WOMEN WHO
WENT BEFORE

Join podcast hosts Emily Chesley and Rebekah Haigh on a gynocentric quest into the ancient world

LATEST EPISODES

Episodes
S2E9: Idols for Idling Eyes: The Female Form in Roman Art
S2E9: Idols for Idling Eyes: The Female Form in Roman Art

With Dr. Caroline Vout

S2E8: From Athens to Ethiopia: Race and Gender in Ancient Greek Literature
S2E8: From Athens to Ethiopia: Race and Gender in Ancient Greek Literature

With Dr. Jackie Murray

S2E7: To Have and To Hold: Sexual Violence and the Bible
S2E7: To Have and To Hold: Sexual Violence and the Bible

With Dr. Rhiannon Graybill

S2E6: Bad Blood: The Period Talk in Rabbinic Judaism and Zoroastrianism
S2E6: Bad Blood: The Period Talk in Rabbinic Judaism and Zoroastrianism

With Dr. Shai Secunda

S2E5: The Pee Test: Pregnancy and Childbirth in Ancient Egypt
S2E5: The Pee Test: Pregnancy and Childbirth in Ancient Egypt

With Dr. Ada Nifosì

S2E4: Blemished Brides: Women’s Bodies and Disability in Ancient Judaism
S2E4: Blemished Brides: Women’s Bodies and Disability in Ancient Judaism

With Dr. Julia Watts Belser

S2E3: Veiled But Not Hidden in Ancient Greece
S2E3: Veiled But Not Hidden in Ancient Greece

With Dr. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

S2E2: Virginity and the Hype About Hymens in Early Christianity
S2E2: Virginity and the Hype About Hymens in Early Christianity

With Dr. Julia Kelto Lillis

S2E1: Wandering Wombs: Greco-Roman Gynecology and Women’s Health
S2E1: Wandering Wombs: Greco-Roman Gynecology and Women’s Health

With Dr. Rebecca Flemming

S2E0: Bodily Matters: The Lifecycle of an Ancient Woman
S2E0: Bodily Matters: The Lifecycle of an Ancient Woman

Season 2 Premiere

  • “The hosts interview fascinating, brilliant scholars on each topic, and the hosts are fascinating, brilliant scholars in their own right.”

    - Apple Podcasts Review

  • Emily and Rebekah make thoughtful, historical scholarship fun and easy to understand!

    - Apple Podcasts Review

  • Listening to “Women Who Went Before” is like taking a behind the scenes tour into the classrooms and lives of leading classics scholars from around the world.

    - Apple Podcasts Review

  • I have recommended it to multiple family members and friends from different walks of life. I look forward to listening every week and I cannot wait for the next season to release.

    - Apple Podcasts Review

Hosted by Emily Chesley and Rebekah Haigh

Emily Chesley and Rebekah Haigh interview the world’s top scholars and unearth the lives of women from the past. It’s a history podcast and detective journey in one, sifting through texts and tropes to find the women who lived beneath.

Header Image Credit

“Female Figure,” ca. 3500–3400 B.C.E.. Clay, pigment, 11 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 2 1/4 in. (29.2 x 14 x 5.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 07.447.505. (Photos: Brooklyn Museum). Used under a Creative Commons-BY license. Adapted and animated by Paul Vermeesch, 2024.