Tickets will be available soon for The Object LOVE!, a very Valentine’s edition of our live taping of the podcast, happening February 7 at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, with quizzes, storytelling, and very special musical guest jeremy messersmith, all about the gods in (and out of) love!
It’s good to be the pope in the 1600s. But staying pope is not so easy, as the famous Barberini family finds out when one of their own takes up the tiara in 1623. As Rome fills up with their art, and dungeons fill up with their enemies, can they survive the forces of change threatening their worldview—and the forces of the occult threatening to kill the pope on Christmas Day?
You can see some of the art commissioned by the Barberini family, including Pope Urban VIII, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
And of course you can see it all over Rome—in the Piazza Barberini, the Palazzo Barberini, etc. Look closely at St. Peter’s Basilica and you may see the curious Barberini family crest—a trio of bees—on fountains, frames, and even the altar. You can read about its symbolism here.
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The Object LIVE! Great Gatsby's Ghost!
This third sold-out live show of The Object podcast was recorded October 30, 2025, at the Minneapolis Institute of Art with special guest Chan Poling of The Suburbs and New Standards. Quizzes, storytelling, and curator conversation all centered on F. Scott Fitzgerald and his near-miraculous creation of The Great Gatsby, inspired by the cover art and a girl he met sledding in St. Paul.
A big thank-you to Poling; Mia's Lori Williamson, who curated the "Gatsby at 100" exhibition; and the programs/AV team. You can see "Gatsby at 100" at Mia through March 22, 2026. And stay tuned to get your free tickets to the next edition of The Object LIVE! coming up on February 7.
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Encore Episode: The Photographer Who Unvanished
In the 1890s, B.A. Haldane sets up a photography studio in Alaska and begins documenting the vibrant life of his Tsimshian community—even as non-Native photographers like Edward Curtis are trekking to reservations, documenting what they believe is a "vanishing race.” Quietly contradicting a president and scientists steeped in theories of white supremacy and evolution, Haldane and other Native artists offer an alternative vision only now being rediscovered. A story of resistance and resilience and what we miss by seeing only through our own lens.
You can learn more about Haldane in the work of Tsimshian scholar Mique’l Dangeli. And revisit the exhibition “In Our Hands” that featured Haldane and other Native photographers at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
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The Lost City That Wasn't
Tickets for The Object LIVE! on October 30 are now sold out, but some tickets will be available at the door! And if you have tickets already, don't forget to come to our hour-long live taping of The Object podcast with very special guest Chan Poling of The Suburbs and New Standards, quizzes, and storytelling at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Part of a full evening of activities at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, including food, drink, gallery tours, a costume contest, and more celebrating the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby and the art of the Jazz Age. More info here: https://new.artsmia.org/event/the-object-live-presented-by-ameriprise-financial
And now, today's brand-new episode:
In the 1860s, a French naturalist is hailed as the re-discoverer of the vast Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia. Soon, one of the world's most remarkable architectural and spiritual treasures becomes caught up in colonial intrigues as a "lost city" of ancient splendor. A story of power and prejudice, curiosity and wanderlust, and how the obvious is sometimes right under a giant stone nose.
You can see some of the incredible artworks mentioned in the episode in "Royal Bronzes: Cambodian Art of the Divine," featuring a giant statue of Vishnu and other bronze works, opening at the Minneapolis Institute of Art on October 25.
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Encore Episode: Finding Unicorns
Tickets are going fast for our next exclusive live taping of The Object podcast on October 30 at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, with special guest Chan Poling (The Suburbs, The New Standards), fun quizzes, curator conversation, and of course storytelling—all about the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby and the art of the Jazz Age. Tickets are absolutely FREE but you do need to have them. Go to the Tickets page at Artsmia.org and get yours today!
And now, today's episode:
Artists have captured unicorns for thousands of years, and for most of that time people thought they were both magical and real. What can an imaginary creature tell us about ourselves? What did we lose when we stopped believing? And why do we still love them anyway?
You can see unicorns in art through the ages in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, including a "millefleurs" tapestry from the late Middle Ages, a remarkable 1555 engraving of "A King Pursued by a Unicorn" by Jean Duvet, and Albrecht Dürer's "Abuction on a Unicorn" from 1516.
Thanks to Natalie Lawrence and Marguerite Ragnow for sharing their expertise on this episode.
Lawrence is a freelance writer with a PhD from the University of Cambridge on exotic monsters in early modern Europe. Check out her new book, Enchanted Creatures: Our Monsters and Their Meanings.
Ragnow is a historian and curator of the James Ford Bell Library at the University of Minnesota, a collection about trade and exploration, featuring rare books, maps, and manuscripts. She is working on a book about unicorns.
”The Object” podcast explores the surprising, true stories behind museum objects with wit and curiosity. An object’s view of us. Hosted by Tim Gihring, produced by the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
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