Episode 86 - Eileen Agar

It's our last episode of 2025, and the final episode of Season 8! Susan, Katy and Florian meet up to toast the end of another season, and of course to clink glasses in honor of our featured Dead Lady, Eileen Agar.

Eileen Agar was the sort of artist who looked at a hat and thought, What if it grew feathers, sprouted seashells, and started whispering secrets to strangers? Born in Buenos Aires and raised in Britain, Agar was a painter, collagist and sculptor with a delicious taste for the absurd. She danced on the edges of Surrealism—sometimes elbowing her way in, sometimes pirouetting just out of reach—and exhibited alongside the likes of Dalí and Ernst, though she never let their mustaches overshadow her own wildly imaginative vision. DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens brings us her story.

You'll probably want to have a look at Eileen and her paintings and hat sculptures. Find them over at deadladiesshow.com/podcast

Find us on social media @deadladiesshow and stay informed about all our events via our newsletter: https://deadladiesshowberlin.beehiiv.com/

Or drop us a line info@deadladiesshow.com

Want to give the gift of Dead Ladies? Why not choose a gift subscription to our Patreon? Or maybe you yourself need even more Dead Ladies in your life? Patreon members get exclusive episodes of our Dead Lady Book Club, where we chat about books, ideas, music and more — by and about Dead Ladies. And, of course, check out our year-end holiday edition, where we toast the ladies we lost in 2025. For just a couple of dollars, pounds or euros a month, you can support our work and join in the fun. Check it out at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

Our theme music is "Little Lily Swing" by Tri-Tachyon.

Thanks for listening! We will be back again in March 2026 with another fabulous Dead Lady.

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The Dead Ladies Show is a series of entertaining and inspiring talks about women who achieved amazing things against all odds, presented live in Berlin and beyond. This podcast is based on that series. Because women's history is everyone's history.

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

This time around we head back to New York to hear about Italian antifascist Carla Capponi. Professor Suzanne Cope, author of WOMEN OF WAR: The Italian Assassins, Spies and Couriers Who Fought the Nazis brings us Carla's lively tale, which is full of bombs, intrigue, and bravery. DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens joins host/producer Susan Stone to introduce the talk.

Find out more about Suzanne Cope here: https://www.suzannecope.com/

And see our episode notes here: https://deadladiesshow.com/podcast/

You can purchase Suzanne's book and support our show on US Bookshop here: https://bookshop.org/a/19410/9780593476000

and at Bookshop UK here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5687/9780593476000

Thanks to the team at Dead Ladies NYC for sharing this presentation with us: Molly O'Laughlin Kemper, Sheila Enright, Christopher Neil and the KGB Bar's Lori Schwarz. Find out about their ongoing shows via their newsletter: https://deadladiesshow.substack.com/

Our next live show in Berlin will be in ACUD on December 12th. It's going to be an all-English show, and the featured ladies are Victoria Woodhull, Alice Guy, and F. Tennyson Jesse. Get tickets now here: https://tinyurl.com/DLSTix1212

Find us on social media @deadladiesshow and stay informed about all our events via our newsletter: https://deadladiesshowberlin.beehiiv.com/

Need even more Dead Ladies in your life? Become a member of our Patreon and get exclusive episodes of our Dead Lady Book Club, where we chat about books, ideas, music and more — by and about Dead Ladies. And, of course, our year-end holiday edition, where we toast the ladies we lost in 2025. For just a couple of dollars, pounds, or euros a month, you can support our work and join in the fun. Check it out at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

Thanks for listening! We will be back again next month with another fabulous Dead Lady.

We're back with a delightful episode about Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, the first female chief of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Host Susan Stone dives deep into the history of the Seminole Indians and Betty Mae's unusual life and times, via a talk recorded in front of a live audience in Berlin. As a mixed-race child, Betty was 'born a crime' according to Seminole medicine men, but she endured to lead her community as a nurse, journalist, leader, and a storyteller.

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins host/producer Susan Stone to introduce the talk.

Visit our episode page to see photos of Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, alligator wrestlers, Chickee huts and more! https://deadladiesshow.com/2025/10/24/podcast-84-betty-mae-tiger-jumper/

If you like, follow us on social media @deadladiesshow where we share pictures and info about all of the wonderful Dead Ladies we've covered so far. You can also drop us a line via info@deadladiesshow.com

As mentioned, DLS NYC will co-host a special autumn walking tour in Brooklyn's Green-Wood cemetery on October 25th. Info here: https://tinyurl.com/GreenWoodDLSNYC

The family and friends discount mentioned is: code 2025DEADLADIES10 for $10 off your ticket. And here is a link to sign up for the DLS NYC newsletter: https://deadladiesshow.substack.com/

Here in Berlin, our next show will be on December 12th, so please save the date, and sign up for our newsletter to get early access to tickets: https://deadladiesshowberlin.beehiiv.com

Need even more Dead Ladies in your life? Become a member of our Patreon and get exclusive episodes of our Dead Lady Book Club, where we chat about books, ideas, music and more — by and about Dead Ladies. For just a couple of dollars, pounds or euros a month, you can support our work and join in the fun. Check it out at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

Our theme music is "Little Lily Swing" by Tri-Tachyon. Thanks for listening! We'll be back with a new episode next month.

In this episode, DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens introduces us to Flora Tristan.

A French-Peruvian writer, socialist activist and feminist theorist, Flora was amongst the first to tie women's equality to social equality. Her personal life was touched by hardship, scandal, and the nefarious acts of various men. Seeking her own emancipation, she was moved to fight for universal freedom. And though she may not be well-known, Flora's inspiring ideas live on today, when people stand united against oppression.

To find out more about Flora and her work, visit our episode page over at https://deadladiesshow.com/2025/07/18/podcast-83-flora-tristan/

If you'd like to get even more Dead Lady info, why not join us over on Patreon, where we have special previews, interviews, and book chats. Get all the goodies by supporting us with just a couple of dollars, pounds or euros a month. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/c/deadladiesshowpodcast

You can also help us out by rating and reviewing our podcast wherever you like to listen, and by sharing our content on social media.

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire. The podcast is created, produced, and edited by me, Susan Stone.

Our theme tune is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon. We'll be back again next month with another fabulous Dead Lady. Good bye!

In this episode, we hop over to New York to encounter our Dead Lady of the hour, May Ziadeh, a Lebanese-Palestinian poet, writer, translator, and feminist, whose work explored themes of love, identity, and the liberation of women. Books were her beloved companions throughout her life, and proved more steadfast than people. May began writing at an early age, started an important literary salon, and had moments of fame, but is perhaps better known for the years of isolation and tragedy that marked her life. She deserves more. May wrote in her diary: "After my death, I hope that someone will do me justice and find the sincerity and honesty contained in my small writings."

Our presenter is Rosana Elkhatib, a designer, researcher, and curator. She is a co-founding principal of feminist architecture collaborative f-architecture and has taught at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation.

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins host/producer Susan Stone to introduce the talk.

Thanks to the team at Dead Ladies NYC for sharing this presentation with us: Molly O'Laughlin Kemper, Sheila Enright, Christopher Neil and the KGB Bar's Lori Schwarz.

Visit our episode page to see photos of May Ziadeh and get more information about her: https://deadladiesshow.com/2025/05/31/podcast-81-may-ziadeh/

Read three of her poems in English translation here: https://losangelesreview.org/3-poems-translated-rose-demaris/

Find our more about Rosana Elkhatib and her work here: https://rosanakhatib.work/

If you're in New York and want to see the show live, stay up-to-date with Dead Ladies NYC via their newsletter here: https://deadladiesshow.substack.com/

If you're in Berlin and want to stay in touch, our newsletter is here: https://deadladiesshowberlin.beehiiv.com

And find us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/deadladiesshow

Need even more Dead Ladies in your life? Become a member of our Patreon and get exclusive episodes of our Dead Lady Book Club, where we chat about books, ideas, music and more — by and about Dead Ladies. For just a couple of dollars, pounds or euros a month, you can support our work and join in the fun. Check it out at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

We're back with Season Eight of the Dead Ladies Show Podcast!

In this episode, DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire brings us the story of Boudica, an ancient British queen who fought the Romans. Though she led her Iceni tribe in a rebellion, the Romans prevailed, but wrote a fair bit about her in the history books.

In her afterlife, Boudica became a mascot for the suffragettes but also co-opted as a symbol for all things British; also, Enya wrote a song about her.

DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens joins producer/host Susan Stone to set the stage.

Get more info on Boudica in our episode notes: https://deadladiesshow.com/2025/3/xx/podcast-79-boudica/

For more on the Boudica-inspired perfume Susan mentioned, look here:

https://www.boudiccawode.com/

Dead Ladies NYC has a show March 6 — find out more here on their newsletter: https://deadladiesshow.substack.com/

As it happens, Caroline Knapp of DLS NYC actually presented Boudica back in 2020 during lockdown, so the show was on Zoom!

And in Berlin we are celebrating 10 years of DLS! Come see us May 13th, and find out more via our website: https://deadladiesshowberlin.beehiiv.com/

Please consider joining our Patreon! We have lots of fun interviews and book chat and more over at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

If you like, follow us on social media @deadladiesshow where we share pictures and info about all of the wonderful Dead Ladies we've covered so far. You can also drop us a line via info@deadladiesshow.com and we're on BlueSky, too: https://bsky.app/profile/deadladiesshow.bsky.social

Our theme music is "Little Lily Swing" by Tri-Tachyon. Thanks for listening! We'll be back with a new episode next month.