Right Answers Mostly

Brittany Murphy was one of the most beloved stars of the 2000s: funny, talented, and endlessly watchable. So when she died suddenly at just 32, the story shocked Hollywood. But the more you look into it… the more questions there are. In today’s episode, we’re breaking down Brittany Murphy’s rise to fame, the intense scrutiny she faced, and the details surrounding her death, from official reports to the rumors that followed. What was really going on behind the scenes? Did her husband, Simon really have something to do with it? And why does her story still feel unresolved? TW: this story contains many conversations around eating disorders. Created and produced by Tess Bellomo & Claire Donald For more RAM, go here! If you want to join our premium subscription where you get THREE bonus episodes a month, sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josephine Baker: a woman who escaped poverty, danced her way to fame, became the most famous woman in Paris, and then, plot twist, served as a spy for the French Resistance during World War II. And when the war ended, she didn’t slow down, she took that same power into the fight for civil rights, refusing to play by America’s rules. A story that sounds like fiction, but Josephine Baker did all of that, and more. Created and produced by Claire Donald and Tess Bellomo Follow us on social media, buy merch, and more⁠ HERE! ⁠ Join our premium channel for 3 bonus eps a month ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ and save 15% when you buy annually! Sources: New Yorker, https://glreview.org/article/article-959/, PBS , CIA.gov, Vogue, Ebony, Biography.com, Harpers Bazaar , Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For most of human history, childbirth belonged to women. Midwives guided mothers through labor, cared for newborns, and held generations of medical knowledge within their communities. But over time, birth moved from homes to hospitals, and from the hands of women to the authority of male physicians. In this episode, we explore the hidden history of childbirth, the rise of modern gynecology, and the women whose bodies shaped the field but whose names were nearly erased from it. At the center of this story are three enslaved women in the 1840s American South: Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy. Suffering from a devastating childbirth injury, they were subjected to years of experimental surgeries by physician J. Marion Sims, procedures performed without anesthesia or the ability to consent. Sims would later be celebrated as the “father of modern gynecology,” but the medical advancements credited to him were built on the pain, endurance, and forced labor of these women. We also trace the overlooked legacy of Black midwives, who for generations were the backbone of maternal healthcare in the United States. Once trusted community leaders and healers, they were gradually pushed out of medicine as childbirth became increasingly medicalized and controlled by white male physicians. Trigger Warning: This section of the episode addresses scientific experimentation on enslaved women and violation of their bodies. Created and produced by Tess Bellomo and Claire Donald For more RAM, go here! If you're interested in our premium channel for THREE bonus episodes for $7.99/month. Get added to close friends, hear about pop culture, and get to know us more! You also get the last FULL history episode here! HAPPY WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we’re diving into the story of Shonda Rhimes, the woman who completely changed television. Before Rhimes, network TV rarely centered complicated women, diverse casts, or stories about power, ambition, sexuality, and work told from a female perspective. From Grey’s Anatomy to Scandal to Bridgerton, Rhimes built an empire by telling the kinds of stories about women that television had long ignored. We talk about her early life, how she broke into Hollywood, the rise of Shondaland, and how she reshaped what television looks like, and who gets to be the main character. This is Shonda Rhimes! Created and produced by Claire Donald and Tess Bellomo Follow us on social media, buy merch, and more⁠ HERE! ⁠ Join our premium channel for 3 bonus eps a month ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ and save 15% when you buy annually! Sources: Television Academy , Vice, Wbur, Oprah.com, Theboar.org, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Wikipedia, Call Her Daddy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before she was a pop girl, a tabloid headline, or the blueprint for millennial style, Hilary Duff was just a kid from Texas with a big dream and a head voice that would become weirdly controversial. This week on Right Answers Mostly, we’re diving into the full Hilary Duff story: from early auditions to becoming Disney Channel’s most relatable star on Lizzie McGuire. We talk about the cultural earthquake of Metamorphosis, the chaos of early 2000s tabloid culture, public breakups, and why she was constantly compared to women she was never trying to be. But more than that, we explore why Hilary always felt different. She wasn’t the strongest singer. She wasn’t the most provocative. She didn’t reinvent pop music. And yet...she endured. From A Cinderella Story to her pop reinventions, to quietly building a stable career in shows like Younger, Hilary carved out something radical: longevity without spectacle. While other young women were chewed up by fame, she chose steadiness. We unpack the sexism around her voice, the pressure on teen girls to be “effortlessly exceptional,” and why Hilary Duff’s greatest strength might be that she always let us see her trying. Not perfect, but just trying. Created and produced by Tess Bellomo & Claire Donald For more RAM, get to know us here If you like us and are interested in our premium channel in which you get THREE bonus episodes a month for $7.99 (many other perks included) go here Intersted in Tess's writing? Subscribe to her medium for pieces around feminism and pop culture! Sources include: The Twisted World of Hilary Duff Deep Dive, Wikipedia & People Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices