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Christmas 2021 special episode - interview with Lucy Jago
Lucy Jago, author of 'A Net for Small Fishes', explains how a painting of Frances Howard, Countess of Somerset, resonated particularly with her as she was writing her novel, which follows Frances' involvement in the Overbury murder scandal t… -
Christmas 2021 special episode - interview with Annie Garthwaite
In one of three Christmas 2021 special episodes, host Ploy Radford talks to author Annie Garthwaite, about an illustration in the Neville Book of Hours that helped her capture the personality of Cecily of York, the titular characte… -
Christmas 2021 special episode - interview with Jennifer Saint
In one of three Christmas 2021 special episodes, Past Matters host Ploy Radford talks to author Jennifer Saint about an ancient Minoan object that helped inspire her debut novel Ariadne, which retells the famous Ancient Greek myths of Theseu… -
2021 special - interview with Dr Valerie Schutte
In this bonus special episode, host Ploy Radford talks to Tudor queenship expert Dr Valerie Schutte about that most underrated of Henry VIII's wives - Anne of Cleves and a book of hours she gifted Henry VIII in 1533 (now in the Folger Shakes… -
2021 special - interview with Dr Ian Mortimer
In one of three special episodes, host Ploy Radford talks to Dr Ian Mortimer, historian and author of the hugely popular 'Time Traveller's Guide...' series about the rediscovery of the mirror in medieval Europe. This most basic of objects le… -
2021 special - interview with Dr Ellie Woodacre
In one of three special episodes, host Ploy Radford talks to royal studies specialist Dr Ellie Woodacre about a collection of books that belonged to Joan of Navarre, wife of Henry IV and stepmother to Henry V, of Battle of Agincourt fame. Th… -
2021 special - interview with Kelcey Wilson-Lee
In one of three special episodes, host Ploy Radford talks to Kelcey Wilson-Lee, historian and author of 'Daughters of Chivalry', a biography of the five daughters of Edward I (aka the king in 'Braveheart'). Kelcey picks the Alphonso Psalter … -
The prisons - Colchester Castle
Season 2 of Past Matters ends on a gruesome note with Ben Paites, Collections and Learning Curator at Colchester & Ipswich Museums, discussing the history of the prisons at Colchester Castle. Not for the squeamish this episode covers… -
A pair of huia birds - The Horniman Museum & Gardens
In this episode, host Ploy Radford talks to Jo Hatton, Keeper of the Natural History Collection at the Horniman Museum & Gardens in South London. She picked a pair of taxidermied huia birds from the collection as her underrated objec… -
Two swords - Ipswich Museum
For this episode, host Ploy Radford revisits a museum featured in season 1 – Ipswich Museum. This time, Tim Rousham from the visitor services team at the museum discusses two pattern-welded swords from the 9th century AD. Tune in to this epi…
Past Matters
By Ploy Radford
Museums, galleries and historic houses are treasure troves of items from the past. But how easy is it at these sites to unknowingly just walk straight past an object with an incredible story to tell? In this podcast series host Ploy Radford talks to the experts at different museums, galleries and historic houses about the most underrated objects in their collection, and unveils some fantastic facts.
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