
Advertise on podcast: What'sHerName
Rating
4.8from
This podcast has
171 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
Dr. Katie Nelson and Olivia MeikleExplicit
No
Date created
2017/12/03
Latest episode
2026/01/19
Average duration
55 min.
Release period
17 days
Description
What’sHerName puts the women back into world history. Hosts Dr. Katie Nelson and Olivia Meikle are professors-turned-podcasters (and sisters!) Weaving interviews with experts into vivid, nuanced biographies, What'sHerName women's history podcast tells the stories of fascinating women you’ve never heard of (but should have). Fascinating and funny, thought-provoking and insightful. New episodes biweekly Mondays.
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THE KLONDIKE QUEEN Shaaw Tláa (Kate Carmack)
2026/01/19
On a day like any other in 1896, Shaaw Tláa was washing dishes in a Yukon creek. But something shiny caught her eye... and the Klondike Gold Rush began. It's an insane chapter of world history: 100,000 ill-prepared dreamers from all over the world trekked into the subarctic. But what would become of the indigenous woman who started it all? Shaaw Tláa, known to the world as Kate Carmack, was suddenly one the richest people in the world, and she was married to a man called Lying George...
Join Katie on location at Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park for this larger-than-life story of gold, greed, and destiny.
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Become a Patron to help make more episodes happen, and to get episodes ad-free! Or join our next What'sHerName TOUR for a great women's history adventure!
Want to lean more about Shaaw Tlaa? We've got you covered:
Read Wealth Woman by Deb Vanasse
Learn more about Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Alaska and in Seattle
Read about more Women of the Gold Rush
Visit the US Postal Museum exhibit Stories from the Gold Rush
Read the delightful 1897 Klondike: A Manual for Goldseekers
Music featured in this episode: "Gold Rush" and "Five Card Shuffle" by Kevin MacLeod; "Roundup in the Prairie" by Aaron Kenny; "A Ghost Town" by Quincas Moreira; "Over the Mountain" and "Inconsciousness" by Mini Vandals; "The Quiet Aftermath" by Sir Cubworth; "Horses and Trains" by Jesse Gallagher; historical recordings of the US Marine Band; "Honky Tonkin'" by Doug Maxwell; "Through and Through" by Amulets.
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THE SCANDALOUS WOMAN Uno Chiyo
2026/01/08
Uno Chiyo rose to fame in 20th century Japan as a writer, designer, domestic goddess, and fashion icon - mostly by marketing herself as just a scandalous woman. But this "Bad Girl of Good Housekeeping" was so much more than just a writer of sexy stories. Guest Rebecca Copeland helps us uncover the secrets of this enigmatic, fascinating woman.
Music featured in this episode provided by Hirano Aiko, JackJack9, Zac Zinger, Doug Maxwell, the Mini Vandals, Bounce Bay Records, and Kumi.
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A WINTER OF CONTENT Laura Lee Davidson
2025/12/15
To snowy Ontario, Canada for our 2026 Christmas Special!
Living out the dream of countless exhausted women, Laura Lee Davidson retreated to an island in the middle of a lake, and lived there alone through a long Canadian winter.
But she wasn't really alone. Wild creatures became her friends, and she was constantly the recipient of neighborly kindness from folks on the mainland.
Laura Lee's 1922 book about her winter on the island is now considered a classic of Canadian literature, and a vivid portrait of time gone by.
Katie reads some of her favorite excerpts from the book, and we all tag along with Laura Lee Davidson, retreating into a remote winter solitude, and marveling at the wonders of nature.
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Find Laura Lee Davidson's A Winter of Content HERE, or read a digital copy HERE. The What'sHerName SHOP is open, and check out our TOURS to join us on our next women's history adventure!
Music in this episode:
Deck the Halls, Air Prelude, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, and Angels We Have Heard on High by Kevin MacLeod; The First Noel by Quincas Moreira; I Saw Three Ships by Audionautix; The Friendly Beasts by Marc Nelson; Unrequited by Asher Fulero; In the Bleak Midwinter by The Whalens; Growing Up by Nate Blaze; Auld Lang Syne by DJ Williams; The Anunnaki Return by Jesse Gallagher; When We Found the Horizon by Late Night Feeler.
With additional sounds from freesound.org including "St Marys River Dawn Chorus" and "Midnight Nature On The St. Marys River" by Ambient-X; and "Canadian loons" by Chance Media.
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BONUS EPISODE Voices of Women Festival
2025/12/01
At the recent Voices of Women Festival, we invited folks to pop into our ad-hoc recording box to record the 60-second story of their favorite historical woman. The results are a delight - and include some cast and crew members from Broadway's SUFFS!
The Voices of Women Festival was held in Salt Lake City, UT, in tandem with Broadway's SUFFS on tour. Thanks to Victor Hamburger and the Utah Women's History Initiative for making this happen!
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The What'sHerName SHOP is open! Also check out our TOURS to join us on upcoming women's history adventures.
Music in this episode: "Please" by Wayne Jones; "Yoga Style" and "Western Spaghetti" by Chris Haugen; "Cowboy Sting" by Kevin MacLeod; "Lao Tzu Erhu" by Doug Maxwell.
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THE BLACK NATIONALIST Queen Mother Audley Moore
2025/11/24
Queen Mother Audley Moore was one of the most respected, most influential, longest-lasting influences on the US Black Nationalist movement, the Pan-African movement, the movement for Reparations, and the Black American organizing community in general across almost the entire 20th century.
So why have most of us never even heard her name?
Returning guest Ashley Farmer introduces Olivia to the incredible, unexpected force that was Queen Mother Audley Moore.
Music featured in this episode provided by Daniel Henderson and his Big Band, The New Hot 5, Cynthia Meng and Kim Onah, TrackTribe, Kevin Macleod, and Emmit Fenn.
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THE EXECUTIVE Katharine Gibbs
2025/11/10
In 1917, Katharine Gibbs rebounded from personal tragedy in an unusual way: she decided to train a subversive, feminist army. Nearly broke and with just a high school education, Gibbs trained women as executive secretaries, building a famous school in just a few years.
"Gibbs Girls" were so intelligent, competent, and polite, that no one could justify the dusty old notions that women belonged at home. The American workplace was changed forever.
Our guest is Vanda Krefft, author of Expect Great Things! How the Katharine Gibbs School Revolutionized the American Workplace for Women.
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Check out our upcoming TOURS: witness women's history with What'sHerName and find your people!
Music in this episode: Irving Aaronson & His Commanders, "If I Had You" and "All By Yourself in the Moonlight"; Nat Shikret & The Victor Orchestra, "The Things That Were Made for Love"; Johnny Marvin, "True Blue Lou"; Arden & Ohman, "We'll Be the Same"; Paul Whiteman Orchestra, "Love Me"; Fred Rich & His Orchestra, "Nobody But You"; Leo Reisman & His Orchestra, "I Kiss Your Hand Madame"; Amulets, "Resolver"; JVNA, "Athena".
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THE BIRD OF ILL OMEN Catherine Crowe: 2025 Halloween Special
2025/10/27
Catherine Crowe was a wildly acclaimed Victorian novelist,
playwright, social critic and …ghost hunter? Her novels were as popular
as Charles Dickens,’ and Ralph Waldo Emerson, Harriet Martineau, and
George Eliot were her ardent fans. And her pioneering catalog of ghosts
and the supernatural, The Night Side of Nature, was one of the first and most influential works to be adopted by the up-and-coming Spiritualist movement. So how did this incredibly talented, incredibly famous woman
disappear from our collective memory? The answer involves a few
misbehaving spirits, a little bit of nudity, and a whole lot of
mean-spirited gossip by one very famous frenemy.
For this year’s Halloween Special, Professor Ruth Heholt helps Olivia resurrect the wildly famous, wildly fascinating, wildly under-appreciated Catherine Crowe.
Selections from Catherine Crowe’s works read for us by Matthew Meikle and Emma Porter.
Music featured in this episode provided by Amanda Setlik Wilson, Kevin MacLeod, Doug Maxwell, Myuu, Brian Bolger, Jesse Gallagher, and the Weber State University Choirs and Orchestra.
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THE MYSTERY The Ivory Lady
2025/10/01
When a history-making Copper Age burial was unearthed in southern Spain in 2008, the world was stunned by the incredibly beautiful - and utterly unprecedented - artifacts found in the tomb of the so-called 'Ivory Man.' But fifteen years later, the archaeology world would be rocked by an even more astonishing discovery - that 5,000-year-old Ivory Man was actually an Ivory Lady! Archaeologist Marta Cintas Peña helps Olivia dig into this remarkable 'prehistorical mystery.'
Music featured in this episode provided by: Doug Maxwell, Emmet Fenn, I Think I Can Help You, Chris Haugen and the Mini Vandals
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THE FOLKLORISTA Violeta Parra
2025/09/15
Violeta Parra needs no introduction in Latin America: not only did she record the greatest album in Chilean history, she also collected two thousand folk songs, danced in the Poor Circus, sang in the streets, and --incredibly-- exhibited at the Louvre. Over the years she also broke ...*checks notes*... 48 guitars over people's heads.
Discover the larger than life story of Violeta Parra with our guest Ericka Verba, author of Thanks to Life, A Biography of Violeta Parra.
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Travel with us! What'sHerName TOURS are open for registration. Or check out the What'sHerName SHOP! Every bit helps us make more episodes.
Music featured in this episode:
Violeta Parra recorded by Alan Lomax in 1953 in the Lomax Digital Archive; Puerto Montt is Trembling, and Gracias a la Vida by Violeta Parra; Las Hermanas Parra recored for RCA Victor in 1952; Corazon Maldito and El Guilatun by Desborde; Pink Flamenco by Doug Maxwell; Sus Remedios by Casa Rosa; Cha Cha Chango by Quincas Moreira; Despair and Triumph by Kevin MacLeod; Spirit of Fire by Jesse Gallagher.
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THE WITNESS Leonora Sansay
2025/08/21
Leonora Sansay lived through the last chaotic years of the Haitian Revolution - but the book she wrote about it would tell an entirely unexpected story.
Join returning guest Dr. Maria Windell as we explore the fascinatingly "messy-complicated" life of novelist Leonora Sansay - and uncover a fascinating link with "almost-Founding Father" (and 21st century Broadway icon) ...Vice President Aaron Burr?
Music featured in this episode provided by The Global Jukebox, the US Marine Band, Aaron Kenny, and Kevin MacLeod.
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THE TUGBOAT PIONEER Thea Foss
2025/08/04
135 years ago, Norwegian immigrant Thea Foss lived in a ramshackle driftwood houseboat on the coast of Tacoma Washington. Kind, capable, and hard-working, she was an anchor for hundreds more immigrants during America's Gilded Age. Thea built the largest maritime company west of the Mississippi- but more than that, she was the heart of the community. (Plus there's a boat parade, a catastrophic fire, and a truly delightful cow.)
Join Katie on location in Tacoma Washington as we explore the question of how to build community.
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Fancy a Thea Foss MUG featuring her inspiring motto ALWAYS READY? The What'sHerName SHOP is open!
Join us for our next adventure on a What'sHerName TOUR!
If you're local to Tacoma, check out all the cool stuff Jennifer Trahan and Parks Tacoma are doing!
Music featured in this episode: Lift Up by the Mini Vandals; Density & Time by Travelator; The Royal Vagabond by Jockers Dance Orchestra; Meditation Impromptu 1 by Kevin MacLeod; traditional Norwegian songs in the National Jukebox Collection at the Library of Congress. Sound effects were kindly shared by Kevin Luce and Klankbeeld.
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THE SHAMAN QUEEN Himiko
2025/07/21
In the 3rd century, a mysterious queen ruled the Kingdom of Yamatai (modern-day Japan) with a wise and steady hand. Her reign lasted almost 70 years - but what can we really know about her, when her people never wrote anything down? Anthropologist Laura Miller introduces Olivia to this elusive ancient queen.
Read more about Queen Himiko's continuing "rebirth" as a powerful cultural icon in Laura Miller's fascinating articles "Searching for Charisma: Queen Himiko" and "Rebranding Himiko: The Shaman Queen of Ancient History."
Music featured in this episode provided by Sotetsu Tanabe, Shigeo Fujino, Yasuda Shinpu, Gordon Inoue, and Nexus.
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THE PEACE WEAVER Eva Palmer Sikelianos
2025/07/07
What if we could reopen a primordial spiritual portal, and summon peace on earth? For Eva Palmer Sikelianos in 1920s Greece, world peace wasn't a lofty dream-- it was an achievable goal. The key, Eva believed, was ancient Greek art, returned to Delphi. She had a bold plan, and if she could pull it off, she just might save the world.
Join Katie on location at the Benaki Museum in Athens, with Maria Dimitriadou, Historical Archives Curator.
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Check out our upcoming TOURS and maybe you'll sit in on the next recording!
To read more about Eva, check out A Life in Ruins by Artemis Leontis.
Music featured in this episode includes: Ischia, To Loom is to Love, and Lace Tablecloths by The Mini Vandals; Tomorrow Never Comes, Sad French Accordion, Accordion Dirge, and Rainy Night Accordion by Dana Boule; The Anunaki Return and The Sleeping Prophet by Jesse Gallagher; Alone by Emmit Fenn; Byzantine Chant by RTB45 at free sound.org; Lockers Dance Orchestra, Wedding March, and Melody in F from the Library of Congress National Jukebox.
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THE VAGABOND PRINCESS Gulbadan Begum
2025/06/23
At the dawn of the Mughal Empire, a bold and brilliant Princess outlived three Emperors, and managed to create an adventurous, wildly unexpected life for herself during one of the most tumultuous eras in history. And luckily for the rest of us - she wrote it all down!
Award-winning historian Dr. Ruby Lal returns to the podcast to introduce us to the Vagabond Princess, Gulbadan Begum.
Music for this episode provided by Farya Faraji, Doug Maxwell, E's Jammy Jams, and Aashish Khan, Pranesh Khan, and Shiraz Ali Khan.
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THE DOER Fulvia
2025/06/02
The Roman Republic is collapsing and everything hangs in the balance. It's a political game of kill-or-be-killed, and Fulvia did not come to play.
You've heard of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Cleopatra. But have you heard of Fulvia, who was in the eye of that infamous ancient Roman storm?
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Travel with us to ITALY, to walk in Fulvia's footsteps! Our new LOST WOMEN OF ITALY Tour is open for registration!
Daisy Dunn is an award-winning classicist and author of The Missing Thread, A Women's History of the Ancient World.
Music featured in this episode:
Michael Levy "Cogitatio," "Sacred Flame of Vesta," "Amatores"
Jesse Gallagher: "The Anunnaki Return," "Spirit of Fire"
Jimena Contreras: "Cosmic Nightmares"
I Think I Can Help You: "Crab Nebula"
M Murray: "Viking Medieval Theme"
Plus sound effects from YleArkisto and LilMati
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Podcast reviews
Read What'sHerName podcast reviews
GeorgiaGeis 2025/09/19
What an amazing find!
I’m so glad I stumbled upon this podcast. I found it as I’m doing research on early female escape artists. I have only listened to Episode 8: The Disa...
BooksMcGee 2025/05/08
Ray of Light
Whenever I feel sad about the state of things, I listen to an episode and feel hopeful and inspired.
@loveslit 2025/02/14
So many women
I have learned about so many truly great women from Katie and Olivia. From Frances Perkins to Genghis Khan’s daughters to The Great Sandwina, there ar...
Amber Morin 2024/09/24
Absolute GEM
What’sHerName Podcast is an absolute gem! Hosts Olivia Meikle and Dr. Katie Nelson bring history to life by uncovering the fascinating stories of wome...
Bzn8735 2025/02/10
Who is this cohost??
A well researched podcast marred by the useless cohost who chimes in HMMM or WOAHHHHH every other sentence and literally adds zero other value. Please...
Sherrard24 2025/01/21
Check it out!
I go back and forth about WhatsHerName.
The hosts’ verbal mannerisms always annoy me, but I keep listening to be inspired and educated about forgot...
RHQ22 2024/11/15
Disappointing
This podcast is like easdropping on two moms trying to keep two distracted american teenager girls interested. It’s so dumbed -down-cutesy about lost...
Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😝😜 2024/02/04
Beautifully researched, written, and presented
I found this podcast a few years ago while looking for stories about powerful women. Katie and Olivia have a way of telling stories about women I woul...
Akela263 2023/11/12
Fantastic and informative
Keep up the great work and don’t listen to the snowflakes….
Sheebaelaine 2023/09/19
Learning so much!
This is just the girl power podcast the world needed. I’ve learned so much about so many amazing women in just a few weeks (newbie). Anytime I come ac...
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