THE FARMER Cherokee America Rogers

Margaret Verble ‘found’ Cherokee America Rogers in a cemetery while visiting her grandfather’s grave. This “jaw-dropping” name sparked a journey into her own family history, the neglected stories of the Civil War in Indian Territory, and her newest novel, Cherokee America. Discover the remarkable woman behind this remarkable name, and the under-told and misunderstood history of Cherokee women in the nineteenth century.   Our guest is Margaret Verble, author of Maud’s Line and Cherokee America, …

19th century / Indigenous Peoples / Medicine / North America / Transcripts / United States / War

THE ORACLE Pythia

Ancient kings and rulers from across the world traveled to the remote mountain town Delphi, Greece, to visit a nameless elderly peasant woman. They made the trek because she alone could see the future, and channeled the voice of god. Her words made world leaders change the course of their lives, but no one ever documented who she really was. Travel with us on location to Delphi, Greece, to reenact an ancient visit to Pythia, …

Ancient / Europe / Greece / Philosophy / Religion

THE PSYCHOANALYST Sabina Spielrein

Sabina Spielrein was one of the first female psychoanalysts, “invented” child psychology, and innovated some of the most famous concepts now attributed to Jung and Freud.So why don’t we know her name? Learn how an accident of translation (and some sexism and antisemitism on the side) erased this powerhouse from our bookshelves and our classrooms — and why it’s more than time to bring her back! Olivia interviews Angela Sells, author of Sabina Spielrein: The …

20th century / Europe / Medicine / Russia / Science / Switzerland / Transcripts

Bonus: Audio Tours of Historic Ogden, Utah

Free downloadable audio tours of Historic Ogden! To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad, What’sHerName Podcast has created two free downloadable audio tours of historic Ogden, Utah, in cooperation with the Weber County Heritage Foundation, Union Station, and the Weber State University Special Collections. You can download both audio tours for FREE below! Learn how “Notorious 25th Street” earned its name, or check out a truly behind-the-scenes tour of Union Station. Both tours …

Audio Tours

THE POET Hester Pulter

In 1996, a graduate student working in a library in England discovered the manuscript of a novel and 120 poems by completely unknown 17th century woman writer. Hester Pulter had been hiding in plain sight for four centuries. Now a dedicated team of scholars is sharing her work with the world. “Then being enfranchised, free as my verse, I shall surround this spacious universe, Until by other atoms thrust and hurled We give a being …

17th century / England / Europe / Politics / Religion / War / Writers

THE GIRL OF IRON Mary Peterson Ipsen

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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 …

19th century / Food / North America / Religion / Travel / United States

THE TRANSLATOR Malintzin

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. …

16th century / Indigenous Peoples / Mexico / North America / Politics / Travel / War / You Think You Know Her

THE WHITE ROSE Sophie Scholl

In Nazi Germany, resistance was not just forbidden, it was deadly. But in 1942, a group of young college students went from enthusiastic supporters of the Third Reich to some of its most vocal opponents, publishing thousands of leaflets calling Hitler a criminal, and attempting to start a student revolt. Though their dream of a revolution never became reality, their courageous stance in the face of evil has become legendary in Germany, and their story …

20th century / Activists / Europe / Germany / Military / Politics / Transcripts / War

THE WARRIOR Zenobia

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 …

3rd century / Ancient / Government / Italy / Military / Politics / Syria

THE OPTIMIST Émilie du Châtelet

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Do we live in the best of all possible worlds? Émilie du Châtelet thought so, and set out to prove it with empirical evidence three hundred years ago. Raised at the lavish court of Louis XIV, she stood out like a sore thumb: while the women around her were glamorous, graceful and illiterate, she was clunky, fierce, and bookish. The story of her world-changing contribution to science is as delightful as it is surprising: part …

17th century / Europe / France / Inventors / Science / Theater / Writers