What'sHerName

Come with us to peak Gilded Age America! We'll watch a charmingly unconventional love story unfold, cure yellow fever, stare at some incredible wallpaper and explore fascinating reasons why women should NOT vote. Katie takes us on location to Ethel Gibson Allen's Boston mansion, now the Gibson House Museum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Countess Elizabeth Báthory was a monster - a sadistic, murderous, vampire-witch who, in her castle in Hungary in the early 1600s, tortured and murdered over 600 young girls, then bathed in the blood of her victims. Or did she? Was she truly the supreme supernatural evil of 500 years of legend? Or was she an innocent victim of witch-hunt hysteria and political scheming? Or was she something else entirely? Dig into the mysteries of this gruesome, complicated tale with our guest, legal historian Kimberly Craft, in our 2023 Halloween Special. Music featured in this episode was provided by Kevin Macleod, Doug Maxwell, Esther Abrami, Aaron Kenny, Brian Bolger, Jimena Contreras, Quincas Moreira, Twin Musicom, Myuu and John Patitucci. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Without the daughters of Genghis Khan, there would have been no Mongol Empire. Four women ruled over North, South, East, and West, in what would become the largest land empire in the history of the world. It's a story you've never heard, because the sisters were literally cut out of the Mongol records. Join us with eminent Mongol scholar Jack Weatherford, who went searching for the missing story... and found it. Illustrations by Brooke Smart. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Say you join a revolution in the name of liberty and equality. Then someone hands you a crown. Could you do more good, with that power? Or will everything fall apart? Come with us to Haiti and across Europe in the twisty-turny tale of THE QUEEN OF HAITI, Marie-Louise Christophe. Katie's guest is Vanessa Riley, author of Queen of Exiles. To learn more about the sound recordings by anthropologist Alan Lomax, check out CulturalEquity.org, and the American Folklife Center. We featured "Valtz Creole" by Musique Creole Group, and a number of voodoo ceremony recordings. Additional music was composed by ELPHNT, Kevin Macleod, Jimena Contreras, Quincas Moreira, Sir Cubworth, Aaron Kenny, Brian Bolger, Beethoven and Mendelssohn. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did a 25-year-old German Jewish refugee with no formal photography training become 'half of' the most celebrated war photographer in history? Returning guest Kip Wilson takes us right into the heart of the Spanish Civil War to meet Gerda Taro - subject of Wilson's newest novel One Last Shot and the most famous photojournalist you've never heard of. Music featured in this episode was provided by Trialogo, The Mini Vandals, Sir Cubworth, Doug Maxwell, Aaron Kenny, and Esther Abrami. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did a lifelong cleaning lady become one of the most beloved painters in French history? In 1905, the voice of the Virgin Mary told orphaned, uneducated maid Seraphine to paint, and she obeyed. Her small French town was on the front line of both world wars, and through it all she painted her kaleidoscopic view. She gave her paintings to everyone in town...who promptly tossed them in the fireplace. She died penniless and unknown, but when a film about her aired on French television a couple years ago, everything changed. Travel with Katie in Senlis for a vivid soundscape of turn-of-the-century France and meet "France's Mona Lisa." Katie's guest is Alicia Basso Boccabella at the Museums of Senlis. Music featured in this episode was recorded by Thierry Callen, Kevin MacLeod, and Andrew Huang. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The day "Rattlesnake Kate" Slaughterback (armed with only a rifle, 4 bullets, and a "No Hunting" sign) successfully shot, slashed and smashed her way through hundreds of rattlesnakes to save herself and her son, a legend was born. But that's just the beginning of her story... Olivia is on location at the Greeley History Museum with Grammy-nominated musician and composer Neyla Pekarek (formerly of The Lumineers), whose musical Rattlesnake Kate premiered in 2022 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Kate Slaughterback's letters were read by Emma Porter, and "Rattlesnake Kate's Passionate Love" was performed by Mark Henderson. Music featured in this episode by Neyla Pekarek, Quincas Moreira, Nat Keefe and The Bow Ties, Zachariah Hickman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Pharaoh Hatshepsut is probably the most successful woman king Egypt ever had - so why doesn't anyone know how to say her name? Discover this enigmatic, fascinating woman with returning guest and fan-favorite Egyptologist Kara Cooney. Music featured in this episode used by kind permission of Michael Levy, Remon Sakr, Kevin MacLeod and Quincas Moreira. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“I have only one favor to ask of people: to take care of their stories.” When Mary Kawena Puku’i was born, her grandmother named her the PUNA HELE, the one who would carry their Hawaiian tradition and culture into the future. Not an easy task, since she was born in 1895-- the year Hawaii was overthrown and annexed by the United States! But she rose to the task, working tirelessly her entire life to record Hawaiian language and culture...with magnificent and inspiring results! Guest Dr. Eve Okura Koller holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Her research has taken her to places such as New Zealand, the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation, and Finland. Her publications include the Open Handbook of Linguistic Data Management (MIT Press) and Language Nests (Oxford University Press). She is from Hilo, Hawai'i. Music featured in this episode from the Library of Congress, Doug Maxwell, and Chris Haugen. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Clara Ford - a poor, Black, cross-dressing, pipe smoking, single mother - was arrested for the murder of dashing, young, white Frank Westwood, nobody expected her to avoid the noose. So how did this unexpected heroine talk her way out of the death sentence - even after she confessed? Olivia takes us to 19th century Toronto for a wild True Crime adventure with Carolyn Whitzman, author of the fascinating new book Clara at the Door With a Revolver. Join us as we uncover the truth (or do we?) of this unexpected and unbelievable trial. Music featured in this episode by Zachariah Hickman, Aaron Kenny, E's Jammy Jams, Biz Baz, Vess Ossman, Libby Dees and Adam Roberts. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a deep dark underwater cave, Mexican divers in 2007 found a mountain of prehistoric animal bones…and one human skeleton. It was Naia– the oldest skeleton ever discovered in the Americas. What can her bones tell us about our human origins? And more than that, what do they tell us about what it means to be human? Come with us on location to Dos Palmas cenote in Mexico, as Katie interviews returning guest Gabo Cemé. Music featured in this episode by Kevin McLeod, ELPHNT, Jimena Contreras, Patrick Patrikios, and Amulets. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Her pioneering work on solar heat and solar energy would change science forever – but it was her passionate dedication to humanity that made her a true visionary. Meet the remarkable Maria Telkes, subject of the amazing American Experience documentary The Sun Queen, with Olivia’s guests: Writer/Producer Gene Tempest and Director Amanda Pollack. Music featured in this episode provided by: Amanda Setlik Wilson, The Mini Vandals, Esther Abrami, I Think I Can Help You, and Joel Cummins. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Her story was long consigned to legend and fantasy. An Irish pirate queen who commanded a fleet of ships from Spain to Scotland…in the 1500s?! Not likely. But in the 1990s, historian Anne Chambers found a trove of documents in a dusty old chest at Westport House, and the tales of Grace O’Malley were proven to be marvelously, fantastically, true. Join Katie on location in Ireland for a swashbuckling tale like no other! Music featured in this episode included Kevin MacLeod, Doug Maxwell, David Lim, Half Pelican, and Fiddlesticks. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the mothers of Love Canal learned that their neighborhood was built on a chemical dump, they began the fight of their lives. First for information, and then to escape their own homes. But without biologist Beverly Paigen - who put her reputation, her career, and maybe even her own safety on the line - it would never have happened. Discover this remarkable and infuriating story with returning guest Keith O'Brien, New York Times bestselling author of author of Paradise Falls. Music featured in this episode by Kevin MacLeod, Aaron Kenny, TrackTribe, Mini Vandals, Asher Fulero, Myuu, and Doug Maxwell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We often hear about history’s various Golden Ages, but what about when good times were over? Maria van Nispen, a bricklayer’s daughter, came of age during the Dutch “Disaster Year,” 1672. Justice, stability, even the Republic itself seemed lost. If you can’t change the world, change yourself… Travel with Katie to Leiden archives to unearth this remarkable tale with guest Susan Suer. Music featured in this episode includes Jimena Contreras, Doug Maxwell, Sir Cubworth, Emmit Fenn, Wahneta Meixsell and Hanu Dixit. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Lusia Harris convinced her parents to let her try out for High School basketball, she never could've anticipated she'd end up scoring the first basket in Olympic Women’s Basketball history. Facing unprecedented hurdles at every step of her career, she broke records, made history, and changed women’s sports forever... and that’s just the beginning! Olivia interviews guest Andrew Maraniss, author of Inaugural Ballers: The True Story of the First Us Women's Olympic Basketball Team (a 2002 Book of the Year by Kirkus. Andrew Maraniss is a New York Times bestselling author of sports and social justice nonfiction for teens and adults. His other books include Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South (winner of the RFK Book Awards Special Recognition Prize and the Lillian Smith Book Award), Games of Deception (winner of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award), and Singled Out (named one of Esquire Magazine's "Top 100 Baseball Books Ever Written"). Andrew is director of special projects at the Vanderbilt University Athletic Department and lives in Nashville. Follow him on Twitter @trublu24. Music featured in this episode by Chris Haugen, Wayne Jones, King Canyon, Unicorn Heads, Kevin MacLeod, Tower of Light, and An Jone. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The darkest time of year inspires us all to reflect on the meaning and power of Home. Experience Christmas in a grand country house through the eyes of an Edwardian child in this charming reading of Phyllis Elinor Sandeman’s memoir, A Country House Christmas performed by returning What'sHerName favorite Jay Stelling. Guest Jay Stelling is an illustrator, doll maker and storyteller from North Yorkshire, England, and an assistant at Mother Shipton’s Cave. She graduated in 2018 from Leeds Arts University where she received a First in BA(hons) Illustration. You can often find her making tiny dolls in her little attic studio with her partner and their two fluffy cats. Jay is fascinated by fairies and folklore, with most of her work centred around charming character and children’s stories, such as fairy tales and Yorkshire legends. Jay’s first children’s book Whistle-Stop Thistle is a story about recycling and reusing scrap materials. You can purchase her dolls, books, and more on her website. Music for this episode provided by: Fiddlesticks, Nate Blaze, Random Canadian, Brian Bolger, Sir Cubworth, Aaron Kenny, and Esther Abrami. We are especially grateful for this exclusive new recording of “Christians Awake," arranged and performed especially for us by the wonderful Kira Zeeman Rugen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She always wanted to make it to Broadway. Instead she became Hollywood’s most iconic cowgirl, roping and riding (and most importantly – singing!) her way into the hearts of millions of fans. So when your life is one giant triumph – but not the triumph you aimed for – what do you do? Olivia interviews Theresa Kaminski, author of the wonderful new biography Queen of the West: The Life and Times of Dale Evans. Music featured in this episode included: Aaron Kenny, Jesse Gallagher, Zacharaiah Hickman, Chris Haugen, E's Jammy Jams, Dan Leibowitz, and selections from songs by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans used by Educational Fair Use License. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

St. Brigid tended an eternal flame in Kildare, Ireland, while caring for people, animals, and the earth. And though she lived 1500 years ago, her story is seeing a huge resurgence in the 21st century. Come on location with Katie to the Solas Bhride Centre in Kildare to meet Brigidine nun, Sister Rita Minehan. We promise a balm for your weary soul! _________________________ We're going back to Kildare for St. Brigid's Day 2026 and YOU'RE INVITED! Music featured in this episode included: “Karitas” by Maria Jonas; and “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” “Love is Little,” and “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” by Fiddlesticks. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What would it look like to live a life without fear? Mary Seacole’s story may hold the answer! She spent her life rushing from one catastrophe to the next, doing anything she could to ease human suffering – without a single thought for her own safety. From disease-infested Panamanian goldmines to the horrific battlefield hospitals of Crimea – Mary spent her life being “relentlessly useful” …but how on earth did she do it? Olivia interviews historian Helen Rappaport, author of the fascinating new book In Search of Mary Seacole. Thank you to Penguin Audio for allowing us to use selections from their delightful audiobook production of Mary’s memoir, The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, which was performed by Yasmin Mwanza. You can also find the full text of Mary’s memoir online here. Guest Helen Rappaport is the author of In Search of Mary Seacole, The Romanov Sisters, The Last Days of the Romanovs, and many other critically acclaimed titles. She has been a full-time writer for more than twenty-three years, and in 2003 discovered and purchased an 1869 portrait of Mary Seacole that now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, sparking a long investigation into Seacole’s life and career. Music featured in this episode was provided by Minivandal, The Tides, Quincas Moreira, Aaron Kenny, the USMC Band, and Jeff Cuno. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The most prolific poisoner of all time couldn’t possibly have been a woman. Right??! Goeie Mie, “Good Maria,” was such a kindly nurse that desperate folks in 19th-century Leiden called her when they were sick, knowing she’d come even if they couldn’t pay. But they got worse, and worse, and usually died in misery. Goeie Mie had life insurance on all of them. Travel on location to Leiden, The Netherlands with Katie in this spooky Halloween Special! ___________________ Goeie Mie Gin has branched out to more drinks is now called True Tales Distillery. Check out THE BUTTERFLY IN THE SUN for another episode recorded with Josine Heijnen about notorious spy Mata Hari! Music featured in this episode by Esther Abrami, Aaron Kenny, Román Cano, Kevin MacLeod, and Camille Saint-Saens. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The richest, most famous person you’ve never heard of is Harriot Mellon. An icon of the stage in Regency England, she rose from abject poverty and abuse to become the wealthiest woman in the country. More surprising still: she was the sweetest, most wholesome soul you’ll ever meet. Guest Dr Ian Mortimer is the author of over twenty books on the history of England, which have sold more than a million copies and been translated into fifteen languages. He’s been described by The Times as ‘the most remarkable medieval historian of our time,’ and is best known as the author of the four Time Traveller’s Guides – to Medieval England (2008), Elizabethan England (2012), Restoration Britain (2017) and Regency Britain (2020). He is currently the president of the Moretonhampstead History Society and vice president of the Mortimer History Society. He lives in Dartmoor (Devon), with his wife Sophie and enjoys visiting historical sites and museums, studying local history, playing guitars, walking in the country and running. Music featured in this episode was provided by Asher Fulero, Sir Cubworth, Esther Abrami, Joel Cummins, Wayne Jones, and Emmit Fenn. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Sir Christopher Wren was tasked with redesigning Westminster Abbey in 1697, his extravagant vision was brought to life by Head Abbey Carpenter Elizabeth Gregory. In an era when men ruled supreme, this remarkable woman oversaw every one of the hundreds of carpenters working for the Abbey – for over fifteen years. Discover the mysterious life of Elizabeth Gregory, on-location with Westminster Abbey Community Learning Officer Aaron Paterson. Take a virtual tour of the Queen’s Gallery at Westminster Abbey’s website. Hear more behind-the-scenes fun from our 2021 Lost Women of England Tour here, or find more information about upcoming tours here. Guest Aaron Paterson leads the Community Engagement programme at Westminster Abbey and runs a small media company supporting cultural organisations to deliver quality digital content. Alongside these roles Aaron is a trustee for SouthWestFest, a health and culture festival in Westminster, and sits on the working group for the Families in Museums Network. All of these roles are underpinned by a passion for the undervalued and overlooked stories that highlight marginalised people. Music featured in this episode provided by Solis, Choir of the Sun, Kira Zeeman Rugen, and the Archive of Recorded Church Music. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What really matters in life? Family, love, kindness, freedom…? And if you had to pick just one, which would it be? Caty Taylor, enslaved at Montpelier Plantation, had to choose. Her brother was sold, her sister joined the largest escape attempt in American history… but Caty stayed. They all took different paths but – miracle of miracles – found a happy ending. Learn more about Caty and many of the plantation’s other enslaved residents at Montpelier’s wonderful Naming Project. Discover more amazing art by Mera MacKendrick, who created our incredible Caty Taylor illustration, on her website or her Instagram. Read the full text of “Fugitives of the Pearl" here (read for us by James Henderson). Special thanks to Kate Stewart and Caleb Slama. Guest Hilarie M. Hicks is the Director of Museum Programs at James Madison’s Montpelier. She served on the research and writing team for the award-winning exhibition The Mere Distinction of Colour, and is currently writing biographies of the enslaved for The Naming Project on Montpelier’s Digital Doorway website. Hilarie previously served as Curator of Interpretation at Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens (New Bern, NC) and Executive Director of the Rosewell Foundation (Gloucester, VA). She is an alum of the College of William and Mary (B.A.), the Cooperstown Graduate Program in History Museum Studies (M.A.), and the Seminar for Historical Administration. Music for this episode was provided by Emmit Fenn, I Think I Can Help You, and the Library of Congress. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luisa Spagnoli overcame childhood poverty – and the infamously misogynistic fascism of Mussolini’s Italy – to become one of the most famous and influential chocolatiers (and fashion designers!) in European history. But how did she do it?! Olivia interviews Dr. Diana Garvin, author of Feeding Fascism. __________________ Travel with us in the footsteps of Luisa Spagnoli! We're headed to the Perugina chocolate factory and so much more on our LOST WOMEN OF ITALY TOUR -- now open for registration! Diana Garvin is an Assistant Professor of Italian at the University of Oregon. Her first book, Feeding Fascism: The Politics of Women’s Food Work, came out in February 2022. Music featured in this episode provided by The Green Orbs, Josh Lippi and the Overtimers, the Mini Vandals and Kevin MacLeod. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For too long, the story of human history has been a story of men. But how would the story change if we put the ‘lost women’ center stage? In our 100th Episode Special, we tell the whole history of the world, in one sweeping narrative, through all 100 What’sHerName women! Find links to every episode of What'sHerName on our website, or order Katie and Olivia's new book The Book of Sisters from our Bookshop or anywhere books are sold. Music featured in this episode was provided by Tower of Light, Aaron Kenny, ELFNT, Savfk, Kevin MacLeod, Radio Jarocho and Zenen Zeferino, Sir Cubworth, Chris Haugen, and Daniel Foster Smith. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Lois Meek Stolz became a teacher, “children as small silent robots”-style education ruled the day. But her innovative vision, empathy for her students, and bold refusal to “do what had always been done” helped change American education forever – but that was only the beginning! Meet the “model teacher” who became one of the most influential Child Development experts in a century… and then was completely forgotten. Olivia interviews Elizabeth More, Historian and Director of Programs at the Jewish Women’s Archive. Guest Betsy More is a historian and Director of Programs at the Jewish Women’s Archive, a national organization dedicated to collecting and promoting the extraordinary stories of Jewish women. She earned her PhD in American history from Harvard University, where her research focused on the history of work and motherhood in the United States. She lives outside Boston, MA, with her husband and daughter. Music featured in this episode was provided by Aaron Kenny, Esther Abrami, and the United States Marine Band. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1790, Judith Sargent Murray became the first American to publicly argue that men and women were equal. Hailing from seafaring Gloucester Massachusetts, she educated herself, weathered some of life’s cruelest storms, and published hundreds of bold, brave essays. She expected to rock the boat, steering her new American nation toward equality. And America went…meh. Why? Join Katie on location at Sargent House Museum in Gloucester. Guest Jen Turner is a doctoral candidate in history at UMass Amherst and a long time adjunct faculty member in the history department at Bridgewater State University. She is also a museum professional and has worked at various museums throughout Massachusetts, including the Paul Revere House and Plimoth Patuxet Museums. Currently, she is the part-time Museum Educator at the Buttonwoods Museum in Haverhill, Mass and the Lead Tour Guide, Curatorial Associate, and Site Manager of the Sargent House Museum in Gloucester, Massachusetts. She is the harried mother of a toddler son born in the middle of a global pandemic and a first grader who may or may not like history as much as her mother. Music featured in this episode was provided by Doug Maxwell, Aaron Kenny, Amulets, Advent Chamber Orchestra, the United States Army Field Band, and Kevin MacLeod. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Even in the wildly eccentric cabaret culture of 1920s Berlin,Valeska Gert stood out. And though it would take nearly fifty years for society to “catch up” with Valeska’s vision – this unique and irrepressible dancer would eventually (and against all odds) become revered as the “Mother of Punk”! Olivia interviews dancer and dance historian Janet Collard. Watch Janet Collard’s show Performing Valeska here, and see newly-discovered footage of Valeska Gert performing “Tanz in Orange” here. Guest Janet Collard (she/her/hers) is a dancer, actor, singer, and choreographer from the San Francisco Bay Area. She has a BFA in dance from CalArts and an MFA in dance performance and choreography from Mills College, and is currently pursuing an MA in Dance Philosophy and History at Roehampton University in London. As a dancer, Janet has performed for many choreographers and companies in Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Janet was a member of AXIS Dance Company from 2008-2011 where she toured the country performing in the works of many renowned choreographers. As a choreographer, Janet has created dance works for youth through adults, and choreographs for theatrical productions. Janet Collard Dance Theater is interested in highlighting historical feminist themes and the performance of lost history through re-creation and re-interpretation. Music featured in this episode included: Jelly Roll Morton, Audionautix, Clara Schumann, Claire Waldoff, Aaron Kenny and the Corona Dance Orchestra. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What makes a good wife? In 1700s Virginia, there was one clear path for colonial women: Marry. Have children. Preserve the family wealth. Fail at this, and you’ve failed at life. But what if the family wealth you were tasked to preserve was an old mansion…and a slave plantation? Katie takes us on location to Bacon’s Castle, one of America’s oldest houses. You can read Elizabeth Bray Allen’s will here, and take a 3D tour of the entire house here! You can also see more photos and information about the house and the family here. Guest Carol Wiedel is the site coordinator at Preservation Virginia’s Bacon’s Castle in Surry County where she has worked for 9 years. She is a strong member of the community, serving on the Chamber of Commerce as well as the Tourism Advisory Group. She lives in Surry with her husband and their chickens and has 4 grown children and 7 grandchildren. Carol loves Bacon’s Castle and all of its many years of history and works to make more people aware of its importance and place in the greater community. She enjoys introducing new guests to the castle as well as building relationships with those who have family or other connections to the site. Music featured in this episode was provided by Kevin MacLeod, Brian Bolger, Late Night Feeler and Cooper Cannell. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When 21 year-old Catherine Leroy hopped on a plane in Paris, headed for Vietnam, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Despite having no experience of either war or photography, Leroy was determined to make her mark as a world-class combat photojournalist. And somehow, against all odds – and against massive opposition from most of her male colleagues, top-ranking military officers, and the press itself – she did it. But at what cost? Olivia brings us the story of this incredible, indomitable woman with guest Elizabeth Becker, author of You Don’t Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War. View Catherine Leroy’s photos on the website of the Catherine Leroy foundation. Guest Elizabeth Becker is an award-winning journalist and author, most recently of You Don’t Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War. She began her career as a war correspondent for the Washington Post in Cambodia. She later became the Senior Foreign Editor of National Public Radio. As a New York Times correspondent she covered national security and international economics and was a member of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of 9/11. Her earlier books include Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism and When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge. In 2015 she testified as an expert witness at the international war crimes tribunal of the senior Khmer Rouge leaders. She was a fellow at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center, holds a degree from the University of Washington and studied language at the Kendriya Hindi Sansthaan in Agra, India. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the board of the Oxfam America Advocacy Fund. Music for this episode was provided by Aaron Kenny, Doug Maxwell, Jeff Cuno, Josh Lippi and the Overtimers, Esther Abrami, Kevin Macleod, Dan Lebowitz and Quincas Moreira. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Germany was still burning witches when Maria Sibylla Merian daringly filled her 17th-century home with spiders, moths, and all kinds of toxic plants. Bold choices saved her from accusations of witchcraft–and from a mundane life. Merian’s fascination with metamorphosis led her all the way to the rainforests of South America, where she recorded countless new species, 130 years before Darwin! Guest Kim Todd is the author of four books of literary nonfiction, including Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis, Tinkering with Eden: a Natural History of Exotic Species in America, Sparrow, and her newest work, Sensational: The Hidden History of America’s “Girl Stunt Reporters,” which dives into the lives of undercover journalists who exposed societal ills in the 1880s and 1890s. Todd was raised in California, educated in Montana, and after moving from coast to coast and landing many places in between, now lives in Minneapolis. She is on the faculty at the MFA program at the University of Minnesota. Music for this episode was provided by Aaron Kenny, Kevin MacLeod, Emmit Fenn, Daniel Foster Smith, Sir Cubworth, and Doug Maxwell. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Frances Glessner Lee was 52 years old when she discovered the mission that would become her legacy – to “convict the guilty, clear the innocent, and find the truth.” After five decades as a prominent social hostess (and innovative part-time artist) this indomitable woman took on centuries of entrenched medical and legal tradition to become the Mother of Forensic Science. And she did it – at least partially – with dollhouses?! Olivia speaks to guest Bruce Goldfarb, author of 18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Invented Modern Forensics. Experience a 360 degree virtual tour of the Nutshell Studies courtesy of the Smithsonian’s 2017 exhibition, or plan a visit to the Glessner House Museum in Chicago or The Rocks in New Hampshire. Guest Bruce Goldfarb is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, USA Today, Baltimore magazine, American Archaeology, American Health and many other publications. Since 2012 Bruce has served as executive assistant to the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Maryland. He is public information officer for the OCME and curator of the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death. His first book of popular nonfiction is 18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics. Music for this episode was provided by Esther Abrami, Kevin MacLeod, Brian Bolger, Amanda Setlik Wilson, and the MIT Symphony Orchestra. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An Egyptian child bride awakens to the reality of life in a harem, and dreams of revolution. And that’s just the beginning! Huda Shaarawi led thousands of women in a movement to liberate themselves from the harem, the veil, and all inequality. But in 1920s Egypt, how far could they get? Our guest Professor Ayfer Karakaya-Stump was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. An Associate Professor of History at the College Of William and Mary, she received her Ph.D. in History and Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University. Her scholarly interests include medieval and early modern Middle East, social and cultural history of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman-Safavid borderlands, Sufism, nonconformist religious movements, Alevi/Bektashi communities, and women and gender in Islamic(ate) societies. Music for this episode was provided by kind permission of Frank Turner, The William & Mary Middle Eastern Music Ensemble, Brian Bolger, Aaron Kenny, and Kevin MacLeod. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chand Bibi served as regent of two different Sultanates in the 16th century Deccan peninsula, and ruled over some of the most important – and tumultuous – years in the region’s history. Versions of her story have been told and retold in India for generations – but what really happened to this enigmatic queen? Our guest Dr. Sarah Waheed helps us unravel this fascinating mystery. Learn more about the important ways that ‘rediscovering’ Chand Bibi’s story could impact modern-day India in this wonderful short article by Dr. Waheed. Guest Sarah Waheed is Research Affiliate of Davidson College, North Carolina, where she has previously taught numerous courses in History and Gender Studies and served as Director of the Semester in India Program. She holds a PhD in South Asian History from Tufts University, and an MA from University of Chicago. Her first book, Hidden Histories of Pakistan: Censorship, Literature, and Secular Nationalism in Late Colonial India is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press this January 2022. She is currently a Fulbright Scholar carrying out research towards her second book, The Warrior Queen Who Died Thrice: Gender, Sovereignty and Islam in Premodern India. Music featured in this episode was provided by the Navatman Music Collective, Doug Maxwell, Chris Haugen, Siddhartha Corsus, and field recordings by Sarah Waheed and Bruce Miller. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mary Stuart Boyd spent Christmas 1900 in Versailles, not on a festive tour of the grand palace, but to stay with her 13-year-old son, quarantined there with scarlet fever. Her Versailles experience seems worlds away from today’s tourist mobs. The author of eight novels and three travel narratives, her delightful insights leave us amazed that no one’s ever heard of her. This year’s Christmas Special is read by Sophie Greenhalgh-Cook from Not For the Dinner Table. Music featured in this episode provided by Aaron Kenny, Esther Abrami, and Marc Nelson. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Frances Marion was one of the most important, influential, and well-paid screenwriters in Hollywood. Her films moved audiences to tears and brought out the best in every actor for whom she ever wrote. And when the switch to ‘talking pictures’ left most other silent film writers in the dust, Frances continued to astonish, creating dozens of the most famous and beloved films of the first half of the 20th century. So how come nobody remembers her name? Author Pam Munter takes Olivia on a whirlwind tour of the dramatic, cinema-worthy life of this remarkable woman. Guest Pam Munter is the author of Fading Fame: Women of a Certain Age in Hollywood and many other books. She is a former clinical psychologist, a performer and a writer. Music featured in this episode was provided by Daniel Henderson, the Mini Vandals, Aaron Kenny, Kevin Macleod, and Amanda Setlik Wilson. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Celia Sánchez Manduley was probably the most important woman in the Cuban Revolution – yet outside of Cuba, almost nobody knows her name. The first woman to fire a shot in the revolution, and the brains behind the revolution’s complex logistics, she is known in Cuba as the powerful heart of a movement to “make people’s lives better.” Discover this astonishing story with our guest, Tiffany Sippial. Director of the Honors College and Professor of History at Auburn University, Tiffany Sippial published an award-winning book on Cuba in 2013 with the University of North Carolina Press and published a second book on Cuban revolutionary leader Celia Sanchez Manduley with that press in January 2020. Sippial also served as president of the Latin American and Caribbean Section of the Southern Historical Association in 2018-2019. Music featured in this episode provided by Marc Nelson, Jimmy Fontanez, Doug Maxwell, Rene Touzet, Quincas Moreira and Daniel Henderson and his Big Band. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some say Tituba was the easy target in 1692, as an enslaved woman of color. But surprise! She confessed to witchcraft, offering elaborate descriptions of a widespread Satanic conspiracy. Her tales launched Salem, Massachusetts into an unparalleled witch mania. No one was safe…except Tituba herself. How did she start it all, and how did she escape? Join Katie on location in Salem, Massachusetts for this year’s Halloween special. Our guest, army vet, playwright, and military historian David Tullis guides off-the-beaten-track tours of Salem and works as a historical pewtersmith. Music featured in this episode by Aaron Kenny, Esther Abrami, Kevin MacLeod, and Elena Naumova, used by permission. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She was the most powerful pirate in the history of the world – and you’ve probably never heard her name. How did this brilliant, ruthless, utterly unstoppable woman manage to dodge the Chinese, British and Portuguese navies for a decade, and still end up left out of the history books? Guest Dr. Jamie Goodall, author of Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay, introduces us to this enigmatic and fascinating figure. Dr. Jamie Goodall is a staff historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington, D.C. She is the author of Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay: From the Colonial Era to the Oyster Wars and National Geographic’s Pirates: Shipwrecks, Conquests, and their Lasting Legacy. She received her B.A. in Archaeology and my M.A. in Public History-Museum Studies from Appalachian State University (Boone, North Carolina) and her PhD from Ohio State. You’ll often find her presenting her work at regional, national, and international conferences, and at the Maryland and Virginia Renaissance Festival dressed as her alter ego: Torienne, Ship’s Scholar of the crew Mare Nostrum! Music featured in this episode provided by Doug Maxwell, Aaron Kenny, Kevin MacLeod, and I Think I Can Help You. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Come along with us on a virtual version of our September 2021 “Lost Women of England” Tour! Hear highlights from the trip, with context, commentary and other fun bonus content from Katie and Olivia, and “armchair travel” your way around the history of England with us in this special bonus episode. (Watch a video version of this episode with photos and visuals of the locations we’re discussing on our YouTube channel.) To join our next Women’s History Tour, watch this space for announcements on our upcoming Tours! Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rani (Queen) Lakshmibai of Jhansi never wanted to be a rebel. She did everything she could to stay on the right side of the law. But when the British East India Company finally pushed her too far, she took up the sword – literally – to fight for her kingdom, her son, and her life! Return guest Pamela Toler is back to tell us about this incredible, unexpected “heroine of Indian Independence.” Armed with a PhD in history, a well-thumbed deck of library cards, and a large bump of curiosity, author, speaker, and historian, Pamela D. Toler translates history for a popular audience. She goes beyond the familiar boundaries of American history to tell stories from other parts of the world as well as history from the other side of the battlefield, the gender line, or the color bar. Toler is the author of eight books of popular history for children and adults. Her most recent books are Women Warriors: An Unexpected History and Across the Minefields. Music featured in this episode provided by Soumitra Lahiri, Shailendra Mishra, Doug Maxwell, and Kevin MacLeod. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if you got to witness the birth of the American Revolution personally? If you got to hear the founding fathers debating liberty, rights, and the pursuit of happiness around the dining table? Eve heard and saw it all…because she was enslaved by one of the founding fathers. Eve kept her ears open, her eyes down, and then, she made her move. Join Katie on location in Williamsburg, Virginia for the astonishing story of Eve, GONE TO THE ENEMY. You can take an amazing virtual tour of the entire site complete with re-enactors! Illustration of "Eve" created for us by artist Mera MacKendrick. Guest Julie Richter received her Ph.D. in American History from the College of William & Mary in 1992. Richter has worked as a Historian for the Historical Research and Architectural Research Departments at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in addition to working as the Project Manager for Virtual Jamestown. She teaches courses on colonial and Revolutionary Williamsburg as part of the National Institute of American History and Democracy. Richter’s interest in studying historic sites can be seen in her work as the Project Manager for the American Colonial Experiences, a forthcoming National Park Service website that links colonial history with the places where it happened. She is a consultant for “‘Full of Slime and Filth’: A Historical and Geologic Analysis of The Link between Water Quality and Death in Early America,” and has received two NEH Fellowships in African and African American History and Culture from the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wangari Maathai was the first woman in Central Africa to earn a PhD, the first Black woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the mother of the Ecofeminist movement — and that’s just the beginning! Discover the life of this remarkable, brilliant, world-changing woman with our guest - author activist and environmentalist Virginia Phiri. Music featured in this episode provided by Winyo, and the Friends Church Kaimosi - used by permission. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You’ve heard of the Gold Rush. You’ve maybe even heard of the Comstock Lode. But have you heard of the penniless Scottish lass who headed west, and while running a boarding house, struck the richest silver mine in American history? Eilley Bowers became one of the country’s wealthiest women. But Fortune is fickle, and the West was Wild! Join Katie on location with Tammy Buzick at Bowers Mansion near Carson City, Nevada for this surprising, cinematic tale. Music for this episode was provided by Half Pelican, Andy Reiner and Jon Sousa, and Chris Haugen. Used by permission. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stefania Turkevych was one of Galicia’s most talented and prolific classical composers – and then the Russian Revolution turned her world upside down. When she fled the USSR to find a new home, through Italy, Ireland, and to her final home in England, her work was lauded all across the continent. But fame is fickle when nobody speaks your language! Discover this forgotten star – Ukraine’s first female classical composer – with our guest Dr. Erica Glenn. Erica Glenn is a current Fulbright Scholar and Director of Choral Activities at Brigham Young University – Hawaii. Previously, she worked at Arizona State University, conducting the Women’s Chorus, teaching Beginning Conducting (Teaching Excellence Award), and serving as chorus master for operas. She also co-founded the Arizona Women’s Collaborative and Phoenix Singing. Glenn holds a BM/MM in Music Composition and an Ed.M. in The Arts in Education (Harvard). She is the 2020 recipient of an American Councils Grant, a Knowledge Mobilization Award, a Creative Constellation Grant, and Melikian Center funding for her research into Stefania Turkevych, Ukraine’s first female composer. Glenn recently presented at the Ukrainian Institute of America and the Longy New Music Festival, and she has led interest sessions at ACDA and AATSEEL. Her original opera Dreamweaver won the International VocalWorks Competition, and her musical The Weaver of Raveloe was performed at both the NY Musical Theatre Festival and the American Repertory Theatre. All music for this episode was composed by Stefania Turkevych and is used by kind permission of Erica Glenn. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1895, Annie Cohen embarked on a quest to become the first woman ever to cycle around the world. Did she make it? Yes! Were the newspapers engrossed in her story? Yes! Did she actually… um, cycle? Sometimes! By sheer grit, Annie made her life into something (literally) unbelievable. Peter Zheutlin, author of two books about Annie, tells Katie the tale of a woman who “didn’t run away to join the circus; she became the circus.” Newsreel and newspaper footage performed by James Henderson, Marc Nelson, and Sam Henderson. Guest Peter Zheutlin is a freelance journalist and author whose work has appeared in The Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Parade Magazine, AARP Magazine and numerous other publications. He’s the author of the New York Times best-seller, Rescue Road: One Man, Thirty Thousand Dogs, and a Million Miles on the Last Hope Highway and Rescued: What Second-Chance Dogs Teach Us About Living With Purpose, Loving With Abandon, and Finding Joy in the Little Things and The Dog Went Over the Mountain: Travels with Albie: An American Journey. He previously practiced law and taught legal research and writing at the Northwestern University School of Law and the University of Virginia Law School. Music featured in this episode included: “Just Like a Rainbow” by the Columbians, “The Royal Vagabond” by Jockers Dance Orchestra, "The Entertainer," "Pine Apple Rag," and "Frog Legs Roll" by Scott Joplin, “Kletzklachka," “Tsigane,” “Polish Jokes are Funny,” and “Drunk in Paris” by Harry Fishpye and the Brown Sound, "Maple Leaf Rag" by Vess Ossman, and “Awen” by The Mind Orchestra. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When most medieval Englishwomen wouldn’t travel more than five miles from home in their lifetime, Margery Kempe left behind her abusive husband and fourteen children to walk from France to Jerusalem and back – in the 1400s! Discover the amazing story of the mysterious “Weeping Mystic” who traveled the world, broke all the rules, and – luckily for us – recorded it all for history! Returning guest Mary Sharratt is on a mission to write women back into history. Music featured in this episode by Solis, Choir of the Sun, Aaron Kenny, and Yanma Ensemble. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1400 years ago, traveling through the Maya rainforest was terrifying and deadly (think snakes, jaguars, and crocodiles). Now, new LiDAR scans have revealed a network of elevated ancient roads so sophisticated, some folks give aliens the credit. But the truth is much more interesting! K’awiil, visionary ruler of Coba, one of the great cities of the Maya Golden Age, built the first roads in the Americas. But did she do it to conquer her neighbors, or to help them? Join Katie on location in Coba, Mexico, with our guest Ezequiel May. Want to learn more? Here's an informative article on K’awiil from the Yucatan Times, an authoritative article on the stelae at Coba, and an article on how the people of Coba built the road. Illustration of K'awiil created for us by artist Mera MacKendrick. Guest Ezequiel May lives in the community of Coba Quintana Roo Mexico. He was born in 1989 and has spent his entire life here in this beautiful town. He has been working as a tourist guide for 9 years. He feels it has been an honor to share the different archaeological investigations and the important dates that they have raised during their discovery. Music featured in this episode was provided by Dan Bodan, Amulets, Quincas Moriera, Joey Pecorano, and ELPHNT. Portrait of K'awiil by Mera Mackendrick. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Helen Duncan was the last person in the UK ever to be convicted of witchcraft… in the mid-20th-century! Her story is one of fraud, fakery and – just possibly – actual communications with the dead!? Guest Nikki Druce is the creator and host of Macabre London, the original podcast about London’s gruesome history. Created in 2016, combines the intrigue of horror and history and turns it into a unique storytelling podcast. Nikki’s stories on the show are inspired by a lifelong love of anything dark, gothic, creepy and unsettling. Through Macabre London, Nikki has dedicated herself to making sure the stories from the capital’s past are not forgotten forever and to bring them to a new generation of podcast listeners and YouTube viewers. Check out the Macabre London podcast, YouTube show, and make sure to follow Nikki on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! Music featured in this episode provided by Amanda Setlik Wilson, Jeremy Dittus, Doug Maxwell, Half Pelican, and Kevin MacLeod. Want to help us “make history”? Become a Patron or Donate here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices