Dead Ladies Show Podcast

In this episode, Anneke Lubkowitz introduces us to the brilliant and strange 19th century writer and poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff. This Dead Lady was a Lady in the literal sense - she was born into nobility, and the life her family expected for her was far different from the one she led. Choosing the male occupation of poet, and the unladylike hobby of fossil collecting, nature devotee Annette...

The star of our 40th (!) episode is author, educator, and therapist Beryl Gilroy. Born in what was then British Guiana, she trained as a teacher before migrating to London in 1952 as part of the Windrush generation and work all manner of jobs until becoming one of the very first Black head teachers in the UK. Her groundbreaking debut, Black Teacher  (1976), documented her journey that that point,...

Episode 39 introduces Gráinne Mhaol, also known as Grace O'Malley, the legendary Irish pirate queen.   Translator Laura Radosh presents the rollicking tale of this tremendous woman, who has been lauded as "a most famous femynyne sea captain," and "the dark lady of Doona." Gráinne Mhaol was head of the O'Malley dynasty in 16th-century Ireland, owning up to 1000 cattle and horses, leading men on lan...

In episode 38, we hear the sweet, sweet music of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, known as the godmother of rock'n'roll.   DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens brings us the tale of this legendary guitarist and gospel singer who had a profound influence on musicians like Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin. She took to the stage at the age of four, and never really left it.   Sister R...

In Episode 37, Dead Ladies Show co-founder Katy Derbyshire introduces French spy, diplomat, and enigma, the Chevalière d'Éon.   Born Charles Geneviève Louise Auguste André Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont, the Chevalière d'Éon lived for 49 years as a man and spent the last 33 years of her life as a woman.   She claimed to have been assigned female at birth in 1728 Burgundy and raised as a boy, but her e...

Our 36th podcast episode brings you a glimpse of the acclaimed author of some of the most chilling tales in contemporary American literature, Shirley Jackson. Her short story "The Lottery" is a true classic since its publication in 1948. Shirley Jackson blended gothic and horror elements with explorations of women's alienation and search for identity. In her real life, she was forced to balance he...

It's Episode 35! On a sultry September evening, DLS Podcast producer and host Susan Stone took the stage to present the life and times of the unstoppable Ida B. Wells! This pioneering African-American investigative journalist, suffragist and activist was a pint-sized powerhouse. Born into slavery in Mississippi in 1862, Ida's world opened up with the Emancipation Proclamation, and she became a tea...

In Episode 34, we're once more in Muenster as guests of the Burg Hülshoff Centre for Literature, which happens to be named after a Dead Lady poet, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff! This time around, we'll get introduced to Willa Muir, a prolific translator who brought Kafka into English for the first time. Born on a small Scottish isle, she was eyewitness to some of Europe's most important moments. She...

Episode 33 takes us virtually to Muenster as guests of the Burg Hülshoff Centre for Literature, which happens to be named after a Dead Lady poet, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff! However, we're here to talk about mystery queen Dorothy L. Sayers.   Dorothy, or DLS, as she preferred to be called, is probably best known for her crime novels featuring posh amateur detective Lord Peter Wimsey. But she also...

Episode 32 introduces enthusiastic ghost-buster Rose Mackenberg! Sometimes called "Harry Houdini's Girl Detective," Rose was dedicated to debunking psychics who scammed vulnerable and grieving Americans recovering from the tragedies of World War I and the Spanish Flu of 1918. She started out as a stenographer and private investigator, joining forces with famed magician Houdini to crusade against f...

Welcome to Episode 31, released on International Women's Day 2020. In honor of this day, we meet a woman who was involved in women's rights, as well as the vote in 1910 at the Second International Conference of Socialist Women in Copenhagen in favor of a day honoring working women, to promote equal rights and inspire action. Alexandra Kollontai was a Marxist revolutionary who became one of the fir...

Episode 30! Can you believe it? For a little inspiration in these grim political times, podcast producer & presenter Susan Stone chooses a brand spanking new presentation from Dead Ladies Show co-founder Florian Duijsens.   Our other dear co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins in on the comfy couch to introduce the fabulous Emma Goldman. This anarchist philosopher, activist, and writer was determined, p...

Episode 29 presents a giant of the Harlem Renaissance: writer, anthropologist and zombie finder Zora Neale Hurston! Zora may be best known for her 1937 novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God," but her love of adventure and willingness to re-write her own biography are sure to delight fans old and new. Writer and scholar Fatin Abbas tells Zora's tale from the stage in ACUD, and Dead Ladies Show co-fou...

Episode 28 - mal auf Deutsch! Autorin, Aktivistin und Creative Director Mary Scherpe erzählt von der recht exzentrischen Fernsehköchin Fanny Cradock. Dazu, die beiden Gründer*innen der Dead Ladies Show,, Katy Derbyshire und Florian Duijsens, sind dabei mit Produzentin Susan Stone und wir reden ueber Weihnachten- und Silvester-Traditionen. __ Die Dead Ladies Show feiert famose, vergessene und manch...

Episode 28 brings you the delicious delights of pioneering TV chef and all-around extravagant character Fanny Cradock! This English Dead Lady invented her history and sculpted her future out of oysters, champagne, and tiaras. Fanny could sell out the Albert Hall in London for a crowd who gathered to see her make cooking into entertainment. Her hold-no-bars approach, however, meant her life wasn't...

On Episode 27, we meet a Dead Lady Lepidopterist! Dead Ladies Show co-founder Florian Duijsens introduces us to Margaret Fountaine, an English explorer and naturalist who collected butterflies and loved love. Her exciting scientific life and world travels were well-known, but her romantic adventures were only revealed when Margaret's copious diaries were read in 1978, 100 years after she first sta...

Episode 26 brings you spooky Dead Lady tales all the way from NYC! First, Claire Carroll introduces us to England's Doreen Valiente, known as the mother of modern witchcraft. In the UK and beyond, she was key in the spread of modern day Wicca, now a world-wide religion. Doreen also had more than a few secrets under her cape. **SECOND TALK CONTAINS ENTHUSIASTIC SWEARING** Then, it's time for a live...

In this episode, DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire — who is a translator, publisher, and avid blues dancer — brings us the story of R&B, blues, and rock legend LaVern Baker, a performer with strong charisma, an unforgettable voice, and a rather naughty sense of humor. She got her first singing job at the age of ten, cut her first record at 12 or 14, and lived her whole life in music. When LaVern's so...

A sneak peek at what's coming up in Season Three of the Dead Ladies Show Podcast. Find us at deadladiesshow.com and your podcast purveyor of choice. See you soon! Follow us on social media @deadladiesshow and please share, rate, and review the show as it helps others to find our podcast. Because women's history is everyone's history. The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy De...

In this episode, writer and translator Isabel Fargo Cole tells the tale of lovely, lonely, and litigious HEDY LAMARR. Born Hedwig Kiesler, as a Jewish refugee from Vienna HEDY was re-vamped for Hollywood and dubbed "the world's most beautiful woman" by director Louis B. Mayer. The glamorous exotic image and the resulting unimaginative acting roles quite bored her, leaving her lonesome, but with ti...

In this episode, it's New York City, baby! Our sister spin-off show — hosted and curated by Molly O'Laughlin Kemper at KGB Bar — represents with two excellent talks about fantastic American Dead Ladies. First up is Amy Padnani on BESSIE BLOUNT. Amy is an obit editor at the New York Times, and creator of the acclaimed Overlooked series. Much like our Dead Ladies Show, Overlooked corrects history, b...

The Dead Ladies Show is a series of entertaining and inspiring talks about women who achieved amazing things against all odds, presented live in Berlin. This podcast is based on that series. Because women's history is everyone's history. In this episode, Dead Ladies Show co-founder Florian Duijsens takes us on a wild ride through the life of JOSEPHINE BAKER. Perhaps best known for the scandalous d...

The Dead Ladies Show is a series of entertaining and inspiring talks about women who achieved amazing things against all odds, presented live in Berlin. This podcast is based on that series. Because women's history is everyone's history. In this episode, Dead Ladies Show co-founder Katy Derbyshire presents the surprising and inspiring tale of war hero Noor Inayat Khan. NOOR INAYAT KHAN came from a...

The Dead Ladies Show is a series of entertaining and inspiring talks about women who achieved amazing things against all odds, presented live in Berlin. This podcast is based on that series. Because women's history is everyone's history. In this episode, our 20th (!), Dead Ladies Show co-founder Florian Duijsens introduces us the the fabulous Anna May Wong. ANNA MAY WONG is considered the first Ch...

The Dead Ladies Show is a series of entertaining and inspiring talks about women who achieved amazing things against all odds, presented live on stage, usually in Berlin. This podcast is based on that series. Because women's history is everyone's history. In this episode: we go to New Zealand! Or, more accurately, New Zealand comes to us. Featured are two talks from the first ever NZ Dead Ladies S...