In this episode, we meet the women who helped build a new country through physical labor, endurance, and warmth. Through powerful stories and letters from Lina Svåi, Gjertrud Rumohr Haug, Anna Slinde, Margretha Nesheim, and Rakel Tonette Rannestad, we hear how these women carried the weight of daily life in their hands: cooking, cleaning, caring for children, and tending to livestock. They were also midwives, caregivers, and cultural bearers. In the absence of doctors, it was the neighbor woman who came when a child was about to be born. And when death knocked, it was those same hands that were there for the final farewell.

The fellowship of women became a lifeline. They shared labor and responsibility, supported each other through childbirth and grief, sang hymns, and told stories that strengthened their shared identity. They builtcommunities based not on material wealth, but rich in trust and compassion.

This is a story about work and solidarity. About women who held homes, farms, and communities together with strong hands and clear minds.

Script: Inger-Kristine Riber and Reidun Horvei

Co-editor: Katherine Jane Hanson

Narrators: Reidun Horvei and Ragnhild Gudbrandsen

Sound design: Inger-Kristine Riber

Supported by: Fritt Ord

Sources here

After crossing the ocean, the true encounter with the new country awaited—a meeting that, for many, was brutal, lonely, and full of trials. In this episode, we follow women who arrived in the United States with hope and dreams, only to be met with coldness, cholera, unpaid labor, and a language they didn’t understand.

Through powerful stories from Gjertrud Rumohr Haug, Lina Svåi, Anna Slinde, Guri Rosseland, and Margretha Nesheim, we learn what it was like to be new in a foreign society. They struggle through illness, rejection, the Civil War, and brutal Indigenous uprisings—yet also find warmth, community, and a new voice in American life.

Script: Inger-Kristine Riber and Reidun Horvei

Co-editor: Katherine Jane Hanson

Narrators: Reidun Horvei and Ragnhild Gudbrandsen

Sound Design: Inger-Kristine Riber

Supported by: Fritt Ord

In Episode 4, The Journey Westward Continues. After arriving in New York, a new and demanding journey unfolds—this time inland. It’s no longer about ships and coastlines, but trains, canals, and the endless prairies. We follow newly arrived women as they try to find their footing in a foreign land—navigating language barriers, deception, illness, and the harsh forces of nature.

Through powerful stories and letters, we are brought close to Gudrun Fagerlie, Linka Preus, Marta Larsen, Magreta Nesheim, and Rakel Tonette Atlaksdatter. They show us what it was like being a woman on a journey into the unknown—with hope, anxiety, and loneliness packed in their suitcases.

From overcrowded train cars and beds that crawling with life, to lightning strikes in the fields and injustice in everyday life—this episode portrays the struggle to start over without any guarantees. Amidst the cold and betrayal, resilience, courage, and solidarity take root in these women.

Written by: Inger-Kristine Riber and Reidun Horvei

Co-editor: Katherine Jane Hanson

Narrated by: Reidun Horvei and Ragnhild Gudbrandsen

Sound design: Inger-Kristine Riber

Supported by: Fritt Ord

Sources here

In episode 2 we followed the brave women who took the big step – leaving Norway in search of a new life. In episode 3 they embark on their journey across the sea.

Crossing the Atlantic was more than just another leg af the journey – it was a turning point in life. Through letters, diaries, and vivid scenes, we meet Gjertrud Rumohr Haug, Lina Svåi, Anna Slinde, Rakel Tonette Atlaksdatter and Linka Preus. They take us from the west coast of Norway, through cramped quarters and stormy nights, to the harbor in New York, where a new world awaits.

Seasickness, filth, hymn singing and folk dancing, and warm glances shared between fellow passengers – this episode tells a story of community and survival at sea, and of everything that had to be left behind in order to move forward.

Script: Inger-Kristine Riber and Reidun Horvei

Co-editor: Katherine Jane Hanson

Narrators: Reidun Horvei and Ragnhild Gudbrandsen

Sound design: Inger-Kristine Riber

Supported by: Fritt Ord

Source material available at: here

In episode 1 we explored the historical background of Norwegian emigration—what drove people to leave and what did the world look like to those who made the great leap.

In this episode we take a closer look at the act of departure itself. Leaving Norway in the 19th century was not just a physical transition but also an emotional and social rupture. For most, home was a lifelong anchor, and breaking free from the security of family, kinship ties and the last itself was dramatic. Yet, many women chose to leave—hoping for freedom, new opportunities, and a chance to shape their own future.

In episode 3 we meet some of those who made this decision. We follow among others Martha Georgina Larsen, who left Ryfylke in 1825, and Linka Preus, who wrote thought-provoking reflections on women’s roles in society. We also hear Lina Svåi’s gripping account of her final day at home before setting off for America.

Through letters, diaries, and historical sources, we get closer to the thoughts and emotions of those who stood on the docks in Stavanger and Bergen, ready to say farewell to everything they knew. What were they giving up? What did they hope to find?

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Script: Inger-Kristine Riber and Reidun Horvei
Co-editor: Katherine Jane Hanson
Sound design: Inger-Kristine Riber
Supported by: Fritt Ord

Sources can be found here

Episode 1: Vågespel

Welcome to the launch of Vågespel, a podcast that highlights the history of Norwegian women who emigrated from Norway to America between 1825 and 1925.

How much do you know about the women who embarked on this journey? How did they experience the voyage, what drove them, and what challenges did they face in their new country? We begin our journey back in time with historical sources and contemporary perspectives to shed new light on emigration and the human stories behind it.

Before we dive into the personal letters and diaries, we must understand the historical background: What fueled emigration, and what kind of world did those who left Norway encounter?

This episode provides you with the background knowledge you need so that you can better understand and place the personal stories in a broader context when we soon hear the powerful narratives from the women themselves. Starting with the next episode, which will be released on Sunday, March 23, you will hear the emigrant women directly through excerpts from their letters and diaries. We hope you will join us on this journey!

Listen to the episode here:

Script: Inger-Kristine Riber and Reidun Horvei
Co-editor: Katherine J. Hanson
Narrator: Reidun Horvei
Sound design: Inger-Kristine Riber
Supported by: Fritt Ord

Sources:
Semmingsen, I. (1941). Veien mot vest. [1]: Utvandringen fra Norge til Amerika 1825-1865 (2nd ed.). Oslo.
Semmingsen, I. (1950). Veien mot vest. [2]: Utvandringen fra Norge 1865-1915. Oslo: Aschehoug.
Blom, I. (1992). Cappelens kvinnehistorie. 2: Renessanse, reformasjon, revolusjon: Fra ca. 1500 til i dag. Oslo: Cappelen.
Bergland, B. A., & Lahlum, L. A. (Eds.). (2011). Norwegian American Women: Migration, Communities, and Identities(Illustrated ed.). Paperback.
Polgreen, L. (2025, January 31). Something extraordinary is happening all over the world. The New York Times.