Women Who Went Before

04/04/2025

New episode! Dr. Rhiannon Graybill (University of Richmond) shares her research on s*xual violence in the Hebrew Bible and ways of reading such messy stories for then and now.

She explains, "In our world s*xual violence is often grounded in or justified by the Bible, and the Bible is used against survivors of s*xual violence. And so reading biblical stories as fuzzy, messy, and icky helps us dismantle our experiences of s*xual violence and of r**e culture.”

We also talk about violent tropes in modern romance literature and Rome's origin stories—and what these kinds of tales do to those who read them.

Listen and explore episode show notes: https://www.womenwhowentbefore.com/episodes/to-have-and-to-hold

CW: This episode discusses themes of s*xual assault and intimate partner violence.

17/03/2025

This week’s is Dr. Julia Watts Belser’s award-winning LOVING OUR OWN BONES: DISABILITY WISDOM AND THE SPIRITUAL SUBVERSIVENESS OF KNOWING OURSELVES WHOLE.

To enter the drawing for Rabbi Julia’s book: 1, rate or review WWWB on your favorite podcast listening app (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc). 2, DM to tell us you did! (Your review is anonymous!) Winner picked Sunday!
“Winner of the 2025 Grawemeyer Award in Religion & the 2024 National Jewish Book Award! A transformative spiritual companion and deep dive into disability politics that reimagines disability in the Bible and contemporary culture

“‘What’s wrong with you?’”

“Scholar, activist, and rabbi Julia Watts Belser is all too familiar with this question. What’s wrong isn’t her wheelchair, though—it’s exclusion, objectification, pity, and disdain.

“Our attitudes about disability have such deep cultural roots that we almost forget their sources. But open the Bible and disability is everywhere. Moses believes his stutter renders him unable to answer God’s call. Jacob’s encounter with an angel leaves him changed not just spiritually but physically: he gains a limp. For centuries, these stories have been told and retold in ways that treat disability as a metaphor for spiritual incapacity or as a challenge to be overcome.

“Through fresh and unexpected readings of the Bible, Loving Our Own Bones instead paints a luminous portrait of what it means to be disabled and one of God’s beloved. Belser delves deep into sacred literature, braiding the insights of disabled, feminist, Black, and q***r thinkers with her own experiences as a q***r disabled Jewish feminist. She talks back to biblical commentators who traffic in disability stigma and shame. What unfolds is a profound gift of disability wisdom, a radical act of spiritual imagination that can guide us all toward a powerful reckoning with each other and with our bodies.
Listen to Rabbi Julia’s interview: https://www.womenwhowentbefore.com/episodes/blemished-brides

10/03/2025

Win a book!! We're celebrating by giving away books written by our podcast guests. This week, enter the drawing to win THE CLEOPATRAS: THE FORGOTTEN QUEENS OF EGYPT by Dr. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (Cardiff University)!

To enter: 1. rate or review Women Who Went Before on your podcast app (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc) by Saturday, March 15.
2. DM us to let us know.

We’ll draw a winner on Sunday!

PS It’s on the honor system; we won’t know which review is yours!

“One of history’s most iconic figures, Cleopatra is rightly remembered as a clever and charismatic ruler. But few today realize that she was the last in a long line of Egyptian queens who bore that name.

“In THE CLEOPATRAS, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the dramatic story of these seven incomparable women, vividly recapturing the lost world of Hellenistic Egypt and tracing the kingdom’s final centuries before its fall to Rome. The Cleopatras were Greek-speaking descendants of Ptolemy, the general who conquered Egypt alongside Alexander the Great. They were closely related as mothers, daughters, sisters, half-sisters, and nieces. Each wielded absolute power, easily overshadowing their husbands or sons, and all proved to be shrewd and capable leaders. Styling themselves as goddess-queens, the Cleopatras ruled through the canny deployment of arcane rituals, opulent spectacles, and unparalleled wealth. They navigated political turmoil and court intrigues, led armies into battle and commanded fleets of ships, and ruthlessly dispatched their dynastic rivals.

“The Cleopatras is a fascinating and richly textured biography of seven extraordinary women, restoring these queens to their deserved place among history’s greatest rulers. “

Listen to Lloyd's podcast episode: https://www.womenwhowentbefore.com/episodes/veiled-but-not-hidden

08/03/2025

Every day for us is women’s day. Because until women’s stories, achievements, and lives get taught in history classes at the same rate as men’s, we still have work to do!

07/03/2025

To celebrate we’re giving away a book by one of our podcast guests every week in March! Rate or review the podcast on your favorite app (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc) to be entered into that week’s drawing. On Sunday every week we’ll draw a winner.

This week’s book is Kate Cooper’s QUEENS OF A FALLEN WORLD: THE LOST WOMEN OF AUGUSTINE’S CONFESSIONS, a finalist for the 2023 Cundill History Prize! To be entered into the drawing, rate or review by Saturday, March 8 and let us know that you did.

PS Don’t worry, it’s all on the honor system; we won’t know which review is yours!

https://www.womenwhowentbefore.com

06/03/2025

New episode! We talk with Dr. Shai Secunda (Bard College) about the Babylonian rabbis’ science of blood, breaking taboos through s*x education, and menstruation as a cure for rabies. Streaming on all platforms!

Read the transcript and explore episode show notes: www.womenwhowentbefore.com/episodes/bad-blood

11/01/2025

We're excited to be included on Feedspot's list of the 15 Best Women's History Podcasts for 2025! Check out some of these other fantastic podcasts, and share with your friends.

Best Women History Podcasts to Listen to ⋅ 1. The History Chicks ⋅ 2. New Books in Women's History ⋅ 3. Wining About Herstory ⋅ 4. Womanica ⋅ 5. What'sHerName ⋅ 6. BitchStory

19/12/2024

Dr. Ada Nifosì (University of Kent) tells us about ancient Egyptian pregnancy and childbirth in this week’s episode!

“The most important goddess of Egypt gave birth alone and almost lost her child. If she made it—and she was the most important goddess—then every mother can make it.”

Listen and explore the show notes at www.womenwhowentbefore.com/episodes/the-pee-test

06/12/2024

In today's new episode, Dr. Julia Watts Belser (Georgetown University) teaches us about blemishes in rabbinic Judaism, dancing at weddings, and where their (and our) ideas about disability become harmful.

Listen and explore the show notes for S2E4 on our website: womenwhowentbefore.com/episodes/blemished-brides

23/11/2024

Heading to ? Come find Rebekah or Emily in the San Diego Convention Center, and snag one of our new podcast stickers!