68: A Lover Scorned pt.2: Wanderlust
- Grant Thomas
- Aug 28, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 21
Who killed Walter Wanderwell? Grant introduces us to a globe-trotting cast with entirely too many aliases, starting with the irreverent Nell Miller, continuing to the self-styled explorer Captain Walter Wanderwell, and detouring through the fabulously odd heiress Harriet White Fisher. Yet the true scene-stealer, in more ways than one, is Idris Hall, the six-foot Canadian teenager who reinvented herself as Aloha Wanderwell. A woman as singular as her adopted name, Aloha slid behind the wheel of a Ford Model T at sixteen, logged more miles than most men of her era, and turned the camera on every border she crossed. Wander with her through deserts, rail-lined steppe, and Amazonian riverbeds; fall in and out of love as recklessly as she did; and discover how a suitcase full of film reels made her both a legend and a key suspect when Captain Wanderwell ended up dead. Travel the world, love with abandon, snap the proof along the way, meet Aloha Wanderwell, and the mystery that still clings to her tires.
Chapters/Key takeaways to listen for
[00:00:00] Catch-Up
[00:02:47] The eBay Crystal Heist: Maia gifts Grant the long-lost McDonald’s “Atlantis” necklace – bidding-war saga ensues
[00:07:52] Bowser in the Box Fort: A missing-dog panic turned cardboard escape room
[00:15:19] Grant’s Queer Book Library: Friends raid his 15-book “silly-to-soul-crushing” romance scale
[00:20:20] Wanderlust: Iced coffee, brat playlists, new outfits – and the segue to history.
[00:23:03] Brains, Beauty, Breeches: Grant introduces Idris Hall and the want-ad that changed her life.
[00:29:55] Meet Captain Walter: A detailed background on his life and self-styled title
[00:41:36] Race Becomes A Triangle: Nell vs. Walter vs. Aloha
[00:59:58] Harriet the Chauffeured “Explorer”: Early female globe-trotter with pets, maid, chef, and anti-suffrage vibes
[01:09:08] Aloha Marries, Drives, Conquers: First woman to drive round the world; filming in Taj Mahal, India and everywhere else.
[01:29:00] Murder on the Karma: 1932 Long Beach yacht shooting – Captain Wanderwell shot in the back by “the man in gray”
[01:44:41] Aloha’s Second Act: Remarriage, Amazon river-plane crash film “River of Death,” quiet Newport retirement
Photos/Videos Referenced:

![]() | Rare 1920s and 1930s Footage from Aloha Wanderwell Baker - Oscars via YouTube |
Quotes:
"The liberating quality of queerness knows real edges to it, you know, like people are just cool. Mask them somewhere in between. Can do whatever with your body and anything else." - Grant Thomas
"You need permission from the people who would then later buy tickets to film and to prevent provide a narrative of your own." - Grant Thomas
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