by The History Chicks | Nov 28, 2015 | Biography Episode, Episode, Podcasts
Lillian Gilbreth should be remembered for any of her life accomplishments: psychologist, industrial engineer, author, inventor, and pioneer in the field of industrial psychology. From her collection of degrees to her equal partnership marriage to her work with Presidents and to the trailblazing example she set for us modern mothers…she should be remembered for a lot more than simply, “the mother on Cheaper by the Dozen”.
Let’s do something about that.
Lillian Gilbreth, circa 1920s, Courtesy Frank and Lillian Gilbreth papers, (MSP 7, Box 126, Folder 4) Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries
(more…)
by The History Chicks | Apr 23, 2014 | Episode, Podcasts, Special
Take a musical trip with us as we revisit some of our favorite songs from Seasons Three and Four. For each episode we select a song or piece of music that brings our episode subject to mind. Maybe the lyrics reminded us of her, the beat fit her life, or the chorus defined her legacy- something that ties the music to her story. We don’t usually play the whole piece, so this is our chance to showcase the whole song and thank the artists who made it available to us.
If you have been turning off our podcasts when we say, “Bye!” you are missing out on not only some great independent music, but we have been known to tack outtakes in there, too.
This episode is also a bit of a milestone: it brings us to the end of Season Four. We will be back soon for Season Five when we can share the stories of ten (at least, you know how we like to tuck in a bonus mini-casts here and there) women whose lives are worthy of a good chat.
Here is the playlist: (It’s longer than last time, and there is OPERA!)
1. “Justice Will Roll Down” by Sandra McCracken
(from Episode 25, Ida Wells)
2. “Broken” by jamesking
(from Episode 42, Frida Kahlo)
3. “Know Which Way The Wind Blows” by The Postmarks
(from Episode 38, Jane Austen)
4. “Lost Things” by Viola
(from Episode 45, Hatshepsut)
5. “Bravely” by Mieka Pauley
(from Episode 23, Margaret “Molly” Brown)
6. “Taking A Chance On Love” by Danny Fong
(from Episode 24, The Last Four Wives of Henry the Eighth) <- This was so wrong 🙂
7. “On A Bridge Between Clouds” by Mujaji
(from Episode 39, Amelia Earhart)
8. “Leaf In The Tree” by Frozen Ocean Wave
(from Episode 43, Queen Elizabeth I, Part 1)
9. “Majesty” by Infernal Devices
(from Episode 21, Tudor Grandmothers)
10. “Dreamers” by The Hipstones
(from Episode 41, Bessie Coleman)
11. “The Tsar’s Bride, Aria from Act IV” written by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and performed by Elena Zoubareva
(from Episode 32, The Romanovs (Part 1)
12. “Paris” by Friendly Fires
(from Episode 34, Josephine Baker, Part 1)
13. “Should Have Known Better” by Samantha Farrell
(from The Jane Austen Book Club, Part 3)
14. “You’re Human After All” by Stars and Skylines
(from Cleopatra, Episode 46)
15. “I Can Sing A Rainbow” by Beth Burrows (memories of preschool!)
(from The Ladies of The Wizard Of Oz Minicast)
16. “Made of Stars” by Xavier & Ophelia
(Bonus track!)
As always, find this music and more at Music Alley. Visit them at Music.mevio.com
by The History Chicks | Sep 9, 2013 | Biography Episode, Episode, Podcasts
Put some flowers in your hair, drape yourself in bold fabrics and listen to a chat about the colorful and dramatic life and art of Frida Kahlo.
Frida Kahlo, circa 1937
If you thought selfies were an invention of the Twentytens, step back in a time a bit farther. The majority of Frida’s art was of herself- it’s how she told her story. Frida experienced a great deal of pain and joy (and every emotion in between) in her lifetime, and painting was how she expressed herself.
Born (deep breath) Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderon on July 6, 1907 to Guillermo and Matilda Kahlo in Coyoacan, Mexico. She was the third of four daughters, although Papa had two girls with his first wife.
Frida’s childhood was off to a tumultuous start when the Mexican Revolution broke out when she was 3. A few years later, she contracted polio and was bedridden for most of a year. Both of these events foreshadowed some very significant challenges that would come her way.
Young Frida
But first she had to grow-up! We talk about her schooling, her neighborhood shenanigans and her entre into a prestigious school to study to become a doctor. While there she gets her first taste of radical political life and she meets a man- muralist Diego Rivera. At this point, Frida’s role in his life was to taunt him while he tried to work…or play (Diego excelled at “play”).
When Frida was 18, she boarded a bus with her boyfriend, just like she did every day. But that day the bus and a trolley collided. Frida was left with severe injuries that affect her physically for the rest of her life. We do go into details during the podcast, and give a warning because the accident and recovery was horrific.
A teenager, laying at home immobilized by a full-body cast, would get bored very quickly. Her parents set Frida up with paints, a mirror over her bed and an easel- the result? Frida’s first painting- a self portrait. More paintings came and we talk about some of them. When she is finally vertical she brings a sample of her work to her former tormentee: Diego.
And he liked them!
And he liked her!
Of course we go into greater detail in the podcast, but in short order Frida and Diego marry. He was 22 years her senior and was almost a foot and 200 pounds larger but the match between, “an elephant and a dove” (as her mama claimed) was passionate and electric.
Frida and Diego, circa 1930
Diego’s job as muralist took him many places, and Frida followed. She continued to paint although her very small, mostly self-portraits juxtaposed with his large and quite full murals mirrored the physical dissimilarities that they had. The couple traveled to the United States, where she was “Mrs. Rivera” ( and not much else) but is celebrated because of her relationship to the famous painter. For a variety of reasons (that we cover, you know the podcast is much fuller than these shownotes, right?) she is not happy in the United States and eventually, they work their way back to Mexico.
But with great passion often comes great drama. Diego has never managed (or even attempted) to keep himself away from other women, and- quite frankly- Frida didn’t do such a great job keeping herself away from other women (and men), either. Their love was…er- unique. And so was their house!
Diego got the big half, Frida the shorter- and they were connected by a bridge.
And then this happened.
My Sister Cristina…yeah, *that* sister Cristina. She’s lucky this was painted before (the incident)
And things get pretty dramatic for a few years (like they weren’t before?) It’s like a telenovela…except it’s real! We do our best to keep this talk PG-13, we really do, but their lives weren’t all that PG-13. For instance, after a separation, then a reconciliation of sorts, they take in exiled Russian Revolutionary, Leon Trotsky and his wife. A short affair ensues (Frida with Leon). Later, Trotsky is killed while in Mexico: Diego and Frida are suspects for a short time, but Diego had conveniently left the country. See? Drama.
Later she painted this, Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky (image courtesy NMWA)(you should go read about it here)
All of the drama really fires up her art. Frida painted to work through her feelings and she clearly had a lot of feelings that needed to be addressed. Because of that, her art was beginning to get noticed. She was given several exhibits in both New York and Paris.
Paris loves her!
Josephine loves her! Maybe. Probably.
The Parisians adore her style and slap her on the cover of Paris Vogue.
Because everyone who goes to Paris gets a Vogue cover. Vogue. Vogue.(two points if you just got a Madonna earworm)
But she and Diego need eachother. Somehow. They work out an amiable arrangement and get married again. For several years she takes care of him, he takes care of her…they move back into the Casa Azul and have a colorful and workable relationship.
Frida painting her father, Guillermo’s portrait circa 1951
But Frida’s health has never been good. Several pregnancies that never came to term took a toll on her body, as well as lifelong complications from her bus accident. She spends the better part of her last years in bed or hospitalized.
Frida painting in a hospital bed later in her life
Frida’s last painting, completed just before her death
On July 13th, 1954, at the age of 47, Frida Kahlo dies at her home. Official cause: Pulmonary Embolism. Unofficial Speculation: suicide or assisted suicide.
Her remains were cremated and are still on display at Casa Azul.
TIME TRAVEL WITH THE HISTORY CHICKS
You want to look at lots of pictures of Frida- you must! She told her biography through her paintings, and there are a lot of images of her to be seen. Click on over to the Frida Kahlo Museum, or The Frida Kahlo Foundation to get started. The first you can visit and is located in her family home, Casa Azul in Coyoacon, Mexico.
Frida Kahlo Museum
Here is the link (about a documentary) that we spoke about where you can roll your mouse over some of her art for explanations, Life and Times of Frida Kahlo, PBS.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Beckett talked about this. Click on RELATED MULTIMDIA to start your adventure.
Movie version!
BOOKS! Start with the books Susan recommended. First up, historical fiction:
The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo by F.G. Haghenbeck (recipe for Nonnie and anyone else in Special Features)
For the most part, we both really appreciated the books the showed her life along side her paintings- it’s the perfect way to understand both. If you find one, even ones we don’t recommend here, grab it. There are many exceptional art books about her out there.
by Gerry Soufer
Loved this one…Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress: Frida’s Wardrobe
Fun children’s book by Amy Novesky, illustrated by David Diaz
We forgot to mention this one, but it was really great for kids:
Viva la Vida by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
Beckett’s recommendations:
by Hayden Herrera
Another art book…Edited by Elizabeth Carpenter
As always, music comes courtesy of Music Alley. Visit them at Music. mevio.com
by The History Chicks | Nov 30, 2012 | Biography Episode, Episode, Podcasts
Part One of our discussion ended with the very deadly coronation events of Nicholas II and Alexandra. Russia was heading into a dire economic crisis and Nicholas stated that he intended to continue his reign in the same manner of his father, Alexander III. Will the new Tsar and Tsarina turn the country around? Will Nicholas lead his country to recovery? Will Alexandra ever get away from the meddling eyes of her Mother-in-law? Will she produce that male heir that is so necessary to the future of the Romanov dynasty?
It really does sound a little like a soap opera, doesn’t it? Sadly, the scenes that played out- while filled with glitz and drama like a movie- were very real.
The family circa 1913
What Nicholas and Alexandra thought of as strong traditions, others viewed as old fashioned and not at all in touch with the needs of the people. Politics aside, the couple did have a very beautiful life and were very much in love. They settled in Tsarkoe Selo, creating as cozy a home as they could in a corner of a very large, very opulent palace. Their entire life was filled with extravagant homes, jewels, and living. (For more detailed information on the palaces, Faberge eggs, and other peeks into the lifestyle of this family and Russia during their reign, please see the shownotes for Part One of this series, or start at Alexanderpalace.org)
Oh, this little place? Home base- Tsarkoe Selo just outside of Saint Petersburg
The Tsar and Tsarina got busy building a family ever yearning for the male heir to carry on the family business, so to speak.
Grand Duchess Olga, the first born in 1895 was followed by Tatiana two years later. Two years after that, Maria and right-on- time-child number four- Anastasia. While all of the children were loved by there parents, and very much wanted- they were not the desired male child and Alex started to freak out just a little. As always we go into greater detail on the podcast, but she went to some extreme methods (and you know how much we love to talk extreme fertility methods) to conceive a son.
Finally, in 1904, Alexandra gave birth to Alexei,Tsarevich of Russia. The family was complete.
The family was finally complete
Unfortunately, Alexei’s mother passed down to her son a trait that she had inherited from her grandmother, Queen Victoria- hemophilia. Early in his life he was diagnosed, and Nicholas and Alexandra chose to keep his condition secret. Desperate for a cure from the painful and life threatening condition, Alexandra turned to a rather unorthodox measures, including befriending and entrusting the services of Grigori Rasputin- a sham sham mystic with questionable ethics. But it seemed as if he was able to help young Alexei’s bleeding, and for reasons that perplexed many Alexandra trusted him with her family and often called upon him for guidance and counsel. Rasputin’s unusual relationship with the family, as well as his scandalous lifestyle would draw harsh criticism from the Russian people. His violent murder the result of some thinking that he had undue, and misguided influence over the Imperial family. (Basically, he didn’t play well with everyone)
Stranger Danger... Grigori Rasputin
As the children grew, Alexei’s condition caused Niki and Alex to protect him not only from injury, but to help protect the secret. The family became more withdrawn from society, cloistering themselves in their various residences. Educated at home with the best tutors, the girls adored their baby brother and were each other’s besties. The family traveled, from one palace to the next- creating a sort of annual migration between them all. While the family hobby of photography left us with an abundance of pictures, the family themselves participated in as few official functions as possible and spent most time with each other. We see far more of them now than their contemporaries did at the time.
A rare smile on the face of Alexandra, with Olga rollerskating on the deck of The Standart
"Would you like eggs for breakfast, my Dear?" "Oh yes, but from a chicken, not a jeweler." *Insert regal laughter* Ok, made that up. But Niki and Alex being chill on the royal yacht
The idyllic and private life that the family created for themselves was not to last long. With the outbreak of , and Russia’s entrance into, World War I-Nicholas left for the front. Alexandra and the older two girls became nurses, and the younger two were given a small officers hospital to “oversee”. As war efforts go, they all were very hands-on participants, not afraid of a little blood and very attentive to those in their care.
Alexandra, however, didn’t do so well with Nicholas gone. And as World War I sort of morphed (overly simplified version, we know- we do go into more detail in the podcast) into a Revolutionary War- Nicholas’s absence from the family made her a little, well, nutty. To add to her Worry List, by 1917 serious plots were forming to overthrow the government. Revolts were getting organized and the people who supported the Tsar were becoming fewer and clashed with those who demanded change.
Eventually, Nicholas was asked to abdicate the throne- a position that he never had the training, skill, or temperament for but felt God had place him in. Thinking that he could walk away, sort of retire- Nicholas abdicated, not just for himself but also for his son, Alexei.
But a peaceful retirement was not in the future for this former Tsar. His family was put under house arrest at Tsarkoe Selo. As two different armies- White and Red- strengthened and jockeyed for power, the family was moved from their home to increasingly less opulent, then downright meager surroundings.
One of the last images of the Romanov sisters-Maria, Olga, Anastasia and Tatiana in captivity at Tsarskoe Selo in 1917
On July 17th, 1918 as Vladimir Lenin was gaining power, his Red (Bolshevik) Army battled the White Army that was still in support of the Tsar.The only way to guarantee a victory was to not have the Tsar rise back into power. The only way to do that, was to execute Nicholas.
Late at night, the family was awakened, told they would be moving again and to gather in a basement room. They did. And, in that room, the entire family was executed.
But the story doesn’t exactly stop here. The bodies were moved and hidden. With no bodies, the whereabouts of the family could not be determined. For many years people came forward claiming to be members of the Imperial Family, the most notable being Anna Anderson. All were found to be fraudulent.
All but two of the bodies were discovered in 1979- with confirmed identification not taking place until 1991. The final two, Alexei and Maria- were not found and the identities were not confirmed until 2007. (More detailed information about the last days, the house where the murders took place, as well as the discovery, exhumation and identification of the bodies can begin here, at Romanov-memorial.com)
TIME TRAVEL WITH THE HISTORY CHICKS
For other media recommendations, please see the shownotes for Part One of this series because we are about to go book-tastic all over this space.
This is by no means a fully inclusive list of books about these women, this family, this dynasty, this country- this is simply a list of the ones that we would recommend based on our research.
This is the book that Beckett specifically mentioned in the episode (and the title is one that we felt we were living while getting this two part episode to you.)
The Curse of the Romanovs, Straton Rabin
The rest are in alphabetical order based on book title…it was the only fair and orderly way we could think of.
One of Beckett's Favorites:Alexandra: The Last Tsarina byCarolly Erickson
One of Susan's faves: A Lifelong Passion by Andrei Maylunas and Sergei Mironenko
Alix and Nicky: The Passion of the Last Tsar and Tsarina by Virginia Rounding
Before the Revolution by Kyril Fitzlyon
Chronicle of the Russian Tsars by David Warnes
Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert Massie
Nicholas and Alexandra: The Family Albums by Prince Michael of Greece
One of Beckett's Faves:The Court of the Last Tsar by Greg King
The Last Tsar by Larissa Yermilovna
One of Susan's Favorites: The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra by Peter Kurth
The Riddle of Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth
As always our music comes courtesty of Music Alley, visit them at music.mevio.com
by The History Chicks | Nov 7, 2012 | Misc. Business, News
We don’t usually post about any women other than the ones that we spotlight, but make an exception every once and again. Now seems like a very good time to do that.
After we had posted our Lady Jane Grey episode we were on track to bring you the final episode of Season Three. It’s a doozie, epically complicated with a lot of players covering a very long span of time. It’s a topic you asked for, we researched and were ready to record it.
But we had also promised that we wouldn’t take a break between Season Three and Season Four- and we needed to firm up our schedule for Season Four.
So we decided to meet and do just that: select a list of ten women and get a collection of options for you to vote for in the Guaranteed Content Poll. The plan was to meet one Friday, then record three days later on a Monday. Because of where we live, our day jobs and our preference to record in the same room- we usually only have one day a week where our schedules can work together. Taking that Monday was a choice we made to put everything else aside, and get this podcast recorded.
We had this foolproof, sure-fire plan...
On that Friday, the plan was working. We firmed up the upcoming season, had a lovely- and very rare- lunch together. We had a few minutes before we had to head home to pick up our kids, so we went to locate a nearby Geocache. Because we could. And it was fun. And we don’t ever have time to do goofy stuff like that together.
Then on the way home one of us came down with a pretty nasty stomach virus that wiped out the whole next week for recording.
The following week a Day Job emergency did the same.
Day job commitments, kid health issues, and our schedules kept stealing our recording days. Finally, several weeks after our Friday meeting, we sat down and recorded what will be a two-part podcast.
Our microphone was getting lonely
You may not realize what we do after we have recorded an episode. Beckett gets to editing. She takes out the parts where a truck may have driven past the House of Wood, or one of us got up to get a fresh cup of coffee, or got off on a tangent (what? It’s a conversation-sometimes that happens). Basically she takes out anything that has no relevance to the topic at hand. She adds and selects the music, and gets our very smooth voiced History Dude to record something for the middle. This takes quite a few days- and an occasional night- worth of any free time she has.
While she is doing that, Susan writes the shownotes. This doesn’t take as long as Beckett’s editing, but we have a pretty sizable portion of our audience that don’t listen to the podcast, but use the shownotes to tell them the story of the women that we spotlight. (Waves to those people) And we have to make sure that all of our recommended reading and links to places we talk about are here for you to click.
At this point we started to wonder if our episode was cursed. Things continued to happen- a death in the family that required out of town travel, a technical issue that had us contemplating re-recording… one thing after another. In the span of time that we kept crashing into obstacles, we typically could have two full episodes out. It was very frustrating.
In the middle of all of that, we were informed that YOU had nominated us for a Podcast Award! Thank you so much for that! But we hesitated to link you to the voting, before we could get the next episode up to you. It felt wrong to us.
So we were silent.
And you noticed! You sent us notes asking if we were ok and when you could expect the next podcast episode… it was really nice and made us reevaluate our communication plans.
Today, we share the tale. Quite frankly we are nervous to tell you when the next episodes will be posted. It’s a two-parter that a curse really does tie into quite well. We HOPE to have that up by the end of this week.
Hope.
Cross everything.
Send good vibes, and energy and prayers and whatever you have to offer. Because after we post those, we need to record the beginning of Season Four…and we both are really excited to do that.
Do we have your vote?
If you don’t hate us for keeping you in the dark, here is a link to The Podcast Awards. We are nominated in the Education category and you can vote once a day until November 15th.
And because it’s fun, here is a link to learn more about geocashing.
Thank you for your patience and understanding!
Beckett and Susan
