The Exploress

Join me and author Caroline Lea as we discuss her book Love, Sex, and Frankenstein, which explores what Mary Shelley might have been thinking and feeling during the summer she conceived her most iconic novel. Let's talk about sex-and-booze fuelled summer houses, famous f-boys Lord Byron and Percy Shelley, monsters, and female rage. Ways to support The Exploress:

• Become a patron and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes, including the video version of this conversation
• Grab a copy of LOVE, SEX, and FRANKENSTEIN through the Exploress Bookshop
• Buy some merch and art available at the Exploress shop
• Check out Kate's novels, NIGHTBIRDS and FYREBIRDS

Join me and author Brigitte Dale as we explore the fascinating history of women's suffrage through the lens of Brigitte's novel The Good Daughters, about three young women who risk everything in the fight for women's voting rights in early 20th-century London. We cover the diverse motivations of women in the suffrage movement, the importance of female friendships in the fight for the vote, and some of the real-life research that helped bring Brigitte's characters to life. Ways to support The Exploress:

• Become a patron and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes, including the video version of this conversation
• Grab a copy of THE GOOD DAUGHTERS through the Exploress Bookshop
• Buy some merch and art available at the Exploress shop
• Check out Kate's novels, NIGHTBIRDS and FYREBIRDS

When we think about Renaissance art, men's names are usually the first to come to mind. But some the period's artists were, of course, also women, and we'll be learning about three of them today: Lavinia Fontana, Elisabetta Sirani, and Artemisia Gentileschi. All of them were talented and extremely hardworking, lauded and adored (and occasionally harassed by terrible men). They also all made their living as professional painters at a time in which the art world was dominated by men.

The music in this episode comes courtesy of Epidemic Sound and Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com, licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License). Our theme music is by Joshua Stackhouse.

Ways to support The Exploress:

• Become a patron and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes, like this one, that you won't find anywhere else
• Grab a book at the Exploress Bookshop
• Buy some merch and art available at the Exploress shop
• Check out Kate's novels, NIGHTBIRDS and FYREBIRDS

Today we're time traveling somewhere The Exploress has rarely been - World War II - to meet some of its daring female pilots. Turns out women flew some of the war's most dangerous aircraft, and our guest, Becky Aikman, is here to bring their stories roaring back to life. Her book, SPITFIRES, follows the incredible true stories of the twenty-five daring young aviators who bolted for England in 1942, becoming the first American women to command military aircraft. Let's join Becky as she tells us all about them.

Ways to support The Exploress:

• Become a patron and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes, including the video version of this conversation and special episodes you won't find anywhere else
• Grab a book at the Exploress Bookshop
• Buy some merch and art available at the Exploress shop
• Check out Kate's novels, NIGHTBIRDS and FYREBIRDS

Genghis (or Chinggis) Khan is pretty famous for building the largest contiguous land empire the world has ever seen. But he couldn't have done it with his wife, Börte. She was his advisor in all things, bore him MANY children, and ran their expansive horde while he was away. Empress Börte was the Mongols's chief manager, organising seasonal migrations, dealing with herders, and holding meetings with dignitaries and merchants. In other words, when her husband was away, she ran the show. The story of their marriage, and her rise to power, is extraordinary. But her influence wasn't necessarily unique within the Mongol Empire, which respected their ladies and saw them, in many ways, as mens' equal. So let's join Börte as she walks us through life for women in the Mongol Empire.

Our special guests this episode includes Marie Favereau, author of The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World, and Mongol expert and educator Stephanie Honchell Smith. You can listen to my full interviews with both of them on patreon. Some of the music in this episode comes courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (Spirit of the Girl" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License)

Ways to support The Exploress:

• Become a patron and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes, including the video version of this conversation and special episodes you won't find anywhere else
• Grab a book at the Exploress Bookshop
• Buy some merch and art available at the Exploress shop
• Check out Kate's novels, NIGHTBIRDS and FYREBIRDS

In this episode of the Exploress Book Club, Natasha Solomons and I explore her new book I Am Cleopatra and the complexities of bringing Cleopatra's character to life on the page. Natasha discusses her inspiration for writing about Cleopatra, the challenges of researching a historical figure often viewed through a male-dominated lens, and the importance of portraying women's voices in history. We talk about Cleopatra's education, her relationships with powerful men, and the vulnerability that comes with being a woman in a position of power. Ways to support The Exploress:

• Become a patron and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes, including the video version of this conversation you won't find anywhere else
• Grab I Am Cleopatra through the Exploress Bookshop
• Buy some merch and art available at the Exploress shop
• Check out Kate's novels, NIGHTBIRDS and FYREBIRDS

In this series, we're time traveling back to past empires to meet some of the woman who ran them. This time, we're revisiting a ruling lady we've met before: the mighty Cleopatra of ancient Egypt's Ptolemaic Empire. This isn't just a re-release, though: I've re-recorded the three-part original series, giving it a 2026 glow-up, and smushed it into one big glitter bomb of goodness. Join me as we explore Cleopatra's life and reign, which was SO MUCH MORE impressive than her famous affairs with Roman generals. Let's go traveling. Ways to support The Exploress:

• Become a patron and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes, including the video version of this conversation and special episodes you won't find anywhere else
• Grab a book at the Exploress Bookshop
• Buy some merch and art available at the Exploress shop
• Check out Kate's novels, NIGHTBIRDS and FYREBIRDS

The music in this episode comes courtesy of Derek and Brandon Fiechter, Keith Zizza, and Michael Levy.

In this series, we're time traveling back to past empires to meet some of the woman who helped run them. Let's link up with Empress Theodora, who's going to walk us through her Byzantine (aka Eastern Roman) Empire. We'll see her rise from a fairly humble, and sometimes scandalous, background as an actress and courtesan to become the most powerful woman in Constantinople. After she marries Justinian and becomes his leading lady, she guides him to make sweeping changes that touch every part of life, and most especially the lives of vulnerable women. Join me and expert historian Dr. Hannah Ewing as we walk the streets of Constantinople, cheer on charioteers in the Hippodrome, and walk the halls of the imperial palace as Theodora navigates the treacherous waters of Roman politics. Riots, plagues, intrigues, murder mysteries: this one's got it all. Let's go traveling. Ways to support The Exploress:

• Become a patron and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes, including the video version of this conversation and special episodes you won't find anywhere else
• Grab a book by Elizabeth, or read the current Exploress Book Club pick, at the Exploress Bookshop
• Buy some merch and art available at the Exploress shop
• Check out Kate's novels, NIGHTBIRDS and FYREBIRDS

Music from this episode includes:

• "Teller of the Tales" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
• "Gloria in Excelsis Deo", "Sequence - Victimae Paschali Laudes," "Jubilate Deo," "Credo in Unum Deo", and "Sanctus" by The Tudor Consort is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

In this series, we're time traveling back to past empires to meet some of the woman who helped run them. Allow me to introduce you to Empress Taytu Betul, who wasn't afraid to storm battlefields, boss around her emperor husband, and tell certain colonial powers to go on home. Let's walk with Taytu on her extraordinary journey and find out what life was like for women during her reign. Ways to support The Exploress:

• Become a patron and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes, including the video version of this conversation and special episodes you won't find anywhere else
• Grab a book by Elizabeth, or read the current Exploress Book Club pick, at the Exploress Bookshop
• Buy some merch and art available at the Exploress shop
• Check out Kate's novels, NIGHTBIRDS and FYREBIRDS

Dr. Elizabeth Norton has returned! This time, she's taking us out of the Tudor period to take a more global look at queenship. Her new book 'When Women Ruled the World: 500 Years of Female Monarchy' explores the history of female monarchs across time and cultures. We dive into the challenges faced by women in power, the male relative problem, and some of the obstacles to their reigns. We'll meet Biblical queens like the infamous Jezebel, warrior queens from the Kingdom of Kush, the empresses of Japan you've probably never heard of. Grab your crown and scepter and let's go!

Ways to support The Exploress:

• Become a patron and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes, including the video version of this conversation and special episodes you won't find anywhere else
• Grab a book by Elizabeth, or read the current Exploress Book Club pick, at the Exploress Bookshop
• Buy some merch and art available at the Exploress shop
• Check out Kate's novels, NIGHTBIRDS and FYREBIRDS