Western Studios, Leeds Ltd

Listen to the audio trailer HERE

Leeds is the largest city in the largest county on the UK mainland. It is a former imperial textile centre. Now, it is a major UK financial centre. The Working Hours Podcast documents the city’s experiences through COVID and Brexit. It covers creeping technological unemployment. It also explores new and ongoing resource wars, the ongoing removal of the welfare state, and the accelerating ecological emergency.

All episodes are available on YouTube here

Support The Working Hours project with a financial donation.

Please Help me record to 1000 interviews over this decade.

The show is in desperate need of financial support.

If you can, please click a link below to help. You can give a one off donation. You can also buy monthly memberships to help me with all the costs of making the show. This support will also help me get paid for my work.

Ko-Fi – one pound memberships and one off donations.

Patreon – one hundred pound memberships

Liberapay – regular weekly monthly or annual payments of whatever amount.

Listen to Working Hours:

Work Can Pay Dividends – Working Hours

Recorded on 23/04/2026By day, Emma Harper is a Senior Analyst at a stockbrokers’ firm, with 26 years in finance. It's a career she truly loves! Outside of work, Emma is married with two children. She runs two charity groups – a local community fund, now in its 10th year, and a volunteer team supporting the hospice that cared for her mum. She also hosts a monthly bereavement support group in her mum’s honour, because no one navigating loss should ever feel alone.Emma is a lifelong autoimmune and allergy warrior who is passionate about raising awareness and supporting others on that journey. She’s a “life’s too short” kind of girl. Travelling with her family is her therapy, exploring new cultures, learning, laughing, and making memories.In 2025, she stepped into a powerful new chapter, joining a community of like-minded travel lovers on an epic journey of self-discovery, fresh travel opportunities, and serious confidence building!Since then, she’s built an incredible team of passionate, travel-driven people.Emma's is also organising a local business networking event called Support Local on Sunday 14th June 2026 at 7 Steps Bar in Pudsey 1pm to 5pm. It's free to attend so there's nothing to stop you popping along.Follow Emma at: https://www.instagram.com/theharpercrew/Links for this episode:https://www.facebook.com/Farsleydefib/https://www.facebook.com/people/Friends-of-Wheatfields-LS28/61579621647248/If you want to make a podcast in West Yorkshire don't forget you can contact Western Studios Leeds Ltd at: https://western-studios.com/Or if you just need a bit of info about starting your own podcast there's still tickets left for my Introduction to Podcasting Workshop on July 11th at Swarthmore Education Centre. Tickets are 25GBP. Reserve you spot now to avoid disappointment: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/introduction-to-podcasting-with-simon-treen-tickets-1990632856460Listen to the Leeds Business Podcast episode (made by Western Studios Leeds) about the Climb business event from last year at: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/5b1a586c-e66d-4e75-b702-02fa315f8367/Or go to:https://www.climb-uk.com/ to find out more about their events.

please help the show keep going if you can.

If you’d like to support this free oral history podcast you can donate to it here: https://ko-fi.com/workinghours

Or you can buy franchises, ad space or sponsorships for the show via our Patreon shop here: https://www.patreon.com/c/workinghourspod/shop

New episodes after episode 200 will need to be paid for in order to be produced. Check out the Working Hours Podcast Paid Plan.

Why is Working Hours? Creator and host Simon Treen says:

Working Hours exists for many reasons. Primarily, to create a depository of first-hand knowledge and experience about labour and employment in my home city. This effort will span this pivotal decade in the human story. At this crucial moment for our species, what are we doing here in Leeds? Why are we doing it and what does it mean for our shared biosphere?

I want to demonstrate the breadth and depth of working roles that are available to all of us. Our media has a narrow obsession with only ever showing us cops, spies, factories, shops, and media workers. Whatever people do, someone is getting paid to do that thing. I hope to demonstrate that reality.  

My goal is to record at least an hour of experience and opinion on my guests’ work. I aim to create a total of one thousand interviews with Loiners over this whole decade. My interviews are designed to encourage my guests to think. They reflect on their own work, hopefully in new ways.

It’s not scary, but it is fun. Some of my guests have even described their Working Hours interview experience as “work therapy”.

I’d love to chat about your work and I always need guests. You don’t even have to be employed or paid to be my guest! If you live or work in Leeds, get in touch. You can be the star of the show if you are over 18. You just need to live, work, or have been born in an LS postcode.

Book your interview now!

If you would like to take part but you wish to remain anonymous then, please email me securely at westernstudios@protonmail.com

GIFT EPISODES OF WORKING HOURS ARE AVAILABLE HERE

Click here to buy ad space, ad reads, sponsorships or Working Hours franchises.

Your data is handled in accordance with our privacy policy.

For any data protection issues please email dpo@western-studios.com