Womanica

This back to school season, we're bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. Today's Womanican is Maria Agnesi (1718-1799). She did groundbreaking work in the field of mathematics, creating a two-volume textbook that helped to shape math education. Later, she gave up her academic success to serve the poor and live in poverty. This month, we’re heading back to schoo...

This back to school season, we're bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. Today's Womanican is Maryam Mirzakhani (1977-2017). She was an optimist and an innovator, contributing new points of view and new teachings to the fields of dynamics and geometry. She is the only woman to have won the coveted Fields Medal. This month, we’re heading back to school – and we’...

This back to school season, we're bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. Today's Womanican is Sophie Germain (1776-1831). She was a French mathematician and physicist who contributed to the study of acoustics, elasticity, and number theory. She was forced to assume a fake male identity to have her work taken seriously, but her efforts paved the way for further...

This back to school season, we're bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. Today's Womanican is Ada Lovelace (1815-1852). She is known as the first computer programmer. Despite living during a time when women were not considered scientific thinkers, her contributions to computer science are indispensable–and indisputable. This month, we’re heading back to school...

This back to school season, we're bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. Today's Womanican is Ella Cara Deloria (1889-1971). She was a linguist and ethnographer who became one of the foremost experts on Dakota and Lakota oral history. This month, we’re heading back to school – and we’re taking you along with us! For all of September, we’ll be bringing back some...

This back to school season, we're bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. Today's Womanican is Sappho (c. 615 BC). She was an ancient Greek poet and an architect of the very words we use to talk about queer identity today. This month, we’re heading back to school – and we’re taking you along with us! For all of September, we’ll be bringing back some of our favor...

This back to school season, we're bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. Today's Womanican is Gayl Jones (1949-present). She is a prolific author celebrated for her writing about Black womanhood, slavery, and the African Diaspora. She disappeared from public life by choice until very recently, when she reappeared in words with her 2021 novel, “Palmares.”  For F...

This back to school season, we're bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. Today's Womanican is Begum Rokeya (c. 1880-1932). She spent her life fighting for women’s rights in India and Bangladesh. She opened the first school for Muslim girls in her region and advocated for women’s education. She dreamed of a world where women could reach their full potential — a...

This back to school season, we're bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. Today's Womanican is Marguerite Duras (1914-1996). She was a pioneer of autofiction and one of the most widely-read French writers in the postwar era. She specialized in blurring the lines between autobiography and imagination, mining her myriad of hardships for narrative gold. Her novel “...

Monica Seles (1973-present) and Steffi Graf (1969-present) held one of the most famous rivalries in tennis history. They battled for the No. 1 ranking for years, equally matched in prowess.  This episode of Womanica is brought to you by the all-new Toyota Camry. For further reading: Fifty Years of the WTA: Steffi Graf and Monica Seles give us the next great sports rivalry Australian Open Flashback...

Roxanne Shanté (1969-present) ignited The Roxanne Wars, a series of hip hop rivalries during the mid 1980s, that created the most answered records in history. It was also one of the first “rap beefs” in history.  For Further Reading: How a 14-year-old started the world’s first rap beef The story of the first ever rap beef ROXANNE’S REVENGE A brief history of the diss track – from the Roxanne Wars...

Lee Radziwill (1933-2019) was an American socialite, public relations executive, and interior designer. She was the younger sister of former First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. Lee and her sister had a complicated relationship that often relegated Lee to the shadows.  For Further Reading: Lee Radziwill, Ex-Princess and Sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Dies at 85 The Complicated Sis...

Louella Parsons (1881-1972) was an American gossip columnist and screenwriter, whose work boasted an audience of 20 million across many newspapers. She called herself the first-ever film reviewer and was known for her influence in Hollywood and her fierce competition with rival journalist Hedda Hopper.  For Further Reading:  The Powerful Rivalry of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons Forgotten Hollyw...

Zelia Nuttall (1857-1933) was a Mexican-American archaeologist. She was a single mother who decoded a number of Mesoamerican texts and artifacts, including the Nuttall Codex and the Aztec Calendar Stone. She laid the groundwork for archaeologists to reimagine pre-Hispanic civilizations in a new light.  For Further Reading:  The Globe-Trotting Scholar Who Unlocked the Secrets of the Aztecs The Terr...

Dr. Germon “Mama G” Miller-Bey (c.1953-present) is the “Grand Matriarch” of African martial arts, or sciences, as she prefers to call it. Rooted in her own experiences with domestic violence, she became a lifelong competitor, teacher, and community advocate for the sport and the arts. Further Reading African martial sciences with Columbia’s grand matriarch 5 minutes with martial artist Mama G   Fr...

Mabel Fairbanks (1915-2001) was an American figure skater and coach. A Black and Seminole woman, she was often relegated to the shadows and dedicated the latter half of her career to breaking down barriers for other skaters of color.  This episode of Womanica is brought to you by the all-new Toyota Camry. For Further Reading: An oral history: Mabel Fairbanks Mabel Fairbanks’ story deserves to be t...

Fabulous Moolah (1923-2007) was a pioneering American pro wrestler, promoter and trainer. She held different versions of the women’s championship title almost continuously from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s. She was also the first woman to be inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame. For Further Reading: Mary Lillian Ellison, 84, the Fabulous Moolah, Is Dead Fabulous Moolah The Fabulous Moolah’s Contro...

Lillian Hellman (1905-1984), a playwright and novelist who sued writer and critic Mary McCarthy (1912-1989) after Mary McCarthy called her "a dishonest writer" on the "Dick Cavett Show." The suit captured public attention, and the legal battle became one of the most legendary feuds in modern contemporary literature.  For Further Reading: Lillian Hellman vs. Mary McCarthy: Did Their Dispute Foresha...

Remedios Guinto Gomez-Paraiso, known primarily as Kumander Liwayway, (1919 - 2014) was a beauty queen-who became a -military commander during the Huk Rebellion in the Philippines.  For Further Reading: Commander Liwayway and Other Filipino Women Who Fought During World War II Kumander Liwayway: A Feminine Warrior Kumander Liwayway This month we’re talking about adversaries. These women fought agai...

Alice Lee (1859-1939) was a statistician and one of the first women to earn a Doctorate of Science from the University of London. Her dissertation, published in 1900, helped disprove the widely held belief that skull capacity was linked to intelligence.  For Further Reading: The Statistician Who Debunked Sexist Myths About Skull Size and Intelligence | Smithsonian   People of Science with Brian Co...

Joanie “Chyna” Laurer (1969-2016) was a mainstay in the WWE in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Billed as “The Ninth Wonder of the World”, she wrestled men and women and bested them both. In 2019, she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.  For Further Reading:  Chyna : If They Only Knew The Great Fall of Chyna   Chyna Was a Titan of Wrestling. Joanie Laurer Was a More Complicated Woman This month...

Tituba (c. 1692) was an enslaved woman who played a significant role in the Salem witch trials of 1692. As one of the first to be accused of witchcraft, she confessed under duress and implicated others, fueling the mass hysteria. Her confession included vivid descriptions of supernatural experiences, which greatly influenced the course of the trials. Despite her pivotal role, much of her life befo...

Tomoe Gozen (c. 1180s) was a female samurai in 12th century Japan who became renowned for her fierceness and bravery as a warrior during the Genpei civil war.  For Further Reading: The Legend Of Tomoe Gozen: Japan’s Most Fearsome Female Samurai From Woman Warrior to Peripatetic Entertainer- The Multiple Histories of Tomoe Tomoe Gozen: Badass Women in Japanese History This month we’re talking about...

Dandara dos Palmares (c. 1654-1694) was a warrior in colonial Brazil. She grew up in a quilombo, fought in numerous battles, and led female armies throughout her life, fighting against colonial forces.  For Further Reading: Dandara dos Palmares Dandara: A Feminist Face of Palmares Described as a heroine, Dandara, Zumbi's wife, has a biography surrounded by uncertainty This month we’re talking abou...

Cynane (357 BC - 323 BC) was a warrior princess and older half-sister of Alexander the Great. She fought in battle as a child with her father and half-brother, and is believed to be the first person to have ever rallied her own army.  For Further Reading:  World History Encyclopedia: Cynane The Macedonian Amazonian: Who Was Cynane? Illyrians This month we’re talking about adversaries. These women...