Program 801: Museum Matters with Mary Beard; Fascinating Museums; Soul of South Korea

Beloved English classics scholar Dame Mary Beard offers wisdom on how to tackle the vast collection of the British Museum, and ponders the ethics and responsibility of retaining the cultural antiquities of other lands. Then a cartoonist shares his love of museums and how they transform us by illustrating memorable moments at his favorites across North America. And a Korean American travel writer explains why Seoul is an ideal introduction to traveling in Asia, and recommends a relaxing island counterpoint to the bustling, 24-hour capital.

• Classicist Mary Beard, author of "Emperor of Rome" (Liveright)
• Bob Eckstein, author/illustrator of "Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums" (Princeton Architectural Press)
• Travel writer Chaney Kwak

• Dame Mary Beard explores day-to-day life for the head of the Roman Empire in her book "Emperor of Rome." She also writes an online column for the Times Literary Supplement. In a recent entry, she anticipates the exhibition of the Bayeux Tapestries at the British Museum in 2026.
• Mary mentions a recent exhibit at the CSMVS in Mumbai that placed antiquities from the collections of the British Museum, the John Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and Staatliche Museen zu Berlin next to artifacts from museums in India. Parts of that exhibit are now in a special exhibit at the British Museum, and others are being sent out in mobile exhibits to smaller communities across India.
• Rick narrates a free guided tour of the British Museum, which includes maps to locate the main sites in the museum.
• Bob Eckstein shares impressions from dozens of museums across North America in his illustrated book "Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums." He also co-hosts an occasional podcast called "The Cartoon Pad."
• Chaney Kwak offers advice for sampling the best of Seoul in three days.
• Chaney profiles the "haenyeo" -- women seafood divers of Juju Island.
• Chaney also writes about his near-tragic Arctic cruise ship experience in "The Passenger," which he describes in detail on Travel with Rick Steves program #641 from June 2021.