Right Answers Mostly

River Phoenix was everything Hollywood wanted: talented, magnetic, and deeply beloved. So how did it all go so wrong?

Joined by friend of the pod Hannah Aaron Brown, we unpack the life and tragic death of River Phoenix, from his unconventional upbringing and rapid rise to fame, to the pressures, people, and environment that surrounded him in his final years.

Created and produced by Claire Donald and Tess Bellomo

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Anna Nicole Smith: A woman who went from small-town Texas to Playboy Playmate, Guess model, and reality TV star , becoming one of the most famous women in the world along the way.

But behind the blonde bombshell image was a more complicated story: a whirlwind marriage to an 89-year-old oil tycoon, a never-ending legal battle over his fortune, and a media frenzy that turned her life into spectacle.

This week, we’re diving into the rise, the chaos, and the tragedy of Anna Nicole Smith- a woman that was built up by Hollywood only to relish in watching her fall.

Created and produced by Claire Donald and Tess Bellomo

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Join our premium channel for 3 bonus eps a month ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ and save 15% when you buy annually!

Sources: Buzzfeed , Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me, New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, Interview Magazine, People Magazine, You're Wrong About
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Brittany Murphy was one of the most beloved stars of the 2000s: funny, talented, and endlessly watchable. So when she died suddenly at just 32, the story shocked Hollywood.

But the more you look into it… the more questions there are.

In today’s episode, we’re breaking down Brittany Murphy’s rise to fame, the intense scrutiny she faced, and the details surrounding her death, from official reports to the rumors that followed. What was really going on behind the scenes? Did her husband, Simon really have something to do with it? And why does her story still feel unresolved?

TW: this story contains many conversations around eating disorders.

Created and produced by Tess Bellomo & Claire Donald

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Josephine Baker: a woman who escaped poverty, danced her way to fame, became the most famous woman in Paris, and then, plot twist, served as a spy for the French Resistance during World War II.

And when the war ended, she didn’t slow down, she took that same power into the fight for civil rights, refusing to play by America’s rules.

A story that sounds like fiction, but Josephine Baker did all of that, and more.

Created and produced by Claire Donald and Tess Bellomo

Follow us on social media, buy merch, and more⁠ HERE! ⁠

Join our premium channel for 3 bonus eps a month ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ and save 15% when you buy annually!

Sources: New Yorker, https://glreview.org/article/article-959/, PBS , CIA.gov, Vogue, Ebony, Biography.com, Harpers Bazaar , Wikipedia
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For most of human history, childbirth belonged to women. Midwives guided mothers through labor, cared for newborns, and held generations of medical knowledge within their communities. But over time, birth moved from homes to hospitals, and from the hands of women to the authority of male physicians.

In this episode, we explore the hidden history of childbirth, the rise of modern gynecology, and the women whose bodies shaped the field but whose names were nearly erased from it.

At the center of this story are three enslaved women in the 1840s American South: Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy. Suffering from a devastating childbirth injury, they were subjected to years of experimental surgeries by physician J. Marion Sims, procedures performed without anesthesia or the ability to consent. Sims would later be celebrated as the “father of modern gynecology,” but the medical advancements credited to him were built on the pain, endurance, and forced labor of these women.

We also trace the overlooked legacy of Black midwives, who for generations were the backbone of maternal healthcare in the United States. Once trusted community leaders and healers, they were gradually pushed out of medicine as childbirth became increasingly medicalized and controlled by white male physicians.

Trigger Warning: This section of the episode addresses scientific experimentation on enslaved women and violation of their bodies.

Created and produced by Tess Bellomo and Claire Donald

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HAPPY WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH!

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