Thinking with Things - listen to new podcasts

Marcus du Sautoy

The Ashmolean and University of Oxford today launch a new video podcast series: Thinking With Things. In each short episode a prominent University of Oxford academic unpicks the story behind a single object from the Ashmolean’s collections that relates to their research.

Astrophysicist Professor Chris Lintott, presenter of the BBC’s Sky at Night, has selected a 19th Century Silver-gilt carriage clock and describes equations of solar time.

Gerontologist Professor Sarah Harper uses a child mummy from the Egyptian collections to discuss child mortality rates and compare ancient and modern populations. 

English Literature scholar Professor Dame Hermione Lee discusses the painting Ennui  by Walter Richard Sickert, and considers how it inspired writer Virginia Wolf to write a pamphlet on his work in 1934.

Among the other contributors to the series are Marcus du Sautoy, Oxford University’s Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, and Professor David Macdonald, a wildlife conservation expert.

Ever since it was founded in 1683, the Ashmolean has been a place where academics and researchers come to study and be inspired by the collections. These podcasts show that whether you are interested in German Literature, Astrophysics, or Arabic, there is something for everyone in the Museum.

Created by some of the University of Oxford’s greatest minds, we hope these podcasts will encourage visitors to seek out their own hidden treasure in the Ashmolean’s vast collection.

You can follow the podcast in the museum, with every object featured highlighted with podcast signage. There will also be a leaflet you can collect from the Information Desk on the ground floor.

The series will also be available to download via iTunes U or from the University of Oxford’s Podcast page. 

Read original story on the Ashmolean's website.

For further information contact the Ashmolean Press Team: press.office@ashmus.ox.ac.uk | 1865 278187