Women Making History

Travel Writer Elsa Dixon Cruises the Bay of Bengal

Travel writer and author Elsa Dixon talks about her experiences Cruising the Bay of Bengal where she visited five countries through nine ports of call including: Thailand (Bangkok, Koh Samui), Singapore (Singapore), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, George Town), Sri Lanka (Colombo), India (Goa, Mumbai, Jaipur).  
READ ELSA'S BLOGS ABOUT HER BAY OF BENGAL EXPERIENCES:* Bangkok, Thailand: https://travelswithelsa.com/blogs/news/bustling-bangkok-thailand * Singapore: https://travelswithelsa.com/blogs/news/singapore-a-melting-pot-of-different-cultures * Malaysia: https://travelswithelsa.com/blogs/news/malaysia-history-and-culture * Sri Lanka: https://travelswithelsa.com/blogs/news/sri-lanka-the-land-of-serendipity * Gateway to India: https://travelswithelsa.com/blogs/news/a-gateway-to-india * Delhi, India: https://travelswithelsa.com/blogs/news/delhi-india-the-golden-triangle-part-three 
Get Elsa's Books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Elsa-van-der-Byl/author/B096G63ZYZ 
Follow Elsa's adventures: https://travelswithelsa.com/ 
Learn more about the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) here: https://www.ifwtwa.org/ 
Follow this Podcast Channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzIUCV2e7qm1chVylr9kzBMftUgBoLS-m 

Artist Victoria Chick - Whistler's Mother

In honor or Mother Whistler Day and May being the month of celebrating Mothers, this episode of Big Blend Radio's WORLD OF ART Podcast with artist Victoria Chick focuses on the relationship between Whistler, the artist, and his mom, Anna McNeill Whistler. 
James Abbot McNeill Whistler did not set out to paint an iconic image, but his “Arrangement in Black and Grey #1” has become one of the most recognizable and meaningful paintings in the world. Best known under its colloquial name Whistler's Mother or Portrait of Artist's Mother, this 1871 oil painting features Whistler's mother.  Read Victoria's article about Whistler and his mother, here: https://blendradioandtv.com/listing/mrs-whistler-and-her-son/ 
Victoria Chick is a contemporary figurative artist and early 19th/20th century print collector based in Silver City, New Mexico. Visit: https://victoriachick.com/ 
Victoria appears on Big Blend Radio every 3rd Saturday. Follow the podcast: https://tinyurl.com/3an38624 

Danielle Clode - Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future

In honor of Endangered Species Day (every third Friday), this "From the Vault" episode of Big Blend Radio's "Nature Connection" Show features Danielle Clode who is a zoologist, biologist, natural history author, and animal expert based at Flinders University in Adelaide Australia.  Hear about her book "KOALA: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future," an amazing journey into the hidden life of the koala, revealing what life is really like up in the trees. More: https://danielleclode.com.au/    

Author Judith Lissauer Cromwell - Good Queen Anne

In honor of National Biographers Day (May 16), this Big Blend Radio "From the Vault" episode features author Judith Lissauer Cromwell who discusses her book “Good Queen Anne: Appraising the Life and Reign of the Last Stuart Monarch.” Queen Anne was not charismatic, brilliant, or beautiful, yet England rose from the chaos of regicide, civil war and revolution to the cusp of global supremacy under her rule. In “Good Queen Anne: Appraising the Life and Reign of the Last Stuart Monarch,” author Judith Lissauer Cromwell re-examines the three-centuries-old portrait of Queen Anne as told by her dearest friend and deadliest enemy Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. More athttps://www.judithcromwell.com/ 
 

Lost Angel Travel Adventures in South America

From the Andes to Patagonia, this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Lost Angel Travel Adventures with Linda Ballou" covers her 17-day sojourn into South America with Overseas Adventure Travel. You can read her stories on her South American experiences on NABBW.org here:* Chile: https://tinyurl.com/5n8caxzj* Patagonia: https://tinyurl.com/33ffa7be
When Linda visited Chile and Patagonia, conservation efforts spearheaded by Kristine Tompkins were underway. When her husband, Doug Tompkins, died in a kayaking accident in 2015, she picked up the pieces of their shared dream to purchase millions of acres in Patagonia and Chile with the plan to give the land to the government to create a national park system that would rival the one we enjoy here in the U.S. In this Ted Talk she provides all the details with images of the transformation she is leading in Patagonia and Chile. https://youtu.be/UWothcLpazU?si=pwm6HXxkzWnjcnzM
In 2023 National Geographic produced the film "Wild Life" spotlighting Tompkins efforts. Trailer: https://films.nationalgeographic.com/wild-life
Follow Linda Ballou's adventures at https://lostangeladventures.com/ and learn more about her books at http://www.lindaballouauthor.com/
Listen to Big Blend Radio's "Lost Angel Travel Adventures" Show every 3rd Wednesday at High Noon PST, here on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzIUCV2e7qm3Bmktgu8osUzx2VOF35dgO&feature=shared

Author Anna Monardo - After Italy Memoir

This episode of Big Blend Radio features author Anna Monardo who discusses her new and award-winning memoir, "After Italy: A Family Memoir of Arranged Marriage" (Bordighera Press, May 14, 2024).
Author of "The Courtyard of Dreams" and "Falling in Love with Natassia," Anna pivots from her career as an established fictional author to reveal the truths she discovered while investigating her family’s story. Starting in Southern Italy, 1948 leading to the U.S. and igniting a family feud so volatile it leads to separation, domestic violence, and an inescapable legacy of fractured love. At 39, caught in her own failing “marriage of convenience,” Anna looks to her family’s immigration history as she charts her personal path to self-discovery and the adoption of her son.
Anna’s story speaks to those breaking the cycle of family trauma, the cultural conflicts among immigrant families, and the risks we take when going against family expectations. More: https://annamonardo.com/

Chrissy Holm - Finding Sunlight Memoir

This Big Blend Radio "From the Vault" Podcast features author Chrissy Holm who discusses her inspirational coming-of-age memoir, "Finding Sunlight: A Coming-of-Age Memoir About Love Within the Wreckage of Purity Culture."
In “Finding Sunlight” (Wise Ink, November 14, 2023), Chrissy separates purity culture, LGBTQ religious trauma, and a patriarchal father-daughter relationship from all the possibilities of meaningful love.  More: https://www.chrissyholm.com/ 
 

Author Barbara Clarke - The Red Kitchen

A summer spent in a small village in Kenya allowed Barbara Clarke to embrace a new aspiration: to be a complete person — funny, compassionate, complex and often flawed. This episode of Big Blend Radio "From the Vault" podcast features Barbara Clarke, writer, author of “The Red Kitchen,” an intimate memoir that depicts change and discovery between mom and daughter, and how it’s never too late to come of age. More: barbaraclarke.net/
Featured music is “Wake Up” by Jennifer Saran.