Divas, Ingénues & Vixens Podcast

The Broadway musical SUFFS by Shaina Taub* tells the story of suffragettes fighting to be heard. But what about the women who built the institutions that made change possible?*

In this episode, I speak with performer Marya Grandy [Carrie Chapman Catt] and Sr. Sue Durkin of the Women Religious Archives Collaborative about voice, leadership, archives, and the quiet endurance of Catholic sisters whose impact shaped American life.

Some women marched.
Some women built.
All of them matter.

Because preserving women’s history isn’t nostalgia — it’s responsibility.

{Stay tuned for a special edition follow up episode or check out additional materials at www.AmityHBryson.com}

In this fourth installment of What Does Music Smell Like?, I am joined once again by Lauren and Taylor of Apothogothic to unveil LILITH—a scent shaped by desire, boundaries, and sovereignty. Together, they reflect on the arc of year one—MIRAGE, WILDE, EMBER, and now LILITH—and the way seasons, playlists, and lived experience inform the creative process.

From Sophie B. Hawkins to Joni Mitchell, Jill Scott to TRIBE (and more!) the LILITH playlist traces a musical journey of I want. I protect. I stand.

The episode’s finale is a slow, intentional unboxing, inviting listeners to co-create the experience as scent, sound, and story merge. Through the archetypes:

The Diva claims aesthetic sovereignty—luxury, worth, and presence.

The Ingénue discovers intimacy and first-time wonder.

The Vixen recognizes this is not self-care, but self-definition.

This episode is a celebration of women-led artistry, creative ritual, and the joy of building something with intention. LILITH marks both a culmination—and a bold invitation into what comes next.

Find the full video of the unboxing on INSTAGRAM @AmityBryson

Lyrical Belles return for a follow-up conversation as the collective prepares for their upcoming live show at Knuckleheads on February 12. Building on their original origin-story episode (S1 Ep. 6) this conversation moves beyond how the group began and into what the work looks like now — onstage, behind the scenes, and within the evolving Kansas City music community.

The founders reflect on how the collective has grown, how performing together continues to shape their artistry, and what makes a Lyrical Belles show distinct from other live music experiences. The conversation explores collaboration, creative momentum, and the energy of women creating side-by-side in a listening-room style space.

Tickets available at Knuckleheads.com

In this episode, I explore how Mozart’s operatic women trace a developmental arc of feminine consciousness—from emotional awakening (the Ingénue), to selfhood and vocal power (the Diva), to embodied relational intelligence (the Vixen), and finally to something radically new: moral agency. Through arias by Pamina, the Countess, Fiordiligi, Zerlina, Susanna, and Vitellia, we hear how Mozart composes not just characters, but inner lives in motion. The episode reveals Mozart as a composer of subjectivity, showing how women in his operas become the emotional and ethical centers of their worlds—capable not only of feeling and choosing, but of transforming others through forgiveness, clarity, and conscious presence.

In this episode, Amity explores the Tony Award–winning musical Kimberly Akimbo, a tender and unexpected story about time, identity, and choosing adventure. From Jeanine Tesori’s luminous score to a heroine who lives between youth and age, this is a reflection on hope, mortality, and what it means to stand—cleverly akimbo—in your own life.