America's founding mothers were patriots, poets, prophets, and spies, and history left most of them out of the story. On this episode of The Jenny Beth Show, filmmaker and producer Shari Rigby joins Jenny Beth Martin to change that. Rigby is the creator of Defiant Ones, an immersive audio drama about the bravest women of the American Revolution, launching July 2, the very day John Adams believed the country would celebrate its independence, just ahead of America's 250th birthday. Rigby, an actress and director known for October Baby and Overcomer and the founder of Beautifully Flawed Productions and the Women in My World ministry, walks through the true stories behind the series: Sybil Ludington, who at sixteen rode farther than Paul Revere to raise the militia; Agent 355, the unnamed spy whose warning helped expose Benedict Arnold and save West Point; Penelope Barker, who organized fifty-one women in the Edenton Tea Party; and Prudence Wright, who formed the Guardians of Liberty. Built on the letters between Abigail and John Adams and her plea to "remember the ladies," Defiant Ones is written, voiced, and produced by women and recorded in immersive Dolby Atmos. It is a conversation about faith, history, and why teaching the founding matters as the nation turns 250, plus a practical challenge to get families off screens and into the story of America. Learn more at teapartypatriots.org and jennybethshow.com.
Shari Rigby is an actress, director, and producer known for the faith films October Baby and Overcomer. She founded Beautifully Flawed Productions and the Women in My World ministry, and she is the creator of the immersive audio drama Defiant Ones, about the women of the American Revolution.
Jenny Beth Martin is co-founder of the Tea Party movement and Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action.
Key topics:
Timestamps:
00:00 — Welcome: meet filmmaker Shari Rigby and the Defiant Ones audio drama
01:18 — Shari's path: the Kendrick brothers, October Baby, and moving behind the camera
03:25 — A testimony: from teenage mom to faith-and-family filmmaker
08:19 — Women in My World: mentoring women in the industry
09:12 — How Defiant Ones came together and putting women to work
12:47 — Patriots, poets, prophets, and spies
13:09 — Remember the Ladies: the Abigail and John Adams letters
14:31 — Why teaching the founding matters, and Sybil Ludington's ride
17:03 — The women who surprised her most: Penelope Barker and Agent 355
21:19 — Immersive Dolby Atmos audio and getting kids off screens
25:00 — Studying the founding and walking Boston's Freedom Trail
29:58 — America's 250th and a call to families
32:19 — What's next, and where to find Defiant Ones
Defiant Ones launches July 2, streaming on the Washington Times (washingtontimes.com) and all podcast platforms, with companion novelettes on Amazon and family assets at beautifullyflawedproductions.com. Learn more at teapartypatriots.org and jennybethshow.com.