Best Pitt Rivers Museum Podcasts (2026)

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6. Competitive Collecting and Suspicious Shipwrecks 38:39

Play Pause

4y ago38:39

38:39

Fingerprints Episode 6 The country’s first major art and antiquities collection now sits in the Ashmolean Museum. It reveals untold stories from the ancient world including shipwrecks, competitively collecting, underhand dealings and how classical art was used by aristocrats at the royal court to boost their status and standing. Join lecturer Aliso…

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5. Hunting the Minotaur 45:32

4y ago45:32

45:32

Fingerprints Episode 5 Curator Andrew Shapland shows us a tiny fragment which reveals the story of the man who set out to hunt down the mythical minotaur. Sir Arthur Evans went on to become known as the father of archaeology, but his journey reveals a culture war between empires in the Mediterranean. Find a transcript of this episode here Read more…

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4. A King from the Trenches 38:12

4y ago38:12

38:12

Fingerprints Episode 4 Curator Paul Collins takes us on a journey with a 3000 year old king uncovered by an Indian soldier digging a trench in World War I, and explore what he has to tell us about the formation of Iraq as a nation state. Find a transcript of this episode here Read more Read more about the sculpture here or see an image here Speaker…

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3. Displaying People 34:15

4y ago34:15

34:15

Fingerprints Episode 3 Mallica Kumbera Landrus, the Ashmolean’s Keeper of Eastern Art, takes us on a journey with 200 clay figures from India, displayed alongside a human zoo at the Colonial and India Exhibition of 1886, and later used to teach young British colonial officers at Oxford’s Indian Institute. Find a transcript of this episode here Read…

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2. The Looted Masks 59:38

4y ago59:38

59:38

Fingerprints Episode 2 Dan Hicks takes us on a journey with three bronze masks from the West African city of Benin, through the hands of soldiers, collectors, and curators, and along with special guests considers the responsibility that European museums have towards looted art in their collections. Find a transcript of this episode here Read more V…

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1. A Place For Questioning 1:01:52

4y ago1:01:52

1:01:52

Fingerprints Episode 1 Join the Ashmolean Museum’s director, Xa Sturgis, as he questions what a museum is for. He introduces us to Powhatan’s Mantle, one of the museum’s founding objects, and one inextricably linked with British colonial history. From there, he traces the Ashmolean’s story to the present day, as special guests explore how we can tr…

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Fingerprints trailer – a new Ashmolean podcast starting 21 January 2:01

4y ago2:01

2:01

Every object in the Ashmolean has passed from hand to hand to reach the Museum. In a new podcast, we uncover the invisible fingerprints left behind by makers, looters, archaeologists, soldiers, rulers, curators, and many more. These stories of touch reveal the ways in which the forces of conflict and colonialism have shaped Britain’s oldest Museum.…

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See-touch-think-wonder 36:18

6y ago36:18

36:18

Stories, objects and pictures as methods of engagement in research in assistive living technologies. Gemma Hughes, Joe Wherton and Beth McDougall discuss methods to engage people in research; visual and tactile methods, stories and story-boards, and co-production. The team counsel that some engagement activities don’t always go according to plan, a…

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Technology, aging and progression: from amulets to robots 42:34

6y ago42:34

42:34

Discussions about the protective powers of amulets, alarms and jewellery are interrupted by the arrival of a cuddly robot. Researchers, Museum facilitators and community members discuss the concerns of using technology to support ageing populations. Dr George Leeson of Oxford’s Institute of Population Ageing introduces the group to Paro, a therapeu…

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Living objects - ageing bodies 43:54

6y ago43:54

43:54

Researchers and community members go behind the scenes at the Pitt Rivers Museum to learn more about the care and ethics involved in conservation. Museum conservators, Jem and Andrew, provide insights into their work which illuminate new ways of understanding the complex nature of the Museum collections as living objects. Discussion about how objec…

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Technologies: love or hate them? 43:25

6y ago43:25

43:25

The context of the Pitt Rivers Museum stimulates discussion about human-technology relations. Gemma Hughes asks Dr Laura van Broekhoven, Director of the Pitt Rivers Museum, about the unique nature of the Museum. Dr Sara Shaw describes the differences between Utopian discourses of technology and the ways in which people relate to technology in every…

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The magic of everyday technologies 47:22

6y ago47:22

47:22

Exploring how everyday objects support health and wellbeing: medicines containers and mobility aids. Researchers, community members and Museum facilitators explore technologies and artefacts from the Museum collections in conversation about how people personalise, adapt and make things work for them. Discussions encompass: faith and trust in medici…

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Introducing Messy Realities: the Secret Life of Technology 43:42

6y ago43:42

43:42

Professor Trisha Greenhalgh and colleagues discuss what assistive living technologies are and how they engaged the public in exploring assistive living technologies at the Pitt Rivers Museum. Professor Trisha Greenhalgh and Dr Gemma Hughes discuss what assistive living technologies are and how they can be researched. They have a conversation which …

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Body Arts: The Panará People 19:21

14+ y ago19:21

19:21

Dr Elizabeth Ewart of the University's Institute of Anthropology and Jaanika Vider, a former student, discuss body adornment and identity in Amazonia,. in particular among the Panará people of Central Brazil whose concepts of personhood and socially 'human' bodies differ from Western ideas.By Elizabeth Ewart, Jaanika Vider

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Body Arts: Feathers, Beads and Paint 15:26

14+ y ago15:26

15:26

Professor Peter Rivière and Director of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Dr Mike O'Hanlon, discuss decorative applications of feathers, beads and paint to the body,. drawing on their respective fieldwork in lowland Amazonia in South America and the Highlands of Papua New Guinea.By Peter Rivière, Mike O'Hanlon

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Body Arts: Scent, Pain and Exchange 13:31

14+ y ago13:31

13:31

Professor Jeremy MacClancy of Oxford Brookes University talks to Helen Hales of the Pitt Rivers Museum about themes including scent and perfume,. expressions of womanhood among a minority hill tribe in Pakistan, and the role of pain, degradation and empowerment in marking the body.By Jeremy MacClancy, Helen Hales

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Body Arts: The Naga People 18:57

14+ y ago18:57

18:57

Dr Vibha Joshi, a specialist in the Naga culture of northeast India, and Julia Nicholson from the Pitt Rivers Museum look at the unique traditions of hair and body ornaments,. as well as tattooing, among different Naga groups, and discuss the effects of colonisation and Christianity upon their culture.…

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Body Arts: The Experience of Decoration 22:57

14+ y ago22:57

22:57

Professor Howard Morphy of the Australian National University talks to Helen Hales of the Pitt Rivers Museum about the body as a canvas and the internal experience of external decoration, notably in the context of Aboriginal Australia.By Howard Morphy

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Body Arts: The Flexible Body 19:06

14+ y ago19:06

19:06

The Museum's Director, Dr Mike O'Hanlon, and Professor Stanley Ulijaszek from the University's Institute of Anthropology discuss how the body can be shaped both physically and metaphorically and the idea of bodily norms.By Mike O'Hanlon, Stanley Ulijaszek

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Body Arts: Henna - The Plant that Binds 17:11

14+ y ago17:11

17:11

Anthropologist and filmmaker Udi Mandel Butler and Alan Mandel explore the art of Henna in Birmingham. From techniques of application to how it is used to decorate the body and bring people together in celebration at festive occasions among Asian, North African and Arab communities in the UK.By Udi Mandel Butler, Alan Mandel

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Body Arts: Travelling Ink 25:26

14+ y ago25:26

25:26

Through conversations with leading tattooists from around the world, this film explores the artistry, philosophy, meaning and history of tattooing at the site of the 2010 London Tattoo Convention. The film conveys the importance of travelling and the tattoo convention, the commitment of members of the tattoo community to their art, and the challeng…

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Body Arts: Kakau and Batok Talk: Tattoos from Hawaii and the Philippines 20:29

14+ y ago20:29

20:29

At the conclusion of her fieldwork in the mountains of northern Luzon in the Philippines, anthropologist Analyn Salvador-Amore filmed an encounter with Hawaiian tattoo practitioner Keone Nunes and a Butbut tattoo practitioner Whang-ud. The conversations reveal a deep connection with traditional tattooing practices from Polynesia to the Philippines.…

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Body Arts: Bodies Beautiful 6:44

14+ y ago6:44

6:44

Four women from Oxford take a course in film-making with local film-maker Sharon Woodward from Oxford Film and Video Makers. They explore the changing cultural meaning of body decoration in British society.By Rosalind Miles, Sara Parsons, Cait Sweeney, Louise Webster

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Body Arts: What is Body Art? 6:00

14+ y ago6:00

6:00

Sixth-form artists from Cheney School search out the decorated and opinionated residents of Oxford to get their views on Body Art.By Pitt Rivers Museum

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Body Arts: Tatau and Ta Moko 18:28

14+ y ago18:28

18:28

Maori artist George Nuku and Samoan artist Rosanna Raymond talk about the significance of traditional Polynesian tattoo designs and some of the stories behind them.By George Nuku, Rosanna Raymond

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Shrunken Heads at the Pitt Rivers Museum 24:21

14+ y ago24:21

24:21

The display of shrunken heads at the Pitt Rivers Museum fascinates many visitors. In this podcast, Dr Laura Peers, curator, explains where they come from, why they were made, and the curatorial issues involved in displaying them. http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk.By Laura Peers

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Introduction (4) to the Pitt Rivers Museum 9:55

14+ y ago9:55

9:55

Writing cabinet and boats. Fourth in a series of 4 podcasts made in 2010 in which Andrew McLellan (Education) and Kate White (Access) discuss the Museum, its displays and their meaning today. Further collections history, research, databases and virtual tour can be found via www.prm.ox.ac.ukBy Andrew McLellan, Kate White

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Introduction (3) to the Pitt Rivers Museum 19:26

14+ y ago19:26

19:26

Lights and folk. Third in a series of 4 podcasts made in 2010 in which Andrew McLellan (Education) and Kate White (Access) discuss the Museum, its displays and their meaning today. Further collections history, research, databases and virtual tour can be found via www.prm.ox.ac.ukBy Andrew McLellan, Kate White

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Introduction (2) to the Pitt Rivers Museum 9:16

14+ y ago9:16

9:16

A sense of discovery. Second in a series of 4 podcasts made in 2010 in which Andrew McLellan (Education) and Kate White (Access) discuss the Museum, its displays and their meaning today. Further collections history, research, databases and virtual tour can be found via www.prm.ox.ac.ukBy Andrew McLellan, Kate White

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Introduction (1) to the Pitt Rivers Museum 8:41

14+ y ago8:41

8:41

A guide to the unique displays of this intimate museum. First in a series of 4 podcasts made in 2010 in which Andrew McLellan (Education) and Kate White (Access) discuss the Museum, its displays and their meaning today. Further collections history, research, databases and virtual tour can be found via www.prm.ox.ac.uk.…

Pitt Rivers Museum Podcasts

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Pitt Rivers Museum

Oxford University

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Fingerprints

Ashmolean Museum

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Messy Realities - the Secret Life of Technology

Oxford University

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6. Competitive Collecting and Suspicious Shipwrecks 38:39

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5. Hunting the Minotaur 45:32

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4. A King from the Trenches 38:12

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3. Displaying People 34:15

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2. The Looted Masks 59:38

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1. A Place For Questioning 1:01:52

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Fingerprints trailer – a new Ashmolean podcast starting 21 January 2:01

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See-touch-think-wonder 36:18

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Technology, aging and progression: from amulets to robots 42:34

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Living objects - ageing bodies 43:54

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Technologies: love or hate them? 43:25

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The magic of everyday technologies 47:22

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Introducing Messy Realities: the Secret Life of Technology 43:42

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Body Arts: The Panará People 19:21

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Body Arts: Feathers, Beads and Paint 15:26

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Body Arts: Scent, Pain and Exchange 13:31

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Body Arts: The Naga People 18:57

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Body Arts: The Experience of Decoration 22:57

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Body Arts: The Flexible Body 19:06

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Body Arts: Henna - The Plant that Binds 17:11

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Body Arts: Travelling Ink 25:26

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Body Arts: Kakau and Batok Talk: Tattoos from Hawaii and the Philippines 20:29

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Body Arts: Bodies Beautiful 6:44

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Body Arts: What is Body Art? 6:00

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Body Arts: Tatau and Ta Moko 18:28

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Shrunken Heads at the Pitt Rivers Museum 24:21

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Introduction (4) to the Pitt Rivers Museum 9:55

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Introduction (3) to the Pitt Rivers Museum 19:26

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Introduction (2) to the Pitt Rivers Museum 9:16

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Introduction (1) to the Pitt Rivers Museum 8:41