WOMEN WHO
WENT BEFORE

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

Start Listening

LATEST EPISODES

Episodes
S2E10: Wearing (Down) the Body: Asceticism in Late Antique Monasticism
S2E10: Wearing (Down) the Body: Asceticism in Late Antique Monasticism

With Dr. Rebecca Krawiec

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

See all

  • “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

Spotify
Apple podcasts
Google Podcasts
Stitcher

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.

Learn More

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.