Dr. Linda King

Good morning, David.

Thanks for having me back.

Well, I suppose, you know, currency goes back to the ancient world.

And really, you know, these are just pieces of metal or paper that promise an exchange value.

So the Greeks put animals and then deities on coins.

The Romans put the Caesars on coins.

So that idea of the head of state, the important political figure, goes back to that point.

And I suppose what's happening in Britain at the moment is that they have canvassed the public as to what they might like to see on the new banknotes.

So obviously you've got King Charles on one side, but what would appear on the other side?

And they've overwhelmingly said they want wildlife.

So there's going to be a number of wildlife experts that's going to put together a panel of suggestions and they're going to choose from those.

You can't have household pets.

They're not allowed.

Wow.

But, you know, that's really a Greek idea.

So we're going back to the ancient world and that's what we've done ourselves.

Yeah, though I was thinking it probably speaks to King Charles's, you know, interest in the environment and it probably, you know, chimes with that.

But there's something I suppose about wildlife, which is very almost essentialist.

It goes back to like what we are, like what's around us, the natural world.

Whereas, you know, Britain has typically represented itself.