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MA few years ago, Mark Fennell started his career as a volunteer at Sydney community station FBi Radio. Armed with a microphone and a minidisc recorder (it was the early 2000s), he quickly became engrossed in the art of interviewing. Several decades later, Fennell still loves nothing more than sitting down with another person, talking, and turning on the recorder.
In fact, this is how his latest project begins. During a trip to London, the media personality began interviewing people about stolen artifacts. He turned those interviews into a podcast called Stuff the British Stole, which quickly climbed to the top of the iTunes charts. It was such a hit that the ABC decided to turn Stuff the British Stole into a six-part TV series, starting on Tuesday 1 November at 8pm.
“The idea is, in each episode, you take an object that’s in a museum or a gallery and ask the question, how exactly did it get there? And these objects become a vector that tells the story of the world left behind by the British Empire,” explains Fennell. “Just kidding, that’s actually Indiana Jones in the background. Indiana Jones goes around the world and says, “This is the place in a museum!” And then I come and go, is it really“
The show will see Fennell investigate how items including a crown diamond, a Palestinian mosaic and First Nations regalia from Canada came to be in the possession of the British. It’s a fun and entertaining take on history. But for Fennell Stuff the British Stole is also a way to change the way we think about the past. As he says, “I just think there’s something really important about telling the story of empire from the point of view of those who were colonized.”
Using a small object to tell a larger story is a tactic Fennell learned from his favorite childhood TV show, Star Trek. Here, he reveals why a spaceship model from the sci-fi series feels so meaningful, and the stories behind other personal items.
What would I save from my house in a fire?
The incredible collection of cookbooks we have in our house – there are hundreds. I realized during the lockdowns that I didn’t handle very well that I have a really busy mind. So I wasn’t particularly well prepared to be stuck in the house for months on end. But cooking became one of the only things that could clear my brain.
The funny thing about my relationship with my cookbook collection is that I have them, I look at them, but I never follow them. I flip through pages and go, “Oh, I like the idea of that.” Then I just go off and make something that’s kind of inspired by that cookbook. I don’t think I’ve followed a proper recipe in years.
It took me a long time to understand that cooking is the right combination of creativity, but not verbal. It allows me to do something without all the talk and hard facts that come with being a journalist.
It’s one of the only ways I know how to deal with stress and anxiety.
My most useful item
My microphones. Microphones are freedom for me. I use them for my podcast, I use them to do my work. And I’m never happier in a work context than when I’m holding a microphone in front of a person and listening to them speak.
A microphone is the most elegant way to capture a person without anything getting in the way. Thats the difference [between podcasting and TV] – you just put a microphone between two people and it serves a purpose, but it doesn’t stop a person from being who they really are. I think there is something quite magical about it.
The item I most regret losing
A model of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek that my dad and I made together in 1997 – we moved last year and I don’t know where it went. My dad and I did it the day my grandma passed away as something to keep our minds occupied, but I attribute it to our imagination and possibility.
I grew up on Star Trek as well as sci-fi and fantasy. And I remember, as a not-terribly happy child, how much I looked for optimism in fictional worlds. I realized, as an adult, how much of my worldview is still influenced by the Star Trek theme. The thing about Star Trek is that it’s often really shitty – I’m just going to throw this out. But when it’s good, it’s this great platform for allegories of big ideas about the world, philosophy, and who we are. And with the documentaries and podcasts I make now, I’m often looking for something with the same basic mechanics—a small, quirky thing that allows me to explore a big idea.
Stuff the British Stole is a good example of that in the sense that there are strange, ephemeral objects sitting in museums and galleries and you pull the thread and it allows you to tell very big stories about what happens to people throughout history. Much of this approach to storytelling I can trace back to watching Star Trek. And yes, this is my way of saying I’m a huge geek, but Star Trek matters to me.
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