Episodes

  • Devotion and advocacy: Barbara Wilberforce, wife of William Wilberforce, 1820 London
    Dec 15 2025

    Episode Overview: 1820: London. In this episode, you put yourself in the shoes of Barbara Wilberforce, the wife of British trans-Atlantic slave trade abolitionist and politician William Wilberforce. Hear about the impact of typhoid on 1820s London society, including Barbara’s own ongoing health, the role of women in society and William Wilberforce’s long arduous fight to abolish slavery.

    Episode Highlights & Timestamps:

    • 00:00 – Introduction to Barbara
    • 01:35 – Gore House, and the architectural features of the time
    • 02:07 – Barbara’s noble heritage contrasted with the poverty and injustice in 1820 London
    • 03:57 – Breakfast with William and the underpinning forces of the Wilberforce marriage
    • 05:27 – Barbara’s place as a woman in society – caring, supporting, and managing the household
    • 06:57 – Typhoid and its ongoing impact on Barbara’s life and others in London
    • 08:18 – William’s long arduous fight to abolish the slave trade
    • 09:50 – Barbara’s daily chores including caring for her children, including wayward William Jnr
    • 12:04 – Evening solace in the garden

    References & Further Reading:

    • ‘A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians: In the Higher and Middle Classes in this Country, Contrasted with Real Christianity’, William Wilberforce 1829 https://books.google.com.au/books?id=-usOAAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y
    • https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/wilberforce-william-1759-1833

    Credits:

    • Opening and closing music: 'Esmerelda's Waltz' from Dusan Bogdanovic's Book of Unknown Standards, played by Daniel McKay, used with permission of the performer.
    • Background music includes Meditation Charch Music by Natalia; Fur Elise (Beethoven) by Clavier-Music; Amazing Grace William Walker Version 1835 arranged for piano by Gregor Quendel all sourced from Pixabay
    • Other copyright and royalty-free music and sound effects self-created, or from: freesound_community, Alexander Jauk, Universfield, Scottish Guysourced from Pixabay;

    Contact & Feedback:

    • Email: walksintime@gmail.com
    • https://walksintime.podbean.com/
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    14 mins
  • Dear mother: letters, loss and motherly love during World War I
    Dec 1 2025

    1915, Paddington, London. Your 20-year-old son Dudley is serving on the Western Front in World War I. Most days he has written you a letter, requesting items and letting you know how he is going. But it’s been a few days since his last letter, which came with the alarming news that he was moving closer to the firing line.

    Experience a day in the life of Katherine Stewart-Smith, as she manages her emotions, family-life and life in late Edwardian Britain during the First World War.

    Episode Highlights & Timestamps:

    • 00:00 – Introduction to Katherine and the morning routine
    • 03:30 – Revisiting Paddington Station, where Katherine last saw Dudley
    • 05:04 – House and home: Katherine’s domestic life, Dudley’s most recent letters and keeping up appearances
    • 10:30 – A trip into town
    • 11:08 – News from the Western Front
    • 11:49 – Living in the present, with the children at your side
    • 13:49 – Dinner and evening routine

    References & Further Reading:

    • https://awayfromthewesternfront.org/research/soldiers-stories/dear-mother/

    Credits:

    • With thanks to James Stewart-Smith, grandson of Dudley Cauley Stewart-Smith for providing the transcribed letters between Dudley and his mother and his diary as a Prisoner of War to aide research for this story.
    • Opening and closing music: 'Esmerelda's Waltz' from Dusan Bogdanovic's Book of Unknown Standards, played by Daniel McKay, used with permission of the performer.
    • Other copyright and royalty-free music and sound effects self-created, or from: freesound_community, Alexander Jauk, Universfield, Scottish Guy sourced from Pixabay; other music: 'His eye is on the sparrow'; 'Schubert Moment Musical', 'Old Photo' sourced from ClipChamp.

    Contact & Feedback:

    • Email: walksintime@gmail.com
    • https://walksintime.podbean.com/

    Thank you for listening. If you enjoy this podcast, please share it with your friends and family. https://linktr.ee/walksintime

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    15 mins
  • Elizabeth Blackwell - January 1849, Geneva
    Nov 17 2025

    Step into the shoes of Elizabeth Blackwell, a true trailblazer and the first woman to earn a medical degree in the US. In this episode, you'll experience a day in Elizabeth's life in January 1849. Take on Elizabeth's perspective as she awakes in her boarding house and takes a short walk to Geneva Medical School where she is the only female amongst her class of male students. Take time to consider Elizabeth's determination and discipline, standing against inequality or discrimination and the barriers she faced to education, which would otherwise have held her back from achieving.

    Key Topics & Timestamps:

    • 00:00 – Introduction to Elizabeth Blackwell
    • 01:00 – Morning routine and life at the boarding house
    • 03:18 – Attending Geneva Medical School
    • 03:43 – Facing opposition and breaking barriers
    • 05:25 – Elizabeth's motivation for being a trailblazing female medical student
    • 06:30 – Elizabeth as a student
    • 09:15 – Hospital visits and patient care
    • 10:18 – An evening walk in Geneva, dinner and further study
    • 11:33 – Elizabeth's thesis on 'Ship Fever'

    Read Elizabeth's Blackwell's thesis on Ship Fever in the Buffalo medical journal and monthly review v.4 (1848-1849) – Blackwell’s thesis on ship fever p 523 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044103052585&view=1up&seq=535

    Beginning and ending music 'Esmerelda's Waltz' from Dusan Bogdanovic's Book of Unknown Standards, played by Daniel McKay, used with permission.

    Other copyright and royalty-free music and sound effects self created, or from: freesound_community from Pixabay; Mendelsohn Venetian Boat song Music by Gregor Quendel from Pixabay; Nostalgic Sad Piano by Music by Music by Tunetank from Pixabay.

    Read more on the Walks In Time webpage: https://walksintime.podbean.com/

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    14 mins
  • Life during the Great Depression years in Sydney, Australia
    Nov 3 2025

    In this episode of Walks in Time, you'll put yourself in the shoes of a woman trying to make ends meet during the Great Depression years in Sydney. What does she feed her family, how does she wash the clothes and will her husband have to join the ever-lengthening dole queue?

    Step back in time and hear what life was like during this tumultuous and influential time in Australian history.

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    12 mins
  • Walks in Time Trailer
    Oct 27 2025

    Introducing the new podcast series, Walks in Time. This podcast series is all about taking on a different perspective and experiencing life at a different point in history. In each episode you will be immersed in someone else's world - what they saw, heard and ate, what they did to fill their day. Some episodes are based around real people and you'll hear some of their story as you explore their world. Other episodes piece together what we know about that time and place, and the practices, to build a picture of what a day could have been like.

    You'll hear music and sounds that are carefully selected to represent the time and place that it is set in, while hearing a story that I hope will spark imagination, emotion and wonder, while helping you relax.

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    1 min
  • A day in the life of an ancient Egyptian doctor
    Oct 20 2025

    In today's ep you'll put yourself in the shoes of Tiye, an Ancient Egyptian Doctor who lived in 1320 BC in the city of Thebes. As a female doctor, Tiye is highly respected and particularly sought-after to provide medical help to other women. Hear what Tiye wore, ate, saw and heard, and how she used the resources around her to heal those around her.

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    14 mins