THE NURSE Mary Seacole

What would it look like to live a life without fear? Mary Seacole’s story may hold the answer! She spent her life rushing from one catastrophe to the next, doing anything she could to ease human suffering – without a single thought for her own safety. From disease-infested Panamanian goldmines to the horrific battlefield hospitals of Crimea – Mary spent her life being “relentlessly useful” …but how on earth did she do it? Olivia interviews …

THE MOTHER OF FORENSIC SCIENCE Frances Glessner Lee

Loved this episode? Join us on our Lost Women of New England Tour in Oct 2023 – we’ll visit Glessner Lee’s New Hampshire home The Rocks and even see one of her mind-blowing Nutshell Studies in person! Frances Glessner Lee was 52 years old when she discovered the mission that would become her legacy – to “convict the guilty, clear the innocent, and find the truth.” After five decades as a prominent social hostess (and …

THE SURGEON James Barry

What would you sacrifice for a chance to chase your dream? Two hundred years ago in Ireland, penniless Margaret Bulkley shed her identity to live a big, bold, loud life as army surgeon James Barry, and took that secret (almost) to the grave. And by keeping his secret, Barry helped — even saved — suffering people across the world. Hear this incredible story recorded on location at the Old Operating Theater Museum and Herb Garret …

THE FARMER Cherokee America Rogers

Margaret Verble ‘found’ Cherokee America Rogers in a cemetery while visiting her grandfather’s grave. This “jaw-dropping” name sparked a journey into her own family history, the neglected stories of the Civil War in Indian Territory, and her newest novel, Cherokee America. Discover the remarkable woman behind this remarkable name, and the under-told and misunderstood history of Cherokee women in the nineteenth century.   Our guest is Margaret Verble, author of Maud’s Line and Cherokee America, …

THE PSYCHOANALYST Sabina Spielrein

Sabina Spielrein was one of the first female psychoanalysts, “invented” child psychology, and innovated some of the most famous concepts now attributed to Jung and Freud.So why don’t we know her name? Learn how an accident of translation (and some sexism and antisemitism on the side) erased this powerhouse from our bookshelves and our classrooms — and why it’s more than time to bring her back! Olivia interviews Angela Sells, author of Sabina Spielrein: The …

THE AMBULANCE DRIVER Maud Fitch

November 11, 2018 is the 100th Anniversary of the end of World War I.  To mark this day, we bring you the story of one fearless woman and her ambulance.  Maud Fitch, a cowgirl from the desert between Nevada and Utah, wanted to join up when America entered WWI. Unable to enlist as a soldier (she was a woman, after all!) she purchased an ambulance and shipped it at her own expense to France, where …