In this special wrap-up of Witness of the Times Season Two, Dr. Baker and I reflect on an incredible run of thought-provoking conversations and eye-opening discoveries. From revisiting our favorite episodes to sharing insights we gained along the way; we pull back the curtain on the making of the season. We also offer a sneak peek at the possible directions and topics for Season Three. Welcome to Witness of the Times.

Show Notes

Episode Title: Season Two Wrap-Up: Highlights, Lessons & What’s Next

In this episode:

• Marc and Dr. Baker share their personal highlights from Season Two
• A look back at the most memorable conversations and why they stood out
• Surprising new things they learned while producing the show
• Early brainstorming on potential topics for Season Three
• A heartfelt thank you to the listeners and supporters who’ve been part of the journey

Why listen: If you’ve followed Season Two, this episode ties it all together — offering behind-the-scenes reflections, lessons learned, and an exciting preview of what’s to come.

Listen now to celebrate the past season and get a glimpse into the future of Witness of the Times.

Witness of the Times – Season 2, Episode 12 Title: Breaking Barriers at Surgeons’ Hall: The Edinburgh Seven and the Fight for Women’s Medical Education

As we bring Season 2 of Witness of the Times to a close, we return to a central theme—remarkable women who refused to accept the limits society placed upon them.In our finale, we journey to 19th-century Britain and spotlight the trailblazing efforts of Sophia Jex-Blake and the Edinburgh Seven, the first women to study medicine at a British university. In an age when women were barred from higher education, these seven defied expectations and endured relentless opposition—from institutional bias to public ridicule and even physical intimidation during the infamous Surgeons’ Hall Riot. Though denied degrees, they laid the foundation for future generations. Their story is one of courage, scholarship, and transformation—proof that change begins when someone dares to say, “Yes, I belong here.”

Connect with Us: If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review Witness of The Times on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. Every positive review helps new listeners find the show. We also want to hear from you! Send us your questions about the stories we profile. You can email us at witnessofthetimes@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook at Witness of the Times.

Credits:

• Executive Producers: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker
• Music: Jorgen Hallberg
• Hosts: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker

Thank you for joining us on this incredible journey through history with Witness of The Times. We can't wait to share more enthralling stories with you in Season 3.

In this powerful episode of Witness of the Times, we profile the remarkable true story of Deborah Sampson, a woman whose courage helped reshape American history. Born in 1760 and descended from Mayflower pilgrims, Sampson defied 18th-century gender roles by disguising herself as a man to serve in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Enlisting under the name Robert Shurtleff, she endured the brutality of war—surviving combat injuries, field surgery on herself, and illness—all while maintaining her secret. Her service, valor, and eventual honorable discharge at West Point make her one of the few women recognized as a Revolutionary War veteran. Later aided by Paul Revere, she became the first American woman to earn a military pension. Sampson’s legacy endures in statues, parks, a warship, and a state heroine designation. Join us as we explore how one woman’s strength, intellect, and patriotism broke barriers and defined heroism—not just in battle, but in life.

Connect with Us: If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review Witness of The Times on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. Every positive review helps new listeners find the show. We also want to hear from you! Send us your questions about the stories we profile. You can email us at witnessofthetimes@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook at Witness of the Times.

Credits:

• Executive Producers: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker
• Music: Jorgen Hallberg
• Hosts: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker

Thank you for joining us on this incredible journey through history with Witness of The Times. We can't wait to share more enthralling stories with you in upcoming episodes.

🎙️ Witness of the Times

Season 2, Witness of the Times, Episode 10 – “The Guard Who Unlocked an Empire: The Story of Mehmet Kusman”

In recent episodes, we've explored the grand civilizations of Babylon, Greece, and Rome. But today, Witness of the Times brings you a story from modern history that is every bit as powerful—and perhaps even more surprising. In this episode, we journey to the remote fortress of Çavuştepe in eastern Turkey, where a humble site guard, Mehmet Kusman, defied the odds and cracked a 3,000-year-old linguistic code that had stumped scholars for generations. With only a sixth-grade education, Kusman taught himself the ancient and forgotten language of the Urartian’s. Through relentless effort—crossing dangerous borders, studying forbidden dialects, and piecing together patterns—he created a functional alphabet from scratch. Kusman's story is one of courage, genius, and cultural resilience. It's a testament to what one dedicated individual can accomplish when driven by passion and purpose. This episode celebrates not just the decoding of an ancient language, but the triumph of human curiosity.

Connect with Us: If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review Witness of The Times on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. Every positive review helps new listeners find the show. We also want to hear from you! Send us your questions about the stories we profile. You can email us at witnessofthetimes@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook at Witness of the Times.

Credits:

• Executive Producers: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker
• Music: Jorgen Hallberg
• Hosts: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker

Thank you for joining us on this incredible journey through history with Witness of The Times. We can't wait to share more enthralling stories with you in upcoming episodes.

Season 2, Witness of the Times, Episode 9 – “Alexandria: The Soul of a City”

🎧 Show Notes – Witness of the Times

In this sweeping episode, we explore the rise—and eventual decline—of one of the most remarkable cities in human history: Alexandria, Egypt. Founded in 332 BC by Alexander the Great, Alexandria was built from the ground up with the ambition to become the intellectual, cultural, and naval heart of the Mediterranean. It boasted two harbors, the legendary Lighthouse of Pharos, and the world-renowned Library of Alexandria—home to over 500,000 scrolls and many of history’s greatest minds, from Euclid to Eratosthenes, and Hypatia. But Alexandria's greatness wasn’t just in architecture or scholarship—it was in its embrace of multiculturalism, tolerance, and the free exchange of ideas. Ultimately, it was the loss of those values, not fire alone, that led to the city's slow death. Join us as we trace Alexandria’s breathtaking rise and sobering fall—a lesson in what happens when knowledge is sacrificed and tolerance extinguished.

Connect with Us: If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review Witness of The Times on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. Every positive review helps new listeners find the show. We also want to hear from you! Send us your questions about the stories we profile. You can email us at witnessofthetimes@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook at Witness of the Times.

Credits:

• Executive Producers: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker
• Music: Jorgen Hallberg
• Hosts: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker

Thank you for joining us on this incredible journey through history with Witness of The Times. We can't wait to share more enthralling stories with you in upcoming episodes.

🎙️ Witness of the Times – Season 2, Episode 8 Title: The Fall of Massalia: When Rome Went to War With Itself

In Episode 8, Dr. Bruce Baker continues our three-part arc on the cities that stood in the way of Rome's domination of the Mediterranean—Mare Nostrum. This week, we turn to Massalia (modern-day Marseille), a proud Greek colony and once-great trading power.

Founded by Anatolian Greeks, Massalia allied early with Rome—but when the Roman Republic collapsed into civil war, the city had to choose between Caesar and Pompey. It chose wrong. In this epic tale of siege warfare, naval blockades, political maneuvering, and shifting allegiances, Dr. Baker unpacks how this peaceful maritime republic became collateral damage in Caesar’s march to power.

Don’t miss the turning point where trade, loyalty, and empire collided.

Connect with Us: If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review Witness of The Times on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. Every positive review helps new listeners find the show. We also want to hear from you! Send us your questions about the stories we profile. You can email us at witnessofthetimes@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook at Witness of the Times.

Credits:

• Executive Producers: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker
• Music: Jorgen Hallberg
• Hosts: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker

Thank you for joining us on this incredible journey through history with Witness of The Times. We can't wait to share more enthralling stories with you in upcoming episodes.

Witness of the Times – Season 2, Episode 7 Title: Carthage Must Be Destroyed: How Rome Claimed the Sea

In this sweeping episode, Dr. Bruce Baker traces the rise and fall of one of the most powerful cities of the ancient world—Carthage. Once a thriving hub of trade, innovation, and naval dominance, Carthage was born from Phoenician roots and flourished as the jewel of the western Mediterranean. From its founding by Queen Dido to its clashes with Greek colonies and eventual transformation into a republic, Carthage rivaled even Rome in might.

But power struggles, shifting alliances, and one of the most epic military rivalries in history—the Punic Wars—would change everything. Dr. Baker explores how Carthage’s military genius Hannibal came devastatingly close to defeating Rome, and how the tides turned at Zama.

This is the story of how Rome claimed Mare Nostrum—"our sea"—and why Carthage, despite its greatness, was destined to fall. Don’t miss it.

Connect with Us: If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review Witness of The Times on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. Every positive review helps new listeners find the show. We also want to hear from you! Send us your questions about the stories we profile. You can email us at witnessofthetimes@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook at Witness of the Times.

Credits:

• Executive Producers: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker
• Music: Jorgen Hallberg
• Hosts: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker

Thank you for joining us on this incredible journey through history with Witness of The Times. We can't wait to share more enthralling stories with you in upcoming episodes.

Witness of the Times – Bonus Episode: Listener Q&A

Welcome to a special bonus episode of Witness of the Times! We're at the halfway point of Season Two, and we wanted to pause and answer a couple of excellent listener questions that came in after Episode 5, which explored the Babylonian origins of timekeeping.

Today, we’ll dig into why February is so short—and yes, it involves Roman superstition, royal egos, and a few missteps in ancient math. We’ll also explore how the Jewish calendar differs from the Gregorian one, and whether its roots also reach back to Babylonian astronomy.

This episode is our way of thanking you for your curiosity and support. If you have a question, you'd like us to explore, email us at witnessofthetimes@gmail.com or message us on Facebook at Witness of the Times.

Connect with Us: If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review Witness of The Times on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. Every positive review helps new listeners find the show. We also want to hear from you! Send us your questions about the stories we profile. You can email us at witnessofthetimes@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook at Witness of the Times.

Credits:

• Executive Producers: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker
• Music: Jorgen Hallberg
• Hosts: Marc Veazey and Dr. Bruce Baker

Thank you for joining us on this incredible journey through history with Witness of The Times. We can't wait to share more enthralling stories with you in upcoming episodes.