Absolute Units

Jane Austen’s novels are classic books of the English countryside. Yet they reveal so much more about English culture, industry and society than simply presenting prettified scenes of village life.In this episode, we're back with Professor Paddy Bullard (University of Reading) and Isabel Hughes (The MERL) to talk about how Jane Austen’s novels explore space in rural and urban England: how it was used, developed, and destroyed. We also discuss Austen’s own experiences of living in rural and urban settings.---Join the Fobney Marshians' Christmas stomp: https://whatsonreading.com/venues/reading/whats-on/massive-marshian-stomp-fobney-marshRead the latest blogpost by Reading's Fobney Marshians: https://ruralreading.com/2025/12/16/1906/---Shop new Absolute Units merch on our online shop: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/Absolute-Units-Podcast-merch.html --- Absolute Units is the official podcast of The Museum of English Rural Life. This series is made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Themetune by Tai Dawson. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe VaughanProducer: Joe Vaughan Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/

It is a truth universally acknowledged that every podcast about the history of the English countryside must do an episode on Jane Austen.In the first of two conversations, Joe and Ollie are joined by Professor Paddy Bullard (University of Reading) and Isabel Hughes (MERL Associate Director) to explore Jane Austen's links to farming, as found in her personal biography and her literature.We're back on Tuesday 16 Dec for a second episode on the Austen theme, marking the date of Austen's birthday.---Shop new Absolute Units merch on our online shop: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/Absolute-Units-Podcast-merch.html --- Absolute Units is the official podcast of The Museum of English Rural Life. This series is made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Themetune by Tai Dawson. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe VaughanProducer: Joe Vaughan Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/

How does the history of enclosure surface in England today and in Britain's former colonies? How can we de-enclose to create access for all?In this episode, Joe and Ollie continue last time's conversation with the legendary author and activist George Monbiot, about how does the history of capitalism and colonialism interlink to England's urban and rural spaces.Learn more about George Monbiot's work at https://www.monbiot.com/---Shop new Absolute Units merch on our online shop: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/Absolute-Units-Podcast-merch.html --- Absolute Units is the official podcast of The Museum of English Rural Life. This series is made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Themetune by Tai Dawson. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe VaughanProducer: Joe Vaughan Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/

Throughout history people have pitted life in the city against the countryside, comparing urban corruption with an innocent rural idyll.Where does this comparison come from? What is its relevance today? And how do we resist these ideas to imagine a more equitable and sustainable future for town and country alike?Joining Joe and Ollie today is the best-selling author, activist and journalist George Monbiot. In this first of two episodes, we discuss the significance of contrasting town and the country, challenges of farming and agriculture for our environment, and the significance of the rural to England's national identity. George Monbiot's website: https://www.monbiot.com/The Bluesky thread we refer to: https://bsky.app/profile/georgemonbiot.bsky.social/post/3m4ulbf7hrs2gWe'll be back with the second part of this conversation in two weeks' time. See you then.---Shop new Absolute Units merch on our online shop: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/Absolute-Units-Podcast-merch.html --- Absolute Units is the official podcast of The Museum of English Rural Life. This series is made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Themetune by Tai Dawson. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe VaughanProducer: Joe Vaughan Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/

Pumpkins, carved. Candles, lit. Units, absolute. Welcome to a special Halloween bonus podcast by The Museum of English Rural Afterlife.This time, ghosts Ollie and Joe welcome fiend-of-the-show Mark Norman (author, host of the Folklore Podcast, and founding curator of the Folklore Library and Archive) for a candle-lit walk through the history of Halloween. Join us as we cycle through the origins of Halloween, the challenges of collecting folklore (and intangible cultural heritage), the crossovers between the conventionally spooky and the rural, and what Scooby Doo can teach us about all these, and more.Listen now —  if you dare! And should you brave our audio feast to its final course, please remember to leave us a glowing review praising how scary and charming we are.Also, politely ask your neighbour to remove that garlic from their front porch. It’s, um, causing quite the stench, and our visitors are starting to complain.Listen to the Folklore Podcast: https://www.thefolklorepodcast.com/---Special thanks to Kevin MacLeod for the recording of J. S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.---Shop new Absolute Units merch on our online shop: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/Absolute-Units-Podcast-merch.html --- Absolute Units is the official podcast of The Museum of English Rural Life. This series is made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Themetune by Tai Dawson. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe VaughanProducer: Joe Vaughan Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/