Women Activism

The names of few medieval monarchs and their queens are better known than Eleanor of Aquitaine, uniquely queen of France and queen of England, and her second husband Henry II. Although academically labeled "medieval," their era was the violent transition from the Dark Ages, when countries' borders were defined with fire and sword. If princes fought for their succession to crowns, the princesses were traded—usually by their mothers—to strangers for political power without the bloodshed.

In December of 1936, King Edward VIII of Great Britain shocked the world by giving up his kingdom in order to marry a twice-divorced American commoner named Wallis Simpson. The King and Mrs. Simpson recounts in a novella-sized work the extraordinary love story between the popular king and the enigmatic woman that began at a party in England and culminated with the downfall of his reign nearly six years later.

Growing up torn between her single Pan Am-stewardess mom and brothel-owning grandmother in 1960s New York City, Robin F. Schepper never imagined that she’d one day have an office in the East Wing of the White House. Her childhood in a German American neighborhood on the Upper East Side was peppered with half-truths, from the family secrets surrounding her grandmother’s immigration to deceptions about her biological father.

Fight Like a Mother is the incredible account how one mother’s cry for change became the driving force behind gun-safety progress. Along with stories of perseverance, courage, and compassion, Watts shines a light on the unique power of women - starting with what they have, leading with their maternal strengths, and doubling down instead of backing down.

Grounded in research and rich with personal narrative, Hidden Healers is a poignant and riveting look inside women's prisons and jails—and what we can do to help.

The lives of the Scottish queens, both those who ruled in their own right and the consorts, have largely been neglected in conventional history books. One of the earliest known Scottish queens was none other than the notorious Lady Macbeth. Was she really the wicked woman depicted in Shakespeare's famous play? Was St. Margaret a demure and obedient wife? Rosalind K. Marshall delves into these questions and more in this entertaining, impeccably researched book.

With Her Fist Raised is the necessary biography of Dorothy Pitman Hughes, a pivotal figure in women’s history and Black feminism whose story will finally be told. Historian Laura Lovett weaves together a biography of an activist who was intersectional to the core revealing a remarkable legacy that few have known until now.

The true story of the fierce band of women who battled Washington - and Hanoi - to bring their husbands home from the jungles of Vietnam.

In the 1850s, Harriet Tubman, strategically brilliant and uncannily prescient, rescued some seventy enslaved people from Maryland’s Eastern Shore and shepherded them north along the underground railroad. One of her regular stops was Auburn, New York, where she entrusted passengers to Martha Coffin Wright, a Quaker mother of seven, and Frances A. Seward, the wife of William H. Seward. Through exhaustive research, Wickenden traces the second American revolution these women fought to bring about, the toll it took on their families, and its lasting effects on the country.

The history of women in medieval Wales before the English conquest of 1282 is one largely shrouded in mystery. This misfortune touches even the most well-known royal woman of the time, Joan of England, the wife of Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd. This first-ever account of Siwan, as she was known to the Welsh, interweaves the details of her life and relationships with a gendered re-assessment of Anglo-Welsh politics by highlighting her involvement in affairs, discussing events in which she may well have been involved but have gone unrecorded and her deployment of royal female agency.

Our media and education system often tells us that that nice White people are the solution...but what if they are the problem? How can we build a better world? And why do so many people with privilege end up making things worse when they try to help? From the Crusades to Black Lives Matter, No More Heroes is a grassroots history of resistance to the savior mentality. This book weaves the stories of teachers, international volunteers, sex workers, FBI informants, indigenous organizers, and prison abolitionists into a narrative of revolutionary change.

From one of America's most transformative politicians and activists, a powerful and inspiring memoir that sheds light on a harrowing personal journey and reveals how urgently we need our political leadership to prioritize meeting the needs of our most marginalized communities.

La emperatriz volvió a ser princesa. Después de que su marido fuera fusilado en el Cerro de las Campanas, la consentida, la enamorada, se convirtió en una paria de las monarquías europeas y pasó sesenta años en la locura. Esta obra es la primera que se concentra en las seis décadas que Carlota de Sajonia-Coburgo-Gotha vivió después de que se derrumbara el Segundo Imperio Mexicano, y ofrece un estudio lúcido de uno de los personajes más apasionantes en la historia del país.

A thorough and compelling biography of the life and career of late Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, from birth to her passing in late 2020. Although there are many lawmakers in American history, few are as well-known as feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Dubbed “The Notorious RBG” by members of the public, Ginsburg left behind an incredible legacy by the time she passed in late 2020.

Civil Rights Queen captures the story of a remarkable American life, a figure who remade law and inspired the imaginations of African Americans across the country....

Thomas Jefferson had three daughters: Martha and Maria by his wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson, and Harriet by his slave Sally Hemings. Although the three women shared a father, the similarities end there. Martha and Maria received a fine convent school education while they lived with their father during his diplomatic posting in Paris. Once they returned home, however, the sisters found their options limited by the laws and customs of early America. Harriet Hemings followed a different path. She escaped slavery — apparently with the assistance of Jefferson himself.

Es difícil imaginar una personalidad argentina del siglo XX que genere más controversias y pasiones que Eva Perón. Amada y odiada con la misma intensidad mientras estuvo en el poder, mitificada y repudiada desde su muerte en 1952, Evita se ha convertido en un icono político y social. Su figura ha sido reivindicada por sectores políticos en apariencia inconciliables, y sin ella, ni el peronismo ni el antiperonismo habrían sido lo que fueron (y lo que son).

Cuatro preciosas jóvenes, tal vez las más admiradas y fotografiadas de la realeza de principios del siglo XX, objeto de incesantes rumores, nacidas en un mundo de glamour y opulencia, crecieron ajenas a su destino entre juegos, coqueteos con oficiales del ejército y mascotas... hasta la Primera Guerra Mundial y la Revolución.

Women around the world have long dreamed big, even when they've been told their dreams didn't matter. They've spoken out, risen up and fought for what's right, even when they've been told to be quiet. Whether in science, the arts, sports or activism, women and girls throughout history have been determined to break barriers and change the status quo. They haven't let anyone get in their way and have helped us better understand our world and what's possible. Chelsea Clinton introduces listeners to a group of 13 incredible women who have shaped history all across the globe.

When Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to the United States Supreme Court she created hope for the American people, especially Black girls with dreams of blazing a trail for those to come after them. Her nomination has actualized the portrayal of an America that the American people have been dying to see happen since the time of Harriet Tubman.