Gals Guide

Leah wraps up Defiance Month with a pair of queer Irish ladies that she found so adorably defiant that she just wanted to be in their orbit and share their story. Remember Leah is high on cold medicine as she talks about Lady Eleanor Butler & Sarah Ponsonby. The Ladies of Llangollen were two upper-class women who lived together as a couple in the late 1700s. People wrote poems about them, thei...

Julie continues Defiance Month by talking about N.O.W. The National Organization for Women. 

Katie continues Defiance Month by talking about Kathrine Switzer. After a Jock tried to rip off her bib number, Kathrine is the first woman to officially run the Bost Marathon. Leah's on cold medicine, Bonnie's craftin' without deadlines, and Julie's back.

Bonnie starts Defiance Month with Olga of Kiev. A gal who killed a lot of people who tried to marry her and yet was made a saint. Leah's on cold medicine, Katie's writing letters, Julie's back, and we're pronouncing "Kiev" wrong the whole time. 

Leah finishes up Personal Change Month with a gal who experienced the effects of mental illness and decided to create better conditions (not perfect) for those afflicted with mental illness. As Dorothea Dix fought for the humanity of the mentally ill, the culture started to shift more humanely as well. Knowing we still have  *LOTS* to go in the field of mental health, learn about Dorothea Dix on t...

Klaire continues Personal Change month with an abstract painter whose legacy personally effects one of our Gal Pals. Learn about Lee Krasner on this week's episode. Joined by Leah, Katie and Bonnie. 

Katie continues Personal Change month with a neuroscience journalist who covers drugs, addition and public policy. Learn about Maia Szalavitz on this week's episode. Joined by Leah, Katie and Klaire Lockheart.

Bonnie starts of Personal Change month with a chemist who won a Noble Prize. Joined by Leah, Katie and Klaire Lockheart. 

Leah finished up courage month talking about a rebel in a swimsuit. In an era where women were expected to be silent and modest, Annette Kellerman dove headfirst into controversy. She used her body as a tool of protest, a canvas for art, and a vehicle for change. She helped create the modern swimsuit by not being ashamed of her body.  Even in 2025, some of us who wear a swimsuit in public are perf...

Jackie continues courage month talking about the Camogie and it's women's uniform. Camogie is a sport similar to hurling. The uniform in the past has been a wool skirt and until 2025 a uncomfortable skort. When Kilkenny and Dublin teams protested and wore (gasp!) shorts, they were not allowed to play until they changed clothes. What happened next? Listen to this weeks episode. 

Katie continues courage month talking about sisters. The Mirabal Sisters courageously defied the foul dictator Rafael Trujillo known as el Jefe. Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa are national heroines of the Dominican Republic and the sisters in the book In the Time of Butterflies written by Julia Alvarez.

Bonnie starts of courage month with a gal who was so courageous she ran for President of the United States before women even had the right to vote. Learn about the unique history of Victoria Woodhull, a woman who was certainly ahead of her time! 

Riwo finishes up Freedom Month talking about a San Diego Public Librarian who stood up for Japanese American children during WW2 interments. Clara Breed sent books, letters, and support to young readers imprisoned in camps — protecting their right to read and reminding them they were not forgotten.

Katie continues Freedom Month talking about SlutWalk an international movement. SlutWalk were protests to stop people asking "what was she wearing" when discussing rape and sexual assault victims. A call to end slut-shamming as well as ending rape culture. 

Bonnie starts off Freedom Month talking about Deborah Sampson, who disguised herself as a man to fight in the American Revolution. 

Riwo finishes up Injustice Month with the mother of the LGBTQ movement, Barbara Gittings. She organized with Frank Kameny the first gay rights protest on July 4, 1965. She also fought for gay literary rights and gay mental health rights. She found community and started a movement. Podcast note: We're on break for the rest of June for the Gal's Guide move to Minnesota. Episodes will return in July.

Katie continues Injustice Month with a suffragette. Lucy Stone spoke out for women's rights, was the first Massachusetts woman to earn a college degree, and even kept her name when she married. Learn all about Lucy. 

Bonnie starts off Injustice Month with a crusader for justice, Ida B. Wells. As an author, journalist and civil rights leader, Ida brought information and power to the movement for African-American equality. She was one of the founders of the NAACP and was forcibly removed from a train for the color of her skin in 1884 (71 years before Rosa Parks). 

Katie closes up Innovation Month with a gal who invented a new rocket fuel. Learn about Mary Sherman Morgan and how her invention of Hydyne helped launch the United States' first satellite. 

Bonnie continues Innovation Month (that's weird to type, normally Bonnie starts a month! ) with a rebel with a need for speed! Beatrice Shilling, also called Tilly, was an aerospace engineer and motorcycle racer. Learn about this British innovator who broke records and saved lives! 

Riwo starts off Innovation Month with a rebel with a board game. Learn about the actual inventor of the game Monopoly, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Magie. Her story and what she was trying to teach us is way more in-depth that you might have been led to believe.

Riwo finishes up Rebellious Creative Expression month with Yayoi Kusama, a rebel in polka dots. She’s been called “one of the most important artists to come out of Japan.”  She’s not only a polka dot pop artist but also a filmmaker, protestor, author, sculptor, and fashion designer. She hit on rebellious creative expression on so many fronts. 

It's Katie's turn to tell us about her pick for Rebellious Creative Expression month. Lee Miller was creative and rebellious in many ways. Lee was a war correspondent, photographer, and artist. She also took a rebellious picture of herself in Hitler's bathtub. 

Rebellious Creative Expression continues on the Gal's Guide Podcast. Josh talks about Françoise d'Eaubonne, the French author who coined the term ecofeminism. 

We're exploring Creative Expression within rebellion. Bonnie starts us off with the sculpture artist, Edmonia Lewis. Edmonia brought her African and Native American heritage to a neoclassical marble sculpture. Learn all about her incredible work.