For this episode of Drafting the Past, I interviewed art historian (and lawyer!) Erin L. Thompson. Erin's new book is Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of America's Public Monuments (W.W. Norton, 2022). She has written many essays and op-eds for a wide range of publications, in addition to regularly being interviewed for her expertise as "America's only professor of art crime." We had a fantastic conversation about keeping your audience interested, finding the strange details and asking the questions that intrigue you, and the power of humor in history.
