Gals Guide

Before there was Rosie the Riveter there were the Farmerettes. Riwo shares the history of the gals who were called to help America by being farmers. 

Debbi shares her American farmer gal, Harriet Williams Russell strong. Harriet was pivotal to water conservation in California. She was also known as the "Walnut Queen" and held 5 patents. Learn all about this innovative woman.  

We're Back! It's been a bit of a break but we've found our way out of the cornfields and back to the Gal's Guide Library to talk about American farmer gals. First up is Bonnie's pick, Rith Imogen Stout the "no-work" garden method author. 

Riwo closes up Canada Month with her "TV mom" and a major happiness factor in her life, Catherine O'Hara. This talented comedian is the mom in Schitt's Creek, the mom in Beetlejuice, and the mom in Home Alone. But to Riwo she's so much more.

Barb tells the tale of the first female publisher in Canada, Mary Ann Shadd Cary. Mary was born and died in the United States but her time in Canada was marked by her creation of the newspaper Provincial Freeman, a weekly paper starting in 1853 that circulated around southern Ontario that advocated equality, integration, and self-education for Black people.

Canada Month continues! This time Katie tells us about the civil rights activist Viola Desmond. She made history when she refused to leave her seat in the Roseland Theater. This Black Nova Scotian challenged Canadian segregation. Today she's on the $10 bill. Learn about this amazing woman on today's episode. 

It's Canada Day! Bonnie is starting us off with the author of Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery. Learn about how this Canadian author used working at the post office to her advantage. 

Riwo finishes up Caribbean Month talking about the Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz. This colorful Cuban singer part of Tito Puente's Orchestra and the only female in the Fanta All-Stars. Her story is full of Azucar (sugar) sweetness. She released 37 albums and has even more collabs including one with Wyclef Jean. 

Barb continues Caribbean month by talking about the cultural icon of Jamaica. Miss Lou was an author, poet, and folklore expert. Learn and embrace the beauty and importance of the language of your culture. 

Bonnie starts off Caribbean month with a Barbadian-Guyanese by way of Brooklyn, the fantastic Shirley Chisholm. The first African-American woman to run for President whose biography is named "Unbought and Unbossed" gives much of her influence to attending a strict school in Barbados. Bring a folding chair to this episode! 

Riwo closes our Japan Month with a slice of shogun history. Tomoe Gozen was an onna-musha, a female warrior. She was taught defense and offense. She was on the battlefield with Samuari where she beheaded a lot of men. She was also involved in what led to the first shogunate.

Kami continues Japan Month with J-Pop star Ado. Her debut song "Usseewa" reached more than 100 million plays in record time and hit #1 on Billboard Japan Hot 100. She also has a song for One Piece Film. But get this...she doesn't show her real face. Learn about this fascinating and multi-talented artist creating powerful music right now.

Bonnie starts us off by learning about the controversial actress Komako Kimura. This gal managed two theaters in Toyoko, performed in nearly 500 plays, and created a movement. Komako was all about women's suffrage and Japan tried to shut it down. So she came to America to walk in the 1917 Women's Suffrage Parade in New York...and perform at Carnegie Hall...and on Broadway

Riwo's has gone rogue. She has as her pick an ancient site in what is now Turkey. Çatalhöyük has many twist and turns. It is a journey through some problematic guys. But Çatalhöyük, was said to be ruled by women 9000 years ago. 

Middle East Month continues with the first female Egyptian nuclear physicist. Sameera Moussa is Katie's pick. Learn about Sameera worked toward and hoped for a world where atomic energy was used to help those in need at little or no cost and that this new energy was used in peace and productivity. She is known as the Mother of Atomic Energy and "Atoms for Peace." 

Amy returns to the show with an insightful look at the controversial actress and belly dancer, Sama El Masry. Sama's views and delivery may be polarizing but she is a woman who was arrested, sent to jail, and fined for posting a TikTok video. 

Bonnie starts us off with an exploration of women in the Middle East. Artemisia 1 of Caria was a Queen of what is now Turkey. She commanded ships, was a friend of Xerxes 1, King of Persia and she's written about in Herodotus. 

Did you think Ireland Month was over?! Well, we found a pot of gold on this April Fools Day! Gal’s Guide just happens to be so lucky because we know Jackie. Jackie is a native Hoosier who now calls Ireland home. She also runs the Castlelyons Library, which is supported and sponsored by Gal’s Guide. So for this bonus episode, Jackie Donegan tells us about the amazing Irish author Kate O'Brien! 

Riwo's pick is pre-Christian times in Ireland. Her pick is also part historical but also part myth and legend. She’s a complex woman. Queen Medb (also spelled Maeve, Mave, Meave) her name is connected to alcohol -  you know meade-woman -  she starts a war over who has a prettier bull, and it takes 30 men in a night to satisfy her sexually. She’s a lot and she's not apologizing for any of it.