Say It With History: Stories That Shaped the Past with Holley Snaith

Sigrid Schultz reported from Germany as the Nazis rose to power, confronting censorship, propaganda, and the dangers of telling uncomfortable truths. Historian Pamela Toler explores Schultz’s remarkable career as an American foreign correspondent, the strategies she used to continue reporting from Nazi Germany, and what her story reveals about women in journalism and the importance of a free press.

Key Topics

• Sigrid Schultz’s career as a foreign correspondent in Germany
• Reporting on the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany
• Navigating censorship, propaganda, and threats to journalists
• Schultz’s use of a pseudonym to report what she could not publish openly
• Women’s changing roles in twentieth-century journalism
• Recovering Schultz’s story from the historical record
• The relationship between a free press and democracy

Guest Bio

Pamela D. Toler is a historian, author, and speaker who writes popular history with an emphasis on overlooked people and perspectives. She is the author of ten books, including Women Warriors: An Unexpected History, Heroines of Mercy Street, and The Dragon from Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany, which chronicles the life and career of Sigrid Schultz.

Connect with Pamela: Website | History in the Margins Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn

The Dragon from Chicago: Bookshop | Beacon Press

Books Mentioned: Fighting Words by Nancy F. Cott Hardcover

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn 

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Hollywood musicals have long reflected the changing moods of American life. Film historian Miles Eady explores four landmark musicals that trace the genre from Depression-era escapism and wartime unity to postwar uncertainty and the rebellious spirit of the 1960s, revealing how song, spectacle, and storytelling can serve as a mirror of American history.

Key Topics

• The evolution of the Hollywood musical across the twentieth century
• Depression-era musicals and the appeal of escapism
• Hollywood musicals during World War II
• Postwar America and changing themes on screen
• The cultural shifts and rebellious energy of the 1960s
• How musicals reflected changing American values and attitudes
• Film as a window into broader social and cultural history

Guest Bio

Miles Eady is a film historian, writer, and public speaker specializing in Hollywood musicals. His work explores the history and cultural impact of the movie musical, from its vaudeville and Broadway roots through Hollywood’s Golden Age and beyond. He has presented at the British Film Institute and appeared on BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking.

Movies Mentioned

42nd Street (1933)

This Is The Army (1943)

It’s Always Fair Weather (1955) 

Hair (1979) 

Connect with Miles: Website

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn 

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Nearly two centuries after his celebrated return to the United States, the Marquis de Lafayette remains an enduring figure in the story of the American Revolution. Public history advocate Kat Smith explores Lafayette’s legacy, the commemoration of his 1824–1825 American tour, and how Virginia is preparing to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence through VA250.

Key Topics

• The Marquis de Lafayette and his connection to the American Revolution
• Lafayette’s celebrated return to America in 1824–1825
• Commemorating the Lafayette Bicentennial
• Virginia’s preparations for America’s 250th anniversary
• Connecting local and state history to the larger Revolutionary story
• Using digital storytelling to engage new audiences with history

Guest Bio

Kat Smith is a community builder and public history advocate who serves as Senior Advisor for Social Media and Communications for the VA250 Commission and Social Media Manager for the American Friends of Lafayette. A sixth-generation Virginian, she uses digital storytelling and public engagement to connect audiences with Lafayette, the American Revolution, and Virginia history.

VA250: Website

Lafayette 200: Website 

Books Mentioned

Revolutionary Friends: General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette by Celine Castrovilla: Bookshop Hardback

Connect with Kat: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn 

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Women were central to the Black Panther Party, serving as organizers, educators, leaders, and architects of its community programs. Historian Madison Givens explores their often-overlooked contributions, how race and gender shaped their experiences within the movement, and the ways their activism expanded ideas about leadership, community care, and political change.

Key Topics

• Women’s leadership within the Black Panther Party
• The role of women as organizers, educators, and community builders
• Race, gender, and power within the movement
• Community programs and grassroots activism
• Challenging popular perceptions of the Black Panther Party
• Why women’s contributions have often been overlooked
• The legacy of Black Panther women and their activism

Guest Bio

Madison Givens is a historian, educator, and creator of The History Queen and the Women Walked series. A PhD candidate in History at the University of Memphis, her work focuses on the intersections of race, gender, and power in modern history while making historical scholarship accessible to broader audiences.

Books Mentioned

Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roberts: Bookshop Paperback | Ebook

Connect with Madison: LinkedIn | Instagram

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn 

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Marion Davies was one of the brightest stars of early Hollywood, yet her achievements have often been overshadowed by her relationship with William Randolph Hearst and the mythology surrounding Citizen Kane. Biographer Lara Gabrielle explores the actress, comedienne, businesswoman, and philanthropist behind the legend, revealing how Davies built a career and identity that were distinctly her own.

Key Topics

• Marion Davies’s rise during Hollywood’s silent and early sound eras
• Her talents as an actress and comedienne
• Davies’s relationship with William Randolph Hearst
• Citizen Kane and the myths surrounding her legacy
• Women, independence, and power in early Hollywood
• Davies’s philanthropy and life beyond the screen
• Separating Hollywood mythology from the historical record

Guest Bio

Lara Gabrielle is a biographer and film historian specializing in classic Hollywood. She is the author of Captain of Her Soul: The Life of Marion Davies and host and curator of Movies at Mechanics’ at San Francisco’s Mechanics’ Institute. Her extensive research has helped bring renewed attention to Davies’s career, character, and legacy.

Captain of Her Soul: The Life of Marion Davies

Bookshop: Hardback | Ebook | CD-Audio

Books Mentioned

Clara Bow: Runnin’ Wild by David Stenn: Bookshop Paperback | Ebook

Connect with Lara: Website | Instagram | X | Bluesky

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn 

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Renaissance Florence was a center of extraordinary innovation, but medicine and science remained deeply intertwined with tradition, experimentation, and suspicion. Author and scientist Gigi Berardi explores the world behind Bianca’s Cure, examining women’s roles in scientific and medical history, the search for treatments for diseases such as malaria, and the mysteries surrounding Bianca Cappello and Francesco de’ Medici.

Key Topics

• Medicine and scientific knowledge in Renaissance Florence
• Women’s overlooked contributions to science and healing
• Bianca Cappello and Francesco de’ Medici
• Malaria and the historical search for effective treatments
• Artemisia, traditional medicine, and scientific discovery
• The intersection of medicine, politics, and power
• Using historical fiction to explore gaps in the historical record

Guest Bio

Gigi Berardi is an author, scientist, Fulbright scholar, and professor at Western Washington University who also teaches in Florence. With a background spanning biology, planning, and the arts, she is the author of Finding Balance, FoodWISE, and Bianca’s Cure, which draws on the history of science and medicine in Renaissance Florence.

Biance’s Cure

Bookshop: Paperback | Ebook

Books Mentioned

Daughters of Alchemy by Meredith Ray:  Amazon Hardcover | Kindle

The Only Woman in the Room: A Novel by Marie Benedict: Bookshop Paperback

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell: Bookshop Paperback | Ebook

Connect with Gigi: Website | X | Instagram  

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn 

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Phyllis Fraser arrived in 1930s Hollywood alongside her famous cousin Ginger Rogers but ultimately forged a very different path for herself. Author Margaret Porter explores Fraser’s experiences within the studio system, the influence of Ginger and Lela Rogers, and her reinvention from aspiring actress to literary figure, revealing the opportunities and limitations women encountered during Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Key Topics

• Phyllis Fraser’s journey from Oklahoma to Hollywood
• Her relationships with Ginger Rogers and Lela Rogers
• The realities facing young actresses in 1930s Hollywood
• Women working within the Hollywood studio system
• Lela Rogers’s influence behind the scenes
• Phyllis’s decision to pursue a life beyond acting
• Reinvention, ambition, and women’s choices during the Golden Age

Guest Bio

Margaret Porter is a USA Today bestselling author of historical and contemporary fiction. Her historical novels include The Limits of Limelight, inspired by Phyllis Fraser, Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr, and The Myrtle Wand. With backgrounds in British history, theater, and film, she brings extensive historical research to her fiction and writing about the past.The Limits of Limelight

Amazon: Paperback | Kindle

Bookshop: Paperback

Books Mentioned

A History of the English-Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill: Bookshop

Connect with Margaret: Instagram | Threads | Bluesky | X (formerly Twitter) | Facebook | TikTok

Margaret’s Novels: View her books

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn 

Listen on YouTube: Channel

The story of military service extends far beyond those who wear the uniform. Journalist and author Jennifer Barnhill explores the often-overlooked experiences of military families, from the advocacy of Sybil Stockdale and the League of Wives to the challenges faced by military spouses and families today, revealing how their stories broaden our understanding of service and sacrifice.

Key Topics

• The overlooked experiences of American military families
• Sybil Stockdale and the League of Wives
• Women’s advocacy within military communities
• The unseen roles and sacrifices of military spouses
• How military policies affect families in everyday life
• Preserving military family stories in the historical record
• Rethinking traditional narratives of service and sacrifice

Guest Bio

Jennifer Barnhill, MPA, is a journalist, researcher, and advocate whose work focuses on military families and policy. A former Military.com columnist and 2025 Armed Forces Insurance Navy Spouse of the Year, she is the author of The Military Stories You’ve Been Told and the Ones You Need to Hear, which combines reporting, historical context, and personal testimony to illuminate the experiences of military families.

The Military Stories You’ve Been Told and the Ones You Need to Hear

Bookshop: Paperback | Ebook  

Connect with Jennifer: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn

Listen on YouTube: Channel

The Golden Age of Broadway transformed American musical theater and produced shows that continue to influence the stage today. Podcast host Brandon Davis explores the rise of the mid-century musical, the cultural impact of productions such as Oklahoma! and West Side Story, and how Broadway reflected changing ideas about American life, identity, and society.

Key Topics

• The rise of Broadway’s Golden Age
• How the American musical evolved during the mid-twentieth century
• Oklahoma! and its influence on musical theater
• West Side Story and changing approaches to storytelling
• Broadway’s relationship with American culture and social change
• Why Golden Age musicals continue to resonate today

Guest Bio

Brandon Davis is the host of Front Row Classics, a podcast celebrating classic film and entertainment history. Launched in 2015, Front Row Classics has been part of NPR Illinois since 2019, where Brandon shares his passion for classic entertainment and its cultural legacy.

Connect with Brandon: Front Row Classics Podcast | Instagram | X | Bluesky | Facebook

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn

Listen on YouTube: Channel

Across African history, women ruled kingdoms, led armies, challenged empires, and shaped the societies around them. Historian Katy Clark explores the lives of queens, consorts, and warriors featured in African Women of the Ancient World, examining their leadership, resilience, and the challenges of recovering women’s stories from the distant past.

Key Topics

• Women’s leadership across African history
• Hatshepsut and female power in ancient Egypt
• Queen Amanirenas and the challenge to Rome
• Queen Nzinga Mbande and resistance to Portuguese expansion
• Dahia al-Kahina and the history of North Africa
• Separating history, tradition, and legend when studying ancient women
• Recovering women whose stories have often been overshadowed

Guest Bio

Katy Clark is a historian and author specializing in women’s history. She is the creator of Remember the Ladies, where she highlights women and their contributions throughout history, and the author of African Women of the Ancient World: Queens, Consorts, and Warriors.

African Women of the Ancient World: Queens, Consorts, Warriors, Women

Bookshop: Hardback

Connect with Katy: Website | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | Medium

Connect with Holley: Buy Me A Coffee | Website | LinkedIn 

Listen on YouTube: Channel