Episodes
Wednesday May 18, 2022
S2: Scandal
Wednesday May 18, 2022
Wednesday May 18, 2022
Provocative, intriguing, and perhaps salacious – it’s hard to resist a story about a scandal.
Hear a discussion about the legacy of Liverpool losing its World Heritage status, find out what makes a book scandalous and discover why a portrait of Lord Leverhulme caused international outrage.
Wednesday May 04, 2022
S2: Underwater
Wednesday May 04, 2022
Wednesday May 04, 2022
With Liverpool being a maritime city, a strong relationship with the sea is inevitable.
Hear from an open water swimmer about plunging into freezing water and how this can help to free the mind in difficult times and improve mental health.
Dive beneath the waves to find out how to play with an octopus and discover what it feels like to make friends with such an amazing and intelligent creature.
Get an expert’s view on mangrove trees, how they are being affected by pollution and why it's important for us to protect them.
Tuesday May 03, 2022
S2: Hair
Tuesday May 03, 2022
Tuesday May 03, 2022
For centuries we have been cutting, dying, curling, straightening, and braiding our hair.
But is hair just for expressing personal style – or is there more we can discover about society, history and even ethics?
Look back to the Roman period and hear how hairstyle influencers from elite society spread the latest hair trends amongst the masses.
Discover the social and political history surrounding Afro hair and get a personal perspective about the importance of celebrating Black hair today.
Find out how a bizarre dress from our collections - made of human hair extensions - caused mixed reactions from audiences and consider the ethics behind using human hair for fashion.
Wednesday Apr 06, 2022
S2: My body
Wednesday Apr 06, 2022
Wednesday Apr 06, 2022
All bodies are worthy of love and respect.
**Content warning: this episode explores stories relating to eating disorders and abortion**
Hear the inspiring journey of one Instagrammer, from difficulties with body image to arriving in a place of body acceptance.
Through the etchings in our collections by celebrated artist Paula Rego, discover the personal and political stories behind Rego’s abortion series, with commentary from the artist’s son, Nick Willing.
Look back at sculptures from ancient Greece to discover how body ideals from the ancient world have influenced our thinking about beauty today.
Finally, find out how one artist sets out to challenge representations of male body image and masculinity in the media, creating work from an LGBTQ+ perspective.
Wednesday Mar 23, 2022
S2: Identity
Wednesday Mar 23, 2022
Wednesday Mar 23, 2022
Who are you and how do you express yourself? In this episode, explore how some people reach out to connect with their ancestors and hear a discussion about the complex identity of scousers with African and Afro-Caribbean heritage. Delve into the world of tattooing as we learn about the original sailor tattoos and look at why marking our skin can help shape our identities in the present day.
Tuesday Mar 01, 2022
Season 2 Trailer: National Museums Liverpool Podcast
Tuesday Mar 01, 2022
Tuesday Mar 01, 2022
Subscribe to the National Museums Liverpool Podcast.
Our podcast weaves together stories from our collections with the experiences of people in Liverpool today, exploring connections between the past and the present.
Friday May 14, 2021
S1: Protest
Friday May 14, 2021
Friday May 14, 2021
In episode six of the National Museums Liverpool Podcast, Jane Garvey introduces stories on protest, each with their own unique link to the museums and Liverpool.
Act One: Black Lives Matter
Act Two: Pottery of Protest
When Jeff Speakman, Assistant Curator of Archaeology at Museum of Liverpool, went on an archaeological dig at The Manchester Dock, him and his team didn’t know what to expect. Imagine their surprise when, not only did they unearth 3 tonnes of pottery, but found chamber pots with the royal crest on them. Jeff unpacks how they go there, what they mean and what they say about our need for personal protest today, just as it was over 200 years ago.
Act Three: Liverpool 8 Against Apartheid
In the 80s the people of L8 were tireless in their support of the anti-apartheid struggle. The Museum of Liverpool will host a new display highlighting the history of the community’s role in the anti-apartheid movement, and the fight to free Nelson Mandela and in this story we'll hear some of the voices from the frontline of the fight.
Friday Apr 30, 2021
S1: Movement
Friday Apr 30, 2021
Friday Apr 30, 2021
In episode five of the National Museums Liverpool Podcast, Jane Garvey introduces stories on movement, each with their own unique link to the museums and Liverpool.
Act One: Anthony Walker Foundation
The unprovoked racially motivated murder of Liverpool teenager Anthony Walker is one of the most shocking incidents in Merseyside’s history. His family, including mother Gee Walker were determined that Anthony's death was not just a statistic and set about creating an anti-racism movement with the Anthony Walker Foundation. The AWF’s most recent campaign is Speak Out Stop Hate and aims to encourage everyone to report hate crime, be it through the foundation or policing channels.
In this story we talk to Ben Osu, Strategy Lead at the foundation about how Anthony’s family set about moving on the conversation about racism in Britain through educational programmes and facilitating better, easier reporting and support.
Act Two: Wilson The Rope Figure
Seized! is the on-display collection for the National Border Force Museum, which sits inside the Maritime Museum. Steve Butler, Curator of the Border Force National Museum Collection talks us through an item that people can see called Wilson, a small rope toy figure created by a Border Force officer to pass out to children of immigrant ships that try to break down barriers as these frightened people are confronted by huge British naval ships and uniformed officers.
Act Three: The Dockers Umbrella
The Liverpool Overhead Railway opened in 1893 and closed in 1956, it ran for 6 miles along Liverpool’s waterfront taking in the docks and the city centre. In this story Curator of Land Transport, Sharon Brown takes us on a ride through its technological advances to its ultimate demise and subsequent reinvigoration through a display in the Museum of Liverpool.
Friday Apr 16, 2021
S1: Isolation
Friday Apr 16, 2021
Friday Apr 16, 2021
In episode four of the National Museums Liverpool Podcast, Jane Garvey introduces stories on isolation, each with their own unique link to the museums and Liverpool.
Act One: The Importance of Being Social
Joe is about to turn 16, lockdown took away his social life and in particular the underage nightclub he attended every Monday night. It's a story we're hearing a lot since March 2020, but the difference in this story is that Joe is a young man who has Down's Syndrome. In his own words Joe details how isolation has impacted him.
Act Two: Splendid Isolation
The Isle of Socotra in the Indian Ocean is a wonder of biodiversity comparable to the famous Galápagos Islands. In 1898 Scottish explorer, ornithologist, botanist and then Director of Liverpool Museums (World Museum) Henry Ogg Forbes undertook a joint expedition with the British Museum to the Yemeni Island. Their discoveries were vast and in this story we speak to a successor of Forbes, Dr John-James Wilson, about the collection and to Kay van Damme, who is currently residing on the Island conducting further research.
Act Three: Stuck on the Suez
As the huge container ship the Evergiven ran aground and blocked passage through the Suez Canal, interest in the waterway was piqued. It was stuck for just under a week, imagine being stuck there for 8 years as the Yellow Fleet was between 1967-1975. We speak to Cath Senker author of the book Stranded in the Six-Day War, who details this often forgotten moment of diplomatic history.
Friday Apr 02, 2021
S1: Work
Friday Apr 02, 2021
Friday Apr 02, 2021
In episode three of the National Museums Liverpool Podcast, Jane Garvey introduces stories on work, each with their own unique link to the museums and Liverpool.
Act One: Transitioning on the Force
Detective Sergeant Christian Owens was the first person to transition on Merseyside police and as such has turned his experiences into lessons for forces across the country. In this story he details how difficult it can be to be both trans and a police officer.
Act Two: Unemployment on Merseyside
Mike (Mick) Jones’s huge mural hangs in the People’s Republic Gallery at the Museum of Liverpool. It depicts Liverpudlian’s fight for the right to work in the 20th Century taking in post-WWI marches as well as Liverpool’s lowest ebb, the 1980s. We hear the stories of those who fought for work and those who helped.
Act Three: The Sun of Europe
Elisabetta Sirani (1638-65) was a 17th Century Baroque artist whose success defied her era in which women were denied academy training. Lead Curator of International Fine Art at the Walker Art Gallery, Kate O’Donoghue, talks us through Sirani’s remarkable but tragically short life.