Great Thinkers: Richard Fardon FBA on Mary Douglas FBA

'Purity and Danger', a book exploring the concepts of pollution and taboo in societies around the world, made its author Mary Douglas one of Britain’s most celebrated anthropologists. In this episode, Fellows of the British Academy Richard Fardon and Henrietta Moore discuss the book’s lasting impact and Douglas’s equally fascinating later work.

What is Great Thinkers?

For over 100 years, the Fellowship of the British Academy has brought together the country’s greatest thinkers from across the humanities and social sciences. In this new podcast, current Fellows of the British Academy shine a light on the Fellows of previous generations whose work still shapes how we see the world today. Listen to leading historians, economists, psychologists and political scientists introducing you to the academics that inspired them, revealing their remarkable lives and the enduring influence of their ideas.