Jack Ashby discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Jack Ashby is the Assistant Director of the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge. His zoological focus is on the mammals of Australia, but his work more broadly centres on engaging people with the natural world, chiefly through museums, and exploring the colonial biases that museums often exhibit. His books, Platypus Matters: The Extraordinary Story of Australian Mammals and Animal Kingdon: A Natural History in 100 Objects combine these scientific and social stories.

From 2022-23 he was an Art Fund Headley Fellow. He is a trustee of the Natural Sciences Collections Association, an Honorary Research Fellow in UCL Science and Technology Studies, and formerly sat on the Council of the Society for the History of Natural History.

1. Platypuses https://www.amazon.co.uk/Platypus-Matters-Extraordinary-Australian-Mammals/dp/0008431477/

2. Ali from Sarawak https://theconversation.com/i-am-ali-wallace-the-malay-assistant-of-alfred-russel-wallace-an-excerpt-85738

3. Biases in natural history museum displays https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2019/october/more-male-than-female-specimens-in-natural-history-collections.html

4. Stockholm’s Biologiskamuseet https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/biologiska-museet

5. Tasmanian devils https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/tasmanian-devil

6. Gran Paradiso National Park https://www.cicerone.co.uk/five-ways-to-enjoy-italys-gran-paradiso-national-park

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