The Inventing HerStory podcast

Mar 25 2025 20 ep. 43 mins 4
The Inventing HerStory podcast artwork

Who actually invented the first computer program, discovered the first complete dinosaur fossil, and so much more!? She did! The Inventing Herstory podcast explores the lives of influential women scientists and inventors (who you’ve maybe never heard about) and their world-changing inventions and discoveries (which you DEFINITELY know about)! Join us as we learn all about HerStory.

  Science  History  Technology
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Inge Lehmann - Journey to the (Solid) Center of the Earth

Mar 25 2025 49 mins  
Think of the layers of the Earth as an onion, a slice of cake, or better yet, a Ferrero Rocher; a chocolate with a wafer outer crust, a creamy filling and a solid hazelnut in the center. If this analogy is true, then Inge Lehmann is the Danish seismologist who discovered the hazelnut in the center of the earth. Ok ok, it's not a gigantic hazelnut, but it's still a solid core! In 19

Marie Tharp - Drifters vs. Mobilists: The Discovery of Continental Drift

Feb 10 2025 47 mins  
Have you ever looked at a world map and wondered HOW did the continents end up where they currently are, oceans apart? This week we’re diving deep—literally—into the life of Marie Tharp, the woman who mapped the ocean floor and turned the scientific world upside down. Before her, no one knew that continents could drift—now they can’t stop! Follow us in episode nineteen of

Cecilia Payne - Shine Bright Like A-Type Stars

Jan 27 2025 46 mins  
Did you know that the stars in the night sky are mostly made of hydrogen and helium? You can thank Cecilia Payne for that groundbreaking discovery! Despite her work initially being dismissed by male colleagues, Cecilia Payne’s genius unlocked the secret composition of stars, reshaping our understanding of the universe. But her journey wasn’t all starlight and brilliance, she ha

Lizzie Magie - The Monopoly Drama

Dec 31 2024 50 mins  
Did you know that Lizzie Magie is the true inventor of Monopoly? Well, technically, she invented and patented The Landlord's Game, a board game initially deemed "too complicated" to achieve widespread popularity. Despite this, her creation started spreading across the U.S., with players crafting their own personalized versions of the game. That is, until someone stepped in, declare

Maria E. Beasley - "Barrel-Loads" of Money (Wink, Wink!)

Aug 19 2024 51 mins  
Earning both public recognition for her inventions and making "barrel-loads" of money (wink, wink!), Maria E. Beasley was an inventor extraordinaire. With 15 patents to her name and millions of dollars in income, she is best known for her barrel-hooping machine, her revolutionised design of the life raft, and anti-derailment modifications made to trains. How exactly did this 19th-c

Eva Ekeblad - Popularizing the Potato

Jul 29 2024 42 mins  
Eva Ekeblad, also known as the "potato pioneer", was (one of) the first female chemists in Sweden. She experimented with using potatoes in many cooking and household applications including making potato bread, potato starch, dying yarn using potato starch, and most notably, liquor distilled from potatoes! During a time when potatoes were new and not yet popular in Sweden (believe i

Jeanne Villepreux-Power - Dawning of the Age of "Aquariums"

May 27 2024 36 mins  
Known as the "Mother of Aquariophily," Jeanne Villepreux-Power invented the aquarium, allowing for groundbreaking studies of marine life in their natural habitats. But how did this invention come about?! Discover her remarkable journey from a seamstress in rural France to a self-learned naturalist whose innovative methods laid the foundation for modern marine research, not to menti

Judith Love Cohen - Fly Me To The Moon (And Back)

May 13 2024 35 mins  
Not only the mother of a famous Hollywood star, Judith Love Cohen was working on stars....or at least as an electrical engineer working for a supplier to NASA! Among her greatest accomplishments, was her work on the Apollo abort guidance system which helped safely guide astronauts back to earth during the disastrous Apollo 13 mission. Learn all about what went wrong during this dis

Maria Esperanza Martinez-Romero - Farming Using Bacteria, Not Fertilizers

Apr 29 2024 47 mins  
Using bacteria to give nutrients to crops rather than fertilizers, Maria Esperanza Martinez-Romero is making big steps toward creating sustainable farming practices. Her discoveries on nitrogen fixation in plants by bacteria is currently being implemented in Mexico and Peru. Known for her innovative work with bacteria, Maria has been instrumental in uncovering the complex relations

Hedy Lamarr - More Than a Movie Star; An Inventor!

Apr 15 2024 43 mins  
From her dazzling career as a Hollywood actress to her contributions to wireless communication, Hedy Lamarr's brilliance extended far beyond the silver screen. Her invention that used frequency hopping for a torpedo guidance system during World War II laid the groundwork for technologies we use today, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. Inspired to help the war-cause through her i