125 episodes

Why don't women's clothes have more pockets? Who are the female writers and artists my education forgot to include? How does a woman go about seizing control of her government? What was it like to be a female slave and how did the lucky ones escape? When did women get to put their own name on their credit cards? Is the life of a female spy as glamorous as Hollywood has led me to believe?
In short, what were the women doing all that time? I explore these and other questions in this thematic approach to women's history.

Her Half of History Evergreen Podcasts

    • History
    • 5.0 • 48 Ratings

Why don't women's clothes have more pockets? Who are the female writers and artists my education forgot to include? How does a woman go about seizing control of her government? What was it like to be a female slave and how did the lucky ones escape? When did women get to put their own name on their credit cards? Is the life of a female spy as glamorous as Hollywood has led me to believe?
In short, what were the women doing all that time? I explore these and other questions in this thematic approach to women's history.

    Zenobia, Last Empress of Palmyra (Syria)

    Zenobia, Last Empress of Palmyra (Syria)

    Zenobia is one of the great enemies of Rome. From the oasis city of Palmyra (in modern-day Syria), she rose up in rebellion and conquered a great empire from Asia Minor through to Egypt. This episode covers:

    the background of Palmyra as an important stop on the Silk Road

    just how disastrous the 3rd century was for Rome

    how Zenobia's husband Odaenathus saved the eastern empire

    how he died

    how Zenobia took control on behalf of her son

    how she expanded her empire

    how Rome fought back and eventually won

    conflicting theories on how Zenobia died

    what has happened to Palmyra throughout the intervening centuries, and especially recently under ISIS control


    Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.
    Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee.
    Join Into History (intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.
    Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows.
    Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.
    The feature image is by Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=126112516
     
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 23 min
    Boudica, Last Queen of the Iceni

    Boudica, Last Queen of the Iceni

    Rome stole her country, publicly flogged her, and raped her daughters. The woman known variously as Boudica, Boudicca, Boadicea, Bonducca, and a dozen other variations fought back with everything she had. This episode includes:

    How Rome came to the isle of Britain

    How the Icenian king split his country between Rome and his daughters

    How Rome wouldn't take half for an answer

    How the Icenian queen gathered an army and burned three successive cities to the ground

    How Rome won the last battle and the Iceni ceased to exist

    How Boudica resurfaced as a symbol of British nationalism, female power, and female rage


    Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.
    Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee.
    Join Into History (intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.
    Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows.
    Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

    Feature image by Paul Walter - Boudica statue, Westminster, CC BY 2.0
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 24 min
    Cleopatra, Last Pharaoh of Egypt (rebroadcast)

    Cleopatra, Last Pharaoh of Egypt (rebroadcast)

    Cleopatra inherited a joint throne, but pushed first one and then a second brother out of it to rule alone. In a world where rising Roman dominance was a fact of life, she managed to maintain control of her country by negotiating (in every possible way) with both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Though she lost in the end, she still managed to close out 3000 years of Egyptian history on her own terms.

    This episode originally appeared in series 2 on Women Who Seized Power, but it fits equally well in series 12 on Last Queens.
    Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.
    Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee.
    Join Into History (intohistory.com) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.
    Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows.
    Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 31 min
    Salome Alexandra, Last Queen of Judea

    Salome Alexandra, Last Queen of Judea

    She had many names: Salome, Alexandra, Shelamzion, and Schlomtzion, but the last monarch of an independent kingdom of Judea was a Queen Regnant. She ruled from (roughly) 78 to 69 BCE. Her time was remembered for generations as the golden age before Rome.

    Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.
    Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee.
    Join Into History (intohistory.com) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.
    Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows.
    Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.
     
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 24 min
    The Last Queen, for Now (by Cheryl Ciucevich)

    The Last Queen, for Now (by Cheryl Ciucevich)

    If you follow the royal news, you may be aware that we had a queen abdicate last month. Or possibly, you missed it because it wasn’t in the British royal family. It was Margrethe II of Denmark.
    I am researching last queens for series 12, fully aware that the word “last” is a little ambiguous here, but I must confess, the connection with this current event, never crossed my historically minded brain. Until I read a blog post on exactly that connection, and a definition of “last” I had not considered. There are currently no queen regnants in Europe at all! Author Cheryl Ciucevich graciously agreed to allow me to publish her work here on the podcast.
    Please check out Cheryl’s blog at hrhprincesspalace.blogspot.com. You can also find Cheryl on social media as Palace Princess or Princess Palace Blog on Twitter, Threads, Instagram, and Facebook.
    The feature image today is by Aalborg Stift / Casper Tybjerg - Flickr: Bispevielse, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
    Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.
    Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee.
    Join Into History (intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.
    Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows.
    Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 20 min
    LaVern Baker (by The Dead Ladies Show)

    LaVern Baker (by The Dead Ladies Show)

    It's Black History Month, and we're looking at LaVern Baker, the pioneering R&B singer LaVern Baker. Today's episode is a guest episode from the fabulously named Dead Ladies Show, which celebrates women - both overlooked and iconic, through live history storytelling on stage in Berlin, and beyond.
    Check out other episodes from The Dead Ladies Show on their website (https://deadladiesshow.com/podcast/) or wherever you get your podcasts.
    Visit my website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.
    Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee.
    Join Into History (intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.
    Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows.
    Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 27 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
48 Ratings

48 Ratings

Nuckhead ,

FUN HISTORY

I listen to A LOT of history podcasts. This is an interesting slant, given in a fun manner. Can’t wait to catch up on what I missed. Listened to the washing episode on History Daily, and had to check you out

AppReviewerKL ,

Great history on the “ring” for marriage and engagements

Great episode and so rich with history … great voice to listen to and enriches the text. My gr-grandfather was a jeweler in the 1890’s - of course pushing diamonds - but I didn’t know the diamond tradition was so “new”.

#Sidthesciencekid ,

I love this podcast!

I decided I wanted to learn more about women in history and, oh my, this is so good! Everything is well researched and very entertaining - I totally recommend! I was going to make a suggestion - women in sports?

Top Podcasts In History

The Rest Is History
Goalhanger Podcasts
Throughline
NPR
American Scandal
Wondery
Hollywood Exiles
BBC & CBC
American History Tellers
Wondery
Lore
Aaron Mahnke

You Might Also Like

Anglo-Saxon England
Evergreen Podcasts
Gone Medieval
History Hit
Ben Franklin's World
Liz Covart
History Unplugged Podcast
Scott Rank, PhD
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
History Hit
The Ancients
History Hit