What'sHerName

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 journey to gain the education that was denied her, to buy her own boat fare, and make her impossible way in the world, defied the expectations of everyone, and still does. Our guest is Dr Charmaine Nelson, author of The Color of Stone and professor at McGill University.

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 flights 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 her as it's most famous "fly girl." Our guest is Keith O'Brien, New York Times Bestselling Author of Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History.

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. Born in 1892, Ursula spent her early years in Shropshire, England, the daughter of a clergyman. Her memories of childhood Christmases at the turn of the 20th century were published many decades ago in a local periodical, Warwickshire and Worcestershire Life. What’sHerName is pleased to revive Ursula Bloom’s charming memoirs of a lost era, read by Professor Judy Elsley.

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 military maneuver. Her death in 1819 shook the continent, but her life story has been revived by our guest, Sharon Wright, in her new book, Balloonomania Belles: Daredevil Divas who First Took to the Sky.

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 book Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan, we discover the incredible life of this enigmatic and influential ruler. Olivia's interview with Ruby Lal was recorded on location at the 2018 Jaipur Literature Festival at the Boulder Public Library.

During the height of WWI, 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 invented, but Maud Fitch drove and maintained the truck by herself, delivering the wounded to hospitals. For her courage and gallantry during one harrowing event, she was awarded the French Cross. Our guest is Valerie Jacobson, Project Manager for the Utah Centennial World War I Commission.

The What'sHerName Halloween Special brings you stories of witches, ghosts, mediums and mysterious deaths from some of our favorite former (and future) guests. Join Paul Draper, Mary Sharratt, Charlotte Bumgarner and Sharon Wright for some Halloween-flavored women's history.

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 African Americans and was influential in the early foundations of the African nation of Tanzania. Our guest is Dr Ashley Farmer, Assistant Professor of History and African and African-Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas-Austin and author of Remaking Black Power: How Black Women Transformed an Era.

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.” Our guest is Professor Bernard Capp, foremost expert on 17th-century Britain and author of the new book, The Ties That Bind.

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, and her witty, irresistible writing made her books mandatory reads for everyone in the 30s, men and women, married and single alike. (There's even a photo of FDR reading her book on vacation!) Discover how one woman's common-sense ideas about what singleness could look like took a country by storm, and how history's changing narrative turned her story into something she never could have expected. Our guest is Joanna Scutts, author of The Extra Woman: How Marjorie Hillis Led a Generation of Women to Live Alone and Like It.

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.” Our guest is Eliza Rosenberg, Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Religious Studies at Utah State University, where she teaches courses in world religions, biblical studies, Judaism, Christianity, and Greek.

Constance Fenimore Woolson was one of the most popular writers of the 19th century. Her friendship with fellow writer Henry James would last decades, and her life would carry her from the East coast of America to Florida to England, France and Italy, and though her life was full of drama, excitement and fame, for nearly a hundred years she's been known only for a 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."

Hundreds of years ago, Caroline Herschel lived a real-life Cinderella story. Except instead of marrying a handsome prince, she became a world-renowned astronomer! Her brutal childhood was one of servitude, suffering and loneliness.Childhood diseases piled on the misery, stunting her growth, disfiguring her face and blinding her in one eye. But Caroline Herschel’s story is an incredibly beautiful tale of triumph and achievement. Her meteoric rise to fame for her astonishing astronomical discoveries led to international renown. The adoring public named her The Comet Huntress. Interview recorded on location at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath, England with manager Joseph Middleton.

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, despite the restrictions put on her musical education, was to be a composer. After giving up her own work to marry "rock star" composer Gustav Mahler, Alma Mahler supported his career for nearly a decade until a series of tragedies led her to reclaim her own identity and creative work. After Gustav's death, Alma Mahler would have several relationships and two more marriages, and her life would span a dizzying breadth of world events from Golden Age Vienna to a Sound of Music-style escape from the invading Nazi forces in France to Hollywood at the height of its glamour. Join our guest, acclaimed author Mary Sharratt, as we discuss her new novel Ecstasy, and the extraordinary life of Alma Mahler. This episode also includes excerpts from "Art Sung, a collaborative stage performance celebrating the life and works of Alma Mahler, featuring Liz Mucha and Alexandra Weaver.

Sallie 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 “Sallie 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 Sallie Lunn, and revealed in microcosm the whole history of Britain! Come along on a tour of the oldest house in Bath and wander the streets of the historic town through our vivid soundscape.