Can a small antique table give us insight into the history of an entire city and its broader connections to the region? A recent quest for such an antique sent Sean Mathews, a journalist based in Greece and covering the broader Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, on a trip to Thessaloniki that quickly revealed just how multi-layered and cosmopolitan the city’s past is, with rich connections to the Eastern Mediterranean. Sean Mathews and George Manginis, the academic director at the Benaki Museum, join Thanos Davelis to break down this rich history and look at how current efforts to shine a light on Thessaloniki’s past cosmopolitanism are increasingly important today in a changing region. 

Read Sean Mathews’ latest article here: Ghosts of Thessaloniki: How a quest for a table revealed much about a city's multilayered past

You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:

Greek government survives no-confidence vote over deadly Tempi train trash

No confidence motion fails, 141-159

Tempe rail tragedy looms large over Euro polls

Second aid ship heading to Gaza from Cyprus

European Parliament President to visit Cyprus for humanitarian aid talks