The Poetical Scientist

The Pirate Queen

Before she was 30, Ching Shih commanded a fleet of tens of thousands of pirates and ships, defying the Qing dynasty, Britain, and Portugal—and walked away undefeated. In this episode of When Women Walked, we explore how a former sex worker rose to become one of history's most powerful pirate leaders, the strict code of conduct she enforced on her fleet, and how she ultimately negotiated her way into a peaceful retirement on her own terms.

Fire and Freedom

They were enslaved, outnumbered, and written off by the world — and they won anyway. This episode tells the story of the Haitian Revolution, one of the most successful slave revolts in history, and the fierce, defiant people who helped burn empires to the ground and birth a nation. But freedom came with a price — literally. Learn how France and the United States weaponized debt and isolation to punish Haiti for daring to be free, and why that stranglehold still echoes today.

The Poetical Scientist

Before computers existed, one woman imagined what they could become. In this episode of When Women Walked, we explore the remarkable life of Ada Lovelace, a nineteenth-century mathematician who saw the future of computing long before the modern computer was built. But her greatest achievement may have been her vision. Ada understood that computing machines could transform the world long before such machines existed. This is the story of Ada Lovelace — the woman who imagined the digital future.

Blessed is the Match

In 1944, as the Holocaust consumed Europe, a 23-year-old Jewish poet volunteered for a mission many believed was impossible. Hannah Senesh left her home in Palestine, trained with the British military, and parachuted into Nazi-occupied Europe in an effort to aid resistance fighters and help rescue Hungarian Jews before they were deported to Auschwitz. But her legacy lives not only in her courage, but in her words. In this episode of When Women Walked, we explore the life, sacrifice, and poetry of a young woman who believed that even the smallest flame could light the darkest night.

The Queen who Burned Rome

Rome believed Britain was conquered. By the first century CE, Roman legions controlled much of the island. Cities were built, taxes were collected, and imperial authority seemed unshakable. But in the year 60 CE, Rome made a brutal mistake... They humiliated the Queen of the Iceni people. Leading to rebellion.