The weather may be wintry, but we can get plenty of inspiration for adventure, even…
The wintry weather is a good excuse to keep warm indoors and listen to a podcast. But with so many available, which one should you choose? We’ve rounded up our pick of the best podcast series and episodes themed around cartography.
The Map Men on missing islands and the meaning of mistakes, the 1A podcast
YouTube stars Map Men (Jay Foreman and Mark Cooper-Jones) star in this podcast, turning the topic of mistakes on maps into edutainment. They delve into phantom islands and paper towns, explaining how they came to be. One example of the former is Australia’s Sandy Island, which doesn’t exist but stayed on Google Maps until 2012! Find out about more weird and wonderful map mistakes in the episode.
Unfolded, the HARVEY Maps podcast
The team at HARVEY Maps, a Dennis Maps customer, have created a podcast that combines cartography and map-related discussions, with real life stories and practical advice from the team. The podcast maps out why the company does what it does and why maps still matter. Expect plenty of tips on map reading, planning trips, and picking the best map for your adventure. The podcast has finished its first season (with six episodes to choose from) and is about to start season two. Keep an eye out for the new season and an episode featuring our MD, Steve Burry!
Ordnance Survey with Dougal Shaw: Inside Britain’s digital brain, Business Leader podcast
Want to take a tour of Ordnance Survey (OS)? This episode of the Business Leader podcast is a guide to OS, Britain’s national mapping agency and owner of Dennis Maps. The episode covers the founding of the organisation in 1791 (to safeguard Britain against Napoleonic armies) through to the present day and its early adoption of AI. “We’re still fiercely proud of paper maps,” says Nick Bolton, OS’s CEO. “We shouldn’t forget that there’ll always be a place for a paper map but… that needs to sit alongside the very modern OS that is also doing geospatial data sets.” Nick also discusses how modern maps are made and his experience working for a government-owned agency that’s run like a business.
Cartograms and cartography, Ask the Geographer, the Royal Geographical Society (IBG) podcast
Professor Ben Hennig of World Mapper talks about his work mapping variables as diverse as where pumpkins grow to voter behaviour, outlining the expertise, skill and flair needed for producing eye-catching cartograms. He delves into the history of cartograms, and the importance of popularising and normalising them as an alternative form of mapping.
Curious About Maps, episode 125, Curious Kid Podcast
Did you know that the first jigsaw puzzles were of maps to teach geography? Episode 125 of this podcast covers the history of maps, why they’re so helpful and some fun facts about them. There’s an activity to complete, based on the episode, at the end too. Each week, the Curious Kid Podcast features a different educational episode, based on suggestions submitted by listeners. It’s for curious kids, and grown-ups too.
Dennis Maps is one of the leading map printers in the world, producing more than two million maps and charts every year. We offer comprehensive pre-press services, large size printing – large format print solutions using both large format litho printing and large format digital printing, plus specialised map folding and map finishing techniques.