Monuments, Museums & Mojitos
25 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★ - 1 ratingAn informative & conversational-type podcast about history, heritage, arts, culture, and everything in between! Three pals Ysanne (UK), Poli (Bulgaria) and Nikki (Australia) combine their love for heritage with a drink and dance. This isn’t your typical history lesson. Every week we sit down over a new cocktail and discuss hot contemporary topics in a lighthearted and fun way - with a cocktail (or 5) in hand.
We post our weekly cocktail recipe in advance so you can join in, make a drank and enjoy listening to us gossip about our topic.
Get in touch @museumsmojitos on Instagram and Twitter.
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Episodes
Unwrapping Christmas Day: USSR's Demise, Ceausescu's Death, and Charlemagne's Crown
December 27, 2023 16:05 - 44 minutes - 33.6 MBMMM are back with a brand new episode! Snuggle up and let your ears listen to the wacky, wild and sometimes royal events that have happened on December 25. First up, we unwrap the rather undramatic fall of the USSR, exploring the pivotal moment of Gorbachev's resignation that reshaped the global landscape during Christmas. Next, prepare for a chilling tale as we recount the gripping execution of Nicolae Ceausescu, the former leader of Romania, and the ultimate fate that awaited Ceausescu...
Monuments, Museums & Movies
July 14, 2023 07:00 - 29 minutes - 28.3 MBMonuments, Museums & Mojitos podcast is BACK with a new episode! Inspired by the Movies, we take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of how archaeology is depicted by Hollywood. ✨Highlights include✨ 🍹Nikki probably has some unresolved Aperol trauma 🍹Nikki also being a Movie Grinch 😡🎬 🍹Featuring a cast of grave robbers, white colonialists, native extras who have no lines and die immediately, supernatural beings, conspiracy theorists, bullwhips, rolling boulders, and so much tarpaul...
Van Gogh's Sunflowers - Climate Crisis and Culture
October 17, 2022 19:39 - 15 minutes - 15.5 MBEmergency episode! Art just got attacked in the name of climate activism! At just after 11 a.m. on Friday, two members of Just Stop Oil, a group that seeks to stop oil and gas extraction in Britain, entered room 43 of the National Gallery in London, opened two tins of Heinz cream of tomato soup, and threw them at Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers". It is one of six surviving images of sunflowers that van Gogh made in 1888 and 1889 - The New York Times. We had to jump on board and discuss t...
Recipes for Success: How Food has Shaped Us
June 16, 2022 08:23 - 42 minutes - 40 MBFood glorious food! It’s our season two finale! And a subject close to our hearts (or should we say stomachs) … food & drink! 🫑🧅🐟🍇🍏🍅🥖🍯🍷 In this special finale episode, we tell you all about the history of food from feasts (and recipes) of the ancient world, feminist takes on its social importance, the colonial spice wars, the devasting effects of the popularity of sugar and, how food can simply put, affect your mood! One thing is for sure: food and drink have been essential to not only our...
Knossos: How to ruin an archaeological site and still get famous
May 06, 2022 09:04 - 33 minutes - 34.1 MBImagine: you’re an archaeologist in the 19th century, and you’re searching for a site straight out of Ancient Greek myth 🗺🕵️♂️🧳🧿👷♂️ You start the dig, and you find some amazing discoveries … a palace, a throne, wall paintings and beautiful art! 🏺🐂🏛 Great, right? In this episode, we tackle an example of when an overactive imagination, ambition and lust for ✨glory✨ gets in the way of archaeology and historical facts. We chat about what happens when a 19th century, colonial, white male deci...
How Cosmopolitan! : A guide to placemaking and gentrification with Athena Mogdam
April 14, 2022 08:00 - 38 minutes - 36.7 MBIs the underground neighbourhood you grew up in now becoming a bit trendy and snazzy? If you've had a whiff of gentrification in your lifetime, then this is an episode for you! We talk placemaking, urban storytelling, community engagement, and gentrification in this week’s podcast episode 🏘🌆🏭🏛🌉🏰 Not only that, but we have our second ever ✨guest✨ in the amazing and talented Athena Mogdam 😍 who shares her experience and expertise with us. In this episode, we speak about how culture and herit...
Sistory: Baddest Boldest Babes of History (Part 2)
March 10, 2022 05:28 - 23 minutes - 23 MBHere is the second part of our Internation Women's Day special! In this episode, we share the story and insights of the second badass woman of our choice t and discuss their claim to be feminist icons. Our three gals include a fiery queen and distraught mother called Tomyris who halted the advancement of the Persian Empire (kinda a big deal), a female artist who defied the invisible nature of female artists of her time despite the shit she was faced with and; none other than our fave Mexican...
Sistory: Baddest Boldest Babes of History (Part 1)
February 24, 2022 01:00 - 31 minutes - 30 MBWe love International Women's Day! In honour of this year's celebration, we are presenting to you three badass women of history that you may or may not have heard of. Each one of us picks one of our fave gals from the past and tells their story in this episode. We mention a bold and beautiful ancient Egyptian female Pharoah called Hatasepshut, the queen that should have been, Empress Matilda and; none other than Russia's fave - Catherine the Great. This episode is part 1 of a 2 part series...
La Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's Pride or a Sham?
February 10, 2022 09:00 - 30 minutes - 30.3 MBIt's big, it's bold, it's beautiful! Or, is it? That's right, in this episode we are talking about none other than Barcelona's famous icon - La Sagrada Familia. If you've been to the city, you can't miss this bad boy and you've probably been made aware of Antoni Gaudí as the master of this creation. But did you know that Gaudi only managed to get La Sagrada Familia off the ground and the remaining parts were designed and built by other architects? This raises some questions about the auth...
Pompeii - the hottest city of Ancient Rome
January 20, 2022 02:00 - 28 minutes - 26.6 MBLava hot podcast episode? This is a good one for you! This episode goes down south into Italy to the ancient city of Pompeii - you know, the one engulfed by a fiery volcano that covered everything and everyone in ash! Tune in as we discuss: Pompeii before and after the destructive eruption in 79CE Death, or life in action, on display? Our fascination with the plaster casts of the eruption's victims Ysanne's family curse that says no to her visiting Pompeii Greece's own prehistoric ...
The Giza Pyramid Scheme
January 06, 2022 08:00 - 34 minutes - 31.5 MBIn this episode, we talk about one of the most famous ancient history structures ever - The Pyramids!! We jump straight into the brain-teasing questions we all have when it comes to these Illuminati looking pyramids - how were these colossal structures built, WHO built them (aliens? slaves? the working class?), what's inside them, which famous guys of history have visited them and the whack, or wise(?), theories about their existence - we let you be the judge of that ;) Don't forget to ch...
All I want for Christmas is... Historical Accuracy
December 23, 2021 07:00 - 27 minutes - 25.1 MBThis week’s episode is all about the true meaning of Christmas - getting drunk and feasting Roman-style! We discuss: The key to a good Christmas song? Is The Muppet Christmas Carol the best movie ever? Is Christmas capitalist? Are Christians the OG copycats? A legendary England-Germany Christmas football match
Bosnia - Hell, Humanity and Museums (Part 2)
December 16, 2021 09:00 - 37 minutes - 32.5 MBThis week we are diving deeper into the world of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We chat about the break-up of Yugoslavia, and particularly, the horrific consequences this had for Bosnia. We look back at Nikki and Ysanne's trip to Sarajevo this year and take you through some of the best museums this city has. The museums we mention are the Museum of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide, The War Childhood Museum, Gallery 11/07/95 and the Sarajevo Tunnel Museum. There is a trigger warning for this...
Bosnia - The coolest country on Yugo's block? (Part 1)
December 09, 2021 10:00 - 43 minutes - 39.9 MBWe are back! Welcome to the first episode of season 2! We are so excited to kick things off with a two-parter on Sarajevo, Bosnia, the OG Yugo Boss ~Tito himself~, and Yugoslavia. Tune in as we discuss: Is rakija dis-gust-ing or delish? The coolest Communist country on the block? Museums, museums, museums ... How did we go from one country to six... We dive deep into pre-Yugoslavian Bosnia (Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires), the formation, peak and dissolution of the country that ...
The British Museum (part 2)
August 26, 2021 08:00 - 24 minutes - 21.5 MBThe final episode of Monuments, Museums & Mojitos Season One is out now! We round off our two-part discussion on the British Museum (cultural treasure or atrocity?!) Over the two-parter, we discuss the Benin Bronzes, the Rosetta Stone, and the Parthenon Marbles. These are all disputed collections, where the country of origin have demanded these artefacts to be returned, and the British Museum has politely declined...Way to have a negotiation! We tell you a bit about their histories, share our...
The British Museum (part 1)
August 19, 2021 07:00 - 30 minutes - 22.4 MBTo round off our first season of the Monuments, Museums & Mojitos, we’re having a two-parter on the one and only British Museum! Treasure grabbing thieves, or protectors and saviours of global cultural artefacts? Maybe a bit of both ... We have a good old natter about our own experiences and opinions on the British Museum and other ‘universal’ museum institutions with colonial origins. How did they start? Why? And which artefacts are the most disputed?
The Olympic Games
August 05, 2021 07:00 - 35 minutes - 31.4 MBWith our first guest speaker Nikki Alexopoulou, we discuss the Olympics: where it’s been, why it happened, and where it’s going. From the mythological roots of an ancient religious festival to the politics of the Cold War, to Mr Bean at the London 2012 opening ceremony, there’s plenty to mull over! Show notes: The Klepsydra of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games opening ceremony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh91qDz4xQU&ab_channel=3V69 Mr Bean at the London 2012 Olympics: https://www.youtube...
Robben Island
July 14, 2021 09:00 - 37 minutes - 35.8 MB“Freeeeeee Nelson Mandela”, the iconic 1984 song by The Specials sings. And this was a global sentiment, after he had been incarcerated for 21 years at that time, 18 of which were spent at the prison and labour camp on Robben Island. We discuss the UNESCO site’s history, apartheid, Mandela himself, heritage as narrative, and much more ...
Staddy Issues- daddy issues about statues and monuments
July 01, 2021 08:00 - 34 minutes - 33 MBOur cities are littered with them and no one really asked for them to be in our public spaces. What on earth then should we do with these old, historical, bronze, wrinkly statues that mainly consist of old white dudes? Join us as we discuss the issues surrounding statues that are in our public spaces and hold diverse and problematic meanings to different stakeholders. Poli offers his context of growing up in an ex communist country, while ysanne and Nikki talk about their colonial and co...
Dior and more! Commercialisation of cultural heritage
June 17, 2021 09:00 - 30 minutes - 29.4 MBDior and archaeology!? What's going on??? This week in Athens, Greece the fashion mega house Dior is doing a runway shoot at the Ancient Panathenaic Stadium and a photoshoot on the Acropolis. In this episode, we discuss the commercialisation of heritage, is it a good or bad thing and, at what point do we draw the line. Sit back and join us. And remember, if you see a McDonald's opening at the bottom of Machu Picchu, it's probably not a good thing...
The Haçienda
June 03, 2021 09:00 - 26 minutes - 25 MBThis week, we cover the highs and lows of the one, the only, FAC51 Haçienda nightclub. From a Manchester band who signed to an unlikely label, to the nightclub they opened, the music coming from Chicago, and how Franco’s death in Spain changed nightlife forever ... unexpected, right? So if you love ripping up the D floor as we do, tune in for a rundown of how it all started!
Eurovision & Politics (bonus)
May 22, 2021 09:54 - 2 minutes - 3.45 MBAs it’s Eurovision2021 and as Nikki’s love for the contest can never be overstated, she has some extra political gossip for you! And if you’re ever in doubt that we actually sip a cocktail during our episodes, this was at least three Moscow Mules in!
Eurovision
May 20, 2021 08:00 - 35 minutes - 32.8 MBThis week we take a deep dive into the most iconic music event in the world – The Eurovision Song Contest. Dumbfounded by Nikki’s obsession with Eurovision, Ysanne and Poli ask if there’s more to it than sequins and off-key high notes. We take you behind the scenes and talk about the politics and history surrounding the contest, and particularly the dramas involving Russia and former Yugoslavian nations. Join us as one Aussie manages to change the perception of the Eurovision Song Contest...
Hagia Sophia
May 12, 2021 20:24 - 28 minutes - 26.6 MBFollowing both the Eid and Easter celebrations of the Orthodox and Islamic communities, in this episode we explore a heritage icon that encompasses both faiths - Hagia Sophia. One of the world’s greatest churches and architectural pieces, it embodies the glorious times of both the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires . We take you behind the curtain of Hagia Sophia’s multi-faceted identity and entertain you with some goss on populism, politics, and drama.
The Acropolis
May 03, 2021 21:52 - 30 minutes - 26.6 MBTo give respect to the city that brought the three of us together, in our first episode we will explore Athens’ icon- the Acropolis. Perceived as the symbol of democracy, it is a site that has experienced different historical influences. We will give a brief overview of the monument’s history, current management and its place in the Athenian landscape.