Welcome to the Podcast.

Hello and welcome to A History of Harlots and Housewives. My name is Roshni and I will be your guide through the hidden, horrifying, and hopeful world of women’s history in the province of Alberta. Together, we’ll learn about everyone from farmer’s wives to musicians to alderwomen.

You’re probably wondering who I am. I’m a graduate student at the University of Edinburgh, getting a Masters degree in Data, Inequality, and Society. I take my classes remotely (2 am club, represent!) and live in Canada with my two kids and partner. I’m an Indo-Canadian - my family hails from India, but I was born and raised in western Canada. I’m annoyed about how history is taught and repeated. There are a lot of reasons I chose this, but a lot of my influence comes from my experiences. I grew up reading Phillipa Gregory’s books, and when I did my undergraduate in Social Innovation, I focused on childcare access and how it affected women. That lead me down a rabbit hole where I discovered books like Invisible Women, Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Supper and Where are the Women? And from there, the rest was history. This podcast is meant to be part of the body of work that creates my masters thesis, and I’ll have accompanying blog posts for each episode that go more in depth.

I’m tired of history, so I want to highlight these stories - the story of Canadian women. We’re centering their stories, their triumphs, their battles, and the way they changed the world. While I will be doing a decent amount of research, I’m going to be telling these stories like I’m talking to a friend. I’m not going to be formal and academic and dry, because who learns things like that? I want these stories to be real. I want us to know these women as well as we can. I know it can be hard to find information, but I’ll do the best I can with the resources and time I have available.

Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure. I hope you enjoy this journey through Alberta through the eyes of the women who made this province what it is.