900 years ago, the young Hildegard of Bingen was given by her parents to the Catholic Church. She was literally “walled up” in a tiny convent, completely cut off from the outside world. But over the course of her long and varied life, she emerged from the walls to embrace the world. She founded her own convents and traveled across Europe on preaching tours. She spent decades caring for the sick and infirm, resulting in her seminal medical text that endured for centuries. She is also much celebra...
Mar 12, 2018•42 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Adelaide Herrmann ruled the stage for fifty years as one the brightest stars of the Golden Age of Magic. After the death of her husband, renowned magician Herrmann the Great, Adelaide took center stage, and toured for thirty years as one of the most famous magicians in the world. She was more famous than Houdini, and continued performing until her death at age seventy-nine - when she was inexplicably forgotten for nearly a century. Join our guest, anthropologist and mentalist/magician Paul Drape...
Mar 05, 2018•36 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Mary Lou Williams was one of the most innovative, creative, groundbreaking musicians in the history of jazz. She was a brilliant and prolific composer and uniquely gifted pianist whose influence spans nearly the entire timeline of jazz music, but her name is almost never listed among the “giants of jazz.” Although prejudice kept her from achieving the recognition and fame she deserved during her lifetime, her contributions cement her legacy as a true pioneer of American music. Guest Carol Bash i...
Feb 05, 2018•46 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Four hundred years ago, Margaret Cavendish dared to contemplate the biggest philosophical questions of her day. Brilliant and bold, she wrote 21 books despite being dismissed or mocked by the almost entirely male intellectual community. A famously eccentric dresser, she and her husband hosted high-society parties at their fantastical castle, but she was also paralyzed by bashfulness and dreaded talking to people. She hoped that her intellectual works would lead to eternal fame, but she remained ...
Jan 29, 2018•44 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Margaret "Molly" Brown is often cited as the quintessential American rags-to-riches story. Born to poor Irish immigrants in Missouri, Margaret went on to become one of the wealthiest women in the country. She cemented her place in history through her heroism on the disastrous maiden voyage of the Titanic, but her life story is a compelling and unusual tale of character, compassion and just the right amount of bull-headedness. Her story is fully worthy of the many films, books and musicals which ...
Jan 22, 2018•44 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Te Puea Herangi was one of the most important and influential Maori leaders of the 20th century. Born into the family of the Maori King, she was a tireless activist for her people. Her work to assure economic prosperity in the Waikato region, her fierce battles for justice for Maori communities harmed by illegal land seizures, and her passionate dedication to Maori cultural revival assure that she will long be remembered as a critical voice in New Zealand history. Olivia interviews Dr. Gina Colv...
Jan 15, 2018•43 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Mary Lemist Titcomb was a pioneering librarian at the turn of the 20th century, when public libraries were first appearing in America. Believing strongly in the power of books, especially for children in far-flung places, she invented America’s first Bookmobile: a horse-drawn, specially constructed book-wagon to bring books to remote farms in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her triumphs over prejudice and disaster resulted in nationwide bookmobile programs that continue to affect the lives of millions...
Jan 08, 2018•35 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Pearl DeVere was one of the most famous and successful madams in the history of the American West. From a suitably mysterious background, Pearl built a thriving business that became one of the most famed “parlor houses” in the country. Her incredible business acumen, as well as her famed beauty and charm, ensured that her legend endures to this day in the historic gold rush town of Cripple Creek, Colorado. Recorded on location at the Old Homestead House Museum in Cripple Creek , Colorado. Guest ...
Jan 01, 2018•45 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Margaret Clitherow’s life – and death – were shaped by the religious upheavals of the Protestant Reformation in Elizabethan (16th century) England. A devoted Catholic in a time and place where Catholicism was illegal, she played a powerful role in a kind of “spy” network secretly harboring Catholic priests in the city of York. When a young boy living in her household exposed her secrets, she was imprisoned and then executed by the gruesome method of being pressed to death. She is now Saint Marga...
Jan 01, 2018•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Committed to reclaiming forgotten history, What’sHerName podcast tells the stories of fascinating women you’ve never heard of (but should have). Hosted and produced by academic sisters Dr. Katie Nelson and Olivia Meikle, What'sHerName brings back the “lost” women of history through compelling interviews with guest historians, writers, and scholars. Fascinating and funny, thought-provoking and thoughtful, What’sHerName restores women’s voices to the conversation. Learn more about your ad choices....
Dec 31, 2017•37 sec
