The Civilisations Podcast

The Civilisations Podcast episodes:

• 05.03.2018

  Episode 10: David Olusoga

  David Olusoga talks to Viv Jones about the making of Civilisations. They discuss his two episodes, First Contact and The Cult of Progress. David says that the great arts and history documentaries he watched growing up inspired him to become...

  
• 04.26.2018

  Episode 9: Simon Schama

  Simon Schama talks to Viv Jones about the making of Civilisations. They discuss the highs and lows of filming such an ambitious global series, from being granted rare access to breathtaking cave paintings, to coming face-to-face with a bolting horse...

  
• 04.19.2018

  Episode 8: Matika Wilbur, Chip Colwell and Ernest House Jr.

  In the 8th programme in the Civilisations TV series, David Olusoga looks at how artists reacted to the colonialism of the 19th century. He travels to America to see art by both white and Native American artists who were documenting...

  
• 04.12.2018

  Episode 7: Colourful Stories

  Unusual stories of the bizarre and gruesome things that have been used as paint pigments from Kassia St Clair, author of The Secret Lives of Colour. Plus, why did Van Gogh create portraits of the man who sold him his...

  
• 04.05.2018

  Episode 6: How Civilisations Collapse and Understanding the Aztecs

  Contrary to myth and misconception, the Aztecs were not a bloodthirsty, inhumane, deeply patriarchal and authoritarian society. Viv Jones is disabused of everything she thought she knew about this sophisticated civilisation by Dr Caroline Dodds Pennock. Dr Guy Middleton calls...

  
• 03.29.2018

  Episode 5: Caravaggio

  Viv Jones delves into the BBC archives to find out how Caravaggio’s tempestuous life - of brawls, duels, and prison escapes - is reflected in his provocative paintings. Featuring archive interviews with his biographers Helen Langdon and Andrew Graham-Dixon, curator...

  
• 03.22.2018

  Episode 4: Mary Beard, and Brian Dillon on Ruin Lust

  Mary Beard reveals the thinking behind The Eye of Faith, the fourth programme in the Civilisations series. Depicting the divine in art has been a fascination for Mary since she studied for her PhD on Roman religion. Plus, she reveals...

  
• 03.15.2018

  Episode 3: Ansel Adams and Escapist Prison Landscapes

  Stories of two American photographers. A few years ago, Alyse Emdur found a Polaroid of her family posed in front of a painted beach scene in the visiting room of the prison where her brother was an inmate. 'I was...

  
• 03.08.2018

  Episode 2: Mary Beard, David Attenborough and Janina Ramirez

  Mary Beard talks to Viv Jones about the making of Civilisations. Plus, David Attenborough's speech from the Civilisations launch event, and art historian Dr Janina Ramirez tells you why the original Civilisation series is still well worth watching 50 years...

  
• 03.01.2018

  Episode 1: Saving Mummies Under Sniper Fire and Ice Age Art

  Viv Jones hears how archaeologist Monica Hanna rescued mummies under sniper fire in Egypt, and visits the British Museum to speak with Jill Cook about the earliest human art.

  
• 03.01.2018

  Welcome to The Civilisations Podcast

  Welcome to this new BBC podcast.