In this series, we’re introducing you to women from the past (or present) who changed the world. Ideally, they’ll all get statues one day, but for now, we hope you’ll consider honoring them with, well, yeah, a t-shirt.
Since we started this blog, we’ve had a dream of creating a podcast to go with it. Truthfully, the thing that has stopped us (other than time, resources, energy, fear of failure and an overly-crowded podcast market) is that our voices sound really similar.
Like, really similar. It’s super hard to tell who is talking when. We’ve tried it. Either you would think we were going crazy and just talking to ourselves, or you were going crazy and all three voices were starting to meld into one.
Either way, not an ideal outcome.
But there are so many great history podcasts out there, many of which are – dare I say it – as entertaining and educational as the Sistory email you get on Fridays.
I was going to point y’all towards some of my faves, but when I started listing them, I realized they had something in common. The hosts were all men. Mostly white men.
And that doesn’t make them bad! Check out Slow Burn. Give Malcom Gladwell more of your time with Revisionist History. Hardcore History is hardcore, as promised.
But since I’ve been working on diversifying my listening, I thought I’d pass on these recommendations instead.
Without further ado (there’s been plenty ado already), here are five great history podcasts with female hosts.
You Must Remember This is a super well-researched and compelling podcast about Hollywood’s Golden Age. Host/producer/creator Karina Longworth gives decades-old gossip the full fact-check treatment and in nearly every case, truth is way more interesting than rumors. Also: top-notch guests like John Mulaney, Fred Savage and Patton Oswalt.
This season is dedicated to the real stories behind “Hollywood Babylon,” a 1959 tell-all book that made claims of murder, incest, affairs and drug abuse among Tinseltown’s biggest names. The book rocked Hollywood at the time, but the real scoop is even better.
Start with the first episode of this season, or go back a few and go deep on Jane Fonda.
Stuff You Missed In History Class is like Sistory for your ears, but twice a week and minus the gifs. Hosts Holly Frey and Tracy Wilson take subjects you’ve literally never thought about and dig deep to find the fascinating and important history behind it.
Nine times out of ten, I find myself going “WAIT WHAT?” before I start listening. And ten times out of ten, I find myself repeating the stories at parties like I learned them myself. (Sorry, H +T.)
Start with any episode, but I really enjoyed the recent episode on the Georgia Gold Rush. (WAIT, WHAT? Georgia had a gold rush?? It did. See me at a party and I’ll tell you all about it.)
Rude Tudors: Based on the name alone, you know I gotta shout it out. I’ve only listened to a few eps, but I am LOVING. IT. Two women basically spilling the tea on Tudor England and having a ball while they do it. Self-described “literary historian” Liz Rodriguez and “nerdy laywoman” Nicole Keating choose great topics, do some serious research and then make it super enjoyable for your earholes.
Also please put “nerdy laywoman” on my tombstone.
Jump right in with a recent episode about syphilis. Y’all know it’s gonna get graphic.
The History Chicks are some serious historians with some seriously great stories about women — both real and fictional — that influenced history. It’s a bit nerdier than some of the other choosings, but you really can’t beat the History Chicks for sheer density of facts, details and fun tidbits. And each episode comes with an extensive bibliography. These chicks know how to CITE.
The show’s tagline says it all: “Beckett Graham and Susan Vollenweider: Two women. Half the population. Several thousand years of history. About an hour.”
This episode about female inventors gives a shout-out to Sistory favorite Hedy Lamarr.
She The People shares stories of women who influenced American politics and society but never quite got their due in the history books. Which, as we know at Sistory, can be a bit of a grind after a while.
So each episode of She The People comes with a craft beer pairing, which you can enjoy along with the hosts as we all wade through the injustices of history together. Co-hosts Heather Linder and Billy Puckett (yes, a man, okay) have produced 30 episodes, during which they’ve drank 140 beers.
It’s like drunk history but more of an emphasis on history and fewer celebrity sightings.
Get crackin’ with an episode about the woman who almost single-handedly saved the Everglades, and is now best known for giving her name to a high school in Florida: Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
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