Book · 2020 · Benin (Kingdom)
The Brutish Museums
The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution
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Consider the book he published in 2020. It's called The Brutish Museums: The Beninian Bronzes:es Colonial Violence and Cultural Rest. Here is a typical sentence. The sacking of Benin City in February 1897 was an attack on human life, on culture, on belief, on art, and on sovereignty.
Stephen Dubner · Freakonomics Radio · Aug 2026 Why people recommend it
The Brutish Museums by Dan Hicks is a critical examination of colonial violence, cultural restitution, and the controversial history surrounding the acquisition of the Benin Bronzes. Stephen Dubner discussed this 2020 publication across multiple episodes of Freakonomics Radio, initially introducing the text in May 2023 and returning to it in August 2026. During these segments, Dubner highlighted how the author's perspective fundamentally shifts toward the repatriation of cultural artifacts stolen during the British military attack on Benin City in February 1897. To illustrate the core argument of the text, Dubner explicitly quoted from the pages to emphasize that the historical sacking of Benin City was a direct and violent assault on human life, culture, belief, art, and sovereign power. Through these discussions, the podcast utilized the book to frame ongoing modern debates regarding whether major museums function merely as trophy cases or ethical institutions accountable for historical injustices.
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Stephen Dubner Consider the book he published in 2020. It's called The Brutish Museums: The Beninian Bronzes:es Colonial V… 1
“Consider the book he published in 2020. It's called The Brutish Museums: The Beninian Bronzes:es Colonial Violence and Cultural Rest. Here is a typical sentence. The sacking of Benin City in February 1897 was an attack on human life, on culture, on belief, on art, and on sovereignty.”