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About This Podcast
Lo-fi clip-clops and bleats to relax/study to. Welcome to the official podcast of The Museum of English Rural Life. Based at the University of Reading, we explore the past, present and future of the English countryside. Hosted by Joe Vaughan and Dr Ollie Douglas. Chaotic Good.
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Recent Episodes
The Fight for Wild Camping on Dartmoor (with Ruth Webb and Lisa Schneidau)
Old Crockern returns! We're back for a second episode with the legendary giant of Dartmoor, plus giant maker and dancer Ruth Webb (of The Lost Giants) and storyteller and environmentalist Lisa…
Old Crockern Awakes (with Ruth Webb and Lisa Schneidau)
There's an ancient spirit who rules over Dartmoor, an uplands region in South West England. His face is granite grey. His eyes are dark as peat pools. His name is Old Crockern. And right now, he's at…
Rural Britannia (with Ollie Douglas)
Content warning: This episode contains references to antisemitism and prejudice. Listener discretion is advised.---Last episode we talked about the founding year of The Museum of English Rural Life.…
Making The MERL (with Ollie Douglas)
On 1 January 1951, on the same day that the first episode of iconic radio drama The Archers aired on the radio, academics at the University of Reading officially founded The Museum of English Rural…
Jane Austen: Verdure, Culture, and Comfort (with Paddy Bullard and Isabel Hughes)
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…
Jane Austen: How to Spot a Wrong'un (with Paddy Bullard and Isabel Hughes)
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…
Contested Countryside (with George Monbiot), pt. 2
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…
Contested Countryside (with George Monbiot), pt. 1
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…
Death, Rebirth, and Scooby Doo (with Mark Norman)
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…
Queer Rural Lives: Love Letters and Farm Papers (with Tim Jerrome)
In our last episode, Tim Jerrome (now, University of Brighton; previously, The MERL) shared with Joe and Ollie how he's using The MERL archives to research queer lives and same-sex relationships in…
Queer Rural Lives: Searching the Archives (with Tim Jerrome)
Queer histories of England have predominantly focused on the country's urban centres and cities - especially London. Yet queer and same-sex relationships have always existed throughout English life.…
Rural Riots, Raves, and Robin Hood (with Katrina Navickas)
Throughout modern English history, people have protested against the movements to enclose and limit access to green spaces.Their reasons have varied dramatically – from deadly agricultural protests…
A Radical History of the Commons (with Katrina Navickas)
"The law locks up the man or woman who steals the goose from off the common / But leaves the greater villain loose: who steals the common from the goose."In this episode, Joe and Ollie speak with…
Flying Your Drone Through a Michelin-Starred Polytunnel (with Amy Bateman)
Modern farming is full of digital technology. Nobody knows this better than Amy Bateman, a prize-winning photographer and sheep farmer who uses digital tech in both lines of work (even using the same…
Forty Farms (with Amy Bateman)
In 2020, award-winning photographer and sheep farmer Amy Bateman set out to document the stories of forty farms in Cumbria. From Lake District hill farms, to the Solway marshes. Amy's photographs…
The Rural Art of Dog Poo Posters (with Man in the Woods)
Man in the Woods makes art about parts of rural England that you wouldn’t normally think about – and definitely wouldn’t find in Wordsworth. From hastily-printed dog poo posters, to portraits of…
We Were All Rural Once (with Man in the Woods)
Seven years ago on a Friday, artist Scott (best-known on social media as Man in the Woods) set off for a walk to no particular destination. The next Friday, he started a new walk where the previous…
The Meaning of Pigs (with Dolly Jørgensen)
Content warning: This episode contains references to animal slaughter, antisemitism, and injury to children. Listener discretion is advised.Joe and Ollie continue their deep-dive into the history of…
The Medieval Pig (with Dolly Jørgensen)
Content warning: This episode contains references to animal slaughter and blood. Listener discretion is advised.In medieval England, all roads led to pigs. They lived side-by-side with humans, and…
Schedule Update: Big Sheep, Big Dreams
Episode 4 marked the end of our pilot series, produced by a group of extremely talented students from the University of Reading. Now, we're at the wheel planning future episodes. The tractor wheel of…
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolute Units has published 25 episodes since February 2025, covering topics in Arts, History.
Absolute Units is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 43m.
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