BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 91: Ship's Chronometer From Hms Beagle 11 Oct 2010
Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at an instrument that first helped Europeans to navigate with precision around the world - a marine chronometer. In particular the chronometer that accompanied Charles Darwin on his...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 92: Early Victorian Tea Set 12 Oct 2010
Wedgwood pottery tea set. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at the history of Britain's relationship with tea by examining an early Victorian stoneware set made by the Staffordshire pottery firm of Wedgwood. He...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 93: Hokusai's the Great Wave 13 Oct 2010
Hokusai woodblock print. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, examines The Great Wave by Hokusai, one of the defining images of the power of the sea. He discovers its production initiated a wider awareness of Japanese art and...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 94: Sudanese Slit Drum 14 Oct 2010
A wooden drum from central Africa. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, examines a buffalo-shaped drum from Sudan which was played in a court orchestra and used to transmit messages or summon warriors to war. The drum was...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 95: Suffragette Defaced Penny 15 Oct 2010
A defaced coin from 1903. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the rise of mass political engagement in Britain and the emergence of the suffragettes by examining a penny coin, on which the image of Edward VII has...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 96: Russian Revolutionary Plate 18 Oct 2010
Decorated plate from St Petersburg. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the Russian Revolution by looking at a plate painted with propaganda for the new Communist state. The plate was made at the Imperial Porcelain...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 97: Hockney's in the Dull Village 19 Oct 2010
Print by the British artist David Hockney. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the sexual revolution of the 1960s through a print by David Hockney which shows two men in bed together. The work was one of a series...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 98: Throne of Weapons 20 Oct 2010
Chair made from decommissioned guns. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the impact of weapons on the modern world by examining a sculptured throne made from decommissioned guns. The weapons are remnants of the...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 99: Credit Card 21 Oct 2010
A plastic credit card. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the changing role of money in the modern world by looking at a Shari'a compliant credit card. How is modern banking adapting for new markets and what are the...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 100: Solar Powered Lamp and Charger 22 Oct 2010
A lamp that runs off sunlight. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at the final object in the series: a solar-powered lamp with a charger that can bring cheap light and power to people around the world with no access to...