In this episode, we hop over to New York to encounter our Dead Lady of the hour, May Ziadeh, a Lebanese-Palestinian poet, writer, translator, and feminist, whose work explored themes of love, identity, and the liberation of women. Books were her beloved companions throughout her life, and proved more steadfast than people. May began writing at an early age, started an important literary salon, and had moments of fame, but is perhaps better known for the years of isolation and tragedy that marked her life. She deserves more. May wrote in her diary: “After my death, I hope that someone will do me justice and find the sincerity and honesty contained in my small writings.”

Our presenter is Rosana Elkhatib, a designer, researcher, and curator. She is a co-founding principal of feminist architecture collaborative f-architecture and has taught at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation.

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins host/producer Susan Stone to introduce the talk.

Thanks to the team at Dead Ladies NYC for sharing this presentation with us: Molly O'Laughlin Kemper, Sheila Enright, Christopher Neil and the KGB Bar's Lori Schwarz.

Visit our episode page to see photos of May Ziadeh and get more information about her: https://deadladiesshow.com/2025/05/31/podcast-81-may-ziadeh/

Read three of her poems in English translation here: https://losangelesreview.org/3-poems-translated-rose-demaris/

Find our more about Rosana Elkhatib and her work here: https://rosanakhatib.work/

If you're in New York and want to see the show live, stay up-to-date with Dead Ladies NYC via their newsletter here: https://deadladiesshow.substack.com/

If you're in Berlin and want to stay in touch, our newsletter is here: https://deadladiesshowberlin.beehiiv.com

And find us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/deadladiesshow

Need even more Dead Ladies in your life? Become a member of our Patreon and get exclusive episodes of our Dead Lady Book Club, where we chat about books, ideas, music and more — by and about Dead Ladies. For just a couple of dollars, pounds or euros a month, you can support our work and join in the fun. Check it out at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

We’re back with Season Eight of the Dead Ladies Show Podcast!

In this episode, DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire brings us the story of Boudica, an ancient British queen who fought the Romans. Though she led her Iceni tribe in a rebellion, the Romans prevailed, but wrote a fair bit about her in the history books.

In her afterlife, Boudica became a mascot for the suffragettes but also co-opted as a symbol for all things British; also, Enya wrote a song about her.

DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens joins producer/host Susan Stone to set the stage.

Get more info on Boudica in our episode notes: https://deadladiesshow.com/2025/3/xx/podcast-79-boudica/

For more on the Boudica-inspired perfume Susan mentioned, look here:

https://www.boudiccawode.com/

Dead Ladies NYC has a show March 6 — find out more here on their newsletter: https://deadladiesshow.substack.com/

As it happens, Caroline Knapp of DLS NYC actually presented Boudica back in 2020 during lockdown, so the show was on Zoom!

And in Berlin we are celebrating 10 years of DLS! Come see us May 13th, and find out more via our website: https://deadladiesshowberlin.beehiiv.com/

Please consider joining our Patreon! We have lots of fun interviews and book chat and more over at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

If you like, follow us on social media @deadladiesshow where we share pictures and info about all of the wonderful Dead Ladies we’ve covered so far. You can also drop us a line via info@deadladiesshow.com and we’re on BlueSky, too: https://bsky.app/profile/deadladiesshow.bsky.social

Our theme music is “Little Lily Swing” by Tri-Tachyon. Thanks for listening! We’ll be back with a new episode next month.

It’s our last episode of Season Seven, and our last episode of 2024, which means it’s Rotkäppchen time! Join us as we toast to Dead Ladies with German fizzy wine, and hear the story of another fabulous woman.

DLS cofounders Katy Derbyshire and Florian Duijsens join the party as we get ready to hear the story of writer Paula Fox. As Florian explains, this talented author’s personal plot twists and turns include a stint as foreign correspondent, receiving a baby alligator in the mail, writing award-winning children’s books and a novel adapted for a film starring Shirley MacLaine, oh—also being Courtney Love’s grandmother (but not knowing that for decades).

Follow along with some pictures in our episode notes over at https://deadladiesshow.com/2024/12/14/podcast-78-paula-fox/

Want to hear our end of year review and our Dead Lady gift list chat? This time it’s exclusive on Patreon, but you can join up starting at only $2 or 2€ and get access to all our special content past, present, and future. You can also gift (or request) a subscription to the Dead Ladies Show by following this link: https://www.patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast/gift

You can also subscribe to our newsletter to find out when our next live show will be by clicking this link: https://deadladiesshowberlin.beehiiv.com/

We can tell you this already: we will be live in Berlin on February 16th and May 13th, when we celebrate our 10th anniversary of the Dead Ladies Show in Berlin! Save the date, dears!

If you’re in NYC, go see our pals Dead Ladies Show NYC on January 16 at the KGB Bar Red Room. Find out more from them on Instagram @deadladiesnyc or join up for their newsletter if you like here: https://deadladiesshow.substack.com/

We’d also be pleased as punch if you follow us on social media @deadladiesshow where we share pictures and info about all of the wonderful Dead Ladies we’ve covered so far. You can also drop us a line via info@deadladiesshow.com and we’re on BlueSky, too: https://bsky.app/profile/deadladiesshow.bsky.social

Our theme music is “Little Lily Swing” by Tri-Tachyon. Thanks for listening! We’ll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show is a series of entertaining and inspiring talks about women who achieved amazing things against all odds, presented live in Berlin and beyond. This podcast is based on that series. Because women's history is everyone's history.

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

In this episode of the Dead Ladies Show Podcast, we hear a story that feels sadly relevant—a miscarriage of justice. Anna Göldi was the last woman to be legally executed after being accused of witchcraft in Switzerland, in 1782; just seven years before the French Revolution, and a century after witch trials were rampant in Europe (as well as infamously in Salem, Massachusetts). Anna came from a poor family, and worked as a maid in various households, but she was also an independent and freethinking woman. In 1781 she was looking after a young girl who allegedly began spitting up nails.

Her wealthy employers accused her of witchcraft, and she was tortured until she admitted being in league with the devil. Anna Göldi was sentenced to death by decapitation for poisoning, even though the girl had not died. Not until 2007 was her case reevaluated and her name cleared. There’s now a museum, several podcasts, films and books that cover Anna’s life and story. DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire tells it for us, and host/producer Susan Stone and our other co-founder Florian Duijsens come along to set things up.

For more information on Anna Göldi please visit our show notes page here:

https://deadladiesshow.com/2024/11/14/podcast-77-anna-goldi

We have a live show coming up November 20 in Berlin, our last of the year! You can get tickets here: https://literatur-berlin.tickettoaster.de/produkte/3549-tickets-dead-ladies-show-37-flora-tristan-helen-duncan-mary-maclane-lettretage-in-der-veteranenstr-berlin-am-30-11-2024

Subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss a thing: https://deadladiesshowberlin.beehiiv.com/

The world needs stories about remarkable women — now more than ever. If you can help us make them, we would really appreciate it. We have a Patreon where you can support our work, and get delightful extra Dead Lady content, like interviews, book reviews, and other features. Find it at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

Follow us on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/deadladiesshow.bsky.social

And on Instagram/Threads: https://www.instagram.com/deadladiesshow/

Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedeadladiesshow

You can also drop us a line via info@deadladiesshow.com

Our theme music is “Little Lily Swing” by Tri-Tachyon. Thanks for listening! We’ll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show is a series of entertaining and inspiring talks about women who achieved amazing things against all odds, presented live in Berlin and beyond. This podcast is based on that series. Because women's history is everyone's history.

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

In this episode, Rachel Pronger of the Invisible Women film collective brings us the story of iconoclastic Czech film multi-talent Ester Krumbachová. Ester was a screen writer, costume and stage designer, author, and film director. Her work was quirky, colorful, and political, lashing out at patriarchy and authoritarianism. She had a defining influence on Czech New Wave cinema, collaborating on more than twenty movies from the early 1960s on, including the delightful Daisies and the perplexing Murdering the Devil. Her involvement in the satire A Report on the Party and Guests meant she was blacklisted from working in film by the Czechoslovakian communist party during much of the 1980s. She worked under pseudonyms, painted and made jewelry, returning to the film industry in the 1990s.

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins producer/host Susan Stone to set the scene.

See some clips of Ester's work and get more info on our episode notes page

Find out more about the Invisible Women film collective here

Find out more about Rachel Pronger here

For more about Ester, click here

Want to see a Dead Ladies Show in person? Join us in Berlin November 30th. Get more info at our website or by following us on social media @deadladiesshow or joining our newsletter

Don’t forget we have a Patreon! This month, Katy and Susan are chatting about a woman who might have been one of the first wellness influencers, medieval German nun Hildegard von Bingen. You can join up for as little as $2 or 2 euros a month and enjoy our full archive of special features, and our eternal gratitude.

We’d also be grateful if you follow us on social media @deadladiesshow where we share pictures and info about all of the wonderful Dead Ladies we’ve covered so far. You can also drop us a line via info@deadladiesshow.com

Our theme music is “Little Lily Swing” by Tri-Tachyon. Thanks for listening! We’ll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show is a series of entertaining and inspiring talks about women who achieved amazing things against all odds, presented live in Berlin and beyond. This podcast is based on that series. Because women's history is everyone's history.

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

In this episode, we’re live at PodFest Berlin! DLS co-founders Katy Derbyshire and Florian Duijsens do the introducing, while DLSP Producer Susan Stone tells us about the amazing life of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress (in 1968).

Four years later, Shirley was the first Black person and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. She was known for her hard work on behalf of equal rights, introducing legislation that helped women and children, workers and the poor. Additionally, she was called one of the “best dressed women on Capitol Hill” for her sharp style.

Shirley’s legendary campaign slogan was “Unbought and unbossed,” and she kept the philosophy throughout her long political career. Shirley never wanted to be remembered as the “first” this or that, but as someone who fought for change and blazed a path for those like her in politics. Her legacy is undeniable.

Find out more about Shirley on our episode notes here: https://deadladiesshow.com/2024/09/19/podcast-75-shirley-chisholm/

Follow us on social media @deadladiesshow to keep up-to-date on all things DLS

You can check out our Patreon and support us here: https://www.patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

Save the date for our next Berlin show, November 30th at Lettrétage. More information to follow!

Get tickets for DLS NYC’s next event on September 25th here: https://tinyurl.com/DLSNYCSept25 and find Dead Ladies NYC on Instagram here: @deadladiesnyc

Thanks to PodFest Berlin’s Dan Stern, Eman Khallouf, and Grace Hamdam, as well as Ben Currey from House of Color.

Our theme music is “Little Lily Swing” by Tri-Tachyon.

Drop us a line info@deadladiesshow.com

Thanks for listening! We’ll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show is a series of entertaining and inspiring talks about women who achieved amazing things against all odds, presented live in Berlin and beyond. This podcast is based on that series. Because women's history is everyone's history.

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.