Podcast: Museums in Strange Places

One of the most efficient ways to learn more about a culture is through its museums. National galleries are a great way to explore the cultural heritage of a country. Many of the established museums; however, might not give insight into the day-to-day culture of a place or its more offbeat history. Hannah Hethmon attempts to take on a more diverse and curious view of Iceland in her podcast, Museums in Strange Places, available on iTunes.

Hethmon is a Fulbright grantee and museum professional living in Reykjavik. She travels to the more remote parts of the country to explore the land, its museums and the stories they tell. Hethmon does an excellent job of challenging not only the assumptions outsiders might have about Iceland, but her own pre-conceived notions about what she thought she would find in these out-of-the-way places. Each episode is centered on an Icelandic museum and explores its location within the country and how the museum’s collection reflects Icelandic cultural identity.

Better understand Celtic connections on the island by traveling to the Akranes Folk Museum with Hannah on the Icelandic coast. Or listen as she visits a stone and mineral collection off the Ring road displayed in a gas station. In addition to being an amusing and curious collection of travel narratives, this podcast is also an exploration of collecting. Why do people collect things and how do stories emerge from these stacks of ephemera? The objects people hold dear or obsess over create an alternate world of what once was and what could have been. Iceland is also open all year-round.