What's Your Map?

Mike Yamashita is a distinguished photographer with over 40 years of experience working for National Geographic. Among his stunning collections of works that capture landscapes, peoples, and animals, Mike filmed two documentaries about Marco Polo for National Geographic in 2004 and 2022.

In this episode of What's Your Map, Mike and Jerry explore Fra Mauro’s legendary world map from 1450. Measuring two metres across, this astonishing record of ancient trade routes, territories, ships, and cities was painted on vellum in vivid colours over a ten year period. One of the most important sources of information for the map was Marco Polo’s book. 

Michael recounts his voyages in the footsteps of Marco Polo, from the original copy of the map in Venice through war-torn regions into Asia. He also reflects on his own remarkable journey as a photographer, including his family’s recent history as Japanese-Americans during the Second World War. 

To see a high-definition image of the map as it is discussed, go to: https://oculi-mundi.com/michael-yamashita

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From historians, scientists and writers to creatives and cultural custodians, people have used maps as a source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration for centuries.

Join award-winning expert Professor Jerry Brotton as each episode he invites a guest to share a map close to their heart - and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and stories behind it.  If you’re fascinated by history, art, adventure and culture, why not become part of a global community of fellow explorers as we ask - What’s your map?

What’s Your Map? is brought to you by Oculi Mundi (‘eyes of the world’), the online home of The Sunderland Collection of antique maps and atlases. For a fully immersive experience, visit Oculi-Mundi.com/podcast to explore each of the maps as you listen.

Image of the Fra Mauro Map, Public Domain. 

 All views and opinions expressed by guests on the podcast are entirely their own and do not represent those of The Sunderland Collection or Whistledown Productions. 

Have you ever seen a shooting star? Did you know that there are different stars in the sky during winter and summer? In this episode, Dr Heidi Hammel takes Jerry on a jaunt around the constellations, and talks to him about the cutting edge of space exploration.

Heidi is an interdisciplinary scientist at NASA and Vice President of Science at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA). In her role at AURA, Heidi works with some of the world’s most famous telescopes such as Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). She studies planetary systems and the origins of life, seeking signs of life on other planets. Heidi and her colleagues also watch the skies for possible interplanetary collisions, keeping our Earth safe.

The Norton’s Star Atlas is over 100 years old. Containing 16 maps of different slices of the sky, it was created by the British schoolmaster, Arthur Philip Norton -  and ignited a young Heidi’s passion for astronomy. Heidi deciphers Map 5 of the atlas for Jerry, picking out familiar constellations, and explaining how even such an old map can still be used to navigate the stars.

She also talks about leading the Hubble team that studied the impact of a comet on Jupiter in 1994, the development of telescope technology, and how she and her colleagues predict extinction level threats. And now… look up!

To see a high-definition image of the map as it is discussed, go to: https://oculi-mundi.com/heidi-hammel

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From historians, scientists and writers to creatives and cultural custodians, people have used maps as a source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration for centuries.

Join award-winning expert Professor Jerry Brotton as each episode he invites a guest to share a map close to their heart - and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and stories behind it.  If you’re fascinated by history, art, adventure and culture, why not become part of a global community of fellow explorers as we ask - What’s your map?

What’s Your Map? is brought to you by Oculi Mundi (‘eyes of the world’), the online home of The Sunderland Collection of antique maps and atlases. For a fully immersive experience, visit Oculi-Mundi.com/podcast to explore each of the maps as you listen.

Image © The Sunderland Collection

 All views and opinions expressed by guests on the podcast are entirely their own and do not represent those of The Sunderland Collection or Whistledown Productions. 

Matthew Edney, Osher Professor at the University of Maine and Director of the History of Cartography project, takes Jerry to 16th century Amsterdam, where silver from the New World is flowing copiously, and maps have been elevated from the scientific designs to sumptuous works of art. 

Joan Blaeu’s vibrant 1662 world map shows the world in twin hemispheres, surrounded by celestial Roman gods, the four seasons, beasts and birds. It is the centrepiece of his family’s master work: the Atlas Maior, or Grand Atlas. Comprising 11 or 12 volumes, over 4,600 pages and 594 maps, this atlas illustrates the high point of Dutch cartographic publishing.
But what motivated the Blaeu family to make such an atlas? Who were their competitors? And why do people make maps at all? Matthew and Jerry discuss this evolution of European cartography in the early Modern period, against the backdrop of the ‘discovery’ of the New World, and the sheer consumerism that came with it.

Matthew also touches on the different theories around map-making in contemporary times; and why cartography “needs to die”. We hear about his work as the director and co-editor of The History of Cartography Project, and the lack of diversity in the field of cartography.

To see a high-definition image of the map as it’s discussed, please go to: https://oculi-mundi.com/matthew-edney

To see a high-definition image of the map as it is discussed, go to: www.oculi-mundi.com/podcast 

Assistant Producer: Daniel Pearce
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From historians, scientists and writers to creatives and cultural custodians, people have used maps as a source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration for centuries.

Join award-winning expert Professor Jerry Brotton as each episode he invites a guest to share a map close to their heart - and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and stories behind it.  If you’re fascinated by history, art, adventure and culture, why not become part of a global community of fellow explorers as we ask - What’s your map?

What’s Your Map? is brought to you by Oculi Mundi (‘eyes of the world’), the online home of The Sunderland Collection of antique maps and atlases. For a fully immersive experience, visit Oculi-Mundi.com/podcast to explore each of the maps as you listen.

Image © The Sunderland Collection

 All views and opinions expressed by guests on the podcast are entirely their own and do not represent those of The Sunderland Collection or Whistledown Productions. 

Jerry meets journalist and best-selling author Sathnam Sanghera, to discuss the impact of a single line on a map.

Splitting families, communities, and religions, and leading to horrific loss of life and displacement, the Partition of India in 1947 sent shockwaves through Southeast Asia and has been described as the “central historic event” in the region’s recent history.

Sathnam examines a map of the Partition from the UK National Archives, drawn in 1948. He and Jerry discuss the impact on identity, religion and the freedom to travel, among other aspects of daily life that changed forever for millions of people - including Sathnam’s Sikh family. They also reflect on what the map does not show, such as the nuances of communities and belief systems, flowing under the borders that it imposes.

To see a high-definition image of the map as it is discussed, go to: https://oculi-mundi.com/sathnam-sanghera

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From historians, scientists and writers to creatives and cultural custodians, people have used maps as a source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration for centuries.

Join award-winning expert Professor Jerry Brotton as each episode he invites a guest to share a map close to their heart - and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and stories behind it.  If you’re fascinated by history, art, adventure and culture, why not become part of a global community of fellow explorers as we ask - What’s your map?

What’s Your Map? is brought to you by Oculi Mundi (‘eyes of the world’), the online home of The Sunderland Collection of antique maps and atlases. For a fully immersive experience, visit Oculi-Mundi.com/podcast to explore each of the maps as you listen.

Image © The National Archives. 

 All views and opinions expressed by guests on the podcast are entirely their own and do not represent those of The Sunderland Collection or Whistledown Productions. 

In this episode, Ed Parsons, digital geographer and geospatial wizard at Google, traces the history of digital mapping. He leads Jerry from its roots in Gerard Mercator’s iconic map projection, to the Google Maps we use today – and beyond….
 
Ed’s chosen map is the “Christian Knight” map, produced in Amsterdam by Jodocus Hondius in 1597. It is the first map to use Mercator’s projection after his death. The projection was hugely influential because it changed the way maps were drawn - but the Christian Knight map is also significant for another reason: it is a great example of maps that were created as propaganda.
 
Together, Ed and Jerry tease out why maps are made, and what purposes they serve. Who is each map meant for, and what does that mean? A Protestant map in 16th century Europe could be a rallying cry for a monarch; and a digital road map in the 20th century could transform how journeys are conceived of, and taken. But will maps always be needed – and are humans always the target audience? Tune in to find out!
 
And to see a high-definition image of the map as it is discussed, go to: https://oculi-mundi.com/ed-parsons

From historians, scientists and writers to creatives and cultural custodians, people have used maps as a source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration for centuries.

Join award-winning expert Professor Jerry Brotton as each episode he invites a guest to share a map close to their heart - and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and stories behind it.  So if you’re fascinated by history, art, adventure and culture, why not become part of a global community of fellow explorers as we ask - What’s your map?
 
What’s Your Map? is brought to you by Oculi Mundi (‘eyes of the world’), the online home of The Sunderland Collection of antique maps and atlases. For a fully immersive experience, visit Oculi-Mundi.com/podcast to explore each of the maps as you listen.
 
Why not continue your exploration of the wonderful world of maps by subscribing? That way you’ll never miss an episode.

Image © The Sunderland Collection

All views and opinions expressed by guests on the podcast are entirely their own and do not represent those of The Sunderland Collection or Whistledown Productions. 

Jerry is joined by self-confessed map geek and wine expert Jane Anson, to talk about the remarkable maps that she created for her book ‘Inside Bordeaux’.

Jane travelled the world as a journalist before moving to Bordeaux over twenty years ago. A passionate connoisseur of French wines, she is a writer, critic, and tutor.

In this episode, Jane unfurls a beautiful map of the chateaux and terroir of the Central Médoc region. Uniquely, it shows both what lies beneath and above the ground. She explains to Jerry the fascinating creative process behind the map, along with the secrets that it unlocks about the taste, history, and prices of local wines. 

To view the map as it is discussed, go to: https://oculi-mundi.com/jane-anson

In What’s Your Map? we speak to people who live, love and work with maps -  making, preserving, interpreting, and being inspired by them. In each episode, we ask our guests to unfold a map that is special to them and to tell us the story that lies behind it. 

Jerry Brotton is a British historian with a specialist interest in cartography. He is Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary University of London and is a regular on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 3. 

Jane is the author of the beautiful book Inside Bordeaux, where she draws on recent – ​​and groundbreaking – research carried out by experts at the University of Bordeaux to profile the terroir of key châteaux and appellations. To purchase a high-definition version of the map discussed today and her book, go to her website: https://janeanson.com/ 

What’s Your Map? is a Whistledown Production and is produced by Emily Uchida Finch 

Instagram: @oculimundimaps
Website: https://oculi-mundi.com/ 

Image: ©EJA Publishing & Seagrave Foulkes Publishers 2024

All views and opinions expressed by guests on the podcast are entirely their own and do not represent those of The Sunderland Collection or Whistledown Productions. 

In this episode, Jerry is joined by Adam Lowe, founder of Factum Arte and the Factum Foundation. Factum is a pioneering digital media studio, working to record, preserve, and restore cultural heritage - particularly where it is in a fragile state.

Adam’s map is Factum’s re-creation of the world map produced by Muhammad Al-Idrisi for King Roger II of Sicily in the 12th century. The map is two metres wide, and made from pure silver.

While this astonishing object was lost to history, Al-Idrisi also produced the famous Book of Roger: an atlas containing a circular world map. Using this precious document and other historical resources, Adam and his team crafted the full-size silver disc based on meticulous research, bringing us as close as possible to the legendary lost map.

To see a high-definition image of the map as it is discussed, go to: https://oculi-mundi.com/adam-lowe

In What’s Your Map? we speak to people who live, love and work with maps -  making, preserving, interpreting, and being inspired by them. In each episode, we ask our guests to unfold a map that is special to them and to tell us the story that lies behind it. 

Jerry Brotton is a British historian with a specialist interest in maps. He is Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary University of London and is a regular on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 3. 

What’s Your Map? is a Whistledown Production and is produced by Emily Uchida Finch 

Instagram: @oculimundimaps
Website: https://oculi-mundi.com/ 

Image © Factum Arte

All views and opinions expressed by guests on the podcast are entirely their own and do not represent those of The Sunderland Collection or Whistledown Productions. 

 In this episode, our host Jerry Brotton is joined by writer and pioneering LBGTQ+ rights activist Roz Kaveney.  Roz is best known for her cultural critiques, poetry, fantasy writing, and editing. 

From Tolkien's draft map of Rohan from The Lord of the Rings, Jerry and Roz launch into a discussion about the importance of fantasy, adventure, and never giving up – no matter the odds and no matter the times that we live in. 

To read more information about the map as it is discussed, go to: https://oculi-mundi.com/roz-kaveney

Roz is a regular contributor to the Guardian and The Times Literary Supplement and a core member of the Midnight Rose collective, which produced fantasy anthologies for Penguin Books. Among other works, she edited Tales from The Forbidden Planet and its sequel. Her novel Tiny Pieces of Skull won the 2016 Best Trans Fiction Lambda Literary Award. In 1972, as part of its TV/TS Drag Queen Group, Roz co-authored the ‘trans manifesto’ published by the UK Gay Liberation Front, and was part of the first London Pride march.

 
In this episode we are joined by Peter Barber, the former head of the British Library's map rooms, which hold more than 4.5 million maps!  Peter is one of the world's foremost experts on European cartography.  He has curated numerous exhibitions, and has written extensively on the history of maps. 

 Exploring a heart-shaped world map created in 1544 by Gemma Frisius, Jerry and Peter unveil the hidden messages from the map maker, who lived at a time of huge upheaval and war. They also revisit Peter's personal history with the fascinating world of maps.

 To view the map while listening to this episode, please visit https://oculi-mundi.com/peter-barber

What's Your Map? is an Oculi Mundi Exploration. Oculi Mundi is the online home of The Sunderland Collection of antique maps and atlases.

In this series, we speak to people who live, love and work with maps -  making, preserving, interpreting, and being inspired by them. In each episode, we ask our guests to unfold a map that is special to them and to tell us the story that lies behind it. 

Jerry Brotton is a British historian with a specialist interest in maps. He is Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary University of London and is a regular on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 3. 

What’s Your Map? is a Whistledown Production and is produced by Emily Uchida Finch 

Instagram: @oculimundimaps
Website: https://oculi-mundi.com/ 

Image © The Sunderland Collection

All views and opinions expressed by guests on the podcast are entirely their own and do not represent those of The Sunderland Collection or Whistledown Productions.