Way Back When

History, Heritage & Culture

Expert interviews and conversations on history, travel and the arts.

Welcome to Big Blend Radio's Way Back When Podcast! Enjoy expert interviews and conversations on history, heritage, culture, travel and the arts, from historic sites and landmarks to cultural traditions and the stories behind places, with historians, authors, travel writers and museum and preservation experts.

Way Back When is hosted by Lisa D. Smith and Nancy J. Reid. Episodes are available on all major podcast platforms. This channel's episodes are also distributed to other Big Blend Radio Network channels, and it features related episodes from across the network.

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Latest Episodes

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Way Back When

The Quarter Queen: A Mother-Daughter Voodoo Story

Oct 14, 2026

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2 min read

The Quarter Queen: A Mother-Daughter Voodoo Story

Author Kayla Hardy on Marie Laveau, Ree, and Power in 1840s New Orleans

Way Back When

Oct 11, 2026

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6 min read

Ninety Six National Historic Site

A Star Fort, a Revolutionary War Siege, and Where to Eat and Stay in South Carolina's Old 96 District

Way Back When

100 Men Hall: Music, History & Community in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Oct 6, 2026

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3 min read

100 Men Hall: Music, History & Community in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Rachel Dangermond on Preserving a Chitlin' Circuit Landmark Along Amtrak's Mardi Gras Train Route

Way Back When

Thomas Jefferson Survives: What Jefferson Can Still Teach Us at America 250

Sep 23, 2026

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3 min read

Thomas Jefferson Survives: What Jefferson Can Still Teach Us at America 250

Historian Francis D. Cogliano on Jefferson's complicated legacy, "the earth belongs to the living," and why every generation has to solve its own problems.

Way Back When

Yellowstone: America's First National Park, Still Wild After 110 Years

Sep 15, 2026

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3 min read

Yellowstone: America's First National Park, Still Wild After 110 Years

Travel writer Lisa Evans takes us to Yellowstone National Park — Old Faithful, bison jams, Grand Prismatic, and a candid conversation about why respecting the wildlife is what keeps it wild.

Way Back When

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

Sep 13, 2026

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8 min read

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

A Revolutionary Battlefield, Southern Charm, and Where to Eat in Greensboro, NC

Way Back When

Sep 12, 2026

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2 min read

The Chief Joseph Trail Ride

An annual conversation with World Champion horse trainer Christy Wood, tracing the Nez Perce National Historic Trail on horseback

Way Back When

Getting to Know Phyllis Bitner - Miners Hall Museum & the Jefferson Highway

Aug 27, 2026

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2 min read

Getting to Know Phyllis Bitner - Miners Hall Museum & the Jefferson Highway

Phyllis Bitner shares Franklin, Kansas's coal mining and immigrant history, the Page 618 Walking Dragline project, and life along the Jefferson Highway.

Way Back When

History Comes Alive at the Civil War Battle Reenactment in Gettysburg

Aug 25, 2026

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6 min read

History Comes Alive at the Civil War Battle Reenactment in Gettysburg

From wool uniforms in the summer heat to a packed-house Civil War medicine demonstration, Debbie Stone relives the 163rd Gettysburg Battle Reenactment.

Way Back When

Latest Episodes

The Quarter Queen: A Mother-Daughter Voodoo Story

Ninety Six National Historic Site

100 Men Hall: Music, History & Community in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Thomas Jefferson Survives: What Jefferson Can Still Teach Us at America 250

Yellowstone: America's First National Park, Still Wild After 110 Years

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

The Chief Joseph Trail Ride

Getting to Know Phyllis Bitner - Miners Hall Museum & the Jefferson Highway

History Comes Alive at the Civil War Battle Reenactment in Gettysburg

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