34 Circe Salon -- Make Matriarchy Great Again -- Disrupting History

We've waited a long time for this one! In today's episode, we talk with Dr. Marianne Moen. Dr. Moen is an archaeologist best known for her work on gender, identity, and power in the Viking Age. Her scholarship utilizes archaeology, feminist theory and mortuary studies, offering a reinterpretation of Norse societies and the role of women within them. We discuss how earlier generations of archaeologists, influenced by gender norms in their own eras, often interpreted evidence in ways that minimized women’s authority and agency, distorting or erasing the reality of the accomplishments of women of the past. That's ground zero for the issues that we champion on this podcast. Make Matriarchy Great Again listeners will truly enjoy this! Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden co-host.

The inimitable Max Dashu talks with Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden about evidence for women-led societies in indigenous peoples around the globe, as well as the evolution of the term Matriarchy. We all know what we mean when we say "patriarchy" but what does "matriarchy" mean and what else do we call it? How does it change shape in different places and times? Check out Max's archives at https://www.suppressedhistories.net/

Earlier this month, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) was renamed Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) as a result of an international effort to help physicians better understand the condition. Indeed, sufferers may not have any ovarian cysts, and PMOS affects the entire body. Physicians stress that the “metabolic” is the most central portion of the condition, and the new name better reflects this. In celebration of this, we are resharing a BABM episode recorded in 2021.

Award-winning author, Shelly Puhak, joins us to discuss her wonderful book, The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World , about two of the most powerful rulers in European history: Queen Fredegund and Queen Brunhilde. These two powerful queens commanded armies and fought each other over several decades. Brilliant and tough, they battled not only for supremacy, but survival, using the tools of diplomacy and warfare as needed. Alliances with popes, queens and kings stabilized their realms. Combined, their empires extended through Germany, Belgium, France and Spain, and laid the foundations for the the development of European nation-states to come. After their deaths, they suffered a familiar fate as other great women of history: their stories were erased or rewritten, and their names were sullied. Dawn "Sam" Alden and Sean Marlon Newcombe co-host.

Kimberly Rockwell, Dawn "Sam" Alden, and Lauren Torres talk about what it feels to walk through life as a woman in a large body, what feedback women receive about their bodies, and how the current emphasis on thin bodies to the exclusion of everything else can destroy us both from within and without. What messages did we absorb from our parents about what size was optimum for women? Why do we still believe the "calories in, calories out" message, despite it being just plain bad science? Why don't we understand more about what really affects our body size? And why does it freaking matter anyway???

Hello listeners! I hope you have had a chance to check out our interview with Chelsea Gardner and Melissa Funke of Peopling the Past, which aired earlier this season. As a follow up, they have generously allowed us to do a Podcast Takeover of one of their episodes! We here at 34 Circe are big fans of Wonder Woman, so although it’s not a typical episode for them, we are sharing the one in which they discuss Wonder Woman and other classics in comics with Dr. Natalie Swain. We hope you enjoy, and check out the rest of their episodes at peoplingthepast.com

In modern times divination is often seen as superstitious tools used primarily to predict the future. However, since ancient times our ancestors used divination as essential meaning making tools, allowing us to connect with core archetypes in order to see our personal and cultural lives in deeper ways. Join Lauren Torres and Anu Dudley author of The Goddess Casts the Runes, as we discuss the evidence for the matriarchal origins of the Elder Futhark Runes, their meaning when a patriarchal overlay is removed, and why connecting with them can offer a powerful recovery of ancient ways of knowing. Support the podcast: lovemmga.com

While researching Robert Graves, Sean Marlon Newcombe reached out to Dr. Anett K. Jessop, who introduced us to Laura Riding Jackson, a poet, linguist, revolutionary thinker and sometime lover of Robert Graves. It could be argued she was the inspiration for a lot of Graves work, including the idea of reclaiming myth from the patriarchal lens. A fascinating, uncompromising and multi-talented woman, we just scratch the surface of her legacy in this interview! With Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden.

Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden sit down with Professor Carolyne Larrington to get back to basics in discussing the Norse pantheon of Goddesses. Just how much information was in the original source material? And how much of even that was through the lens of those who were decrying their subjects? Join us to find out!

Sean Marlon Newcombe, Dawn "Sam" Alden and Kimberly Rockwell are playing Siskel and Ebert again, this time with movies featuring female spies. Espionage apparently looks different in fishnets.

Dawn "Sam" Alden interviews Melissa Funke and Chelsea Gardner of the Peopling the Past project - a website, a podcast, and so much more. In this meta episode, they talk about talking about the ancient world, how archeology actually works, and why focusing on the everyday in antiquity is so important to getting the complete picture.

In this episode we sit down with Walter Penrose, PhD, associate professor of history at San Diego State University. Dr. Penrose specializes in the History of Gender and Sexuality in Ancient Greek, Hellenistic, and South Asian contexts. We talk with him about the historical views of the Amazons, particularly in the non-Western world. Female bodyguards were employed by the Ancient Indians and Persians and many of these women came from the Black Sea region-- the same region where the Greeks identified the presence of Amazons. We discuss the Indian concept of "Stri Rajya" or "The Kingdom of Women" which the Ancient Indians located to the west of them, towards the Eurasian Steppe and Caspian Sea-- in the same neighborhood as the Black Sea. Lastly, we also explore the stories of Hellenistic warrior queens and their connection to the warlike tribes from the same region as the female bodyguards and The Kingdom of Women: the Thracians, Scythians and Sauromatians. Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden co-host.

Kimberly Rockwell, Dawn "Sam" Alden and Lauren Torres talk about the music that shaped their youth. The songs we scream-sang, and those that comforted us when we were heartbroken - did we ever really listen to the lyrics? Music has power to teach, and words set to music stick in our heads. What were we absorbing when we were young, what were we being taught by the music on the radio?

Kim Gould is a mentor and coach who teaches people to access their own unique way to create meaningful change in their lives through astrology and the human design system. Join us as we discuss how Ms. Gould reframes the astrological viewpoint to focus on the myths of women and the space objects, like asteroids, named after them. Lauren Torres and Sean Marlon Newcombe co-host.

Join us as we interview Dr. Sandra Glahn, professor at the Dallas Theological Seminary, about her wonderful book, Nobody's Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament . Nobody's Mother is a scholarly re-examination of the cult of Artemis of Ephesus and the cultural world surrounding early Christianity—especially the world behind 1 Timothy 2, a New Testament passage long used to restrict women’s leadership. Were the Apostle Paul's writings in 1 Timothy 2 a response to the nature and power of the cult of Artemis? Tune in as we explore this fascinating topic. Sean Marlon Newcombe hosts.

In today’s episode in the Founding Mother’s series, we explore two influential women from the past: Lilian Gilbreth, an American psychologist, industrial, consultant and educator who was once described as “a genius in the art of living," and Edith Clark, an electrical engineer who is credited with laying the foundation for the smart grid. Both women were born in the late 1800s, but both of them made impacts in their fields that affect our lives to this day. Join Lauren Torres and Kimberly Rockwell as they discuss the legacies (sometimes controversial!) of these two fascinating women.

"Karen"-- a term that became ubiquitous in 2020. It was used as a verbal cudgel to upbraid a certain type of woman: white and very outspoken. Some say the term had its origin as a response to racism; others say it was the product of misogyny. Either way, the word "Karen" became a weapon of derision, mockery and humiliation. It was a way, quite simply, to silence a group of women. Join us as we do a deep-dive into the history and facts surrounding this term and in our quest to uncover the truth of its purpose. Also, please, feel free to share with us your thoughts and experiences with the word at info@34circe.com

"Rob from the rich, give to the poor!" This is the famous rallying cry of Robin Hood. But is he the only legendary figure to do so? And were there any female Robin Hoods in history? Well, ask no more! Join Dawn "Sam" Alden as she introduces us to the stories of various women throughout history who have broken the law to break bread for the hungry. Sean Marlon Newcombe co-hosts.

We're back! We hope you've all had a wonderful summer break! Now it's time to Make Matriarchy Great Again. :-) Join us for our preview of our sixth season. We'll give you a taste of what's upcoming as well as take a quick look back at the last five fantastic years. We can't wait to get things going again!

Our final episode of the season is an encore presentation, in memoriam, of the first episode of the season-- Sally Roesch Wagner and the Suffragists-Native American connection. Sally Roesch Wagner passed on June 11 at the age of 82. She was an historian of women's history and the Women's Suffrage Movement, an author and an educator. She was the founding director of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation and Social Justice Dialogue Center which honored the accomplishments of pioneering suffragist, Matilda Joslyn Gage. ***** In this episode: The Iroquois, alternatively referred to by the endonym Haudenosaunee, are a confederacy of Native Americans and First Nations peoples in northeast North America. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Lucretia Mott had formed friendships with Haudenosaunee women that enabled them to see the real possibility of creating a very different structure for their American culture, a matriarchal one, like the one that their Haudenosaunee sisters had experienced for generations. We talk to Sally Roesch Wagner about this amazing story and how she discovered this overlooked pieced of American feminist herstory. Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden co-host.