Broads You Should Know

Sophia Tolstaya never got a lot of fame or credit for all her accomplishments, in fact, she is generally reviled as famous Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy's b*tchy wife, but she was a brilliant talent and bright businesswoman herself. In fact, without her, Leo's work likely would never have been circulated so widely and successfully, nor would Leo have even been able to write such brilliant books - h...

Before Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, even before Edgar Allen Poe wrote his Tell-Tale Heart, the genre of gothic horror was brought forth out of the incredible mind of a 21-year-old woman name MARY SHELLEY.  Mary had already suffered quite a bit of loss in her first 21 years and her connection to death, grief, and the existential human story created not only the first novel of its' kind, but what woul...

This week, Sara brings us the story of Alexya Salvador, the first transgender pastor in Brazil and all of Latin America, and the first transgender person to adopt a child in Brazil. As a young child, Alexya found great solace and belonging in the Catholic Church, so much so, that she entered seminary to begin a path to priesthood. But as her studies progressed she uncovered deeply held core teachi...

This week, Sara brings us Sarah Winchester! When Sarah Winchester inherits the vast fortune of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company she decides to spend her fortune warding off the vengeful spirits of the victims of the Winchester rifle and builds the Winchester Mystery House - known widely as one of the most famous supernatural/haunted places in the US. But is that the real story? Listen now to...

This week, Sara brings us the Mongolian Warrior Princess, Khutulun Khan! Her remarkable battlefield prowess was only eclipsed by her mad skills in the wrestling arena. This Princess-who-would-be-Khan (Great-great Granddaughter of Genghis Khan and cousin of Kublai Khan) wrestled & defeated hundreds of men to avoid arranged marriage. She helped her father Kaidu hold onto his massive territory, b...

We're wrapping up Black History Month with the story of Carrie Johnson! During the 1919 race riots of Washington D.C., Carrie and her dad were holed up at home trying to stay out of trouble, but when white policemen barge into their home and their .38 rifle hits and kills one of the detectives, Carrie and her dad are carted off to jail and put on trial for first degree murder - a capital crime. Wh...

Continuing our celebration of Black History Month, guest Amelia Hammel brings us one of the most iconic Black Broads in American History - Harriet Tubman! Born into enslavement, Harriet Tubman suffered great at the hands of her "owners" including, one night as a six-year-old, taking at hit to the head by a metal tub. This skull cracking moment would forever change her life - instilling her with a...

We don't know much about the life of Alice H. Parker, except that the cold New Jersey winter annoyed her enough that she invented the first natural gas heater and "zoned heating" - the foundational technology for modern HVAC systems! Listen now to hear more about her groundbreaking invention, and what we know about this woman who created perhaps the greatest creature comfort humanity has ever know...

This week, Sara brings us Constance Baker Motley - The first black woman to try a case before the Supreme Court, to serve in the NY Senate, to be elected Manhattan Borough President, to be appointed to a Federal Judgeship and to be promoted to Chief Judge. This powerhouse Broad was the role model for many of today's most prominent women of color in the Judiciary branch including Justice Ketanji Br...

This week we revisit the story of Yu Gwan-sun! Raised in a Japan-occupied Korea, Gwan-sun only knew life where her Korean culture was being oppressed and destroyed, but when she turned sixteen, armed with her education and mad love for her country she stands up for Korean Independence. Her story is one you won't want to miss! Special guest Earl T. Kim joins us to help shed light on this epic Korea...

Chloe Skye join us once more for a (sadly) expected rant against the Academy. Yes, we did this not so long ago after Ms. Viola Davis was snubbed for her stunning performance in The Woman King but we find ourselves here yet again. PLUS, since we spent a month in our own "Barbenheimer" series here it seems only right to give the world our own think piece on why the f*ck Greta and Margot, who LITERAL...

Dr. Jessica Wade came from a family of brilliant scientific brains, so it's no wonder she dove head first into science, too. The further she got into her studies, though, the more she realized how alone she was - there were hardly any other women with her in Grad school! In fact, statistically the UK's numbers of women in S.T.E.M. are some of the lowest in the world. Jess, however, was not deterre...

The last election in New Zealand was accompanied by a huge wave of anti-indigenous & anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke is NOT having it. Despite her youth (she's only 21!) and lack of political experience, she has donned the mantle of her political and activist ancestors and ran for Parliament - beating her incumbent who had held the seat almost 20 years. She is already fightin...

Wahoo! We made it through 2023!! The year wouldn't be complete without a Broads recap, though. Sara brings you a snapshot of some of the most incredible Broads we lost this year and all of their accomplishments, both for women specifically and all of humankind. Then we take a dive into the United Nations’ Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2023. A little intimidatin...

We've got a fabulous 2023 recap episode brewing, but it's not ready yet, so today we revisit our (one and only) New Year's Broad: Betsy Ross! That's right - Betsy Ross was born on January 1st. You may already know that Betsy Ross designed the first American Flag. But did you know that she increased sewing efficiency by switching from a 6-pointed star to a 5-pointed star, making it possible to crea...

When America ran out of Santas during World War II what happened? Was Christmas cancelled while the men were overseas fighting? NOPE! The Rosie the Riveter spirit persisted, and WOMEN stepped up to the plate! But not everybody was happy about it. Learn how these Santa Broads came to be, who loved them, who hated them, and most importantly - DID THEY WEAR THE BEARD, TOO? Also, what the heck is the...

Jeanne Villepreux-Power has to be one of the most interesting STEM broads from the 19th Century! The daughter of a shoemaker and a seamstress, Jeanne follows her mother's line of work and slays it, making dresses for the top royalty and high society Europeans. After marrying a well-to-do merchant, though, she doesn't have to work for a living anymore - she's living the high life! Except...the gent...

Chloe Skye joins Sara for a long overdue check-in on all the exciting girl power moments of the moment including the fun-loving and *actually highly successful* film THE MARVELS. Despite what the box office magazine reports are saying, this movie is kicking the butts (in box office returns AND hearts) of other movies released around the same time INCLUDING Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon AND...

Germany in the 1500's was a pretty risky time to be a midwife - even a really good one. And so it was with poor Walpurga Hausmännin when 20 years of brilliant midwifery and healing was snatched away by a stupid rumor and some very unfortunate circumstances, leading to her arrest and subsequent witch trial. However, her story turns bizarre at her trial, when she confesses (under torture, of course)...

While history marks the first Thanksgiving as being in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621, it turns out that when Christopher Columbus (and his *sshole brother, Bartholomew) first land in modern-day Haiti in 1492, they were warmly welcomed and assisted in a similar fashion by today's Broad, Anacaona! A powerhouse leader of the Taino people, Anacaona led her people NOT into war, as so many neighboring...

Sara has been busy MOVING this week, and didn't have time wrap up her research on some GERMAN WITCHES (come back next week!!), so today enjoy this throwback episode with Chloe bringing us the story of not one... not two... but THREE broads you should know, and they're together in this episode because they all have one thing in common: they were indestructible. Joy Andrew is likely turning 100 this...

When King James IV of Scotland (later James I of England) has his grand wedding plans thwarted by bad weather in 1590, an investigation is launched as to the cause. Instead of discovering the gross incompetence of the men in charge of outfitting the royal fleets, they find a much more sinister cause - WITCHES who conspired to send tiny devils in barrels across the ocean to cause the storms and pre...

Taking a break from the heavy-hearted witch trial content for a minute - we revisit one of our favorite BYSK episodes about a different kind of witch - THE NIGHT WITCHES! Dubbed the nachthexen by the german troops who heard nothing but a WHOOSH before their camps went up in flames - The Night Witches were a hastily trained, poorly equipped, all-female Russian Air Force unit who struck fear into th...

Beatrix Leslie is an 84-year-old midwife living just outside Edinburgh, Scotland in 1661, which happened to be a very bad period of time to be a disliked elderly woman in the community because it was smack dab in the middle of the Great Scottish Witch Trials of 1661-1662. During a span of literally 16 MONTHS over 660 people were publicly accused of witchcraft in that neck of the woods, and Beatrix...

Hypatia is widely (but incorrectly) thought to be the first female mathematician in the world and is considered to be one of the foremost intellectuals and philosophers in the entire Roman empire. So how come we don't list her name when we talk about Plato and Aristotle? Also, why does her name come up when you google search for "witches in history"?! Unfortunately, politics, as usual. In her home...