The world is still fascinated by the ancient city of Pompeii. Its residents and buildings trapped in time, frozen in terror as the volcanic ash and debris rained down on them from the erupting Mount Vesuvius, nearly two thousand years ago. Forgotten for centuries, the discovery of the preserved city meant that archaeologists and historians could study, in fine detail, what an ancient roman city had looked like. 

But what does it mean to study the past in such intense detail? And how do archaeologists build a story of the ancient world from the objects that they find?

For this episode I spoke to archaeologist Rebekka Valcke, who has worked at the site for eight years. Rebekka’s speciality lies in Roman pottery and ceramics. I hope you enjoy my conversion with her about what life is like on the site, if the Ancient Romans were as obsessed with sex as they’re often depicted and if she ever worries about Mount Vesuvius erupting again… 

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Most of us learn history in a classroom at school. From the ancient Greeks to World Wars, we’re given a context in which to understand the world and our place in it. So when a black child enters a UK classroom, do we want the first time they see someone who looks like them to be an intellectual powerhouse, a nation-changing warrior, or an enslaved person? 

Kwame Boateng from The Black Curriculum explains how they're addressing the lack of Black British history in the UK curriculum, where the boundaries of time and geography of the British Empire come in to play, his favourite black historical figure John Blanke, and The Black Curriculum’s campaign to get black history incorporated into the education system, 365 days of the year.

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How do you write trans characters for children that have agency and complexity, with journeys that don't end at transition?

Kyle Lukoff is a writer, former librarian, and the 2020 winner of the Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature award for his beautiful picture book, “When Aidan Became a Brother”.

We discussed how came to write a book with a trans main character after publishing two books that explored the world of words and poetry, what it means to weave stories for children that are diverse, and what it means when a writer with a platform as prominent as JK Rowling begins a war of words against the trans community which can have very real world consequences. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.