In this episode Alice Procter joins Ellie to talk about Joseph Banks' Platypus on display at the British Musuem's Enlightenment Gallery. We discuss Cook's voyages and collections and their reception on his return to London. We also explore uncritical reconstructions of Enlightenment galleries at the British Museum and elsewhere; and how Europeans understood and described Australia in the 1700-1900 period.

Alice Procter is an art historian and museum activist. She runs Uncomfortable Art Tours, exploring the representation of colonial collections and legacies of imperialism in national museums.