134 episodes
What'sHerName Dr. Katie Nelson and Olivia Meikle
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- History
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4.8 • 415 Ratings
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What’sHerName puts the women back into world history. Hosts (and sisters!) Olivia Meikle and Dr. Katie Nelson are professors by day, podcasters by night. Weaving interviews with experts into vivid, nuanced biographies, What'sHerName tells the stories of fascinating women you’ve never heard of (but should have). Fascinating and funny, thought-provoking and insightful. New episodes biweekly Wednesdays.
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THE BUTTERFLY IN THE SUN Mata Hari
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.
Music featured in this episode provided by Doug Maxwell, Jesse Gallagher, Patrick Patrikios, Amulets, Offenbach, Jimena Contreras, BizBaz Studio, Wayne Jones, Quincas Moreira, ELPHNT and E’s Jammy Jams.
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THE COUNTERFEIT COUNTESS Janina Mehlberg
When Jewish mathematician Pepi Mehlberg was offered a new identity as Countess Janina Suchodolska in Nazi-occupied Poland, she took that chance and used it - to join the underground resistance, feed thousands of Nazi 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 Who Rescued Thousands of Poles During the Holocaust.
Music featured in this episode provided by: Trialogo, Amanda Setlik Wilson, Kevin MacLeod, Esther Abrami, Myuu, Nico deNapoli, E's Jammy Jams, Adam Aston and Michael Levy.
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THE VOYAGER Hannah Masury Howe
In 1867, a ship bound for California with 400 Chinese passengers signaled 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 is NYT bestselling author Katherine Howe, in this real-life high seas adventure.
Music featured in this episode by provided by: Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval, Jeff Cuno, Elphnt, Emmit Fenn, Jesse Gallagher, Chris Haugen, Kevin MacLeod and Doug Maxwell.
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THE SOLID CITIZEN Frances Perkins
Frances Perkins, first female cabinet secretary in US history, was the mind (and the will) behind nearly every landmark policy of the Roosevelt administration's New Deal - so why doesn't anyone know her name? Bestselling author Stephanie Dray introduces us to this remarkable woman whose vision and relentless hard work would touch the life of every American for nearly a century.
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THE EQUESTRIAN Anna Sewell
"This was one woman with a very little life, who made the most enormous difference." Celia Brayfield shares with Katie the story of Anna Sewell who, on her death bed, wrote a story and changed the world.
Black Beauty was no mere "horse book." It catapulted the cause of animal rights and became one of the bestselling books of all time. But Anna Sewell -a quiet, humble Quaker- didn't change the world by preaching: she changed the world by listening.
You can find Celia Brayfield's new book, Writing Black Beauty, in our bookshop and support local indie sellers.
Excerpts from Black Beauty were read by Cori Samuel and the whole book is free to download at Librivox.org.
Music for this episode was composed and performed by: The Mini Vandals, Asher Fulero, Aakash Gandhi, Kevin MacLeod, Josef Suk, and Esther Abrami.
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THE GUNG-HO ORIGINAL Helen Foster Snow
In 1931, a young American aspiring writer set off for what she thought would be a one-year adventure in China. Hoping to gain life experience so she could eventually write the Great American Novel - she would instead become famous as the "Voice of China" to the west, and improve the lives of millions of people in the process. Olivia talks with Helen Foster Snow's great-nephew Adam Foster and her friend and translator Professor An Wei in this unexpected and inspiring episode.
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Customer Reviews
Beautifully researched, written, and presented
I found this podcast a few years ago while looking for stories about powerful women. Katie and Olivia have a way of telling stories about women I would’ve never known existed.
As women so often we only hear mens stories, as theirs were the only ones deemed worthy to be remembered historically. Getting to learn about powerful and influential women through such a fantastically researched and presented story telling is amazing!! I always feel so connected to the women who came before me.
Thank you Katie and Olivia!
Fantastic and informative
Keep up the great work and don’t listen to the snowflakes….
Learning so much!
This is just the girl power podcast the world needed. I’ve learned so much about so many amazing women in just a few weeks (newbie). Anytime I come across a historical woman I want to learn about I always check to see if WHN has an episode on her. 10/10 would recommend! Also fun to listen while playing civilization 👀