In Walks a Woman Podcast

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In Walks a Woman Podcast

In Walks a Woman Podcast: Women, History & the Stories that Shaped Us. FIND US ON: Spotify/Apple/Amazon

Come along as we explore books about women and by women and think about how stories influence us—both by limiting and expanding female horizons.

09/07/2026

On the podcast this week: Cat Bohannon, author of Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution. Columbia Phd, scientist, poet, activist.

For centuries science built its baseline on one body: male. Everything else is treated as a variation, a deviation, an afterthought. Cat’s book (and our conversation) takes that idea apart.

Her words: “The whole goal, of course, is simply undoing that basic bad idea that you could have a male model be sufficient for all bodies in general for no matter what question you were going to ask.”

We covered a lot of ground, including:

why research beyond cisgendered bodies actually benefits everyone ◈ how butt fat helps build the human brain ◈ the single most radical invention in the mammalian body ◈ why some stories stay stuck in our heads even after we know they’re wrong what ◈ “upsuck” means (yes, really)

And this one stayed with us: “It’s an embarrassment to science that we’ve ignored s*x differences in females for so long.”

Funny, sharp, and genuinely paradigm shifting. Full episode link in bio.

Book: Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, published by Alfred A. Knopf Author: Cat Bohannon

Cat Bohannon Eve book | female body evolution research | Cat Bohannon podcast interview | women’s health research gap | Eve book Cat Bohannon Knopf

08/30/2026

Cathy Trask isn’t just East of Eden’s villain: she might be the most terrifying character John Steinbeck ever put on paper. 😈

This week we’re dropping a special 2-part deep dive into East of Eden, the novel behind the new Netflix series starring Cathy/Kate, and we’re breaking down everything: what actually happens in the book, who Cathy really is, and why Steinbeck built his own American Garden of Eden story around her.

Because here’s the thing: Steinbeck wasn’t subtle. He rewired the Adam and Eve myth for the California valley. He made Cathy his Eve. Except in his version, Eve isn’t tempted. She IS the temptation. Steinbeck called her a “psychic monster,” born with a “malformed soul”—a woman incapable of love, conscience, or guilt. Pure, deliberate evil in a story about original sin.

If you’re planning to watch the Netflix adaptation this fall, listen to this first. You’ll never see Kate the same way again.

🎧 Part 1 & 2 link in bio
📖 East of Eden | Cathy Ames | Kate Trask | John Steinbeck | Adam and Eve retelling | Netflix East of Eden series

08/14/2026

You’ve had the battles. You’re exhausted. And we all know the story: picky eating is “biological.”

But what if that story isn’t true?

What if our kids have been taught to be picky?

Wouldn’t you want to know why? Wouldn’t you want to know how this happened? And most of all — wouldn’t you want to break free from the mealtime stress?

That’s exactly what we’re digging into with researcher Helen Zoe Veit and her 2026 book, PICKY: HOW AMERICAN CHILDREN BECAME THE FUSSIEST EATERS IN HISTORY, published by St. Martin's Press.

If you find yourself searching “why is my child a picky eater,” “picky eating toddler,” or “extreme picky eating,” this episode will give you answers, new perspectives, and a newfound confidence about feeding your children.

07/31/2026

Dr. Emily Hauser, eminent classics scholar, has pioneered a new way of using archaeology to open windows on women’s lives in Homer’s THE ODYSSEY.

Her groundbreaking book: PENELOPE’S BONES (US), published by University of Chicago Press / MYTHICA (UK), published by Doubleday.

We’re not the only ones who love it: “A bold and intellectually-thrilling book, blending history and science, rigorous scholarship and dazzling feats of imagination” — Tom Holland, host of The Rest Is History podcast

Huge thanks to Dr Emily Hauser for telling us about the new methodologies that let us see into the lives of women — both in Homer’s world and in his texts.

You won’t believe some of the insights she shares. If you have any interest in the women of THE ODYSSEY, ancient Greece, or classical mythology, you have to listen!

And yes, we asked her about Christopher Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY (2026) and how Homer’s women fare in this new retelling.

07/25/2026

Christopher Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY has stellar actresses—but does he actually let them fulfill their potential, or does he put a leash on them?

Anne Hathaway’s Penelope. Zendaya’s Athena. Charlize Theron’s Circe. Lupita Nyong’o’s Helen and Clytemnestra. The women of Homer’s epic, reimagined for IMAX — but whose story is it really?

We’ve got thoughts on Nolan’s take on the foundational story of Western literature.

🎧 New episode is live — link in bio 💬 Drop your take in the comments, here or after the episode — tag a friend who needs to weigh in on this one!!

07/06/2026

Who gets to riff on Genesis and have it become essentially holy writ? Men, that’s who. Men like John Milton who wrote a poem in the late 1600’s that haunts us even today.

Let’s be clear, THERE IS NO S*X in Genesis 3. No s*x–unless in your mind, being naked = dropping down and having s*x in the nearest flower bed.

Apparently, that’s how John Milton’s mind worked. Adam and Eve realized they were naked…ergo they MUST have had s*x. Oh, yeah, and it’s all Eve’s fault.

06/28/2026

Eve, where’d you go? We have an idyllic garden, a devilish character, a magical old white man in charge of it all… Join us for analysis of a play that alludes to the Garden of Eden story but edits Eve into an obedient female. Along the way, we consider early 17th century perceptions of the New World.

06/19/2026

Elizabeth Lesser has researched and reflected deeply on the origin stories that still affect us all, and one of those stories is the story of Eve in the garden.

Her marvelous 2020 book, CASSANDRA SPEAKS, published by HarperCollins, should absolutely be on your bookshelf, and if you’d like a preview, her wisdom and insights in this interview will convince you. Thank you Elizabeth Lesser for joining us in our All About Eve season!

06/12/2026

What if men have been telling the Eve story all wrong? Would that mean mansplaining goes all the way back to the Church Fathers? And why would such men want to make Eve out to be an evil temptress? Hmmmm, In Walks a Woman has thoughts! Join us as we read the OG story with medieval scholar, Jana Byers, and then Jana introduces us to 3 emotional men: Paul, Tertullian, and Augustine. Not only do they have their own complicated back stories, they made up stories about Eve that are untrue, but those stories have chased us for centuries.

06/05/2026

In her FIRST podcast interview, best-selling author Cecily Von Ziegesar, creator of the Gossip Girl novels and the Gossip Girl Era, joins us to share what it was like writing a teen series before teen books even had their own section in bookstores, the classic novel that inspired the first Gossip Girl novel, and whether it’s still possible for a woman to fall in the 21st century. And guess what? She has a new GG book coming out Summer 2027… So if you haven’t read the Gossip Girl series, published by / , now’s the time to run to your bookstore!

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Lawrence, KS

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http://inwalksawoman.com/

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