Unruly Figures

This week, historian and host Valorie Clark is covering the amazing life of Sylvia Rivera, an icon of queer history. She was at Stonewall (maybe), started the first activist group working for trans rights, and more. This podcast is sponsored by Audible. Get a free trial of Audible, including one free audiobook! Go to audibletrial.com/unruly to learn more. As always, you can get ad-free versions of the episode, and much much more on the Unruly Figures Substack: http://unrulyfigures.substack.com That's always where you can find transcripts of each episode, photos of each episode's subject, and behind-the-scenes goodies. So come join us!

Join historian Valorie Clark as she delves into the life of Alan Turing, the computer genius portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game. Explore Turing's breakthroughs in computing technology, his post-WWII questions, and the conspiracy theories surrounding his death.

This week, historian and host Valorie Clark is covering the amazing life of Hans Christian Andersen, who you might remember as the author behind "The Little Mermaid." Though Ariel and The Ugly Duckling are probably two of Andersen's most famous characters, he was an incredibly prolific writer who wrote hundreds of stories during his life. In this episode, Valorie tackles the myths he built around his childhood, his dark experience in school, and the intense debates around his sexuality. Link to Anderson's early poem "The Dying Child" - https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-dying-child-2/ As always, you can get ad-free versions of the episode, and much much more on the Unruly Figures Substack: http://unrulyfigures.substack.com That's always where you can find transcripts of each episode, photos of each episode's subject, and behind-the-scenes goodies. So come join us!

This week, historian and host Valorie Clark is covering the amazing tale of the Polly Adler, remembered as New York's greatest madam. She immigrated to the US from Russia, destined for a life of poverty and struggle, but rose above it to dizzying heights of money and glamour--and crime. As always, you can get ad-free versions of the episode, and much much more on the Unruly Figures Substack: http://unrulyfigures.substack.com That's always where you can find transcripts of each episode, photos of each episode's subject, and behind-the-scenes goodies. So come join us!

This week, historian and host Valorie Clark is covering the amazing tale of the 1930s race car driver and Grand Prix team owner, Lucy Schell. She was the first ever female Grand Prix team manager, and in the 1938 season, she fielded a revolutionary car driven by a talented Jewish driver to beat the Nazis. Listen to learn more about their under-dog win. As always, you can get ad-free versions of the episode, and much much more on the Unruly Figures Substack: http://unrulyfigures.substack.com That's always where you can find transcripts of each episode, photos of each episode's subject, and behind-the-scenes goodies. So come join us!

Today, host & historian Valorie Clark is finally getting around to answering your questions from the first ever Unruly Figures AMA! If you want to ask questions in the next AMA (or listen to the full version of this bonus episode) you can do that on the Unruly Figures Substack. 

This week, historian and host Valorie Clark is covering the third and final part of the story of Catherine de Medici, the famous Florentine Queen of France who would go on to be remembered as the Serpent Queen. Is her historical reputation fair or not?  Listen to find out. As always, you can get ad-free versions of the episode, and much much more on the Unruly Figures Substack: http://unrulyfigures.substack.com That's always where you can find transcripts of each episode, photos of each episode's subject, and behind-the-scenes goodies. So come join us!

This week, historian and host Valorie Clark is covering the second part of the story of Catherine de Medici, the famous Florentine Queen of France who would go on to be remembered as the Serpent Queen. Is her historical reputation fair or not?  Listen to find out. As always, you can get ad-free versions of the episode, and much much more on the Unruly Figures Substack: http://unrulyfigures.substack.com That's always where you can find transcripts of each episode, photos of each episode's subject, and behind-the-scenes goodies. So come join us!

This week, historian and host Valorie Clark is covering Catherine de Medici, the famous Florentine Queen of France who would go on to be remembered as the Serpent Queen. Is her historical reputation fair or not?  Listen to find out.  As always, you can get ad-free versions of the episode, and much much more on the Unruly Figures Substack: http://unrulyfigures.substack.com That's always where you can find transcripts of each episode, photos of each episode's subject, and behind-the-scenes goodies. So come join us!

This week, historian and host Valorie Clark is covering Zheng Yi Sao, the Chinese Pirate Queen and the greatest pirate to have ever lived.  As always, you can get ad-free versions of the episode on the Unruly Figures Substack: http://unrulyfigures.substack.com That's always where you can find transcripts of each episode, photos of each episode's subject, and behind-the-scenes goodies. So come join us! A note on the photo used for the cover art--this is a photo of actress Crystal Yu, who played Zheng Yi Sao in a 2022 episode of Doctor Who.