635. Can a Museum Be the Conscience of a Nation?

Nicholas Cullinan, the new director of the British Museum, seems to think so. “I'm not afraid of the past,” he says — which means talking about looted objects, the basement storerooms, and the leaking roof. We take the guided tour.

SOURCES:Nicholas Cullinan, director of the British Museum.RESOURCES:"Inside the British Museum: stolen treasures and a £1bn revamp," by Alice Thomson (The Times, 2025)."British Museum gems for sale on eBay - how a theft was exposed," by Katie Razzall, Larissa Kennelly, and Darin Graham (BBC, 2024)."British Museum chief Nicholas Cullinan: ‘I start with the idea that everything is possible,'" by Jan Dalley (Financial Times, 2024)."Who Benefits When Western Museums Return Looted Art?" by David Frum (The Atlantic, 2022).The Will of Sir Hans Sloane, by Sir Hans Sloane (1753).The Portland Vase (The British Museum).EXTRAS:"Stealing Art Is Easy. Giving It Back Is Hard." by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Why is it safer to fly in an airplane than drive a car? How do we decide whom to marry? Why is the media so full of bad news? Also: things you never knew you wanted to know about wolves, bananas, pollution, search engines, and the quirks of human behavior.

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