Jess and Grace visit Tudor England to discuss the fifth and perhaps most notorious wife of Henry VIII.  Behind what is painted as a story of a frivolous, promiscuous Queen, is in fact the horrific tale of a groomed and exploited teenager.  A heavy story,  with a lot of trigger warnings, which reminds us of how women were treated as property for most of history. ● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Howard ● https://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/catherine-howard/ ● https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/catherine-howard-the-death-of-innocence/ ● https://tudortimes.co.u ..read more

Join Grace and Jess this week in discussing the activist work of Mitsu Tanaka and second wave feminism in Japan 1970s.  Tanaka's work is so prolific, it is difficult to distinguish from the work of Uuman Ribu, the group she was part of.  Tanaka had multiple publications under her name and campaigned for "Liberation from the Toilet" - similar to the Madonna/Whore complex we see in contemporary feminism.  Mitsu still lives in Japan where she practices as an Acupuncturist. Her 'movement' has developed into more intense and more personal one, as she wants to be someone who stands by ..read more

Join Grace and Jess today combining Grace's love of true crime with our love of awesome women.  Join us today discussing LA in the 80s and celebrating Margaret Prescod - activist, author, journalist and radio host.  She is the founder of The Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders and co-founded Black Women for Wages for Housework.  In today's episode we discuss her role and the role of other women in bringing the serial killer, The Grim Sleeper to justice. If you enjoy this episode, please sponsor us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/womenvseverything   Sources Wi ..read more

Join Grace and Jess discussing Cork citizen Margaret Ann Bulkley, who lived most of her life as James Barry to study and practice medicine.  There is evidence to say Dr. James Barry was actually Trans Masc, but his story is very welcome on this podcast.  In this episode we talk about how much colonisation sucks and criticise Femmes who do not elevate others (again). Sources: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/dr-james-barry-the-irishwoman-who-fooled-the-british-empire-1.2781260   Dr James Barry: A Woman Ahead of Her Time by Michael du Preez and Jeremy Dronfield is pub ..read more

In this episode Jess recovers from illness while Grace interviews honorary Corkonian, Hasti Yavari (She/Her).  Hasti is an Kurdish-Iranian feminist and human rights activist.  She is a PhD candidate in Physics at University College Cork as well as a yoga teacher.  She has been actively advocating for Iranian women and human’s rights in Ireland the past weeks amid the death of Mahsa Amini ..read more

In this episode Jess tells Grace the story of two women in a committed life-long Polyamorous Triad from the 1930s.  As if that wasn't enough, they have been immortalised by their shared male partner as the inspiration for the character of Wonder Woman.  A true Queer and Divergent Fairy Tale far before its time!  ..read more

Margaret Leeson, also known as Peg Plunkett was a Sex Worker and Madame to the elite in 18th-century Ireland.  Companion to Modern Ireland's founding fathers *cough - Colonisers, she was renowned for her wit, intelligence, and charm.  When down on her luck, she published her autobiography in three volumes - giving unreliable customers the option to clear their debts with her, or be named and shamed!   Sources: Book - Peg Plunkett: Memoires of a Whore by Julie Peakman https://dublin.ie/live/life-in-dublin/history-society/  https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/p ..read more

You like to talk dino?  You should definitely know about Mary Anning (1799 – 1847).  She was an English fossil collector and paleontologist before the word was even invented.  Her scientific thinking was greatly underappreciated in her time due to gender and socio-economic class.  She is played by Kate Winslet in the film Ammonite, which we discuss in detail. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anning https://www.beachcombingmagazine.com/blogs/news/mary-anning-a-lightning-strike-a-tongue-twister-and-a-dinosaur  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyosaur https ..read more

In this week's episode Grace tells Jess a range of stories that depict what life is like for women in North Korea, and what it is like for those who try to escape. Trigger warnings for sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and rape.  Take care of yourselves x   Sources: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46610882# https://www.dailynk.com/english/presidents-message/ https://www.dailynk.com/english/unification-teacher-lee-da-eun-bui/   ..read more

Jess tells Grace the story Katherine Johnson 1918-2020, an American Mathematician who worked for NASA and helped put the first man on the moon against a background of racial segregation and the civil rights movement.  She is one of the women celebrated in the 2016 film "Hidden Figures." Sources: United States Civil Rights Trail - West Virginia https://civilrightstrail.com/state/west-virginia/West Virginia – US Civil Rights Trail www.notevenpast.org 2017 page IHS Roundtable – Loving v. Virginia After 50 Years Migration of African Americans to West Virginia: Hinton Depot; Hinton, WV https ..read more