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THE SORCERER Gunnhild Jan 27, 2020

Show notes

Long ago, in the far north of Lapland, a young woman learned the secrets of sorcery from two warlocks. At least that’s what the Icelandic sagas say. The woman would become Gunnhild, infamous Viking sorcerer whose dark magic served her lifelong pursuit of vengeance and power. Viking burials have been found that contain all the trappings of magic, so we know that the Vikings believed her immense power was real. But Gunnhild never got her own saga: she only appears in supporting roles, in sagas about men. What can we extract from the sagas about Gunnhild’s life, and was she really evil?

Katie is on location at the Jorvik Viking Center in York, England, with guest Dr. Chris Tuckley. Chris Tuckley received his PhD at the Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds, in 2009. He has worked for York Archaeological Trust since 2004, and is currently YAT’s Head of Interpretation and Engagement, based at the JORVIK Viking Centre.

Music for this episode by Åsa Larsson (aka Resmiranda) and Duivelspack, used by their kind permission.

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THE FREE WOMAN Harriet Jacobs Jan 13, 2020

Show notes

When Harriet Jacobs’ enslaver threatened to sell her children away to the plantation unless she accepted his sexual abuse, she decided the only way to keep them safe was to run. But with no resources and no way to get north, where could she go instead? The answer is an astonishing one. Jacobs’ story is one of the most dramatic and remarkable ‘slave narratives’ in United States history, yet for over 100 years, everyone believed it was fiction. Discover the incredible life and astonishing history of Harriet Jacobs, author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and a powerful activist, abolitionist and educator in the ninteenth century United States.

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

Guest Maria A. Windell is assistant professor of English at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she teaches classes on ethnic and early US literatures. Her research focuses on intersections between the US and the Americas, and her book Transamerican Sentimentalism and Nineteenth-Century US Literary History is forthcoming from Oxford University Press. She co-edited, with Jesse Alemán, a special issue of English Language Notes on “Latinx Lives in Hemispheric Context.” She is currently working on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literary flirts and the classification of 'coquette hummingbirds' in Central America.

Music featured in this episode provided by Andy Reiner, Jon Souza, I Think I Can Help You, Doug Maxwell, and the Library of Congress.

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THE ROPEMAKER Mary Pattison Irwin Dec 30, 2019

Show notes

In the moment when Mary Pattison locked eyes with dashing American solider John Irwin across the ballroom at the St. Patrick’s Day Ball in 1784, her destiny was set. Married by the end of the gala and on a ship to the brand new nation of the USA two weeks later, she would set up the first “Rope Walk,” rope manufacturer in the small frontier town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her foresight, skill and ambition would assure her family’s place as one of the “pillars of the city” but history would erase her name and give her husband the credit. But Olivia's guest Gloria Forouzan is giving it back!

Guest Gloria Forouzan works in the office of Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto. In addition to her other duties, she is an unofficial historian, searching out the stories of unknown residents who have left a mark on the city. Her focus is on women of the region.

Music featured in this episode provided by Killarney, Andy Reiner, Jon Souza, and Half Pelican.

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WHITE HOUSE HOLIDAY Mary Donelson Wilcox: 2019 Christmas Special Dec 16, 2019

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Late in life, Mary Donelson Wilcox recalled a magical childhood Christmas she spent at the White House with her elderly uncle, President Andrew Jackson. Her captivating memoirs paint a picture of a surprisingly global White House, with servants from around the world, and a surprisingly warm and playful President Jackson. Mary offers us a rare glimpse at Christmas in the early 19th century–when stockings, Santa Claus, and focusing the holiday on children were all delightfully novel ideas.

A digitized copy of Wilcox’s memoir is available free here. Text for this broadcast has been edited for content.

Music featured in this episode included Fiddlesticks, Aaron Kenny, Twin Musicom, Doug Maxwell, Kevin MacLeod, and Henry Reed.

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THE WOMAN IN THE CHALK Cranborne Woman Dec 02, 2019

Show notes

Evidence of human life in the Stone Age is incredibly rare, so when Martin Green uncovered a Neolithic burial site on his Dorset farm, the whole world took notice. The skeletons inside were astonishingly well-preserved: one woman and three children were nestled in together. What can these bones tell us about life in Stone-Age Britain for the mysterious “Cranborne Woman”? Our guest Professor Janet Montgomery has developed lab techniques that reveal surprising biographical details, showing that even 5,000 years ago, this woman’s saga was a familiar human tale.

More information on the dig site and the discovery of Cranborne Woman can be found in this article by Martin Green.

Guest Janet Montgomery is Professor of Archaeology at Durham University. She was the first archaeologist to apply combined radiogenic lead and strontium isotope analysis to British archaeological humans and she is currently working on a wide range of archaeological projects of humans and animals ranging in date from the Neolithic to the 19th century. In addition to archaeological case studies, her research continues on the two main themes of her NERC fellowship which are fundamental to a better understanding of how isotope analysis can be applied to archaeological questions of diet and mobility.

Reconstruction Portrait of Cranborne Woman created for us by Mera MacKendrick - no other use permitted without written permission from the artist.

Music for this episode provided by Cindy Henderson, Andy Reiner, Kate Fletcher and Corwen Broch.

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THE ACCIDENTAL ACTIVIST Sybil Stockdale Nov 18, 2019

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In 1965, Sybil Stockdale was a mild-mannered Navy wife in Southern California. But after her husband’s plane was shot down over Vietnam, she would become one of the most important and effective activists in American history. Her organization, The National League of Families, fought for nearly a decade to bring home nearly one thousand POWs who were being held by North Vietnam in conditions of extreme deprivation and torture. Throwing out their military handbooks’ useless advice on shrimp forks and hairstyles, these remarkable women used the powerful new medium of television to leverage their own position, became covert operatives who gathered more information on the POW camps than the entire U.S. military, and eventually defied the Government itself to bring their husbands home.

Our guest is historian and curator Heath Hardage Lee, author of the new book League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took On the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home and Winnie Davis: Daughter of the Lost Cause. Heath was the 2017 Robert J. Dole Curatorial Fellow, and her exhibition entitled The League of Wives: Vietnam POW MIA Advocates & Allies about Vietnam POW MIA wives premiered at the Dole Institute of Politics in May of 2017. Reese Witherspoon and her production company have optioned The League of Wives for a feature film. Heath will be an executive producer and historical consultant for the project.

Music featured in this episode included Jeff Cuno, Josh Lippi and the Overtimers, The US Naval Academy Band, Jeremy Dittus, Dan Lebowitz, Sir Cubworth and Everett Almond.

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THE WITCH Mother Shipton Oct 07, 2019

Show notes

It was a dark and stormy night, many centuries ago. In a cave on the edge of a haunted wood, a monstrous baby was born, and instead of crying, she cackled! No one would have expected the baby to thrive, but she grew to become Mother Shipton, England’s most famous witch. Hear the amazing story of the deformed, friendless child who took on the most powerful men in the kingdom, and won!

Travel with Katie on location at Mother Shipton’s Cave (with a pool that turns things to stone!) with guest Jay Stelling for our Halloween Special.

A full transcript of this episode is available here .

Guest Jay Stelling is an office assistant at Mother Shipton’s Cave as well as an illustrator, doll maker and storyteller from North Yorkshire, England. She graduated in 2018 from Leeds Arts University where she received a First in BA(hons) Illustration. You can often find her making tiny dolls in her little attic studio with her partner and their two fluffy cats. Jay is fascinated by fairies and folklore, with most of her work centred around charming character and children’s stories, such as fairy tales and Yorkshire legends. Jay’s first children’s book Whistle-Stop Thistle is a story about recycling and reusing scrap materials. You can purchase her dolls, her book, and more on her website.

Music featured in this episode provided by the Tudor Consort, Roman Cano, Ben Sound, Elena Naumova, and Kevin MacLeod.

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THE PHARAOH Tawosret Sep 23, 2019

Show notes

Her story might be one of ambition and regicide, or one of a woman manipulated by an evil puppetmaster. Or it might be both! Travel with us back in time three thousand years, where our guest, Egyptologist Kara Cooney, introduces us to that most enigmatic (and overlooked) New Kingdom pharaoh, Tawosret. [Audio remastered March 2026]

A complete transcript of this episode is available on our website.

Music featured in this episode used by kind permission of Michael Levy and Ramon Sakr.

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THE PAPER DAUGHTER How Jiu Sep 09, 2019

Show notes

How Jiu was never supposed to go to America. But in an incredible twist of fate during China’s Civil War in 1928, she set sail for San Francisco, never to return to her family again. Only 18 years old and traveling under a false identity, How Jiu had to pass a gueling test before she was allowed to enter the United States. Hear the surprising story of the Chinese immigration experience, recorded on location at Angel Island’s historic Immigration Station in the San Francisco Bay.

Want to learn more about How Jiu’s experience and those of other immigrants on Angel Island? This wonderful article is based on her daughter’s narratives, this is a great photo essay of the dedication of the immigrant memorial wall on angel island with the descendants of many immigrants attending, and this is a fantastic archive of immigrant stories from the Pacific coast.

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

Guest Casey Dexter-Lee is a State Park Interpreter II with California State Parks and the lead for the educational programs at Angel Island State Park. Starting as a seasonal employee conducting living history programs and guided tours for school groups, she has lived and worked at Angel Island State Park for nineteen years. Casey has a BA in history from the University of California, Santa Cruz, home of the fighting banana slugs.

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THE EMPEROR Wu Zhao (Wu Zetian) Aug 26, 2019

Show notes

Over 2000 years of history, China had exactly one female emperor. Wu Zhao (also known as Wu Zetian) rose from fifth-ranked concubine (a glorified maid) to supreme ruler, effectively governing China for over fifty years. Her reign was one of the most peaceful and productive periods of the Tang Dynasty, so why does history remember her as a bloodthirsty, sexually depraved tyrant? Learn about this enigmatic, fascinating woman with our guest, Wu Zhao biographer and Professor of Chinese History, N. Harry Rothschild.

Consultation and voiceovers for this episode provided by Dr. Xiao Jing Miao, Research Fellow at Oxford University.

Guest Dr. N. Harry Rothschild was a Professor of Chinese History at the University of North Florida and the author of The World of Wu Zhao, Wu Zhao: China’s Only Woman Emperor and Emperor Wu Zhao and Her Pantheon of Devis, Divinities, and Dynastic Mothers. Dr. Rothschild’s teaching career spanned nearly a quarter of a century, beginning as a K-12 substitute in the hills of western Maine after he graduated from Harvard University in 1992 with a B.A. in East Asian Language and Civilizations and cleverly decided to write a novel on bronzecasting and kingship in Shang China in his parents’ basement. From 1988 to 1990, he lived, studied Mandarin, and worked in Beijing. Dr. Rothschild died in Dec 2021.

Music featured in this episode provided by Cao Jianguo, Li Xiangting, Zhu Runfu, Tang Dai Li Yue Fu Yuan Zu, the Hubei Chime Bells Array, Charlie Huang, and the Shanxii Provincial Song and Dance Troupe.

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