Only 11 women showed up
Despite 100 women signing up online for the Yemeni Women Bike campaign, only 11 actually showed up on the day — but for Bushra Al-Fusail, it felt like a revolution.
Snapshot · The Moth
Cotton Candy and Revolutionary Rides: The Moth Radio Hour
Explore episode
Jun 30, 2026
Where this was said
Five Borrowed Bikes, 11 Women, and a Bombed-Out Highway
At 47:00 · chapter starts 45:55
The morning of the ride, Bushra wakes at 6 AM and writes on Facebook: 'It's a revolutionary day.' She has hidden five bikes in her father's car without telling her parents, having always been the golden sheep expected not to cause trouble. She chooses the most visible highway she can find — a major artery, deliberately — even though it has been damaged by bombing and there is a checkpoint ahead. She thinks she might be alone. Then a friend shows up. Then another. Two women appear from the checkpoint — a mother and daughter who do not know how to bike but came to support the cause. Within five minutes, 11 women have gathered and are taking turns on the five bikes. Men scream from cars. Bushra blocks them out. When she finally gets on a bike herself, she feels the breeze in her scarf and her abaya, and she forgets entirely that there is a siege, rebels, or airstrikes. [1] — Bushra Al-Fusail "Men screamed from car windows. A checkpoint loomed. But once Bushra Al-Fusail started pedaling, she felt the breeze in her scarf and forgot…" 48:00 For two hours, 11 women on a destroyed highway experience something that did not exist before: freedom.
The Ride Itself — Freedom Under Siege
Men screamed from car windows. A checkpoint loomed. But once Bushra Al-Fusail started pedaling, she felt the breeze in her scarf and forgot entirely about the siege, the rebels, and the bombs. For two hours, 11 women on borrowed bikes experienced something that hadn't existed before: freedom.
Similar snapshots
SF average rent up 18% in 2 years
San Francisco's average rent rose 18% over the past two years to $3,728/month, surpassing New York City as the most expensive rental market in the country.
SF average rent: $3,728/month
San Francisco's average monthly rent now stands at $3,728, surpassing New York City to become the most expensive rental city in the United States.
Bobby walked 7 miles with dicks drawn on face
At a childhood sleepover, Bobby Lee's friends drew penises on his face and he walked 7 miles home on a dirt road before being picked up by Eric Purvis's mom.
World poverty: 60% in 1950 vs 10% today
In 1950, about 60% of the world lived in extreme poverty; today it's about 1 in 10, attributable to capitalist economic growth.
6M US children fell into poverty 2021–24
From 2021 to 2024, 6 million children fell below the poverty line in the US after the expanded child tax credit expired.
Private adoption costs $40,000–$70,000
Private domestic infant and international adoptions typically cost $40,000 to $70,000, while foster care adoption is the most affordable route at $0 to $2,000.
Only 40% of men have ever reproduced
Historically, only 40% of men have ever reproduced — Galloway uses this to argue that romantic success requires effort, not a hall pass.
7th of 10 children
Robby Hoffman is the 7th of 10 children raised in a Hasidic household in Montreal, where the family was poor and comedy was a survival mechanism.
No concept of 'too soon'
Robby's Hasidic community had no concept of 'too soon' in comedy — if it was funny, you threw it, and if you bombed, your sibling told you immediately.
