How, exactly, does a woman ‘slip’ out of history?

THIS IS HISTORY — A DYNASTY TO DIE FOR

Sony Music

History, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2026

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What would you do if your life was omitted, reduced to an overlooked footnote, or filed away as an anomaly? In this episode, Dan and Elizabeth turn a lens on the practice of history itself, interrogating the choices and power structures that have traditionally left women out of the history books. They retrace the lives of three women who once stood firmly in their moment: Hatshepsut, a pharaoh who consolidated power in Ancient Egypt; Joanna Ferrour, a peasant whose voice briefly direct the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381; and Ada Lovelace, a Victorian thinker whose ideas arrived well before the world was ready for them. Each was successful in their time. And yet each of their world-changing contributions were quietly edited out, only to be rediscovered generations — or even millennia later. So what does it mean when the practice of history fails to record the world as it was? And what happens when history’s failures reveal themselves, much later, as triumphs to a new generation? – As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime on the royal court on Patreon at patreon.com/thisishistory. And don’t forget to listen to this season’s accompanying bonus episodes for this miniseries, where Dan and Producer Al are dissecting the biggest historical failures as submitted by the royal favourites. In this episode, they discuss Catherine Parr’s failed arrest, and what the Crusades reveal about success and failure. – A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices –– Presented by Dan Jones and Elizabeth Day Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Researcher - Phoebe Joyce Executive Producer - Simon Poole Executive Producer - Dan Jones Executive Producer for Daylight Productions - Elizabeth Day Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production coordinator - Eric Ryan Head of content - Chris Skinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Were you taught by many women historians?
0:03.3	Helen Castor was my mentor, the great medievalist.
0:06.1	Yes.
0:06.5	In fact, medieval history has a great tradition of female scholars.
0:10.0	I had some sessions with Helen Castor as well.
0:13.3	Did you?
0:13.8	Yeah.
0:14.6	Really?
0:15.0	She was still very cool.
0:16.8	Yes.
0:17.7	But I remember being 18 years old and Helen Castor, the great medievalist, was sort of 29, 30 years old and was the most sophisticated and cool and brainy woman I'd ever seen in my life.
0:29.7	And I was just like completely bowled over and unable to speak.
0:33.8	Does she know this about you?
0:35.1	Yeah, I've told her.
0:36.1	That's so sweet.
0:37.3	Yes. We're still good friends now.
0:39.8	So women.
0:41.1	So I think we've covered women.
0:45.4	Hello, I'm Dan Jones, a medievalist, and I'm thankful I'm not actually in the Middle Ages.
0:51.5	Why? Because a restless boss didn't bode well for employees.
0:58.0	Well, I'm glad to say that finding the right hire now is safe and super convenient with Indeed.
1:04.5	But don't take my word for it. There are more than 3.3 million workplaces worldwide
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sony Music, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Sony Music and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.