Difficult Damsels

Aries chaos faces off against Virgo scrupulousness in this “relaxed” episode.

Rachel and Kat discuss their favorite goddesses from around the world and the nuance of female gods that are paradoxically nurturing and life giving one moment and then destructive and vengeful the next.

Stay tuned for bloopers because recording a podcast with five cats is nothing but blue skies and smooth sailing . . . said no one ever!

The middle of the third century saw unrest and upheaval across the board in the known world – long established empires dwindled into dust and the Roman Empire itself nearly suffered the same fate during a time aptly named the Crisis of the Third Century.

Enter Zenobia: clever, opportunistic and proud, Zenobia capitalized on a Rome distracted by invasions from Germanic tribes and deadly infighting. She’ll end up accomplishing what no other woman was able to do before or after; Zenobia will rule one-third of the Roman Empire independent of any male lovers or consort . . . at least for a time.

In this episode we also talk about birthdays, taxidermied emperors, fast and the furious [baby] camels and our go-to comfort activities.

Rachel and Kat discuss their personal religious views and upbringing in a segment that didn’t quite make the final cut for the Joan of Arc episodes. Full length episodes will resume in two weeks!

In the early 1st Century, Rome was at the height of its power stretching its greedy, egotistical tendrils across the English Channel to subjugate the local tribes of ancient Britain before absorbing them into the Empire. That is, until Rome met Boudica. Following the brutal treatment of her daughters, Boudica rallied the local tribes of Britain against their would-be oppressors. Her challenge was simple: reclaim Britain from Rome, or die trying.

Mother. Queen. Vigilante. Freedom Fighter. Renegade. Boudica’s story, like so many women’s stories from history, comes to us from the minds and pens of her enemies. We do our best to sift through the stories to try and decipher fact from fiction.

Also in this episode: Kat and Rachel ponder the roles they would occupy in ancient and medieval society, Kat gets angry at the audacity of misogynistic Roman scholars and . . . we have more maps!

*If you would like to skip the discussion involving the sexual assault of Boudica’s daughters the time stamp in the episode 35:45 - 37:00.

In the early 1st Century on the Eastern side of the known world, the Han Dynasty faced resistance unlike anything they had ever experienced before. At the head of that resistance were sisters Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị.

Following the unlawful murder of her husband, Trưng Trắc found herself leading the first Vietnamese uprising against the Chinese Han Dynasty. Although the rebellion itself would only last for three years, the Trưng sisters would go on to serve as an inspiration for resistance against oppression in Vietnam for the next two thousand years.

Like any good story, this one is full of origin stories involving dragon lords, mustache twirling villains, cults, rain maidens and more badass women giving birth amidst a song of blood and steel.

Stick around for our random question segment to uncover the spell components needed to summon a Kat or a Rachel and, of course, no Difficult Damsel episode would be complete without Therapy Treehouse sessions!

It’s time for our very first Reversal!

In our inaugural Reverse Damsel, Kat and Rachel delve into the convoluted story of the legendary 16th Century Pirate Queen of Ireland you’ve never heard of.

This prominent figure in Irish folklore was a very real mariner airbrushed from history by jealous and petty men who could not cut her out in life, so they cut her out of history.

But who is Grace O’Malley? Find out in this week’s episode where we bring you coasts of castles, traditional Irish pastimes, opportunistic piracy, shipwrecked lovers, the Dark Lady of Doona, a baby in one hand and a musket in the other and so much more . . . including Kat’s very own Stephen-of-Blah-type-a**hole to loathe entirely!

Plus, stick around to learn more about your hosts’ family names, crests and mottos.

Cleopatra has been dubbed the wickedest woman in all of world history, in large part because she dared to view herself an equal among the powerful men of her age (the audacity!). But she was so much more than that. Queen. Mother. Scholar. Lover. High Priestess. Alchemist. Goddess. Cleopatra’s legacy was of her own making and she proved defiant to the very end.

In the epic conclusion to our accidental four part series, we talk about the disastrous Battle of Actium, Mark Antony’s spectacular failure as a man and Cleopatra’s final stand against Rome.

Also in this episode: Kat’s zoo, new tattoos, foot fetishes and the Drama Queen of Ancient Rome: Mark Antony.

Stick around until the end to hear bloopers from our hectic intro and don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe!

Continuing our epic saga, Rachel and Kat delve into one of history’s most famous romances. Cleopatra finds a new Roman ally after the death of Julius Caesar in the form of drunken party boy Mark Antony (aka the “New Dionysus”). If our fickle history uncles are to be believed, Cleopatra bamboozled poor, unsuspecting Mark Antony through passion, witchery and those damned feminine wiles. It has absolutely nothing to do with all that difficult damsel energy bruising fragile Roman male egos. Octavion, adopted son and heir of the late Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony have absolutely no trouble coexisting whatsoever. Not at all. Seriously. No problem! They do not bring yet another Roman civil war to Alexandria’s shores thrusting Cleopatra into more Roman drama . . . Did we mention there’ll be a Part 4?

In this episode, we also bring you more therapy treehouse sessions. Are you just existing? Or are you living life? We hope it’s the latter.

Following the victory of the Battle of Alexandria, Cleopatra and Julius Caesar enter into one of the most famous historical romances of all time. In addition to pleasure barges and goddess statues, there are ostentatious street parties and pretentious dinner parties. Julius Caesar also gets all stabby-stabbed and Cleopatra makes an enemy of Cicero after promising to give him a cool book and then deciding . . . lol just kidding.

Somewhere along the way, history forgot that Cleopatra was also a diligent workaholic and more than competent ruler (thanks history uncles!). But we didn’t! Join us for part 2 of our 3-part series on Egypt’s most infamous Queen. We have leopards and giraffes and jars of the Nile river, oh my!

Cleopatra may possibly be the most notorious woman in all of World History. But is that notoriety fair or was it the result of our favorite crazy history uncles’ misogyny? Hint: it was misogyny. In part 1 we discuss Cleopatra’s eventful childhood and the early years of her reign, concluding with the arrival of Julius Caesar and the end Alexandrian Civil War. This episode has it all. Incest, beheadings, sibling rivalries and more stabby-stabby fun times. Also, there there are girls rolling out of rugs and scrolls set on fire. Just stay away from the Library of Alexandria, Caesar! Is that so much to ask!?