Absolute Units

50 Million Pheasants Later (with Guy Shrubsole)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2450981/fan_mail/new] Turns out delays come like London buses. First Joe got the flu. Then we accidentally re-shared the first episode with Guy rather than the new one. If you listened before we caught it, we hope you enjoyed that episode even more the second time. Anyways, we're back! We return in full strength, with the right episode to boot, to pick up once more with the brilliant environmentalist, author, and campaigner Guy Shrubsole. Where last time we charted a potted history of land ownership and access in England, from the Normans to the present day, this time we're honing in on one specific case study: hunting and more specifically grouse shooting. What does hunting teach us about how land gets used and shared? How has hunting changed? And what are the disastrous ecological impacts of unleashing 50 million pheasants each year into the English countryside? --- 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 [https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/] and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Theme tune by Tai Dawson. This podcast contains audio from Epidemic Sound. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan Producer: Joe Vaughan * Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html [https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html] * Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/ [https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/]

No episode this week (see show notes)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2450981/fan_mail/new] Turns out scheduling breaks are like London busses! Joe's come down with the flu, so we haven't had the chance to produce this week's episode in time for Thursday release. We'll be back with regular programming and return for our second episode with Guy Shrubsole in two weeks' time. Meanwhile: are there topics you'd like to hear about? Do you have a burning question? We've re-enabled our fan mail link, so please send anything that you'd like to share with us, and we'll be sure to cover them in future episodes! --- 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 [https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/] and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Theme tune by Tai Dawson. This podcast contains audio from Epidemic Sound. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan Producer: Joe Vaughan * Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html [https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html] * Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/ [https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/]

Who owns England? (with Guy Shrubsole)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2450981/fan_mail/new] It's a simple three-word question. Yet the answer is extremely complicated, expensive, and concealed behind paywalls that run into hundreds of millions of pounds. How did we get here? And how do we get out of it? In this episode, Joe and Ollie are joined by the remarkable author and campaigner Guy Shrubsole (co-founder of Right to Roam) to explore the question of who really owns England. We chart the course of land management in England from the Norman conquest, through to the Tudors, and right up to the present day, with policy changes coming out as recently as 2026. Learn more about Right to Roam: https://www.righttoroam.org.uk/ [https://www.righttoroam.org.uk/] --- 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 [https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/] and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Theme tune by Tai Dawson. This podcast contains audio from Epidemic Sound. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan Producer: Joe Vaughan * Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html [https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html] * Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/ [https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/]

Quick schedule update

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2450981/fan_mail/new] Hi folks! We're closed tomorrow for Easter (which is when we'd usually release our next episode). Ollie and Joe are also in and out of the office at the moment, so we're going to use this as a chance for a brief hiatus and we'll then be back to regular programming in 2 weeks' time. See you very soon! --- 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 [https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/] and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Theme tune by Tai Dawson. This podcast contains audio from Epidemic Sound. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan Producer: Joe Vaughan * Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html [https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html] * Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/ [https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/]

Celebrating 1 year of Absolute Units + listener questions

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2450981/fan_mail/new] Content warnings: infant mortality (indicated in the chapter list!) - skip from 14:38 to 19:33 Today we turn 1 years old! A fine age for a growing podcast. Thanks to everyone who has tuned in, joined us in the booth, and supported us in these last 12 months. To celebrate, we decided yesterday afternoon to record an impromptu anniversary episode, taking listener questions via Bluesky. We talk about a range of topics, including: our favourite museums, what we're reading, spookiness, the definition of an oat, more haunting, cookbooks, horses, hogs, and hovercraft. Should we do more listener question episodes? Do you have any burning feedback? Can you shed any light about an oat? Please leave us a review to let us know what you think! Links: * JC Niala's new book (congrats JC!): https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/jc-niala/the-new-eden/9781856755887/ [https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/jc-niala/the-new-eden/9781856755887/] * Nicola Chester's new book (congrats Nicola!): https://nicolachester.com/book/ghosts-of-the-farm-two-womens-journeys-through-time-land-and-community/ [https://nicolachester.com/book/ghosts-of-the-farm-two-womens-journeys-through-time-land-and-community/] * Apotropaic objects: https://theconcealedrevealed.wordpress.com/ [https://theconcealedrevealed.wordpress.com/] --- 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 [https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/] and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Theme tune by Tai Dawson. This podcast contains audio from Epidemic Sound. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan Producer: Joe Vaughan * Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html [https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html] * Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/ [https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/]