Stuff the British Stole: a probing podcast on the legacies of imperial theft

Abstract

Laden with brutal stories of theft and looting, the history of European imperialism is often baffling and irksome. The perplexing paradox that peoples and places across the world were divided and conquered, while the artefacts of such people and places could be valued, classified and preserved in genteel European institutions reveals an imperial history that is contradictory and contested. In Radio National’s new podcast Stuff the British Stole, Marc Fennell, a lauded film critic, technology reporter and radio personality, imaginatively explores the layered histories and contemporary relevance of Britain’s stolen objects. In five punchy, well-researched, and entertaining episodes, Fennell offers his listeners an inviting and intimate non-fictional storytelling podcast format. Tracing the not-so-polite history behind objects that the British blatantly took under their reign, Fennell is keen to show that the dynamics of British imperialism are never straightforward. Centring on a single object, each episode takes us on a journey from where the object originated to the moment of seizure, and to where the object is currently housed to exploring its enduring meaning to the everyday lives of descendants of colonised people.