Better Known cover image

Better Known

Latest episodes

undefined
Jun 18, 2023 • 28min

Rachel Nuwer

Rachel Nuwer discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Rachel Nuwer is an award-winning freelance science journalist and author who regularly contributes to the New York Times, Scientific American and National Geographic. Her first book, Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking, took her to a dozen countries to investigate the multi-billion dollar illegal wildlife trade. Her new book, I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World, delves into the history, science, politics and culture of MDMA. She lives in Brooklyn. MDMA has been used by therapists since the 1970s https://www.amazon.com/Feel-Love-Quest-Connection-Fractured/dp/1635579570/ Most health problems and deaths attributed to MDMA are the result of prohibition https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-61734334 Composting is a really easy way to support the environment https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/essays-culture/compost-new-york-city-zero-waste/ Trophy hunting contributes to conservation in Africa https://www.biographic.com/africas-conservation-conundrum/ Arresting poachers won't solve the problem of illegal wildlife trade https://www.amazon.com/Poached-Inside-World-Wildlife-Trafficking/dp/0306825503 Rabbits are incredible pets and should be kept indoors http://allaboutrabbitsrescue.org/rabbits-101/ This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm
undefined
Jun 11, 2023 • 29min

Jack Ashby

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. Platypuses https://www.amazon.co.uk/Platypus-Matters-Extraordinary-Australian-Mammals/dp/0008431477/ Ali from Sarawak https://theconversation.com/i-am-ali-wallace-the-malay-assistant-of-alfred-russel-wallace-an-excerpt-85738 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 Stockholm’s Biologiskamuseet https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/biologiska-museet Tasmanian devils https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/tasmanian-devil Gran Paradiso National Park https://www.cicerone.co.uk/five-ways-to-enjoy-italys-gran-paradiso-national-park This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm
undefined
Jun 4, 2023 • 29min

Christian Donlan

Christian Donlan discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Chris Donlan is a writer and journalist. He was born in Los Angeles and now lives in Brighton with his family. His first book, The Unmapped Mind, was shortlisted for the PEN Ackerley prize. Ellen Raskin https://www.eurogamer.net/something-solid-in-a-world-of-liars-the-tattooed-potato-and-the-most-haunted-address-in-new-york-city HP https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/minds-behind-the-brain-stanley-finger/1101398997 William Marlow https://artuk.org/discover/artists/marlow-william-17401813 I and My Chimney, a short story by Herman Melville https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2694/2694-h/2694-h.htm LA Dept of Water and Power building https://waterandpower.org/museum/Construction_of_the_GOB.html Hubert Julian https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-black-eagle-of-harlem-95208344/ This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm
undefined
May 28, 2023 • 29min

Kate Harford

Kate Harford discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Rev. Kate Harford serves as University Chaplain at Oxford Brookes University, and the European vocations adviser for the Metropolitan Community Churches as well as a recovering bookseller and keen amateur flautist. She's currently studying for a master's degree at the Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education and has a particular interest in queer and disabled theologies with an emphasis on mental health and neurodiversity. Metropolitan Community Church https://www.mccchurch.org/ Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch https://www.denofgeek.com/books/an-introduction-to-the-rivers-of-london-series/ The Story Museum, Oxford https://www.storymuseum.org.uk/ ADHD in girls and women https://chadd.org/for-adults/women-and-girls/ Valerie Coleman https://www.vcolemanmusic.com/ The Anchoress https://iamtheanchoress.bandcamp.com/ This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm
undefined
May 21, 2023 • 30min

Jeremy Musson

Jeremy Musson discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Jeremy Musson is an author of many books on the country house and historic buildings and related subjects, How to Read A Country House, English Ruins, The Drawing Room, Up and Down: Stairs the history of the country house servant, and a contributor or contributing editor to many more, including with Prof Sir David Cannadine, The Country House: Past, Present and Future. Born in London in 1965, he grew up in London and Surrey, and after a law degree, at University College, London, and an M Phil in renaissance history, at the Warburg Institute, he worked for the Victorian Society as an architectural adviser, before moving to the National Trust, in East Anglia, as a junior curator. From 1995, he worked for Country Life magazine, as architectural writer and then architectural editor. Since 2007, he has been an independent author, expert and consultant, advising on the care of numerous historic buildings, including St Paul’s Cathedral, Bevis Marks Synagogue, Red House, Chartwell - Churchill’s country home - and Oxburgh Hall and Hardwick Hall, as well as advising on a number of new architectural projects in sensitive contexts. An occasional television presenter on architectural subjects, he was the presenter and co-writer of the two BBC 2 series of The Curious House Guest. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, he also teaches for the University of Cambridge, the University of Buckingham and New York University (London programmes). He sits on the FAC for Ely Cathedral, is a trustee of the Historic Houses Foundation, and is chair of the Hall Bequest Trust. He is also a former Trustee of the Stowe House Preservation Trust and the Pevsner Book Trust. He is married with two grown up daughters, has lived in Cambridge since 1993, and is an active member of the Champion of the Thames Rowing Club in Cambridge. Stanway https://www.stanwayfountain.co.uk/ The Dennis Severs House https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/jul/25/dennis-severs-house-recreates-his-eccentric-tours-based-on-found-tapes The churchyard garden, Little St Mary’s Church in Cambridge https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/little-st-marys-churchyard The Compton Mortuary Chapel https://www.wattsgallery.org.uk/visit/explore-our-site/watts-cemetery-chapel Homes Sweet Homes by Osbert Lancaster https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/osbert-lancaster Friendships by Mark Girouard https://catholicherald.co.uk/the-writer-who-goes-where-historians-dont-dare/ This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm
undefined
May 14, 2023 • 28min

Richard Fisher

Richard Fisher discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Richard Fisher is the author of The Long View: Why We Need to Transform How the World Sees Time, a senior journalist for BBC.com and an honorary research associate at University College London. He tweets @rifish and writes the newsletter The Long View: A Field Guide. Kent Cochrane https://slate.com/technology/2014/04/amnesia-patient-kc-was-kent-cochrane-the-hippocampus-makes-memories-personal.html Hutton’s Unconformity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esqxYO5vsEI The Future Library https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220630-the-norwegian-library-with-unreadable-books The sublime https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20221205-the-upsides-of-feeling-small Google Earthview https://earth.google.com/web/ The U-shaped happiness curve https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00148-020-00797-z This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm
undefined
May 7, 2023 • 28min

Fiona Bae

Fiona Bae discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Fiona Bae is the author of a book Make Break Remix: The Rise of K-style by Thames & Hudson, which was featured in the Financial Times, Guardian, Monocle Radio, Wallpaper magazine, British Vogue, and Le Figaro among others. Fiona was born and raised in Korea and is proud of her heritage and passionate about promoting her country and culture. Following graduation from Seoul’s Yonsei University, she has lived around the world, including stints at the UN in New York and four years in Hong Kong, and now resides in London. Fiona has her own consultancy that looks to bridge Korean culture and the rest of the world by supporting multinational companies and brands to enter Korea and promoting Korean artists, designers and architects internationally. She handles communications for Frieze Seoul, represented the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and worked with museum M+ in Hong Kong. She is now also helping Thames & Hudson to discover more book ideas related to Korea. When not evangelising about Korea, she spends her time with her husband George, a twelfth-generation gin distiller, and her son Jun. Fiona and George are developing a Korean gin together. Rise of the K-style https://www.wallpaper.com/art/make-break-remix-korean-culture-book Korean aesthetics https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/mak-and-bium-imperfection-and-emptiness-in-korean-aethetics Illegality of getting a tattoo in Korea https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjb5dd/why-does-south-korea-ban-tattooing Korea has the world's lowest fertility rate https://www.npr.org/2023/03/19/1163341684/south-korea-fertility-rate The history of gin-making https://www.masterofmalt.com/distilleries/thames-distillers-branded-gin-distillery/ Coronet Theatre https://www.thecoronettheatre.com/ This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm
undefined
Apr 30, 2023 • 30min

Mark Jones

Historian Mark Jones discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Mark William Jones is Assistant Professor in History at University College Dublin. He is among the leading English language historians of modern Germany and a recognized authority on the history of the Weimar Republic. He has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time and Irish radio’s Talking History. Mark was educated at Trinity College Dublin, the University of Tübingen, and Cambridge University. He holds a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy and has held visiting fellowships at the Free University of Berlin and Bielefeld University. He will speak at the Hay Festival in 2023. Advance praise for his book, 1923. The Forgotten Crisis in the Year of Hitler’s Beerhall Putsch describes it as ‘gripping’ (Alexander Watson), ‘fascinating’ (Katja Hoyer), ‘masterful’ (Robert Kershaw), and ‘scary’ (Peter Fritzsche). The deportation of Jews from Munich in Autumn 1923 https://www.jta.org/archive/jews-deported-from-bavaria-by-hundreds Model Railway Museum in Hamburg https://mechtraveller.com/2019/11/review-miniatur-wunderland-in-hamburg/ Rommel in 1942 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportpalast_speech German grunge rock bands https://www.annenmaykantereit.com/ The island of Rügen https://theculturetrip.com/europe/germany/articles/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-rugen-islands-germany/ Victor Klemperer’s book the Language of the Third Reich https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1998/12/03/destiny-in-any-case/ This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm
undefined
Apr 23, 2023 • 28min

Peggy Orenstein

Peggy Orenstein discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Peggy Orenstein is the author of the national bestseller Unraveling: What I Learned While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater. Her other books include the New York Times bestsellers Boys & Sex, Girls & Sex, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Waiting for Daisy and the classic Schoolgirls. How (and why) to Shear Sheep https://www.iamcountryside.com/sheep/how-to-shear-a-sheep/ That you can tell the history of the world through color https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/the-colourful-history-behind-the-science-of-colour/ Women’s needlework is radically political https://medium.com/the-establishment/crafts-long-history-in-radical-protest-movements-8300f59a3e54 The two questions that undermine creativity https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210513-the-anxiety-that-limits-your-creative-genius Sing to your elders https://gospelmusichymnsing.com/operation-sing-again/ The Jewish homesteading movement of North Dakota https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/188059776.pdf This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm
undefined
Apr 16, 2023 • 29min

David Pickard

David Pickard discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. David Pickard studied Music at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, before starting his career as Company Manager of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Following this, David worked at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park and was the Assistant Director for the Japan Festival (1991) before becoming Sir John Drummond’s deputy at the European Arts Festival. In 1993 he was appointed Chief Executive of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment where he significantly increased the orchestra’s artistic reputation and international profile, helping to establish the OAE as the pre-eminent period-instrument orchestra in the world. In 2001 he was made General Director of Glyndebourne Festival where during his tenure he created an extensive digital programme including online streaming, big-screen and cinema relays and broadened the company’s audience base through specially priced performances for young people and a pioneering education programme. In November 2015, David took up the role of Director of the BBC Proms. Since then he has introduced a number of initiatives, all in support of the Proms’ central mission: to bring ‘the best of classical music to the widest possible audience.’ These have included an innovative series called ‘Proms at…’ exploring music in new spaces, both in London and around the UK. He has introduced greater diversity among the composers, conductors and soloists showcased by the Proms - both in gender and ethnicity - and has also made youth music-making and youth audiences a major focus. He has expanded the range of genres explored in the festival to include gaming music, contemporary jazz, world music and, in 2018, a twenty minute animated light show projected onto the external and internal façades of the Royal Albert Hall, accompanied by a new work for orchestra and chorus by Anna Meredith. Women composers https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/latest/great-women-composers/ Lorenz Hart https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2002/08/15/he-took-manhattan/ Digital meat thermometer https://www.aarp.org/home-family/your-home/info-2022/importance-of-meat-thermometers.html I, An Actor by Nigel Planer and Christopher Douglas http://thedabbler.co.uk/2012/10/1p-book-review-i-an-actor-by-nicholas-craig/ Franconian Switzerland https://www.thecrowdedplanet.com/visit-franconian-switzerland/ Piano duets https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/06/arts/the-ins-and-outs-of-piano-duets.html This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode