Herstory

Everybody has to make a living, and sometimes, that living is illegal. These gutsy women survived on grit and punishable goods. Amy covers Marm Mandelbaum, a criminal "fencer" to many of the street gangs and criminals of New York's underworld. Shelby talks about Gertrude Lythgoe, one of the most prominent female rum-runners, or bootleggers, in the 1920s.

What makes a bad wife? We weren't sure, so you get two very different ladies in this episode. Shelby discusses Belle Gunness, a Norwegian-American serial killer. Amy tells us about Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, a Scottish heiress, socialite, and aristocrat. 

Repost alert!!! Life got the best of us this week, so enjoy this repost from 2024. (Also, this was supposed to come out last week, but due to a technical issue, it did not.) Today, Shelby and Amy tackle the world of handiwork. First, they share a household handy task in which they are proficient. (Amy's is quite impressive.) Next, Amy covers the Ladies Bridge, the Waterloo Bridge, built mostly by...

They get a bad rap, but let's admit it - Party Girls can be a lot of fun. Shelby discusses mean girl/fun girl and prominent French socialite, Daisy Fellowes. Amy tells us about American dancer, jazz singer, vaudevillian, and saloon-keeper, Ada "Bricktop" Smith. Grab your favorite spirit, and party with us!

Repost Alert!!! Life is life-ing with your hosts, so we had to do a repost. Everyone is fine; there just aren't enough hours in the day. We hope to be back on schedule next week. Until then, enjoy this repost about our favorite kind of ladies: Troubelmakers. Shelby discusses the crossdressing, pipe-smoking, thief, Mary Frith. Amy tells us about the cool AF socialite, Alice Roosevelt Longworth.

Welcome to another Party of One. In this episode, Shelby explains Divorce Ranches. Mainly in Nevada, these guest ranches were where women would stay for several weeks or months in order to establish residency and qualify for a quick divorce under Nevada law. It's a fascinating loophole that helped women to escape their miserable marriages in the 1920s-1950s.

Today, we discuss animals born female but with some interesting traits not usually associated with the ladies. Amy covers anglerfish (scary), Meerkats (kinda mean), and dolphins (adorable). Shelby discusses hyenas (this one is interesting), jacanas (that's a bird), and seahorses (so majestic). If you're an animal lover, this one is for you!

They aren't necessarily heated, but this week, we're covering rivalries. Shelby discusses the contention between designers Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli. Amy educates us on the media-orchestrated feud bewteen opera singers Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi.

Due to the serious nature of recent episodes, we wanted to cover women who have won a bit at life, but guess what? Even those stories are challenging. Nonetheless, Amy discusses Jane Richards, Mary Elizabeth Bowser, or other names. (She had many aliases) a Union spy during the Civil War. Shelby talks about Ada Blackjack, an Iñupiaq woman who accompanied an Arctic expedition to the uninhabited Wran...

She works hard for the money, but is it worth it? For this week's episode, we tackle jobs that can (and do) kill our herstorical ladies. Amy discusses Grace Fryer, an American dial painter and Radium Girl, who sued U.S. Radium after suffering radium poisoning while employed painting watch faces. Shelby talks about Audrey Mestre,   a French world-record-setting freediver.

Relationships are complicated, and extramarital affairs are a tale as old as time. Welcome to our episode on The Other Woman. Amy talks about Alice Keppel, an aristocrat and British society hostess, who was a long-time mistress of King Edward VII. Shelby discusses Nan Britton, a mistress of Warren G. Harding, the 29th President of the United States. 

Welcome to the unsolved mysteries segment of Herstory. Today, we tackle stories about women who disappeared, never to be seen again. Was it of their own volition? Did something nefarious happen? We don't know! Amy discusses Dorothy Arnold, an American socialite and heiress who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in New York City. Shelby talks about Barbara Newhall Follett, an American child...

When women inconvenience society, they're called crazy. Today, we look at some ladies who were actually institutionalized for speaking their minds. First, Amy tells us about the Irish writer Rosina Bulwer Lytton, who forgot to divorce her husband before bad-mouthing him. Shelby discusses Elizabeth Packard, who dared to think differently from her husband and eventually became an advocate for the ri...

In this special Making Herstory segment, Shelby sits down with Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz, the women behind Filthy Rich Writer, to talk about building a career and a business in copywriting. With over 25 years of combined experience, Nicki and Kate pull back the curtain on what copywriting actually is, how they each got their start, and what it really looks like to freelance in this industry....

For this repost, we're celebrating Women's History Month and the best women in the world - LIBRARIANS! This episode was originally Ep 34 on March 1, 2020. *** Welcome to Women's History Month! It was a happy accident that we recorded our Librarians episode on National Stay in Bed and Read Day. Amy is sick, so be patient with her while she delivers the story of the Pack Horse Library Project. Shelb...

They say it's a dish best served cold, and who doesn't love a tale of REVENGE? Shelby talks about the Olga of Kiev, a woman who tortured a tribe of people for killing her husband, and then later was granted sainthood. Amy discusses Giulia Tofana, a 17th-century Italian woman who became notorious for creating  Aqua Tofana , a slow-acting, colorless, and odorless poison used by hundreds of women to...

Sorry for last week's unexpected no-show. We had some major technical difficulties, but this is the episode that was supposed to air. To celebrate the 2026 Winter Olympics, we look at the women of Italy. Amy covers Veronica Franco, an Italian poet and courtesan in 16th-century Venice. Shelby discusses Beatrice Cenci, an Italian noblewoman imprisoned and executed for killing her father. (Spoiler -...

These poor women were just trying to do good things, but bullies told them to "Get Outta Here!" We're covering women who were exhiled. Amy discusses Ranavalona III, the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. (We have an episode about her grandmother in our Meanies episode.) Shelby talks about Clara Campoamor, the Spanish politician, lawyer, and writer, considered by some the mother of the Sp...

They say, if you build it, they will come, and these ladies did just that! Shelby talks about Fatima al-Fihri, the Arab woman who is credited with founding the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque, and eventually a university, in Fez, Morocco. Amy tells us about Sophia Hayden, an American architect and first female graduate of the four-year program in architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Every woman in the history of the world has been accused of something that she didn't do, but these women served time for doing nothing wrong at all. Shelby talks about Katharina Kepler, an herbalist who was accused of witchcraft in 1615 and again in 1620. Amy discusses Florence Maybrick, an American woman convicted in the United Kingdom of murdering her husband.

Grab a sweater, because today we're covering Ice Queens. Shelby covers Empress of Russia, Anna Ioannovna, aka Anna of Russia. Amy informs us of Empress Dowager Cixi, who had de facto but periodical control of the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty. That's right. Two Empresses!

Life has been life-ing for your hosts, so here's an episode to assure you we're alive and working through it. 

Repost and Vacation Alert We'll see you with a new Herstory on Jan 8th. Happy Holidays! Welcome to Women of the North Pole! Amy covers Ann Bancroft, the first woman to reach the North Pole. Shelby talks about the first all-women relay expedition to the North Pole. We're getting super niche here, people. Intro Song: What I Do by Kristy Krüger © ℗Just Like Freddy Music ASCAP Instagram: herstorythepo...

In this Party of One, Shelby discusses one of her loves - solo travel. She was inspired by a YouTuber, Noraly Schoenmaker, who goes by the handle Itchy Boots. (Check her out!) Shelby then discusses the feminist origin story behind LA's Hotel Figueroa.

Amy is out, so you get one-on-one time with Shelby as she discusses how public spaces are not built for women's bodies and needs.