Podcasts · History · Arts

Call 'Em Like Museum with Eric Johnson

LightningPod

11 episodes

Call 'Em Like Museum is a weekly podcast exploring how museums really work, and why we love them. Host Eric Johnson talks with museum directors, curators, experts, and passionate fans about what drives them, from homegrown passion projects to world-famous institutions. Each episode digs into museum curation, exhibit design, and the visitor experience — plus the essential question: What's actually worth buying in the gift shop? Season One spotlights museums in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Walt Disney Family Museum, the de Young Museum, and the Winchester Mystery House.

Episodes

  1. At the Winchester Mystery House, ghosts are just the beginning (with Walter Magnuson)

    · 49 min · Episode 10

    Inside the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, it is easy to get lost. The 160-room mansion's notorious maze-like design features doors and stairs that seemingly go nowhere, cabinets that are actually windows, and…

  2. Hauntings, astronauts, and warplanes on the USS Hornet (with Laura Fies)

    · 49 min · Episode 9

    "I consider ghost stories the clickbait of history," says Laura Fies, Executive Director of the USS Hornet Museum. While supernatural tales are a fun thrill for visitors, they also serve as a powerful accessory to…

  3. Everyday life & afterlife in ancient Egypt (with Renée Dreyfus)

    · 43 min · Episode 8

    If you learned about ancient Egypt in school, you likely heard a lot about pharaohs, tombs, and elaborate death rituals. A new exhibition at the de Young Museum juxtaposes this familiar royal history with the lives and…

  4. How do we actually make museums more diverse? (with Peggy Levitt)

    · 48 min · Episode 7

    Good museums are centers of art, culture, and education. But the richest and most famous museums are clustered in North America and Europe, and that matters more than you might realize. Sociologist and Wellesley…

  5. What's inside that fancy old house? (with Woody LaBounty)

    · 47 min · Episode 6

    The Haas-Lilienthal House is one of San Francisco’s most beautiful architectural landmarks, a gorgeous Queen Anne Victorian that stands out amid a modern landscape of grocery stores and car dealerships. Built in the…

  6. The living history of radio & broadcasting (with Rachel Lee)

    · 47 min · Episode 5

    When you visit a museum, do you see it as just a collection of artifacts from the past? The California Historical Radio Society (CHRS) is hoping you don't. Although their museum in Alameda, California has a great…

  7. How museums make cities stronger (with Tayana Panova)

    · 49 min · Episode 4

    Museums already do a lot: they educate the public, preserve important works of art and culture, and inspire people to create art of their own. But they have the potential to do even more. By adopting principles of…

  8. Walt Disney's life wasn't always magical (with Kirsten Komoroske)

    · 43 min · Episode 3

    The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco faces a unique challenge: How do you tell the story of one of history's most important storytellers? When Diane Disney Miller founded the museum, her goal was to let her…

  9. In this pinball museum, the art is meant to be touched (with Evan Phillippe)

    · 47 min · Episode 2

    At the Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda, California, there are very few "don't touch" signs. In fact, this unique collection actually relies on visitors' touch to keep things running smoothly. "They actually function…

  10. What's the point of going to a museum? (with Susan Crane)

    · 42 min · Episode 1

    Did you know the Mona Lisa only got world-famous after it was stolen from the Louvre? In 1911, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece was just another portrait in the Salon Carré, shoved between a bunch of other Renaissance…

  11. What do museums mean to you?

    · 1:44 · Trailer

    Call 'Em Like Museum is a weekly podcast exploring how museums really work, and why we love them. Host Eric Johnson talks with museum directors, curators, experts, and passionate fans about what drives them, from…

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