Bedste Her Half Of History-podcasts (2024)

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Announcement on Series 14 4:08

4h ago4:08

4:08

The voters have spoken! The topic of Series 14 will be: The Woman Behind the Man. I’ll be looking at women across the ages who had a hand (sometimes a major hand) in the success of some very well-known men. I’m hoping you’ll have heard of the men: I’m choosing the blockbusters. But I suspect the women you have not heard of. Most of them anyway. The…

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Bonus Episode: Women Who Got Elected 18:41

2d ago18:41

18:41

I make no comment on the current US election because this is a history podcast. But the entire concept of a woman running a country with even the semblance of an election involved is a recent phenomenon, historically speaking. We’re not even at a century yet. We’re not even at three quarters of a century yet. This episode will give you the rundown …

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13.14 Why Beauty Mattered (and has anything changed?) 24:39

7d ago24:39

24:39

Throughout history and around the globe, women have routinely squeezed, bound, crushed, tweezed, poisoned, pricked, and stretched various portions of their anatomy, sometimes with permanent ramifications, sometimes with excruciating agony, all in the name of beauty. Why was beauty so important? There's no perfect answer, but I explain five theories…

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13.13 Losing a Breast to Gain a Life 24:34

14d ago24:34

24:34

Most of the episodes in this series have been about shaping the female body in the name of beauty. But there is at least one major reshaping that has nothing to do with beauty and everything to do with survival. Breast cancer was known to the ancient Egyptians and nearly every culture since, but for most of that time there was no effective treatmen…

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13.12 In the Eye of the Beholder 23:22

21d ago23:22

23:22

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and history proves it: blackened teeth, modified skull shapes, extended necks, lip plates, and piercings of various body parts. All of these have been considered the height of beauty, and women went to great lengths to achieve it. This week's episode gives the details. It is also time to vote on the to…

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13.11 The Witch's Mark 24:59

28d ago24:59

24:59

Jane Wenham was accused of witchcraft in 1712. One of the trials was a search of her body. Did she or did she not have a witch's mark where her familiar sucked her blood? Or maybe a Devil's mark where he sealed her as his after a nocturnal initiation. Most of the episodes have been on what women did to make themselves beautiful (whatever that happe…

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13.10 Body Art: Tattoos and Henna 23:40

1M ago23:40

23:40

If you do have one, you are part of a very long-standing worldwide tradition. Tattoos have existed since prehistoric times in many cultures, where they were often (but not always) for women. Evidence for henna is not nearly so old, but then again, how could we expect it to be? There may have been any number of women and cultures who used henna with…

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13.9 Cosmetics in the Modern World 20:41

2M ago20:41

20:41

Women continued to make their own cosmetics in the 18th century. Then it was suddenly immoral in the 19th century (not that some women didn't do it anyway). And then they came roaring back in the 20th century. The revival was led by actresses and eagerly followed by the vast majority of other women. Lipstick! Face powder! Rouge! Mascara! Eyeliner! …

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13.8 Cosmetics in the Pre-Modern World 22:43

2M ago22:43

22:43

Cosmetics are nothing new. Women (and sometimes men) were using them in Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, and India. This is an overview of the art of making up your face across the millennia with white lead, poppy juice, mercury, and more. Also what the menfolk thought about it. (Hint: They were largely against the idea.) Visit the website (herhalfofhis…

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13.7 A Bad Hair Day in Ancient Rome 13:04

2M ago13:04

13:04

I hope you’ve never had a hair day quite like that of Corinna, the mistress to whom the Roman poet Ovid wrote Amores, or The Loves. Corinna dyed her hair so hard, it all fell out. And of all the strange things, Ovid wrote a poem about it. It's possible that Corinna was not a real person or that this wasn't a real incident. But the poem ranges from …

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13.6 The History of Hair 21:14

2M ago21:14

21:14

To cover the history of hair would be a podcast in and of itself, and the host should not be me. But hair has been very, very important to a great many women, both past and present, so I am going to give it a go, hitting only the points that caught my eye. Topics included are: Cornrow braids Romans who sewed their hair into place Medieval women who…

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13.5 The Quest for a Hairless Body 20:23

3M ago20:23

20:23

Surely I am not the only woman who has ever eyed the razor and the shaving cream and wondered "Why?" Women have been questing for hairlessness at least since Egyptian times, and though the record is mostly silent on this question, there are occasional hints about why and when and how women through the ages did it (mostly painfully and sometimes let…

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13.4 Chinese Footbinding 24:13

3M ago24:13

24:13

The origins of footbinding are lost in time, but I think it is safe to say that the first woman to do it could not possibly have imagined what was coming. This episode covers the earliest evidence (in the 1100s) through to the final demise of the practice in 1957. The historical records are heavy on hormone-inspired odes to beauty. They are relativ…

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13.3 To Boost or to Bind: A History of the Bust 25:02

3M ago25:02

25:02

The mostly male writers of historical records were reasonably interested in breasts, but quite uninterested in the day-to-day management of them. For most of history, there's not much to go on, but this episode covers time periods where women bound up their breasts to make them as small as possible. It also covers time periods where women used incr…

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13.2 The Corset 26:29

3M ago26:29

26:29

Corsets are infamous as torturous devices, specially designed to keep women in their place and helpless. But reality is a little more complicated than that, as it always is. This episode discusses: the origin of the corset the evolving function of the corset the 19th century corset how small could a woman go? who enforced this idea anyway? how bad …

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13.1 The Ideal Body Shape, Historically Speaking 26:00

4M ago26:00

26:00

Women have been chasing impossible beauty standards for at least hundreds of years and probably longer. But just what we think is beautiful keeps changing. This is an overview look of what body shape different historical cultures found desirable. Whether you are stick thin or medically obese, well-endowed or small-breasted, firm or fleshy, it has a…

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Mayans, Aztecs, and Chocolate by Pamela Toler 12:38

4M ago12:38

12:38

What woman doesn't love chocolate? (Okay, I do know a few, but still.) Guest writer Pamela Toler tells us about the history of chocolate in this episode. Please check out Pamela's other work! She has an excellent book called Women Warriors and an upcoming book called The Dragon from Chicago. Find both and more at the following links: Website: https…

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Peggy Shippen Arnold by 2 Complicated 4 History 1:03:58

4M ago1:03:58

1:03:58

For the 4th of July, learn about Peggy Shippen Arnold! She's the wife of Benedict Arnold, the most famous American traitor. Had things gone just a little differently, we might not be celebrating independence today. I am on research break to prepare Series 13: Shaping the Female Body, so this is a guest episode by Dr. Lynn Price Robbins and Isaac S.…

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Ain't I a Woman? by Sojourner Truth 8:50

5M ago8:50

8:50

I am on research break to prepare Series 13: Shaping the Female Body. But in the meantime, here is a beautiful speech by Sojourner Truth, the emancipated slave, abolitionist, feminist, preacher, and all around fabulous woman. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https:…

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12.15 Alexandra Feodorovna, Last Empress of Russia 25:51

5M ago25:51

25:51

Alexandra was born German, but she married into the Romanov dynasty of Russia. Her marriage is one of European royalty's few great love stories. But the world of the late 19th century was one where absolute monarchies were crumbling, and her family's fall is also one of European royalty's saddest tragedies. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) …

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12.14 Yaa Asantewaa, Last Queen of the Asante (Ghana) 19:52

5M ago19:52

19:52

When the British came for her country, Yaa Asantewaa (aged nearly 70) rallied the Asante warriors and fought back. Though she lost in the end, she became one of Ghana's great heroes. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for bonu…

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12.13 Lili'uokalani, Last Queen of Hawaii 26:00

6M ago26:00

26:00

Lili'uokalani did not grow up expecting to be queen, but once she was, she had no intention of being a figurehead. Unfortunately, that is what big business and foreign investors wanted her to be. Their clashes were (mostly) nonviolent, but a coup toppled the monarchy and eventually Hawaii was annexed by the United States. Visit the website (herhalf…

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12.12 Lakshmibai, Last Rani of Jhansi 26:44

6M ago26:44

26:44

Lakshmibai is India's Joan of Arc. When the English claimed her country, she fought back. Her story is the most famous part of what the English called the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and the Indians call the First War of Independence. Though she lost in the end, Lakshmibai's story (and glory) lives on in Indian popular culture. Visit the website (herhalf…

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12.11 Marie Antoinette, the Bitter End 25:44

6M ago25:44

25:44

For Marie Antoinette, the end was more bitter than she could possibly have imagined. After four years of imprisonment, several failed escape plans, and an endless onslaught of (mostly) false accusations, she went to her death. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https…

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12.10 Marie Antoinette, the Unfortunate Queen 25:13

6M ago25:13

25:13

This is the 2nd of 3 episodes on Marie Antoinette. She is now queen, but it's not as fabulous as it sounds because her marriage needs counseling and her household budget is out of control. Though she did spend a lot, she spent far less than she was blamed for, especially during the infamous necklace affair, in which some ingenious criminals pulled …

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12.9 Marie Antoinette, the Luckiest Princess 24:43

7M ago24:43

24:43

There is so much written about Marie Antoinette, much of it contradictory, that I just could not squeeze her story down into a single episode, not even with liberal use of the backspace button. So this is the first of three episodes on a woman who many hoped would be the last queen of France. In this episode: she is born in Vienna, though we don't …

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12.8 Zainatuddin Kamalat Syah, Last Queen of Aceh (Indonesia) 20:22

7M ago20:22

20:22

The sultanate of Aceh enjoyed no fewer than four reigning queens in a row. They defended their country against rampant expansion by the Dutch and then the English. The last queen, Zainatuddin Kamalat Syah, was eventually deposed in 1699, through a combination of religious and personal factors, ending 59 years of a highly unusual political experimen…

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12.7 Arwa al-Sulayhi, Last Queen of the Sulayhids (Yemen) 19:22

7M ago19:22

19:22

Yes! There have been Muslim queens who ruled their own countries! One of them was Arwa al-Sulayhi who ruled Yemen for 60 years in the 11th and 12th century. She outlasted her husband, her other husband, her son, and her other son, continuing to rule on her own authority through it all. Though the memory of her has faded, her mosque is still there, …

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12.6 Xiuhtlaltzin, Last Queen of the Toltec (Mexico) 19:33

7M ago19:33

19:33

The history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is hard for historians because the best sources were all destroyed. Those that remain are of dubious historicity, but they do tell of the Queen Xiuhtlaltzin, who reigned somewhere in the 800s or 900s, shortly before the fall of the Toltec empire. Since the records are so sketchy, this episode is not exactly …

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12.5 Jinseong, Last Queen of Silla (Korea) 18:45

8M ago18:45

18:45

The kingdom of Silla in ancient Korea had three queen regnants (a very good score, compared with most other countries of its time). Two reigned in Silla's golden age, but the last was Jinseong, who ruled at a time when decay had set in and the odds were not in her favor. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and picture…

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12.4 Zenobia, Last Empress of Palmyra (Syria) 23:43

8M ago23:43

23:43

Zenobia is one of the great enemies of Rome. From the oasis city of Palmyra (in modern-day Syria), she rose up in rebellion and conquered a great empire from Asia Minor through to Egypt. This episode covers: the background of Palmyra as an important stop on the Silk Road just how disastrous the 3rd century was for Rome how Zenobia's husband Odaenat…

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12.3 Boudica, Last Queen of the Iceni 24:56

8M ago24:56

24:56

Rome stole her country, publicly flogged her, and raped her daughters. The woman known variously as Boudica, Boudicca, Boadicea, Bonducca, and a dozen other variations fought back with everything she had. This episode includes: How Rome came to the isle of Britain How the Icenian king split his country between Rome and his daughters How Rome wouldn…

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12.2 Cleopatra, Last Pharaoh of Egypt (rebroadcast) 31:29

8M ago31:29

31:29

Cleopatra inherited a joint throne, but pushed first one and then a second brother out of it to rule alone. In a world where rising Roman dominance was a fact of life, she managed to maintain control of her country by negotiating (in every possible way) with both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Though she lost in the end, she still managed to close …

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12.1 Salome Alexandra, Last Queen of Judea 24:20

9M ago24:20

24:20

She had many names: Salome, Alexandra, Shelamzion, and Schlomtzion, but the last monarch of an independent kingdom of Judea was a Queen Regnant. She ruled from (roughly) 78 to 69 BCE. Her time was remembered for generations as the golden age before Rome. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the sh…

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The Last Queen, for Now (by Cheryl Ciucevich) 20:33

9M ago20:33

20:33

If you follow the royal news, you may be aware that we had a queen abdicate last month. Or possibly, you missed it because it wasn’t in the British royal family. It was Margrethe II of Denmark. I am researching last queens for series 12, fully aware that the word “last” is a little ambiguous here, but I must confess, the connection with this curren…

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LaVern Baker (by The Dead Ladies Show) 27:23

9M ago27:23

27:23

It's Black History Month, and we're looking at LaVern Baker, the pioneering R&B singer LaVern Baker. Today's episode is a guest episode from the fabulously named Dead Ladies Show, which celebrates women - both overlooked and iconic, through live history storytelling on stage in Berlin, and beyond. Check out other episodes from The Dead Ladies Show …

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Interview with Kelly Chase from the History Detective Podcast 22:13

10M ago22:13

22:13

Kelly Chase of the History Detective Podcast interviewed me last year about how and why my podcast is produced. Here is our conversation about podcasting and history and why it is important. Kelly is also the author of History, Her Story, Our Story, a fantastic resource for middle and high school students and teachers, as well as anyone who wishes …

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11.13 The Discovery of Teenagers 24:07

10M ago24:07

24:07

For most of human history, teenagers have been lumped in with children or with adults, depending on which way was most convenient at the time. People between the ages of 13 and 19 didn't become "teenagers" until the 20th century. In this episode, I talk about: how the Classical writers defined the difference between childhood and youth/adolescence …

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11.12 Coming of Age: A History of Puberty 25:32

10M ago25:32

25:32

Girls have always been reaching puberty, but what that meant for her has varied. In this episode we look at the age of menarche (when girls start their period) and whether that was cause for shame or celebration: In ancient Greece, girls at puberty "acted the she-bear." In Rome they dedicated their dolls to Venus. In many cultures girls entered a p…

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11.11 Girls at Work in the Industrial Age 27:12

11M ago27:12

27:12

The Industrial Revolution did not invent child labor, but it changed how people viewed it. A growing middle and upper class provided their kids with long childhoods filled with play, education, and preparation for a productive adulthood. The poorer classes sent their children to work in factories and fields where they worked long hours at dangerous…

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11.10 Girls at Work 24:09

11M ago24:09

24:09

Child labor has existed since the beginning of humanity. Poor girls, both slave and free, worked as cleaned, carried water, cared for other children, and worked in the fields, often with long hours under harsh treatment. Most of their stories went undocumented but this episode does have anecdotes from Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Keckley, Mary Jemison…

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The History of St Lucia's Day 20:57

11M ago20:57

20:57

St Lucia’s Day is December 13th. It is celebrated in a number of countries, but today is specifically about the Swedish celebration. You may have seen a picture of a beautiful blond girl, dressed in a white dress with a red sash and a wreath on her head with burning candles? That is St Lucia, as celebrated in Sweden or countries influenced by Swede…

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11.9 Girls at School 26:32

11M ago26:32

26:32

The underlying question behind educating girls is: Why? Why are you educating them? Throughout history, there have been varying answers to that question, and each answer has produced a wildly different strategies on how to do it. This episode covers the major strategies, from home tutoring to convent schools to governesses to listening in on your b…

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11.8 The Reading Girl (after 1860) 24:59

12M ago24:59

24:59

The 1860s blew new life into children's literature, especially for girls. Alice in Wonderland (1865) has been called the first modern children's book, and one in which moral didacticism was replaced by a fantastic and total disregard for the laws of physics. Little Women (1868) pioneered the intimate home life story and is still one of the best exa…

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11.7 The Reading Girl (up to 1860) 25:10

12M ago25:10

25:10

Is there anything better than books? Today I’m not talking about the compulsory part of books at school (that’s a later episode in this series), I’m talking about reading for the love it. Reading because as Meg Ryan's character said in You've Got Mail, “When you read a book as a child, it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading…

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11.6 The Clothes Make the Girl 26:07

1y ago26:07

26:07

Why pink? And when did girls start dressing in pink, for that matter? (Hint: a lot more recently than you probably imagine.) This episode also covers whether you actually need baby clothes (probably not, historically speaking) and how long a girls skirts should be, and we also touch on why the boys don't get lace, ruffles, and pink. I also mention …

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The Fox Sisters (a haunted history) 24:12

1y ago24:12

24:12

In 1848, the Fox family prepared to go to bed as usual, but the darkness was punctuated by mysterious rapping noises for which they could find no source. Through hours of terrified questioning, they eventually discovered that it was the ghost of a peddler murdered by a previous resident. Or so the story goes. . . Kate, Maggie, and Leah Fox became t…

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11.5 From Knucklebones to Bicycles (a history of girls at play) 25:39

1y ago25:39

25:39

Games and pastimes mostly don’t get a mention in the records that are more concerned with the death of kings and the collection of taxes. If we manage to know about an ancient or medieval game at all, we usually have no idea who played it, and certainly there is no logical reason to think that only one age or gender might enjoy a game. And yet at l…

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11.4 From Venus to Barbie (a history of dolls) 24:52

1y ago24:52

24:52

Of all the words I did not think I would have to define, doll probably tops the list. We all know what the quintessential girls’ toy is, right? Only it turns out we don't. Separating the dolls from the statues, idols, effigies, puppets, and fertility symbols is a complex (and possibly hopeless) task in the pre-modern world, but we give it a go in t…

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11.3 Of Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales 25:21

1y ago25:21

25:21

Historical mothers did not have a lot of pink and purple merchandise for their baby girls, but they did have words. Lullabies, nursery rhymes, and fairy tales are probably as old as humanity, but they mostly didn't get written down until the 17th to 19th century. This episode ranges from the one (and sadly only one) ancient Roman lullaby we know, t…

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