This Week in Time Travel

By Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke

What's This Week in Time Travel about?

Longtime Doctor Who podcaster Chip Sudderth (Two-minute Time Lord) and essayist-podcaster Alyssa Franke (WhovianFeminism on Tumblr and Twitter) join forces for Doctor Who-related interviews, reviews and all the news that marked This Week in Time Travel.

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This Week in Time Travel episodes:

02.24.2019
87: Carpetulation
One week out from Gallifrey One, it’s time to take stock of what we saw at the family reunion. We bid farewell to an iconic carpet and take one last look at a convention every Doctor Who fan should experience...
02.07.2019
86: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Big Finish
There’s no better guide to the worlds of Big Finish productions of Doctor Who and other great properties than a former skeptic about audio drama. We welcome Radio Free Skaro’s Warren Frey as we take a criminally overdue deep dive...
01.29.2019
85: Extended Fam
We beg your indulgence, but this podcast is 100% about Alyssa, Chip, and Rachel geeking out about the upcoming Gallifrey One convention. If you don’t have a ticket, well, we regret that it’s sold out and encourage you to come...
01.22.2019
84: Segun's Genesis
Shannon Dohar, friend of TWiTT, co-host of the Deeper Cuts album review podcast, and frequent Reality Bomb contributor, flexes her musical muscles and discusses with us Segun Akinola’s music from Episode 1 to the New Year’s Special. What makes him...
01.15.2019
83: Scholars of Time and Space
A bite-sized episode revisits academic fandom with a look at the dedicated programming track at this year’s Gallifrey One convention. Organizers Joy Piedmont and Paul Booth take us through what it means to look at Doctor Who through a scholarly...
01.08.2019
82: Panels Discussion
The TV series may be over for now, but we can still see Team TARDIS in action! We’re three issues into Jody Houser’s and Rachael Stott’s Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor from Titan Comics. Chip and Alyssa dive in to...
01.02.2019
81: Chekhov's Combo Oven
Yup, it was the Daleks all right. If we consider this the proper end of Series 11, then it absolutely ended with a bang. Jodie Whittaker’s first standoff with the pepper pots is properly epic, but Alyssa and Chip wrestle...
12.20.2018
80: After the Glass Ceiling
That’s a wrap for 2018, This Week in Time Travel, and Series 11! Rachel Donner and Riley Silverman join us to sort out the brilliant and the tragic, the groundbreaking and the played-too-safe. Find out where we stand and what...
12.10.2018
79: The Battle of Awkwardly Long Name
Bang, whimper, or something in between? Did you guess right about, “I know that voice”? (You probably did.) Which characters got to tie off a satisfying arc, and which characters have yet to launch one? Alyssa and Chip tackle the...
12.03.2018
78: Mirror, Mirror
One froggy universe, two grieving husbands, one mystery woodland menace, a kajillion moths, and one question from Alyssa: who’s allowed to be selfish in grief?...
11.26.2018
77: Ugly Roots
Zombies? Check. Sci-fi prison? Check. Historical figure? Check. Prestige casting? Check. Commentary on the human condition, drawing analogies to our current crisis of confidence in ourselves and our tendency to blame and persecute the other in response? Check. Houdini reference?...
11.23.2018
76: On the Bubble
Happy Thanksgiving! Alyssa and Chip had some extra time to consider “Kerblam!”—whether it didn’t have enough of a point of view or too many, whether the first 40 minutes made up for the last few, and whether it might have...
11.16.2018
75: Demons and Strife
Thanks to travel schedules and Alyssa’s exhaustion after helping to Save Democracy As We Know It, we had a few extra days to consider “Demons of the Punjab”: whether it got the balance of SF and family drama right, how...
11.05.2018
74: Stitch and Time
The Doctor's curiosity gets the best of her, and she finds herself and her friends in a disaster movie against, well, basically, Stitch without Lilo. Rachel Donner joins me for a quick trip on a Red Cross spaceship while Alyssa's...
10.29.2018
73: "Back in the Box; There's Loads to See"
It’s eight-legs vs. two-legs again, but unlike 1974’s Planet of the Spiders these arachno-invaders are simply the very confused coincidental by-product of a business empire led by someone who’s TOTALLY NOT TRUMP. NO SIR. Alyssa and Chip discuss whether (1)...
10.22.2018
72: Montgomery 1955
This was the episode that we held our breath for. Could British writers do justice to the woman who inspired the Montgomery bus boycotts, and fairly reflect the movement for civil rights? Spoiler alert: we think the answer is a...
10.15.2018
71: A Monument to Custard Cremes
In addition to the world’s fastest news buffet, we journey to the Planet of Desolation in search of the Doctor’s ride. Has Jodie Whittaker fully inhabited the role? Are Yaz, Graham and Ryan gelling as a TARDIS team? Can you...
10.07.2018
70: Falling With Style
The Thirteenth Doctor is finally here, and (absent one rather concerning story beat) her timely debut was exactly what Alyssa and Chip were hungry for. “This new nose is SO reliable.” “Danger of death. Do not climb.” “Every day’s a...
10.01.2018
69: New Beginnings
It’s the eve of new Doctor Who and we couldn’t be more ready. Titan Comics is celebrating with a virtual giveaway of $300 worth of comics, including Paul Cornell’s last (he means it this time) work on Doctor Who. We...
09.25.2018
68: History Lessons
It wasn’t a new idea, but it took a long time for the powers that be to take it seriously. Alyssa traverses the twists and turns that brought the notion of a female Doctor to reality. Chip reflects on the...
09.19.2018
67: A Complicated Melody
Comedian and writer Riley Silverman joins Alyssa to celebrate, consider and critique the controversial River Song. Also, the Doctor Who PR juggernaut marches on while still managing to say VERY LITTLE before the premiere date! Will Thursday’s DWM break that...
09.11.2018
66: Whoops
Chip demonstrates he’d be a rubbish time traveler because he can’t even manage simple time zones. Alyssa melts through the floor over Jodie Whittaker’s Marie Claire UK photoshoot. And there’s plenty of actual news to talk about, including that premiere...
09.04.2018
65: Problematic Babes
ALYSSA: (talks to Chip about her suggestion for a series about Problematic Faves) CHIP: (dictates a response via Siri, which changes the text to ‘Problematic Babes’) ALYSSA: “Yup, there’s our episode title.” We return from our unexpected hiatus in time...
08.15.2018
We're Taking a Brief Hiatus
Due to a family emergency, This Week in Time Travel is on hiatus for a few weeks. We'll be back soon!
07.31.2018
64: Secrets of the 22nd Black Archive
Alyssa’s first book is out! We take time to talk about “The Black Archive #22: Hell Bent” and the themes Alyssa explored from the Series 9 finale. Plus: the SDCC afterglow, the LFCC record, and more publications and articles that...
07.24.2018
63: From Cardiff to Comic Con
Alyssa and Chip retreat to the memory palace and enjoy the highlights of the new Doctor Who era’s and Jodie Whittaker’s debuts in San Diego....
07.17.2018
62: OMG OMG OMG
News floodgates opened before Comic-Con! Entertainment Weekly got an exclusive, then the Radio Times got another one! Fans selected their favorite episodes for a BBC America marathon, prompting Chip to play his one note just a little louder. There are...
07.10.2018
61: Karma Chameleon
Over the last half a century, the most consistent thing about Doctor Who has been the least consistent thing: the character of the Doctor. Regeneration after regeneration, is the Doctor reinvented top to bottom, or is there still something that...
07.03.2018
60: Suddenly Segun
We thought we might take the weekend off of TWiTT, because SURELY there wouldn’t be news about Doctor Who before Comic-Con, right? Chip’s theory was found wanting: New composer! New comic! New…uh…leak! (Which we will NOT spoil for you.) Alyssa...
06.26.2018
59: Worth a Thousand Words
OK, we know that fan art is a visual medium. And podcasts are…not. But we’ve brought along some fan artists who’ve made a real impact. Nathan Skreslet and Ly Cao from Pixel Who are here to talk about the fan...
06.20.2018
58: Books! The Best Weapons in the World!
Kara Dennison and Derek Kompare join us as our Fandom Perspectives series takes a look at aca-fans—those fans for whom deep dives of exploration into themes and cultural criticism make the Doctor Who experience all the richer…...
06.12.2018
57: A (Canon) Blast from the Past
Your two fried cohosts take a quick tour through the news of the week and bring you an in-depth conversation about what “canon” in Doctor Who really means with rabid fan and New Testament scholar Mark Goodacre, in an archive...
06.05.2018
56: Fanvid Happy Hour
For every character, for every dramatic plotline, for every ship: there’s a fanvid. Kim and Sage of Head Over Feels return to This Week in Time Travel to talk about their expertly curated collections of fan-edited videos guaranteed to make...
05.29.2018
55: We'll Do It LIVE
It’s a short, live-and-in-person walk through the news of the week including a new venue for classic Doctor Who, a new book series about Doctor Who book series, your chance to welcome Jodie Whittaker, and another fan convention setting the...
05.22.2018
54: The Pen is Mightier Than the Spoon
Some fans are content to consume stories. Others want to expand on them, or even transform them. Part two of our Fandom Perspectives series is about fanfiction, a creative outlet that may even have contributed to the return of Doctor...
05.16.2018
53: Timeless Apparel Rendered Dexterously In Style
At its best, fandom culture is all about participation! We begin our Fandom Perspective series by looking at cosplay with friend and East Coast costumer Amanda-Rae Prescott....
05.08.2018
52: News Rounds, Rapid
It’s a snack-size edition of This Week in Time Travel looking at Free Comic Book Day, the new Time Team, and the eternal question: can the Eric Roberts Master drezzzz for the occasion in audio?...
05.01.2018
51: Really, REALLY Great Hair
Our Doctor retrospective series concludes with, of course, the Twelfth Doctor. It’s a giant-size, Series 10-hair-size, celebration of everything he brought to the role courtesy of the Hugo-finalist Verity! podcast’s moderator, Deb Stanish!...
04.24.2018
50: Reconstructed Krab
Alyssa promised that she would make Chip watch his very first reconstruction of a missing classic Doctor Who episode, as chosen by a random #WhoAgainstGuns donor. Thanks to David H. Adler, it’s time for “The Macra Terror” in living color…well,...
04.17.2018
49: Return of the Drunken Giraffe
Let’s go back to 2010 and welcome the worldwide goodwill ambassador from the BBC, the Eleventh Doctor, who ushered Doctor Who into even greater global popularity. Radio Free Skaro and Lazy Doctor Who’s Steven Schapansky joins us!...
04.10.2018
48: Justifiably Smug
He launched the show to new heights and became one of the most beloved Doctors of all of time and space—but he had his share of detractors! Shannon Sudderth helps us discuss David Tennant’s Doctor....
04.03.2018
47: I Feel Fantastic
Ninth Doctor, we hardly knew you! Rachel Donner rejoins the This Week in Time Travel team for a jam-packed episode celebrating Christopher Eccleston and his pivotal year in the role....
03.20.2018
46: Not the One You Expected
The Eighth Doctor was truly the “Fans’ Doctor.” Not because fandom created him, but because thanks to novels and especially Big Finish, fans of Doctor Who got to know Paul McGann’s Doctor while the wider world missed out. Alyssa and...
03.13.2018
45: Conniving Clown
The master of the Hat Trick, Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor, falls under the watchful eye of returning guest Kathleen Schowalter. There’s a bumper crop of news, too, including the outcome of the main #WhoAgainstGuns campaign push, Series 11 casting, and...
03.06.2018
44: Rainbow Connection
Our fearless leader Jason Snell joins us to discuss the brightest and brashest of the Doctors: Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor. Plus, we have an update on #WhoAgainstGuns, some details and controversy over Series 11, and a look ahead to our...
02.27.2018
43: The Storytellers
It’s an interview spectacular! Writers Rona Munro and Jenny Colgan, costume designer Hayley Nebauer, and stop-motion puppeteer Alisa Stern (“Doctor Puppet”) all talked with us at Gallifrey One. PLUS: Alyssa and Chip review the new Doctor Who branding with considerable...
02.20.2018
42: "Gallifrey Waits No More"
Women’s voices rang powerfully and true at the end of the 29th Gallifrey One convention. Alyssa looks back on a profound #MeToo moment as Doctor Who actors, writers and other creators talked about their struggles within the entertainment industry. We...
02.13.2018
41: What's the Celery For?
Graeme Burk rejoins us to rhapsodize about the beige-est of Doctors, the Fifth! Plus, loads of news and “news” as Chip and Alyssa prepare for convention season....
02.06.2018
40: Jelly Baby?
None more iconic: Tom Baker strode across Doctor Who as a giant for seven years, and we have comedian Riley Silverman here to celebrate him....
01.31.2018
39: Draconian Women's Lib
It’s time to reverse the polarity and introduce the Brig to the concept of Women’s Liberation. Bring back the opera capes and the short short skirts! It’s time to talk about the Third Doctor....

What's This Week in Time Travel about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

This Week in Time Travel episodes:

87: Carpetulation

86: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Big Finish

85: Extended Fam

84: Segun's Genesis

83: Scholars of Time and Space

82: Panels Discussion

81: Chekhov's Combo Oven

80: After the Glass Ceiling

79: The Battle of Awkwardly Long Name

78: Mirror, Mirror

77: Ugly Roots

76: On the Bubble

75: Demons and Strife

74: Stitch and Time

73: "Back in the Box; There's Loads to See"

72: Montgomery 1955

71: A Monument to Custard Cremes

70: Falling With Style

69: New Beginnings

68: History Lessons

67: A Complicated Melody

66: Whoops

65: Problematic Babes

We're Taking a Brief Hiatus

64: Secrets of the 22nd Black Archive

63: From Cardiff to Comic Con

62: OMG OMG OMG

61: Karma Chameleon

60: Suddenly Segun

59: Worth a Thousand Words

58: Books! The Best Weapons in the World!

57: A (Canon) Blast from the Past

56: Fanvid Happy Hour

55: We'll Do It LIVE

54: The Pen is Mightier Than the Spoon

53: Timeless Apparel Rendered Dexterously In Style

52: News Rounds, Rapid

51: Really, REALLY Great Hair

50: Reconstructed Krab

49: Return of the Drunken Giraffe

48: Justifiably Smug

47: I Feel Fantastic

46: Not the One You Expected

45: Conniving Clown

44: Rainbow Connection

43: The Storytellers

42: "Gallifrey Waits No More"

41: What's the Celery For?

40: Jelly Baby?

39: Draconian Women's Lib