1895, Annie Cohen embarked on a quest to become the first woman ever to cycle around the world. Did she make it? Yes! Were the newspapers engrossed in her story? Yes! Did she actually… um, cycle? Sometimes! By sheer grit, Annie made her life into something (literally) unbelievable. Peter Zheutlin, author of two books about Annie, tells Katie the tale of a woman who “didn’t run away to join the circus; she became the circus.”  Newsreel and newspaper footage performed by James Henderson, Marc Nelson, and Sam Henderson. Guest Peter Zheutlin is a freelance journalist and author whose work has appeared in The Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Parade Magazine, AARP Magazine and numerous other publications. He’s the author of the New York Times best-seller, Rescue Road: One Man, Thirty Thousand Dogs, and a Million Miles on the Last Hope Highway and Rescued: What Second-Chance Dogs Teach Us About Living With Purpose, Loving With Abandon, and Finding Joy in the Little Things and The Dog Went Over the Mountain: Travels with Albie: An American Journey. He’s also the co-author, with his wife Judith Gelman, of The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook: Inside the Kitchens, Bars and Restaurant, of Mad Men and The Unofficial Girls Guide to New York: Inside the Cafes, Clubs, and Neighborhoods of HBO’s Girls. He previously practiced law and taught legal research and writing at the Northwestern University School of Law and the University of Virginia Law School, worked as the Public Affairs Director of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), winner of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize, and was privileged to be part of the IPPNW delegation that traveled to Oslo to receive the prize. Music featured in this episode included: “Just Like a Rainbow” by the Columbians, “The Royal Vagabond” by Jockers Dance Orchestra, "The Entertainer," "Pine Apple Rag," and "Frog Legs Roll" by Scott Joplin, “Kletzklachka," “Tsigane,” “Polish Jokes are Funny,” and “Drunk in Paris” by Harry Fishpye and the Brown Sound, "Maple Leaf Rag" by Vess Ossman, and “Awen” by The Mind Orchestra. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices