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How to Return Stolen Art (Update)
Episode 543
Friday, 28 August, 2026

Museums are purging their collections of looted treasures. Can they also get something in return? And what does it mean to be a museum in the 21st century? (Part 3 of an updated series originally published in 2023.) SOURCES: Patricia Allan, museum consultant, former curator of world cultures for the Glasgow Museums. Andrea Bayer, deputy director for collections and administration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Victor Ehikhamenor, Nigerian writer and artist. Patty Gerstenblith, professor emeritus of law at DePaul University College of Law. Tom Wilkening, professor of economics at the University of Melbourne. RESOURCES: "After Seizures, the Met Sets a Plan to Scour Collections for Looted Art," by Robin Pogrebin and Graham Bowley (The New York Times, 2023). "Nigeria Benin Bronzes: Buhari Declaration 'Blindsides' Museum Officials," by Barnaby Phillips (B.B.C., 2023). "Shared Stewardship and Ethical Returns Policy," by the Smithsonian Ethical Returns Working Group (2022). "Protecting Antiquities: A Role for Long-Term Leases?" by Michael Kremer and Tom Wilkening (Working Paper, 2015). EXTRAS: “Stealing Art Is Easy. Giving It Back Is Hard,” series by Freakonomics Radio (2023). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.