In 1908 making coffee was a pain in the butt, and Melitta Bentz was frustrated to take a sip on her mug only to have over-brewed flavor and grounds in her mouth. She sets to work to fix this problem, and soon she graces the world with the paper coffee filter!

Her invention not only creates income and jobs for her whole family, it also creates a company that will stand the test of time, including two world wars, to reach extraordinary heights and remains in operation even today!

Listen in for Melitta's whole story, and check your pantry to see if your coffee filters are Melitta's brand - there's a good chance they are!

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A Broad is a woman who lives by her own rules. Broads You Should Know is the podcast about the Broads who helped shape our world!

3 Ways you can help support the podcast:

1. Write a review on Apple Podcasts

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Broads You Should Know is hosted by Sara Gorsky.

IG: @SaraGorsky

Web master / site design: www.BroadsYouShouldKnow.com

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Broads You Should Know is produced by Sara Gorsky & edited by Chloe Skye

In 1856, 23-year-old Kate Warne walks into Allan Pinkerton's office replying to a job posting recruiting new detectives. Only, no woman had ever been hired as a detective before. It was unthinkable, even laughable. However, Kate's extremely logical arguments eventually win over Pinkerton and she would, indeed, become the first female detective in US history. And she was a VERY GOOD one, at that.

In fact, her brilliant role in averting an assassination attempt on President-elect Lincoln's life would be the foundation and inspiration for the Pinkerton logo and motto "We Never Sleep". Listen now to hear the full story of how she saved Lincoln, and the rest of Kate's incredible accomplishments.

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A Broad is a woman who lives by her own rules. Broads You Should Know is the podcast about the Broads who helped shape our world!

3 Ways you can help support the podcast:

1. Write a review on Apple Podcasts

—

Broads You Should Know is hosted by Sara Gorsky.

IG: @SaraGorsky

Web master / site design: www.BroadsYouShouldKnow.com

—

Broads You Should Know is produced by Sara Gorsky & edited by Chloe Skye

Today Sara brings us the story of one of the most epic warrior Queens in history: BOUDICA! When the Romans destroy everything most precious to her, take her land, enslave her people and lash her publicly - this Queen of the Iceni tribe (in pre-celtic Britain) doesn't sit around and cry about it. She rallies her Celts, combining the warring tribes to lead a legendary show of force against the Roman colonies and the Roman Legions themselves.

How do her and her ragtag army fare against the steeled force of Rome? You'll have to listen to find out!

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A Broad is a woman who lives by her own rules. Broads You Should Know is the podcast about the Broads who helped shape our world!

3 Ways you can help support the podcast:

1. Write a review on Apple Podcasts

—

Broads You Should Know is hosted by Sara Gorsky.

IG: @SaraGorsky

Web master / site design: www.BroadsYouShouldKnow.com

—

Broads You Should Know is produced by Sara Gorsky & edited by Chloe Skye

Bringing back this classic bad*ss broad - 16th Century Irish pirate queen, Grace O'Malley!

Grace was infamous in Ireland and England alike. Her enemies feared her. Her followers respected her. And for over 40 years, she raided and pillaged English settlements in protest of the creeping Imperialism in her home country. A day after the birth of her son, she got out of bed to quell an attempt by corsairs to take over her ship.

Check out the full episode to hear these stories and more, including a final confrontation with Queen Elizabeth that literally went down in the history books.

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A Broad is a woman who lives by her own rules. Broads You Should Know is the podcast about the Broads who helped shape our world!

3 Ways YOU can help support the podcast:

1. Write a review on iTunes

—

A Broad is a woman who lives by her own rules. Broads You Should Know is the podcast about the Broads who helped shape our world!

3 Ways you can help support the podcast:

1. Write a review on Apple Podcasts

—

Broads You Should Know is hosted by Sara Gorsky.

IG: @SaraGorsky

Web master / site design: www.BroadsYouShouldKnow.com

—

Broads You Should Know is produced by Sara Gorsky & edited by Chloe Skye

You've seen the iconic photo - a woman jogging in the midst of a large race with a blustery man at her shoulder grabbing at her sweatshirt and runner identification tag. But what is the story behind this photo? And who is this legendary Broad we see?

This Broad is none other than KATHRINE SWITZER - the first woman to officially* run the Boston Marathon! Hear the full story behind this legendary photo and one of the most pivotal moments in the fight for women's rights in the United States.

* We say officially, because Roberta Gibb ran it the previous year but she was not registered officially for the race, she just hopped in and ran alongside the guys. Kathrine actually registered for the race and completed it, much to the chagrin of the race officials, who didn't know she was a woman when she registered.

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A Broad is a woman who lives by her own rules. Broads You Should Know is the podcast about the Broads who helped shape our world!

3 Ways you can help support the podcast:

—

Broads You Should Know is hosted by Sara Gorsky.

IG: @SaraGorsky

Web master / site design: www.BroadsYouShouldKnow.com

—

Broads You Should Know is produced by Sara Gorsky & edited by Chloe Skye

Jean Nidetch spent much of her early life yo-yo-ing between different fad diets, pills, Doctors' recommendations and even specialized facilities that were said to be able to help her lose weight, but time after time the result was the same: She'd lose a few pounds, only to have it bounce right back and be even harder to lose the next time around.

She finally decided there had to be a better way, and she invited a small group of women to join her at her house for what would become the very first Weight Watchers meeting. Weight Watchers grew from a tiny home meeting, to thousands of facilities and more members than Jean would have ever imagined.

Listen now to the story of how one woman's vision would create immense change and support for women who were previously  isolated in their struggles - whether it be with weight loss or otherwise, and how this popular phenomenon has changed over the last decade, to be a program Jean may not have even recognized.

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A Broad is a woman who lives by her own rules. Broads You Should Know is the podcast about the Broads who helped shape our world!

3 Ways you can help support the podcast:

—

Broads You Should Know is hosted by Sara Gorsky.

IG: @SaraGorsky

Web master / site design: www.BroadsYouShouldKnow.com

—

Broads You Should Know is produced by Sara Gorsky & edited by Chloe Skye

Maria Sibylla Merian was born into a family of artists in mid-17th century Germany, so it's no surprise when she starts detailing fine illustrations of nature at just 13 years old, but what we're sure her parents didn't see coming was her vast collection of... CATERPILLARS!

That's right. Maria ends up becoming the foremost expert on our favorite very hungry insects, and whole bunch of other works of nature including a wide variety of plants and even frogs! Maria's research and drawings are so meticulously detailed that she ends up turning the world of etymology on its head, dispelling inaccurate myths and rewriting the bug-knowledge books of the time.

Maria is one of the most talented nerds we've ever talked about on this podcast, so you'd better tune in now to hear her fascinating story!

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A Broad is a woman who lives by her own rules. Broads You Should Know is the podcast about the Broads who helped shape our world!

3 Ways you can help support the podcast:

1. Write a review on Apple Podcasts

—

Broads You Should Know is hosted by Sara Gorsky.

IG: @SaraGorsky

Web master / site design: www.BroadsYouShouldKnow.com

—

Broads You Should Know is produced by Sara Gorsky & edited by Chloe Skye

Dottie spends her young life on her father's sailboat, becoming quite a good swimmer, even as a toddler; but when her dad asks her to fetch something he accidentally dropped 15 feet under the waves Dottie unlocks her destiny as one of the best divers - and one of the only female divers of the mid-20th century.

Dottie's journey upward is filled with fun and joy, scares with underwater sealife (can you say GREAT WHITE SHARK!?), and of course, as with so many of our Broads, great battles with the patriarchy and rampant misogyny of the period. But through it all this Broad PERSISTS. Listen now to hear her whole story! 

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A Broad is a woman who lives by her own rules. Broads You Should Know is the podcast about the Broads who helped shape our world!

3 Ways you can help support the podcast:

1. Write a review on Apple Podcasts

—

Broads You Should Know is hosted by Sara Gorsky.

IG: @SaraGorsky

Web master / site design: www.BroadsYouShouldKnow.com

—

Broads You Should Know is produced by Sara Gorsky & edited by Chloe Skye

Marian Anderson had a gift for singing from an early age. Her aunt Mary helped her book paid gigs as early as age 6. When her family could no longer afford lessons, the community and church pooled their resources to help develop Marian's talents. From there, her career blossomed, and she performed live on the radio and in front of a crowd of 75,000 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and then all around the globe, breaking down race barriers as she went, including being the first Black woman to perform at the Met!

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A Broad is a woman who lives by her own rules. Broads You Should Know is the podcast about the Broads who helped shape our world!

3 Ways you can help support the podcast:

1. Write a review on Apple Podcasts

—

Broads You Should Know is hosted by Sara Gorsky.

IG: @SaraGorsky

Web master / site design: www.BroadsYouShouldKnow.com

—

Broads You Should Know is produced by Sara Gorsky & edited by Chloe Skye

It's (still) Black History Month, and the perfect reason for Sara and Chloe to continue strolling through all of the incredible Black Broads we have learned about since the beginning of this pod! This is part 2 of an episode whose first half aired last week.

We (briefly) revisit each Black Broad, spanning across time and the globe including Madagascar's Ranavalona I, II and III, to the revolutionary Three Queens of the Virgin Islands, Pharaoh Hatshepsut, Civil Rights Movement giantesses Coretta Scott King, Myrlie Evers, Pauli Murray, and Constance Baker Motley, abolitionists and modern activists, the woman who first invented the sanitary napkin, and of course the incomparable bell hooks.

If you're looking to increase the breadth of your Black Broads History, this is a great episode to dip your toes into and discover the stories that pique your interest most; the stories of the women whose voices have been the most ignored and silenced by the white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy: Black Women.

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A Broad is a woman who lives by her own rules. Broads You Should Know is the podcast about the Broads who helped shape our world!

3 Ways you can help support the podcast:

—

Broads You Should Know is hosted by Sara Gorsky.

IG: @SaraGorsky

Web master / site design: www.BroadsYouShouldKnow.com

—

Broads You Should Know is produced by Sara Gorsky & edited by Chloe Skye