In Walks a Woman

Eve as seductress is a cliche. That would make more sense if it were actually in the story about her.  People realizing they are naked does not = having sex like bunnies. Sorry guys (and we do mean guys), but there is no sex in the Genesis story.  In this episode, we’ll tell you about John Milton, mid-to-late 17th century biblical scholar, who wrote a landmark narrative poem, PARADISE LOST (1667)....

No fruit.  No talking snake.  No woman breaking rules.   So why is THE TEMPEST in the All About Eve season?  For starters, in this 1612 play, we do have an old, powerful, white guy in charge of an idyllic island.  His name is Prospero and he happens to be a sorcerer who can control the weather, puts others into magical slumbers, make people bring him firewood, but most of all, he completely contro...

Have you read CASSANDRA SPEAKS? If not, run to your local bookstore and get a copy! It will change how you see the worl In this interview with Elizabeth Lesser, we focus on the Eve story:  what it actually says, what stories have grown out of it, and why.  Beyond Eve, we discuss what impact it's had on the history of the world when about half the population–women–have been cut out of the story...

One cannot really understand how stories have shaped women’s lives without taking on the story of Eve in Genesis. This episode is the start of our All About Eve season, and this one is close to our hearts:  we’ve wanted to explore the Eve story since the genesis of the pod. Our special guest is medieval scholar, Dr. Jana Byars, and she helps us answer some important questions. What is the original...

If you’re gonna do GOSSIP GIRL, you gotta reveal the gossip girl herself:  Cecily von Ziegasar. In her FIRST podcast interview ever (XOXO!!!) Cecily tells IWAW what it was like to write for teens back when no one else was writing for teens. In addition to many personally inspiring experiences, Cecily shares the classic novel that helped her write GOSSIP GIRL.  And guess what?  That 1920 novel feat...

Sharon is–deservedly so–America’s Government Teacher.  She joins us today to talk about her eloquent and beautifully-illustrated children’s book, WE ARE MIGHTY.  Join Sonja and Vanessa in finding out how Sharon adapted her work for a younger audience, her own experience in high school history class, finding her writing voice, how to find untold stories to tell, and why she dropped pre-med as her m...

Hallie Rubenhold’s THE FIVE sheds light on the lives of the 5 women who were murdered by Jack the Ripper in London in 1888.  So much of history has focused on these women’s final hours, their deaths, the macabre nature of their wounds, and the assumption that they were all bad women who put themselves in harm’s way.  In other words, since they were seen as fallen women, they were in essence blamed...

Please note that this episode deals with a historical account of sexual assault. Spoiler note: there are a couple of spoilers about the historical events involved, but even if you are aware of the outcome of this case, Sweet's recounting of the story and the context he uncovers and explains is fascinating and so, so worth your time. If you pick up a copy of John Wood Sweet’s 2022 study, THE SEWING...

IWAW loves a great mystery/thriller, and if you do, too, you should treat yourself to reading Laurie Dove’s 2025 novel, MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN There will be NO spoilers in this show!  Sonja and Vanessa visit with Dove about the compelling issues underpinning this gripping story.  There are so many positive reviews of the novel, so here’s just a sample:  “A beautifully written tale about the Indige...

In his famous 1841 essay, “Self Reliance,” Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “To be great is to be misunderstood.”  Emerson was a great writer, but to think he accomplished that all by himself would be a significant misunderstanding of how self reliant he really was. In his brilliant study of five female Transcendentalist thinkers, BRIGHT CIRCLE, Dr. Randall Fuller pulls back the curtain to show that behi...

Mary Roach has created a nonfiction writing lane all her own, and in her 8th book, she embarks on a world-wide tour of the scientific quest to replace pretty much every part of the human body.  Her book,  ⁠REPLACEABLE YOU⁠⁠ , came out this month--April 2026--and it's already a bestseller. While she was visiting Lawrence, Kansas, on a trip sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library , Mary sat down wi...

If you keep losing, what if the game is to blame?  If women keep falling, could it be that society itself is at fault?  That, in itself, is a subversive question in 2026--but even more so in late 19th century England. In his 1891 novel, TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES, Thomas Hardy makes it abundantly clear that religion and society’s complete absorption of religious ideas of virginity is 100% to blame....

Despite not originally planning this short story for our “Fallen Women” season, in a weird way, it may fit…Spoilers, ahoy! If you have not read Shirley Jackson’s 1948 short story, “The Lottery,” go treat yourself to a very special reading experience.  It will take you just a few minutes, and it’s one of the greatest short stories EVER.   Then, join Sonja and Vanessa to learn the origins of this le...

There will be SPOILERS, so if you’ve gotten this far in life without hearing about the ending to this novel o' novels, don’t push your luck further:  go block off a month to read it, and then hit play! Sonja and Vanessa are thrilled to welcome their dear friend, Rev. Heather Coates, who fell in love with Russian literature, and was eager (willing?) to re-read Tolstoy’s 1878 (in full book form) nov...

Spoiler alert!!! Many literary-curious readers have Flaubert’s 1857 debut novel, MADAME BOVARY, in their TBR stack.  If that’s you, circle back to us after you’ve read this landmark of realism.  This episode offers a concise Flaubert biography, a sense of why this novel is considered important in the context of literary history, and whether or not you might want to read it.  In terms of the fallen...

Sonja and Vanessa have never gone to the movies together.  They made their debut screening Maggie Gyllenhaal’s THE BRIDE! (2026).  This review does contain SPOILERS, so go see the film first.  We discuss this visually stunning movie that is kinda punk, kinda comic book, kinda Bonnie & Clyde, kinda 1930’s musical, kinda Natural Born Killers, kinda Mel Brooks, kinda The Purple Rose of Cairo, kin...

What’s it like to live as a fallen woman in a small town?  We’ll fill you in, so SPOILERS AHOY! Hester Prynne, protagonist of THE SCARLET LETTER, is 100% a fallen woman, and that exact term comes up in the novel. If you had to read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s THE SCARLET LETTER in high school (and if you live in the United States, you probably couldn’t escape it), remember that it’s good to face your fe...

This review has something for everyone.  If you hated it, we got you.  If you loved it, we got you.  Sonja and Vanessa don’t agree on everything, and this is one of those things.  Settle in and cheer for your side, and then close it out with a hug and gratitude for conversations in which we can say what we truly feel, not agree, and yet not go to war over it.   Along the way, Sonja asks for a dehu...

If you’re into Women’s History, you will LOVE this episode.  Dr. Sarah Bell, Director of the newly-renovated Kansas Museum of History in Topeka, Kansas, joins IWAW and shares fascinating stories of three Kansas women:  Clarina Nichols, Annie Diggs, & Mamie Dillard.   In the 19th century, the story of women was supposed to take place–exclusively–in the “home,” and yet, everything outside the ho...

Please Note that this episode contains spoilers and discussion of sexual assault. “You have to get through the first 500 pages, and then you can’t put it down,” said no one ever…except Sonja about CLARISSA, the longest novel in the English language.  In the mid 18th century, Samuel Richardson was living in a world that strongly believed a woman should marry the man who “ruined” her–even if the act...

Shakespeare’s late 16th century play, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, is a perfect literary work to illustrate the dynamic of a fallen woman.  The accusation.  The shame.  The desire for retribution.  The ruined family.  The confident accuser.  But this story, being a comedy, allows all rifts to heal, and everyone leaves happy, except for the villain, who–surprise, surprise–is literally a bastard...born o...

Candice Millard shares how she learned to do deep research and the leap of faith she took to land her dream job. She explains how she knows which topics she can develop into books, including how she came across the idea for her next historical study. Millard also shares some teasers about her next book that will thrill you if you like women's stories and a bit of wartime intrigue. Click play now:...

If you have not read any Traci Brimhall, you’ve missed out on seeing through the eyes of someone who somehow–almost magically, at points–sews disparate parts together:  grief and joy, loss and abundance, science and poetry. Yes, we take her brave and incandescent 2024 collection, LOVE PRODIGAL, as our starting point, and yes, this episode is about poetry, but that’s not all:  it’s a truly fulfilli...

Yes, you kinda have to be LIKE a virgin because, really, who knows if there is such a thing as REAL virginity?  Hanne Blank, historian and author of VIRGINITY:  THE UNTOUCHED HISTORY (2007), certainly makes a girl question the whole story–and virginity IS a story, not a biological fact. If you haven’t heard of Blank’s thoroughly researched, sharply-written and entertainingly wry history of virgini...

Please Note:  The internet was not playing nice on the day we interviewed Polly, and though we tried several strategies, we could not totally resolve some technical difficulties.  That being said, as you listen, you’ll hear that Polly’s warm authenticity and her lovely personality just totally outshine the tech issues.   No woman totally escapes the fact that she lives in a body made for making ot...