The British Museum Membercast is a monthly podcast made available to ‘all studious and curious persons’. Comedian, podcaster and super-fan Iszi Lawrence (The Z List Dead List) presents snippets from exclusive Members’ lectures at the Museum, artfully woven together with interviews and her own musings.
Please share your comments and feedback about the podcast! You can talk to us on Twitter @britishmuseum using the hashtag #membercast or email friends@britishmuseum.org
Iszi meets author Siobhan Clarke to talk feasting, revelry and merrymaking in Tudor times in this festive episode.
Iszi meets Alexandra Villing and Victoria Donnellan, curators of the upcoming major exhibition on Troy to discuss the origins of this epic tale.
Iszi meets Julia Tugwell and Olivia Threlkeld, curators of Inspired by the east how the Islamic world influenced western art to discuss the Islamic world’s influence on Western art.
Iszi meets Olenka Horbatsch, curator of the recent Rembrandt: thinking on paper exhibition to discuss the artist’s innovative printmaking process.
Iszi meets Nicole Rousmaniere, curator of the Citi exhibition Manga to discuss the fascinating origins of the Japanese art form and its cultural influence across the globe.
Iszi meets curator Peter Higgs and discusses how ancient Greek buildings and sculptures were assembled – and how they were destroyed.
Iszi explores the special exhibition, Edvard Munch: love and angst using the expert lecture of Giulia Bartrum to guide both you and her through it.
Iszi talks to Curator Daniel Antoine about his work in Bioarchaeology.
Iszi talks to Nick Ashton about recent fieldwork on the coast of East Anglia that has pushed back the evidence of humans in Northern Europe to almost a million years ago.
Iszi talks to Andrew Robinson and tries to get to the bottom of the origins of writing. Was it invented once and transmitted around the world, or independently in places such as Mesopotamia, China and Easter Island? What inspired it: accountancy, statecraft, religion? Why are some ancient writing systems simple in appearance, others bewilderingly complex?
Iszi talks to Project Curator Carine Harmand to find out who Ashurbanipal was and why we know so little about him.
Follow Iszi as she wanders around the Museum out of hours on Halloween. Listen to spooky tales, hear a ghostly interview from a curator who worked at the Museum at the height of the Second World War and discover more about the Iron Age penchant for serving mulled wine by the bucketful.
Stonehenge is an enduring source of mystery, myth and legend. It’s one of the most famous monuments in the world, equal to the pyramids. But who built Stonehenge, and what was their world like?
This month Iszi presents Ian Hislop’s discussion with Philip Attwood, Keeper of Coins and Medals at the British Museum, on the history of protest and poking fun at authority. Later, Iszi takes us on a tour of the Museum’s latest show, the Citi exhibition I object: Ian Hislop’s search for dissent.
This month Iszi presents the second part of the Members’ exclusive lecture from Sir Barry Cunliffe and wonders how and why humans became seafarers.
This month Iszi presents the Members’ exclusive lecture from Sir Barry Cunliffe and wonders how and why humans became seafarers. The human impulse to conquer the sea stems from an inbuilt urge to explore and is perhaps the driving force in human history.
This month Iszi presents the Members’ exclusive lecture from Joyce Tyldesley and explores the creation of a cultural icon, from its ancient origins to its modern context: its discovery, its display, and its dual role as a political pawn and artistic inspiration.
What was it like to live in Britain before the arrival of the Romans? This month Iszi presents the Members’ exclusive lecture from Curator Julia Farley and explores what life was like for the farmers and warriors who lived in these islands over 2,000 years ago.
This month Iszi presents the Members’ exclusive lecture from Carl Heron, Director of Scientific Research, looking at spectacular new research findings, the development of new laboratory facilities, and the many activities of the department.
This month Iszi presents Jean-François Champollion and his extraordinary life through author Andrew Robinson’s exclusive Members’ lecture.
This month Iszi interviews Jonathan Lubikowski all about the redevelopment of The Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery of China and South Asia.
This month Iszi visits Living with gods, an exhibition that examines how people believe, rather than considering what they believe. Living with gods: peoples, places, and worlds beyond is supported by the Genesis Foundation and with grateful thanks to John Studzinski CBE.
This month Iszi talks to curator Marcel Maree all about Egyptian art. She finds out why foot position is so important, if Egyptians had fonts and what it took to become an ancient Egyptian artist.
This month Iszi talks to curator Thomas Hockenhull all about the free exhibition the currency of communism. She finds out why shells are hard to forge, how communist states purposely made their currency feel worthless and even uses Thomas’ crystal ball to look at the future of money.
This month Iszi talks to curator St John Simpson all about the BP exhibition Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia. She discovers the importance of their Tattoos, how they buried their dead and even how their culture used drugs.
Iszi Lawrence talks to Julianne Phippard, the British Museum’s first preventative conservator. They discuss how the Museum keeps the collection safe from pests, light, and chemicals and even gives you some top tips for saving a mobile phone that you’ve dropped in the toilet.
Iszi Lawrence talks to Historian James Delbourgo all about his new biography of Hans Sloane, Collecting the World. They discuss Sloane’s pursuit of ‘universal knowledge’, how he contributed to the founding of the British Museum and his association with the slave trade.
Julia Farley, Curator of British and European Iron Age Collections, once again joins Iszi Lawrence to examine the early years of the Roman conquest. Iszi puts your questions to Julia as they examine life in Roman Britain – from female warriors to druids. Highlighting fascinating facts, Julia and Iszi reveal the people behind the objects.
We invited Iszi Lawrence, comedian and Membercast presenter, to join our guests at a Young Friends’ sleepover and record her experience of spending a night at the Museum.
Professor Peter H Wilson invites Iszi Lawrence to All Souls College, Oxford, for episode 7 of Membercast.
We’re assuming you probably don’t know very much about the Scythians. But that’s OK! Ahead of our major exhibition opening on 14 September 2017, Exhibition Curator St John Simpson has created a handy beginner’s guide to these nomadic warriors, who galloped into the pages of history…
Julia Farley, Curator of British and European Iron Age Collections, joins Iszi Lawrence to examine the early years of the Roman conquest, when allegiances were shifting rapidly. Highlighting extraordinary objects and fascinating characters, Julia and Iszi’s discussion brings the period to life.
Richard Wheeler, National Specialist in Garden History for The National Trust, discusses English landscape designer Capability Brown with Iszi Lawrence.
There are plenty of cats depicted in Museum objects, but did you know that real cats used to live at the Museum? Digital Creative Producer Nick Harris takes us through his podcast on this surprising aspect of the Museum’s history.
Curator Nick Ashton discusses the earliest human occupation of Britain with Iszi Lawrence.
Historian and author of She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth Helen Castor joins Iszi Lawrence in a discussion on the ‘most famous French teenager in history’ (according to Iszi).
What makes us human? Iszi Lawrence, host of the British Museum Membercast, thinks it’s the wearing of socks but fortunately she’s keeping an open mind on the subject. In the second episode of the Membercast, Iszi meets Clive Gamble, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Southampton, to unpick this question.
Welcome to the very first Membercast from the British Museum. The Membercast is a monthly series that lets you enjoy snippets from the exclusive Members’ lectures here at the Museum. It’s presented by comedian, podcaster and BM super-fan Iszi Lawrence.
Listen to the story of how the Jericho Skull was discovered.
Nick Harris, Digital Creative Producer chats with Curator of Modern Money, Tom Hockenhull, and Museum Historian, Marjorie Caygill, about how the Museum dealt with the threat from German bombers during the Blitz.
