Ashley Thompson featured in discussion on Radio 4

23 June 2022

Professor Ashley Thompson , Hiram W Woodward Chair of Southeast Asian Art at SOAS, has taken part in a discussion on popular BBC Radio 4 show In Our Time . Hailed as one of Radio 4's most successful discussion programmes and hosted by Melvyn Bragg since its inception in October 1998, In Our Time features invited academic experts discussing the history of ideas - including topics drawn from philosophy, science, history, religion and culture.

For this episode (which first aired on 23rd June 2022), Bragg and his guests discussed Angkor Wat, the largest and arguably the most astonishing religious structure on Earth, built for Suryavarman II in the 12th century in modern-day Cambodia. Professor Thompson - a specialist in Southeast Asian Cultural Histories, with particular expertise on Cambodia - was joined in the discussion by UCLA Postdoctoral scholar Pipal Heng and Simon Warrack, a stone conservator who has worked extensively at Angkor Wat.

The episode is now available to stream as a podcast on the BBC Radio 4 website .