# Should Museums Repatriate Cultural Artifacts? Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/open-to-debate-610487/should-museums-repatriate-cultural-artifacts Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/open-to-debate-610487/should-museums-repatriate-cultural-artifacts.md Podcast: [Open to Debate](https://stenobird.com/podcast/open-to-debate-610487) Published: 2026-05-07T09:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL9882989086.mp3?updated=1778118728 Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL9882989086.mp3?updated=1778118728 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/open-to-debate-610487/episodes/should-museums-repatriate-cultural-artifacts Duration seconds: 3195 ## Resource For centuries, museums in Europe and the U.S. built their collections during eras of empire and unequal power. Now, institutions face growing calls to return artifacts taken through colonial rule or war, from the Benin Bronzes to Indigenous objects. Supporters say repatriation corrects historical injustice and restores sacred objects to their communities. Critics argue that museums serve a global public and that these works represent shared human heritage. Now we debate: Should Museums Repatriate Cultural Artifacts? Arguing Yes: Chika Okeke-Agulu, Artist, Curator, and Professor of Art and Archaeology and African American Studies at Princeton University Leila Amineddoleh, Art and Cultural Heritage Lawyer; Chair of the Firm’s Art Law Group at Tarter Krinsky & Drogin Arguing No: Dominic Selwood, Historian, Author, Journalist, and Barrister Mario Trabucco della Torretta, Classical Archaeologist Emmy award-winning journalist John Donvan moderates Join the conversation on Substack - share your perspective on this episode and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for curated insights from our debaters, moderators, and staff. Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and TikTok to stay connected with our mission and ongoing debates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/open-to-debate-610487/episodes/should-museums-repatriate-cultural-artifacts/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/open-to-debate-610487/should-museums-repatriate-cultural-artifacts.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.