The rise and fall of America's monuments

Jamil Smith talks with Erin Thompson, professor of art crime and author of Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of America's Public Monuments. They discuss why we honor horrible people from the past in metal and stone, what effects these objects have on our present, and what's keeping so many of these monuments in place throughout America.
Host: Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith), Senior Correspondent, Vox
Guest: Erin Thompson (@artcrimeprof), author; associate professor of art crime, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
References: 

Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of America's Public Monuments by Erin Thompson (Norton; 2022)

A viral tweet (June 10, 2020)

"What's the point of beheading a statue?" by Erin Thompson (Art News; June 22, 2020)

"The Historian Scrutinizing Our Idea of Monuments" by Alexandra Schwartz (New Yorker; March 3)

Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
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This episode was made by: 

Producer: Erikk Geannikis

Editor: Amy Drozdowska

Engineer: Patrick Boyd

Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: Amber Hall

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jamil Smith talks with Erin Thompson, professor of art crime and author of Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of America's Public Monuments. They discuss why we honor horrible people from the past in metal and stone, what effects these objects have on our present, and what's keeping so many of these monuments in place throughout America.

Host: Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Guest: Erin Thompson (@artcrimeprof), author; associate professor of art crime, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

References: 

Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of America's Public Monuments by Erin Thompson (Norton; 2022)
A viral tweet (June 10, 2020)

"What's the point of beheading a statue?" by Erin Thompson (Art News; June 22, 2020)

"The Historian Scrutinizing Our Idea of Monuments" by Alexandra Schwartz (New Yorker; March 3)

Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app.

Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by: 

Producer: Erikk Geannikis

Editor: Amy Drozdowska

Engineer: Patrick Boyd

Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: Amber Hall

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices