What'sHerName

St. Brigid tended an eternal flame in Kildare, Ireland, while caring for people, animals, and the earth. And though she lived 1500 years ago, her story is seeing a huge resurgence in the 21st century. Come on location with Katie to the Solas Bhride Center in Kildare to meet Brigidine nun, Sister Rita Minehan. We promise a balm for your weary soul!

What would it look like to live a life without fear? Mary Seacole’s story may hold the answer! She spent her life rushing from one catastrophe to the next, doing anything she could to ease human suffering – without a single thought for her own safety. From disease-infested Panamanian goldmines to the horrific battlefield hospitals of Crimea – Mary spent her life being “relentlessly useful” …but how on earth did she do it? Olivia interviews historian Helen Rappaport, author of the fascinating new book In Search of Mary Seacole.   Thank you to Penguin Audio for allowing us to use selections from their delightful audiobook production of Mary’s memoir, The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, which was performed by Yasmin Mwanza. You can also find the full text of Mary’s memoir online here.         Helen Rappaport is the author of In Search of Mary Seacole, The Romanov Sisters, The Last Days of the Romanovs, and many other critically acclaimed titles. She has been a full-time writer for more than twenty-three years, and in 2003 discovered and purchased an 1869 portrait of Mary Seacole that now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, sparking a long investigation into Seacole’s life and career.     Music featured in this episode included: Your purchases help support the podcast!  

The most prolific poisoner of all time couldn’t possibly have been a woman. Right??! Goeie Mie, “Good Maria,” was such a selfless and kindly nurse that desperate folks in 19th-century Leiden called her when they were sick, knowing she’d come even if they couldn’t pay. But they got worse…and worse, and usually died in misery. Goeie Mie had life insurance on all of them. Travel on location to Leiden, The Netherlands with Katie in this spooky Halloween Special!

The richest, most famous person you’ve never heard of is Harriet Mellon. An icon of the stage in Regency England, she rose from abject poverty and abuse to become the wealthiest woman in the country. More surprising still: she was the sweetest, most wholesome soul you’ll ever meet.

When Sir Christopher Wren was tasked with redesigning Westminster Abbey in 1697, his extravagant vision was brought to life by Head Abbey Carpenter Elizabeth Gregory. In an era when men ruled supreme, this remarkable woman oversaw every one of the hundreds of carpenters working for the Abbey - for over fifteen years. Discover the mysterious life of Elizabeth Gregory, on-location with Westminster Abbey Community Learning Officer Aaron Paterson.

What really matters in life? Family, love, kindness, freedom...? And if you had to pick just one, which would it be? Caty Taylor, enslaved at Montpelier Plantation, had to choose. Her brother was sold, her sister joined the largest escape attempt in American history... but Caty stayed. They all took different paths but - miracle of miracles - found a happy ending. Recorded on location at Montpelier Plantation.

In Mussolini's Italy, Luisa Spagnoli became one of the most influential purveyors of chocolate - and fashion - in European history. But how did she do it? Our guest is Diana Garvin.

For too long, the "story of humankind" has been a story of men. But how would the narrative of human history change if we put the 'lost women' center stage? In our 100th Episode Special, we tell the whole history of the world, in one sweeping narrative, through all 100 What’sHerName women!

Lois Meek Stolz's bold refusal to "do what had always been done" helped change American education forever - but that was only the beginning! Meet the "model teacher" who became one of the most influential Child Development experts in a century... and then was completely forgotten.

In 1790, Judith Sargent Murray became the first American to publicly argue that men and women were equal. Hailing from seafaring Gloucester Massachusetts, she educated herself, weathered some of life’s cruelest storms, and published hundreds of bold, brave essays. She expected to rock the boat, steering her new American nation toward equality. And America went…meh. Why? Join Katie on location at Sargent House Museum in Gloucester. Judith Sargent Murray’s Unitarian Universalist Catechism is available here. Find the full text of Sargent Murray’s essay “On the Equality of the Sexes” from the National Humanities Center here and a good analysis of her essay here. Watch another interesting talk on Judith Sargent Murray by scholar of American Revolution Women Dr. Carol Berkin.   All photos by Katie Nelson unless otherwise credited. Jen Turner is a doctoral candidate in history at UMass Amherst and a long time adjunct faculty member in the history department at Bridgewater State University. She is also a museum professional and has worked at various museums throughout Massachusetts, including the Paul Revere House and Plimoth Patuxet Museums. Currently, she is the part-time Museum Educator at the Buttonwoods Museum in Haverhill, Mass and the Lead Tour Guide, Curatorial Associate, and Site Manager of the Sargent House Museum in Gloucester, Massachusetts. She is the harried mother of a toddler son born in the middle of a global pandemic and a first grader who may or may not like history as much as her mother. Music featured in this episode included:  

Even in the wildly eccentric cabaret culture of 1920s Berlin,Valeska Gert stood out. And even thought it would take nearly fifty years for society to "catch up" with Valeska's vision - this unique and irrepressible dancer would eventually (and against all odds) become revered as the "Mother of Punk"! Our guest is dancer and dance historian Janet Collard.

What makes a good wife? In 1700s Virginia, there was one clear path for colonial women: Marry. Have children. Preserve the family wealth. Fail at this, and you’ve failed at life. But what if the family wealth you were tasked to preserve was an old mansion…and a slave plantation? Katie takes us on location to Bacon’s Castle, one of America’s oldest houses.   You can read Elizabeth Bray Allen’s will here, and take a 3D tour of the entire house here! You can also see more photos and information about the house and the family here.                   Carol Wiedel is the site coordinator at Preservation Virginia’s Bacon’s Castle in Surry County where she has worked for 9 years. She is a strong member of the community, serving on the Chamber of Commerce as well as the Tourism Advisory Group. She lives in Surry with her husband and their chickens and has 4 grown children and 7 grandchildren. Carol loves Bacon’s Castle and all of its many years of history and works to make more people aware of its importance and place in the greater community. She enjoys introducing new guests to the castle as well as building relationships with those who have family or other connections to the site.      Music featured in this episode includes:                      

When 21 year-old Catherine Leroy hopped on a plane in Paris, headed for Vietnam, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Despite having no experience of either war or photography, Leroy was determined to make her mark as a world-class combat photojournalist. And somehow, against all odds - and against massive opposition from most of her male colleagues, top-ranking military officers, and the press itself - she did it. But at what cost? Olivia brings us the story of this incredible, indomitable woman with guest Elizabeth Becker, author of You Don't Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War.

Germany was still burning witches when Maria Sibylla Merian daringly filled her 17th-century home with spiders, moths, and all kinds of toxic plants. Bold choices saved her from accusations of witchcraft–and from a mundane life. Merian’s fascination with metamorphosis led her all the way to the rainforests of South America, where she recorded countless new species, 130 years before Darwin! Our guest is Kim Todd, author of _Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis._

Frances Glessner Lee was 52 years old when she discovered the mission that would become her legacy - to "convict the guilty, clear the innocent, and find the truth." After five decades as a prominent social hostess (and innovative part-time artist) this indomitable woman took on centuries of entrenched medical and legal tradition to become the Mother of Forensic Science. And she did it - at least partially - with dollhouses?! Our guest is Bruce Goldfarb, author of _18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Invented Modern Forensics._