What'sHerName

1400 years ago, traveling through the Mayan 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 Mayan 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.

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!? Hear this fascinating and extremely unexpected story with special guest Nikki Druce, host of the Macabre London podcast! Hear the full-length audio from Helen Duncan’s conversation with “Albert” here. And hear Helen Duncan’s full “appearance” at a 1983 seance by medium Rita Goold here. (“Helen” begins speaking at 39:36, but the entire seance is a wild ride.)                           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:  

Chances are, every one of us has seen Victorine Meurent. Her delicate, red-headed form appears in at least thirty paintings by the famous Parisian masters of La Belle Époque. It was long assumed that Victorine was a prostitute, who died young in some tragically romantic way. But when our guest Drema Drudge saw Victorine staring out from Manet’s famous painting Olympia, she felt called to uncover the woman’s story. And now we know that none of the assumptions were true -- her life was far more marvelous!

In the late 18th century, Bibi Sahiba was one of the most important and influential people in the entire Afghan Empire. Honored as "the first and the most perfect" Sufi guide, Bibi Sahiba the Great's spiritual and cultural influence can hardly be overstated. So how is it possible she's as unknown in modern Kabul and Kandahar as she is anywhere else? Bibi Sahiba's story is astonishing enough on its own -- but the truths it uncovers about central/south Asian history will truly blow your mind!

Image courtesy of the Utah State Historical Society In 1896, Martha Hughes Cannon ran for state senate against her polygamist husband, and won! But becoming America’s first female state senator was only one chapter of Cannon’s story. A whirlwind of triumph and heartbreak dominated her life: wagon trains, Victorian medicine, the suffrage movement, evading federal prosecution, she lived it all! Our guest is Rebekah Clark, author of Thinking Women: A Timeline of Suffrage in Utah

In an abandoned house in St. Anne, Illinois, an astonishing treasure trove of handwritten sheet music was discovered in 2009. That cache was the life's work of composer Florence Price, the first African-American woman to have her work performed by major orchestras. But Price's story is so much bigger - and so much wilder! - than even that headline-grabbing discovery could show.  Her astonishing contributions to classical music are finally getting the attention - and the praise - they deserve.

Tasha Tudor’s charming and warm-hearted illustrations of over 100 books, plus her nostalgic advent calendars and Christmas cards, earned her devoted fans around the world. But her way of life fascinated people as much as her illustrations. Even though she lived to 2008, she lived with conscious intention as if it were 1830. Her life was rooted in simplicity, creativity, and taking it slow. In this Christmas Special, we read from her Christmas classic, Take Joy! – joining her family in a nostalgic month-long celebration of her favorite time of year.   Visit the official Tasha Tudor website, find all the Tudor family recipes, and find all things Christmas in their Christmas Shop, and year-round delights in the Tasha Tudor shop. And consider joining the Tasha Tudor Society to surround yourself with magical joy all year round! The two Tasha Tudor documentaries are Take Joy! and Take Peace! and are available for digital rental online.       Music featured in this episode included: Purchasing through these links can help support the podcast!    

When Helen Stephens was fifteen years old, a track coach saw her playing pickup basketball and asked her to run a time trial in the school driveway. In that first-ever 50-yard dash, Stephens tied the world record. Only a year later at the 1936 Olympics, she would win two gold medals and her record would stand for twenty-four years. Meet this “forgotten legend” of US track with Fast Girls author Elise Hooper.   Helen Stephens’ world-record breaking time for the 100m at the 1936 Olympics was 11.5 seconds. She would never lose a race in her lifetime.                   Coverage of the Women’s 400 Relay from the 1936 Games.   A native New Englander, Elise Hooper spent several years writing for television and online news outlets before getting a MA and teaching high-school literature and history. She now lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters and is the author of The Other Alcott, Learning to See, and Fast Girls.     Music featured in this episode included       Your purchases help support the podcast!

May Alcott failed spectacularly countless times before becoming a great artist.  Immortalized by her sister as the vain, vivacious Amy in Little Women, the real youngest “March” sister, May, was a conscientious, creative, and courageous artist whose enthusiastic energy lifted everyone around her. Travel with Katie to Orchard House, where the Alcotts lived 175 years ago, and see the world as May saw it: beautiful, joyful, and full of possibility. You can take a virtual tour of Orchard House on the museum website, as well as visit their online shop. The Librivox recording of Little Women can be found here. Read May Alcott’s book “Studying Art Abroad and How to do it Cheaply” here.                   Jan Turnquist is the executive director of Orchard House, and director and co-executive producer of the Emmy award-winning documentary Orchard House: Home of the Little Women.   Music featured in this episode included: Your purchases help support the podcast!      

Jane Marcet wasn’t a chemist. She wasn’t a physicist or a biologist or an astronomer – but she probably made a bigger contribution to science than anyone else in the 19th century. So why do none of us know her name? Guest Miranda Garno Nesler explains what made Jane Marcet’s contributions so unique and so important, and why so many of us might be thinking about science – and scientists – all wrong. Miranda Garno Nesler is Director of Women’s Literature & History for Whitmore Rare Books.               Miranda Garno Nesler earned her PhD from Vanderbilt University and serves as the Director of Women’s Literature & History for Whitmore Rare Books. At WRB, she researches manuscript and print materials through which women and other marginalized people told their own stories; and she places them with institutional clients around the globe to ensure that students and researchers can access a more diverse swath of history. She has been an invited speaker for a range of organizations including WriteGirl LA, The American Culinary Museum, The Belletrist, and the Antiquarian Bookseller’s Association of America. Past work has appeared in The Shakespearean International Year Book, Studies in English Literature, and The Journal of Narrative Theory. Her essay on the impact of 17th century printer Elizabeth Holt is slated to appear in the collection Making Impressions: Women in Printing and Publishing (Legacy Press, 2021).     Music featured in this episode included Jane Marcet’s books available free on Project Gutenberg

Once upon a time in the Mayan Yucatan, a kind, beautiful lady was murdered and left at the base of a tree. But that was just the beginning! Join Katie on-location in Valladolid, Mexico, as her guest Jesus Cetzal recounts the age-old story of Xtabay, who has been exacting her revenge in the Yucatan for centuries.

Before Ida Tarbell took on John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company, the idea of a journalist bringing down the largest monopoly in the US would have been laughable. But her relentless investigation, passion for the truth, and innovative code of journalistic ethics wouldn’t just change the country’s businesses — it would revolutionize American journalism forever. Meet the original “Muckraker.” Our guest is Stephanie Gorton, author of Citizen Reporters: S.S. McClure, Ida Tarbell and the Magazine That Rewrote America.       Stephanie Gorton has written for NewYorker.com, Smithsonian.com, The Paris Review Daily, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Toast, The Millions, and other publications. Previously, she held editorial roles at Canongate Books, The Overlook Press, and Open Road. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh and Goucher College’s MFA program in Creative Nonfiction, she lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with her family. Citizen Reporters is her first book; she is currently working on a new book about the legalization of birth control.   Music featured in this episode included:   Your purchases help support the podcast!  

Did Zazil-Ha know that her rebellious love affair would save not just her kingdom, but the entire Yucatec Maya for a generation? Together with her shipwrecked Spanish husband, Zazil-Ha built a life beyond anything the 16th-century world could imagine. Preparing her people for a Spanish invasion, she created a future for the Maya that was radically new. And in the process, she became the brave, strong mother of the mestizo race. Katie interviews Gabriel Cemé, on location in Yucatan, Mexico. A complete transcript of this episode is available here. Our portrait of Zazil-ha was created for us by Mera MacKendrick.       Gabriel Cemé is native Maya of Akumal, Mexico with a passion for history. Gabo traveled the globe for years before returning to the Yucatan to cultivate his deep relationship with the land. With his company Eco Maya’s Animal Sanctuary, he works to rehabilitate wild animals for their release back into the wild. Eco Maya aims to foster ecologically sustainable tourism to the Yucatan.         Music featured in this episode included

Freddie and Truus Oversteegen were just 14 and 16 years old when the Nazis invaded their hometown of Haarlem. Determined to do their part, the sisters joined the Dutch Resistance and began bombing trains, smuggling out Jewish children, and running refugee safehouses. But their most dangerous work by far was also the most unlikely for two young girls to ever take on: assassinating Nazi officers in broad daylight. Olivia interviews guest Sophie Poldermans, author of Seducing and Killing Nazis, to discover this astounding true story of courage, camaraderie, and the fight to stay human in inhuman times. A full transcript of this episode is available here. Sophie Poldermans is the author of the New York Post & Amazon best seller Seducing and Killing Nazis. Hannie, Truus and Freddie: Dutch Resistance Heroines of WWII (USA, 2019). She personally knew Truus and Freddie Oversteegen for 20 years and worked closely with them for over a decade as a board member of the National Hannie Schaft Foundation. Poldermans is the founder of “Sophie’s Women of War,” shedding light on women leaders in times of conflict, and a Dutch women’s rights advocate, author, public speaker, lecturer and consultant on women and war, human rights-related issues from a legal, historical and sociological perspective and women’s leadership. She has degrees in Dutch and International Human Rights and International Criminal Law (University of Amsterdam); Peace and Conflict Studies (UC Berkeley, USA); Human Rights and Democratization (EIUC, Venice, Italy; Vienna, Austria) and Women’s Leadership (Yale School of Management). She has work experience as a lecturer in Conflict Resolution and International Human Rights and Criminal Law at several (international) universities.   Music featured in this episode included    

It’s often assumed that women are scarce in the Hebrew Bible because they simply weren’t allowed to be major players back then. But the life of Shelamzion (aka Salome Alexandra) proves that wrong. She ruled ancient Judea in a period of extreme ideological polarization (um, hello). She stood up to her brutal husband to protect her people; then she stood up to her people to protect her enemies. Her reign was a Golden Age in Judea, so how come nobody’s ever heard of her? Our guest is Lauren Jacobs.               Lauren Jacobs is a multi – award winning author, whose historical fiction books, focus on the forgotten, marginalised women of the Ancient Near East. When she’s not writing books, she is speaking across stages and nations, on social injustices facing women globally. She hosts her own journalism show on national radio in South Africa, and she loves connecting with like minded women on her instagram @profuselyprofound Music featured in this episode included