All About Eve

A mash up of our favourite stories, we start by talking about everyone's favourite vaccine superhero, Dolly Parton. From the smoky mountains of Tennessee, Dolly set her sights on improving her lot in life from a young age. She knew she had talent, looks that she could use to her advantage, and a bedrock of confidence and ingenuity that has defined her career. Listen in to hear some classic Do...

We start season 3 off with a bang by talking about everyone's favourite vaccine superhero, Dolly Parton. From the smoky mountains of Tennessee, Dolly set her sights on improving her lot in life from a young age. She knew she had talent,  looks that she could use to her advantage, and a bedrock of confidence and ingenuity that has defined her career. Listen in to hear some classic Dolly pearls...

Our Christmas 2020 episode is here at last, and aptly, is pretty dark but jampacked with fascinating historical events. Anna tells us about Michelle Bachelet, the first woman to hold office as President of Chile. If that's not impressive enough, then she is also a paediatrician, was held as a political prisoner by the brutal Pinochet regime in Chile, and is currently the United Nations High C...

We were so excited to speak to Briony Williams, who was a national favourite during her time on Bake Off in 2018. Briony kindly spoke to us in June this year, and boy, did we cover some topics. We discussed representation of people with disabilities on TV, Briony's time in the Bake Off tent, what Briony thinks of the new presenter combo and much more (if you've ever wondered what Noel Fi...

Back in May, Julia and Anna spoke to Elle Stanger a.k.a StripperWriter. Elle is a writer and sex educator (for Huffington Post, Men's Health and more), a stripper, podcaster, porn creator and lobbyist for workers' rights in her home state of Oregon, USA. Elle is an expert on all things sex and sex work, and regaled Anna and Julia with some fascinating stories including the ridiculous thi...

In this interview episode we were lucky enough to speak to Liza Bilal and Tiffany Lyare - two of the founding members of the All Black Lives Matter Bristol group - who organised the momentous protest seen in the city of Bristol on 7th June 2020. The march made history when the statue of a 17th century slavetrader was pulled down by protestors and dumped into the harbour. Tiffany and Liza spoke to...

In our first remotely recorded episode, Julia introduces us to Isadora Duncan, a woman who changed modern dance and was not short on self-belief. Born in San Francisco in 1877, Isadora was adored by European audiences for her unique style, despite ending each performance by ranting about how shit ballet was for half an hour. Anna tells us about Ivy Benson, the most popular British musician of Worl...

Film fans listen up - we were lucky enough to interview Hollywood costume designer Salvador Pérez Jr., President of the Costume Designers Guild and costume designer on The Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever, The Pitch Perfect Trilogy, Four Weddings and a Funeral and many, many more. We had a wonderful chat about how Salvador has been supported by incredible women throughout his entire career and how...

Julia presents us with the heartbreaking moral dilemna of Henrietta Lacks, the first immortal human. Though she died in 1951, trillions of her cells are still in existence today and being used for medical research for all sorts of conditions. The problem? At no point did she consent to this and died having no idea of her lasting legacy. With the well-documented medical exploitation of Black women...

Anna and Julia have returned to the recording cupboard for Series 2, wine in hand and ready to talk about more incredible women. Anna plays it very uncool when talking about her favourite comedy writer Mindy Kaling, head writer for The Office (US) who also plays the character of Kelly Kapoor. Inspiring stuff for anyone needing some confidence in getting shit done, or just looking to find your new...

With Series 2 on the horizon, Julia and Anna get together on Valentine's day and share some thoughts...

It's the final episode of series one, and Anna and Julia both celebrate women who had the courage to be themselves.  Anna tells us about Lucy Hicks Anderson, a transwoman who played the game her own way during the California prohibition years. She delighted her community as a socialite and philanthropist by day, and operated a bootleg liquor empire by night. Most importantly, she was the firs...

Julia tells us about Alice Guy-Blaché, who was arguably the first film director in history. Though the birth of cinema has been credited to others in the 20th century, Alice was making films 30 years before movies became popular. History has not been kind to her legacy, as she didn't put her name to a lot of her films, allowing random men to take credit for their creation. Quelle surprise. An...

Anna kicks us off with Dame Whina Cooper, the activist who fought throughout her life for Maori rights in Aotearoa (New Zealand). An absolute ball-buster, her biggest achievement was organising the Land March in 1975 which saw 5,000 people walk from the top of the North Island down to parliament in Wellington. While she is known as 'Mother of the Nation', her legacy is controversial as n...

This episode is all about two women who beat the men at their own game - the game being running an empire and football, respectively. Wu Zetian was the first woman to become Emperor of Imperial China in the 600s, and though her Machiavellian scheming has often been criticised, Julia argues she was only doing what countless men had done before her. Now history is accepting that she used her power t...

October is Black History Month in the UK, and in this episode Julia & Anna celebrate two incredible Black British women. Julia tells us about Lilian Bader, who was the first Black woman to join the RAF - but bloody 'ell did she have to fight to get there. Anna discusses Mary Seacole, the nurse who, after being rejected to join nursing crews in the Crimean War by the British Army decided t...

Anna celebrates the shy women among us with the tale of Caroline Herschel, a.k.a the Comet Huntress. In the 1780s, she was appointed the first female professional scientist and astronomer - despite having raging imposter syndrome her whole life. Julia discusses Greta Thunberg, the teenage activist from Sweden, who along with other young women is changing the world. 

Anna tries to do justice to the incredible Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Wangari started a movement to plant trees in her home country of Kenya, empowering women and staring down the government in the process. Julia tells us about the mysterious woman found wandering the streets of Bristol in the 1800s, speaking an unknown language and wearing strange clothin...

Julia tells us about Gloria Allred, the civil rights activist and lawyer who has spent a lifetime fighting sexism, from gendered restaurant menus to sexual assault. Anna discusses Arunima Sinha, the first female amputee to climb Everest whose astounding story has to be heard to be believed, and gives new meaning to the word 'perseverance'. Could also be titled "How to climb Everest...

Anna talks about Annie 'Londonderry', a woman who won a bet to become the first woman to cycle around the world in the 1890s. Julia talks about Artemisia Gentileschi, considered one of the most important women to paint in the renaissance period and whose works were often attributed to men.  Sources for Annie Londonderry:   https://totalwomenscycling.com/mountain-biking/eastern-unknown-tr...

Julia talks about Aggie Underwood, a pioneering journalist from 1940s America who was known for firing a gun in the office when things got too quiet. Anna talks about Eartha Kitt, the icon of stage, screen and music who stood up for what was right and changed the game. Sources for Aggie Underwood: https://derangedlacrimes.com/?tag=agness-aggie-underwood The First with the Latest!: Aggie Underwood,...