Uncovering Past Lives: Exhuming Human Fossils in Berlin's Museums
The podcast series "Dig Where You Stand", created by Ben Schuman-Stoler and Peter Matthews, delves into the history and ongoing concerns related to colonial-era body parts held in Berlin’s museums. This documentary-style podcast is available on various podcast platforms and offers a unique exploration of the background of how these human remains, often taken during colonial times, ended up in Berlin collections and the broader ethical, historical, and cultural implications of their retention.
Ben Schuman-Stoler, an experienced audio professional who previously worked at Blinkist, emphasises the power of audio. He believes that people often listen to podcasts while doing something else, potentially influencing their thoughts about their surroundings. Schuman-Stoler's collaborator, Peter Matthews, the digital editor of an unspecified website, had to learn the art of asking concise questions for podcasting.
The podcast is structured into three hour-long episodes, each dense with interviews and archival audio tape. Schuman-Stoler values heat-seeking curiosity over fluency in a particular medium, while Matthews expresses a desire for thousands of people to investigate and put pressure on museums to address the world-spanning crime of holding colonial-era body parts.
The creators, Schuman-Stoler and Matthews, aim to produce deep, complex, and long podcasts rather than focusing on boosting download numbers. They discovered their subject after attending a symposium on colonial human remains in Berlin last November. Since its launch, listeners from various cities, including Gothenburg, Sweden and New York, have shared stories of cultural artefacts and remains in their own cities.
The podcast series sheds light on the origins and acquisition contexts of the body parts and artifacts, specifically colonial-era expropriations. It discusses Berlin museums' roles in holding and displaying these items. Engaging with perspectives from historians, ethicists, museum professionals, and community stakeholders, the podcast places the issue within broader conversations about colonialism, museum ethics, and post-colonial justice.
While none of the direct search results explicitly detail the podcast "Dig Where You Stand," this interpretation aligns with typical themes addressed by initiatives that examine colonial histories in museums, especially in Berlin, where colonial-era collections and their provenance have become subjects of ethical scrutiny and public discussion.
Spotify, aiming to recoup its investment in the podcast industry by chasing ad revenue, may find a valuable asset in the serious and engaging content of Dig Where You Stand. The head of the Museum of Pre- and Early History in Berlin mentioned that Vienna, the British Museum, and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg also have thousands of human remains, suggesting a global scope for this important conversation.
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In the midst of their discussions on colonial-era artifacts, Schuman-Stoler and Matthews might find it insightful to delve into the realm of lifestyle and home-and-garden podcasts, as such shows could potentially offer unique perspectives on cultural heritage preservation. As they continue to shed light on the ethical implications of museum collections, they may consider exploring how these themes intersect with more domestic issues, crafting a new narrative that fosters a deeper understanding of our shared history.
