Episodes to download
Neil MacGregor updates his famous radio series with an object chosen to represent 2020.
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5/5 Neil MacGregor's last object in his world history - a solar-powered lamp and charger.
Mummy of Hornedjitef
On Neil's first visit to the British Museum he was intrigued by the Mummy of Hornedjitef.
Death
More programmes from A History of the World in 100 Objects related to death and ritual.
Where is the history of humanity told?
The history of humanity - as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum in London - is once again in North America. This week Neil MacGregor, the museum's director, is looking at Europe's engagement with the rest of the world in the 18th century. Today he tells the story of a map, roughly drawn on deer skin, that was used as the British negotiated for land in the area between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi. It was probably drawn up by a Native American around 1774. Neil...
What is the history of the world?
This week Neil MacGregor's history of the world is looking at how the global economy became cemented in the 19th century, a time of mass production and mass consumption. He tells the story of how tea became the defining national drink in Britain - why have we become so closely associated with a brew made from leaves mainly grown in China and India? The object he has chosen to reflect this curious history is an early Victorian tea set, made in Staffordshire and perfectly familiar to all of...
What instrument did Neil MacGregor use to navigate the world?
Today he is with an instrument that first helped Europeans to navigate with precision around the world - a marine chronometer. The one Neil has chosen actually accompanied Darwin on his great voyage to South America and the Galapagos Islands - a journey that was to help lead him to his revolutionary theories on...
What is the story of a Russian plate?
Today he tells the remarkable story of a Russian plate. It was made in 1901 in the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St Petersburg. Twenty years later it was painted over as a propaganda tool for the new Communist Revolution - decorated in the same factory that had...
Who is the director of the British Museum?
Throughout this week, Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum in London, has been with things that help explain the modern world. He has explored political and sexual politics and freedoms, and now reflects on the impact of guns and weapons in the modern world - especially in Africa where thousands of children have been participants in brutal conflicts. He tells...
Where is the history of the world in one hundred objects?
A history of the World in one hundred objects arrives on the Indonesian island of Java. This is the series that offers a new history of humanity through the individual objects that time has left behind. These items are all ...
Where is the history of humanity told through one hundred objects from the British Museum?
The history of humanity as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum is back in Africa. This week Neil MacGregor is exploring high status objects from across the world around 700 years ago. Today he has chosen a ...
What civilizations did Neil MacGregor live in?
It's easy to forget that the civilisations of Tang China, the Islamic Empire and the Maya in Mesoamerica were all at ...
What is Neil MacGregor's history of the world?
This week Neil MacGregor's history of the world is examining the forces that helped shape our way of life and ways of thinking today. He began with the political revolution that exploded In Russia in the 1920s and today he ...
Where is Neil MacGregor's world history?
Neil MacGregor's world history as told through objects at the British Museum. This week he is looking at how objects moved around the medieval world in the context of war, trade and faith and the quite incredible degree of contact ...
Where is the museum where Neil MacGregor meets the Gods?
The history of humanity as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum in London is in Mexico. This week Neil MacGregor is meeting the Gods - exploring the sophistication of religious art in the 14th and 15th centuries ...
Where did Neil MacGregor explore?
This week he is exploring the great empires of the world around 1500 - from the Inca in South America to the Ming in China and the Timurids in the Middle East. ...
