What's Your Map?

This week, Jerry meets Dr. Richard A. Pegg, the Director and Curator of Asian Art at the MacLean Collection, Asian map aficionado, and proud owner of Blue China Map shoes! 

The MacLean Collection is an astonishing private collection of Asian art and global cartography. Based in Chicago, it is home to over 5,000 historic artefacts and more than 35,000 maps.

In this episode, Richard and Jerry discuss two majestic maps from the Qing Dynasty, known colloquially as the ‘Blue China Maps’: the ‘Complete Geographical Map of the Everlasting Qing Dynasty’ by Huang Qianren (pron. Hwang Chien-ren) (c.1820) and the ‘...

In this episode of WHAT’S YOUR MAP? we are transported to the wild mountains of Southern Norway as Jerry speaks with adventurer, climber, and trained nurse Cecilie Skog. An extremely accomplished explorer, Cecilie has climbed all seven of the world's tallest mountains, trekked unsupported across Antarctica, and skied to the North Pole! 

In this intimate conversation, Cecilie guides us through an area close to her home and her heart: the Hurrungane Range in Jotunheimen, known as the ‘Home of the Giants’. Cecilie shares her trusty hiking map of the Range, which she has used for years to plan...

The British Podcast Awards GOLD winning podcast returns on March 25th!

From historians, scientists and writers to creatives and cultural custodians, people have used maps as a source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration for centuries.

Join award-winning expert Professor Jerry Brotton, as in each episode he invites a guest to share a map close to their heart - and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and stories behind it.

So if you’re fascinated by history, art, adventure and culture, why not become part of a global community of fellow explorers as we ask - Wh...

In this episode, Jerry meets with acclaimed nature and travel writer Michaela Vieser. The focus of their conversation is an interactive map that charts 98 distinct sounds and silences from around the globe. 

The creation of this geographical sound archive is connected to her new book co-written with Isaac Yuen, The Sound Atlas: A Guide to Strange Sounds Across Landscapes and Imagination. From the swaying, lush meadows of the Altai Mountains, to the unique jingles at Tokyo’s train stations, Michaela guides Jerry through a selection of her favourites on this auditory adventure. 

Together, they discuss the...

In this episode, Jerry meets with Dr. Jago Cooper to examine a map of an ancient cave network on Isla de Mona in the Caribbean Sea. The map pinpoints the locations of markings that depict Indigenous beliefs and also trace 500 years of cross-cultural encounters. 

Jago is the Director of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, a world class art museum based in Norwich with a unique perspective on how art can foster cultural dialogue and exchange. It is the first of its kind in formally recognising art as a living lifeforce and acts as a conduit between the a...

In this episode, Jerry speaks with the illustrious Barbara A. Bond, the former cartographic researcher in the UK’s Ministry of Defence. Together, they pour over an important but unassuming silk escape map of Danzig (Gdansk) port from World War II. What information is presented on the map, and what has been intentionally excluded? More importantly, how did this map end up in the hands of a Prisoner of War hoping to escape the enemy in Europe?

We gain access all areas to Barbara’s astounding career in mapping: Jerry hears highlights from her first exposure to maps as a...

In this second live episode from the British Library, Jerry speaks to explorer and Chief Scout Dwayne Fields, who is accompanied by Head of the Scout Heritage Collection, Caroline Pantling.

They shine a spotlight on the innovative, hand-drawn maps of the Scout movement founder Lieutenant-General Robert Baden-Powell (1857-1941), and talk about the importance of imagination and adventure.

The maps they discuss in the episode are illustrations from Baden-Powell's 1915 book "My Adventures as a Spy". The book recounts Baden-Powell's own experiences in the military and his career in espionage, and features his charming hand-drawn maps hidden in...

In this special live episode at the British Library, Jerry speaks to celebrated geographer, author, broadcaster and former President of the Royal Geographical Society, Nicholas Crane.

They discuss the discreet War Department takeover of an area of the Wiltshire countryside for British Armed Forces training, and the Military Manoeuvres Act of 1872 as demarcated on James Wyld's map of Salisbury Plain.

We learn more about the importance of map projections and the world's first scientific atlas by Gerard Mercator. We will also hear about Nicholas' own epic journeys across the UK, including his extraordinary coast to coast...

In this episode, Jerry Brotton meets Dr. Animesh Sinha from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, or Doctors Without Borders). Animesh is an infectious diseases specialist who has spent his career caring for people in remote regions with HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and hepatitis. 

Animesh is the principal investigator in a project named Zero TB where his team are using GIS data and maps to treat, and hopefully eradicate, TB in a city called Kulob which is located in Southern Tajikistan. 
MSF is a humanitarian organisation providing critical medical care in more than 70 countries around the world. We hear...

In this episode, Jerry takes another excursion to meet with Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) and English visual artist, Hannah Claus. 

Hannah is in London exhibiting at the High Commission of Canada in the U.K. as part of their commitment to show work by Indigenous Canadian artists. Her body of work titled tsi iotnekahtentiónhatie - éntie nonkwá:ti [where the waters flow - south shore] tells the story of the Kahrhionhwa’kó:wa [the Great River, or Saint Lawrence River]. Her artwork éntie nokwá:ti ne Kaniatarowánen [water song - south shore] features as her chosen map for this...

In the first episode of Season 4, our host Jerry Brotton finds himself at one of the world's largest and most active exploration-focused institutions: the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) in London. He meets with Cartographic Collections Manager Dr. Katie Parker to pore over a mid-sixteenth century treasure that both the RGS and The Sunderland Collection are privileged to own an example of. 

Produced in around 1550, this atlas by Battista Agnese is a luxurious curation of 13 hand-drawn portolan charts of the known world. Jerry and Katie explore what these exquisite maps show, and who would have owned them. They discuss t...

From historians, scientists and writers to creatives and cultural custodians, people have used maps as a source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration for centuries.

Join award-winning expert Professor Jerry Brotton, as in each episode he invites a guest to share a map close to their heart - and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and stories behind it.

So if you’re fascinated by history, art, adventure and culture, why not become part of a global community of fellow explorers as we ask - What’s your map?


And to find out more about the Brit...

Jerry journeys to the Arctic polar region with Dr Djoeke van Netten from the University of Amsterdam, following the attempts by Dutch navigator Willem Barentsz and his crew to reach China via the northeast passage.

Djoeke explains the backstory of the Dutch trade missions that took place in 1594, 1595, and 1596 and how the 1596 mission was stranded in Novaya Zemlya [an island chain in present day Northern Russia]  for almost a year.

These European explorers kept fascinating records of landscapes and animals that they had never encountered before, in particular polar bears—an animal that sparked significant curiosity and...

Jerry interviews Melbourne based artist-cartographer Anton Thomas, who discusses his latest project: a meticulously hand-drawn world map titled "Wild World." Wild World centres the animal kingdom, showcasing over 1,600 animals across a world without national borders.

This intricate artwork emerged from Anton’s deep-rooted passion for mapping, which reaches back to his childhood. It also reflects his belief in the profound connection between humans and nature. 

Anton walks Jerry through the artistic and cartographic choices he made whilst drawing Wild World, a process that took several years to complete. We hear about how Anton wanted to shape the...

Jerry and University of Denver Professor Susan Schulten delve into the groundbreaking work of Richard Edes Harrison, an artist cartographer whose innovative mapping style emerged in the tumultuous early 20th century, particularly during the lead-up to World War II. 

They discuss two of Harrison’s maps published in Fortune magazine, the business magazine founded by Henry Luce in 1929. Harrison’s maps challenged Americans' isolationism at the start of World War II. He wanted to shake the country out of what he called their “cartographic lethargy”.  

Susan walks us through the debates around the US entering World War II and...

Neuroscientist and Harvard Professor Jeff Lichtman walks Jerry through his astonishing work mapping the human brain. In 2024, with the help of Google Research, Jeff’s team developed the most detailed map of a human brain sample ever created, producing 1,400 TB of data from a sample the size of a pinhead. 

Jeff also talks about how he and Harvard biologist Dr Joshua Sanes pioneered the Brainbow process, a breakthrough that allows scientists to easily identify individual neurons in the brain by colour.

He goes on to explain how our experiences allow us to build neural maps, or wir...

In this episode, Jerry visits the Library of Congress in Washington DC to meet senior librarian Iris Taylor, who has nearly five decades of experience in the map department.

Iris shows Jerry a series of beautiful pictorial maps, created in the 1940s by the pioneering geographical storyteller Louise E. Jefferson. In particular, she highlights a map of ‘Americans of Negro Lineage’ from 1946. This map showcases notable African-Americans from throughout history, including figures like Harriet Tubman - who helped establish the Underground Railroad for escaping slaves - and the poet Langston Hughes. 

Louise was one of the first...

Welcome to What’s Your Map? In this episode, Jerry speaks to Elizabeth Hogan, a marine biologist, Programme Director at the National Geographic Society, and a passionate advocate for marine conservation. 

Having spent over 15 years dedicated to protecting marine ecosystems, Elizabeth shares her experience while discussing a unique map that reorients our understanding of the world's geography.. She explains how this ocean-centric map from the Environmental Systems Research Institute illustrates the reality of our planet's interconnected bodies of water: that we have one global ocean rather than distinct, isolated seas.  

Elizabeth also reveals the significance of ocea...

From historians, scientists and writers to creatives and cultural custodians, people have used maps as a source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration for centuries.

Join award-winning expert Professor Jerry Brotton, as in each episode he invites a guest to share a map close to their heart - and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and stories behind it.

So if you’re fascinated by history, art, adventure and culture, why not become part of a global community of fellow explorers as we ask - What’s your map?

What’s Your Map? is brought to you by Ocu...

Every society has myths and legends that are passed down through the generations, some of which can be read in features of the landscape. In this episode, Professor Margo Neale guides Jerry around the story of the Seven Sisters: a songline from Australia.  She delves into the intricate symbolism of her map, revealing that it charts not just physical spaces, but also spiritual and ancestral connections within Australian Indigenous culture.

Margo Neale recently retired as the Head of the National Museum of Australia's Indigenous Knowledges Curatorial Centre, and an Adjunct Professor of the Australian National University's Centre for I...

Mike Yamashita is a distinguished photographer with over 40 years of experience working for National Geographic. Among his stunning collections of works that capture landscapes, peoples, and animals, Mike filmed two documentaries about Marco Polo for National Geographic in 2004 and 2022.

In this episode of What's Your Map, Mike and Jerry explore Fra Mauro’s legendary world map from 1450. Measuring two metres across, this astonishing record of ancient trade routes, territories, ships, and cities was painted on vellum in vivid colours over a ten year period. One of the most important sources of information for the map was Marco Polo’s bo...

Have you ever seen a shooting star? Did you know that there are different stars in the sky during winter and summer? In this episode, Dr Heidi Hammel takes Jerry on a jaunt around the constellations, and talks to him about the cutting edge of space exploration.

Heidi is an interdisciplinary scientist at NASA and Vice President of Science at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA). In her role at AURA, Heidi works with some of the world’s most famous telescopes such as Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). She studies planetary sy...

Matthew Edney, Osher Professor at the University of Maine and Director of the History of Cartography project, takes Jerry to 16th century Amsterdam, where silver from the New World is flowing copiously, and maps have been elevated from the scientific designs to sumptuous works of art. 

Joan Blaeu’s vibrant 1662 world map shows the world in twin hemispheres, surrounded by celestial Roman gods, the four seasons, beasts and birds. It is the centrepiece of his family’s master work: the Atlas Maior, or Grand Atlas. Comprising 11 or 12 volumes, over 4,600 pages and 594 maps, this atlas illustrates the high point of Du...

Jerry meets journalist and best-selling author Sathnam Sanghera, to discuss the impact of a single line on a map.


Splitting families, communities, and religions, and leading to horrific loss of life and displacement, the Partition of India in 1947 sent shockwaves through Southeast Asia and has been described as the “central historic event” in the region’s recent history.


Sathnam examines a map of the Partition from the UK National Archives, drawn in 1948. He and Jerry discuss the impact on identity, religion and the freedom to travel, among other aspects of daily life that changed foreve...

In this episode, Ed Parsons, digital geographer and geospatial wizard at Google, traces the history of digital mapping. He leads Jerry from its roots in Gerard Mercator’s iconic map projection, to the Google Maps we use today – and beyond….
 
Ed’s chosen map is the “Christian Knight” map, produced in Amsterdam by Jodocus Hondius in 1597. It is the first map to use Mercator’s projection after his death. The projection was hugely influential because it changed the way maps were drawn - but the Christian Knight map is also significant for another reason: it is a great example of maps...

From historians, scientists and writers to creatives and cultural custodians, people have used maps as a source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration for centuries.

Join award-winning expert Professor Jerry Brotton, as in each episode he invites a guest to share a map close to their heart - and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and stories behind it.

So if you’re fascinated by history, art, adventure and culture, why not become part of a global community of fellow explorers as we ask - What’s your map?

What’s Your Map? is brought to you by Ocu...

Jerry is joined by self-confessed map geek and wine expert Jane Anson, to talk about the remarkable maps that she created for her book ‘Inside Bordeaux’.

Jane travelled the world as a journalist before moving to Bordeaux over twenty years ago. A passionate connoisseur of French wines, she is a writer, critic, and tutor.

In this episode, Jane unfurls a beautiful map of the chateaux and terroir of the Central Médoc region. Uniquely, it shows both what lies beneath and above the ground. She explains to Jerry the fascinating creative process behind the map, along with...

In this episode, Jerry is joined by Adam Lowe, founder of Factum Arte and the Factum Foundation. Factum is a pioneering digital media studio, working to record, preserve, and restore cultural heritage - particularly where it is in a fragile state.

Adam’s map is Factum’s re-creation of the world map produced by Muhammad Al-Idrisi for King Roger II of Sicily in the 12th century. The map is two metres wide, and made from pure silver.

While this astonishing object was lost to history, Al-Idrisi also produced the famous Book of Roger: an atlas containing a ci...

Content warning: this episode contains references to sexual assault


 In this episode, our host Jerry Brotton is joined by writer and pioneering LBGTQ+ rights activist Roz Kaveney.  Roz is best known for her cultural critiques, poetry, fantasy writing, and editing. 

From Tolkien's draft map of Rohan from The Lord of the Rings, Jerry and Roz launch into a discussion about the importance of fantasy, adventure, and never giving up – no matter the odds and no matter the times that we live in. 
To read more information about the map as it is discussed, go to: ht...

 
In this episode we are joined by Peter Barber, the former head of the British Library's map rooms, which hold more than 4.5 million maps!  Peter is one of the world's foremost experts on European cartography.  He has curated numerous exhibitions, and has written extensively on the history of maps. 

 Exploring a heart-shaped world map created in 1544 by Gemma Frisius, Jerry and Peter unveil the hidden messages from the map maker, who lived at a time of huge upheaval and war. They also revisit Peter's personal history with the fascinating world of maps.

 To view the map wh...

In this second episode of What’s Your Map? host and map historian Jerry Brotton is joined by Dwayne Fields, the first Black Briton to reach the magnetic North Pole. 

Through a map printed in the Times of London in 1909, they recount another journey by African American explorer Matthew Henson, who reputedly was the first person to reach the North Pole back in 1909. 

To see a high-definition image of the map as it’s discussed, go to: https://oculi-mundi.com/podcast 

Dwayne Fields has many impressive titles: Arctic explorer, BBC presenter and now the UK's Ch...

Welcome to the first episode of What’s Your Map? where host Jerry Brotton is joined by historian William Dalrymple, who unfurls a beautiful Jain cosmological map to explore the meaning and history of the ancient Indian religion.

To see a high-definition image of the map as it’s discussed, please go to: https://oculi-mundi.com/podcast 

William untangles Jain beliefs through their cosmological map of the universe. He recounts his visit to a Jain temple where he bore witness to heartbreak and ritual death. 

What's Your Map? is an Oculi Mundi Exploration. Oculi Mundi...

We all want to make sense of this vast and messy world. From etchings on cave walls to sea charts, globes and atlases, humans have been making maps for thousands of years.

Join historian Jerry Brotton as he explores the fascinating world of maps. In each episode, we ask our guests to unfold a map that is special to them and tell us the story behind it.

Celebrated historian William Dalrymple will join Jerry for our first episode on September 25th to discuss a beautiful map from the ancient Indian religion of Jainism.
 
 What's Yo...