Right Answers Mostly

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 For more RAM, go here! If you're interested in our premium channel for THREE bonus episodes for $7.99/month. Get added to close friends, hear about pop culture, and get to know us more! You also get the last FULL history episode here! HAPPY WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we’re diving into the story of Shonda Rhimes, the woman who completely changed television. Before Rhimes, network TV rarely centered complicated women, diverse casts, or stories about power, ambition, sexuality, and work told from a female perspective. From Grey’s Anatomy to Scandal to Bridgerton, Rhimes built an empire by telling the kinds of stories about women that television had long ignored. We talk about her early life, how she broke into Hollywood, the rise of Shondaland, and how she reshaped what television looks like, and who gets to be the main character. This is Shonda Rhimes! 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: Television Academy , Vice, Wbur, Oprah.com, Theboar.org, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Wikipedia, Call Her Daddy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before she was a pop girl, a tabloid headline, or the blueprint for millennial style, Hilary Duff was just a kid from Texas with a big dream and a head voice that would become weirdly controversial. This week on Right Answers Mostly, we’re diving into the full Hilary Duff story: from early auditions to becoming Disney Channel’s most relatable star on Lizzie McGuire. We talk about the cultural earthquake of Metamorphosis, the chaos of early 2000s tabloid culture, public breakups, and why she was constantly compared to women she was never trying to be. But more than that, we explore why Hilary always felt different. She wasn’t the strongest singer. She wasn’t the most provocative. She didn’t reinvent pop music. And yet...she endured. From A Cinderella Story to her pop reinventions, to quietly building a stable career in shows like Younger, Hilary carved out something radical: longevity without spectacle. While other young women were chewed up by fame, she chose steadiness. We unpack the sexism around her voice, the pressure on teen girls to be “effortlessly exceptional,” and why Hilary Duff’s greatest strength might be that she always let us see her trying. Not perfect, but just trying. Created and produced by Tess Bellomo & Claire Donald For more RAM, get to know us here If you like us and are interested in our premium channel in which you get THREE bonus episodes a month for $7.99 (many other perks included) go here Intersted in Tess's writing? Subscribe to her medium for pieces around feminism and pop culture! Sources include: The Twisted World of Hilary Duff Deep Dive, Wikipedia & People Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are kicking off Women's History Month with the one and only, Joan Didion. Before she became one of the most iconic writers of the 20th century, Joan Didion was just a quiet, observant girl from Sacramento who would go on to capture the myth and emotional reality of American life. From her early days at Vogue to her life in Hollywood and her marriage to fellow writer John Gregory Dunne, Joan Didion wasn’t just participating in the culture. She was observing and documenting it. In this episode, we explore how Joan Didion became a literary icon, how she cultivated the persona of the ultimate cool girl, and why her writing captured the emotional reality behind America’s myths. Welcome to Women's History Month! 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: Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, The Guardian , Vanity Fair, What She Means, Vogue, Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John and Jackie Kennedy weren’t just a couple, they were a brand. In this episode, we break down their upbringings, the expectations that shaped their marriage, and why Jackie Kennedy became the emotional and public backbone of Camelot. From JFK’s affairs to the carefully curated image America consumed, we explore how Jackie wasn’t living a fairytale, she was performing one. TW: Birthing trauma and child loss Produced and created by Tess Bellomo & Claire Donald For more RAM, go here! Main feed gets a preview but our premium subscribers get a full 90 minute episode which goes more into the affairs, Marilyn Monroe, and the end of Jackie's life. Please consider supporting our show here and purchasing for $7.99/month or save 13% when purchased annually! You get THREE bonus episodes, one of them being a full history. Sources include the following: Even the Rich Podcast, Vanity Fair, Wikipedia Town & Country, People Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you love history and gossip, this one's for you! All February we're covering all things Kennedy- the making of the dynasty, the curse that followed them, and the romances, affairs, and scandals behind the scenes...we're mentioning it all, because history is just gossip! Subscribe anywhere you listen to podcasts and share with your friends so we can gab together! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“I’ve come to believe that it’s not what has happened to our family that has been cursed—it’s the fact that we’ve never been able to deal with it privately.” — Eunice Kennedy Shriver The idea of the “Kennedy Curse” has followed this family for generations, often explained away as bad luck or fate. But the truth is more complicated. In this episode, we explore how constant public scrutiny, enormous expectations, and a deep resistance to vulnerability shaped the Kennedy family’s most painful moments, especially in the case of Rosemary Kennedy, whose lobotomy reflects how fear, misunderstanding, and the pressure to protect an image could lead to irreversible decisions. Rather than a story about a doomed bloodline, this episode looks at how power, silence, and the denial of privacy shaped one of America’s most famous families, and why those choices continued to ripple outward long after they were made. This is The Kennedy Curse. 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: American Dynasties: The Kennedys, People, Historyextra.com, Rosemary's Wiki, NPS.Gov, Kathleen's Wiki, Historytoday.com, Chappaquiddick Wiki, People article #2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before they were a symbol of 90s perfection, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were shaped by very different kinds of pressure. John grew up inside America’s most mythologized family, raised in public grief and constant expectation. Carolyn came from outside the dynasty, building her life on privacy, control, and impeccable restraint. When they fell in love, it looked like fate. What followed was something far messier. In this episode, we trace how fame became a third partner, how obsession was mistaken for romance, and how one of the most aestheticized couples in modern history quietly unraveled, ending in tragedy. Because Camelot 2.0 wasn’t just glamorous. It was toxic, suffocating, and devastatingly human. Produced and created by Tess Bellomo and Claire Donald For more RAM, check us out here! If you're interested in our THREE bonus eps a month for $7.99, go here Sources include: Wikipedia, Vanity Fair, People, and the podcast Significant Lovers If you or someone you know is struggling with addition you can get help by calling 988. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Kennedys Month at Right Answers Mostly. We’re kicking things off at the very beginning: the building of the Kennedy dynasty and the man behind it all, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.. The Kennedy story begins with famine in Ireland, and a risky escape to Boston, Massachusetts. We unpack how Juicy Joe built his fortune, pulled the strings behind the scenes, and paved the way for his sons, most famously John F. Kennedy, to enter politics. Was it clean? Not exactly. Was it effective? Absolutely. From backroom deals to carefully crafted public images, this is the origin story of how the Kennedys didn’t just enter American politics, they conquered it, and sealed their place as American royalty. THIS IS THE KENNEDY DYNASTY! 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: American Dynasties: The Kennedys , NPS.gov, Wikipedia, altaonline Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before Lilly Pulitzer was splashed across sorority houses, bachelorette parties, and every preppy closet in America, she was just a Palm Beach socialite trying not to ruin her clothes while running a juice stand. What happened next accidentally created one of the most recognizable fashion empires of all time. In this episode, Tess and Claire dive into how Lilly turned bright, stain-hiding shift dresses into a symbol of wealth, freedom, and rich girl rebellion and why her hot-pink prints quietly blew up the buttoned-up fashion rules of the 1950s and ’60s. We’re talking Jackie Kennedy (HINT HINT for future episode) in Palm Beach, old money social codes, glamorous breakdowns, scandalous divorces, and the rise of casual luxury before anyone was allowed to dress “effortless.” If you love this episode you can find the entire episode here on our premium channel! The fourth episode of every month is a preview unless you are a subscriber. This helps support our show! Created and produced by Tess Bellomo and Claire Donald Curious about more RAM? Go here! Sources: Town and Country Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices