Jimmy Kimmel got headlines when he was suspended — but what about the women who’ve been silenced for speaking truth on TV? From Hazel Scott’s jazz-and-justice to Bea Arthur’s Maude, from trailblazing journalists to feminist comedians, women who dared to push boundaries have been canceled faster than Trump changes subjects .

In this episode of Bitchstory, Kelly and Lisa dig into the women who risked everything for free speech, feminism, and civil liberties — and paid the price. From blacklists and advertiser boycotts to Twitter mobs and corporate fear, the tactics change but the punishment stays the same.

The First Amendment protects against government censorship, but not against networks, sponsors, or platforms pulling the plug. From the Red Scare to cancel culture hashtags, women who speak truth are still paying a higher price than men.

• ​Please follow Bitchstory on Instagram @bitchstory.pod,
• ​email us at heybitches@bitchstory.net,
• ​and check out Kelly’s blog at kellymcclain.blogspot.com.

Because well-behaved women seldom make

history — but the canceled ones definitely do.

What happens when women refuse to stay quiet? This week, we’re telling the stories of badass whistleblowers who risked everything to speak the truth—about corruption, violence, and patriarchy’s dirty little secrets. Spoiler: honesty didn’t exactly win them any popularity contests.

From smear campaigns to erasure, we’ll unpack the gendered double standards of whistleblowing and celebrate the women who still delivered the message, no matter the cost.

CW: some discussion of rape and SA

💥 For more inspiration and bonus content, check out kellymcclain.blogspot.com.

📧Email: heybitches@bitchstory.net

💲We insert zero ads and have no subscription fees. If you'd like to contribute to our work here at Bitchstory, we'd be thrilled to receive your financial support so we can keep going and maybe actually not be in the red.

Our venmo is @bitchstory

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! <3

We have an admitted fixation on women who are spies. This episode focuses on women in WW2 who put it all on the line to fight fascism…and defeat Nazis. Not all of these women were spies, but some were. Some of these women are decorated heroines. Some were executed. Some had to keep their achievements a secret for many years. Some were very young. All of them were absolute badasses!

Ever heard of Ravensbrück? It was one of the largest women’s concentration camps and neither of us had ever heard of it!! Well now we have and so have you!

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/ravensbrueck

**(CW: this episode briefly discusses rape as a weapon of war)

Below are the other episodes where we discuss women who were mostly non military that furthered the cause via spying, tricking, and dangerous things having pockets… be inspired ;)

Ep 20 - Spies Like Us

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ZzV5EfTuBIbpBVUZyF9MW

Ep 26 - Spy Bitches of the Revolution

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5jyo0DubkDKCF1Ss6aRLub

Ep 50 - Civil War Lady Spies

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5PWDqYDkqpF9gUMNul67YG

Ep 70 - The Hidden Women of the Revolutionary War

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Hqq6syGSlNThDawnw972v

Ep 71 - Women of the French Revolution - they weren’t just at home making cheese, Pierre!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4RDIiwR85fm6xzrTk1zk0P

Ep 88 - the Real Housewives of the Revolution

https://open.spotify.com/episode/46AK34dMhC8RvW5fzLy3JR

Ep 95 - the Ladies Behind the Plot that Tricked Hitler

https://open.spotify.com/episode/13ftY6LstQXmnBIxe1cxPP

++++++++++

Blog:

https://kellymcclain.blogspot.com/2025/08/women-who-kicked-nazi-ass-nancy-wake.html

Email: heybitches@bitchstory.net

We insert zero ads and have no subscription fees. If you'd like to contribute to our work here at Bitchstory, we'd be thrilled to receive your financial support so we can keep going and maybe actually not be in the red.

Our venmo is @bitchstory

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! <3

This might be one of my favorite episodes. I had not really given much thought to the concept of “water equality” until Lisa suggested this topic. It’s not that I never think of drought stricken parts of the world or Gaza’s ongoing fight for survival. It’s just that when you can walk into the next room and turn a handle, the notion of “gendered burden” and “the geopolitics of water” isn’t top of mind. Even though I live in an ongoing drought in California…But I am thinking about it NOW.

To no one’s surprise, women shoulder (literally) the burden of water collection and now they are also spearheading the fight for water equality around the world.

You can donate to the cause at WATER.ORG.

You can also use AI responsibly, vote wisely, conserve water, and listen to this show for inspiration and ideas

Also, Gen Z and millennials - let’s tap into your out of the box thinking! We’d love to hear your ideas, or ya know if you make it into the news, give us Bitches a shout!

Heybitches@bitchstory.net

In WW2, women filled all sorts of important roles, from secretaries to spies. Many of these stories have been buried in HIStory, but in this current wave of feminism, it isn’t hard to find a good story about a badass woman in a war.

“Operation Mincemeat” was a British MI5 plot devised to fool Hitler into pulling back his troops from Sicily, thereby allowing the allies to secure it and turn the war hard in their favor.

There were a number of women who were essential to the success of this ruse, and in this episode we cover a few of them.

Here’s a link to the photo that deceived Hitler, and my blog about her:

We had an absolute blast talking to Karen Wang Diggs, author of the book “Awesome Asian Women”! Karen was a freakin’ delight! She’s the real deal-a true intersectional feminist and a gifted storyteller with a passion for lifting women up. Her book contains inspiring stories of over 120 women, from Empress Wu Zetian to Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (who was just on Stephen Colbert and we love!)

It is going to be a fixture on the Bitchstory bookshelf!

• ​You can find Karen on Instagram at @herstoryinhx
• ​Her website is herstoryinhistory.com
• ​Buy the book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-book-of-awesome-asian-women-becca-anderson/21690746 (Or on Amazon if you must)

You can read about the women we discuss on the pod on my blog every week: ⁠Kellymcclain.blogspot.com⁠

If you'd like to contribute to our work here at Bitchstory, we'd be thrilled to receive your financial support so we can keep going and maybe actually not be in the red.

Our venmo is @bitchstory

Thanks for listening! <3