Stop yawning! This isn’t History 101!
First off, there is no test.
Secondly, our goal is merely to introduce you to characters in history, factual or fictional. An introduction, an overview and a little push to explore and learn more on your own.
Our Shownotes will give you an short look at the life of the person that we are discussing- basic facts and links to other sources to learn more. (And maybe a few teasers about topics covered in the podcast.) The podcast episodes will go into greater detail as we chat about the challenges, failures and successes, times, and things that we find interesting about the life of our subject. Sometimes, as opportunities present themselves, we will add Special Features here on our website that relate to the person that we are spotlighting.
Tuck away a couple of facts to throw out at dinner parties! Dazzle your kids when they are learning history in school! Dive headfirst into the subcultures that exist for just about anyone! Redecorate a room in homage! Plan a vacation around a women that existed long before you but, for some reason, you relate to. How you use the resources that we provide is entirely up to you.
ABOUT US
Why should you listen to a couple of chicks talk about women in history?
You want the facts. Simple enough.
You want to know how the women are remembered, ways their legacies live on, and how you can learn more. We can do that!
And you like to get your information in a unique, fun, smart converstational style. TRIFECTA!
We are just like you. And you. (And even you, yeah you, the one googling our names.) We think that women, females, dames, broads…chicks in history is a perfect topic to sit down and chat about. We don’t claim to know it all, but really, all of it would take more time than any of us have right now. And it would be kinda boring.
Use the comment section below, or email us at chicks@thehistorychicks.com to say hi, or let us know who you might like to hear us talk about. Subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. If you like us, tell a friend and give us a five star review on iTunes. Like us on facebook, follow us on twitter or G+ and come back to our site to read the Shownotes, and see what obscure -yet mesmerizing-trivia we share on our Special Features page.
Two women. Half the population. Several thousand years of history. About an hour. Go.
Woot Woot girlies! <3 Lindsey Lou
Love the idea! Can’t wait to see more!
Can’t wait ladies!
This is awesome. I LOVE history and women. and you both. FANTASTIC!!!!
awww…. this is cool…
Great idea! Loved the casual style,too.
Perfect! I was looking for a history podcast with a twist, and I’ve found it. Thank you and I’ll be looking for more!
We’re glad you found us! Thanks for the encouragement!
Just found your podcast and blog and LOVE them! Thank you! I have always been a fan of history, especially involving women. Anxiously awaiting the next, and if I can add a suggestion: Anastasia Romanov and her sisters would be a great topic of discussion!!
Thanks for the suggestion! We’ve added the Romanovs to our “master list”…
Great job on pdcst. I would say background on site makes it almost unreadable so maybe change to solid color with small banner on top of artwork IMHO. What about ur pics!! Look forward to Catherine the great and Cleopatra! Mary Magdalene also.
Ur email doesn’t work also
Aloha
O-Shen
Thanks for writing! Just tested the email, and it seems to work. chicks@thehistorychicks.com
Great Job!!! Hoping to hear one about Jane Austen and Abigail Adams.
Also, as relates to Little House, the entire season was filmed in the hills surrounding Simi Valley, CA. It was located North of Tapo Canyon Blvd, but is now gone; it was destroyed by one fo the many California wild fires about 5 years ago. I was able to volunteer as a Guide in 1992, and was able to see the church, schoolhouse and their home. Funny tidbit, as Simi looks absolutely nothing like Wisconsin.
Excellent tidbit of information! Thank you Jenny–we live for this kind of stuff …er, ok, maybe a slight exaggeration…but it gets us going! Both of those women are on our list!
I just found you guys through iTunes and your podcasts are so awesome! I just listened to the Marie and Laura episodes and absolutely love them! I’m going to tell my other history-loving friends about it, for sure.
I have a minor suggestion (though I know nothing about recording audio) but might it be possible to have both voices at about the same volume level? Right now one of you awesome history ladies is a bit loud and the other is quiet, I find myself adjusting the volume as each of you speaks. However, I would happily adjust my volume to listen to another great show! Hope you’re doing well, and I look forward to the next one!
Tessa
Tessa,
Thank you!Not only for listening but for taking the time to write! We just answered this same question on our new Email Box page, but basically the answer is, yes- we are aware and are trying to fix it for future podcasts!
We are doing well, and quite frankly, blown away by the favorable reactions to our podcasts and website! Thank you for being a part of that!
Beckett and Susan
I LOVE YOUR SHOW!! I’m an avid lover of history and you ladies are bringing something new and exciting to the table! Keep it coming!
WOW! Thank you, Nikki!
Very entertaining. I’m so glad itunes suggested you ladies. I drive a lot for my job and it’s wonderful to have something interesting to listen to. Yesterday I got half way through Marie Antoinette and am looking forward to the other half today. Great job!
Loved your podcast. The audio was a little strange and pitchy. went up and down in spots…but the subjects are great. You ladies really put history into terms I can grasp. Can’t wait till the next one.
I love this site! I am a costumer currently working in the Renaissance era (1400-1700). I would be interested in anything you might know about Grace O’Malley. I am looking forward to savoring the rest of your site. Thanks for all your effort.
Thank you for writing and we are really glad that you are enjoying our site! Grace O’Malley– now there is an interesting name for our list! Can’t make promises, but that is a life that would make for a great chat! Excellent!
I just discovered this podcast and love it! Thanks so much for, as Abigail Adams would say, “remembering the ladies”!
Yes, she would! And we will remember Abigail Adams in the future!
Hm, my email to you came back to me undeliverable. I was wondering if you two would consider also talking about groups of women in addition to a single, powerful woman each episode? Don’t get me wrong; I loved the first two episodes. But I think looking at the lives of average women during particular time periods could also be a fascinating topic. I remember being blown away when I learned about matrilineal Native American culture in an Early American History course, for example, and how much power women wielded in those societies. Or how the caste system in India affects women. Or the indentured servitude system in early colonial America. Obviously the possibilities are endless. I think sometimes the focus is too often placed on the most powerful figures in history and not on the regular folks. Anyway, my two cents.
Thanks -not only for listening but for taking the time to write! Sorry about the undeliverable mail…I just tested it again and it worked.*bang head on keyboard and wail* We have heard that before,and really are unsure as to the reason. hmm…chicks@thehistorychicks.com ? As for the way more interesting aspect of your note…YES! We have collections of women on our master list! When we feel we have enough information to them justice, we plan to sit down and talk– and we will also discuss them as they relate to certain historical (or fictional!) women, if a we feel a collection applies.Great suggestion and we are on it!
Really enjoyed the podcasts – what a great niche you have tapped into with your interesting presentations – can’t wait to hear more! Only drawback is the audio … goes from too soft and then a shout (I can’t yank the earbud out fast enough!). Keep up the great content, but maybe listen to the podcast yourself with headphones to see how to even out the volume.
Thank you, ksd! We have been working on the audio and apologize for hurting your ears! We know exactly what you are talking about, and we can hear an improvement with each episode. Hope that you do as well. We are having a blast doing this and sometimes our *coughSusan’scough* enthusiasm gets loud.
Love your podcasts! I’d like to see you tell us about female spies during the civil war. What do you think??
We think we’ll add them to our master list! Thanks Holly!
Enjoyed the 2nd podcast, just listened a couple night’s ago, I was a bit confused as I have never read the books and wasn’t sure on characters but have placed holds on the books to read the series. Would have loved to hear a bit more about why Rose wasn’t easy to get along with! For 3: when I heard can’t keep her shoes on I thought Pocahontas but then this new clue with the fish and ocean…no idea!!
Excellent! Make sure you write back when you finish! We would love to hear your take! Also, on the Frontier Girl website ( see: blogroll) there are book discussions about them! You should check it out! We loved re-reading them, and it’s fun to step back in US history through them. Pochahontas IS a good guess! If you follow us on twitter, and on facebook, you can get more clues.
Love, love, love your podcasts! Really looking forward to more of them! Funnily enough, I just finished Antonia Fraser’s “The Journey” so the timing for Marie Antoinette was perfect.
My suggestion: Susanna Moodie (awesome Canadian pioneer & writer/fought off bears and housefires).
Confession: I had to look this one up! ( Hey, we can’t have the bios of EVERY amazing woman in history tucked into our brains! Part of the fun of this is that we get to learn, too!) I’m adding her to the list! Thanks Janine! Did you enjoy “The Journey”? ~Susan
Great Podcast
This is an area where I really don’t know a whole lot and as a student of history I am really excited to learn more. Keep up the great work.
I had a class on women in the 20th century (and no I did not take it to meet girls) and it was really neat because we did it by decades to see the changes. It was one of my favorite classes in College. And I think it started to make me a more well rounded student.
Thanks, Chris! That would be a very interesting class to take (regardless of your motivation). We are enjoying looking at the decades lived by the women we discuss, so looking at the contributions and lives of the gender as a whole in the context of ALL TIME…well, would be really fascinating!
Love your podcasts! I really appreciate the references to other historical happenings in the same time time period. Does that make sense? Anyway, keep up the great work and I look forward to many more enjoyable hours of listening!
Yes, Megan it makes perfect sense! Thank you for writing and listening!
You gals rock! Fantastic job with this podcast. Fun, funny, factual…can I get a yee-hah?! Found you on iTunes. Keep ‘em coming. We’re listenin’. p.s. If you had been my history teachers way back when I might have learned more. Well, here’s to lifelong learning!
Yee-hah! Ok, seriously Miriam, I have never said that before in my life…I kinda like it.~ Susan
I thoroughly enjoy the podcast & LOVE your website. The links & shownotes are an awesome plus to the podcast. I look forward to future “adventures” in learning about the women who made us who we are!
I discovered you on itunes, and am fast becoming addicted! Loved the one on Marie A., and Cinderella?!?! Only my most favourite fairy tale of all time! Am looking forward to future “subjects”. Also, I love how you throw your “Mom-ness” into the conversations, too. Being a busy mom myself, I just feel like I’m sharing a grown-up playdate with you two!
Good work, keep it up. Shall spread the word.
WOW! Thank you! It’s hard to keep our mom-ness…or our woman-ness..out of the conversation, it’s just who we are! Glad that you found us, Lisha. We’ll have another playdate next week!
Hi ladies,
I found you through iTunes and I love your podcast. The Little House on the Prairie series was such an integral part of my childhood (in the 90′s – I never actually watched the show so all of the references to dreamy Pa went a little over my head – but the books really do stand on their own.)
I laughed especially hard when you talked about the poor family dog crossing the river, getting lost and then almost shot by Pa when he comes back – poor little puppy.
Can’t wait to keep listening and see what else you have in store!
Thanks for the podcast. I am walking my way into shape and when I’m listening to your podcast, I don’t want the walk to end. There is one bad part…I have to wait a whole week to download the next one!
Thank You!
So…maybe we shouldn’t ever chat about the snacks we are munching on off mic? Walk on, Sarah!
What a GREAT podcast your program is…perfect for listening to while walking. All the more impressive because I basically slept through history classes many years ago! You find the most interesting tidbits to share and I hope there will be many more episodes. Thanks for all the effort you put into program and links!
Thank you, Gretchen! Gonna confess that I (Susan) got a D in AP history in high school–however learning for the joy of discovery is so much more enjoyable (and retain-able) as an adult. Walk on!
Ladies, I love your podcast. I found it on itunes last month & I am just thrilled. In the last month I have been driving over an hour once a week early in the morning. I make up two cups of espresso to go & can’t wait to listen to your podcast. Okay, so someone mentioned Pochantas which I think you should definitely address the Disney misinformation. What about Sacagawea? I still have a hard time saying her name correctly. I still have to think about what I am saying because I was taught incorrectly. I am certain that I am not the only one. Yes, I did notice an improvement on the sound quality with the Abigail Adams podcast-Thank you both for fixing that issue. Also Surlalune, Wow!
Thanks, Nova! Both of those women are on our list for furture episodes! And, yeah! Sur la lune! We could hang out there all day!
I listen to a lot of podcasts and audiobooks while I nurse my son, and I was just updating my ipod and saw that there was a new History Chicks episode and got so excited! And I just thought it warranted me coming over here and letting you know how awesome I think your podcasts are. There are some podcasts I subscribe to that sit on my ipod for a looooooong time before \i get around to listening to them, but yours I always listen to right away. I used to get so frustrated in school that we would read a chapter in our history books and there would be a section on “Daily life” and I’d think, “Oh, that’s what life was like” and then I’d get to the end of the chapter and there would be a tiny little section on “Women’s Lives.” And I would get so mad because I would realize that the “Daily Life” section was about what life was like for men at the time, and what womens’ lives were like were an after thought. So frustrating . . . and I went to an all-girls school too! But anyway, I love your show! I love learning about history from the point of view I most relate to — a woman’s.
Thank you, Liz! And because we are women (and moms)– we can honestly say that it’s pretty much an honor that you look forward to nursing with us. Feed on, Little Son, feed on!
Have been going for a walk every morning and listening to your podcast. It’s SO addictive I have been walking further and further just to hear the ends of the stories. Great job, keep it up!
I am 12 years old and every one at my school HATES history except me. Even my own family hates it. I am writing a historical fiction novel-do you have suggestions on who it could be about-thx.
PS this is my new fave website-found the podcast on iTunes!!!
LOVE! Thank you for writing and listening! I think you should write about anyone that interests you! (yeah, we like history, but we still talk like parents) Let us know who you pick! ~Susan
Love love loved your podcast about Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder! I loved that you mentioned the part about the glass plate from Sears & Roebuck…
I’ve been to the museum in S. Dakota and have seen the pageant and all of the hoopla. Was absolutely in love with the show (even though it was completely historically inaccurate) Melissa Gilbert will always be “Half Pint” in my mind and Michael Landon will always be “Pa”. I think I may need to get my set of her books out and re-read them again.
The podcast about Marie Antoinette was VERY interesting.
May I suggest Eleanor Roosevelt or Jackie Kennedy Onassis as a subject for a future podcast?
Love your show; I listen to it at work on my iPod.
Thank you, Danielle! Both Mrs Roosevelt and Jackie are on our master list–we will definitely be covering them at some point!
You should check out the special features on this site; it’s a drop-down menu organized by episode subjects. The Laura Ingalls Wilder one has a lot of neat stuff you might enjoy! Also, one of our super listeners brought this to our attention recently–we have not read the book discussed in the article, but if you do, let us know what you thought! http://www.npr.org/2011/05/09/136137419/an-author-returns-to-the-little-house?sc=fb&cc=fp
Love these podcasts. In fact, was inspired to get the Antonia Fraser bio of Marie Antoinette. A sad story beautifully researched and written. Thanks History Chicks!
I really enjoy all of your podcasts. Do you have a suggestion place to write names of women in history we would like to hear about?
Right here would be fine! OR email us at chicks@thehistorychicks.com. OR there is a discussion about it on our facebook page! (and thank you!)
How about posting your “master list”. It would be great to see all the subjects you’re considering. May I add:
Sylvia Plath
Anastasia Romanov
Madame Bovary
Joan of Arc
We have some really great reasons for keeping our list super secret–but the main one is that we want to hear the names you all want on the list, not just agreementsas to who is already on it. (If that makes any sense at all). Those are four terrific suggestions and they have been noted! Thanks, Robyn!
My 9 year old daughter, Sophia, LOVES your podcasts. She listens to them on her ipod and continually checks for more updates. Thanks for sharing such amazing women of history with her and encouraging her to read and learn more. You two rock!
Love it!! Thanks for sharing that! *waves* Hi, Sophia! Don’t forget to check the Special features pages! We stick A LOT of nifty information in there!
I discovered you on iTunes a few months ago. I LOVE your podcasts/website, and recommend you to everyone. I’m sure your list for future podcasts is long, but here are a few ladies I’d love to hear about:
Margaret Mead
Dr. James Barry (Margaret Ann Bulkley)
Emily Dickinson
Elizabeth Ann Seton
Catherine the Great
Emma Smith
the women of the(US)suffrage movement
Keep up the great work, I can’t wait to hear more!
Fantastic podcast! Keep up the great work. I’ll be listening!
Excellent! Thank you!
Your Podcast is my absolute favorite. I re-listened to all of them this fall as a put up hay. I loved history in high school and college and the teachers I loved had what you and they have in common. It is simply that you enjoy telling the human stories in a way that transcends fact and illuminates their humanity.
Look forward to a long relationship. Sincere Thanks!
Paul
Paul,
Thank you. Your note made me cry. In a good way.
Susan
I love the postcast. You are so enthusiastic about the subject it makes me smile – thank you
Well, thank you! Hearing that makes us smile!
When the radio in my car died I was beside myself with grief – how would I get the news and entertain myself on the 45 minute drive to and from work? Started looking for podcasts – then low and behold there you were! Now I am hooked. Love the tidbits that you throw in (we never go those in school). Thank You!!!!!
And there we were! Thank you, Sarah!
Just found you on Itunes Podcasts. I have a long commute and I listen while I drive. I am a history buff and/or nut.
I have a great interest in the Civil War era. Varina Howell Davis (wife of Jefferson Davis) is one of my favorite people. Often I find a very “sanitized” history of her, but she was a strong, accomplised woman and endured many ups and downs.
As we all do.
Thanks,
Thank you, Janice! Going to add Varina Howell Davis to the list of women that we pick our topics from!