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We think of paintings as art, but can they also be a source of data? 300 years ago, a young prince inherited the throne in Udaipur, India, and brought with him some newfangled ideas about art. His court artists created massive paintings that flew in the face of convention, documenting\xa0real life events, times, places and even emotions \u2014especially during the annual monsoon season.\xa0These paintings are so detailed that - centuries later - they can serve as archival records to help understand our own changing climate.

Guests:

Debra Diamond,\xa0Elizabeth Moynihan Curator for South Asian and Southeast Asian Art at the Smithsonian\u2019s National Museum of Asian Art

Dipti Khera,\xa0associate professor, Department of Art History and\xa0Institute of Fine Arts, New York\xa0University

Mark Giordano,\xa0professor of geography and vice dean for undergraduate affairs at Georgetown University\u2019s Walsh School of Foreign Service

This episode was produced in collaboration with the\xa0Smithsonian\u2019s National Museum of Asian Art\u2019s exhibition:\xa0A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur, in celebration of the 100th\xa0anniversary of the museum\u2019s founding and the 75th\xa0anniversary of Indian independence.

The exhibition is on view through May 14, 2023.