Episode #16-Mata Hari

From disenchanted, favorite child she escaped to become a hopeful, teenage bride. From business-savvy show woman and courtesan she fell to become a convicted spy. From birth to death, Mata Hari’s life was defined by transformation. Charged with aiding Germany while deceiving France, Mata Hari was executed for her supposed crimes at 41. But, was she guilty?

Episode #16-Mata Hari (Show Notes)

From disenchanted, favorite child she escaped to become a hopeful, teenage bride. From business-savvy show woman and courtesan she fell to become a convicted spy. From birth to death, Mata Hari’s life was defined by transformation.

Born Margaretha Zelle in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, her girlhood was characterized by wealth and extravagance, until her spendthrift father went bankrupt, throwing the family into poverty. She was pawned-off to relatives following her parents’ divorce and mother’s death, and trained to become a kindergarten teacher. But, after her first brush with scandal, she was again sent packing. Now residing in the Hague, Margaretha met Rudolph MacLeod, her future husband. Engaged after just 6 days, the pair became acquainted via a matrimonial advertisement he’d taken out in a newspaper. Yet, despite his aristocratic pedigree, Rudolph was no gentleman. His drinking and womanizing, and Margaretha’s free-spending, overtaxed the marriage, and they eventually divorced.

Three Cheers!

Congratulations, Michelle Janine Howard, the U.S. Navy’s 1st female four star admiral, the service’s highest rank! Likewise, this makes her the 1st African-American woman to earn a four-star ranking in the history of the U.S. military. Michelle is also notable for being the 1st African-American woman to command a U.S. Navy vessel. For more, check-out:

Female four-star admiral: Adm. Michelle Janine Howard makes Navy history (The Christian Science Monitor)

Michelle Howard Becomes 1st Female 4-Star Officer in the Navy (The Root)

Episode #15-Phillis Wheatley (Mini-cast)

She overcame her subjugated status to become America’s first black published poet, yet she died in abject poverty. How could Phillis Wheatley soar to such great heights, only to plummet so far? Tune-in, and find out.

Episode #15-Phillis Wheatley (Mini-cast)

She overcame her subjugated status to become America’s first black published poet, yet she died in abject poverty. How could Phillis Wheatley soar to such great heights, only to plummet so far? Tune-in, and find out.

Episode #15-Phillis Wheatley (Mini-cast) Show Notes

The Phillis Wheatley Monument
in Boston, Massachusetts

You've probably heard of Phillis Wheatley, but chances are you’re not quite sure who she is, or why she’s famous. If you’re nodding your head, keep reading…

Phillis Wheatley, the first African-American to publish a book of poetry, was probably born in 1753 or 1754, somewhere in western Africa. At roughly 7 years old, captured by slave-traders.
 Considered too sickly for hard labor plantations in the Caribbean or Southern U.S. colonies, she became a domestic servant for the Wheatley family in Boston.  Though they kept slaves, the Wheatley’s were relatively progressive; after witnessing Phillis copying the alphabet in chalk, instead of punishing her, they decided to cultivate her academic interests. During a period when some states outlawed teaching slaves to read, Phillis was studying Alexander Pope and John Milton. Actually, the education she received from the Wheatley’s was superior even to most Caucasian males’.

Dude, Where's My Womb?

Bitches, let’s rap. We need to discuss a subject that’s a bit…well, serious. Sit down. Do you now, or have you ever, felt anxious, short-tempered, or emotional?  Have you perhaps experienced insomnia or a loss of appetite? Do you have a general “tendency to cause trouble?” I suspected you might. Ladies, it’s time you learned about a rampant “disease” that’s been plaguing women for thousands of years, Female Hysteria (or as George said, “More like her-steria!” High-five, buddy!). Don’t be afraid; I'm here to answer each and every one some of your questions. First up…