In the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, and the Conservative Government’s attempt to impose a maximum sentence of 10-years for vandalising statues, we speak with academics Natasha Danilova and Adam Elliot-Cooper on the national histories constructed through memorials and statues, and the spaces of reconstruction opened up by their removal.

The discussion covers a wide range of themes, including the different interest groups involved in the creation of war memorials; the lack of public discussion around commemoration and who gets to be remembered; how commemoration presents a sanitised version of history that blocks controversial discussions around Britain’s colonial past; what a meaningful process of decolonisation might look like; and what other forms of remembering might emerge within a framework of social justice.

Adam’s new book is published by Manchester University Press.

You can find more information on Natasha’s work here.

Music by Esion Noise [www.esionnoise.com]