Smugglers & Bootleggers

Everybody has to make a living, and sometimes, that living is illegal. These gutsy women survived on grit and punishable goods. Amy covers Marm Mandelbaum, a criminal "fencer" to many of the street gangs and criminals of New York's underworld. Shelby talks about Gertrude Lythgoe, one of the most prominent female rum-runners, or bootleggers, in the 1920s.

What makes a bad wife? We weren't sure, so you get two very different ladies in this episode. Shelby discusses Belle Gunness, a Norwegian-American serial killer. Amy tells us about Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, a Scottish heiress, socialite, and aristocrat. 

Repost alert!!! Life got the best of us this week, so enjoy this repost from 2024. (Also, this was supposed to come out last week, but due to a technical issue, it did not.) Today, Shelby and Amy tackle the world of handiwork. First, they share a household handy task in which they are proficient. (Amy's is quite impressive.) Next, Amy covers the Ladies Bridge, the Waterloo Bridge, built mostly by women during WWII. Shelby talks about Lillian Baumbach, the first woman to acquire a Master Plumber's license in 1951.

They get a bad rap, but let's admit it - Party Girls can be a lot of fun. Shelby discusses mean girl/fun girl and prominent French socialite, Daisy Fellowes. Amy tells us about American dancer, jazz singer, vaudevillian, and saloon-keeper, Ada "Bricktop" Smith. Grab your favorite spirit, and party with us!

Repost Alert!!! Life is life-ing with your hosts, so we had to do a repost. Everyone is fine; there just aren't enough hours in the day. We hope to be back on schedule next week. Until then, enjoy this repost about our favorite kind of ladies: Troubelmakers. Shelby discusses the crossdressing, pipe-smoking, thief, Mary Frith. Amy tells us about the cool AF socialite, Alice Roosevelt Longworth.

Welcome to another Party of One. In this episode, Shelby explains Divorce Ranches. Mainly in Nevada, these guest ranches were where women would stay for several weeks or months in order to establish residency and qualify for a quick divorce under Nevada law. It's a fascinating loophole that helped women to escape their miserable marriages in the 1920s-1950s.

Today, we discuss animals born female but with some interesting traits not usually associated with the ladies. Amy covers anglerfish (scary), Meerkats (kinda mean), and dolphins (adorable). Shelby discusses hyenas (this one is interesting), jacanas (that's a bird), and seahorses (so majestic). If you're an animal lover, this one is for you!

They aren't necessarily heated, but this week, we're covering rivalries. Shelby discusses the contention between designers Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli. Amy educates us on the media-orchestrated feud bewteen opera singers Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi.

Due to the serious nature of recent episodes, we wanted to cover women who have won a bit at life, but guess what? Even those stories are challenging. Nonetheless, Amy discusses Jane Richards, Mary Elizabeth Bowser, or other names. (She had many aliases) a Union spy during the Civil War. Shelby talks about Ada Blackjack, an Iñupiaq woman who accompanied an Arctic expedition to the uninhabited Wrangel Island, and eventually lived alone there for eight months after the other expedition members died. 

She works hard for the money, but is it worth it? For this week's episode, we tackle jobs that can (and do) kill our herstorical ladies. Amy discusses Grace Fryer, an American dial painter and Radium Girl, who sued U.S. Radium after suffering radium poisoning while employed painting watch faces. Shelby talks about Audrey Mestre,  a French world-record-setting freediver.