Podcast
WHAT'S YOUR MAP?

About the Podcast

From etchings on walls to sea charts, globes and atlases, humans have been making maps for thousands of years. They trigger the imagination, tell stories, record data, assert power, describe universes and belief systems, and showcase beautiful craftsmanship.

Explore this endlessly fascinating world in our podcast WHAT’S YOUR MAP? – hosted by historian and writer Jerry Brotton. Immerse yourself in the world of maps and mapping, as Jerry meets a range of guests who share their stories and the maps that inspire them.

Combining personal narratives with historical context, WHAT'S YOUR MAP? takes you on a fun and highly eclectic journey of discovery.

Guests bring their varied perspectives to a series of lively and unexpected discussions with Jerry, who has been writing about history and cartography for over twenty years.

As you listen to each episode, you can zoom in to explore each of the maps discussed, learn all about our incredible and eclectic guests, and find even more rabbit-holes to go down here on Oculi Mundi.

Let's explore!

Photograph of Jerry Brotton, a smiling white man with short mousy hair wearing a blue denim jacket, grey shirts and blue trousers, sat down outside a bakery on a bench.

We are very proud to announce that WHAT'S YOUR MAP? was awarded Gold for Education at the British Podcast Awards 2025.

Huge congratulations to Jerry who won Bronze at The Audio Producers Association Awards 2025, in the Best Presenter category sponsored by Everybody Media

Photograph of David (second from left) and Emily (centre) from Whistledown collecting the award for GOLD at the British Podcast Awards 2025

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Series 4:

Live Episodes:

What's Your Map? is produced by Emily Uchida Finch of the award-winning studio Whistledown Productions, the makers of The Great Post Office Trial and Our Broken Planet (BBC Four). Whistledown was founded over twenty years ago and is one of the UK’s leading independent audio production companies.

All views and opinions expressed by guests on the podcast are entirely their own and do not represent those of The Sunderland Collection or Whistledown Productions.

The "Christian Knight" map by Hondius
Black and white engraved map of the north polar regions. The North Pole sits just off centre and lines of longitude radiate out from this point, and lines of latitude create concentric circles around the pole. The map extends to show the northern reachs of Canada, Greenland, northern Europe and Scandinavia, and northern Russia. The map is covered in chamring illustrations of sea monsters, ships, and animals like polar bears and seals. There are three very decorative compass roses all pointing due north.
The "Harisse Codex" portolan atlas by Agnese
Silk escape map of Polish port of Danzig (Gdansk). The map is oriented northwest at the top.

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