What'sHerName

Without the daughters of Genghis Khan, there would have been no Mongol Empire. Four women ruled over North, South, East, and West, in what would become the largest land empire in the history of the world. It's a story you've never heard, because the sisters were literally cut out of the Mongol records. Join us with eminent Mongol scholar Jack Weatherford, who went searching for the missing story... and found it.

Illustrations by Brooke Smart.

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Say you join a revolution in the name of liberty and equality. Then someone hands you a crown. Could you do more good, with that power? Or will everything fall apart? Come with us to Haiti and across Europe in the twisty-turny tale of THE QUEEN OF HAITI, Marie-Louise Christophe.

Katie's guest is Vanessa Riley, author of Queen of Exiles.

To learn more about the sound recordings by anthropologist Alan Lomax, check out CulturalEquity.org, and the American Folklife Center. We featured "Valtz Creole" by Musique Creole Group, and a number of voodoo ceremony recordings.

Additional music was composed by ELPHNT, Kevin Macleod, Jimena Contreras, Quincas Moreira, Sir Cubworth, Aaron Kenny, Brian Bolger, Beethoven and Mendelssohn.

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How did a 25-year-old German Jewish refugee with no formal photography training become 'half of' the most celebrated war photographer in history? Returning guest Kip Wilson takes us right into the heart of the Spanish Civil War to meet Gerda Taro - subject of Wilson's newest novel One Last Shot and the most famous photojournalist you've never heard of.

Music featured in this episode was provided by Trialogo, The Mini Vandals, Sir Cubworth, Doug Maxwell, Aaron Kenny, and Esther Abrami. 

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How did a lifelong cleaning lady become one of the most beloved painters in French history? In 1905, the voice of the Virgin Mary told orphaned, uneducated maid Seraphine to paint, and she obeyed. Her small French town was on the front line of both world wars, and through it all she painted her kaleidoscopic view. She gave her paintings to everyone in town...who promptly tossed them in the fireplace. She died penniless and unknown, but when a film about her aired on French television a couple years ago, everything changed. Travel with Katie in Senlis for a vivid soundscape of turn-of-the-century France and meet "France's Mona Lisa."

Katie's guest is Alicia Basso Boccabella at the Museums of Senlis.

Music featured in this episode was recorded by Thierry Callen, Kevin MacLeod, and Andrew Huang.

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The day "Rattlesnake Kate" Slaughterback (armed with only a rifle, 4 bullets, and a "No Hunting" sign) successfully shot, slashed and smashed her way through hundreds of rattlesnakes to save herself and her son, a legend was born. But that's just the beginning of her story...

Olivia is on location at the Greeley History Museum with Grammy-nominated musician and composer Neyla Pekarek (formerly of The Lumineers), whose musical Rattlesnake Kate premiered in 2022 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Kate Slaughterback's letters were read by Emma Porter, and "Rattlesnake Kate's Passionate Love" was performed by Mark Henderson.

Music featured in this episode by Neyla Pekarek, Quincas Moreira, Nat Keefe and The Bow Ties, Zachariah Hickman.

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The Pharaoh Hatshepsut is probably the most successful woman king Egypt ever had - so why doesn't anyone know how to say her name? Discover this enigmatic, fascinating woman with returning guest and fan-favorite Egyptologist Kara Cooney.

Music featured in this episode used by kind permission of Michael Levy, Remon Sakr, Kevin MacLeod and Quincas Moreira.

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“I have only one favor to ask of people: to take care of their stories.” When Mary Kawena Puku’i was born, her grandmother named her the PUNA HELE, the one who would carry their Hawaiian tradition and culture into the future. Not an easy task, since she was born in 1895-- the year Hawaii was overthrown and annexed by the United States! But she rose to the task, working tirelessly her entire life to record Hawaiian language and culture...with magnificent and inspiring results!

Guest Dr. Eve Okura Koller holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Her research has taken her to places such as New Zealand, the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation, and Finland. Her publications include the Open Handbook of Linguistic Data Management (MIT Press) and Language Nests (Oxford University Press). She is from Hilo, Hawai'i.

Music featured in this episode from the Library of Congress, Doug Maxwell, and Chris Haugen.

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When Clara Ford - a poor, Black, cross-dressing, pipe smoking, single mother - was arrested for the murder of dashing, young, white Frank Westwood, nobody expected her to avoid the noose. So how did this unexpected heroine talk her way out of the death sentence - even after she confessed?

Olivia takes us to 19th century Toronto for a wild True Crime adventure with Carolyn Whitzman, author of the fascinating new book Clara at the Door With a Revolver. Join us as we uncover the truth (or do we?) of this unexpected and unbelievable trial.

Music featured in this episode by Zachariah Hickman, Aaron Kenny, E's Jammy Jams, Biz Baz, Vess Ossman, Libby Dees and Adam Roberts.

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In a deep dark underwater cave, Mexican divers in 2007 found a mountain of prehistoric animal bones…and one human skeleton. It was Naia– the oldest skeleton ever discovered in the Americas. What can her bones tell us about our human origins? And more than that, what do they tell us about what it means to be human? Come with us on location to Dos Palmas cenote in Mexico, as Katie interviews returning guest Gabo Cemé.

Music featured in this episode by Kevin McLeod, ELPHNT, Jimena Contreras, Patrick Patrikios, and Amulets.

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Her pioneering work on solar heat and solar energy would change science forever – but it was her passionate dedication to humanity that made her a true visionary. Meet the remarkable Maria Telkes, subject of the amazing American Experience documentary The Sun Queen, with Olivia’s guests: Writer/Producer Gene Tempest and Director Amanda Pollack.

Music featured in this episode provided by: Amanda Setlik Wilson, The Mini Vandals, Esther Abrami, I Think I Can Help You, and Joel Cummins.

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