‘Talking Records’ is a new collections-based symposium held at The National Archives every year. The theme for 2025 is pollution and will take place in person on Thursday 4 December 2025 at The National Archives, Kew, and a separate online session will be held on Friday 5 December 2025.
About Talking Records: Pollution in the Archive
Histories of pollution, contamination, and environmental damage can be found in a diverse range of records in the collections at The National Archives.
Across different times and places, from the very local to the global, the concept of pollution is intertwined with histories of land use and management, agricultural practices, urban space, natural disasters, health and safety, and public health and welfare. From the soil to water sources and the air, all aspects of the environment might be vulnerable to the effects of harmful substances, including pesticides, industrial waste, and radioactive material. Light and noise may also pollute, and both human and non-human creatures can be vulnerable when environments, habitats, and ecosystems are contaminated.
In records at The National Archives, pollution histories intersect with industrial histories (e.g. coal mining, industrial accidents, military activity) and urgent contemporary questions about energy sources and climate change. Pollution is an ever-evolving concept, and pre-modern records too can speak to us about changing scientific, social, and cultural understandings of contamination across the centuries – in histories of disease, for example.
Registration
Registration for Talking Records: Pollution in the Archive is now open!
- Book to attend the in person symposium at Kew on 4 December 2025.
- Book to attend the online afternoon of talks on 5 December 2025.