National Museum of Australia – Audio on demand program
Summary: The National Museum of Australia's audio series explores Australia's social history: Indigenous people, their cultures and histories, the nation's history since 1788, and the interaction of Australians with the land and environment. The series includes talks by curators, conservators, historians, environmental scientists and other specialists.
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- Artist: National Museum of Australia
- Copyright: © 2007-2018 National Museum of Australia
Podcasts:
Curator Liz Gillroy discusses the development of exhibitions at volunteer museums in northern New South Wales. She examines methodologies, education, training and support from the wider museum sector.
Curator Jay Arthur on the creation of an exhibition on the struggle for Indigenous civil rights from 1920 to 1970 for the National Museum. She examines the notion of the ‘untold’ story and the challenge in assembling objects to tell this story.
Collections manager Liz Marsden outlines the objectives of the Victoria Police Museum, examines its exhibitions and how the presentation of stories can create challenges in regard to the emotional ‘charge’ experienced by some visitors.
Frank Nicholas from the School of Veterinary Science outlines Charles Darwin’s visit to Australia on the HMS Beagle in 1836. What Darwin saw contributed to the wealth of evidence he assembled from around the world showing that species have evolved.
Researcher, author and Irishman Richard Reid and photographer Brendon Kelson examine the role of the Irish in Australia, to be featured in a forthcoming National Museum book, The Scattered Children of St Patrick.
Historian Barry Butcher explores the work of four Australians who contributed to the growing corpus of Darwinian science from the 1860s to the 1890s: William Edward Hearn, Robert David Fitzgerald, Walter Baldwin Spencer and Alexander Sutherland.
Theologian Neil Ormerod examines debates over creationism, creation science and intelligent design, and how they muddied the waters of what was held in the Catholic Encyclopedia over 100 years ago regarding the theory of evolution.
Science journalist and broadcaster Robyn Williams presents a humorous summary of proceedings from the Charles Darwin symposium.
Historian Paul Turnbull summarises Charles Darwin’s arguments in Origin, its diverse reception in British and European circles from 1860 to 1900, and how the natural history of humanity came to be envisaged in Darwinian terms.
Historian Tom Frame explores Charles Darwin’s personal profile and describes the impact of his scientific views, his attitudes and opinions on religion.
Museum director Craddock Morton launches a symposium for examining and understanding the life and times of Charles Darwin, the impact of his published work and his scientific legacy. Includes an introduction by ABC Radio National science broadcaster Robyn Williams.
Archaeologist Colin Groves outlines the fossil history of human evolution. He examines how some parts of the human fossil record appear to depict gradual change, while others seem better interpreted by the model of punctuated equilibria.
Historian Tony Barta examines to what extent Charles Darwin’s ideas were misused by others and discusses the tragic effect of Darwinian eugenics in Australia and Germany.
Historian Iain McCalman explores the dominant scientific attitudes to ideas of evolution in Britain in the years before Darwin’s Origin is published. He explains why evolution was widely regarded as a lunatic theory and was resisted so fiercely.
The impact of adaptation and evolution on the development of modern agricultural crops and the use of genetically modified technologies is outlined by evolutionary biologist Jeremy Burdon.
