The Gray Area with Sean Illing

The rise and fall of America's monuments

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Jamil Smith talks with Erin Thompson, professor of art crime and author of Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of America's Public Monuments. They discuss why we honor horrible people from the past in metal and stone, what effects these objects have on our present, and what's keeping so many of these monuments in place throughout America.

Host: Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Guest: Erin Thompson (@artcrimeprof), author; associate professor of art crime, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

References: 

  • Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of America's Public Monuments by Erin Thompson (Norton; 2022)
  • A viral tweet (June 10, 2020)
  • "What's the point of beheading a statue?" by Erin Thompson (Art News; June 22, 2020)
  • "The Historian Scrutinizing Our Idea of Monuments" by Alexandra Schwartz (New Yorker; March 3)


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    This episode was made by: 

    • Producer: Erikk Geannikis
    • Editor: Amy Drozdowska
    • Engineer: Patrick Boyd
    • Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: Amber Hall

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