Barnaby Phillips

You can just say things.

George Bennett obituary Other lives: Broadcaster with the World Service who sought out talented people to make interesting shows

RIP George Bennett, a big figure from the glory days of the BBC Africa Service.

www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...

Russia soldiers tell BBC they saw fellow troops in Ukraine war executed on commanders' orders Four men expose the horror and brutality of conditions in the Ukraine war, with two saying they saw soldiers being shot for refusing orders.

The BBC documentary 'The Zero Line' is superb. What courage from those who speak out.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Royal Artillery under fire after denying access to looted Asante treasure ‘Extraordinary’ golden lamb’s head pillaged in 1874 from what is now Ghana remains hidden in officers’ mess

My struggles with the Royal Artillery Officer's Mess

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

What has gone wrong at the Museum of West African Art? With protests marring the opening of the first exhibition at the new museum in Benin City, Barnaby Phillips asks what went wrong

Violent protests marred the opening of the first exhibition at the Museum of West African Art in Benin City in November. Hopes for the institution have been high, but too many people seem to have ignored the warning signs that have been there all along, writes Barnaby Phillips

Fantastic reporting. Congratulations

'Barnaby Phillips' book will prove an invaluable tool as we confront the uncomfortable truth of the presence of hoards of stolen treasure in some of our great national institutions.' Lord Boateng
'beautifully renders the courage and resistance of a people' Clive Myrie

My new book.
'A book that will take your breath away...may make you angry, perhaps sad but will leave your heart bursting with vicarious joy. An epic generational tale of a people’s grace, tenacity & indefatigability.' Gus Casely-Hayford
'A compelling, challenging & important book.' William Boyd

YouTube video by AfricaHere&NOWPodcast AFRICA'S EMPIRE OF GOLD: The British Looting, The Ashanti Golden Stool & The Fight for Restitution

Talking Asante Gold and the British Empire; with Martine Dennis, Patrick Smith & Donu Kogbara youtu.be/gpRfLmRGdZI?...

The African Kingdom of Gold | Oneworld Power. Empire. Plunder. The forgotten history of Britain and the Asante gold. Kumasi is burning. British soldiers prowl the streets, stoking the fires. The royal palace is filled with explosives and...

Looking forward to reading Barnaby Phillips' The African Kingdom of Gold. His Loot: Britain and the Benin Bronzes, is the best on that subject
oneworld-publications.com/work/the-afr...

This is getting bonkers! None of us had expected the New York Times Book Review cover. I like to think of it as a blow for British archaeological thinking
Island at the Edge of the World: The Forgotten History of Easter Island, in bookshops and online on both sides of the Atlantic

Why We’re Still Fighting Over Elgin’s Marbles In A.E. Stallings’s Frieze Frame, the poet retells the many conflicts, political and cultural, the ransacked portion of the Parthenon has inspired.

The Nation calls FRIEZE FRAME by A. E. Stallings "a brilliant riot of characters, personalities, and voices that jostle together across continents and centuries."
@aestallings.bsky.social @thenation.com @consortiumbooks.bsky.social
www.thenation.com/article/cult...

Cambridge’s return of 100 Benin bronzes puts British Muse... The decision by the university’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology to return looted Nigerian treasures leaves larger institutions increasingly isolated

My scoop in today's Observer- big news in the world of Benin Bronzes. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

The African Kingdom of Gold Join Barnaby Phillips as he explores the fascinating forgotten history of the British Army and the missing gold treasures of the Ashanti.

At the National Army Museum this Friday 6th Feb, I'm talking British Empire & Africa; Asante gold, Garnet Wolseley, and our museums. It's free! (and online).

www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/afr...

Smithsonian Asian art museum to return three stolen bronzes to India The National Museum of Asian Art is returning three works to the Indian government after extensive research indicated they were illegally taken.

A bold decision by the Smithsonian...given the pressures on that institution.

www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

The National Park Service (NPS) has removed an exhibit called “Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation” at the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. The decision comes after president Trump to remove “corrosive ideology” from cultural heritage venues.

buff.ly/ni1GGsk

Michael Bloomberg tops up climate spending to beyond $3bn Billionaire behind eponymous financial data terminals becomes more influential in funding as others retreat

Since ‘Donald Trump’s return to the White House, some prominent US philanthropic organisations have withdrawn funding or reduced their focus on climate for fear of being targeted by the administration.’

Good for Bloomberg Philanthropies on sticking at climate funding
www.ft.com/content/69d6...

The Screwdriver Salesman Behind Trump’s Airstrikes in Nigeria

Emeka Umeagbalasi, the Christian activist and screwdriver salesman in Onitsha market who is behind U.S. leader Trump’s airstrikes in Nigeria. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Representative Riley Moore of Virginia and Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey have all cited his dodgy work.

The comments on this thread are absurd. We extended our lead. Their keeper made great saves. Our defence is superb. We should have had a pen. We had a gruelling week. Even @arseblog has lost perspective! And yes, I was there.

Wonderful to see the prominence given to African soliders in Burma 2nd WW at Forgotten Armies Exhibition @nationalarmymuseum.bsky.social London, Chelsea. Until April 12th

and here it is

archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/soudan-museu...

Virtual museum preserves Sudan's plundered heritage Destroyed and looted in the early months of Sudan's war, the national museum in Khartoum is now welcoming virtual visitors after months of painstaking effort to digitally recreate its collection.

Sudan's National Museum in Khartoum, comprehensively looted by the RSF in 2023, is back.....but only virtually.

www.rfi.fr/en/middle-ea...

Why did tens of thousands of Africans fight in Burma in the 2nd WW? My award-winning film 'Burma Boy' - the extraordinary story of one Nigerian soldier- in screening & discussion, National Army Museum, London Jan 22nd. Do come!

www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on?gad...

Surely 'says it has bombed...'

What has gone wrong at the Museum of West African Art? With protests marring the opening of the first exhibition at the new museum in Benin City, Barnaby Phillips asks what went wrong

Violent protests marred the opening of the first exhibition at Museum of West African Art in Benin City last month. Hopes for the institution have been high, but too many people seem to have ignored the warning signs that have been there all along, writes @barnabyphillips.bsky.social

What does a museum mean here? A dispatch from Benin City tells the unfinished story of the Museum of West African Art.

A dispatch from Benin City tells the unfinished story of the Museum of West African Art. africasacountry.com/2025/12/what...

Manchester Museum displays items it knows 'little about' Manchester Museum curators hope the exhibition of African items will provoke 'honest conversation'.

Thousands of African objects "given, stolen and forcefully taken" at the height of the British Empire on display ....curators have almost no record of where they came from...'Many have sat in storage for years with key details absent from their object labels.'

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo Reunite for High-Stakes Thriller ‘Heist of Benin’ | Blex Media

Set in contemporary London, 'Heist of Benin' is described as a “thriller that intertwines art, love and restitution” and draws on inspiration from historical events involving the Benin Bronzes

blexmedia.com/ava-duvernay...

My piece on #MOWAA, #Nigeria, the Benin Bronzes...and where it might all go from here....

Colonialism Devours Itself | Hurst Publishers A historically grounded account, from de Gaulle onwards, of how France's neocolonial influence crumbled in Africa, with devastating and unforeseen consequences.

A new(ish) book thinking through French interventions in post-colonial Africa: