Stuff You Missed in History Class – Behind the Scenes Minis: Carry-on Bags

Hosts: Holly Frey & Tracy V. Wilson
Date: March 13, 2026
Episode Theme:
A warm, companionable behind-the-scenes mini-episode in which Holly and Tracy reflect on their recent coverage of Elizabeth Bisland’s globe-circling journey, her complicated legacy, the trials of historic (and modern) travel, and a discussion of Gustave Flaubert and the universality of literary discoveries. The episode moves from thoughtful critique to entertaining anecdotes about travel mishaps and personal pet peeves, all with the show’s signature blend of scholarly insight and good humor.

Main Topics Overview

• Reflections on the episode about Elizabeth Bisland and why Tracy chose certain naming conventions.
• Nuanced discussion about Bisland’s character, her legacy, and the challenge of judging historical figures with limited context.
• Empathetic rumination about the challenges of last-minute historic (and modern) travel.
• Entertaining, personal travel disaster stories and the practicalities of luggage.
• A short segment about covering Gustave Flaubert and literary pet peeves.
• Broader musings about how people encounter knowledge, both universal and obscure.
• An affectionate plug for classic novels and the joy of literature.

Section 1: Discussing Elizabeth Bisland and Naming Choices

[03:17]–[04:09]

• Tracy explains why she continued to refer to Elizabeth Bisland as “Bisland” after marriage, maintaining consistency with Bisland’s professional name.
• Tracy chose to consistently refer to Lafcadio Hearn as “Hearn,” given his brief mention, to avoid confusion with his wife’s shared surname.
• If Hearn becomes the subject of a future episode, the approach may differ.

Section 2: The Messiness of Historical Figures

[04:09]–[06:49]

• Tracy: Finds both Bisland and Hearn to be “fascinating messes”: “A fascinating mess. Yeah. Similarly, in some ways, kind of a mess or a mixed bag. Maybe Elizabeth Bisland.” [05:07]
• Addresses Bisland’s mix of admirable and problematic qualities: “That's really lovely. And other things…yikes. That was, girl. What? Really offensive.” [05:09]
• Holly reflects on how people in history—especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries—had far less information at their disposal:
  • “How easy it is to forget that any of these people we talk about historically…had a dicey mix of some of your concepts and your worldview is great, and some of it is not cool at all, is how much less information they had at their fingertips at any given time.” [05:41]
• Both hosts acknowledge judgment must be tempered by the context of the time.

Section 3: Empathy for Elizabeth Bisland the Reluctant Traveler

[07:10]–[08:58]

• Tracy and Holly express empathy for Bisland being pressed into an arduous around-the-world trip on short notice.
  • Holly: “If you told me right now you have to leave on an around the world trip that's gonna take you more than two months and you gotta leave in six hours, I would shout an expletive at you.” [07:37]
  • Tracy: “Yeah, I read a couple of things…who characterized her almost as ungracious about it. And I’m like, she was being told to drop everything and go on a trip that was gonna be uncomfortable at best and exhausting.” [08:08]
• Both articulate that Bisland’s grumpiness was entirely reasonable.

Section 4: Luggage, Packing, and Travel Mishaps

[09:12]–[16:49]

Historic Luggage Innovations

• Tracy delights in Bisland’s advice for lady travelers, especially the “bureau trunk” and shawl straps:
  • “I was just so delighted by the descriptions of what she thought would be good luggage and this, like, newly developed bureau trunk. …I had to look up what a shawl strap was.” [10:50]–[11:32]
• Practical parallels are drawn to modern packing strategies (carry-on essentials in case of lost luggage).

Personal Lost Luggage Anecdotes

• Holly recounts a chaotic luggage debacle in Paris involving Star Wars droid-themed bags:
  • “One of my bags had come out at that point...and she started calling departments around the airport asking if they had seen R2D2 or C3PO. Cause those were the two that were missing.” [13:34]
  • “And we got back to…our room, and there was our 2D2, like, with light shining off of it like it was a holy relic. And Brian hugged that luggage for so long.” [14:48]
• Tracy shares about backing up her checked bag with a rollerboard containing enough essentials to dodge disaster on a multi-stop trip to Morocco.
• Both share tactics: Tracy distributes essentials between bags, Holly packs only carry-ons outbound, then checks bags for the return trip.

Memorable Quote

• Tracy on planning for travel disaster: “If a piece of luggage did not come on our arrival to Morocco, odds of it catching up to us were slim to none.” [15:46]

Section 5: Gustave Flaubert, Social Media, and Literary “Aha!” Moments

[20:17]–[33:23]

Flaubert and Literary Connections

• Holly confesses a longstanding admiration for Flaubert’s “Madame Bovary” and relates being invited back to guest-lecture on it.
• She discusses Flaubert’s notorious disdain for clichés and relates it to a personal pet peeve:
  • “One of my pet peeves…when people say or do mundane things but act as though they are novel…[Flaubert’s] like, let's write down all the stupid things that people say, thinking they are clever. I'm like, yes, write them all down.” [21:35]
• Tracy references XKCD’s “The Lucky 10,000” as a positive model for encountering old things with fresh wonder.

Knowledge We Assume Everyone Shares

• Both hosts reminisce about believing everyone knew certain authors, clowns, or historical facts, only to realize these were niche experiences.
  • Holly: “I thought everybody read Jim Carroll growing up.”
  • Holly: “I thought everybody knew clowns. …[In] Florida, where there is clown school…if you're in theater or the arts at all, you know, people who are clowns.”
  • Tracy: “I know clowns because…of the theater stuff more broadly.” [25:31]–[27:19]

Flaubert and Madame Bovary Trivia

• Discussion on Flaubert’s trial and comparison with Charles Baudelaire, who was penalized for “obscene” poems when Flaubert escaped censure.
• Holly recites the first part of Baudelaire’s “Recueillement,” which she memorized in French as a student.

Section 6: Madame Bovary, Daisy Buchanan, and Literary Revelations

[28:36]–[32:12]

• Holly shares a revelation about the parallels between Emma Bovary and Daisy Buchanan from “The Great Gatsby”—ambitious women seeking meaning and excitement.
  • “Was she part of the inspiration for Daisy and Gatsby? …Because Daisy is very wealthy and can afford all these things, but she is empty and kind of pursuing things that will give her a thrill.” [29:17]
• Tracy ponders why people throw “Great Gatsby”–themed weddings, noting that the novel’s message is hardly romantic.
• Holly argues: “I'll make the case that that great party is worth recreating. …I think that's probably what people are doing. Not like, hey, let's use people and run them over with our cars.” [30:31]
• Both laugh about the now-overused 1920s party motif and reminisce about Tracy’s wedding, for which Holly made the beaded dress.

Section 7: Literary Recommendations & Sign Off

[32:12]–[33:25]

• Holly extols “Madame Bovary” (and film adaptations):
  • “If anybody has not read Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, I highly recommend it…It's a good examination of the way people can be intoxicated by the promise of something else giving their life meaning.” [33:12]
• Warm weekend wishes:
  • “If this is your weekend coming up, I hope you don't accidentally open up any Pandora’s boxes you don't want. If you get to read some books…great. I'm never gonna judge whatever is gonna make you happy.” [34:23]

Notable Quotes

• Tracy: “Boy, do I love how crabby she was about going on this trip.” [07:10]
• Holly: “If you told me right now you have to leave on an around the world trip…in six hours, I would shout an expletive at you.” [07:37]
• Holly: “I just realized…I just want to design clothes for me and, like, the style I want. I don't want to create other people's visions.” [32:06]
• Holly: "I think [Flaubert] would hate social media. Probably because it is so full of people having revelatory experiences that aren't really that revelatory." [24:56]
• Tracy (on lost luggage): "If a piece of luggage did not come on our arrival to Morocco, odds of it catching up to us were slim to none." [15:46]

Key Timestamps

• [03:17] Episode begins; discussion of Bisland, Hearn, and naming conventions
• [05:07] “Fascinating mess”–type reflections on Bisland and Hearn
• [07:37] Empathetic rants about sudden travel assignments
• [09:12] Luggage innovations and travel hacks
• [13:34] Holly’s Parisian lost-luggage adventure
• [20:17] Gustave Flaubert segment starts
• [21:35] Holly’s “mundane ideas as novel” pet peeve
• [25:31] “I thought everybody knew clowns.”
• [29:17] Daisy Buchanan as possibly inspired by Emma Bovary
• [32:12] Holly’s Madame Bovary recommendations and weekend wishes

Episode Tone

Conversational, empathetic, a little nerdy, full of laughter and candid reflections. Tracy and Holly combine historical rigor with warm, relatable storytelling, always inviting listeners into their delightful friendship.

Summary Takeaway

This behind-the-scenes episode blends sharp observations about the difficulties and contradictions of historical figures with down-to-earth stories about travel woes, packing strategies, and the unpredictable roads to learning. The hosts gently invite listeners to consider both the challenges of the past and our own assumptions, all while sharing their own laughter, frustrations, and literary passions.