The Exploress

Love them or hate them, bras have always been with us in one form or another. They've squashed us down, lifted us up, and shaped our silhouettes, a constant part of our day to day. Let's take a trip through time to see how - and why - it took shape and meet some of the women who shaped its evolution in this special bonus episode.

For a transcript of this episode, images, and more, check out my website. To become a patron, head over to my Patreon page. If you're looking for a good read, go and browse my new Bookshop.com curated bookshelf. Support your local bookstore AND give me a little kickback as part of your order: win-win!

Season 2, Episode 27. When we last left our Roman ladies, Octavia and Livia, their lives were changing fast. After all that bloodshed and drama, Octavian has finally been left as the last man standing in the fight for control over Rome. What happens now? Octavian becomes Augustus, Rome's very first emperor, and the ladies become the imperial legends. Let's explore the extreme highs (and sometimes very low lows) of the women in his life.

For a transcript of this episode, images, and more, check out my website. To become a patron, head over to my Patreon page. Listen to Dr. Evans on the Emperors of Rome podcast. Music courtesy of Michael Levy. If you're looking for a good read about ancient Roman women, go and browse my Bookshop.com curated bookshelf. Support your local bookstore AND give me a little kickback as part of your order: win-win.

Season 2, Episode 26. Let's trace the paths of some of ancient Rome's first imperial superstars: the wives, sisters, and daughters who rose with Octavian (later Augustus) to become Rome's first family: Livia, Octavia, Julia, Messalina, both Agrippinas. In a time of great change, these women had to navigate both public love and hate. They had access to power in ways that few women had before them, but to grasp it was a delicate and dangerous game.

For a transcript, images, and more, check out my website. To become a patron, head over to my Patreon page. Listen to Dr. Evans on the Emperors of Rome podcast. Music courtesy of Kevin MacLeod, Damiano Baldoni, and Michael Levy.

Cleopatra maneuvered her way through Egyptian, Greek, and Roman politics, defying the odds to keep the Ptolemaic dynasty – and Egypt's independence – going. But what of all the Cleopatras who came before her? In delving into Cleo's life, I found a host of interesting women in the family that shaped her. But only one amongst them truly set the tone for the dynasty, creating a mold that had royal Ptolemaic women ruling not from behind their husbands, but beside them. That woman is Arsinoë II. Let's dive into the wild and crazy ride that was her life.

This episode is sponsored by Hank Green, whose new book A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is out as of July 7, 2020.

Season 2, Episode 24. Cleopatra died more than 2,000 years ago. And yet stop any person on the street today and ask them who she was, and they'll know – at least her name. That name has been attached to soaps and bath balms, to slot machines and casinos, to a popular brand of cigarettes. As an asteroid - 216 Kleopatra – the Egyptian queen has even made it to the stars. What is it about Cleopatra that has captured our imaginations for millennia? Why do we remember her the way that we do? Let's travel through the years from her death to the present, exploring the shapes her legacy has taken.

Special guests Dr. Rhiannon Evans, The Partial Historians, Queens Podcast, Vulgar History Podcast, and Ancient History Fangirl.

Season 2, Episode 23. When we last left Cleopatra, she was creeping out the back door of a chaotic Rome in the wake of Julius Caesar's death. As she sails the waves back to Alexandria, she broods over what might happen next. She's just lost her Roman lover, ally, and protector, in a world where Rome is increasingly calling most of the shots. And then there is Caesarion, her son with Julius Caesar. In him, she has both a valuable advantage AND a potential danger. In some ways, she's just as vulnerable as she was as a young exile. But Cleopatra is only now, a seasoned leader, and she isn't one to sit back and let the gods take the wheel on her destiny. She's managed to harness Rome's powers in her favor and ensure her family's continued legacy successfully before. And she can do it again—if she can just figure out how best to play the game.

For a transcript, music credits, images and more, check out my show notes over at my website. To support the show, become a patron at my Patreon page, or buy some merch at my store, which includes artwork inspired by Cleopatra and a Ladycentric Ancient Egypt map.

Season 2, Episode 22. Last time, we saw Cleopatra grow up in the city of Alexandria, amid both luxury, excess, and the constant threat of death by family member. When her pharaoh father fled Egypt, she went with him, experiencing Rome for the very first time. General Pompey and some of their other Roman friends helped dear old dad win back his throne from his other daughter Berenice, and then, years later, he did something unfortunate: he left Egypt to Cleopatra AND her annoying brother Ptolemy XIII, and then he ALSO put them under Rome's guardianship. She ruled well for a while, but her brother's advisors conspired against her. Now Cleopatra's a 21-year-old exile. How will she find her way back to greatness? Grab a fetching cloak, a burlap sack large enough to get rolled up in, and a strapping male companion. Let's go traveling.

For a transcript, list of research sources and music credits, check out the show notes. TTo support the show, become a patron at my Patreon page, or buy some merch at my store, which includes artwork inspired by Cleopatra and a Ladycentric Ancient Egypt map.

Season 2, Episode 21. Cleopatra, the last great queen of Egypt, doesn't really need an introduction. You can see her in your mind already, can't you? Pretty and sultry with her cat-eye makeup, covered head to toe in shiny gold. Extravagant, self-serving, ruthless: this epic seductress used every magic trick in her lady arsenal to hold onto power, no matter the cost. Didn't she? That's the Cleopatra the ancient Romans want us to see. The truth is that few women's stories have been more brutally revised by sexist haters. But clear away the acrid smoke of sexist Roman killjoys and another picture emerges: of a deft and capable pharaoh who ruled one of the most powerful empires the ancient world would ever see. Who was Cleopatra, beyond the smoke and hate and all that glitter? Let's travel back and see if we can find her. Grab your strappy sandals, some hot pink smoke bombs, and your shiniest diadem. Let's go traveling.

Season 2, Episode 20. Throughout the ages, women have used poison - but their worlds also found ways to poison them. Doctors who didn't know better, giving them medicine that hurt instead of cured; toxic cosmetics; workplace negligence. In this special bonus episode, we travel through time to explore the link between women and poison in all its different guises, from the lady poisoners of ancient Rome up to the radium poisonings that happened in the 20th century. To support the show and get more bonus episodes like this one, check out my Patreon. To view the show notes, including images and a list of my sources and places to go for further reading, go to my website. If you want to buy some merchandise and support the show that way, check out my Etsy shop.

Season 2, Episode 19. It's 47 or 46 BCE, and we've stepped into a private chamber, where a woman is pulling down her saffron-colored veil. Today she's getting married, but she's no blushing virgin. In fact, this is her third marriage, and she's as shrewd, seasoned, and ambitious as they come. When she marries a man, she becomes his ultimate champion. And lucky for him, her fiancé is about to find out what it means to be married to Rome's #1 lady gangster. Fulvia is a mighty force of nature. She's also one of the scariest and least appreciated badasses that ancient Rome is ever going to see. Grab some good walking sandals, your sharpest hairpins, and a flint, because we're about to light this place all the way up. Let's go traveling.

For show notes (including a transcript, music credits, images and more), go here. Check out some Exploress merchandise or become a patron of the show. Guest starring The Partial Historians.