If you knew the recipe for an undetectable poison, would you use it? What about giving it to women with abusive husbands? Giulia Tofana’s legendary poison Aqua Tofana (brilliantly disguised as holy ointment) was famed and feared in 17th-century Rome. But just how many terrible husbands can drop dead, before the Pope gets suspicious? In this year’s Halloween Special, our guests are Gaia Aloisi and Ted Blackburn, the creators of Aqua Tofana, a new electronic …
When Sigrid Schultz was offered a job as a reporter in Berlin, Germany in 1919, she had no idea how her life was about to change – or how her work would change the world. Returning guest Pamela Toler introduces us to this indomitable woman, who was one of the first to raise the alarm about the Nazis, one of the last to leave as WWII made reporting impossible, and the first woman in history …
Aleksandra Samusenko commanded a unit of Soviet tanks through some of the most brutal battles in human history. The Soviet Union never told her story. But an American paratrooper who’d escaped a Nazi POW camp never forgot her. In the final months of World War II, he joined her unit, and together they made the final push to Berlin. Guest Hayley Noble shares the story of THE TANK COMMANDER Aleksandra Samusenko. Haley Noble’s website on …
She was one of the key figures of Irish Independence, known in her lifetime as The Irish Joan of Arc. But somehow, history only remembers Maud Gonne as the woman who wouldn’t marry WB Yeats. More recently, a BBC headline called her “Ireland’s heroine who had sex in her baby’s tomb.” Both those things are true, but… her real story is even more bonkers – and of course, so much more amazing. Join us with …
Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the most famed and respected painters in 17th century Europe. But after she died, her story (and many of her works) were lost – and over the years, Artemisia has become better known for what was done to her than for what she did. Award-winning artist Lindsay Huss helps us try to change that. (Content warning: discussions of physical and sexual violence) All paintings by Artemisia Gentileschi unless …
What’sHerName goes LIVE! To launch our new book, What’s Her Name, A History of the World in 80 Lost Women, former episode guests convene in London from all over the world for a Night of Celebration! In rapid-fire succession, brilliant 3-minute performances of poetry, song, story, and dance take us chronologically through the history of the world. The magic is punctuated throughout with short readings from the new book by Katie and Olivia. The packed …
From arriving at the port of Constantinople as a teenage bride to the heir to the Byzantine Throne, to exiling – and blinding – her own son, Constantine IV, to boldly crowning herself the first Empress Regnant of the Byzantine Empire, Irene of Athens’ life was a wildly unpredictable ride through one of the most tumultuous and fascinating periods of medieval history. Olivia interviews archaeologist and historian Judith Herrin, author of Women in Purple: Rulers …
A charming Indonesian orphan danced her way to fame and fortune… except literally everything about Mata Hari was a lie. She said she wanted to live like a butterfly in the sun. So in the end, could she really have been guilty of espionage? Katie takes us to Leiden to marvel at the incredible life of Mata Hari. Listen to Frank Turner‘s beautiful song about Mata Hari, “Eye of the Day,” here. Josine Heijnen holds …
When Jewish mathematician Pepi Mehlberg was offered a new identity as Countess Janina Suchodolska in Nazi-occupied Poland, she leapt at the chance. And then used it – to join the underground resistance, feed thousands of the Nazi’s prisoners every week, and eventually rescue over 10,000 Poles from Majdanek concentration camp. And she was just getting started. Our guests are Elizabeth White and Joanna Sliwa, authors of the new book The Counterfeit Countess: The Jewish Woman …
In 1867, a ship bound for California with 400 Chinese passengers signalled distress as it drifted in the Pacific Ocean. The ship’s captain was a woman, and her mutinous crew had refused to sail the ship even though they were running out of water. How did Captain Hannah Masury Howe come to be in such a predicament, and how could she possibly save herself and the ship? Our guest for this real-life high seas adventure …
