The Fem Files

13- Baba Yaga | Pt. 1 of the Folklore Mini Series

Long before witches were Halloween costumes and aging was a curse, there was Baba Yaga: bone-legged, iron-toothed, and untameable. In this episode of The Fem Files, I trace the roots of this Slavic folklore legend, from her deep ties to nature and feminine power, to the ways she still creeps through our culture today. 🕯️ Keywords: Baba Yaga, Slavic folklore, feminist folklore podcast, mythology podcast, wild woman archetype, crone archetype, women and aging, feminist mythology, witch archetype, women in myth, Slavic mythology, pagan folklore, ancient goddesses, feminine rage, feminine power, women in history, dark feminine energy, the witch wound, witchcraft history, folklore analysis Sources:   https://www.dubravkaugresic.com/writings/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Melissa_Katsoulis.pdf [https://www.dubravkaugresic.com/writings/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Melissa_Katsoulis.pdf] https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/baba-yaga-confounding-crone-slavic-folklore-002836 [https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/baba-yaga-confounding-crone-slavic-folklore-002836] https://www.worldhistory.org/Baba_Yaga/ [https://www.worldhistory.org/Baba_Yaga/] https://medium.com/@folklegends/baba-yaga-unraveling-the-mysteries-of-the-enigmatic-witch-42a3dadb1c [https://medium.com/@folklegends/baba-yaga-unraveling-the-mysteries-of-the-enigmatic-witch-42a3dadb1c] https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20221118-baba-yaga-the-greatest-wicked-witch-of-all [https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20221118-baba-yaga-the-greatest-wicked-witch-of-all] https://www.storymasterstales.com/post/who-is-baba-yaga#:~:text=This%20association%20reveals%20her%20as,Goddess%20in%20Russian%20fairy%20tales [https://www.storymasterstales.com/post/who-is-baba-yaga#:~:text=This%20association%20reveals%20her%20as,Goddess%20in%20Russian%20fairy%20tales]. https://fairytale.fandom.com/wiki/Baba_Yaga#:~:text=Slavic%20folklore%2C%20Baba%20Yaga%20is,mother%2C%20or%20archetypal%20image%22 [https://fairytale.fandom.com/wiki/Baba_Yaga#:~:text=Slavic%20folklore%2C%20Baba%20Yaga%20is,mother%2C%20or%20archetypal%20image%22]. https://ces.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/162/Baba-Yaga-informational-material.pdf [https://ces.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/162/Baba-Yaga-informational-material.pdf]

12- Women in the Irish Republican Army (IRA)

In this episode of The Fem Files, we dive into the stories of four powerful women in the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who challenged British colonial rule in Northern Ireland. From armed resistance to prison hunger strikes, these women played critical roles in the Irish struggle for freedom. We explore the lives of Máire Drumm, Rosaleen Walsh, Martina Anderson, and Rosaleen McCorley— activists, writers, political leaders, and survivors. Learn how these women fought for Irish independence, civil rights, and national identity during The Troubles, all while facing state violence, internment, and media erasure. Subscribe to The Fem Files for more radical women’s history you didn’t learn in school. Sources: https://alphahistory.com/northernireland/maire-drumm/ https://ifiarchiveplayer.ie/mna-an-ira-6/ https://ifiarchiveplayer.ie/mna-an-ira-5/ https://ifiarchiveplayer.ie/mna-an-ira-4/ SEO: Women in the IRA, IRA history, Irish Republican women, Northern Ireland conflict, The Troubles, Irish independence, Sinn Féin, Cumann na mBan, female revolutionaries, anti-colonial resistance, British occupation, Irish civil rights, feminist history, political prisoners Ireland

11- Lilith, Adam's First Wife and Dark Feminine Archetype

This episode of The Fem Files explores the story of Lilith: Adam’s first wife and the original rebel. Tracing Lilith's transformation from an ancient goddess to a demonized outcast, this episode explores how myths were rewritten to punish feminine strength, independence, and sexuality. Sources: Baskin, Judith. “Lilith.” The Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture, 2011. “Lilith.” Historical Dictionary of Witchcraft, 2012. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/seccll/2016/2016/10/ SEO Keywords: Lilith, Adam’s first wife, Lilith myth, feminist icon Lilith, divine feminine, dark feminine, dark goddess, feminist podcast, mythology podcast, women in mythology, Lilith history, Lilith story, Lilith explained, Eve vs Lilith, Lilith archetype, ancient goddesses, goddess Lilith, spiritual feminism, feminine power, patriarchal religion, Lilith symbolism, Lilith feminist icon, dark feminine energy, sacred feminine, bad mother archetype, good mother archetype, divine feminine energy, suppressed feminine, religious patriarchy, Lilith truth, reclaiming Lilith, witch archetype, sexuality and power, biblical feminism, feminist spirituality, feminism and mythology, Abrahamic religions and women, gender and religion, history of Lilith, repressed goddesses, spiritual awakening, matriarchal history, Lilith origin story, feminist history, myth and power, womanhood in religion, the Fem Files podcast, feminist mythology podcast, women in history, women and power, feminine archetypes, reclaiming myth, feminine rage, divine rage, female divinity, mythology and gender, feminist

10- Lizzie Magie: The True Inventor of Monopoly, AKA The Landlord's Game

This episode uncovers the surprising origins of Monopoly, the board game that was never meant to celebrate capitalism but to critique it. Discover how Lizzie Magie’s original vision was twisted into a tool for promoting greed and how her message matters now more than ever. Join me to explore the game’s cultural impact, the rise of privatization in America, and the forgotten solution of The Single Tax. SEO terms: Monopoly history, Lizzie Magie, Henry George, single tax theory, capitalism critique, privatization in America, board game origins, economic justice, American culture, land value tax, progressive economics, wealth inequality, Monopoly capitalism, anticapitalist board games, Monopoly podcast episode, Parker Brothers, Charles Darrow, depression era, 1930s, 1900s, early 1900s, Monopoly, privatization Sources: Archibald, Sasha. “The Landlord’s Game: Lizzie Magie and Monopoly’s Anti-Capitalist Origins (1903).” The Public Domain Review, 21 Dec. 2023, publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-landlords-game/. Dasia Sade. “The Privatization of Everything | How America Sold Itself Out.” YouTube, 24 Apr. 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEtEvnhziPM. Accessed 3 May 2025. Georgia. “The Newnan Herald. (Newnan, Ga.) 1915-1947, January 29, 1915, Image 4 «Georgia Historic Newspapers.” Usg.edu, 2025, gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn89053461/1915-01-29/ed-1/seq-4/ocr/. Accessed 8 May 2025. “Lizzie Magie Phillips.” The Glinda Factor, 2016, theglindafactor.com/lizzie-magie-phillips/. priority_high Webpage author Pilon, Mary. “Monopoly Was Designed to Teach the 99% about Income Inequality.” Smithsonian Magazine, Jan. 2015, www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/monopoly-was-designed-teach-99-about-income-inequality-180953630/.

09- Francis Farmer Will Have Her Revenge

In this episode of The Fem Files, Grace Bowland dives into the brutal legacy of Frances Farmer. Labeled insane for refusing to comply, Farmer’s story is less about madness and more about misogyny in a white coat. From electroshock “cures” to lobotomy rumors, we trace how brilliance in women gets pathologized, then punished. Sources: https://newsroom.artandwriting.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Farmer%E2%80%94God-Dies.pdf William Arnold, Shadowland (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1978); Frances Farmer and Jean Ratcliffe, Will There Really Be a Morning? (New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1972); Frances Farmer, Clipping and Biography Files, Seattle Collection, Seattle Public Library; Lois Kibbee Papers, 1968-1981, Special Collections, University of Washington, Seattle; Kyle Crichton, "I Dress As I Like," Collier's, May 8, 1937, p. 21; "A Seattle Mother's Warning Against Red Teachers," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 29, 1935, p. 1; Frances Farmer, "Why I Am Going to Russia," The Seattle Times, March 29, 1935, p. 2; "Frances Farmer: A Seattle Girl Reaches Broadway via Hollywood," Life, January 17, 1938, pp. 26-27; "Distinguished Group Will Preview New Studio Play," The Seattle Times, January 23, 1938, p. 4; Edward Churchill, "The Future of Frances Farmer," Movie Mirror, January 1938, p. 53; James Robert Parish and William T. Leonard, Hollywood Players: The Thirties (New York: Arlington House Publishers, 1976); "Ex-Seattle Girl Cries She 'Drank Everything,'" The Seattle Times, January 14, 1943, p. 1; "May Be Publicity Stunt, Says Mother of Actress," Philadelphia Record, January 14, 1943; "Blames Roles for Breakdown," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 26, 1943; "Mental Test Ordered For Fran Farmer: Her Sanity Held in Doubt," New York Daily News, January 15, 1943; "Miss Farmer Put In Asylum," The Seattle Times, March 24, 1944, p. B-4; "Frances Farmer Will Leave Hospital; May Do War Work," Ibid., July 2, 1944, p. 1; "Frances Farmer Cured, Quits Hospital Today," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 2, 1944; Robert A. Barr, "Frances Farmer, Home Again, Plans Comeback in Pictures," The Seattle Times, July 3, 1944, p. B-4; "Frances Farmer," Ibid., July 29, 1944, p. 10; "Reds Had Hold Over Actress Since High School, Says Parent," Ibid., October 20, 1947; Lucille Cohen, "Drastic Overcrowding at State Hospital Bared," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 18, 1949, p. 1; Rita Rose, "True Frances Farmer Story Remains Elusive" and "Frances Farmer: She Couldn't Tell the White Hats from the Black," Indianapolis Star, January 23, 1983; Edith Farmer Elliot, Look Back in Love (Portland, OR: Gemaia Press, 1978); " 'Frances' Inaccurate, Say Former Nurses," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 26, 1983; Robert Heilman, "Miss Farmer Happy as She and Fiancée Talk of Coming Marriage," The Seattle Times, April 14, 1954, p. 16; Ed DeBlasio, "The Seven Christmases of Frances Farmer," Modern Screen, December 1957, p. 57; "Frances Farmer, 56, Former Actress, Dies, The Seattle Times, August 3, 1970, p. D-16; "Seattle-born Film Actress Frances Farmer Dies at 56," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 3, 1970, p. 5.