Dead Ladies Show Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 63 — Djuna Barnes May 11, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, translator Laura Radosh introduces us to the fascinating and troubled writer Djuna Barnes. The journalist, novelist, and artist mixed with everyone from James Joyce to Peggy Guggenheim, and was at the center of Bohemian life in 1920s New York and Paris, though perhaps not quite as much as she would like. Best known (if at all) for her modernist novel "Nightwood," Djuna once called herself ''the most famous unknown in the world.''

DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens joins producer/host Susan Stone to muse about Djuna and her circle of modernist Dead Ladies.

Find out more about Djuna and her work, and see her polka-dot portrait here: https://deadladiesshow.com/2023/05/11/podcast-63-djuna-barnes

Djuna Barnes intersects with a great number of our previously presented Dead Ladies, including:

photographer Berenice Abbott (who took the above mentioned portrait): https://deadladiesshow.com/2023/01/20/podcast-59-berenice-abbott/

and

dadaist Elsa von Freytag Loringhoven: https://deadladiesshow.com/2021/10/16/podcast-47-elsa-von-freytag-loringhoven/

Here's the documentary Laura cited where you can see Natalie Barney's Parisian home and garden with its Temple of Friendship: https://youtu.be/ihzoLrUkNoc

The documentary we mentioned is "Paris Was a Woman" by Greta Schiller

https://jezebelproductions.org/paris-was-a-woman/

And Will Self's radio segment on "Nightwood" can be found here: https://youtu.be/5cy3-uOTTfE

Our theme music is "Little Lily Swing" by Tri-Tachyon.

Want to suggest a Dead Lady for us? Drop us a line to info@deadladiesshow.com or tell us on social media @deadladiesshow

If you'd like to get advance tickets for our May show in Berlin they are here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dead-ladies-show-34-tickets-632679640837

DLS NYC tickets can be purchased here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dead-ladies-show-nyc-no-23-tickets-628717840987

Thanks for listening! We'll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show is a series of entertaining and inspiring talks about women who achieved amazing things against all odds, presented live in Berlin and beyond. This podcast is based on that series. Because women's history is everyone's history.

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

Don't forget, we have a Patreon! Thanks to all of our current supporters! Please consider supporting our transcripts project and our ongoing work: www.patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

Episode 62 - Leonor Fini Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

Our story for this episode comes from our friends at the Dead Ladies Show NYC, which is organized and hosted by Molly O'Laughlin Kemper with Sheila Enright. Photographer, professional eccentric and guinea pig lover JR Pepper tells the tale of artist Leonor Fini, a glamorous, passionate iconoclast (and cat lover) with a brilliant creative mind who was fiercely independent — at a time when women were allowed to be muses, not painters.

Fini is often called a Surrealist, but she didn't consider herself one of their group due to their misogynistic attitudes, which included viewing women as either a childlike muse or femme fatale. Her paintings utilized the female gaze, and often featured catlike and other creatures inspired by Fini's own appearance, accompanied by languid men. Leonor Fini's life was as rule-breaking as her art; she had many lovers, and spent much of her life living in a happy throuple — along with about 20 cats.

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins producer/host Susan Stone to introduce this episode's featured Dead Lady.

For more on Leonor Fini, please visit our episode notes at:

https://deadladiesshow.com/2023/04/13/podcast-62-leonor-fini/

For DLS NYC info and tickets, sign up to their newsletter here: https://tinyletter.com/DeadLadiesShowNYC

or follow them on Instagram @deadladiesnyc

Find JR Pepper on Instagram @girlduality

and listen to her talk about Mae West here: https://deadladiesshow.com/2022/08/17/podcast-56-mae-west/

Our episode on surrealist Leonora Carrington is here: https://deadladiesshow.com/2018/01/25/podcast-5-leonora-carrington/

Our theme music is "Little Lily Swing" by Tri-Tachyon https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

Thanks for listening! We'll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

Don't forget, we have a Patreon! Thanks to all of our current supporters! Please consider supporting our transcripts project and our ongoing work: www.patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

If you prefer to make a one-time donation, here's the link: paypal.me/dlspodcast

Episode 61 - Emmy Noether Mar 16, 2023

Show notes

Dead Ladies Show Podcast

Episode 61 - Emmy Noether

For this episode, we bring back the presenter who appeared in our very first podcast episode, writer and translator Karen Margolis. Drawing from her own history in higher mathematics, Karen ably tells the tale of Germany's Emmy Noether, who developed key theorems in theoretical physics and made important contributions to abstract algebra. Excluded from academic positions in Germany as a woman, she worked unpaid and under other lecturers' names. Once she was finally allowed to teach in 1919, she had only 14 years until the Nazis banned her as a Jew. In American exile, she taught at the women's college Bryn Mawr and occasionally at Princeton, though she felt she was not welcome at "the men's university, where nothing female is admitted." Nowadays, everything from fellowships to a crater on the moon has honored Emmy, so it was clearly our turn to do so.

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins producer/host Susan Stone to introduce things.

(by the way - due to a numbering discrepancy, this podcast was numbered 60 when we recorded it, and is now adjusted to 61. Math!)

For more on Emmy Noether, please visit our episode notes at https://deadladiesshow.com/2023/03/16/podcast-61-emmy-noether/

For DLS NYC info and tickets, sign up to their newsletter here: https://tinyletter.com/DeadLadiesShowNYC

Our theme music is "Little Lily Swing" by Tri-Tachyon https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

Thanks for listening! We'll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

Don't forget, we have a Patreon! Thanks to all of our current supporters! Please consider supporting our transcripts project and our ongoing work: www.patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

If you prefer to make a one-time donation, here's the link: paypal.me/dlspodcast

Episode 60 - Delia Derbyshire Feb 14, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we're going to hear about woman who is sometimes called a sculptress of sound — "the unsung heroine of British electronic music" — Delia Derbyshire, ably presented by our very own DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire.

A working-class girl from Coventry, England, Delia studied music and mathematics, and went on to work at the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop. If you're a SciFi fan, you've probably heard one of her best known works — the otherworldly theme tune to the TV show Doctor Who. A true pioneer of pre-synthesizer electronic sounds, Delia created music for more than 200 projects, but remained anonymous due to the BBC's bureaucratic structures. She also set up studios making electronic music for soundtracks, festivals and theatre productions, until she left the public eye in 1975.

DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens joins producer Susan to set things up.

You can see some photos of Delia Derbyshire and hear more of her amazing work on our show notes page:

https://deadladiesshow.com/2023/02/16/podcast-59-Delia-Derbyshire

Our theme music is "Little Lily Swing" by Tri-Tachyon.

Drop us a line info@deadladiesshow.com or reach us on social media @deadladiesshow

Thanks for listening! We'll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

Don't forget, we have a Patreon! Thanks to all of our current supporters! Please consider supporting our transcripts project and our ongoing work: www.patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

Episode 59 - Berenice Abbott Jan 20, 2023

Show notes

Dead Ladies Show Podcast - Berenice Abbott

Welcome to our first podcast of 2023! In this episode, we zoom in on photographer Berenice Abbott. This American artist has a bit of a six-degrees-of separation going on with a number of our previous Dead Ladies, including Baroness von Freytag-Loringhoven and Emma Goldman. As told by DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens, Berenice's story includes stints in Paris and Berlin, falling in love with eligible ladies, and learning photography from Man Ray. She took portraits of various greats, and when she returned to New York she switched to documenting the changing city, resulting in what's called the "the greatest collection of photographs of New York City ever made."Later in life she also excelled at scientific photography, taking with her studies of light and motion contributing to the understanding of physical laws and properties of solids and liquids, as she also made innovations in camera technology.

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins producer Susan Stone to introduce our episode.

You can see Berenice and her art, and learn more about her decades of photography work on our episode notes page here: https://deadladiesshow.com/2023/01/20/podcast-58-berenice-abbott/

Our theme music is "Little Lily Swing" by Tri-Tachyon.

Drop us a line info@deadladiesshow.com or reach us on social media @deadladiesshow

Thanks for listening! We'll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

Don't forget, we have a Patreon! Thanks to all of our current supporters! Please consider supporting our transcripts project and our ongoing work: www.patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

Episode 58 — Ruth Asawa Dec 14, 2022

Show notes

Episode 58 — Ruth Asawa

It's our final podcast of 2022!

DLS co-founders Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire join producer Susan Stone to toast the holiday season, chat about this year's good news in Dead Ladies, and to introduce our featured Dead Lady, artist Ruth Asawa.

Born to Japanese parents on a farm in California, Ruth Asawa first developed her artistic tendencies tracing shapes in the dirt. When her family was interned during World War II by the US government (along with thousands of US citizens with Japanese heritage, following the bombing of US military base Pearl Harbor by the Japanese) her life was put on hold, but she made opportunity where she could find it. When she was prevented from becoming a teacher by anti-Japanese prejudice and laws, she studied art and became a sculptor, often weaving cheap found material and wire. Her public artworks and her art education advocacy made her chosen home city, San Francisco, a more beautiful place, and her sculptures are now auctioned for millions, and exhibited around the world.

You can see wonderful pictures of Ruth and her art, and learn more about her on our episode notes page here: deadladiesshow.com/podcast/2022/12/14/podcast-58-ruth-asawa

Her estate's website, a tremendous resource, can be found at https://ruthasawa.com/

We also mentioned the podcast Spatial Delight about geographer Doreen Massey, which is edited by Susan and hosted and produced by 2-time DLS Podcast star Agata Lisiak. You can find it here: https://thesociologicalreview.org/podcasts/spatial-delight/

Our theme music is "Little Lily Swing" by Tri-Tachyon.

What's your favorite Dead Lady news of the year? Drop us a line info@deadladiesshow.com or tell us on social media @deadladiesshow

Thanks for listening! We'll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

Don't forget, we have a Patreon! Thanks to all of our current supporters! Please consider supporting our transcripts project and our ongoing work: www.patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

Episode 57 - Angela Carter Nov 17, 2022

Show notes

To kick off Season 6 of the Dead Ladies Show Podcast, writer Leon Craig brings us the story of award-winning English author Angela Carter. Known for her feminist, gothic and erotic sensibilities and re-inventing folk and fairy tales for her now seminal collection The Bloody Chamber, Carter's life had quite a few plot twists of its own. In her 51 years she wrote nine novels, five short story collections, several children's books and countless essays and articles. She also collected quite a few lovers after awakening from stifling marriage, harvesting them first from her social circle and friends' husbands, then later more randomly during her two years living in Japan. Shortly after her death from cancer, Angela Carter received a strong wave of recognition, and her writing is now taught to generations of British school kids.

Our presenter Leon Craig has received more than a few comparisons to Carter for her own debut story collection, Parallel Hells which is now out in paperback from Sceptre Books. You can read Leon's story 'Lick the Dust' from that collection, which was selected for Best British Short Stories 2022 at the White Review here:

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins producer/host Susan Stone to introduce the episode and talk more about writers Carter and Craig.

Find our more about both authors on our episode notes page here: deadladiesshow.com/podcast

Angela Carter's estate has a great website here: https://www.angelacarter.co.uk/ and is on Twitter here: @AngelaOCarter

Leon Craig can be found at www.leoncraigwriter.com and on Twitter: @Leon_c_c

You can get tickets to our next show in Berlin here:

Our theme music is "Little Lily Swing" by Tri-Tachyon

Thanks for listening! We'll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

Don't forget, we have a Patreon! Thanks to all of our current supporters! Please consider supporting our transcripts project and our ongoing work: www.patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

If you prefer to make a one-time donation, here's the link: paypal.me/dlspodcast

Episode 56 - Mae West Aug 17, 2022

Show notes

Episode 56 - Mae West

Courtesy of our pals at DLS NYC, we meet the first meta sex symbol: Mae West. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY Mae was brazen, buxom, bawdy, sensational and sexy. She was known for her husky voice, risqué performances, and double entendres that slipped past the film censors. With over 70 years in show business on both the stage and screen, she scandalized the world of entertainment in a time when women were expected to sit on the sidelines. But, as Mae West would tell you, "goodness had nothing to do with it."

DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens joins producer Susan Stone to introduce our featured Dead Lady.

Artist, lecturer, researcher, and self-described 'professional eccentric' JR Pepper tells Mae's story; you can find out more about JR here: https://www.pepperart.com

Find our more about Mae and see some scandalous pix on our show notes page here: https://deadladiesshow.com/2022/08/17/podcast-56-mae-west/

DLS NYC is curated and hosted by Molly O'Laughlin Kemper, and was recorded by Jennifer Nulsen, all under the auspices of the KGB Bar's Lori Schwarz.

If you're in the NY area, why not sign up for their newsletter so you can find out when the next show will be? Find it here: https://tinyletter.com/DeadLadiesShowNYC

Our theme music is "Little Lily Swing" by Tri-Tachyon.

Thanks for listening! We'll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

Don't forget, we have a Patreon! Thanks to all of our current supporters! Please consider supporting our transcripts project and our ongoing work: www.patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

If you prefer to make a one-time donation, here's the link: paypal.me/dlspodcast

Episode 55 - Virginia Andrews (V.C. Andrews) Jul 22, 2022

Show notes

This episode was recorded at the second-ever PodFest Berlin, a local two-day event full of workshops, networking, free ice cream, and live tapings from podcasts in various languages, including one from us.

Dead Ladies Show co-founder Katy Derbyshire and podcast producer/host Susan Stone were there for a mini DLS, and took turns hosting and presenting bilingually in German and English in front of a small but perfectly formed audience.

In this episode, we hear Susan tell the story of Virginia Andrews. Better known as V.C. Andrews, this blockbusting American author probably launched the sexual curiosities of generations of teens and pre-teens — for better or worse. Her psychological horror/romance books, starting with 1979's best-selling Flowers in the Attic, were banned in school districts and libraries, but earned millions internationally. The tale of children held captive by an evil grandmother was sadly somewhat mirrored in Virginia's own reclusive, highly controlled life.

Though she was disabled by a medical condition from her teen years on, Virginia supported her family through her artwork and writing. After her death, a prolific ghostwriter was appointed to continue books under her name, but her legacy really endures on the strength of her original seven bestsellers, which merged classic fairy tale themes with contemporary issues of trauma and abuse.

Find out more about Virginia Andrews and her work on our show notes page here: https://deadladiesshow.com/2022/07/23/podcast-55-virginia-andrews/

Our theme music is "Little Lily Swing" by Tri-Tachyon.

Thanks for listening! We'll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

Don't forget, we have a Patreon! Thanks to all of our current supporters! Please consider supporting our transcripts project and our ongoing work: www.patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

If you prefer to make a one-time donation, here's the link: paypal.me/dlspodcast

Episode 54 - Memphis Minnie Jun 16, 2022

Show notes

Episode 54 - Memphis Minnie In this episode, we drop in on our New York-based sister spinoff show, DLS NYC, which returned to the KGB Bar's Red Room after a long hiatus. DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens happened to be visiting from Berlin, and took to the stage to introduce the fabulous Memphis Minnie. Tobacco-chewing blues singer MEMPHIS MINNIE (1897–1973) ran away from home at the age of 13 and made a living off music from then on, from street performances to hundreds of now classic recordings. It was said she never put her guitar down until she could no longer hold it in her hands, and she was known to use it as a weapon when required. Her songs were about the joys and hardships of everyday Black life; according to the poet Langston Hughes, she played "music with so much in it folks remember, that sometimes it makes them holler out loud." Largely forgotten for many years while white men covered her songs, she is now celebrated for her huge contribution to blues music and what came after. DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins producer/host Susan Stone for the introducing duties, and to flag up some of our upcoming shows, at Muenster's Center for Literature's Droste Festival on June 18: https://www.burg-huelshoff.de/en/programm/kalender/droste-festival-2022 And at Podfest Berlin July 16-17: https://www.podfestberlin.com Listen along to all of Florian's favorites with our Memphis Minnie playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2WSTvaocIKcJCGNGKtVDrh?si=d356b954c66245fd And see photos of the well-dressed Minnie and get more info on our episode notes page: https://deadladiesshow.com/2022/06/16/podcast-54-memphis-minnie/ DLS NYC is curated and hosted by Molly O'Laughlin Kemper, and was recorded by Jennifer Nulsen, all under the auspices of the KGB Bar's Lori Schwarz. If you're in the NY area, why not sign up for their newsletter so you can find out when the next show will be? NYC newsletter Our theme music is "Little Lily Swing" by Tri-Tachyon. Thanks for listening! We'll be back with a new episode next month. **** The Dead Ladies Show is a series of entertaining and inspiring talks about women who achieved amazing things against all odds, presented live in Berlin and beyond. This podcast is based on that series. Because women's history is everyone's history. The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire. The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone. Don't forget, we have a Patreon! Thanks to all of our current supporters! Please consider supporting our transcripts project and our ongoing work: www.patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast If you prefer to make a one-time donation, here's the link: paypal.me/dlspodcast

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