Welcome to the fifteenth podcast in our series ‘Life in the Time of Coronavirus’, with Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian.

In conversation with Tamar Garb, Director of the IAS, Lonnie discusses the impact of the current conjunction of coronavirus and Black Lives Matter in the collections and public programmes of the Smithsonian; the specific role of the National Museum of African American History and Culture; the role that material culture plays in helping us to understand history; Lonnie's experience in South Africa and his approach to museums, reconciliation, reparation and truth telling. Finally, Lonnie explains the approach of the Smithsonian to the current crisis and the virtual space.

Music by Smallhaus. Sound effects by the BBC Sound Archive. ​​​

Speaker: Lonnie Bunch III (Smithsonian) and Tamar Garb (IAS, UCL)

Produced and edited by Albert Brenchat-Aguilar

Communications by Patricia Mascarell Llombart

Executive Producer: Tamar Garb