The Exploress

Episode 2, Episode 8. When it comes to the words that made it through time to us, ancient Greece is particularly loud with men's voices. But if you listen, you can hear one woman through the crowd—we still hear her today. Heralded as a genius in her time, Sappho was called "The Poetess" and "The Tenth Muse." People made coins with her face on them and created honorary statues of her all over Greece. In our century, she's heralded as one of the earliest same-sex love advocates, boldly writing about lesbian desire. Who was this mysterious woman poet? What did it mean, in her time, to write about same-sex relationships? What did it mean to be in one?

Check out the show notes for a transcript, images, and more. To support the show, become a patron or go and nab something from my brand-new Exploress Etsy shop.

To hear the amazing music featured on this episode, all make on recreated lyres of antiquity, check out Michael Levy.

Season 2, Episode 7. Ancient Greece is notorious for keeping women silent, veiled, and firmly fixed at the loom. But was life for women in places like Athens really so restrictive? What did they get up to behind those veils and shaded screens? After exploring their houses, rights and duties in Part 1, we're going to talk about life as a matron: childbirth, Athenian nightlife (including the famous escorts who rule it), ritual and festivals. We'll even hop over to ancient Sparta to see what those hardcore ladies get up to.

To check out the show notes, go here. If you'd like to give a one-off donation or become a patron of the show, check out my Patreon page.

Music composed on replicated lyres of antiquity (cool!) by Michael Levy, licensed through AKM Productions. Show theme song by Paul Gablonski.

Featuring the voiceover stylings of Katy and Nathan at Queens Podcast, Genn and Jenny from Ancient History Fangirl, and Shawn at Stories of Yore and Yours.

Season 2, Episode 6. Ancient Greece is notorious for keeping women silent, veiled, and firmly fixed beside the loom. But was life for the ladies in places like Athens really so restrictive? What did they get up to behind those veils and shaded screens? Let's time travel back to the Classical period to find out what it was like to be them.

To check out the show notes, go here. If you'd like to give a one-off donation or become a patron of the show, check out my Patreon page.

Music composed on replicated lyres of antiquity (cool!) by Michael Levy, licensed through AKM Productions. Show theme song by Paul Gablonski.

Featuring the voiceover stylings of Katy and Nathan at Queens Podcast, Genn and Jenny from Ancient History Fangirl, and Shawn at Stories of Yore and Yours.

Season 2, Episode 5. For millennia, brewing was overwhelmingly a woman's game. You can't research beer's history without stumbling across female brewers. So why, when we conjure up an image of a brewer, is it a bearded dude we always picture? How did beer, both the brewing and the drinking, become overwhelmingly a "man's drink"? To find out, we'll explore how beer was made in the ancient world, then skip-hop forward through time up to the present, following a particular story through history: the relationship between women and beer. Their connection to one of the world's oldest beverages will probably surprise you; it may even change your relationship with that IPA currently sitting in your fridge.

Episode includes an interview with modern-day lady brewer Flora Ghisoni of Colonial Brewing Co. Selected music by Kevin Macleod and Keith Zizza.

To become a patron of the show, check this out.

Season 2, Episode 4. Let's continue exploring the lives of ancient Egypt's female pharaohs. We'll start by talking about Hatshepsut's rise to fame and glory: how she stayed on top and what she did while she was there. Then we'll dive into the stories of Nefertiti, a savvy beauty queen with a fanatical boyfriend, and Tawosret, who wasn't afraid to get blood on her hands on her path to power. We'll travel through several eras, looking at the Egyptian language of power and what these women had to do to prove they were more than capable of ruling their world.

For show notes, head over to my website. While you're there, become a patron of the show and receive bonus goodies by clicking on Become a Patron.

(Most) music by Keith Zizza and Derek & Brandon Fiechter.

Season 2, Episode 3. In ancient Egyptian, the word "pharaoh" doesn't mean king; it means "great house". They had no word for queen at all. All royal women were defined by their relationship to that house: with titles like Great Royal Wife, Great Royal Daughter, Great Royal Mother. They were there to support, not to rule. And yet, in an ancient world where men ruled the day, Egypt saw a slew of influential females stalking the gilded royal halls. Some were royal wives and mothers, whispering in their pharaoh brother-husband's ear, and some stepped in to rule for him when he was too young to do it himself. But then, others were pharaohs in their own right, beating the odds to rule alone. Who were these women? How and why did they get to be pharaohs, when so many of the ancient world's major empires never suffered a woman to rule? What was life for a woman on top? And what did they have to do to stay there? Let's start with three amazing ladies: Merneith, Neferusobek (Sobekneferu), and Hatshepsut.

For show notes, head over to my website. While you're there, become a patron of the show and receive bonus goodies by clicking on Become a Patron.

(Most) music by Keith Zizza and Derek & Brandon Fiechter.

Season 2, Episode 2. Let's continue our day as an everyday lady in ancient Egypt's New Kingdom during the 18th Dynasty. We'll talk about what we're doing for both work and pleasure, go to a feast, and explore medicine, contraception, mummification and the afterlife. Put on your best jewels and let's go traveling.

For show notes, head over to my website. While you're there, become a patron of the show and receive bonus goodies by clicking on Become a Patron.

(Most) music by Keith Zizza and Derek & Brandon Fiechter.

Season 2, Episode 1. Of all the civilizations in the ancient world, Egypt was perhaps the most prone to the miraculous. They invented many wonders: the 365-day calendar, breath mints, paper, the ramp and lever. And then there's this particular wonder: ancient Egyptian women had more freedom and power than anywhere else in the ancient world. Why was Egypt such an exception to the ancient rule? What did their lives really look like? Let's begin by finding out more about their houses, grooming practices, bathroom situation, and fashion. Grab a linen sheath, your dangliest earrings, and a whole lotta sunscreen. Let's go traveling.

Music from this episode includes: "Hathor," "Nefertiti," and "Lost Tombs" from the album Ancient Egypt by Derek and Brandon Fiechter. "Journey of the Nile," "Festival Dance," and "Jewel of the Desert" from the album Children of the Nile by Keith Zizza.

To support the show and get access to exclusive content, become a Patron.

If you're keen to check out the map and timeline I created just for Season 2, head over to my website.

Season 1, Episode 11. America's Wild West evokes images of grizzled men in fringed chaps, but women were also there to help shape the frontier: the pioneer women who fought through many hardships to carve out a life on the dusty plains and the Mexican and Native American women who were already there, trying to hold on to their way of life. What was life like for these women as they traveled by wagon train and set up houses on the prairie? How did women already living there deal with the threat pioneers posed? And what about the cowgirls and lady gunslingers of legend: were they real? Let's find out if the Wild West was a place of freedom for women or if the same Victorian-era rules still applied. Get ready for rough rides, loud bawdy houses, extreme weather, hard work and many, many snakes.

The 19th century's best-selling novel was an incendiary story about the evils of slavery, written by a northern woman who wanted to change the world. Meet Harriet Beecher Stowe, the authoress who refused to sit down and be silent about the peculiar institution. In this bonus episode, let's find out how (and why) she wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, and what about it lit mid-19th century America on fire. We'll also explore what it took to be a lady writer in a time when "working mother" wasn't a thing genteel society wanted you to be.

For more bonus episodes, become a patron of the show! Just go to https://www.patreon.com/theexploresspodcast.