Episode 105: Handling the Hope Diamond

Guy Burton, managing director of high-end UK jeweler Hancocks London, digs into vintage diamond cuts and how they compare with modern styles. Plus: The state of British retail and the Hatton Garden trade. 

Mayank Jain, CEO of DiaDNA, outlines how the company is developing technology to identify diamonds and prevent stone-switching. Mayank explains the difference between optical and atomic scanning and how the industry can benefit from the extra traceability.You can watch this episo ...  Show more

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Marilyn Monroe and Madonna told me so! That is… unless those diamonds are cursed! This episode is a deep-dive into the Hope Diamond, a 45.52 carat blue diamond in the collection of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Come for an almost to ...  Show more

David Reid delves into the debate around the repatriation of problematic art and treasures. He visits one museum in the north-west of England attempting to decolonise its collection by returning thousands of items to the countries and communities they were taken from. In this epi ...  Show more

From brontosauruses with bronchitis to birds on a wire to flying space rocks and a botched heist at 20 thousand feet. In this episode, Lizzie and Sidedoor producer James run all around the Smithsonian to answer listeners' questions from the Sidedoor mailbag.

Guests:

A History of RockBrian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by rock enthusiasts Ross Noble, Paleontologist Susie Maidment and Geologist Chris Jackson to look at the history of rock. Unfortunately for Ross, this turns out to mean actual rolling stones, rather than THE Rolling Stones. We ...  Show more