Cultivators: Helen Gwynne-Vaughan

Womanica

Acast Creative Studios

History, Society & Culture, Education

4.3 • 920 Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Commandant Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan (1879-1967) was an acclaimed botanist who studied and published papers and textbooks on the reproduction of fungi. She also had a military career in both World Wars, and was appointed the first Chief Controller of the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

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This month, we're talking about cultivators — women who nurtured, cross-pollinated, experimented, or went to great lengths to better understand and protect the natural world.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn't help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we'll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Adrien Behn, Alyia Yates, Vanessa Handy, Melia Agudelo, and Joia Putnoi. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.

Original theme music composed by Brittany Martinez.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Cyrus the Great of Persia was a conqueror, and he tried to increase his empire by marrying
0:07.0	Tamiris, the widow of the king of the Massingeti people. She refused his offer, and so he
0:13.8	decided that he would invade her kingdom instead. Turns out, that was a big mistake. Listen to the latest episode of Noble Blood,
0:23.8	available now. Listen to Noble Blood on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
0:30.0	podcasts. If you truly believe in liberation, if you have to cover everybody. Hi, I'm George
0:36.7	M. Johnson, a bestselling author with the second most fan book in America.
0:40.7	In this week's episode of my new podcast Fighting Words, I talk with the iconic actress Gabrielle
0:45.2	Union about some of her pivotal roles and how to be a good parent in the face of today's
0:49.9	backlash against black and queer communities.
0:52.3	If you are more concerned about what your fellow racists think about you, you've already lost.
0:59.2	Listen to Fighting Words on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
1:08.7	Hello, I'm Carmen Borka Curio, a senior producer at Wonder Media Network.
1:13.6	I'm so excited to be guest hosting this episode of Womanica.
1:17.7	This month, we're talking about cultivators, women who've nurtured, cross-pollinated,
1:22.8	experimented, or went to great lengths to better understand and protect the natural world.
1:31.3	A woman stands in her laboratory. She delicately places a sample of fungi on a glass slide,
1:35.3	leans down and squints through one eye.
1:39.3	She zooms in to see dozens of small circles clustered around each other,
1:43.3	grouped like tiny constellations.
1:47.1	But this scientist isn't confined to her lab.
1:49.9	When needed, she slips off her lab coat and buttons up a military jacket.
1:54.8	From classrooms to army offices, today's womanikin defied expectations for women of her
	...

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