Badass Women of America

Send us Fan Mail Sarah Rector was only 11 years old when oil was discovered on property she owned. Born in 1902, Sarah was a descendant of a freed black slave in the Creek Native American tribe.  Therefore she was entitled to a land allotment on Indian territory in Oklahoma. It was a lousy piece of land worth nothing...until it produced an oil gusher! Join Kit and Sherlock as they explore the true...

Send us Fan Mail This week's episode is about the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky . 96 women of rural Kentucky rode up to 100 miles per week on horses and mules delivery books to remote, isolated corners of the Appalachia Mountains from 1935 to 1943.  They are the true unsung heroes of America. Join Kit and Sherlock to hear the story of how it started and how it not only saved some women fro...

Send us Fan Mail Before Phyllis Diller and Totie Fields, women did not do stand-up comedy. Phyllis and Totie paved the way for women comedians in a male dominated profession despite having to fight their way through personal hardships. Join Kit and Sherlock to hear more about the amazing journey these two women had and how they changed comedy for women in America. See pictures and additional infor...

Send us Fan Mail Do we really know where Mrs. Claus comes from, what she does, who she is? Talk about an unsung hero! Join Kit and Sherlock as they reveal the history of Mrs. Claus. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched the TV show "Ozark" you want to skip 5 seconds between 7:50 and 7:55.  Sherlock let an important plot point slip.  Bad Sherlock! See pictures and additional informat...

Send us Fan Mail How did single mothers manage to protect their children during a time when the children could be snatched away from them for no good reason? Not only was there very little help for single mothers in the 1950s, there was also the threat of their children being taken away by people like the despicable Georgia Tann who ran a black market adoption agency for over 20 years.   It is est...

Send us Fan Mail It's a controversial topic but this episode does not debate the sport of bullfighting but brings attention to the American women who crossed the border to become bullfighters. From the 1950s with Patricia McCormick (bullfighter, artist, secretary) and Bette Ford (New York model, bullfighter, actor) to the 1970s with Raquel Martinez (bullfighter, wife, mother) we celebrate the...

Send us Fan Mail Clara Barton is one of the few women in our history books but is her story really told? She wasn't a trained nurse, she was an administrator who organized medical supplies to the battlefields of the Civil War.  But that's not only what she did. Join Kit and Sherlock to hear the WHOLE story of  Clara Barton. See pictures and additional information about Badass Women of Am...

Send us Fan Mail It wasn't just the men who fought during the American Revolutionary War! Some women fought as soldiers, some as journalists, some as spies and some  who rallied to fight against the food shortage by conducting 30 food riots. Do you know who printed the Declaration of Independence? Join Kit and Sherlock for another episode of Badass Women of America who fought to free the 13 c...

Send us Fan Mail Martha Gellhorn was one of the greatest war correspondent of the 20th Century. When she was refused credentials as a reporter to cover the WW2 invasion of Normandy, France, otherwise known as D-Day, she didn't take "no" for an answer. She stowed away on a hospital ship and was the only woman to be on  Omaha Beach on the day of the invasion where she helped military...

Send us Fan Mail Mary Ellen Pleasant made a fortune as a domestic by listening to the conversations of the white men of means that she was serving.  She listened and invested making millions.  Then she shared all her millions with people who needed help whether they were slaves running for freedom or women who needed help finding independence. Join Kit and Sherlock to hear the story of Mary Ellen...

Send us Fan Mail Louise Arner Boyd was the first woman to explore the Arctic in the 1920s. Annie Edson Taylor was the first person to plunge over Niagara Falls in a barrel - at the age of 63! Join Kit and Sherlock for the details of these amazing women who found a way to make their mark! See pictures and additional information about Badass Women of America on Instagram.  https://www.instagram.com/...

Send us Fan Mail Florence Parpart, inventor extraordinaire!  Beginning at the age of 25 she revolutionized health and safety with two very different inventions. Margo Jones was instrumental in bringing professional theater to cities across the country. Join Kit and Sherlock for the details about these two amazing women who should be in our history books. See pictures and additional information abo...

Send us Fan Mail From the late 1800s through the late 1920s women were a major force in filmmaking.  They were producers, directors, screenwriters and editors.  They were innovative in not only storytelling but in new methods of filmmaking. Then the Wall Street backed men saw the potential of big business and forced the independent studios of the day (many owned by women) out of business. This epi...

Send us Fan Mail If you don't know Josephine Baker or think you know Josephine Baker, think again.  The most celebrated American entertainer around the world was also one of the best spies during WW2. Also, one of the greatest spies during WW2 was Virginia Hall.  The Nazis hated her because she outsmarted them for years. Join Kit and Sherlock for the inside stories of these two great American...

Send us Fan Mail If you think only men built the railroads, think again. Enslaved black women were "rented" to railroad companies by their "slave owners"  to build the railroads in the early to mid 1800s. Plus women inventors who improved railroad safety and construction in the 1800s. Then both black and white women maintained the railroads during WW1 and WW2 to keep the countr...

Send us Fan Mail There have been crazy fads throughout the centuries. Hair Pinning Ring Turning Flagpole Sitting Phonebooth Stuffing Goldfish Swallowing Panty Raids Streaking As well as flammable fashion fads that have cost lives. What fads are we following today that risk our health? Join Kit and Sherlock as they explore 180 years of the fun and ugly of fads. See pictures and additional informati...

Send us Fan Mail The story of Ellen and William Craft's escape from slavery in 1848 is epic.   Disguised as a white man Ellen travelled 1,000 miles with her husband acting as her slave in order to obtain freedom from the torment of having no rights to be a free American. Join Kit and Sherlock as they travel this perilous journey with Ellen and William. See pictures and additional information...

Send us Fan Mail The stories behind the Statue of Liberty and the erection of the Brooklyn Bridge are more interesting than you can imagine. The construction of the Statue of Liberty didn't happen because of the governments of France and America - it was the everyday people of both countries who helped create, transport and erect the most famous icon of liberty and freedom in the world. The B...

Send us Fan Mail The suffragettes were not women who only marched with banners in the streets of our country.  They were women who for decades were beaten, imprisoned, ostracized, ridiculed and tortured because they were a threat to the hold that men had on women at the time. Join Kit and Sherlock for the true story of what the women who came before us suffered for our right to vote. See pictures...

Send us Fan Mail Elizabeth Blackwell and Alice Ball - two women doctors who made history long, long, long before we were born! Elizabeth Blackwell tried multiple times to get accepted into a medical school in the 1840s only to be finally accepted because everyone thought it was a prank! Alice Ball, at the age of 23, earned a master's degree from the University of Hawaii and discovered a new t...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is about the untold women both black and white who were codebreakers that ended World War II two years earlier than expected because of their incredible ability to break codes and fight the Nazis. See pictures and additional information about Badass Women of America on Instagram.  https://www.instagram.com/badass_women_of_america/

Send us Fan Mail In 1917 11,000 brilliant women were recruited by the US Navy to be codebreakers during World War 1 to fight the enemy.   These women were instrumental in saving lives by their ability to crack the codes of the enemy. They were sworn to silence, never to reveal what they did in the war effort.  Agnes Driscoll was one of these women. Join Kit and Sherlock as they shine a light on Ag...

Send us Fan Mail Women who made a difference! Detective Sergeant Marie Owens hired in Chicago in 1889. Detective Lola Baldwin hired in Portland, Oregon in 1908. US Deputy Marshal F.M. Miller appointed in 1891 to the most dangerous territory in the United States. US Deputy Marshal Ada Curnutt appointed to Oklahoma Indian Territory in 1889. These are just a few of the women we talk about in this epi...

Send us Fan Mail The newspaper editors and the public in 1880 couldn't call women investigative reporters - that's what the men were called so  women reporters were dubbed "Stunt Women" and weren't taken seriously until their reports started changing laws, working conditions and regulations. These brave, adventurous women of the 1880s and 1890s became the most exciting rep...

Send us Fan Mail Women have been inventing for centuries!  Join Kit and Sherlock as they dip into the plethora of women who have been inventing products from ice cream makers to airplane mufflers. Inventions that you are still using today started with women centuries ago. Celebrate the women who came before us paving the way to our success as inventors and entrepreneurs! See pictures and additiona...