The Wild and Curious Podcast: Recent Episodes
Theresa Christine and Suzanne Schmedding
The Wild and Curious Podcast explores what it's like to be a woman in the world, all around the world by highlighting stories from womxn everywhere. Cohosts Theresa Christine and Suzanne Schmedding are Craigslist roommates turned globetrotting best friends. With backgrounds in travel writing and education, respectively, they sit down with extraordinary womxn worldwide to discuss the ways they're breaking barriers and helping their local communities.
Ock Pop Tok means "east meets west" in the Lao language. We speak to Joanna Smith and Veo Douangdala, the women who founded Ock Pop Tok, a company that hires local Lao women to create traditional textiles. Ock Pop Tok does tours, hosts classes, has a cafe, a gallery, and fosters cultural exchange through travel opportunities for its weavers, all with the goal of elevating the profile of Lao textiles and artisans. Jo and Veo tell us all about how and why they started Ock Pop Tok in 2000, the different ethnic groups of Laos and how they all have their own unique textile style, how their work benefits local women, and so much more.
Learn more about Ock Pop Tok and discover Laos through textiles at https://www.ockpoptok.com/ or on Instagram at @ockpoptok (https://www.instagram.com/ockpoptok/?hl=en)
They also have Ock Pop Tok TV (highly recommended!): https://www.ockpoptok.com/blog/category/ock-pop-tok-tv/ and if you'd like to listen to their podcast, tune in here: https://www.ockpoptok.com/radio/
And if you're ever in Luang Prabang, Laos, definitely visit the Living Crafts Center there! It was a highlight of Theresa's trip to Laos.
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Rosalind Franklin was a chemist and X-Ray crystallographer whose work was central to understanding the molecular structure of DNA. Not only was she an incredible woman in STEM, but we dive into the ~drama~ that unfolded with her famed Photograph 51—the first ever image of DNA structure. It was supposedly stolen and used to advance the knowledge of DNA structure, and as a result 3 of her (white, male) colleagues got the Nobel Prize while she was overlooked. We dive into Rosalind's life to learn what she was really like, what work she did, and what her legacy is today.
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Loved episode 023 of The Wild and Curious Episode and want more London tips and advice? Jessica Dante has you covered. From the swankiest tea in all of London to the weirdest museum (oh, and it is weird), here's some extra content to get you dreaming of London.
You'll definitely want to check out Love and London's amazing library of YouTube videos! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2n4MvLJDH2-GWzjJrC58Zw
You can also visit the Love and London website at https://loveandlondon.com/
If you'd like to follow Jessica / Love and London on Instagram, she's @loveandlondon (https://www.instagram.com/loveandlondon/)
You can support The Wild and Curious Podcast by making a contribution on Venmo (http://www.venmo.com/thewildandcurious) or at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/thewildandcurious.
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Find out more about The Wild and Curious Podcast at http://linktr.ee/thewildandcurious
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Jessica Dante is the founder of Love and London, a digital media company that helps London tourists to visit like they live there. Jessica has always been the type of person who likes sharing travel recommendations from any place she visits. After moving to London from the United States, she enjoyed sharing these travel tips with family and friends so much, she decided to turn it into her business. We were so honored to talk to Jessica about what it's like seeing London through the eyes of someone who lives there but isn't from there and what makes the city so special.
You'll definitely want to check out Love and London's amazing library of YouTube videos! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2n4MvLJDH2-GWzjJrC58Zw
You can also visit the Love and London website at https://loveandlondon.com/
If you'd like to follow Jessica / Love and London on Instagram, she's @loveandlondon (https://www.instagram.com/loveandlondon/)
Jessica also makes some great recommendations of BIPOC business in London. They are: * Black History walks: https://blackhistorywalks.co.uk/ * The Black Cultural Archives https://blackculturalarchives.org/ * Ikoyi restaurant: https://ikoyilondon.com/ * Dark Sugars Chocolate: https://www.darksugars.co.uk/ * Round Table Books: https://www.roundtablebooks.co.uk/
You can support The Wild and Curious Podcast by making a contribution on Venmo (http://www.venmo.com/thewildandcurious) or at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/thewildandcurious.
You can also find us on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/_thewildandcurious_
Find out more about The Wild and Curious Podcast at http://linktr.ee/thewildandcurious
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We spoke with three extraordinary women who played a part in January’s historic runoff election in Georgia.
You know about Stacey Abrams, of course, but so many people worked to make sure people’s voices were heard and represented in the past election. And they’ve been working for years and continue to work on (because, sadly, voter suppression is real and rampant).
We spoke with Tamieka Atkins (the Executive Director of Pro Georgia), Nse Ufot (the CEO of the New Georgia Project), and Rebecca DeHart (the CEO of Fair Count) about the New American Majority, voter suppression, meeting people where they are (and not just geographically—mentally and emotionally, too), being a better white accomplice, and so, so much more. We want to highlight that by making your home more equitable, you in turn make the world more equitable.
Links! * Make sure to check out the Go Vote GA site (https://www.govotega.org/). * Learn more about ProGeorgia at https://progeorgia.org/ * Learn more about the New Georgia Project at https://newgeorgiaproject.org/. New Georgia Project can be found on Twitter as @NewGAProject (http://www.twitter.com/newgaproject) and Instagram as @NewGeorgiaProject (http://www.instagram.com/newgeorgiaproject). You can find Nse on social media at @nseufot404 on Instagram (http://www.instagram.com/nseufot) or @nseufot on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/nseufot). * Learn more about Fair Count at https://www.faircount.org/, and they’re on Instagram and Twitter as @faircount and Facebook at Fair Count Georgia. (http://www.instagram.com/faircount, http://www.twitter.com/faircount, and https://www.facebook.com/faircountgeorgia/)
You can support The Wild and Curious Podcast by making a contribution on Venmo (http://www.venmo.com/thewildandcurious) or at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/thewildandcurious.
You can also find us on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/_thewildandcurious_
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Gumoshabe Harriet Rwosa (you can call her Harriet) started The Happy Girls Project in her hometown of Kabale, Uganda. Happy Girls Project makes and supplies reusable sanitary pads for school age girls as well as educates the general public on menstruation. Harriet comes onto the show to talk about period poverty, how she's helping change the way people think about menstruation, and what plans she has in store for the future of her organization.
It costs only $10 USD to make 3 reusable sanitary pads which can keep a young, menstruating girl in school. Learn more about Happy Girls Project or make a donation at happygirlsproject.com.
You can also find Happy Girls Project on Social media: their Instagram handle is @happygirlsprojectuganda (http://instagram.com/happygirlsprojectuganda) and they’re on Facebook as Happy Girl Project (https://www.facebook.com/thehappygirlproject)
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Ntsiki Biyela is a South African winemaker and businesswoman who runs Aslina Wines, and she is the first Black female winemaker in South Africa. She comes on the show to talk to us about her love of wine, what makes South African wines special, and what challenges she has faced as a Black woman starting her own winery only 30 years in the wake of apartheid.
Learn more about Aslina Wines at https://www.aslinawines.com/, or follow them on Instagram at @aslina_wines (https://www.instagram.com/aslina_wines/)
Ntsiki also works with the Pinotage Youth Development Academy, which helps talented youth with historically disadvantaged backgrounds for employment break into the wine industry. You can learn more about them at https://www.pyda.co.za/
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For this special on-location episode, we take you to the Rebelle Rally, the longest women’s only off-road race in the United States. This is an 8-day race that goes from Tahoe to the sand dunes of Glamis, California.
We spoke with Emily Miller—the woman who founded Rebelle Rally 5 years ago—as well as a number of participants. We also got to chat with Rachael Ridenour and Kristie Levy in depth about their experience competing this year, driving a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV for the competition's first ever electric vehicle recognition, and the amazing work that Rachael’s nonprofit Record the Journey does for veterans adjusting to civilian life.
Learn more about the Rebelle Rally, and sign up for next year's event, at https://www.rebellerally.com/ or on Intagram at @rebellerally (https://www.instagram.com/rebellerally/).
Learn more about Record the Journey at https://www.recordthejourney.org/ or on Instagram at @record_the_journey (https://www.instagram.com/record_the_journey/). You can also look into the Mitsubish vehicle they drove for the competition on Mitsubishi's site (https://www.mitsubishicars.com/outlander-phev/2020).
You can support The Wild and Curious Podcast by making a contribution on Venmo (venmo.com/thewildandcurious) or at PayPal.me/thewildandcurious.
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Our latest podcast episode is a special one that highlights an amazing woman from history. Meet Nellie Bly, an American journalist who went around the world like Phileas Fogg did in Around the World in 80 Days — except she attempted to do the journey in less time. She arrived back in New York 72 days after departing, and her journey was groundbreaking. Keep in mind, this was a time when women journalists mostly wrote about fashion, and they definitely didn’t travel solo!
Matthew Goodman is the author of many books, including Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World. He is so incredibly knowledgeable about Nellie, and he joins us in this episode to talk about this extraordinary woman — What was Nellie like? What was the biggest challenge she faced along the way? And how did this journey define the rest of her life, for better and for worse?
Check out all of Matthew’s work and learn more about him at www.matthewgoodmanbooks.com, or follow him on Twitter at @MGoodmanBooks, www.twitter.com/mgoodmanbooks
Purchase his book, Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World here: https://bookshop.org/books/eighty-days-nellie-bly-and-elizabeth-bisland-s-history-making-race-around-the-world/9780345527271
You can support The Wild and Curious Podcast by making a contribution on Venmo (venmo.com/thewildandcurious) or at PayPal.me/thewildandcurious.
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In May 2019, Mariam Ktiri became the first woman to climb the Seven Summits (the highest peak on every continent) in under a year.
Mariam is a mountaineer who’s had a taste for adventure since she was a child, and who fell in love with the mountains in her home country of Morocco. Now a resident of Bern, Switzerland, Mariam has conquered peaks around the world. Starting in May 2018, she embarked on the Seven Summits challenge, and 12 months later, with Kilimanjaro, she completed it.
She joins us on the show to talk about her extensive preparation, the life of a female mountaineer, and dish out some life advice for conquering your own personal Everest.
Learn more about Mariam at https://www.mariamktiri.com, or find out more about the expeditions she's organizing that you can join as well at https://www.sevensummitsadventures.com
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How far would you go to realize someone else's dream? Zenith Irfan's father passed away when she was young, so she heard about her father's desire to live a carefree, traveler's life from her mom. It wasn't until later when she would really think anything much of these comments, though. When Zenith was going through some serious heartbreak and depression, her father's dream came back to her—and that's when she started riding motorcycles. Since then, Zenith has done a month-long solo ride across Pakistan (she's believed to be the first woman to do so), and there was even a movie made about her journey called Motorcycle Girl. She joins us on The Wild and Curious Podcast to talk about traveling in Pakistan as a woman, the power of heartbreak and creative energies, and how the people she's met along the way have been the best part of her journeys.
You can learn more about Zenith on her Instagram at @zenithirfan or http://instagram.com/zenithirfan
You can also find her Facebook Page under her name, Zenith Irfan.
You can support The Wild and Curious Podcast by making a contribution on Venmo (venmo.com/thewildandcurious) or at PayPal.me/thewildandcurious.
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She's an honorary UN ambassador for gender, youth, and sport, she's won Sportswoman of Southern Africa, and she's only 16 years old. Meet Tanya Muzinda, a motocross rider from Zimbabwe and our latest guest on The Wild and Curious Podcast. Tanya joins us to talk about the financial barrier that she and every other motocross rider must overcome, how she's treated differently on the track as a young woman, what she does when she's not wearing a helmet and racing around, and more.
You can learn more about Tanya Muzinda and contribute to #TeamTanya at her website here: http://www.tanyamuzinda.com/
You can support The Wild and Curious Podcast by making a contribution on Venmo (venmo.com/thewildandcurious) or at PayPal.me/thewildandcurious.
You can also find us on Instagram at instagram.com/_thewildandcurious_
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Angie Genade is an animal lover, through and through. She cares deeply for all kinds of creatures, but she has done especially outstanding work rehabilitating the rhino population in Uganda as Executive Director of Rhino Fund Uganda. She joins us on the show to talk about the process of bringing the rhino population from zero (in the 1980s) to the 32 rhinos they now have at the sanctuary, how Rhino Fund Uganda positively impacts the local community, plus how the organization is coping during the pandemic.
Learn more about Rhino Fund Uganda at https://www.rhinofund.org/ and donate to their cause at https://www.givengain.com/d/c/2878#amount
Watch "#TourismStrong: On the Frontlines of Rhino Conservation in Uganda" by GLP Films here: https://vimeo.com/414579828 Or you can watch it on GLP Films website: https://www.glpfilms.com/tourism-strong
You can support The Wild and Curious Podcast by making a contribution on Venmo (venmo.com/thewildandcurious) or at PayPal.me/thewildandcurious.
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Meet future Mars walker Alyssa Carson. 🚀 Alyssa is 19 years old and has already started her astronaut training in hopes to be one of the first (if not the first) person on Mars in the early 2030s. She is the youngest person to graduate from the Advanced Space Academy and the only person in the world to have completed every NASA space camp, plus she started her own foundation to help get young kids involved in STEM. She is incredibly passionate and intelligent while also being super cool and down to earth, and we loved having on the latest episode of The Wild and Curious Podcast. We talk about how to become an astronaut (there are many, many ways!), how she deals with being a young female in her work, her favorite space film, and more!
Find her on Instagram at @nasablueberry or at https://www.instagram.com/nasablueberry/
You can support The Wild and Curious Podcast by making a contribution on Venmo (venmo.com/thewildandcurious) or at PayPal.me/thewildandcurious.
You can also find us on Instagram at instagram.com/_thewildandcurious_
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For so many people (including our very own Suzanne), seeing elephants in Thailand is a bucket list experience. On the latest episode of The Wild and Curious Podcast, we talked to Dr. Nissa Mututanont, the Head Elephant Veterinarian at the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation (GTAEF) and the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort. We talk about responsible animal tourism and how it’s not so black and white, what it’s like working with the mahouts (the elephant trainers who are pretty much all men), and why she loves her job.
Learn more about the livestreamed elephant tours from GTAEF: https://www.helpingelephants.org/livestreamed-elephant-tours/.
Learn more about GTAEF at helpingelephants.org. Learn more about their partnership with Anantara Hotels and the experiences guests can have while visiting here: https://www.anantara.com/en/golden-triangle-chiang-rai.
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(Trigger Warning: sexual assault and street harassment) Rebecca Chiao is the Co-Founder of HarassMap, an online tool that pinpoints incidents of sexual violence throughout Egypt, which in turn makes the streets safer for people of all genders. Harassment was not something residents really talked about when she moved to Cairo in 2004, but because of tools like HarassMap, the ideas surrounding sexual assault and harassment have since changed. She has helped open up a discussion of what, exactly, constitutes harassment and how everyone in a society can create an environment that has zero tolerance for sexual harassment and assault. Listen to the episode to learn more about the history of Egypt (did you know harassers used to be chased down the street and have their heads shaved?!), how HarassMap works, and what kind of change she’s made since first introducing it.
Learn more at harrasmap.org or at facebook.com/harassmapegypt.
You can support The Wild and Curious Podcast by making a contribution on Venmo (venmo.com/thewildandcurious) or at PayPal.me/thewildandcurious.
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If you can believe it, Samantha Nixon (@samnscience on Instagram) used to be a certifiable arachnaphobe. 🕷️ Now a final year PhD student at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, her research harnesses the unique chemistries in spider venom to develop medicines against blood-sucking worms. She joins us on The Wild and Curious Podcast this week to discuss how she got over her fears (giving them names like "Beyonce" and "Whitney Houston" has helped), how the amazing work she's doing is helping local communities, what it's like to be a woman in STEM, and more.
Find Samantha on Instagram at @samnscience or instagram.com/samnscience.
We also discuss her experience with Homeward Bound, the all-women expedition to Antarctica. Learn more here: https://homewardboundprojects.com.au/about/
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Josephine Ekiru is a Peace Coordinator and converts poachers into advocates for the local environment and community. She is a true storyteller, and getting to listen to her talk about her experiences was a privilege for us. She tells us about how, at one point, she had guns to her head — she’d been ambushed by a group of poachers who didn’t like that she was trying to stop them from poaching, and she was certain they would kill her. Instead of begging for her life, though, she asked simply to speak and share her passion for animals and the land. She also shares how she is training others to do this work and why women are some of the best candidates to convert poachers.
Learn more about Conservation International at conservation.org or at instagram.com/conservationorg. Watch the amazing video they made of Josephine here: https://www.conservation.org/stories/women-on-a-mission?ytVideoId=9EUur82OhV4
Josephine works for the Northern Rangelands Trust, www.nrt-kenya.org/. You can find them on Instagram at instagram.com/nrt_kenya
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Fereshteh Forough opened the first coding school for girls in Afghanistan in 2015. In Afghanistan, women are often left to care for the home so parents don’t want to put as much emphasis on (or money into) education for girls, and sometimes they simply can’t afford it. CTI gives young girls the chance to learn coding and game development at no cost, which opens a world of job opportunities and helps in the fight for social, political, and economic equality. Fereshteh talks about how she got into coding, life for women in Afghanistan, and how people have responded to CTI.
You can find out more about Code to Inspire on their website at codetoinspire.org, or on Instagram at instagram.com/codetoinspire
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Meet Pauline Lapierre, a new generation of winemaker in the traditional winemaking region of Bordeaux. Because wineries are often family affairs passed down from generation to generation, you’ll find just as many female owners as you will male. Pauline is the Owner, Operator and Winemaker at her family’s winery Chateau Haut Rian, and she has her own plot of land, Les Vignes de Coulous, and last year produced her first organic wine! She talks to us about her life in Cadillac, Côtes de Bordeaux, what it’s like being in this new generation of winemakers, and about branching off with her own winery.
Follow Pauline's winery, Haut Rian, on Instagram at instagram.com/hautrian and visit their website at enchateauhautrian.com.
Follow The Wild and Curious on Instagram at instagram.com/_thewildandcurious_ and visit our website at thewildandcurious.com
Karen Nutarak is a new entrepreneur and community liaison for Adventure Canada. Her home, Pond Inlet, is a small indigenous community in Northern Canada, and it’s a cruise port. When Karen often saw travelers stop by, take some photos, and leave, she decided to do something about: she hosted a baseball game with the locals and visitors. Since then, she’s worked to create meaningful interactions between people coming in off the cruise ships and the indigenous people who call Pond Inlet home. She talks about her work, life in Pond Inlet, and about responsible tourism.
Karen's business Atii (Let's Go) Tourism. Visit the site at https://atiitourism.com/ or their Facebook group, https://bit.ly/2yvt0Lw.
Adventure Canada's website is adventurecanada.com, and you can follow them on Instagram at @adventure.canada (http://instagram.com/adventure.canada).
Ndeye Amy Kebe—you can call her Amy—lives and works in Senegal and is the Founder and Manager of Jokalante. Meaning "dialogue" in the Wolof language, the company which uses radio and mobile alerts to share updates with smallholder farmers in poor, rural communities. This is particularly vital because 1) agriculture is the main industry in Senegal and 2) illiteracy is a big problem throughout the country, so residents need to get important information some way other than reading. Amy shares how Jokalante helps locals, how they're expanding their business, and what it's like being a female business owner in Senegal.
You can find Jokalante online at jokalante.com. They're on Instagram and Twitter as @jokalantesn and on Facebook as Jokalante.
We chat with Zina Bencheikh who works with Intrepid Travel to learn how she has changed the face of tourism in Morocco. In 2017, she began lobbying the government to issue more tour guide licenses so women could become guides. Being a tour guide in Morocco is a well-paying job but often not considered proper for women. She shares her experience, talks more about what opportunities working as a tour guide offers for women, and explains why they're vital to the country's tourism.
You can learn more at intrepidtravel.com
Bishnu Thapa, the Director of Nepal Guiding Operations for OneSeed Expeditions, shares her experiences as a female trekking guide. In Nepal, patriarchal norms are still prevalent — women are expected to stay home and help with the children or do household duties. But more and more women are becoming trekking guides, proving that gender doesn’t matter, and instead it’s about strength, skill, and an immense knowledge of the land. Bishnu joined us on the podcast to chat more about her work as first a porter and now a guide in one of the world’s most revered hiking destinations.
You can find OneSeed Expeditions online at oneseedexpeditions.com or on Instagram at @oneseedexpeditions.
Looking for that Nepali Times article about the increase of female guides? Head here to read it: https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-female-guides-prepare-for-trekking-season/
We talk to Rocio Vazquez, the founder of Eat Like a Local Mexico City. Rocio, who has been involved in the culinary scene since she was young, runs some of Mexico City's most popular, well-reviewed food tours. She is a big proponent for responsible tourism and she only works with women! We talk to her about the role of women in the food scene of Mexico City, as well as responsible tourism and empowering the women she works with.
You can find Rocio online at www.eatlikealocal.com.mx or on Instagram at @eatlikealocalmx
We chat with Cathy Young and Susan Janecheck, President and Vice President of the Wahine Kai Surf Club, based in Huntington Beach, California. They share their experiences as women in a dude-heavy sport and talk about the community of Wahine Kai—plus, they share their all-time favorite surf spot.
You can find Wahine Kai Women's Surf Club online at www.wahinekai.org, or on Instagram at @wahinekai_surfclub.
Cathy also talks about a documentary made about Surf Mamas, and it's called "Introducing the Super Stoked Surf Mamas of Pleasure Point" (2018).
Welcome and hello!
Theresa and Suzanne take a few moments to introduce themselves, talk about what The Wild and Curious podcast is all about, and what you can expect from future episodes.
You can find us on Instagram at @_thewildandcurious_ or online at thewildandcurious.com