Time to Eat the Dogs
On Science, History, and ExplorationEpisode 43: The 1948 Arnhem Land Expedition
Howell Walker photographing at Umbakumba, 1948. Photograph by Charles P Mountford. Courtesy of the State Library of South Australia, PRG487/1/2/209/1.
Historian Martin Thomas discusses the 1948 Arnhem Land expedition and the controversy that surrounds it. His new documentary, Etched in Bone (Ronin Films), which he co-directed with Beatrice Bijon, traces the events of the expedition and its effects upon the aboriginal communities of Northern Australia.
Beatrice Bijon (left) and Martin Thomas (right)
Episode 42: Mapping the Polar Regions
Cole Kelleher walks through the Adélie penguin colony at Cape Royds
Cole Kelleher talks about his work for the Polar Geospatial Center at the University of Minnesota, an agency that uses satellite data to support polar scientists in the field. In addition to making maps, Kelleher works with polar scientists, and coolest of all, has teamed up with Google to provide street views of McMurdo Station in Antarctica (see links below).
Cole Kelleher
Links:
Antarctica Street Views on Google:
Episode 41: My Interview with Radio Canberra
Broadcast journalist Jolene Laverty interviews me for ABC Radio Canberra. Laverty talks with me about my research, podcast, and recent work at Australian National University. Special thanks to ABC Radio for permission to rebroadcast this interview.
Links:
Episode 40: Watching Vesuvius
Sean Cocco talks about the 1631 eruption of Vesuvius and its impact on Renaissance science and culture. Cocco is an associate professor of history at Trinity College. He is the author of Watching Vesuvius: A History of Science and Culture in Early Modern Italy.
Sean Cocco
Space Odyssey by Michael Benson (book review)
Here’s my review of Michael Benson’s new book Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece in Commonweal Magazine.
Episode 39: Wild Sea
Dr Joy McCann discusses the great circumpolar ocean that surrounds Antarctica. McCann is the author of Wild Sea: A History of the Southern Ocean. She is a historian at the Centre for Environmental History at Australian National University.
Dr. Joy McCann
Links:
Joy McCann’s Blog: Out of the Blue
Episode 38: The Egyptologist
Margaret Murray unwraps an Egyptian mummy in 1908
After Napoleon occupied Egypt, Europeans became obsessed with the ancient cultures of the Nile. In Britain, the center of Egyptology research was University College London (UCL). At the heart of the UCL program was the Egyptologist, Margaret Alice Murray. During this golden age of Egyptian Archaeology, Murray was training students, running the department, and publishing dozens of books. So why haven’t we heard of her?
Kate Sheppard
Historian Kate Sheppard discusses the life and work of Murray. Sheppard is an associate professor of history at Missouri University of Science and Technology. She is the author of The Life of Margaret Alice Murray: A Woman’s Work in Archaeology.
