Speaker 1: Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
Speaker 1: is Wamanica. This month we're talking about women of sound.
Speaker 1: These women dominated the airwaves, innovating, documenting, and creating the
Speaker 1: audio landscape we live in today. Today we're talking about
Speaker 1: the woman who's often credited with the invention of talk radio.
Speaker 1: She transformed the airwaves, she explored the potential of sound
Speaker 1: in creative ways, and she paved the way for the
Speaker 1: contemporary podcasting landscape. Let's talk about Hilda Matheson. Hilda was
Speaker 1: born in eighteen eighty eight in South London. Her father
Speaker 1: was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and they lived a comfortable,
Speaker 1: normal life. As a child, Hilda left home for boarding
Speaker 1: school in another English town. When she got there, she
Speaker 1: didn't stick to the traditional norms that were expected of
Speaker 1: women at the time. She acted as men in school
Speaker 1: plays and enjoyed technical challenges like trying to get a
Speaker 1: boiler to start. At the time, women weren't allowed to
Speaker 1: attain degrees, but Hilda still went to college. Right after
Speaker 1: finishing her studies, she was hired as a clerk in
Speaker 1: the War Office during World War One. She was recruited
Speaker 1: to five the British Security Agency. There she helped index
Speaker 1: information on people who were suspected of being German spies.
Speaker 1: Her findings were used for counter espionage. After the war,
Speaker 1: Hilda served as the political secretary for Lady Astor, the
Speaker 1: first British woman to be voted into Parliament. Hilda wrote
Speaker 1: letters and drafted speeches and helped lobby for Lady Astor's ideas,
Speaker 1: and Hilda got something out of it too. During that time,
Speaker 1: Hilda was introduced to many important people in Britain, making
Speaker 1: her very well connected. One of those people was Sir
Speaker 1: John Reith, the general manager at the BBC. When Hilda
Speaker 1: met him in nineteen twenty six, the BBC had only
Speaker 1: been around for four years. Wreath was so impressed by
Speaker 1: Hilda that he offered her the job of Director of
Speaker 1: Talks at the BBC. At the time, the BBC prided
Speaker 1: itself on being a progressive organization, hiring both men and
Speaker 1: women and paying them equal wages, though there were still limitations.
Speaker 1: Talks encompassed all of the BBC's talk radio programming. It
Speaker 1: was a new genre and Hilda wanted to experiment and
Speaker 1: use the form in creative ways. That started with her
Speaker 1: broadcasters Hilda understood that speaking on the radio was a
Speaker 1: unique skill that needed to be honed. She coached them
Speaker 1: on how to write scripts right like you're talking to
Speaker 1: a friend, not like you're writing a magazine article. She
Speaker 1: gave tips on speaking, how fast to talk, how dynamic
Speaker 1: to be, and she hammered home the idea that though
Speaker 1: the audience numbered in the hundreds of thousands, it was
Speaker 1: best to act as if you're speaking to just one person.
Speaker 1: Hilda wrote all of these guidelines down in a leaflet
Speaker 1: in nineteen twenty seven, but it's advice you'll still hear
Speaker 1: as a radio or podcast host today. When it came
Speaker 1: to content, Hilda was particularly interested in engaging women as listeners.
Speaker 1: She created a program called Questions for Women Voters, which
Speaker 1: came out in nineteen twenty eight after the British government
Speaker 1: gave all women over the age of twenty one the
Speaker 1: right to vote. The program was educational and provocative. It
Speaker 1: featured lively debates about big questions like should married women work.
Speaker 1: Hilda's programming exposed listeners to new ideas. She brought intellectuals
Speaker 1: on air like H. G. Wells and Bernard Shaw. She
Speaker 1: also made a special effort to highlight women. She invited
Speaker 1: Virginia Wolf and the woman who was once Virginia's lover,
Speaker 1: novelist Vita Sackville West. Fida and Hilda would eventually strike
Speaker 1: up a romantic relationship of their own with these big
Speaker 1: names involved. Hilda's programming also asked bigger, more worldly questions.
Speaker 1: In one memo, she wrote, the right presentation of these
Speaker 1: questions interests the most unlikely public. Unfortunately, Hilda and her boss,
Speaker 1: Sir John Wreath, did not see eye to eye. Hilda
Speaker 1: wanted to increase the quality of programming and make it
Speaker 1: more intellectually stimulating. John wanted less educational content, which he
Speaker 1: thought would appeal more to the lower middle class. Hilda
Speaker 1: argued that her male colleagues had the wits of a
Speaker 1: mentally deficient hen John complained that Hilda was unreasonable and difficult,
Speaker 1: and in the midst of this prolonged disagreement, Hilda lost
Speaker 1: her job. Some sources suggest that she may also have
Speaker 1: been ousted because of her sexuality. After leaving the BBC,
Speaker 1: Hilda became a supervisor for a research study conduct acted
Speaker 1: by the Royal Institute of International Affairs. It investigated the geography,
Speaker 1: languages and social structures of Sub Saharan Africa at the time.
Speaker 1: Although her contributions to this study were extensive, her name
Speaker 1: was cut from the acknowledgments in a later revision of
Speaker 1: the paper. During World War II, Hilda became part of
Speaker 1: the Joint Broadcasting Committee. The committee was a propaganda unit
Speaker 1: promoting British culture through programs on air in foreign countries.
Speaker 1: The new job did come with complications. It shared studios
Speaker 1: with her old employer at the BBC. Hilda lived with
Speaker 1: several medical issues and ultimately died in nineteen forty during
Speaker 1: a routine operation at the age of fifty two. Despite
Speaker 1: her major contributions to broadcasting, few people know the impact
Speaker 1: she had on public radio. Her inner circle celebrated her achievements.
Speaker 1: Vita Zackville West, her former lover, reflected fondly in her
Speaker 1: obituary on Hilda's spirit. She described her not only as
Speaker 1: the best of friends, but in the noblest sense, a
Speaker 1: servant of the state. All month, we're talking about Women
Speaker 1: of Sound. For more information, find us on Facebook and
Speaker 1: Instagram at Wamanica podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my
Speaker 1: favorite sister and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow.