oh HELOOOOOOOOO! We're back and we are so so happy :) Even better, we're kicking back off on a hot hot HOT note, with a trip to our favorite location of late, FRANCE!  Have you ever heard of Mata Hari? Well, if you were in Paris in the early 1900s, then you DEFINITELY have heard of this cunning performer and businesswoman.  She was a mysteriously attractive woman with dance moves that captured the city's hearts.  But her beginnings aren't what you think...   Image credits: image created using openart.ai

Surprise! This is coming a week late so everyone has heard the news, but the US political world got a flippity doo dah last week. So Lauren and Hannah sit down for a few minutes and talk about an influential female figure in our present, Vice President and Presidential candidate, Kamala Harris.    Photo Credit: Nathan Howard for Reuters

Let's take it back.  WAAAY back. Back to Ancient Alexandria (Egypt) where we meet Hypatia, only daughter and child of Theon. And they were the definition of a healthy Father-Daughter Philosophical Mathematics duo!   Why is she important?  Ohhhh, just by being a beauty!  A SMART beauty, who rose the ranks of Academia and began to lead lectures on her own.  Men (and some women, we imagine) would come from all over the Mediterrannean to learn from her.  She was BIG NEWS! But not everyone loved her like we do... Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hypatia_by_Julius_Kronberg,_1889,_detail.jpg

Sooooooooo..... Don't buy Soap from Leonarda.  I don't care what she offers you..  It's not morally good soap, and honestly how much can human soap really clean? TRIGGER WARNING FOR THE ENTIRE EPISODE:  This episode contains themes of violence, cannibalism, and other horrifying acts.  IF this is not your thing, we totally understand, and we invite you to come back next week for another tale with less of these themes.  Image Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonarda_Cianciulli.jpg

Sooo, you know how we LOVE a good feminine rage story - this isn't it.  This is more of the drug-less "Breaking Bad" vibes.  We're talking about Leonarda Cianciulli - The Soapmaker of Correggio (Italy).  She's not a simple DIY pro - we're dealing with a full blown serial killer!  This week we're dealing with crafts and kills, mother/son relationships, and the last soap store we'd ever shop at.  Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonarda_Cianciulli_mugshot.jpg

OOOOOOOOHHHHH! This is a good one!   All our revenge girlies, rise up! Jeanne de Clisson is leading the charge to avenge her husband, her lands, her monies, and traumatizing her sons in the process.  But it's fine, it's FIIIIINE.  Everything is FINE!   Hannah is just getting all excited by  the "Danaerys Targaryen"/Olga of Kiev vibes in this episode.  Image Credits:  WBW, AI-generated Image from Playground.com

Hey, so do any of you remember the 100 Years War? The one in France? That occurred over 3 DISTINCT PERIODS? We do!  And we're back, except this time we meet up with a different Jeanne (familiar?)  who is at the beginning of the war this time! Jeanne de Clisson (another Jeanne!) doesn't hear angels calling to her but she does wind up a wealthy widow! In Part 1 we chart Jeanne's rise to the rich widow status and how she got there. And we learn how she got caught up in the beginning of an epic-ly long death match between England and France!  Image link: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Jeanne+de+Clisson&title=Special:MediaSearch&type=image

We're back for Part 2 of Miriam Makeb's story!  Exiled from her country for ... literally just singing and being an icon/beacon for hope. Separated from her daughter, too.  Rude.  Let's learn how Miriam maintained hope and spread the word about it through song.  image credits: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Makeba+&title=Special:MediaSearch&type=image

This is it - The season 1 finale!!!!  The Queen, Liz, is faced with the ultimate challenge as Peter Townsend arrives back in town and reunites with Margaret.  Phillip struggles with the new mission assigned to him.  Where does this these our royal family?

Warning - we discuss Aparthied in South Africa and the horrendous acts committed during this time.  we're getting introduced to a vibrant, soulful powerhouse - Miriam Makeba!!! Songstress, activist, and all-around amazing human.  From her unusual name (hint, not "Miriam" but another of her names), her musical debut and, of course, "The Click Song", to her exile and world-wide-impact.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves, we're only in part 1!  Image credits: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Miriam+Makeba&title=Special:MediaSearch&type=image

It's the Penultimate episode of Season 1!!!  This week, Winston is getting honored with an official portrait for his 80th birthday!   Liz and Margaret navigate a tricky sister situation, Philip is given his own mission on behalf of the royal family, and Margaret gets excited for Peter's return!  Lots to unpack, let's go!!!!

Ooooooh boy, Belle is on a rampage now!  Our main character is luring in lonely men through the want ads, or old-timey "online dating" for the kids today. She advertised herself as a snack, a catch, hard to ignore.  However, her motives were so so so much darker. Than anyone would have guessed. image credits: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Belle+Guinness&title=Special:MediaSearch&type=image

Tensions heat up this week between the sisters, Margaret vs. Lizzie!  The Queen has a trip to go on and she leaves the Queenly duties to Margaret while she's away, can she trust Margaret to do it well?  Meanwhile, Cookie scouts real estate in Scotland!

Today we start a WILD two-parter on what can essentially breakdown to "missed connections gone horribly wrong - for the men".  Belle Guinness is our topic today, a serial killer of the female persuasion. Originally from Norway, Belle emigrated to the US and began "operating " in Chicago, falling in love with butchery, and then taking things too far.    image credit: Wikipedia Commons.  link: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Belle+gunness+&title=Special:MediaSearch&type=image

We're sipping hot Hot tea this week as the the health of the PM is made know to Liz, and SHE'S PISSED!  How does a Queen handle such things?

It's time for a promotion!!! It's Judge RBG now.   This week, we're covering Ruth's time as a judge, her dedication to the nation as a whole, and her nomination/confirmation to the US Supreme Court.  Thats when began her journey from icon to absolute legend!  Image credits: Wikipedia commons. Link: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stan_Polovets_awards_Justice_Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg_Lifetime_Achievement_Award_2018

In this week's episode of The Crownening, Hannah and Lauren have so much to cover it went into two parts! This first half covers the Crown episode 7 until about the halfway point, when HM Lizzie meets Professor Hogg for the first time. Spoilers, obviously.

THE Notorious R.B.G.!!!!! The legendary Supreme Court Justice is our topic today, one that we are extremely excited to dive into. This week we're starting at the very beginning, when Ruth was born and diving into her education and early career as a lawyer.  But be warned, we'll be ringing the "misogyny bell" throughout...  Seriously, like A LOT! DISCLAIMER - This episode was recorded over a video conferencing platform, so the audio cuts off some of our sentences.  We did our best to fis it in editing, but we weren't able to get it all.

Oh Hellooooo, darlings.  It's a spicy one this week:  Margaret has an important question to ask Lizzie  We define the title of the episodeFluff is sexyCookie is at her peak "cookie-ness" trying to hide a scandal

Uh oh, guys ... Jeannie's in the clink!   Our favorite holy morale booster has been deemed a CRIMINAL and BLASPHEMOUS!  She is purchased by the English and held on trial, with death as the penalty.  Her Crimes?  Wearing pants, acting upon DEMONIC (?) visions, and refusing to be judged by plain old human men and decreed only God could judge her.   Welp, let's see how this goes! (I think we already know, though...)   Image credits: Image of Jeanne d'Arc in New Orleans by Emmanuel Frémiet , sourced from Wikimedia Commons. Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joan_of_Arc_(5568983169)-_Modified_Version.jpg