Mrs. Mandelbaum

The year was 1850. Manhattan was thriving, beginning to urbanize and expand in new ways. In lower Manhattan, a woman named Fredericka Mandelbaum moved into the neighborhood of Kleindeutchland (later known as the Lower East Side) to start a new life. Few could have guessed that out of the teeming streets of Little Germany, one of the most infamous underworld figures of the era would be born out of an unassuming Jewish housewife named Mrs. Mandelbaum. For 25 years, Mrs. Mandelbaum controlled a multi-million dollar criminal enterprise. She has been mainly lost to history…until now. Continue listening as I discuss this fascinating and much-overlooked woman with Margalit Fox, author of The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum: The Rise and Fall of an American Organized Crime Boss.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

They were adulterers, murderers, mistresses, religious zealots, thieves, and traitors. They were queens, wives, mothers, young, and old. What binds the women together in this podcast is their legacies. These are women who were known during their lifetimes or reinvented after their deaths as wicked women. The lenses of history are often gendered, damning women for some of the same actions that men have been lauded for. The nuances surrounding the women in this podcast were removed in exchange for a one-sided portrayal. Within Wicked Women: The Podcast, I do not attempt to excuse or condone the wrongs committed by these women, instead, the podcast looks at their overarching story and examines the origin of their negative legacy. Alongside a brief biographical overview of the woman, I will be incorporating interviews I have held with experts on the subject to provide multiple and diverse perspectives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.