ABOUT THIS PODCAST 🔗
What is Athena's owl doing in the Greek marketplace? How can a clock tell time in the dark? On If Objects Could Talk, art and artifacts leave the museum vault and come alive to share their side of the story. Featuring objects from the Getty Museum collection, each episode introduces listeners to the history, creation, and everyday use of incredible items like an Egyptian cat statue, a Rococo microscope, and a glass flask shaped like a fish. Voice actors and immersive sound design bring these historical fiction tales to life. Find coloring pages, discussion guides, and related activities on the pages for each episode.
Visit our website for more resources: www.getty.edu/ioct.
Visit our website for more resources: www.getty.edu/ioct.
Update frequency:
biweekly
Average audio length:
12 minutes
English
United States
29 episodes
since Aug. 18, 2025
episodic
LATEST EPISODE 🔗
Whether you’re a cowboy, a horse girl, or a simple city slicker, you have to admit that horses are powerful. Why else would nearly every historic leader want their portrait on a horse?
Up on two legs, Adriaen de Vries’s bronze statue Rearing Horse seems to defy the laws of gravity. Even in this dr…
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PREVIOUS EPISODES 🔗
Fine forgery or authentic antique? Only the skilled detectives at the museum can solve this case!
Most cabinets that still exist from the Renaissance are in rough shape—which makes sense for something that’s at least 400 years old. So when curators saw that the Renaissance-style wooden cabinet J. …
This vase might be nearly 10 feet tall and weigh half a ton, but the snail who hangs around its base isn’t intimidated. This plucky guest will tell you all about their enormous home, and how it traveled to three World’s Fairs looking for a buyer.
They’re confident that artists can learn a lot from…
It’s hard to stay awake when you’re a luxurious, fluffy, silk-covered bed! Our leading lady will try, though, as she reminisces about the many, many hands who worked hard to make her. From the carpenter and gilder (yes, a person whose job is just to turn her gold!) to the upholsterer, in 18th-centu…
This great green dragon takes his position at the top of the clock very seriously. Accompanied by a monkey and a goose, these time guardians ensure there will be no “killing time” on their watch!
To demonstrate the value of time, the dragon outlines the history of clocks—from sundials and waterclo…
One giant blue orb dotted with stars, six griffins, 12 zodiac symbols, 18 candle holders, countless crystals—and even a bowl to fill with goldfish! Have you ever seen something so elaborate just hanging from the ceiling?
This is the description of an extraordinary chandelier, made around 1819 to h…
Why is The Vexed Man making that scrunched up face? Has he tasted a lemon? Smelled a skunk? Nope—that’s just his thinking face!
This intensely tense alabaster sculpture of a head is used to people staring and trying to do their own versions of his extreme expression. Take it from him, though, it f…
As soon as he arrived in Los Angeles, Purrquoise, the turquoise cat, was a star. But this charismatic kitty traveled a long way to get here! Made in China in the 1750s, he moved by ship to France, where he padded around with the rich and famous—like Madame de Pompadour, noted companion of King Loui…
It’s a knight! It’s a cat! No, it’s a…flea?
Picture it: the French countryside, 1751. A young flea prepares for his moment in the spotlight—of a magnificent gold and sharkskin microscope. This compound microscope was the height of scientific knowledge, showcasing both the newest technology and fas…
Announcing Season 2, this mini-episode features Purrquoise, a bright turquoise porcelain cat that was made in China in the 1700s and has traveled the world ever since. Now that he’s made himself at home in Los Angeles, he’s ready to pitch his script all about the storming of the Bastille and the Fr…
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Getty, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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