The story of America’s transcontinental railroad is a masculine saga. But today we present the story of Union Pacific’s most unlikely employee: a 12-year-old Mormon girl. Mary Peterson Ipsen was a Danish immigrant who walked across the plains to Utah territory and grew up in an isolated religious enclave. But when her father died and she had to find work, she found herself cooking for hundreds of men in the very center of “Hell-on-Wheels:” Jack …
Malintzin has been one of Mexico’s greatest villains for 500 years. A native of Veracruz, she translated for Hernán Cortés, the conquistador who destroyed the Aztec Empire. But she did more than translate: she birthed his children, helped him win battles, and saved his life again and again as they trekked from the Maya coast to the heart of the empire. Through it all, she alone spoke for Cortés – and for everyone he met. …
Carolyn Cassady was an artist, costume designer, writer, and critical influence on the members of the Beat Generation. Her marriage to Neal Cassady and her friendships with Jack Kerouac and other prominent members of the Beats have long overshadowed her own life and accomplishments, but with the recent publication of new manuscripts discovered after her death that is finally beginning to change. An astonishingly talented and prolific creative force, Carolyn Cassady’s legacy of determination, strength, …
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 …
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 flight 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 …
November 11, 2018 is the 100th Anniversary of the end of World War I. To mark this day, we bring you the story of one fearless woman and her ambulance. 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 …
The Pendle Witches – Pearl DeVere – Bess Houdini – Lily Cove Our very first Halloween Special brings back four of our most popular guests with four new stories of hauntings, mysterious deaths, witch hunts, and seances, to bring you many spooky returns of the season! The Pendle Witches: In 1612, ten people were hanged as witches in Lancashire, England, sentenced to death because of the testimony of a 9 year old girl. The eight …
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 …
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 …
Constance Fenimore Woolson was one of the most popular writers of the 19th century. Though her life was full of drama, excitement and fame, for nearly a hundred years she’s been known only for the 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.” Anne Boyd Rioux’s …
