In 1996, a graduate student working in a library in England discovered the manuscript of a novel and 120 poems by completely unknown 17th century woman writer. Hester Pulter had been hiding in plain sight for four centuries. Now a dedicated team of scholars is sharing her work with the world. “Then being enfranchised, free as my verse, I shall surround this spacious universe, Until by other atoms thrust and hurled We give a being to another world.” Hear the story of this astonishing discovery, a...
May 06, 2019•44 min•Season 5Ep. 39
The story of America’s transcontinental railroad is a masculine saga. But today we present the story of Union Pacific’s most unlikely employee: a 12-year-old Mormon girl. Mary Peterson Ipsen was a Danish immigrant who walked across the plains to Utah territory and grew up in an isolated religious enclave. But when her father died and she had to find work, she found herself cooking for hundreds of men in the very center of “Hell-on-Wheels:” Jack Casement’s notorious Union Pacific railroad crew. T...
Apr 22, 2019•42 min•Season 5Ep. 38
Malintzin has been one of Mexico’s greatest villains for 500 years. A native of Veracruz, she translated for Hernan Cortes, the conquistador who destroyed the Aztec Empire. But she did more than translate: she birthed his children, helped him win battles, and saved his life again and again as they trekked from the Maya coast to the heart of the empire. Through it all, she alone spoke for Cortes, and also for everyone he met. Exploring the incredible life of this powerful woman who facilitated th...
Apr 08, 2019•42 min•Season 5Ep. 37
In Nazi Germany, resistance was not just forbidden, it was deadly. But in 1942, a group of young college students went from enthusiastic supporters of the Third Reich to some of its most vocal opponents, publishing thousands of leaflets calling Hitler a criminal, and attempting to start a student revolt. Though their dream of a revolution never became reality, their courageous stance in the face of evil has become legendary in Germany, and their story continues to inspire and influence generatio...
Mar 25, 2019•42 min•Season 5Ep. 36
In 3rd century Palmyra (modern-day Syria), the bold and brilliant queen Zenobia defied the Roman Empire and launched a wildly successful campaign of expansion, eventually ruling Arabia, Egypt, and parts of Asia Minor. But at her final defeat in 272, her story fragments into several curious and contradictory versions of “the end.” We take on this history “Choose Your Own Adventure” style –examining the sources that bring her story to life, and choosing which ending we believe is the best one. Arm...
Mar 11, 2019•39 min•Season 5Ep. 35
At the lavish court of Louis XIV, she stood out like a sore thumb: while the women around her were glamorous, graceful and illiterate, she was clunky, fierce, and bookish. The story of her world-changing contribution to science is as delightful as it is surprising: part frilly courtier, part mad-scientist, she fed her voracious appetite for books by sword-fighting and card-counting at Versailles. In this episode, visit the country chateau where she and her lover, Voltaire, became famous for livi...
Feb 25, 2019•45 min•Season 5Ep. 34
Carolyn Cassady was an artist, costume designer, writer, and critical influence on the members of the Beat Generation. Her marriage to Neal Cassady and her friendships with Jack Kerouac and other prominent members of the Beats have long overshadowed her own life and accomplishments, but with the recent publication of new manuscripts discovered after her death that is finally beginning to change. An astonishingly talented and prolific creative force, Carolyn Cassady’s legacy of determination, str...
Feb 11, 2019•45 min•Season 5Ep. 33
What if you had a vision for your life, but absolutely everyone around you told you it was impossible? Edmonia Lewis lived a life so improbable, that if we didn’t have the actual evidence that she really existed, we’d never believe it! The orphaned daughter of a Native American mother and Caribbean father in mid 19th century America, she set out on the most unlikely path: to become a famed classical sculptor in Rome, all while people of her race were literally enslaved in her homeland. Her journ...
Jan 28, 2019•41 min•Season 5Ep. 32
Ruth Rowland Nichols was a pioneer of early aviation, the only woman yet to hold simultaneous world records for speed, altitude, and distance, the first woman to attempt a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, the founder of the Relief Wings branch of the Civil Air Patrol and one of the most famous pilots of the 1930’s (even more famous than her friend and rival Amelia Earhart). Her courage and daring made her a national icon, but she is barely remembered now by the country that once praised he...
Jan 14, 2019•42 min•Season 4Ep. 31
Ursula Bloom wrote over 560 books, earning her a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s most prolific female writer. Her memories of childhood Christmases at the turn of the 20th century recall parties at Warwick Castle, caroling, feasts and ghosts. Ursula Bloom’s charming memoirs are read for us by Professor Judy Elsley. Music featured in this episode by Fiddlesticks and the Georgia Boy Choir . Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about ...
Dec 17, 2018•28 min•Season 4Ep. 30
On land, Sophie Blanchard was a timid, anxious woman who could hardly stand the noise and commotion of 18th century Paris. But after her first flight in a hot-air balloon, she was hooked, and would spend the rest of her life chasing the peace and freedom she found hundreds of feet in the air. The first woman in the world to fly solo in a hot-air balloon, she became so famous for her skill and daring in the sky that even Napoleon took notice, and tried to recruit her for a particularly unusual mi...
Dec 03, 2018•36 min•Season 4Ep. 29
Nur Jahan was the only Empress in the history of the Mughal Empire. Reigning as an equal with her husband Jahangir, she was the only woman to issue executive orders, mint coins, or lead an army — and her tiger-hunting skills were legendary. Though she was one of the most influential leaders in 17th century Asia, for centuries her legacy has been reduced to a love story that ends where her real adventure began–at her marriage to Emperor Jahangir. With our guest Dr. Ruby Lal , author of the new bo...
Nov 19, 2018•35 min•Season 4Ep. 28
November 11, 2018 is the 100th Anniversary of the end of World War I . To mark this day, we bring you the story of one fearless woman and her ambulance. Maud Fitch, a cowgirl from the desert between Nevada and Utah, wanted to join up when America entered WWI. Unable to enlist as a soldier (she was a woman, after all!) she purchased an ambulance and shipped it at her own expense to France, where she reassembled it and drove it through the heart of the war zone. Cars had only recently been invente...
Nov 05, 2018•39 min•Season 4Ep. 27
Our 2018 Halloween Special brings back four of our most popular guests with four new stories of hauntings, mysterious deaths, witch hunts, and seances to bring you many spooky returns of the season! In 1612, ten people were hanged as witches in Lancashire, England, sentenced to death because of the testimony of a 9 year old girl. The eight women and two men Jennet Device accused included her mother, grandmother, sister and brother, and the trial of Old Demdike and her “coven” would become infamo...
Oct 22, 2018•53 min•Season 4Ep. 26
Mae Mallory was a radical civil rights activist, Black Power movement leader, school desegregation organizer and strong proponent of Black armed self-defense. Her passionate dedication to “solving Black peoples’ problems” changed the world, but her name is mostly known because of her false arrest and conviction for kidnapping an elderly white couple in 1961. After the verdict was overturned by the North Carolina Supreme Court, Mallory continued to work for freedom, autonomy and security for Afri...
Oct 08, 2018•30 min•Season 4Ep. 25
In this episode, a 17th-century tale of true love and extreme patience. Dorothy Osborne and William Temple fell deeply in love, but her family forbade the match. For years, while Dorothy’s creepily overbearing brother presented her with suitor after suitor of his own choosing, Dorothy and William faithfully sent each other secret love letters. Dorothy’s letters survive, and reveal the story of her escape from the clutches of her possessive brother in pursuit of “happily ever after.” Katie interv...
Sep 24, 2018•39 min•Season 4Ep. 24
Marjorie Hillis’ surprise bestseller Live Alone and Like It was a sensation when it was published in 1936. Determined to shift the narrative around singleness and encourage women to make active choices about their lives, Hillis used the insights gained in her decades as an editor for Vogue to empower single women to enjoy their single years instead of viewing them as an embarrassment. Her innovative ideas about relationships, female empowerment, friendship and career are still relevant today, an...
Sep 10, 2018•35 min•Season 3Ep. 23
When your heart tells you to do one thing, and your parents tell you to do another, what do you do? 22-year-old Perpetua faced this dilemma 1,800 years ago in ancient Carthage. She faced a grisly death in an ancient Roman arena with her slave, Felicitas, at her side. Their tale is full of bizarre twists, gladiators, preemie babies, religious visions, and even a “most ferocious cow.” Katie interviews Eliza Rosenberg, Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Religious Studies at Utah State University, wher...
Aug 27, 2018•37 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Constance Fenimore Woolson was one of the most popular writers of the 19th century. Though her life was full of drama, excitement and fame, for nearly a hundred years she’s been known only for the story of her death. Our guest, Dr. Anne Boyd Rioux , is changing that with her biography of Woolson, Portrait of a Lady Novelist. We join forces to help put this astonishingly brilliant writer “back in the canon.” Olivia interviews Anne Boyd Rioux, author of Constance Fenimore Woolson: Portrait of a La...
Aug 13, 2018•40 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Caroline Herschel lived a real-life Cinderella story. Except instead of marrying a handsome prince, she became a world-renowned astronomer! Her brutal childhood of servitude and misery stunted her growth, disfigured her face and blinded her in one eye. But Caroline Herschel’s story is an incredibly beautiful tale of triumph and achievement. Her astonishing work in Astronomy (she discovered a planet, for one!) led to international renown. And she lived happily ever after. Join Katie with Joseph M...
Jul 30, 2018•45 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Alma Schindler Mahler was a brilliant composer, pianist, and “influencer” who has largely been remembered only for the men with whom she had relationships. Her musical compositions are finally beginning to be recognized for their brilliance and performed on stage in the past few years, and her reputation as a “femme fatale” is long overdue for an overhaul. The “It Girl” of turn of the century Vienna, Alma Schindler was a famed wit, a renowned beauty, and a gifted pianist whose highest ambition, ...
Jul 16, 2018•38 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Sally Lunn was born in France, but moved to Bath, England in 1680 to escape religious persecution. She brought with her a special skill: baking delicious brioche-style bread. Developing her own unique recipe, she sold her buns in the streets of Bath, soon becoming famous for the “Sally Lunn Bun.”Fast-forward 350 years to the 1930s: a baker in Bath with a love of archaeology decided to excavate the ground beneath his own house. What he uncovered resurrected the story of Sally Lunn and revealed in...
Jul 02, 2018•34 min•Season 3Ep. 18
Claudia Jones (born Claudia Cumberbatch) was a journalist, Black Nationalist and prominent member of the American Communist Party. Emigrating from Trinidad to NYC at eight years old, she was an extremely well-known peace activist and worked toward civil rights and women’s rights in America. Arrested for giving a speech promoting peace and women’s rights, in 1955 she was deported to England. There she founded the nation’s first Black newspaper, continued her work fighting racism and sexism, and f...
Jun 18, 2018•41 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Living in Saxony 1100 years ago, in a culture much like the Vikings, Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim probably witnessed violence against women all the time. Violence was a part of society, and she retreated to an intellectual life. But there, too, she found violence against women in the ancient Roman plays she was reading. If she couldn’t change society, at least she could change the plays! She rewrote them, altering the plots so that the women emerged victorious! Katie interviews Mark Damen, Professo...
Jun 04, 2018•40 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Bessie Margolin grew up in the New Orleans Jewish Orphan’s Home, was one of the first women to graduate from Tulane Law School and earned her PhD in Law from Yale University in 1932. Her groundbreaking work as Assistant Solicitor of Labor for the New Deal’s Fair Labor Standards Act championed many of the wage and hour rights Americans take for granted today and enshrined in law the basic human dignity of American workers. She still ranks sixth for most arguments at the Supreme Court by a woman, ...
Apr 23, 2018•40 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Maria Ruiz de Burton was a writer, entrepreneur and businesswoman, and the first Mexican-American woman to publish a novel in English . Born in 1832 in Baja California, Mexico to a prominent Spanish family, Maria Amparo Ruiz was fifteen when the Mexican-American war ended and California became part of the United States. She married the commander of the American forces that invaded Baja shortly after the end of the war, and his career took them all over the United States, giving her an insider vi...
Apr 16, 2018•35 min•Season 2Ep. 14
A classic story of a young woman defying her parents to follow her heart, but with a fascinating Russian twist! Sahib Gizzatullina lived for the stage, introducing Russian audiences to theater for the first time in their lives. She and her penniless traveling theater troupe experienced all the passion, heartbreak, and drama that you’d expect from a roving band of actors. But they did it during Russia’s most turbulent time: through the reign–and murder–of Tzar Nicholas II, through both world wars...
Apr 09, 2018•39 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Sisters Jane and Anna Maria Porter were wildly popular writers–among the most widely-read writers in Regency England. (Yes, more popular than Jane Austen!) Their novels were on every British bookshelf, their poetry was popular and acclaimed, and Jane Porter’s historical novel The Scottish Chiefs would retain its popularity for nearly 150 years. So how did these bestselling icons of British literature end up nearly penniless and living as “professional houseguests” without a home to call their ow...
Apr 02, 2018•44 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Are public debates like the feuds we see on Twitter and Facebook a product of modern society? Gargi Vachaknavi has long been remembered in India for her brilliant performance in a public debate 2,700 years ago. Her story offers a refreshing model for how to engage in heated ideological discussions: she didn’t just throw down an epic victory, humiliating her opponent. She did something much more clever! Guest Ravi M. Gupta holds the Charles Redd Chair of Religious Studies and serves as Director o...
Mar 26, 2018•38 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Rose Emily Ridge was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1973. After spending her childhood in Australia and New Zealand, she fled an abusive husband for California in 1907. Arriving in America, she promptly changed her name, her age, her nationality and her marital status and launched her new life as Lola Ridge, radical poet, anarchist organizer, and editor of the influential avant-garde magazine Broom . Her unconventional life, radical activist work and influential writing should have placed her alongs...
Mar 19, 2018•35 min•Season 2Ep. 10
