In this episode, Jerry will be joined by pioneer of the video game industry John Romero. John is best known as a co-founder of id Software, and responsible for designing over 130 games, including the iconic Wolfenstein 3D (1992), DOOM (1993) and Quake (1996) - to name but a few!

Together, Jerry and John will be stepping into the map of ‘Hangar E1M1’, the legendary opening level from his iconic 1993 first-person shooter DOOM. John's groundbreaking cartographic creations and level design principles for the game represented a pivotal gamechanger for digital spatial mapping.

They discuss how introducing non-linear layouts, and intricate floor plans and even the access through to other in-game environments, John’s work fundamentally shifted game design away from simple two-dimensional mazes, resulting in the vastly increased architectural complexity and immersive spatial design seen in modern 3D video game environments.

Follow along with this episode at oculi-mundi.com/john-romero

From historians, scientists and writers, to creatives and cultural custodians, people have used maps as a source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration for centuries.

Join us as map historian Jerry Brotton invites each guest to share a map close to their heart - and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and personal stories behind it.

If you’re fascinated by history, art, adventure and culture, why not become part of a global community of fellow explorers as we ask - what’s YOUR map?

The award-winning What’s Your Map? is brought to you by Oculi Mundi (‘eyes of the world’), the online home of The Sunderland Collection of antique cartography.

For a fully immersive experience, visit Oculi-Mundi.com/podcast to explore each of the maps as you listen, and find more information and rabbit-holes about each guest.

Image detail: ©1993 id Software, Inc./John Romero

All views and opinions expressed by guests on the podcast are entirely their own and do not represent those of The Sunderland Collection or Whistledown Productions.

In this episode, Jerry meets with Patricia Seed, an American professor of history at the University of California, Irvine. Patricia has spent her career mapping the earliest voyages of European ‘discovery’ that transformed our world. Specialising in the history of cartography and navigation, she is an authority on latitude!

Together they discuss the ‘Ulm Ptolemy’, a landmark world map in The Sunderland Collection, so called for its inclusion in ‘Cosmographia’ (1482) which was published in Ulm by Lienhart Holle and based directly on the geography of Claudius Ptolemy (2nd Century CE).

This map was created six years before the Portuguese rounded the tip of Africa in 1488 and offers a fascinating snapshot on the eve of a global revolution. Using the map as a touchstone, Patricia and Jerry will talk about the key developments in late fifteen-century maritime navigation and the significance of voyages by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias (1450-1500).

We also hear from Patricia about how this brought about a whole new world view and acted as the catalyst for one of the darkest periods of world history - the Transatlantic slave trade.

Follow along with this episode at oculi-mundi.com/patricia-seed

From historians, scientists and writers, to creatives and cultural custodians, people have used maps as a source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration for centuries.

Join us as map historian Jerry Brotton invites each guest to share a map close to their heart - and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and personal stories behind it.

If you’re fascinated by history, art, adventure and culture, why not become part of a global community of fellow explorers as we ask - what’s YOUR map?

The award-winning What’s Your Map? is brought to you by Oculi Mundi (‘eyes of the world’), the online home of The Sunderland Collection of antique cartography.

For a fully immersive experience, visit Oculi-Mundi.com/podcast to explore each of the maps as you listen, and find more information and rabbit-holes about each guest.

Image detail: ©The Sunderland Collection

All views and opinions expressed by guests on the podcast are entirely their own and do not represent those of The Sunderland Collection or Whistledown Productions.

In this episode, host Jerry sits down with broadcaster, producer, writer and DJ, Zakia Sewell. Together they discuss her latest book, Finding Albion, which chronicles her journey across the British Isles to explore its seasonal myths, enduring legends, and deep-rooted rituals.

Zakia shares the map featured in the book, created with artist Alex Merry - a playful illustrative map of England, Scotland and Wales pinpointing the sites encountered on her quest to find folkloric Albion. Jerry and Zakia also take a look at an early seventeenth century work in the Ex Carta collection of literary maps: ‘Poly Olbion’ by Michael Drayton (1613), an allegorical poem about England and Wales which is accompanied by a series of whimsical copper-engraved county maps.

Tracing back to fourth-century BCE Greek geographers, 'Albion' is recorded as the earliest name for Britain. The term traditionally translates to 'white land' (derived from the Latin 'albus') which the Romans attributed to Dover's striking chalk cliffs, but as Zakia reveals, the name carries another origin story!

Follow along with this episode at oculi-mundi.com/zakia-sewell

From historians, scientists and writers, to creatives and cultural custodians, people have used maps as a source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration for centuries.

Join us as map historian Jerry Brotton invites each guest to share a map close to their heart - and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and personal stories behind it.

If you’re fascinated by history, art, adventure and culture, why not become part of a global community of fellow explorers as we ask - what’s YOUR map?

The award-winning What’s Your Map? is brought to you by Oculi Mundi (‘eyes of the world’), the online home of The Sunderland Collection of antique cartography.

For a fully immersive experience, visit Oculi-Mundi.com/podcast to explore each of the maps as you listen, and find more information and rabbit-holes about each guest.

Image detail: Map of Albion ©Alex Merry/Zakia Sewell. Image courtesy of the Artist, and Hodder Press.

All views and opinions expressed by guests on the podcast are entirely their own and do not represent those of The Sunderland Collection or Whistledown Productions.