Objects as a Historical Narrative

The podcast episode discusses a remarkable project undertaken by the British Museum to tell a history of the world through objects. Instead of relying on written texts, the project explores how humans have shaped and been shaped by the world through carefully designed and preserved objects. A selection of 100 objects from the museum's collection, ranging from a cooking pot to a credit card, are used to exclusively tell this story. The project gained immense popularity with tens of millions of downloads, inspiring similar projects in various fields. However, the last decade has been marked by turbulence and tragedy, with issues like climate change, political upheaval, and the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the world.