x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Her Half of History

Evergreen Podcasts

Women"s history doesn"t have be boring or depressing. I tell the stories of extraordinary women in history, including queens, slaves, spies, scientists, artists, wives, mothers, and more. But most women didn"t leave us enough material for a biography, so I also tell you what it was like to be an ordinary woman, including what they wore, how they did housework, how they worked, and how they played. In short, what were the women doing all that time while men were writing the standard history books

education

All Episodes

13:38

Remember the Ladies Says Abigail Adams

Her Half of History ·

2026/03/30

Abigail Adams was the wife of American founding father John Adams. In 1776, she asked him to "remember the ladies" in the new code of laws for a new country. So much is relatively well known, but much less well known is his response. Listen for the full exchange.Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This show survives on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for

en-us

20:20

Elena Cornaro Piscopia, First Woman with a University...

Her Half of History ·

2026/03/26

The earliest universities only admitted men. Occasionally a woman was allowed to attend, but not to graduate. The first woman to buck that trend was Elena Cornaro Piscopia. But that didn't mean it was any easier for those who came after her. The battle for women's education had only just begun.Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This show survives on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠⁠

en-us

18:03

Annie Londonderry, First Woman to Cycle Round the...

Her Half of History ·

2026/03/23

Annie Londonderry was the first international female sports star. But an unlikely one. When she decided to bicycle around the world, she did not yet know how to ride a bicycle. But her trip was a media sensation because she was even better at self-promotion than she was at bicycling. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This show survives on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠

en-us

16:11

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

Her Half of History ·

2026/03/19

Humanity dreamed of flight for a very long time, but the reality of it was mostly failure. The first woman to truly fly went up in a hot air balloon in 1784.Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This show survives on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and polls. Or make a one-time donation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Me a Coffee⁠. Your

en-us

10:29

Pamphile of Epidaurus, One of the First Female...

Her Half of History ·

2026/03/16

The Greeks invented history in the West, and to my very great surprise there was actually one female Greek historian. Pamphile of Epidaurus's work was still read and well-regarded 800 years after her death. Sadly, we lost it at some point after that.Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This is a special bonus episode normally available only to subscribers, but in March 2026 available to everyone to celebrate Women's History Month. This show

en-us

28:03

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

Her Half of History ·

2026/03/12

Anna Komnene is not the absolute first female historian, but she's pretty close. Plus, she wrote a full length book which still exists if you care to read it today. She also lived through the First Crusade, not to mention centuries of slander.It's Women's History Month! If you support the show during March 2026, you'll be entered into a prize drawing for Her Half of History merch. See below for links! Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This

en-us

12:12

Hrotsvit of Gandersheim, First Female Playwright (ep....

Her Half of History ·

2026/03/09

In the 10th century Hrotsvit of Gandersheim was seriously annoyed with the classic Roman playwrights she studied at school. They were all male, and she thought some of their depictions of women were unacceptable. She responded by becoming the first female playwright in the historical record.This is a bonus episode of the type that is usually available only to Patreon subscribers, but it's Women's History Month, and it's free to everyone! Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for

en-us

21:51

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

Her Half of History ·

2026/03/05

The Tale of Genji is often listed as the world's first novel, but there are naysayers. Is it a novel? Is it the first? That's highly contentious, but whatever you decide, Lady Murasaki Shikibu wrote this classic a very long time ago, and it is a masterpiece. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. It's Women's History Month! I'm running bonus episodes all month, plus a prize drawing for free Her Half of History merch. To get in the drawing, you can

en-us

9:48

Why We Will Always Need Women's History Month

Her Half of History ·

2026/03/02

It's March and I'm celebrating with free-to-everyone bonus episodes all month, starting with this one on why women's history will always been important.I'm also holding a drawing where a listener like you can win free Her Half of History merch. There are four ways to get entered into the drawing: Sign up as a supporter on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235). If you're already a Patreon supporter, bump up your level of support. Make a one-time donation on

en-us

21:39

Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir, First European Woman in the...

Her Half of History ·

2026/02/26

Today's episode is in response to a question from a listener. Peter asked me who was the first non-native woman to reach the Americas? Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir was an Icelandic settler, transatlantic traveler, mother, pilgrim, and possibly the most well-traveled woman of the Viking Age. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This show survives on the on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠

en-us

17:08

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

Her Half of History ·

2026/02/12

Fu Hao married a king, gave birth multiple times, and also commanded troops in battle. (Why not?) Living around 1200 BCE in China, she is the first recorded female military leader in history.Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This show survives on the on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and polls. Or make a one-time

en-us

21:35

Enheduanna, First Named Author (ep. 16.2)

Her Half of History ·

2026/02/05

The first named author in history was Enheduanna, daughter of Sargon, conqueror of Sumeria. Her poems have been called the world's first bestsellers. But she's also been accused of not really writing them. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This show survives on the on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and polls. Or make a

en-us

16:40

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

Her Half of History ·

2026/01/29

Many religions and cultures have an answer to Who was the first woman?But the records of those answers were all written thousands of years after any such women lived. For historians, the more answerable question is Who was the first woman named in a record written during or close to her own lifetime? Neithhotep was a queen in Egypt's very first dynasty. Not much is known about her for certain, but what we do know is that she kicked off a very long list of women in the historical record. Visit

en-us

31:49

Childbirth, Literacy, Sources, the State of the...

Her Half of History ·

2026/01/22

Her Half of History turns 5 years old this month! In celebration, I'm taking questions from listeners and they range from the oldest account of childbirth to the reason I started a podcast in the first place.In this episode you will can hear the voices of some of my fellow history podcasters. Please check out their shows for more great history: Civics and Coffee The History Fix Podcast It's a History Podcast Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts,

en-us

15:54

Woman the Gatherer (and Also the Hunter)

Her Half of History ·

2026/01/08

Early anthropologists and archaeologists told us that in foraging societies, women gathered and men hunted. More recent research suggests that women did hunt, but the debate will go on about how much.Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This show survives on the on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and polls. Or make a

en-us

2:46

Got Questions? (and the voters' choice for Series 16)

Her Half of History ·

2025/12/25

Please send me your questions for the Q&A episode to celebrate my 5-year podcast anniversary! There's a spot to do it on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com). If you include contact details, there's a drawing for some free swag for you. Also, the votes are in, and the topic of Series 15 is: The First Woman Who. That will start in January. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This show survives on the on the support of listeners like

en-us

26:25

The Mothers of Invention (ep. 15.18)

Her Half of History ·

2025/12/18

They say necessity is the mother of invention, but I'm not convinced. Throughout this series on inventions, I noticed that almost all of the inventions I covered clustered in the second half of the 19th century, in a time period known as the Second Industrial Revolution. This episode is a retrospective on some of the factors that made that time period see the invention of more society-changing inventions than any other.Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and

en-us

21:01

The Sewing Machine (ep. 15.17)

Her Half of History ·

2025/12/11

Sewing is at least 45,000 years ago, and it was known in nearly every culture on earth, but for millennia it was all done by hand. There are multiple claimants for the inventor of the first sewing machine, but the one who emerged with the US patent was Elias Howe. Unfortunately, his machine didn't really work. This episode tells the story of how that got fixed and how it impacted women.Visit the ⁠⁠website⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This show survives on the

en-us

24:22

100 Years of Santa's Letters

Her Half of History ·

2025/12/04

Santa gets more mail every year than any other person on earth, but the earliest letters that I know of were not to him. They were from him. Later on, it became more normal to write to him and ask for what you were hoping to get for Christmas. This episode covers a sampling of letters from the 1850s to the 1950s, and then finishes off with the story behind one of the most famous lines in American journalism: "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."It is time to vote in the poll to choose the topic

en-us

25:29

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

Her Half of History ·

2025/11/27

Most historical women lived and cooked in an era when cold storage meant something like the root cellar or down the well. The ability to keep food at a constant temperature radically changed our relationship with food, both before it arrives in our homes and afterwards.Visit the ⁠website⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my ⁠Patreon page⁠ for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on ⁠Buy⁠

en-us

218 results

Similar Podcasts

Science Talk

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

五分钟心理学

柠檬心理

Daily Facts

Amalia Dupray and Montgomery Jones.

Les dents et dodo

BFMTV

Veterinary Clinical Podcasts

The Royal Veterinary College