On this episode, Dr. Massimo Lando (City University of Hong Kong) hosts the show and interviews Dr. Michael B. C. Rivera (The Arch and Anth Podcast) about the move they’re making to Hong Kong, and their reflections on the life they’ve led together since the launch of the podcast in May 2019. Both standing in front of the Peace Palace (The Hague, Netherlands), where Massimo has worked since 2017. Michael created The Arch and Anth Podcast on May 13th, 2019, and since then has released 150 episodes. He talks about the early inspirations for creating the podcast and what was involved in the init ..read more

Today, Stefan Milosavljevich (Stefan Milo) talks to us about his inspiration and process of creating YouTube videos all about archaeology, anthropology and human evolution. From Stefan’s video on the Swahili Culture dated between 0 to 1500 CE. How did Stefan get started on YouTube and what first inspired him to start doing videos on his passion subjects of archaeology and anthropology? What does he believe are the keys to producing a quality video? What have been the most popular videos on the channel and how is his approach of using academic sources for his videos an important factor in des ..read more

On today’s episode, Dr. Lena Karvovskaya (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) is on the podcast to talk about her current work as a research data manager, as well as her earlier PhD research studying theoretical linguistics and the grammar of possession. In complex data management, how does Lena work with users with projects that need new connections? In what ways does her building community between users and her university library help research data get collected and shared? How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed her role in these large-scale scientific projects? We also talk about Lena’s PhD thes ..read more

Aqeel Ihsan (York University) is a history PhD candidate focusing on South Asian diaspora currently living in Canada. Topics of Aqeel’s interest include South Asian diaspora’s memories of the 1947 partition of India into two republics (now India and Pakistan), concepts of ‘home’ and ‘belonging’, and how grocery stores, restaurants and kitchens at home serve as spaces for ethno-national identities to be established and continually evolve. Aqeel with a Partition survivor he interviewed for his MA research. What inspired Aqeel to move from working as a high school history teacher and return to ..read more

In this episode, Dr. Katie Tucker (The Solomonic-Zagwe Encounters Project) takes us through her multitudes of osteoarchaeological research experiences, beginning with The SolZag Project that centers upon the interactions between the Zagwe Kingdom (900 – 1270) and the Solomonic Dynasty (1270 – 1974). Katie analysing skeletal remains for the SolZag project, Lalibela (2015). For Katie’s work at the Gännätä Maryam Rock Church and the Washa Mikael Rock Hewn Church, near Lalibela, what interesting environmental and historical aspects characterize these medieval-period sites? What do we know so far ..read more

For this episode, Dr. Abidemi Babatunde Babalola (University of Cambridge) was interviewed about his work on the history of early glass production in West Africa, as evidenced through excavations at the site of Igbo Olokun in the Yoruba city of Ile-Ife in southwestern Nigeria. Glass-related artifacts excavated from Igbo Olokun, Ile-Ife (left: glass beads.; right: fragments of glass making crucibles). As a Smuts Research Fellow at Cambridge’s Center of African Studies, Tunde teaches Master’s students about African archaeology, organizing practical activities using his own research materials t ..read more

For this edition of the podcast, Sofia Carrera (University of Michigan) is on the show to speak about her new research looking at how early life adversity affects health, hormones and development, with her newest paper out speaking on these themes in the study of gelada monkeys. A gelada unit during the morning social hour. What is the landscape like in the Ethiopian Highlands, and how do gelada monkeys find food and interact with each other in this environment? How What are glucocorticoids and how do they give animals the ability to better respond to environmental or social stressors? What ..read more

Today, Dr. Noel Hidalgo Tan (SoutheastAsianArchaeology.com; Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre; SEAMEO SPAFA) is on the show to talk about public outreach, rock art and building capacity in regional archaeology in Southeast Asia. Noel presenting at a Pint of Science Thailand event in 2017, entitled “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Elephants”. Noel currently works with the education and culture departments in Bangkok, Thailand, as part of the work done by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts (SEAMEO SPAFA). We speak about the role of archaeology ..read more

In this episode, Dr. Sarah Son (University of Sheffield) introduces us to her work in Korean studies, performing human rights research and monitoring, and investigating news reporting and media, popular culture and social movements, as well as nation-building, identity, security and peace-building on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea from Odusan Observatory, Paju, South Korea. What career and personal life influences led to Sarah living in East Asia and now researching historical and sociopolitical relations between North Korea and South Korea, as well as nation-building projects and identit ..read more

On this episode of the Arch and Anth Podcast, Joshua Kumbani (Recentring AfroAsia; University of the Witwatersrand) talks about his work in music archaeology, ethnomusicology and experimental archaeology, studying the evidence of Later Stone Age artefacts used for music-making from the southern Cape of South Africa. A bullroarer from Matjes River – played by being wound up between two pieces of string and released. How long ago does the study of music-making and musical instruments in archaeology date back to? How did Josh and his colleagues establish a working group to map and investigate t ..read more