Freakonomics Radio
635. Can a Museum Be the Conscience of a Nation?
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Show notes
Nicholas Cullinan, the new director of the British Museum, seems to think so. “I'm not afraid of the past,” he says — which means talking about looted objects, the basement storerooms, and the leaking roof. We take the guided tour.
- SOURCES:
- Nicholas Cullinan, director of the British Museum.
- RESOURCES:
- "Inside the British Museum: stolen treasures and a £1bn revamp," by Alice Thomson (The Times, 2025).
- "British Museum gems for sale on eBay - how a theft was exposed," by Katie Razzall, Larissa Kennelly, and Darin Graham (BBC, 2024).
- "British Museum chief Nicholas Cullinan: ‘I start with the idea that everything is possible,'" by Jan Dalley (Financial Times, 2024).
- "Who Benefits When Western Museums Return Looted Art?" by David Frum (The Atlantic, 2022).
- The Will of Sir Hans Sloane, by Sir Hans Sloane (1753).
- The Portland Vase (The British Museum).
- EXTRAS:
- "Stealing Art Is Easy. Giving It Back Is Hard." by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
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