Archives and records‪.‬ John Pelan

A 40-minute interview with Sir Geoff Palmer, OBE, Professor Emeritus in the School of Life Sciences at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, and a leading human rights activist. The discussion covers issues such as Sir Geoff's use of archives to tell the story of Henry Dundas's role in delaying the abolition of slavery by fifteen years; resistance of contemporary historians towards a new interpretation of events using a scientific approach; and the importance of documentary evidence to refuting those who seek to downplay or deny crimes against humanity.

A 50-minute interview with Arike Oke, Managing Director of Black Cultural Archives, the only national heritage centre dedicated to collecting, preserving and celebrating the histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain. The discussion covers issues such as the absence of black voices and stories in archives; the potential for archives to change attitudes; and the civic responsibility of archivists and record-keepers.

A 60-minute interview with Dr Jaime Valentine, Chair of OurStory Scotland, an organisation which collects, archives and presents a wide range of stories, recordings, documents, images and artefacts of the lives of the LGBT community in Scotland. The discussion covers issues such as the need for an LGBT archive, what difference it has made to the lives of LGBT people in Scotland, and why it is important that the national record tells everyone's stories.

A 45-minute interview with Karen Roybal, Assistant Professor, Southwest Studies, Colorado College on a range of issues including: the neutrality of archives; objectivity in the archival process; and an interdisciplinary approach to teaching archival studies. 

A 60-minute interview with Professor Michelle Caswell,  Associate Professor of Archival Studies in the Department of Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles on the theme of objectivity and neutrality in the archives.

A 35-minute discussion between John Pelan, Director of the Scottish Council on Archives and Hilary Hanahoe, Secretary General of the Research Data Alliance, 26th June 2020.

The podcast covers issues of data sharing, trust, evidence-gathering and effecting change, particularly in a time of crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic.