The 21st century has seen an unprecedented threat to our global heritage—from natural disasters, extreme weather events, and climate change to military conflicts in some of our most sensitive areas of global heritage alongside the intentional targeting of cultural sites for destruction. During this episode, join me as I chat with Corine Wegener, director of the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative (SCRI), an outreach program dedicated to protecting cultural heritage in crisis situations.

Fire has been part of the Indigenous cultural landscape for millennia; embraced as an intentional part of stewardship. Join my co-host— first-year Cultural Heritage Management graduate student, Emily Dayhoff, a Southern Sierra Miwuk, Cultural Demonstrator and Park Ranger in Yosemite National Park— and myself as we speak with Dr. Don Hankins, a Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at California State University, Chico and a Miwkoʔ traditional cultural practitioner.

A conversation with Wanda Raschkow, Utah Site Stewardship Program Coordinator, Friends of Cedar Mesa, and Elizabeth Hora, Public Archaeologist for the Utah State Historic Preservation Office reveals some of the possibilities along with the some of the challenges for implementing a state wide site stewardship program.

We welcome Kaitlyn Kingsland, for a conversation about Archaeogaming. Kaitlyn is the editor of Archaeogaming.com, a blog dedicated to the discussion of the archaeology both of and in video games. Be sure to visit Archaeogaming.com and follow Kaitlyn on twitter at @Archaeogaming. 

Join us for a conversation with anthropologist and digital humanities specialist, Elizabeth Galvin, as she shares with us her previous work at the British Museum as the project manager and leader of a major digital research project on African Rock Art. We discuss issues of technology, digital curation, and engagement and the ways digital outputs can aid in efforts to increase access to museums.

Perched on Mount Titano and surrounded on all sides by the country of Italy, San Marino, is a small republic with a big history.

The 2012 designation of the Cultural Landscape of Bali Province as a World Heritage site, brought about the potential for additional preservation alongside increased tourism but continued challenges to site management remain.

Climate change — extreme weather and rising sea levels — demands a forward-thinking approach to heritage preservation. Join us as we talk with Lisa Craig of The Craig Group, about current issues in preservation and adaptation planning.

Conflict in the Middle East poses unique challenges to local heritage, join us as we talk with Brian Michael Lione, the Iraq Program Manager for the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum Conservation Institute.