Sheela Na Gig Podcast

Part 2-Rose O'Neill was a true "Renaissance Woman"- she was an illustrator, a sculptor, a designer, an artist, a novelist, a poet, philanthropist AND business woman. She was also Suffragette and a women’s rights leader working with Eleanor Roosevelt and she was a totally original individualist. She was also the highest-paid woman illustrator of the early 20th century, who ascended to the top in a...

Rose O'Neill was a true "Renaissance Woman"- she was an illustrator, a sculptor, a designer, an artist, a novelist, a poet, philanthropist AND business woman. She was also Suffragette and a women’s rights leader working with Eleanor Roosevelt and she was a totally original individualist. She was also the highest-paid woman illustrator of the early 20th century, who ascended to the top in a thoroug...

“Million Dollar Mermaid,” Annette Kellermann, pro swimmer, vaudeville star, film actress, and women’s health icon, redefined swimwear, the art of swimming, and more! We encourage you to learn more about these remarkable women who risked so very much. Please listen in & share your comments & questions. Thank you!   https://sheelanagigpodcast.com/ Podbean: https://sheelanagigpc.podbean.com/...

Phoebe "Febb" Burn’s last-minute letter to her son Harry T. Burn brought about the pivotal vote in the Tennessee legislature that secured the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote.  We encourage you to learn more about these remarkable women who risked so very much. Please listen in & share your comments & questions. Thank you! https://sheelanagigpodcast.com/...

OMG!!! Our interview with the very talented ladies of FEAST is finally available for your listening pleasure! Please tune in and join the conversation! Let your voices too, be heard! Featuring- Writer, Megan Gogerty , actor & co-producer, Erin Schlabach and Director & co-producer, Laura Covelli. Hella Sheelas! All of em!! And wait, Do you live in Los Angeles or close by!? Then you don’t wa...

During World War II, the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands spurred the rise of many resistance groups, but few stories are as remarkable as those of Truus Oversteegen , Freddie Oversteegen , and Hannie Schaft. These young women displayed extraordinary courage and resilience, engaging in direct action against the Nazis. Their stories are not only a testament to their bravery but also an inspiratio...

She was the "First Movie Star", appearing in nearly 300 films and became one of the first women to lead a US film studio. She also created her own line of cosmetics, was a race car driver and an inventor and was credited as the inventor of the turn signal and the brake signal for automobiles, but have you ever heard of Florence Lawrence!? Like many women in history her life story became disposable...

Egypt has produced its fair share of strong women, from the queens who ruled thousands of years ago, to the women who defied the country’s social norms in order to fight for their freedoms and for equal rights. The late-19th century and early 1900s brought a powerful feminist movement that was to greatly alter the lives of women in Egypt. Spearheading that movement was Huda Shaarawi, a woman whose...

Today, we present a rather controversial Sheela, that begs the question, can someone make terrible decisions in their life, participate in criminal behavior and STILL be considered a "Sheela" despite this? Well, you'll find that Missy & April kind of disagree on this, but nonetheless, Missy offers up the infamous Liz Carmichael as a "Sheela" for this episode, asking our listeners to view her t...

Margarete Steffin was a German actress, gifted writer, and translator. She was also one of several women—seemingly Bertold Brecht's closest “collaborator” and one of his many lovers—whom he exploited, deceived, and took uncredited authorship of her brilliant work. https://sheelanagigpodcast.com/ Podbean: https://sheelanagigpc.podbean.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2nMtfIy... IHeartrad...

Teddy Girls were the female counterpart to the Teddy Boys, a shortly-lived 1950 London youth movement, recognized (and ultimately feared) for its Edwardian-inspired fashion and an emerging rebellious rock-and-roll norm-challenging attitude. The first youth counter-culture, largely forgotten, Teddy Girls rejected traditional femininity for a style and stance that was all their own! https://sheelana...

Sadly, the true story of Pocahontas is a tale of tragedy and heartbreak. Contrary to Disney’s portrayal of this well-known ‘family film,’ the true story of Pocahontas is not one of a romance, but one of dreadful misfortune and sadness. Pocahontas was one of the first real-life Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). When comparing the portrayal of Pocahontas through Disney’s lens as opposed...

Nancy Green, the ‘Real Aunt Jemima’ Nancy Green, born on March 4, 1834, was an American former slave, Born on a slave plantation in Montgomery County, Kentucky and one of the first African-American models hired to promote a corporate trademark. The Aunt Jemima recipe was not her recipe, but she became the advertising world's first living trademark. After the Civil War, Green moved to a deeply divi...

American Inventor Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner is most known (although not widely) for creating an adjustable sanitary belt. Born into a family of inventors, her creations included a convenient attachment to an invalid’s walker and a back washer that could be mounted on a shower or bathtub wall. Her first invention, at age six, was an attempt to create a self-oiling door hinge. Kenner was born in...

Dolores Huerta is a renowned American labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers union alongside Cesar Chavez. We’ve certainly all heard of Cesar Chavez, but equally important is Heurta and her undying contributions to laborers and a leader of the Chicano civil rights movement. That's true even when it comes to credit for coining the movement's famous slogan, Sí...

Frances Glessner Lee, Lee was a talented artist as well as criminologist and is considered the mother of forensic science. She dedicated her life to the advancement of forensic medicine and scientific crime detection. Lee was also a diorama-maker, criminal investigation educator and the first female police captain in the US. She effectively and uniquely straddled the intersection between craft and...

Someone knows. Somewhere. The Victory Theatre Center presents the world premiere of Four Women in Red, a provocative new play, written by Laura Shamas (Chickasaw Nation) and directed by Jeanette Harrison (Onondaga). April & I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing director, Jeanette Harrison and starring actor, Jehnean Washington to talk about this provocative & important play that addr...

“Shorty Holiday Episode”! Everyone is swamped this time of year, so just give us 15 min, to learn about this gem of a Sheela!!! Sara Blakely is a self made American businesswoman and philanthropist, she is also the Founder and inventor of Spanx, an American the shape wear apparel company that launched in 2000. She started with 5000 dollars in savings and is now a billionaire. As a result, By 2012,...

Mary Elizabeth Anderson was was an entrepreneur, real estate developer, rancher, viticulturist, and inventor. She built and managed an apartment building in Birmingham, Alabama, and owned and operated a cattle ranch and vineyard in Fresno, California. She was also, most notably, the inventor of what became known as the windshield wiper. Anderson's ingenuity, dedication and methodical progression f...

Wilma Mankiller was a national icon, advocating for women’s and Indigenous people’s rights. Her passion led the local activist to be honored and recognized as the first woman elected as chief of the Cherokee nation, the second-largest Indian nation in the United States. Her visionary, principled leadership setting a standard for generations of women to follow and reminding us to challenge the stat...

Roberta Cowell had been a record breaking race car driver, a Spitfire pilot and a prisoner of war – but her biggest challenge was to become the first person in Britain to undergo gender-reassignment. Roberta Cowell, or Betty as she was known to her friends, soon became the ‘most talked of woman in England,’ making headlines across national and regional newspapers. Her story is a testament to her u...

"Chances are, your grandmother didn't smoke cigars and let you hold wild role-playing parties in her apartment-Chances are that she didn't teach you Swahili obscenities. Chances are that when she took you to the zoo, she didn't start whooping passionately at the top of her lungs as you passed the gibbon cage”. Sadly for you ... your grandmother was not." Emily "Mickey" Hahn was an American journal...

Martha Gellhorn was an American journalist and novelist who, as one of the first female war correspondents, candidly described ordinary people in times of unrest. While it may be commonplace to see female journalists in war zones today, it was not quite as common more than 80 years ago. During World War II, wartime correspondents rushed to the frontlines to report on the battles, but only around 1...

The Sheela Na Gig Podcast celebrates women in history whose strength, talent, and perseverance went largely (or completely) unrecognized or perhaps someone you don't yet know about, but should! We are dedicated to celebrating women—one per episode—who we lovingly & reverently call “our Sheelas". When most think of Zelda Fitzgerald, we think of F.Scott Fitzgerald’s crazy, unhinged wife. However...

The Sheela Na Gig Podcast celebrates women in history whose strength, talent, and perseverance went largely (or completely) unrecognized or perhaps someone you don't yet know about, but should! We are dedicated to celebrating women—one per episode—who we lovingly & reverently call “our Sheelas". With what is arguably one of the most badass names in military history, the story of the female avi...