Why museums should keep their mummies and shrunken heads

Life and Art from FT Weekend

As a kid, FT associate editor Stephen Bush loved seeing ghoulish things: mummies, shrunken heads, supposedly magical severed hands. He credits these items with teaching him curiosity and a love for museums. So when he hears the argument that human remains do not belong on display, his answer is, unequivocally: if they weren’t stolen, they should stay. On today’s episode, Stephen defends his position to guest host Marc Filippino as they dig into questions of consent, ownership, and cultural context.

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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):

– Stephen’s column about this is here: https://on.ft.com/4dtnTt0

– Stephen is on X @stephenkb

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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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