Her story might be one of ambition and regicide, or one of a woman manipulated by an evil puppetmaster – or it might be both! Travel with us back in time 3000 years, where our guest, renowned Egyptologist Kara Cooney, introduces us to that most enigmatic (and overlooked) New Kingdom pharaoh, Tawosret. A complete transcript of this episode is available here. Dr. Kathlyn (Kara) Cooney is a professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture at UCLA. …
Over 2000 years of history, China had exactly one female emperor. Wu Zhao (also known as Wu Zetian) rose from fifth-ranked concubine (a glorified maid) to supreme ruler, effectively governing China for over fifty years. Her reign was one of the most peaceful and productive periods of the Tang Dynasty – so why does history remember her as a bloodthirsty, sexually depraved tyrant? Olivia interviews Professor of Chinese History and Wu Zhao biographer, N. Harry …
The first flag of the Greek Revolution was raised by Laskarina Bouboulina on the mast of her ship, The Agamemnon, in 1821. Commanding a fleet of ships from her island of Spetses, she blockaded the greatest strongholds of the Ottoman Empire in the name of liberty. She personally led her troops into battle, wielding a sword and ferocious will. Bouboulina’s story is legendary in Greece, on par with George Washington’s in America. Our guest is …
In 3rd century Palmyra (modern-day Syria), the bold and brilliant queen Zenobia defied the Roman Empire and launched a wildly successful campaign of expansion, eventually ruling Arabia, Egypt, and parts of Asia Minor. But at her final defeat in 272, her story fragments into several curious and contradictory versions of “the end.” With guest Pamela Toler, author of the new book Women Warriors, we take on this history “Choose Your Own Adventure” style–examining the sources …
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 …
Bessie Margolin grew up in the New Orleans Jewish Orphan’s Home, was one of the first women to graduate from Tulane Law School and earned her PhD in Law from Yale University in 1932. Her groundbreaking work as Assistant Solicitor of Labor for the New Deal’s Fair Labor Standards Act championed many of the wage and hour rights Americans take for granted today and enshrined in law the basic human dignity of American workers. She …
