Jameela Jamil is a comedic actress currently on NBC's THE GOOD PLACE. That's not why we love her, though - we're obsessed with her body positivity which inspired a movement on instagram called i_weigh, where women talk about their weight in terms of awesome accomplishments and personality. She is vocal and strong-minded, but most of all, she's here to learn, and we were stoked to learn more about her. She's a seriously good witch (with a bad bitch way of doing things).
Read MoreElizabeth Van Lew was a Union-sympathizing Quaker living in Virginia during the Civil War. Mary Bowser was a free woman posing as a slave in order to spy on the Confederates and, most notably, Jefferson Davis himself. These bad bitches got up to all sorts of crazy shit - ultimately earning Mary a posthumous place in the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame!
Read MoreMadhubala became an actress young to help support her family and became one of the most influential actresses of her time. She is often compared with Marilyn Monroe for her beauty, charisma, and ubiquitousness. She starred in 70 films across the fifties and into the sixties, and to this day, is known as one of Bollywood's most iconic stars. She was a good witch through and through.
Read MoreHannah tells Deanna the real story of Thanksgiving
Anacaona was a leader of the Taino people, an indigenous Haitian tribe in the 16th century. She had the unfortunate task of dealing with the white conquistadors who came ashore in the 1500's. She was a poet and the ultimate diplomat, and despite the horrific abuse she and her people suffered at the hands of the conquistadors, she is remembered as one of Haiti's enduring heroines. She was a seriously good witch whose legacy lives on.
Read MoreNovember is Native American Heritage Month! As a result, we're talking about some amazing Native American women from then and now.
The Dann Sisters were and are spiritual leaders of the Western Shoshone tribes in Nevada, Utah, and California. They have claimed ownership of their land since it was passed to them by their family in the seventies - right around the time the US Government decided they no longer had a right to it. These women have fought for their right to their ancestral home for decades, and like the serious bad bitches they were and are, continue the fight to this day.
Read MoreJeannette Rankin was not only the first woman ever elected to congress, she did so before women had the right to vote across the US. She was a suffragist, a social worker, and she believed not only in women's rights, but in space for women within politics. She was a seriously good witch, who made waves in Washington and helped changed the country and politics for the better.
Read MoreHAPPY HALLOWEEN, WITCHES!!
In today's episode, Hannah and Deanna dive into the historical origins of the "witch" as we see her today; one of the largest witch trials in history (Hint: it's not the one you think!); and why we associate black pointy hats and broomsticks with witches.
Read MoreAlice Kyteler was a businesswoman and, let's be real, possible murderer in the 14th century Ireland. But it was a Catholic bishop obsessed with witches and demons who took the charge of murder and turned it into the charge of 'witchcraft', thus launching the mini witch hunt that occurred in the aftermath of the death of Alice's fourth husband and resulting in the first torture and public burning of a woman for witchcraft in Ireland.
Read MoreThis is the story of Elizabeth Bathory, the evil countess of Medieval Transylvania who is rumored to have brutally murdered upwards of 600 people, mostly peasants who worked her land. The stories are horrifying (so be prepared). But there might be more to them than you know...
Read MoreDoña Queta and Enriqueta Vargas are two Mexican women whose devotion to Santa Muerte, the Saint of Death, has created a cultural revolution. Though Santa Muerte is condemned by the Catholic Church as a Satanic cult figure beloved by drug lords, the reality is she calls to people who have been rejected by their religion, families, and cultures. These women are responsible for bringing that faith to millions of lost people who thought themselves lost.
Read MoreAfter a malicious dictator in the Dominican Republic retaliated against Minerva Mirabal's rejection with imprisonment of her family members, torture, financial ruin, Minerva and her sisters turned to rebellion against the totalitarian regime. Las Mariposas, or, The Butterflies, are now remembered throughout the Dominican Republic as martyrs, whose death finally aroused the nation to action, and brought down a dictator.
Read MorePetra Herrera was a soldadera and hero of the Mexican Revolution who was known as a great leader, a fabulous marksman, and a destroyer of bridges whose story has been put together from eye witness accounts because the official papers conspicuously left her achievements out. We say screw That! Petra Herrera was one seriously bad bitch and we are gonna tell you about her.
Read MoreFor our very special 30th episode, we have Deanna's mother, Rayna, as our guest host! Rayna is herself a photographer and former instructor of photography and shares with us the story of Berenice Abbott. Berenice is known for her work as a portrait photographer, and later in life her scientific photography, but mainly she is known for her masterfully documented scenes in New York City.
Read MoreAgnodice practiced gynecology and medicine at a time when the law expressly forbade women from doing so - by pain of death. When she was discovered, her patients rallied to prevent her from getting the death penalty. While her story is epic, there's one thing no one can agree on - whether or not Agnodice even existed.
Read MoreNeerja Bhanot was a woman who knew exactly who she wanted to be. Despite a terrible arranged marriage that ended soon after it began and a culture that glorified her for her beauty rather than her brains, she followed her dreams and ultimately became a hero.
Read MoreWilliamina Fleming was a Scottish maid in Boston, who began working for Edward Pickering at Harvard University as a computer, and ended up a Harvard Astronomer herself, long before women were even allowed to go to school there. She catalogued stars, named nebulae, and discovered white dwarves - years later, her discoveries were found and catalogued by the school, and she was finally given credit for her work. She was one seriously good witch.
Read MoreQueen Christina of Sweden was an ambitious ruler with radical ideas and a love of academia and the arts. She was very likely bisexual, if not a lesbian (though we’ll never know for sure) and hated the idea of marriage. She’s remembered as the most educated woman of the 17th century and it showed in her various endeavors across Europe, first as Queen of Sweden and later as a guest of the Vatican in Rome. She was a woman ahead of her time, at times a good witch and others a bad bitch – either way, we heart her.
Read MoreElizabeth Bentley was a communist spy turned American spy and informant in the 1930’s – 40’s – she spent enough time as a communist spy that when she defected from the party, Russian spying in the US effectively ceased for years, so vast was her damaging knowledge. While she was neither a good witch nor a bad bitch, spending much more time in the gray area, it can’t be disputed that without Elizabeth Bentley, we wouldn’t have background checks, an oath of allegiance for government officials when they are sworn in, and McCarthyism might not have been the movement that it came to be.
Read MoreOsh Tisch, or, Finds Them and Kills Them, was a warrior, an expert in sewing, tanning, and all “women’s work”, a leader in her community, and one of the last of the Crow Nation baté, a Two Spirit spiritual leader of the Crow Nation.
Read MoreThe Great Sandwina (given name, Katie Brumbach) aka The Lady Hercules aka the Woman of Steel is one of the strongest women to have ever lived. She made a name and a legacy working in the circus in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, but was known for being a paragon of femininity as well, kind of a paradox for gender roles at the time. She loved sex, made no apologies, and beat men in the ring every time they dared challenge her. She was one seriously bad bitch.
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