logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2024
21m 22s

Why museums should keep their mummies an...

Financial Times
About this episode

As a kid, FT associate editor Stephen Bush loved seeing ghoulish things: mummies, shrunken heads, supposedly magical severed hands. He credits these items with teaching him curiosity and a love for museums. So when he hears the argument that human remains do not belong on display, his answer is, unequivocally: if they weren’t stolen, they should stay. On today’s episode, Stephen defends his position to guest host Marc Filippino as they dig into questions of consent, ownership, and cultural context.   

-------

Want to take our survey for a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones? Here’s the link, and here are the terms and conditions.

We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. And please share this episode with your friends!

-------

Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): 

– Stephen’s column about this is here: https://on.ft.com/4dtnTt0

– Stephen is on X @stephenkb

-------

Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Jan 2025
Our final episode: thank you
This is it. Today we present you a massive special episode full of wisdom, which answers your final pressing questions. Listeners wrote in from around the world — from Perth to Virginia to Prague — asking about music, cooking, careers, home, fashion and how to live a good life. L ... Show More
59m 39s
Dec 2024
Cultural predictions for 2025: the year we accept the chaos
It’s a time-honored tradition: for the third year in a row, FT Weekend editor-at-large Matt Vella joins Lilah to reflect on this past year, and muse on the coming one. We’ve asked listeners to send their predictions and wishes for 2025, and today we’re talking through them! Will ... Show More
34m 37s
Dec 2024
The perfect winter survival guide
Today we are bringing you a winter survival guide, full of deceptively small tips that will make winter unmeasurably better. How do we best appreciate these cold, dark months? How do we stay stimulated, but also reject the grind? Our FT Weekend Magazine’s resident “winter goddess ... Show More
29m 50s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2020
Episode 24: A Place to Rest
Lots of food for thought in this episode as Allyson discusses a Shona headrest from Zimbabwe in the Met’s collection: how do such objects come… 
26m 18s
Jul 2024
CULTURED PEOPLE ONLY! Let's Get Cultured 🎨🎵 | GET REAL S4 EP14
Get Real Podcast Description 📲 Download DIVE Studios' daily wellness app (for FREE) at https://www.getmindset.com/ In this episode, the hosts discuss everything about 'culture,' from books, galleries, and museums to classical music! Please comment below if you have any activitie ... Show More
1h 3m
Oct 1
Serpopsychology (WHAT’S CREEPY?) with Frank McAndrew
Are you creepy? How would you know? What’s “creepy” as opposed to scary or eerie? We talk to the pioneer of this research, Serpopsychologist, Dr. Frank McAndrew, a professor emeritus at Knox College. We chat: dates that give you the willies, Weary Willie the Clown, haunted dolls, ... Show More
1h 9m
May 2025
S4E1. Season 4 Premier!
We’re back with Season 4 of Tatreez Talk! In this episode, we catch you up on what we’ve been up to—from Amanne’s workshops with the San Francisco Public Library during SWANA and Arab American Heritage Month, to Lina’s recent trip to Japan and her exploration of sustainability th ... Show More
1h 7m
Dec 2024
E860 Going Deeper with Nick and Sandy - The Ultimatum
Welcome back to The Viall Files: Going Deeper with the Ultimatum’s Nick and Sandy  Season 3 of The Ultimatum just wrapped and there are so many unanswered questions. What was their relationship like before the experience? Why did they come on the show? Why was Sandy overwhelmed b ... Show More
1h 27m
Sep 2024
Material Concerns: Jurassic Park Pt. I
You had so many great questions about Hannah's forthcoming book, Clever Girl and our Jurassic Park episode all about spectacle —and we answer a lot of them in part one of this Material Concerns episode! As a reminder, for just $5 USD/month you'll get part two, our extensive backl ... Show More
30m 44s
Jul 30
The Worn & Wound Podcast Ep 409: Listener Hot Takes!
This week on the podcast, we’re returning to a favorite topic: hot takes! We asked our communities on Instagram, YouTube, and our Worn & Wound+ Slack channel to send us their spiciest takes on the watch world so we could react to them and they absolutely did not disappoint. And, ... Show More
1h 2m
Jan 2024
How to Prevent Dementia, with Richard Restak
According to the WHO, Alzheimer’s ranks as the seventh leading cause of death globally. By 2050 or earlier in the absence of a breakthrough, the number of people aged 65 and older with Alzheimer’s is projected to reach 12.7 million people. But the more you know about dementia, th ... Show More
42 m
Sep 14
Is Woke Cool Again? Why The Dirtbag Left Are Pivoting
Another day, another Cumtown alumni going viral for doing something politically sound - from Adam Friedland's interview with Ritchie Torres to Stavros Halkias challenging his podcast guest on transphobic rhetoric, the former courters of controversy have apparently done a complete ... Show More
27m 43s
Oct 2
S5E3. A Generational Collaboration in Tatreez with Tala & Niveen from Palmera Art
TALA & NIVEEN ARE THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER TATREEZ ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS BEHIND PALMERA ART (@palmera_art). Their story is one of weaving memory and heritage across borders—from Jerusalem to Kuwait, Saudi, Canada, and now Dubai—while never losing sight of their Palestinian roots. In t ... Show More
47m 52s