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Freakonomics Radio

Is a Museum Just a Trophy Case? (Update)

The world’s great museums are full of art and artifacts that were plundered during an era when plunder was the norm. Now there’s a push to return these works to their rightful owners. Sounds simple, right? It's not. (Part 2 of an updated series originally published in 2023.)
Duration
59m
Broadcast on
21 Aug 2026
Audio Format
other

The world’s great museums are full of art and artifacts that were plundered during an era when plunder was the norm. Now there’s a push to return these works to their rightful owners. Sounds simple, right? It's not. (Part 2 of an updated series originally published in 2023.)
 

  • SOURCES:
    • Matthew Bogdanos, assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and chief of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit.
    • Nicholas Cullinan, director of the British Museum.
    • Victor Ehikhamenor, Nigerian writer and artist.
    • David Frum, staff writer at The Atlantic.
    • Dan Hicks, professor of contemporary archaeology at the University of Oxford and curator of world archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum.
    • Bénédicte Savoy, professor of art history at the Technical University in Berlin.

 

 


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The world’s great museums are full of art and artifacts that were plundered during an era when plunder was the norm. Now there’s a push to return these works to their rightful owners. Sounds simple, right? It's not. (Part 2 of an updated series originally published in 2023.)