The First Woman

Neithhotep: First Named Woman in History (ep. 16.1)

January 29, 2026

Enheduanna, First Named Author (ep. 16.2)

February 5, 2026

Fu Hao, First Female Military Leader (ep. 16.3)

February 12, 2026

Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir, First European Woman in the Americas (ep. 16.4)

February 26, 2026

Murasaki Shikibu, First (Great) Novelist (ep. 16.5)

March 5, 2026

Hrotsvit of Gandersheim, First Female Playwright (ep. 16.c)

March 9, 2026

Anna Komnene, One of the First Female Historians (ep. 16.6)

March 12, 2026

Pamphile of Epidaurus, One of the First Female Historians (ep. 16.d)

March 16, 2026

Elena Cornaro Piscopia, First Woman with a University Degree (ep. 16.7)

March 26, 2026

Annie Londonderry, First Woman to Cycle Round the World (ep. 16.f)

March 23, 2026

Anne Marshall Quin and Margaret Hughes, First Women on the English Stage (ep. 16.8)

April 2, 2026

Elisabeth Thible, First Woman to Take Flight (ep. 16.e)

March 19, 2026

Jeanne Baret, First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe (ep. 16.9)

April 9, 2026

Caroline Herschel, First Female Professional Scientist (ep. 16.10)

April 23, 2026

Ada Lovelace, First Computer Programmer (ep. 16.11)

April 30, 2026

Madam CJ Walker, First Female Self-Made Millionaire (ep. 16.12)

May 7, 2026

Marie Curie, First Woman to Win a Nobel Prize (ep. 16.13)

May 21, 2026

Olympic Champions: The First Women (ep. 16.14)

May 28, 2026

Jeannette Rankin, First Woman in Congress (ep. 16.15)

June 4, 2026

Nancy Astor, First Woman in Parliament (ep. 16.16)

June 18, 2026

Frances Perkins, First Woman in the US Cabinet (ep. 16.17)

June 25, 2026

Amelia Earhart, First Woman to Fly Over Oceans (ep. 16.18)

July 9, 2026

Regina Jonas, First Woman Rabbi (ep. 16.19)

July 23, 2026

Sirimavo Bandaranaike, First Woman Elected as Head of Government (ep. 16.20)

July 30, 2026

Valentina Tereshkova, First Woman in Space (ep. 16.21)

August 6, 2026

Junko Tabei, First Woman to Climb Everest (ep 16.22)

August 20, 2026

Wilma Mankiller, First Woman Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation (ep. 16.23)

August 27, 2026

Aretha Franklin, First Woman in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (ep. 16.24)

September 3, 2026

• Bonus episodes available on Patreon or Into History:
  • 16.a The First Recorded Angry Wife
  • 16.b Tapputi-belet-ekallim, First Named Chemist
  • 16.g Jane Goodenow and Mary Loker, First Known Women to Vote
  • Gertrude Ederle, First Woman to Swim the English Channel (ep. 16.h)
  • Constance Markievicz, First Woman Elected to Parliament (ep. 16.i)
  • Brownie Wise, First Woman on the Cover of Business Week (ep. 16.j)
  • Laika, First Dog to Orbit the Earth (ep. 16.k)
  • Emma Nutt, First Female Telephone Operator (ep. 16.l)

Inventions That Changed Women’s Lives

Agriculture: Was It a Bad Idea? (ep. 15.1)

July 17, 2025

The Bicycle and “Free, Untrammeled Womanhood” (ep. 15.2)

July 24, 2025

Doctors, Washed Hands, and Death in Childbirth (ep. 15.3)

July 31, 2025

The Spindle, the Spinning Wheel, and the Spinning Jenny (ep. 15.4)

August 14, 2025

‘Superfluous’ Women and the Typewriter (ep. 15.5)

August 21, 2025

Vaccines and Surviving Childhood (ep. 15.6)

August 28, 2025

To Fetch a Pail of Water (ep. 15.7)

September 11, 2025

Canned: A History of Bottling Food (ep. 15.8)

September 18, 2025

Birth Control Before the Pill (ep. 15.9)

September 25, 2025

The Pill (ep. 15.10)

October 2, 2025

Aqua Tofana (or how to poison your husband) (ep. 15.11)

October 16, 2025

Let There Be Light: A History of Flipping the Switch (rebroadcast) (ep. 15.12)

October 23, 2025

The Disposable Diaper (ep. 15.13)

October 30, 2025

The Car and the Woman (ep. 15.14)

November 13, 2025

Period Products (ep. 15.15)

November 20, 2025

Some Like It Cold: A History of Your Fridge (rebroadcast) (ep. 15.16)

November 27, 2025

The Sewing Machine (ep. 15.17)

December 11, 2025

The Mothers of Invention (ep. 15.18)

December 18, 2025

• Bonus episodes available on Patreon or Into History:
  • 15.a Annie Londonderry: A woman, the world, and a bicycle
  • 15.b Janet Parker, the Last Victim of Smallpox
  • 15.c Katharine Dexter McCormick, Society Lady and Smuggler
  • 15.d Packaging the Pill
  • 15.e The Rape Kit
  • 15.f The Dishwasher

The Woman Behind the Man

Helena, Mother of Constantine the Great (ep. 14.1)

December 19, 2024

Olympias, Mother of Alexander the Great (ep. 14.2)

December 26, 2024

The Daughters of Genghis Khan (ep 14.3)

January 2, 2025

Isabella I, Sponsor of Columbus (ep. 14.4)

January 16, 2025

Catherine and Anne: The First Two Wives of Henry VIII (ep. 14.5)

January 23, 2025

Jane, Anne, Catherine, & Catherine: The Last Four Wives of Henry VIII (ep. 14.6)

January 30, 2025

Deborah Read, Wife of Benjamin Franklin (ep. 14.7)

February 13, 2025

Nannerl Mozart, Sister of Wolfgang Amadeus (ep. 14.8)

February 20, 2025

Nadezhda von Meck, Tchaikovsky’s Best Friend (ep. 14.9)

February 27, 2025

Bertha von Suttner, Friend of Alfred Nobel (ep. 14.10)

March 13, 2025

Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Vincent’s Sister-in-Law (part 1) (ep. 14.11)

March 20, 2025

Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Vincent’s Sister-in-Law (part 2) (ep. 14.12)

March 27, 2025

Katharine Wright, Sister of Wilbur and Orville Wright (ep. 14.13)

April 10, 2025

Clara Schumann, Wife of Robert Schumann (ep. 14.14)

April 17, 2025

Kasturba Gandhi, Wife of Mahatma Gandhi (ep. 14.15)

April 24, 2025

Mileva Marić, Einstein’s First Wife (ep. 14.16)

May 8, 2025

Marion Mahony, Architect for Frank Lloyd Wright (ep. 14.17)

May 15, 2025

Zelda Fitzgerald, Wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald (ep. 14.19)

June 5, 2025

Jiang Qing, Wife of Chairman Mao (ep. 14.20)

June 12, 2025

Coretta Scott King, Wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. (ep. 14.21)

June 19, 2025

• Bonus episodes available on Patreon or Into History:
  • 14.a Isabella and the Chess Queen
  • 14.b Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn: Famous Last Words
  • 14.c Nadezhda von Meck and Claude Debussy
  • 14.d Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms
  • 14.e Why Marie Curie Got Credit When Mileva Einstein Did Not
  • 14.f Lozen, Who Fought With Geronimo

Shaping the Female Body

The Ideal Body Shape, Historically Speaking (ep. 13.1)

July 25, 2024

The Corset (ep. 13.2)

August 1, 2024

To Boost or to Bind: A History of the Bust (ep. 13.3)

August 9, 2024

Chinese Footbinding (ep. 13.4)

August 15, 2024

The Quest for a Hairless Body (ep. 13.5)

August 22, 2024

A History of Hair (ep. 13.6)

August 29, 2024

A Bad Hair Day in Ancient Rome (ep. 13.7)

September 5, 2024

Cosmetics in the Pre-Modern World (ep. 13.8)

September 12, 2024

Cosmetics in the Modern World (ep. 13.9)

September 19, 2024

Body Art: Tattoos and Henna (ep. 13.10)

October 3, 2024

The Witch’s Mark (ep. 13.11)

October 11, 2024

In the Eye of the Beholder (ep. 13.12)

October 17, 2024

Losing a Breast to Gain a Life (ep. 13.13)

October 24, 2024

Why Beauty Mattered (and has anything changed?) (ep. 13.14)

October 31, 2024

• Bonus episodes available on Patreon or Into History:
  • 13.a Bearded Ladies, from Pharaohs to Performers
  • 13.b The Lipstick That Stays on You, Not on Him

The Last Queen

Salome Alexandra, Last Queen of Judea (ep. 12.1)

February 22, 2024

Cleopatra, Last Pharaoh of Egypt (rebroadcast) (ep. 12.2)

February 29, 2024

Boudica, Last Queen of the Iceni (ep. 12.3)

March 7, 2024

Zenobia, Last Empress of Palmyra (Syria) (ep. 12.4)

March 14, 2024

Jinseong, Last Queen of Silla (Korea) (ep. 12.5)

March 21, 2024

Xiuhtlaltzin, Last Queen of the Toltec (Mexico) (ep. 12.6)

March 28, 2024

Arwa al-Sulayhi, Last Queen of the Sulayhids (Yemen) (ep. 12.7)

April 4, 2024

Zainatuddin Kamalat Syah, Last Queen of Aceh (Indonesia) (ep. 12.8)

April 11, 2024

Marie Antoinette, the Luckiest Princess (ep. 12.9)

April 27, 2024

Marie Antoinette, the Unfortunate Queen (ep. 12.10)

May 2, 2024

Marie Antoinette, the Bitter End (ep. 12.11)

May 9, 2024

Lakshmibai, Last Rani of Jhansi (ep. 12.12)

May 16, 2024

Lili’uokalani, Last Queen of Hawaii (ep. 12.13)

May 23, 2024

Yaa Asantewaa, Last Queen of the Asante (Ghana) (ep. 12.14)

May 30, 2024

Alexandra Romanov, Last Empress of Russia (ep. 12.15)

June 6, 2024

• Bonus episodes available on Patreon or Into History:
  • 12.a Kubaba, Last Queen of Sumer
  • 12.b Boadicea and Her Daughters: A Statue in London
  • 12.c Why France Never Had a Queen Regnant. Not Even One.
  • 12.d Why Japan Had Eight Queen Regnants. But Not Recently.
  • 12.e Elizabeth II, Last Queen of a Long List of Places

The History of Girlhood

It’s a Girl! (the history of being born female) (ep. 11.1)

September 21, 2023

The Discovery of Childhood (ep. 11.2)

September 28, 2023

Of Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales (ep. 11.3)

October 5, 2023

From Venus to Barbie (a history of dolls) (ep. 11.4)

October 12, 2023

From Knucklebones to Bicycles (a history of girls at play) (ep. 11.5)

October 19, 2023

The Clothes Make the Girl (ep. 11.6)

November 2, 2023

The Reading Girl (before 1860) (ep. 11.7)

November 9, 2023

The Reading Girl (after 1860) (ep. 11.8)

November 16, 2023

Girls at School (ep. 11.9)

November 30, 2023

Girls at Work (ep. 11.10)

December 14, 2023

Girls at Work in the Industrial Age (ep. 11.11)

December 21, 2023

Coming of Age: A History of Puberty (ep. 11.12)

January 4, 2024

The Discovery of Teenagers (ep. 11.13)

January 11, 2024

• Bonus episodes available on Patreon or Into History:
  • 11.a Ruth Handler, Inventor of Barbie
  • 11.b Snow White (the Grimm original)
  • 11.c Answers from the Editor (or Google for girls in a pre-Internet world)
  • 11.d The Rights of a Child, Legally Speaking

Great Painters

Female Painters in the Premodern World (ep. 10.1)

April 20, 2023

Sofonisba Anguissola, a Renaissance Painter (ep. 10.2)

April 27, 2023

Artemisia Gentileschi, a Baroque Painter (ep. 10.3)

May 4, 2023

Judith Leyster, a Dutch Master Painter (ep. 10.4)

May 11, 2023

Li Yin, a Chinese Painter (ep. 10.5)

May 18, 2023

Maria Sibylla Merian, Painter and Scientist (ep. 10.6)

May 25, 2023

Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, French Portrait Painter (ep. 10.7)

June 1, 2023

Amalia Küssner, a Miniature Portrait Painter (ep. 10.8)

June 8, 2023

Uemura Shōen, a Japanese Painter (ep. 10.9)

June 15, 2023

Mary Cassatt, an Impressionist Painter (ep. 10.10)

June 22, 2023

Hilma af Klint, an Abstract Painter (ep. 10.11)

June 29, 2023

Paula Modersohn-Becker, an Expressionist Painter (ep. 10.12)

July 6, 2023

Frida Kahlo, a Mexican Painter (ep. 10.13)

July 20, 2023

Georgia O’Keeffe, an American Painter (ep. 10.14)

July 27, 2023

• Bonus episodes available on Patreon:
  • 10.a Mother’s Day Flowers Painted by Women
  • 10.b Maria Martin Bachman, Audubon’s Assistant

The History of Getting Hitched

Will You Marry Me? (and other proposals) (ep. 9.1)

January 12, 2023

How Big Is Your Dowry? (rebroadcast) (ep. 9.2)

January 19, 2023

Have You the Ring? (a history of the wedding ring) (ep. 9.3)

January 26, 2023

What Did the Bride Wear? (a history of the wedding dress) (ep. 9.4)

February 2, 2023

To Be Your Lawfully Wedded Wife: A History of the Wedding Ceremony (ep. 9.5)

February 9, 2023

Solemnization of Matrimony (from the Book of Common Prayer) (ep. 9.6)

February 16, 2023

The African-American Bride (ep. 9.7)

February 23, 2023

The Mormon Polygamous Wife (ep. 9.8)

March 2, 2023

A Wife by Any Other Naming Convention (ep. 9.9)

March 9, 2023

• Bonus episode available on Patreon:
  • 9.a The Mormon Polygamous Wife (uncut)

Women in Espionage

Spies in the Pre-Modern World (ep. 8.1)

August 25, 2022

Aphra Behn: A Royalist Spy (ep. 8.2)

September 1, 2022

Agent 355: Washington’s Mostly Mythical Spy (ep. 8.3)

September 8, 2022

Policarpa Salavarrieta: A Spy for Colombia (ep. 8.4)

September 15, 2022

Harriet Tubman: Freedom’s Spy (rebroadcast) (ep. 8.5)

September 22, 2022

Elizabeth Van Lew: A Union Spy (part 1) (ep. 8.6)

September 29, 2022

Elizabeth Van Lew: A Union Spy (part 2) (ep. 8.7)

October 6, 2022

Mata Hari: A World War I Spy (ep. 8.8)

October 13, 2022

Zheng Pingru: A Spy for China (ep. 8.9)

October 20, 2022

Lise de Baissac: A Spy in France (ep. 8.10)

October 27, 2022

Noor Inayat Khan: A Spy for Britain (ep. 8.11)

November 3, 2022

Ethel Rosenberg: Supposedly a Spy (ep. 8.12)

November 10, 2022

• Bonus episode available on Patreon:
  • 8.a Mary Bowser, an Elusive Union Spy

Comfort for a Discouraged Housewife

Wash on Monday: A History of Your Laundry (ep. 7.1)

May 5, 2022

Stitch in Time: A History of Clothing the Family (ep. 7.2)

May 12, 2022

Let There Be Light: A History of Artificial Light (ep. 7.3)

May 19, 2022

Next to Godliness: A History of Housecleaning (ep. 7.4)

May 26, 2022

To Market, To Market: A History of Shopping (ep. 7.5)

June 2, 2022

Waste Not: A History of Your Trash (ep. 7.6)

June 9, 2022

Some Like It Hot: A History of Cooking (ep. 7.7)

June 16, 2022

Some Like It Cold: A History of Your Fridge (ep. 7.8)

June 23, 2022

The Pre-Industrial Housewife (ep. 7.9)

June 30, 2022

Industrialization Hits the Housewife (ep. 7.10)

July 7, 2022

The 20th Century Housewife and Beyond (ep. 7.11)

July 14, 2022

• Bonus episode available to Patreon subscribers:
  • 7.a The Battle of the Blenders

Ground-Breaking Novelists

Women and the Written Word (ep. 6.1)

January 20, 2022

Murasaki Shikibu and the World’s First (Great) Novel (ep. 6.2)

January 27, 2022

Jane Austen and the Real Woman (ep. 6.3)

February 3, 2022

Jane Austen’s History of England (ep. 6.4)

February 10, 2022

Mary Shelley and the Monster (ep. 6.5)

February 17, 2022

Harriet Beecher Stowe Starts a War (ep. 6.6)

February 24, 2022

Frances Hodgson Burnett Fights for Copyright (ep. 6.7)

March 3, 2022

Selma Lagerlöf Wins the Nobel (ep. 6.8)

March 10, 2022

Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime (Part 1) (ep. 6.9)

March 17, 2022

Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime (Part 2) (ep. 6.10)

March 24, 2022

Zora Neale Hurston Celebrates Her Heritage (ep. 6.11)

March 31, 2022

Wrapping Up the Ground-Breaking Novelists (ep. 6.12)

April 7, 2022

• Bonus episode available on Patreon:
  • 6.a Fanny Burney (Jane Austen’s Favorite Novelist)

The Historical Mary

The Historical Mary: Setting the Scene (ep. 5.1)

December 9, 2021

The Historical Mary: A Girl from Galilee (ep. 5.2)

December 16, 2021

• Bonus episode available on Patreon:
  • 5.a The Oldest Image of Mary

A Slave, but Now I’m Free

Slavery: An Enduring Institution (ep. 4.1)

September 9, 2021

Neaira: A Slave in Ancient Greece (ep. 4.2)

September 16, 2021

4.2b Volumnia Cytheris: A Slave in Rome

September 22, 2021

Roxelana: A Slave to the Ottomans (ep 4.3)

September 23, 2021

Catalina: A Native American Enslaved in Spain (ep. 4.4)

September 30, 2021

4.4b La Malinche: A Slave in Mexico

October 6, 2021

Rosa Egipcíaca: A Slave in Brazil (ep. 4.5)

October 7, 2021

4.5b Dandara: A Slave in Brazil

October 13, 2021

Elizabeth Freeman: Suing for Freedom (ep. 4.6)

October 14, 2021

Harriet Hemings: Slave-Daughter of the President (ep. 4.7)

October 21, 2021

Ellen Craft: A First Class Escape (ep. 4.8)

October 28, 2021

Elizabeth Keckly: Slave to Entrepreneur (ep. 4.9)

November 4, 2021

Harriet Tubman: Slave to Liberator (ep. 4.10)

November 11, 2021

• Bonus episode available on Patreon:
  • 4.a Elizabeth Key, Suing for Freedom

Women and Money Matters

The Early History of Money (ep. 3.1)

June 3, 2021

Women on the Money (ep. 3.2)

June 10, 2021

Women and the GDP (ep. 3.3)

June 17, 2021

Women and Credit (ep. 3.4)

June 24, 2021

How Big Is Your Dowry? (ep. 3.5)

July 1, 2021

No Taxation Without Representation (in Rome) (ep. 3.6)

July 8, 2021

No Taxation Without Representation (in the USA) (ep. 3.7)

July 15, 2021

Hetty Green, Queen of Wall Street (ep. 3.8)

July 22, 2021

Maggie Lena Walker, Bank President (ep. 3.9)

July 29, 2021

• Bonus episode available on Patreon:
  • 3.a Licoricia, a Jewish Moneylender

Women Who Seized Power

Uncategorized

Why So Few Women in Power? (ep. 2.1)

by Lori April 8, 2021

Women Who Seized Power

Cleopatra, Pharaoh of Egypt (ep. 2.2)

by Lori April 15, 2021

Women Who Seized Power

Wu Zetian, Empress of China (ep. 2.3)

by Lori April 22, 2021

Women Who Seized Power

Elizabeth, Empress of Russia (ep. 2.4)

by Lori April 29, 2021

Women Who Seized Power

Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia (ep. 2.5)

by Lori May 6, 2021

Women Who Seized Power

Ranavalona I, Queen of Madagascar (ep. 2.6)

by Lori May 13, 2021

Women Who Seized Power

A Girl’s Guide to Seizing Power (ep. 2.7)

by Lori May 20, 2021

• Bonus episode available on Patreon:
  • 2.a Irene, Empress of Byzantium

What’s in the Closet and How Did It Get There?

1.1 Who Wears the Pants Around Here?

January 30, 2021

The Rise and Fall of Your Hemline (ep. 1.2)

February 11, 2021

The Little Mysteries: Pockets, Buttons, and Heels (ep. 1.3)

February 18, 2021

What Lies Beneath (ep. 1.4)

February 25, 2021

The Hijab and the Sari (ep. 1.5)

March 4, 2021

How the Swimsuit Shrunk (ep. 1.6)

March 11, 2021

Retro Fashions (No Comeback Needed) (ep. 1.7)

March 18, 2021

1.8 Q&A on Women’s Fashion

March 26, 2021

• Bonus episode available on Patreon:
  • 1.a Going Through the Door Sideways (a history of puffed sleeves)