The Milkmaid Spy

Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution

African American History And Culture, American History, Exhibits, Dc, History, Science, Sidedoor, History Of The World, Society & Culture, The Smithsonian, Washington, Natural History, Pop Culture, Smithsonian, Exhibit, Tony Cohn, Zoo, National Museum, Air And Space, National Zoo, Art19, Museum, Postal Museum

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 January 2024

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Virginia Hall dreamed of being America’s first female ambassador. Instead, she became a spy. Joining the ranks of the U.S.’s first civilian spy network, she operated alone in occupied France, where she built French Resistance networks, delivered critical intelligence, and sold cheese to the enemy. All on one leg.

Guests:

Sonia Purnell, author of “A Woman of No Importance: the Untold Story of the American Spy who Helped Win World War II.”

Randy Burkett, CIA Staff Historian

Christina Gebhard, museum specialist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History

Transcript

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0:00.0	Happy New Year's Side Doorables.
0:01.9	It is a new year, and we are starting it off with something old.
0:06.3	But don't be disappointed.
0:07.5	This is one of my favorite stories from the Side Door Vault.
0:10.5	It's a spy story.
0:12.8	Everyone knows any time is a good time for a spy story.
0:16.2	So while we are off making new episodes of Side Door, I'm leaving you this one here.
0:43.5	And I wanted to note that this episode does feature adult themes and mentions of violence that may not be appropriate for all listeners. Okay, enjoy. This is Side Door, a podcast from the Smithsonian with support from PRX.
0:44.6	I'm Lizzie Peabody.
0:56.9	Okay, Justin, we are starting this episode with a game. Are you ready to play?
0:58.3	I like games.
1:06.5	A few weeks ago, before the days of social distancing, I got Side Door Senior producer Justin O'Neill out of the studio for a quick game of,
1:08.5	how are these things related?
1:13.6	Okay, I'm going to show you two things, and you have to guess how they're related.
1:15.8	It's a pretty self-explanatory game.
1:17.3	Okay, you ready to see the first thing?
1:18.3	Lay it on me.
1:19.2	All right, let's go.
1:25.6	We started at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, in front of one of the most iconic displays. Here we've got Julia Child's kitchen.
1:28.9	It's like a time machine to the 1950s.
1:31.1	I see like a yellow table cloth, some of the era teal cabinetry.
1:37.2	And beyond that, like it's a standard well-to-do person's kitchen.
	...

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