Small Giants

David McGurk had a childhood love of action figures. Something that he and Matthew Syed, and probably most of us, share. But David and his brother went a step further - they started making their own makeshift figures from soap and cheap glue.

But it wasn’t until family tragedy struck as an adult that the memory of his brother’s creativity returned and inspired David to become a professional miniature figure-maker, with a quirky eye for his subject matter.

From miniature busts of emperors, to the mystery of tiny canoes in the British Museum, Matthew Syed uncovers the big messages and emotions that can be distilled in the tiniest of objects.

With contributions from artist David McGurk; Jack Davy, anthropologist and a curator at the Natural History Museum in London; and Lambros Malafouris, Professor of Cognitive and Anthropological Archaeology at the University of Oxford.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten Editor: Katherine Godfrey Production Manager: Joe Savage Sound Design and Engineering: Nicholas Alexander Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Featuring archive from: Mattel’s He-Man, Skeletor, and Castle Grayskull 1984 TV advert