New series of IWM Institute’s Conflict of Interest podcast explores universal themes of war in art, film and photography

Conflict of Interest, the critically acclaimed podcast returns today for its third series.

With over 140K downloads so far and previously featured as one of Spotify’s Podcast Picks of the Week, this series will once again bring together IWM curators, conflict experts and celebrity guests, this time to journey through the new Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography galleries at IWM London.

Released weekly from Friday 3 January, the podcast will start the new year by exploring what art, film and photography can tell us about the nature of conflict and the human condition more broadly.

Guests include comedians Rachel Parris and Geoff Norcott, actress and writer Susan Wokoma, journalist Helen Lewis, and author and podcaster Carl Miller. They will be guided by experts to explore one of six themes: The Home Front, Dreams and Nightmares, Technology and Innovation, War Dead and Wounded, Protest and Propaganda, and Destruction and Reconstruction.

In late 2023, the Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries opened at IWM London. The new permanent galleries reflect global conflict from 1914 to the present day and are the first in the UK to explore how artists, photographers and filmmakers bear witness to and tell the story of war and conflict. The third series of Conflict of Interest will ask guests to examine the works of artists on display in the galleries, including Anna Airy, Steve McQueen, John Singer Sargent, Paul Nash, Suzanne Plunkett, Edward Burra and Olive Edis.

Expert voices including Dr Beryl Pong, Dr Diya Gupta, Dr Mark Sealy and Professor Ana Carden-Coyne join the panel to bring insight into how the works answer some of their questions and provoke more.

Eleanor Head, Head of the IWM Institute, said: “We are delighted to be launching our new series of ‘Conflict of Interest’, where celebrity guests continue to ask the simple questions about some of history’s most complex and profound conflicts, while exploring the Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries at IWM London.

Along the way, encounters with objects, artworks and film soundbites from IWM’s collection will bring into focus the question of how these practitioners shape, challenge and deepen our understanding of war and conflict through their unique artistic lens.”

This new series of Conflict of Interest follows the success of the first two series, originally launched in May 2021. Previous series have featured guests including Carey Mulligan, Russell Tovey and Eddie Izzard. The inaugural series explored contemporary conflicts, while the second focused on the Cold War. Conflict of Interest forms part of the IWM Institute’s innovative programme, along with virtual and in-person discussions, an annual lecture and original research projects.