Nzinga was the warrior queen who held back Portuguese colonization in her African kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba, kept many of her people from being captured and traded, offered refuge to anyone who needed it, and used every move at her disposal (including shifting alliances, religions and some pretty gruesome tactics) to rule for almost 40 years of the 17th century.

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Miss Perkins travels to Washington to become Madam Secretary - and the architect of The New Deal. Her ferocious battles with the status quo during these years later led President Kennedy to call her "one of the most controversial, dangerous figures who ever roamed the United States."

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In Part 2 of our three-part coverage, Frances Perkins was galvanized by the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire tragedy to turn her talents for research into reform. Her reputation for intelligence, thoroughness and honesty (and the connections she made along the way) led to a meteoric climb into the highest echelon of state government.

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Once again, we are dropping in to bring you the history of an unsung Christmas hero - Mrs. Claus. Where did she come from? What is her role in the festive season? We'll tell you all about her in this annual minicast.

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Line by line over the course of her life, Frances Perkins drew the blueprint for a better society; one that protected the weak, curbed the unethical, and provided a humanist framework for government. As the first woman ever to serve in a Presidential cabinet, Ms. Perkins was officially empowered to go ahead and build her vision of a better country, enacting reforms that affect each of us, even today.

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Pocahontas did save lives... just not the way (or the one) that you've been taught. For both Native American Heritage Month and Thanksgiving, we revisit this 2017 episode to tell her real, not Disneyfied, story.

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She was just a teen when she took on lighthouse keeper responsibilities and bravely began saving lives--and risking her own--while doing what she looked at as her daily responsibilities. She attracted (not necessarily welcome) worldwide attention, but would she ever get official recognition and compensation for her work?

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Forty travelers, four hosts, and thirty seagulls headed out to experience podcast-based adventures in historic and iconic New England. We laughed, we cried, we learned a lot - and made friends (and memories) that we'll keep for life.

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We've combined our previous coverage of Empress Sisi of Austria because she's getting a lot of screen time these days and we found ourselves in need of a refresher, so we thought you might be, too. Both the Netflix series, The Empress, and a theatrical release, Corsage, cover different time periods in the life of this young noblewoman who was plucked from obscurity and shoved onto the world stage. She found the limelight a difficult place in which to live, but her beauty and her genuine concern for the common people earned her the status of a reluctant icon. Sisi's ultimate death shocked the whole world.

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From a deprived childhood bereft of opportunities, Nell Gwynn endeavored to parlay her charm and talent in order to improve her lot in life. She captured the attention of a king, delighted the public both onstage and off, and became a folklore heroine who is still remembered today as the "pretty, witty" personality who might have been created especially to put her world into a good humor.

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