Bonus: History Chicks History

Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: The History Chicks : A Women's History Podcast
Episode: Bonus: History Chicks History
Date: March 6, 2026
Hosts: Beckett Graham & Susan Vollenweiter

This bonus episode celebrates The History Chicks’ 15th anniversary, offering listeners a behind-the-scenes look at the podcast’s origins, its evolution, and the enduring mission of bringing women’s stories to life. The hosts reflect on what inspired them, lessons learned from their subjects, notable women covered, and the impact of telling these vital stories. The tone is warm, reflective, and encouraging, fitting for National Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day.

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Key Insights & Discussion Points

The Podcast’s Origins and Purpose

• Origins (00:32 - 01:17)

  • The show began in 2011 when Susan and Beckett realized there was a gap in how women’s history was told on podcasts.
  • Inspired by the idea that women’s stories deserve vibrant, lively telling that contextualizes their lives with historical details and personal stories.

  “Fifteen years ago, we looked around and we didn’t see a podcast covering women’s history in a way that brought these women to life, gave you a picture of what their world was really like...”
  — Beckett Graham (00:54)

• Early Days of Podcasting (01:17 - 01:40)

  • The podcast pre-dated the explosion of mainstream podcasting (“pre-Serial”).
  • They had to devise their own methods, including enlisting a NASA friend to create their podcast’s RSS feed.

  “We kind of had to figure it out on our own... we get a lot of inspiration from the women that we cover. We could do anything.”
  — Susan Vollenweiter (01:17)

Challenges and Improvisation

• DIY Spirit (01:40 - 02:13)

  • They embraced a DIY approach due to the lack of established processes.
  • Beckett humorously recounts interrupting a NASA friend’s “vital national security work” to help with technical set-up.

  “Ignorance is Bliss department is also a very nice place to be... I had to interrupt vital national security work and get someone to adopt my side project for me.”
  — Beckett Graham (01:40)

Exploring Women's Untold Stories

• Diverse Subjects Covered (02:13 - 03:06)

  • The series has explored lives of both famous and overlooked women, such as Frances Perkins, Martha Washington, Ona Judge, Dr. Mary Bethune, and Ida Lewis.
  • Each woman’s story imparts lessons: initiative, courage, innovation, and the power of individual action for the greater good.

  “We cover women that people have heard of and people haven’t, but they should.”
  — Susan Vollenweiter (02:44)

• Personal Takeaways (02:44; 03:06)

  • Frances Perkins: inspired action and doing what’s necessary for the greater good.
  • Laura Ingalls Wilder: the realization that “today is today,” connecting the present with the past and the importance of viewing historical women as real, feeling people.

  “History isn’t a bunch of butterflies pinned into a shadow box on your wall. History is nothing more than the stories of living, breathing, feeling people who happened to live in a different time.”
  — Beckett Graham (03:18)

Style and Approach

• Storytelling Format (03:49 - 04:11)
  • Life stories told “from birth to death,” with engaging sidebars and trivia—useful for casual listeners and trivia fans alike.
  • The hosts delight in Jeopardy! questions that relate to their podcast episode subjects.

Impact and Legacy

• Notable Insights (04:11 - 04:50)

  • Example: Lucille Ball’s support was crucial to the creation of Star Trek—a testament to the unexpected and enduring influence of women.
  • The podcast aims to show that everyone can make ripples in the “water of history,” with effects that might last far beyond one’s awareness.

  “You have the capability to drop a stone in the water of history...the ripples from the decisions you’ve made and the things you accomplish are infinite.”
  — Beckett Graham (04:32)

Resources and Community Engagement

• Encouragement to Explore Further (04:50 - 05:12)

  • Every episode concludes with recommendations for further reading and research.
  • Listeners are guided to visit the website (thehistorychicks.com) for more deep dives into specific women’s stories.

• Call to Action (05:12 - 05:31)

  • Listeners are encouraged to share the podcast for National Women's History Month and International Women’s Day.
  • Emphasis on celebrating women’s stories throughout the year.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Inspiration and Initiative

  “If you see something that needs to be fixed, or a need that needs to be filled, just do it. If it’s for the greater good.”
  — Susan Vollenweiter, reflecting on Frances Perkins (02:44)

• On Humanizing History

  “People are people reacting to the circumstances they find themselves in. And that is how we have decided to approach our show.”
  — Beckett Graham (03:36)

• On the Power of Women’s Legacies

  “Whatever your impact might be, the ripples from the decisions you’ve made and the things you accomplish are infinite. They go out in every direction.”
  — Beckett Graham (04:38)

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Memorable Segment

(05:45 - 06:18)
An excerpt of a poem or reflective reading closes the episode, powerfully encapsulating themes of reclaiming women's stories and integrity:

“Take back the daughters of history.
Take back the soft edges of sin,
The fruit and the vine.
The dangerous time.
You can keep me honest.
Only you can keep me honest.”

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Suggested Listening & Further Exploration

• Visit thehistorychicks.com to explore episodes about women from all eras, with curated sources and recommendations for each figure.
• Share the show with those interested in celebrating women’s history, not just in March, but all year round.

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Summary Flow

The tone is warm, candid, and uplifting, with Beckett and Susan’s long-time camaraderie at the forefront. The episode blends nostalgia, useful information, and inspiration, reminding listeners that uncovering and sharing women’s stories is a joyous and essential endeavor—and that everyone, regardless of era, has the power to shape history.

Transcript

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[Susan Vollenweiter]

Welcome to the History Tricks, where any resemblance to a boring old history lesson is purely coincidental.

[Beckett Graham]

And Here is your 30 second summary.

[Susan Vollenweiter]

In 2011, two women sat down at a dining room table, poured some coffee, and talked about Queen Marie Antoinette. Fifteen years later, the subjects have all changed, the locations have changed, but the two women are still talking.

[Beckett Graham]

Not the end. Hello, I am Beckett Graham.

[Susan Vollenweiter]

And I am Susan Vollenweiter. And we are the History Chicks.

[Beckett Graham]

Fifteen years ago, we looked around and we didn't see a podcast covering women's history in a way that brought these women to life, gave you a picture of what their world was really like, how they lived, what was going on at the same time in which they lived. And we decided we had to create it.

[Susan Vollenweiter]

Now, this was back before podcasts were really big. Here in the podcast world, we call it pre serial. The podcast serial that really launched the. The big boom of podcasting. We predate that, so we kind of had to figure it out on our own, which I think was fine because we get a lot of inspiration from the women that we cover. We could do anything.

[Beckett Graham]

Also, not to put too fine a point on it, the Ignorance is Bliss department is also a very nice place to be. We had to enlist a friend at NASA to write our RSS feed, which is basically the subscriber feed, how you could listen to our show from your phone or your computer. Nowadays, you just push a button, create my RSS feed. But back then, I had to interrupt vital national security work and get someone to adopt my side project for me.

[Susan Vollenweiter]

And really, that's what it was. It was a side project. It was something that we thought would be not only fun for us to do something different for us to do, but it would give us an opportunity to look at people, women who have lived in history that we might not have thought too much about in our lives. And we've covered people from Frances Perkins, Martha Washington, Ona Judge who was an enslaved woman of the washingtons who escaped. Dr. Mary Bethune, who was an education pioneer, Ida Lewis, who was a lighthouse keeper. So we cover women that people have heard of and people haven't, but they should. So all of these women have taught both Beckett and I something. Frances Perkins, for instance, taught me that if you see something that needs to be fixed or a need that needs to be filled, just do it. If it's for the greater good.

[Beckett Graham]

Something I learned from Laura Ingalls Wilder, actually as far back as Little House in the Big woods, her very first book. Laura looks around and realizes today is today. Surely it can never be a long time ago. And that is a feeling that stuck with me recently, that history isn't a bunch of butterflies pinned into a shadow box on your wall. History is nothing more than the stories of living, breathing feeling. People who happened to live in a different time. People are people reacting to the circumstances they find themselves in. And that is how we have decided to approach our show.

[Susan Vollenweiter]

We tell their stories from birth to death. We talk about their legacies, and. And we throw in a lot of little, I don't know, sidebars. Maybe we could call them Beckett little facts that relate to that woman that maybe you could bring up at a party if you liked, or watching Jeopardy. Because, oh, my goodness, there sure are a lot of questions on Jeopardy. That relate to our subjects.

[Beckett Graham]

One of the things we learned, for example, if there hadn't been Lucille Ball, we would not have Star Trek. Oh, that's a good one. And the overarching lesson that I have learned in all of our years of covering women from history, of all walks of life, really, you have the capability to drop a stone in the water of history. Whatever your impact might be, the ripples from the decisions you've made and the things you accomplish are infinite. They go out in every direction. And you might not even realize that you have made such an impact on the world.

[Susan Vollenweiter]

At the end of every woman's story, we list media recommendations and sources that we use that we really liked. So with that in mind, head on over to our website, thehistorychicks.com or however you get your podcasts. Find a woman that you would like to learn more about, listen to her episode, and check out the media related to her on our show.

[Beckett Graham]

Notes.

[Susan Vollenweiter]

Or maybe just a thought. In celebration of National Women's History Month and International Women's Day celebration, send this little mini episode to someone that you think might enjoy the podcast. Then you and your friends can celebrate women's history 12 months a year, just like we do over here at the History Chicks. And that's all I have.

[Beckett Graham]

Thanks for listening.

[Susan Vollenweiter]

Bye.

[Poetry Reader or Guest]

Take back the daughters of history. Take back the soft edges of sin, The fruit and the vine. The dangerous time. You can keep me honest. Only you can keep me honest.

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