Podcasts Culture Museum of Lost Objects The Fire That Scorched Brazils History

The Fire That Scorched Brazils History

Published: Sept. 1, 2019, 2 a.m.

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It\\u2019s been a year since Brazil\\u2019s National Museum burned down in a fire. Not only was its collection one of the most extraordinary in the world, but Brazil\\u2019s entire history ran through the museum. On the second floor you could meet the prehistoric skeleton that was the \\u2018mother\\u2019 of all Brazilians; on the third, listen to Amazonian folklore about exploding jaguars; and downstairs, slide into the slippers of a slave king. Now, the only intact artefact on site is a huge iron rock from outer space \\u2013 the Bendego meteorite.\\n \\nThe National Museum and its precious archive of Brazil\\u2019s past may be in ruins, but amongst the ashes there\\u2019s a battle to revive it.\\n \\nPresenter: Kanishk Tharoor\\nProducer: Maryam Maruf

With thanks to Roberta Fortuna

Contributors: Cahe Rodrigues, carnival director; Dom Jo\\xe3o, photographer and descendent of Brazil\\u2019s last emperor; Laurentino Gomes, journalist and author; Monica Lima, historian; Mariza Carvalho Soares, historian and museum curator; Aparecida Vila\\xe7a, anthropologist and author of Palet\\xf3 and Me; Bernabau Tikuna, linguist; Tonico Benetiz, anthropologist; Murilo Bastos, bio-archaeologist; Luciana Carvalho, paleontologist and deputy director of rescue Museu Nacional; Sergio Azevedo, paleontologist and director of Museu Nacional\\u2019s 3D printing lab

Voice over performances by: Fernando Duarte, Marco Silva, Silvia Salek; Thomas Pappon\\n \\nPicture: Brazil\\u2019s National Museum \\u2013 or Museu Nacional \\u2013 on fire September, 2018\\nCredit: Getty Images

This edition of Museum of Lost Objects is broadcast on BBC World Service.

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