About Our Show

In theme-based seasons, Material Memory explores the effects of our changing environment—from digital technologies to the climate crisis—on our ability to access the record of our shared humanity, and the critical role that libraries, archives, museums, and other public institutions play in keeping cultural memory alive.

Previous Seasons

Episode Zero introduces the podcast through a conversation with CLIR president Charles Henry about the threats to our cultural record, what is at stake if it’s lost, and what can be done to protect it.

Season One celebrates the UN-designated Year of Indigenous Languages. In each of six episodes, host Joy Banks speaks with people involved in the work of restoring audio and audiovisual recordings of indigenous languages and their sometimes Herculean efforts to make these recordings accessible to the communities they represent.

Season Two explores the impact of the climate crisis on communities and their cultural heritage. In eight episodes, host Nicole Kang Ferraiolo speaks with guests about the role of information and cultural heritage professionals in responding to the crisis, and how different approaches to preservation can help or harm affected communities.

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