34 Circe Salon -- Make Matriarchy Great Again -- Disrupting History

We've waited a long time for this one!  In today's episode, we talk with Dr. Marianne Moen.  Dr. Moen is an archaeologist best known for her work on gender, identity, and power in the Viking Age.  Her scholarship utilizes archaeology, feminist theory and mortuary studies, offering a reinterpretation of Norse societies and the role of women within them.  We discuss how earlier generations of archae...

The inimitable Max Dashu talks with Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden about  evidence for women-led societies in indigenous peoples around the globe, as well as the evolution of the term Matriarchy.  We all know what we mean when we say "patriarchy" but what does "matriarchy" mean and what else do we call it? How does it change shape in different places and times? Check out Max's archives...

Earlier this month, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) was renamed Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) as a result of an international effort to help physicians better understand the condition. Indeed, sufferers may not have any ovarian cysts, and PMOS affects the entire body. Physicians stress that the “metabolic” is the most central portion of the condition, and the new name better ref...

Award-winning author, Shelly Puhak, joins us to discuss her wonderful book, The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World , about two of the most powerful rulers in European history: Queen Fredegund and Queen Brunhilde. These two powerful queens commanded armies and fought each other over several decades. Brilliant and tough, they battled not only for supremacy, but survival,...

Kimberly Rockwell, Dawn "Sam" Alden, and Lauren Torres talk about what it feels to walk through life as a woman in a large body, what feedback women receive about their bodies, and how the current emphasis on thin bodies to the exclusion of everything else can destroy us both from within and without. What messages did we absorb from our parents about what size was optimum for women? Why do we stil...

Hello listeners! I hope you have had a chance to check out our interview with Chelsea Gardner and Melissa Funke of Peopling the Past, which aired earlier this season.  As a follow up, they have generously allowed us to do a Podcast Takeover of one of their episodes!  We here at 34 Circe are big fans of Wonder Woman, so although it’s not a typical episode for them, we are sharing the one in which t...

In modern times divination is often seen as superstitious tools used primarily to predict the future. However, since ancient times our ancestors used divination as essential meaning making tools, allowing us to connect with core archetypes in order to see our personal and cultural lives in deeper ways.  Join Lauren Torres and Anu Dudley author of The Goddess Casts the Runes, as we discuss the evid...

While researching Robert Graves, Sean Marlon Newcombe reached out to Dr. Anett K. Jessop, who introduced us to Laura Riding Jackson, a poet, linguist, revolutionary thinker and sometime lover of Robert Graves. It could be argued she was the inspiration for a lot of Graves work, including the idea of reclaiming myth from the patriarchal lens. A fascinating, uncompromising and multi-talented woman,...

Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden sit down with Professor Carolyne Larrington to get back to basics in discussing the Norse pantheon of Goddesses. Just how much information was in the original source material? And how much of even that was through the lens of those who were decrying their subjects? Join us to find out!

Sean Marlon Newcombe, Dawn "Sam" Alden and Kimberly Rockwell are playing Siskel and Ebert again, this time with movies featuring female spies. Espionage apparently looks different in fishnets.

Dawn "Sam" Alden interviews Melissa Funke and Chelsea Gardner of the Peopling the Past project - a website, a podcast, and so much more. In this meta episode, they talk about talking about the ancient world, how archeology actually works, and why focusing on the everyday in antiquity is so important to getting the complete picture.

In this episode we sit down with Walter Penrose, PhD, associate professor of history at San Diego State University. Dr. Penrose specializes in the History of Gender and Sexuality in Ancient Greek, Hellenistic, and South Asian contexts. We talk with him about the historical views of the Amazons, particularly in the non-Western world.  Female bodyguards were employed by the Ancient Indians and Persi...

Kimberly Rockwell, Dawn "Sam" Alden and Lauren Torres talk about the music that shaped their youth. The songs we scream-sang, and those that comforted us when we were heartbroken - did we ever really listen to the lyrics? Music has power to teach, and words set to music stick in our heads. What were we absorbing when we were young, what were we being taught by the music on the radio?

Kim Gould is a mentor and coach who teaches people to access their own unique way to create meaningful change in their lives through astrology and the human design system. Join us as we discuss how Ms. Gould reframes the astrological viewpoint to focus on the myths of women and the space objects, like asteroids, named after them. Lauren Torres and Sean Marlon Newcombe co-host.

Join us as we interview Dr. Sandra Glahn, professor at the Dallas Theological Seminary, about her wonderful book, Nobody's Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament .  Nobody's Mother is a scholarly re-examination of the cult of Artemis of Ephesus and the cultural world surrounding early Christianity—especially the world behind 1 Timothy 2, a New Testament passage long us...

In today’s episode in the Founding Mother’s series, we explore two influential women from the past: Lilian Gilbreth, an American psychologist, industrial, consultant and educator who was once described as “a genius in the art of living," and Edith Clark, an electrical engineer who is credited with laying the foundation for the smart grid. Both women were born in the late 1800s, but both of them ma...

"Karen"-- a term that became ubiquitous in 2020.  It was used as a verbal cudgel to upbraid a certain type of woman: white and very outspoken. Some say the term had its origin as a response to racism; others say it was the product of misogyny. Either way, the word "Karen" became a weapon of derision, mockery and humiliation.  It was a way, quite simply, to silence a group of women.  Join us as we...

"Rob from the rich, give to the poor!"  This is the famous rallying cry of Robin Hood.  But is he the only legendary figure to do so? And were there any female Robin Hoods in history?  Well, ask no more!  Join Dawn "Sam" Alden as she introduces us to the stories of various women throughout history who have broken the law to break bread for the hungry. Sean Marlon Newcombe co-hosts.

We're back!  We hope you've all had a wonderful summer break!  Now it's time to Make Matriarchy Great Again. :-)  Join us for our preview of our sixth season. We'll give you a taste of what's upcoming as well as take a quick look back at the last five fantastic years.  We can't wait to get things going again!

Our final episode of the season is an encore presentation, in memoriam, of the first episode of the season-- Sally Roesch Wagner and the Suffragists-Native American connection.   Sally Roesch Wagner passed on June 11 at the age of 82.  She was an historian of women's history and the Women's Suffrage Movement, an author and an educator. She was the founding director of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Found...

In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the time of year when cultures celebrate the return of light and warmth after the long, cold nights of winter.  In many places, this return of bright days and nature's bounty has been represented by the divine feminine.  So, let us celebrate the Goddesses of Summer!  Join Dawn "Sam" Alden as she regales us with their stories.  Happy summer everyone! Sean Marlon...

In another installment of our continuing series called, "The War Against The Goddess," we welcome Max Dashu once again as she joins us to discuss the cults of Magna Mater (Cybele) and the Great Mother Goddesses in the Ancient World and the many attempts to destroy them from Ancient Rome through early Christianity.  Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden co-host.

The sine qua non of this podcast: Matriarchy.  What is it and why is it desirable.  Dawn "Sam" Alden and Sean Marlon Newcombe have an open and frank discussion on the topic of "matriarchy."  A defining episode for this series. 

Marvelously acted, written and director, the film Tár was a critical darling.  But this will not be a film review, but rather an appraisal of how Hollywood handles strong women in leading roles.  We will examine the movie from different perspectives--feminist, cultural, personal-- and give our own take on what this kind of movie says about how strong women are handled in popular entertainment.  Se...

Kimberly Rockwell and Dawn "Sam" Alden discuss the Female Gaze - is there such a thing? How does a film camera typically "look" at a woman vs how it "looks" at a man? We've been discussing movies a lot this season, so we thought we'd zoom out (pun intended) and think about how filmmaking controls the way we perceive characters in the movies we watch.