Asterisk History

Season 2, Episode 10: In the final episode of Season 2, a slightly intoxicated Alex tells a completely sober Jay about Christine Granville, a polish woman who defied the odds to become a English spy. (We apologize for the audio quality for this episode!)

Season 2, Episode 9: Jay tells Alex about Yaa Asantewaa, the Queen Mother who led the Ashanti in their final Rebellion against British Colonialism.

Season 2, Episode 8: In the second switcheroo episode, Alex and Jay discuss Truganini and Fanny Cochrane Smith, two women who bear the title "last Aboriginal Tasmanian" and who worked tirelessly to protect their cultures and their way of life from colonialism. We would like to warn our listeners that we will be using proper names.

Season 2, Episode 7: In the first switcheroo episode, Jay and Alex discuss Anne Lister, the "first modern lesbian" who traveled Europe, managed her own monetary affairs, and wrote four MILLION words in her detailed and encoded diaries.

Season 2, Episode 6: In the second part of a two-part episode, Alex finishes telling Jay about Mary Church Terrell, a woman who fought for suffrage, education, and civil rights. 

Season 2, Episode 6A: In the first part of a two-part episode, Alex tells Jay about Mary Church Terrell, a woman who fought for suffrage, education, and civil rights. 

Season 2, Episode 5: Jay tells Alex about Mitsuye Endo, the only person to successfully sue for Habeus Corpus during the forced internment of Japanese American citizens during WWII.

Life's been a bit hectic for Asterisk's hosts, so today we're giving you a throwback episode! We will return to regularly-schedule new episodes on Monday, June 17. In this episode from Season 1, Jay tells Alex about Φρύνη, or Phryne (Phrýnē), a courtesan from Classical Greece who happens to be the model/inspiration for some of the most famous works of art in history.

Season 2 Episode 4: Alex tells Jay about Ms. Ophelia, a sociologist and writer who who stood on the fringes of the Harlem Renaissance and rubbed shoulders with many key players.

Season 2 Episode 3: Jay tells Alex about Chiquinha Gonzaga, a composer from Brazil who blazed trails, started trends, facilitated scandals, and was always looking for a cause to support.

Season 2 Episode 2: Alex tells Jay about Mary Mahoney, the first African American woman to be formally trained as a nurse. Also, a small correction: in this episode, Alex refers to the Dred Scott case. She meant the Plessey v. Ferguson case, wherein the Supreme Court's decision lead to the idea of "separate but equal."

Season 2, Episode 1: Jay tells Alex about Suor Maria Celeste, a nun of the impoverished Order of St. Clare of Assisi who was industrious, surprisingly well educated, and whose records survived because she happened to have a famous father.

Alex tells Jay about "Queenie" Stephanie St. Clair, the classiest mob boss to grace New York City in the 20th Century.

Jay tells Alex about Marcela Gracia Ibeas and Elisa Sánchez Loriga, who, through elaborate deception, became the first same-sex couple to be married by the Catholic Church. 

Alex tells Jay about Elizabeth Freeman and Oney Judge, two women born enslaved, who freed themselves around the time of the American Revolution.

Alex and Jay explain their abrupt hiatus and let everyone know what they've been up to lately.

Jay tells Alex about three heroic women-of-the-army, all nicknamed Molly, from the American Revolutionary War.

In the second part of this two-part episode, Alex finishes telling Jay about Lucy Parsons, a turn-of-the-century Anarchist and labor reformer whose personal mantra (we assume) was "burn shit down."

In the first part of a two-part episode, Alex tells Jay about Lucy Parsons, a turn-of-the-century Anarchist and labor reformer who was born into slavery and lived most of her life in Chicago.

Jay tells Alex about Cécile Louise Stéphanie Chaminade, a Victorian Romantic composer whose music we use for our opening and closing.

Alex tells Jay about Annie Turnbo Malone, an African American entrepreneur and philanthropist whose business empire was ultimately destroyed by outside forces.

Jay tells Alex about Φρύνη, or Phryne (Phrýnē), a courtesan from Classical Greece who happens to be the model/inspiration for some of the most famous works of art in history.

Alex tells Jay about Harriet Chalmers Adams, an incredible woman with a passion for geology, culture, and exploring.

In this bonus mini-episode, Jay tells Alex about Lai Choi San, the other Chinese pirate queen who sailed the South China Sea in the 1920's and 1930's. 

Jay tells Alex about 郑一嫂 (鄭一嫂), or Zhèng Yī Sao, the Chinese Pirate Queen who terrorized the South China Sea in the early 1800's.