1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,200 Speaker 1: Just heads up. This episode contains references to sexual assault. 2 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: Please take care while listening. You're listening to American Shadows, 3 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild 4 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: from Aaron Mankey. Ambitious, intelligent, and fearless journalist Sandy Fox 5 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: would do anything for a story, and the tall, handsome, 6 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: younger man smiling at her at the hotel bar was 7 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: about to become her biggest story. Her wit and beauty 8 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: attracted men wherever she went, and younger men were a favorite. 9 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: And though she didn't care much for the floral tie, 10 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,559 Speaker 1: her new admirer war His movie star good looks and 11 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: hair she later described as the color of Scotch and 12 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 1: water intrigued her, but still she politely declined his offer 13 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: to dance. It had been a trying day. The Fox 14 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:00,279 Speaker 1: had spent the better part of it trying to get 15 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:04,680 Speaker 1: an interview with former Vice President Spiro Agnew, unsuccessful. She 16 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: just wanted to unwind with a drinker too. In November 17 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: of nineteen seventy four, journalism was still mostly a man's job, 18 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 1: but she was determined to succeed. Divorced and in her 19 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: mid forties, English born Fox had recently accepted a one 20 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 1: month trial with an American newspaper. They paid for all 21 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:27,399 Speaker 1: her expenses and flew her to Atlanta alone and board. 22 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:30,400 Speaker 1: She left the bar and headed to the Atlanta Constitution office, 23 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:33,919 Speaker 1: hoping to entice fellow journalists to show her around town. 24 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,679 Speaker 1: No one offered. Fox returned to the hotel bar to 25 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 1: find the handsome man still there. He introduced himself as 26 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: Darrell Golden and asked if she had changed her mind 27 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: about that dance. This time she accepted. They hit it 28 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: off and sat and talked for a while. He told 29 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: her that he had traveled quite a bit and planned 30 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: to drive to Miami the next day. She told him 31 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 1: she was also traveling and leaving for West Palm Beach 32 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: in the morning. Golden suggested they share a ride. The 33 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: Fox choked that he could be a serial killer for 34 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: all she knew. The two laughed, then she finally accepted. 35 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: They spent the night together, and Golden told her he 36 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,919 Speaker 1: wouldn't move long. His lawyer had secret tapes in a 37 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,920 Speaker 1: vault and some one was bound to kill him. He 38 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: suggested that Fox write a book about him, and despite 39 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: this odd behavior in her misgivings, she spent the next 40 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: two days traveling with Golden once they arrived in West Palm. 41 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: Though Fox bid him farewell, Golden pleaded for one more night, 42 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: she declined. The following day, she learned that Golden had 43 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: picked up the wife of a fellow journalist and attempted 44 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: to rape her before she got away. As it turned out, 45 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: Darrell Golden was actually Paul Knowles, the infamous Casanova killer. 46 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: He'd escaped from prison and had killed women in multiple states. Later, 47 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: he had admit to killing thirty five women, though authorities 48 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:02,359 Speaker 1: only tied him to eighteen. One month later, Knowles died 49 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: while attempting to escape. Fox returned to London with not 50 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,080 Speaker 1: only a story to tell, but the realization that she 51 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: agreed with her former travel companion on one thing. She 52 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: would indeed write a book about him. Fox hadn't intentionally 53 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: placed herself in danger, but she wasn't the only female 54 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: journalist who would do anything for a story. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. 55 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to American Shadows. One day in eighteen eighty five, 56 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 1: the headline for the Pittsburgh Dispatch read what Girls Are 57 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: Good for? Erasmus Wilson, the father of five girls and 58 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 1: the papers most popular columnist, penned the story under the 59 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: pseudonym Quiet Observer. In the article, Wilson stated that a 60 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: woman's worth was housework and bearing children. He also said 61 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: that working women were monstrosities, perhaps naturally women readers didn't 62 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: take to Wilson's opinion. One angry woman anonymously wrote a 63 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: lengthy rebuttal, pointing out that women equally intelligent were not 64 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: given the same opportunities as men in the workplace. They 65 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: did their jobs as well as their male counterparts for 66 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,279 Speaker 1: half the pay. The reader eloquently pointed out that a 67 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: woman's shortcomings were the men who held them back. Not 68 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 1: one to complain without a solution, the author made several 69 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: keen suggestions to enrich the lives of women and the 70 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:30,480 Speaker 1: state of society. The letter caught the attention of George Madden, 71 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: the papers editor. He published a notice asking for the 72 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:38,719 Speaker 1: anonymous author to step forward, and when Elizabeth Jane Cochrane 73 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:41,280 Speaker 1: walked into his office, he offered her a job as 74 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: a reporter, and so began her wild career. Elizabeth was 75 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: no stranger to hard work and pushing to get ahead. 76 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: She had fourteen siblings. Her father, Michael, had ten children 77 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: with his first wife, But when she passed away. He 78 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,840 Speaker 1: went Mary Jane Kennedy, also a widow. Kennedy Cochrane had 79 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: five children together. Elizabeth was born on May fifth of 80 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:09,360 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty four and became her father's thirteen daughter. Superstition 81 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: about the numbers seemed to do little except to make 82 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: her more ambitious. Michael Cochrane died when Elizabeth was six 83 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:19,039 Speaker 1: years old. Although he had been the successful judge and 84 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:24,280 Speaker 1: prosperous landowner, his untimely death presented a serious financial hardship 85 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: for his second family. Some sources say his second family 86 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:29,920 Speaker 1: had very little to live on by the time the 87 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:33,400 Speaker 1: estate was divided among all his children. Others say Michael 88 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 1: died without a will, leaving Mary without access or claim 89 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: to his estate. Either way, the family struggled to make 90 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 1: ends meet and became destitute. Early on, Elizabeth realized that 91 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 1: survival meant earning a decent wage. Given the limited choices 92 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: presented to women, it was a monumental task, but Elizabeth 93 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: was smart and very determined. At fifteen, she enrolled in 94 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: a small school to become a teacher, but dropped out 95 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: when she could no longer afford classes. Instead, the mother 96 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 1: and daughter moved to Pittsburgh to run a boarding house. 97 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 1: She was just eighteen when she penned her controversial response 98 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: to Wilson's article, and after accepting the job as a reporter, 99 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: Elizabeth got straight to work. The editor wanted her to 100 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 1: have a catchy pseudonym, and her fellow journalists tossed around 101 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: a few suggestions, but one of them suggested Nellie Bly, 102 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: and it stuck. Pittsburgh songwriter Stephen Foster had made the 103 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: name famous in his song Nellie Bly, though he spelled 104 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 1: Nellie with a y instead of an I e. The 105 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: lyrics portrayed a young woman with fortitude and grit, traits 106 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 1: Elizabeth possessed, and with that, Elizabeth Cochrane became Nellie Bly. 107 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: A reporter for the Pittsburgh Dispatch. Her new career gave 108 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: her the freedom to shine a light on a subject 109 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: She was passionate about women's issues. While she wrote about 110 00:06:56,440 --> 00:07:00,920 Speaker 1: all injustices, she primarily focused on working when men. Her 111 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:04,479 Speaker 1: new career seemed nearly perfect, including the salary of five 112 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: dollars a week, at least for a while. Bli's articles 113 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: were highly controversial in the Victorian era. In her first article, 114 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: titled The Girl Puzzle, she argued that women needed better opportunities, 115 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 1: especially impoverished women. Even more radical, Blin made a case 116 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:31,280 Speaker 1: for some women to remain single. She titled her second 117 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: article Mad Marriages, which called for divorce law reform. Blin 118 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: didn't stop there. To get to the heart of another story. 119 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: She went undercover working in a factory. Women at sweatshops 120 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 1: worked for pitiful wages. They endured unsafe working conditions and 121 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 1: unreasonably long hours to earn more money. Bli thought wealthy 122 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: business men taking advantage of women made for a great story. 123 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,080 Speaker 1: The factory owners didn't agree. They had money and power, 124 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: and immediing le pressured George Madden to stop printing the stories. 125 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: Fearing repercussions from the city's elite and powerful, Madden reassigned 126 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 1: Bli to the Societal pages to cover more woman appropriate 127 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:16,119 Speaker 1: topics like gardening, social events, and fashion. The reassignment didn't 128 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:19,600 Speaker 1: sit well with Bli. She proposed that the paper center 129 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: to Mexico to write an article about life under Dictator 130 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 1: por Furio Diaz. Unfortunately, the assignment was cut short and 131 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: Bli returned home, where Madden promptly assigned her to the 132 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: Societal pages again. Bli wanted more out of her career 133 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:38,200 Speaker 1: and quit. She wrote a note to Erasmus Wilson, addressing 134 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: him by his pen name dear q O. She wrote, 135 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 1: I'm off for New York. Look out for me, signed BLI. 136 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 1: For six months, she applied to one newspaper after another. 137 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 1: No one wanted to hire a woman journalist. Finally, she 138 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,840 Speaker 1: landed an interview with John Cockrill, the managing editor for 139 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. The paper had a long 140 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:06,080 Speaker 1: standing reputation for provocative and sensationalist stories and captivating headlines. 141 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 1: Cockerell wanted someone who could deeply investigate tough topics and 142 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 1: write powerful stories. Bli assured Pulitzer and Cockerell that she 143 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:17,880 Speaker 1: could get the job done. The men said that she'd 144 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:21,440 Speaker 1: need something wild and over the top to secure the position. 145 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: In fact, they had just the assignment go undercover at 146 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:30,440 Speaker 1: the Blackwell Island Insane Asylum. For years, rumors had swirled 147 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:34,520 Speaker 1: around the conditions inside Blackwell. There were whispers of cruelty 148 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:37,800 Speaker 1: and neglect. The job wouldn't be for the faint of heart, 149 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:41,079 Speaker 1: they warned. Did she have enough courage to endure a 150 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: stay at Blackwell? And could she manage to fool doctors 151 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:48,560 Speaker 1: and staff into believing she was insane. Bli replied that 152 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 1: she most definitely did and could. Cockerell cautioned her to 153 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:57,439 Speaker 1: not write sensationalism for headline's sake. She must tell the truth, 154 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: good or bad. Again. Lie agreed. She assured them that 155 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 1: getting in would be easy. All she needed to do 156 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: was looking act like she had lost her mind, and 157 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:11,360 Speaker 1: the real question was how her editors would get her out. 158 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:16,320 Speaker 1: Cockerell shrugged and replied he had no idea. Bli took 159 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 1: the job. Her editors left it up to her to 160 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:22,200 Speaker 1: figure out how to get inside Blackwell. She decided on 161 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:25,520 Speaker 1: the persona of Nellie Brown. The initials matched her own 162 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:29,720 Speaker 1: for simplicity's sake. For a while, she considered asking friends 163 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:33,000 Speaker 1: for help, but that would have required them to act 164 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:36,240 Speaker 1: and pretend to be poor and Blackwell when we took 165 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,440 Speaker 1: in those without money, she decided the best plan was 166 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: to leave them out of it. She found tattered second 167 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:46,280 Speaker 1: hand clothes to wear and rehearsed dazed expressions in front 168 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: of a mirror. She practiced acting strangely and stayed up 169 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,600 Speaker 1: most of the night telling herself ghost stories fully In 170 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,600 Speaker 1: her new role, Bli rented a room at a boarding house. 171 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:00,240 Speaker 1: She shouted about murder and mayhem and accute as her 172 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: fellow borders of being insane. That first night, one of 173 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:07,120 Speaker 1: the boarders had a nightmare about her. The next day, 174 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 1: the rest of the tenants became so terrified of her 175 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:12,760 Speaker 1: that they called the police. Bli later wrote that her 176 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:16,120 Speaker 1: performance was the greatest of her life. The police took 177 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: her to court to stand in front of a judge. 178 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:22,160 Speaker 1: Bli continued to play her role. The judge didn't take 179 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: long to send her to Bellevue for an evaluation. Now, 180 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:35,360 Speaker 1: all Bligh had to do was fool the doctors. As 181 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,680 Speaker 1: the doctors poked, prodded, and questioned her, Bli stared blankly, 182 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:42,080 Speaker 1: and she told them she had no idea how she 183 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 1: got to New York. After the doctors determined that she 184 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:48,440 Speaker 1: was not drugged, they declared her insane. Bli listened as 185 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:52,000 Speaker 1: the doctors examined another woman till he Maynard. No matter 186 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 1: how many times Maynard asked for a test to prove 187 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: her sanity, the staff refused and locked her away for 188 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:02,280 Speaker 1: being difficult. Another mean, an immigrant from Germany, pleaded with 189 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:05,720 Speaker 1: the doctor in her native language. Unable to understand her, 190 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,800 Speaker 1: he declared her anxiety in pleading word signs of insanity 191 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: and ordered her committed. Bli was stunned. Without any translator 192 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:17,199 Speaker 1: or family, this woman and those like her would most 193 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 1: likely live out the rest of their lives at Blackwell. 194 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 1: Bli quickly dropped the insanity act, and, as it turned out, 195 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:27,520 Speaker 1: being committed had little if anything to do with mental illness. 196 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 1: She and the others were ushered onto a ferry and 197 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: taken to Blackwell. The hundred and twenty acre island stretches 198 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 1: along the East River, running alongside Manhattan from fifty first 199 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:43,960 Speaker 1: Street to eight Blackwell A later renamed Roosevelt Island, had 200 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 1: one more name, Welfare Island. The island contained more than 201 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 1: the asylum. It included prisons, hospitals, and charity housing for 202 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:57,680 Speaker 1: the needy and disabled. I'll told eleven institutions existed on 203 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:01,560 Speaker 1: the island In eighteen seventy two. The asylum, which had 204 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:05,240 Speaker 1: been expanded to accommodate around a thousand patients, now housed 205 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:09,680 Speaker 1: one thousand, six hundred. Just sixteen doctors were assigned to 206 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:13,400 Speaker 1: care for all of them. Bli gathered her courage and 207 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 1: allowed the staff to take her inside. She made friends 208 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,520 Speaker 1: with fellow inmates and asked for their stories. She found 209 00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: many were not clinically insane at all. Immigrant women who 210 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:28,560 Speaker 1: couldn't speak English had been declared incompetent. Indigent women without 211 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:32,520 Speaker 1: husbands or family had also been committed. Given their treatment, 212 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: Bli had no doubt that anyone who arrived saying wouldn't 213 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,800 Speaker 1: remain that way long. Patients suffered immense cruelty from the 214 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,080 Speaker 1: doctors and staff. The staff forced Blith and the others 215 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 1: to sit motionless, without speaking, on benches for up to 216 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: twelve hours. Anyone who dared complain or resist was beaten 217 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:54,880 Speaker 1: or threatened, sometimes with sexual violence. They were harnessed together 218 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:58,520 Speaker 1: like livestock and made the pull carts. Meals consisted of 219 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:03,439 Speaker 1: moldy bread and other rotting food. The staff didn't provide utensils, 220 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:05,959 Speaker 1: forcing the women to tear apart their food by hand. 221 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:09,520 Speaker 1: Each patient was doused with buckets of cold water instead 222 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:12,600 Speaker 1: of showering. At night, she and the others slept with 223 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:15,640 Speaker 1: pillows stuffed with straw and blankets too thin to keep 224 00:14:15,679 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 1: them warm. In the dark, a woman sobbed and pleaded 225 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:23,000 Speaker 1: with God to let her die over several days, Bly 226 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:27,480 Speaker 1: witnessed more abuse. Tillie Maynard suffered a seizure. Instead of 227 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 1: offering help, the nurses cursed her. One told the others 228 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:33,160 Speaker 1: that have falled to the floor might teach Maynard a lesson. 229 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,680 Speaker 1: Nurses threw another woman into a closet for muttering to herself. 230 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 1: The staff slapped and punched the patients. Nurses nearly choked 231 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: one woman to death. The patients were tied up with 232 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:46,440 Speaker 1: bed sheets and dunked in frigid water. Beatings with broomsticks 233 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:50,280 Speaker 1: were common. Doses of morphine and coral hydrate were administered 234 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:55,119 Speaker 1: liberally and created addictions in some patients, and doctors continued 235 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:59,240 Speaker 1: to examine and questioned Bly. The more she declared herself, saying, 236 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 1: the more they doubt at her. After ten excruciating days, 237 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:06,760 Speaker 1: her editor sent a lawyer to secure her release. Freedom 238 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: was bitter sweet. Although she was glad to put the 239 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: experience and blackwell behind her, Bly felt determined to help 240 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 1: those she had left behind. In October seven, the first 241 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,800 Speaker 1: installment of her story, titled Behind Asylum, Bars hit the 242 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 1: streets and Bly became an instant media sensation. Authorities immediately 243 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,760 Speaker 1: launched an investigation doctors and nurses scrambled to cover up 244 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 1: the allegations. Patients who had been committed were released or 245 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: transferred to prevent them from speaking to investigators. The investigators 246 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: pursued the charges for months, and no one was happier 247 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 1: to be summoned before a grand jury than Nellie bly. 248 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:47,920 Speaker 1: Despite the asylum's attempted to cover up, the jury believed 249 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: her account. Blive and New York Assistant District Attorney Vernon 250 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:55,880 Speaker 1: Davis worked to bring about reform in mental institutions. A 251 00:15:55,960 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 1: bill was passed allowing additional funding. Regulations monitoring staff and 252 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:04,280 Speaker 1: patient care followed. After it was over, Nellie Bligh returned home. 253 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,920 Speaker 1: She slept easier knowing that she had not only helped 254 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:11,880 Speaker 1: those she left behind a Blackwell, but also other patients 255 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 1: in mental hospitals throughout the state. After her Blackwell Asylum 256 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: expos a, Bligh's career took off, it should proven that 257 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: women were equally capable of investigative reporting as their male counterparts. 258 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 1: Two years later, she made the news again. She asked 259 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:33,600 Speaker 1: her editor at The World News to send her around 260 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:37,800 Speaker 1: the world, though not as an investigator. Bli suggested a 261 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:41,240 Speaker 1: publicity stunt readers would love, she would travel around the 262 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 1: globe and try to match Jules Verne's fictional voyage around 263 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 1: the world in eighty days. Paper sales soared as readers 264 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 1: kept track of Blige's whereabouts. The paper hosted a contest 265 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:54,200 Speaker 1: with the prize of a European trip for anyone who 266 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: could guess Blig's return date. While in France, Bli stopped 267 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:02,800 Speaker 1: to meet Jules Verne briefly. The clock was ticking, after all. 268 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,439 Speaker 1: She arrived back in New York seventy two days later, 269 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:10,440 Speaker 1: beating the fictional record. Bli had become a household name 270 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:13,120 Speaker 1: and one of the most well known journalists in America. 271 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:16,879 Speaker 1: Although the paper sold more copies than ever, her editor 272 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,959 Speaker 1: refused to give her a raise or a bonus. She 273 00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:22,760 Speaker 1: left and went on tour as a lecturer and novelist, 274 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,800 Speaker 1: recounting her trip around the world. Employment came knocking once 275 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:29,439 Speaker 1: more when a publisher contracted her to write fiction for 276 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:32,400 Speaker 1: three years, earning her far more than she ever had 277 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:35,320 Speaker 1: at the paper. When new editors took over the World 278 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:40,000 Speaker 1: News in three they convinced Bli to return, but by 279 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 1: the age of thirty, she retired from reporting and married 280 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:46,359 Speaker 1: Robert Livingston. Seaman, the millionaire owner of the iron Clad 281 00:17:46,359 --> 00:17:50,720 Speaker 1: Manufacturing Company. She co ran her husband's company, even designing 282 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:53,600 Speaker 1: a milk can and patenting the first fifty five gallons 283 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 1: steel drum. Robert died in nineteen o four, leaving Bli 284 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:02,320 Speaker 1: to run the company alone. She added employees with healthcare, libraries, 285 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:06,160 Speaker 1: and even a gym. The company failed, though a factory 286 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:11,000 Speaker 1: manager's embezzlement helped bankrupt it. Bli returned to writing covering 287 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 1: women's rights for the New York Evening Journal. She accurately 288 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:17,040 Speaker 1: predicted that women wouldn't get the right to vote until 289 00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:21,720 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty. Her number of firsts weren't complete, though. Bli 290 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:24,359 Speaker 1: became the world's first woman to cover the front lines 291 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:27,480 Speaker 1: as a foreign correspondent during World War One, where she 292 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:31,240 Speaker 1: was briefly arrested when authorities mistook her for a British spy. 293 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:34,480 Speaker 1: She continued writing about the war after returning to New York. 294 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:39,760 Speaker 1: In nine two, Bli became ill with pneumonia. She died 295 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:42,800 Speaker 1: at St. Mark's Hospital at age fifty seven and was 296 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:46,200 Speaker 1: buried at a simple grave at Wood Lawn. In nineteen 297 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 1: seventy eight, the New York Press Club purchased a proper 298 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:52,720 Speaker 1: headstone for her grave site, and in nine Bli was 299 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:56,680 Speaker 1: inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Four years later, 300 00:18:56,840 --> 00:19:00,640 Speaker 1: she and other women journalists were honored on American post stamps. 301 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,760 Speaker 1: Even then, Nellie Bligh wasn't done. A monument was erected 302 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:09,919 Speaker 1: in consisting of multiple pieces sprawling along a walkway. The 303 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:13,359 Speaker 1: faces of four women, each rendered seven feet tall and 304 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:17,720 Speaker 1: bronze interspersed with large mirrored spheres, then invite the viewer 305 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:21,360 Speaker 1: to see the statues and themselves and the reflections, all 306 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:24,800 Speaker 1: leading to a bronze statue of Blith's face observing all. 307 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 1: Designed by artist Amanda Matthews, the memorial honors Blig's courageous 308 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,480 Speaker 1: life and outstanding journalism, along with other women who have 309 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 1: helped reshape the world. The monument, named the Girl Puzzle 310 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:42,200 Speaker 1: after Bligh's first article, stands in Lighthouse Park on Roosevelt Island. 311 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:45,679 Speaker 1: The location isn't far from where she went undercover at 312 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:50,880 Speaker 1: Blackwell Asylum. The asylum itself, along with many other original buildings, 313 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 1: fell into disrepair. An octagon shaped tower is all that's left. 314 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: I've been there. It's a quieting place, once a house 315 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:03,679 Speaker 1: of horror. Blackwell now stands in ruins and in the 316 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:07,840 Speaker 1: shadow of the bronze monument. There's more to this story. 317 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:10,760 Speaker 1: Stick around after this brief sponsor break to hear all 318 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:21,960 Speaker 1: about it. On February eighth, nine seven, Evelyn Nesbitt took 319 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:25,640 Speaker 1: to the witness stand, heart pounding. All eyes were on her. 320 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 1: Yet it wasn't the black curls framing her flawless complexion 321 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,720 Speaker 1: that caught their attention. It wasn't her famous beauty or 322 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: status is a well known model that had everyone's focus. 323 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 1: It was her testimony. She recounted the events as that 324 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:44,680 Speaker 1: unfolded with Stanford White, new York's top architect, and while 325 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:47,040 Speaker 1: he was well known for designing homes for the city's 326 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:51,600 Speaker 1: wealthy elite, he harbored a dark secret. Evelyn told the 327 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: court how Stanford had insisted she'd drink the champagne he 328 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,719 Speaker 1: had handed her, despite telling him that it tasted terrible. 329 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:02,760 Speaker 1: Everything went black. Shortly afterward, she awoke naked in a 330 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:06,480 Speaker 1: room full of mirrors and realized what had happened. The 331 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:09,600 Speaker 1: memory caused her to tremble and collapse on the stand. 332 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:13,359 Speaker 1: I can't, I can't go on, she sobbed. The court 333 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:18,320 Speaker 1: waited anyway, Evelyn bravely pushed on with the events. When 334 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:22,400 Speaker 1: she realized Stanford had raped her, Evelyn screamed. Stanford told 335 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:24,400 Speaker 1: her it was over now and that she should be quiet. 336 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:27,000 Speaker 1: He threw her a kimono to put on and left 337 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,879 Speaker 1: the room for a while. She screamed harder than before. 338 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:33,040 Speaker 1: Evelyn raised her eyes to look at the courtroom and 339 00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:36,119 Speaker 1: primarily filled with men, except for the small table in 340 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: the corner where four women sat in n seven women 341 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:44,439 Speaker 1: weren't permitted in a courtroom unless they were relatives or witnesses. 342 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:49,280 Speaker 1: The women, Dorothy Dix, Winnifred Black, Nicola Greeley Smith, and 343 00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:53,920 Speaker 1: Ada Patterson, weren't either of those. They were journalists sent 344 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:56,600 Speaker 1: to cover what some called the trial of the century. 345 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:01,560 Speaker 1: Yet Stanford wasn't on trial for sexual salt. Evelyn had 346 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:04,440 Speaker 1: been called to testify in the murder trial being conducted 347 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,960 Speaker 1: against her husband, Harry Thaw, a feigned heir to a 348 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:11,800 Speaker 1: railroad fortune. Evelyn worked as a professional model, posing for 349 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: everything from the Gibson Girl Drawings to several top magazines. 350 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:19,119 Speaker 1: She served as an inspiration for Anne of Green Gables. 351 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:22,119 Speaker 1: Her beauty meant that she had plenty of suitors, including 352 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,760 Speaker 1: Stanford White. She was sixteen when they met and he 353 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:29,760 Speaker 1: was forty eight. Though Stanford was married, he groomed Evelyn 354 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:32,880 Speaker 1: and her mother for what was to come. He bought 355 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,479 Speaker 1: them expensive gifts and paid for their apartment. Stanford had 356 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:39,960 Speaker 1: a long history of grooming young girls for sex. He 357 00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:43,040 Speaker 1: and other members of the Union Club participated in orgies 358 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:47,199 Speaker 1: and other sexual escapades. Reportedly, the ultra rich new of 359 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:51,119 Speaker 1: Stanford's affinity for underaged girls, and that depravity made the 360 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:55,360 Speaker 1: story much more interesting to the public. Even after the assault, 361 00:22:55,440 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 1: Stanford pursued Evelyn with the help of her mother. Feeling helpless, 362 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:03,280 Speaker 1: Evelyn remained trapped in the abusive relationship for six months. 363 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 1: When she turned seventeen, Evelyn broke away from the relationship 364 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:11,160 Speaker 1: and dated twenty one year old actor John Barrymore. Unfortunately, 365 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,960 Speaker 1: both Stanford and her mother conspired to end the relationship. 366 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:19,080 Speaker 1: Barrymore was down on his luck and Stanford had plenty 367 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:23,000 Speaker 1: of money. But another suitor was equally taken with Evelyn, 368 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:26,560 Speaker 1: harry Thaw. He first met her while she starred in 369 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:30,560 Speaker 1: the Broadway show The Wild Rose. He attended forty times, 370 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:35,480 Speaker 1: sending Evelyn flowers and lavish gifts. Aside from his attraction 371 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:39,200 Speaker 1: to Evelyn, Harry knew about Stanford's preference for having sex 372 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:42,919 Speaker 1: with miners and felt compelled to save her. When Evelyn 373 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,040 Speaker 1: developed pendicitis, Harry was at her side at the hospital 374 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:48,920 Speaker 1: while she healed. He offered to take Evelyn and her 375 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:52,160 Speaker 1: mother on a trip to Europe. After their arrival, Evelyn 376 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:56,960 Speaker 1: told Harry about the attack. Harry misused drugs and frequently 377 00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:01,159 Speaker 1: experienced fits of rage and mental instability. Evelyn knew this, 378 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:05,439 Speaker 1: but when Harry proposed, she accepted. The two married on 379 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,760 Speaker 1: April five of nineteen o five. A year later, in 380 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 1: June of nineteen o six, Evelyn and Harry attended a 381 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,720 Speaker 1: musical at Madison Square Garden. Harry caught sight of Stanford 382 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:20,680 Speaker 1: setting a few rows away. Harry stood fists clenching. Evelyn 383 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:24,040 Speaker 1: asked to leave. She thought her husband was behind her, 384 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:26,600 Speaker 1: but when she reached the elevator he was nowhere to 385 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:31,439 Speaker 1: be found. Then she heard the shots. When the police arrived, 386 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:35,360 Speaker 1: Harry insisted Hid shot Stanford for the atrocities committed against 387 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:39,160 Speaker 1: his wife. The case was a field day for the press, 388 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:41,040 Speaker 1: and the four women sitting at the table in the 389 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:45,800 Speaker 1: courtroom took to Evelyn's story with enthusiasm and heart. When 390 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:49,560 Speaker 1: their stories appeared, journalist Irving Cobb commented on their emotional 391 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:54,920 Speaker 1: retelling and dubbed them the Sob Sisters. Despite this derogatory nickname, 392 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 1: it said that the women's stories helped effect the trial's outcome. 393 00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:02,440 Speaker 1: After to try else, Harry Thaw was found not guilty 394 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:06,760 Speaker 1: by reason of insanity. All four women had successful careers 395 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: telling human stories and ways that, like Nellie Bly, reshaped journalism. 396 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: American Shadows is hosted by me Lauren Vogelbaum, researched by 397 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:26,080 Speaker 1: Genneros That are Caught, and produced by Jesse Funk and 398 00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:30,199 Speaker 1: Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and 399 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:33,800 Speaker 1: Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, visit Grim 400 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:37,439 Speaker 1: and Mild dot com. And four more podcasts from my 401 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:41,000 Speaker 1: Heart Radio visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 402 00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.