Absolute Units
The Museum of English Rural Life podcast. We're exploring the fascinating, surprising, and moving backstories of our collections, to tell the story of the English countryside.
Podcasting since 2025 • 17 episodes
Absolute Units
Latest Episodes
Halloween Special: 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 Norman (author, host of the Folklore Po...
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51:47
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 England's rural past.Today, Tim shares ...
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37:56
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 England is no exception.In the f...
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39:01
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 like the Swing Riots, to 90s raves, and...
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44:57
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 Professor Katrina Navickas (University of...
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41:09
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