When Iceland's Women Stopped, Spain Sailed Again, and Montana Got a Pope

When Iceland's Women Stopped, Spain Sailed Again, and Montana Got a Pope

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Episode description

When Iceland’s Women Stopped, Spain Sailed Again, and Montana Got a Pope

On 24 October 1975, 90% of Icelandic women walked off the job, both paid and unpaid, bringing the country to a standstill and changing its political landscape forever. The same date also saw the disastrous 1960 Nedelin catastrophe at Baikonur Cosmodrome, where over 100 Soviet space personnel died in a classified rocket explosion that remained secret for decades. In 1596, Philip II of Spain launched his second armada against England, only to be driven back by storms off Cape Finisterre. And in 1998, a Wisconsin-born monk in Montana declared himself Pope Pius XIII, leading a small sedevacantist congregation that rejected post-Vatican II papal authority. Four stories of ambition, defiance, disaster, and extraordinary confidence, all falling on the same calendar square.

Chapters

  • Intro Clara opens with the image of Iceland grinding to a halt as 90% of its women stopped working, both in paid jobs and at home, on 24 October 1975.
  • The Day Iceland Stood Still The story of Iceland’s Women’s Day Off in 1975, when organised absence made women’s labour suddenly visible. The strike led to equal pay legislation in 1976 and helped elect the world’s first democratically elected female president, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, in 1980. Iceland now consistently tops global gender equality rankings.
  • The Pope of Montana On the same date in 1998, Lucian Pulvermacher, a sedevacantist monk in Montana, declared himself Pope Pius XIII. Elected by a small conclave within his own True Catholic Church movement, he led his congregation until 2009, unrecognised by the Vatican or the wider world.
  • The Nedelin Catastrophe In 1960, over 100 Soviet personnel died when the R-16 ballistic missile exploded on the launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome. The disaster was immediately classified, with families told only of a military accident. The truth emerged only in the late 1980s. The date remains avoided for launches in Russian space operations.
  • The Spanish Armada’s Unfortunate Sequel Philip II of Spain launched his second armada against England on 24 October 1596. It was destroyed by storms off Cape Finisterre before reaching English waters. A third attempt in 1597 also failed. Philip died in 1598, his invasion plans unrealised.
  • Outro Clara closes by reflecting on the varied forms of audacity on display across the day’s stories, from strategic absence to papal self-appointment to repeated military failure.

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