Agriculture: Was It a Bad Idea? (ep. 15.1)

Her Half of History · Jul 17, 2025 · 27m

I'm starting this new series on Inventions that Changed Women's Lives at the very beginning—so early that it predates written history. In this episode, I dive into the origins of agriculture and ask the (possibly) surprising question: Was it actually a bad idea?

For many women, life as a hunter-gatherer may have been easier, freer, and more equal than what came after. But it's true that sources are sketchy, hindsight is 20/20, and even women in patriarchal societies tend to like things like public infrastructure, writing, monumental architecture, and food surpluses, all of which come after…