SPEAKER_00: Reboot your credit card with Apple Card. It gives you unlimited daily cash back that can earn 4.15% annual percentage yield when you open a savings account. A high yield, low effort way to grow your money with no fees. Apply for Apple Card now in the Wallet app on iPhone to start earning and growing your daily cash with savings today. Apple Card subject to credit approval. Savings is available to Apple Card owners subject to eligibility. Savings accounts by Goldman Sachs Bank USA. Member FDIC, terms apply.
SPEAKER_02: At Toyota electrified doesn't just mean plugified. So you can go off road in a hybrid Tundra and take the scenic, Rutified. Or step inside a plug-in Prius and get glamified. Or hop in an all electric BZ4X and take it Easyified. Toyota is electrified, diversified. And the more ways we can choose to reduce carbon emissions, the closer we all get to Toyota's beyond zero vision. Toyota, let's go places.
SPEAKER_01: Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica. This month we're talking about adventurers. Women who refuse to be confined. They push the boundaries of where a woman could go and how she could get there. Today we're talking about the first black woman to travel to the North Pole and then to the South Pole. Impressive feats on their own, her journey was even more notable because she made her trek in her 70s, after overcoming cancer twice. Let's meet Barbara Hillary. Barbara was born in 1931 in New York City. Her father died when she was just two years old, which left her mother to raise Barbara and her sister, Dorothy, alone. Barbara was a child during the Great Depression. Their family was poor. They had to live off of her mother's salary as a cleaner. Despite financial poverty, Barbara later said there was no such thing as mental poverty in their home. Young Barbara loved to read. Her favorite book was Robinson Crusoe, about a man who set sail on a dangerous sea voyage. When it came time for Barbara to go to college, she earned her bachelor's and master's degrees at the New School in Manhattan. She went on to become a nurse, specializing in old age and the process of aging. Barbara liked to keep busy. In addition to working as a nurse, she founded the Arverne Action Association, which aimed to improve life in Queens. She also founded and served as editor-in-chief of the Peninsula Magazine. Somehow, Barbara also found time to work as a taxi driver and grow roses and tomatoes in her backyard. Her other hobbies included guns, knives, archery, and big trucks. After 55 years as a nurse, Barbara retired. Her adventures were only just beginning. Barbara didn't want to spend her retirement serenely lounging on a beach or playing shuffleboard in Florida. Instead, she spent time in Canada, dog sledding in Quebec, and photographing polar bears in Manitoba. During her escapades in the Great White North, Barbara learned something that would set her off on an even bigger adventure. No Black woman had ever been to the North Pole, so she decided she would be the first. Why not? There were plenty of reasons. She had no funding and no organization to back her, no experience skiing, let alone skiing such long distances. And after surviving lung cancer in her 60s, she lost 25% of her lung capacity. She had also overcome breast cancer back in her 20s. Yet, Barbara was determined to make this expedition happen. She developed her own training regimen, cross-country skiing lessons, sessions with a personal trainer, and lifting weights. She ate plenty of vegetables and took plenty of vitamins. Barbara could be fit as a fiddle, but she still wouldn't be able to make it to the North Pole without money for equipment and transportation. The gear you need to survive such harsh temperatures does not come cheap. So Barbara cold-sent letters asking for money. She even sent a letter to Michael Bloomberg. He declined to offer a donation and referred her to the Department of Aging, which sent Barbara a list of activities she could do in a senior center. Barbara's response, Mr., don't you get it? If I'm going to the North Pole, why the hell do I need a senior center? Still, with or without Bloomberg's help, she successfully collected $25,000 in donations. In April of 2007, Barbara began her excursion. First, she was dropped off by helicopter at a base camp in Norway, about 30 miles from the North Pole. Then, on April 23rd, another helicopter took her to her starting point. Barbara was off. This was no tranquil stroll in the great outdoors. Barbara was pushing through eight to 10 hours of skiing per day. Meanwhile, she was nearly blinded by the sunlight bouncing off the surrounding sheets of ice. The heavy bag of gear she carried made her back ache, but Barbara made it to the top. At that moment, she screamed and jumped up and down with sheer joy. In all her excitement, she took off her gloves. In such extreme temperatures, her fingers were promptly frostbitten. Nearly five years later, Barbara set out into the unforgiving icy landscape again, this time to the South Pole. Again, she trudged through ice and snow to reach her destination. At 79 years old, Barbara became the first Black woman to reach both the North and South Poles. Through these expeditions, Barbara saw the effects of climate change firsthand, which inspired her to become an environmental activist. She started traveling around the country giving lectures on the topic. In 2019, Barbara took a trip to Outer Mongolia to visit a nomadic community whose way of life was being threatened by climate change. She spent time with Kazakh rug makers, female falconers, and herds of reindeer in the North. Barbara took her dreams seriously, and she was also a quick wit. When she admitted to The New York Times that she ate too much chocolate on her trip to the South Pole, she quipped, If I had frozen to death down there, wouldn't it be sad if I'd gone to hell without getting what I want? She also sought out that sense of humor and seriousness in her friends. Barbara took trips with her friends who called themselves by invitation only. You weren't invited if you griped about what Barbara considered trivial matters, like boyfriends and marriage. Barbara and her friends would rather talk about polar bears in the state of the world, which, according to Barbara, sucks. Barbara's health was declining, but that didn't stop her from planning her next adventures. She wanted to visit Russia. She just needed the Russian government's permission. But she never got the chance. On November 23rd, 2019, Barbara passed away. She was 88 years old. All month, we're talking about adventurers. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram, at Womanica Podcast. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
SPEAKER_05: Talk to you tomorrow. Evidence-wise, we had virtually no evidence. In 1995, Detective Tony Richardson was arrested for murder and murder. But after the murder, he was arrested for murder and murder. He was arrested for murder and murder. He was arrested for murder and murder. He was arrested for murder and murder. He was arrested for murder and murder. He was arrested for murder and murder. He was arrested for murder and murder. He was arrested for murder and murder. He was arrested for murder and murder. He was arrested for murder and murder.
SPEAKER_04: He was arrested for murder and murder. He was arrested for murder and murder. Ashley Seasonal Decorating's a breeze with their range of designs and materials. Snuggle up on a family-friendly sectional or an ultra-modern sofa. Or gather outside and enjoy the crisp, cool air with a new fire pit or conversation set. From minor refreshes to total overhauls, Ashley has the essentials to make your home fall functional and fabulous. Shop in store or visit ashley.com today.
SPEAKER_03: Harper Wild is creating a more comfortable world for womankind, starting with the world's most comfortable bras and underwear, which are tested by real people with real bodies who say things like, it feels like clouds or holding up my ladies or the holy grail of bras and you'll have to pry these bras out of my cold dead hands. That comfortable. Get $15 off your order with code comfy at harperwild.com. That's code comfy at harperwild.com.
