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 were a common sight in daily life.

In this episode, Ollie and Joe speak to historian Dolly Jørgensen (Professor of History at University of Stavanger, Norway) about what it was like to live with pigs in medieval England: from pigs' place in homes and food systems, to the challenges required to maintain pig populations.

We'll be following up with Dolly in two weeks' time for another episode, exploring the symbolism of pigs, and what they have represented historically and today.

Delve deeper into Dolly's work in her most recent book, The Medieval Pig: https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781837651689/the-medieval-pig/

See visuals from our discussion in Dolly's Bluesky thread: https://bsky.app/profile/dollyjorgensen.bsky.social/post/3lsjukzwkzk2s

This podcast contains audio from Epidemic Sound, plus freesound_community via Pixabay.

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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. Theme song by Tai Dawson.

Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan

Producer: Joe Vaughan

• Support our work: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/
• Shop merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html
• Complete our podcast survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/73CQBG8. Help shape the future of Absolute Units!

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 our mind and our dreams.

In the meantime: for a shorter bonus adventure, join hosts Dr Ollie Douglas (curator) and Joe Vaughan (social media manager) as they reflect on the podcast to date. We talk about what we've learned, what we've loved, and what we're looking forward to for the future. Plus, follow us down some random tangents like the US-UK trade deal, our memories of meeting up for a socially-distanced coffee in Ollie's garden, and the correct terminology to describe sharing your hog on the Internet.

References:

• Katrina Navickas' Open Spaces Society map
• Guy Shrubsole with a cool map at The MERL
• The Medieval Pig, by Dolly Jørgensen

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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. Theme song by Tai Dawson.

Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan

Producer: Joe Vaughan

• Support our work: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/
• Shop merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html
• Complete our podcast survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/73CQBG8. Help shape the future of Absolute Units!

How has our understanding of ecology in farming changed in time? What makes a pest a pest? And is an aphid chimney as metal as it sounds?

Join Dr Alice Mauchline (University of Reading) to learn about changes in modern farm management. We course from the green revolution of the 1950s (the same era our work began) to the present day.

This episode is introduced by Dr Ollie Douglas (MERL curator) and Joe Vaughan (MERL social media manager) - we forgot to say! The main discussion features Ollie and Katie Bergen (our former Digital Engagement Officer).

This is the final episode of our podcast pilot series! We'll be back with regular programming from late June. Or early July depending on the direction of travel. Future episodes hosted by Ollie and Joe. More to come when we have it!

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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. Theme song by Tai Dawson.

Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan

Producer: Joe Vaughan

• Support our work: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/
• Shop merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html
• Complete our podcast survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/73CQBG8. Help shape the future of Absolute Units!

What do documentary makers and museum have in common? How do we choose which stories to tell, and how to tell them? 

Join Dr Shweta Ghosh, Lecturer in Screen Practices and Industries at the University of Reading, as we discuss storytelling, film-making, spices and tea, and rural connections between India and England.

• Visit Shweta's website: https://shwetaghoshdotcom.wordpress.com/films/
• Shweta's staff profile, University of Reading: https://www.reading.ac.uk/film-theatre-television/staff/shweta-ghosh

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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. Theme song by Tai Dawson.

Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan

Producer: Joe Vaughan

• Support our work: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/
• Shop merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html
• Complete our podcast survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/73CQBG8. Help shape the future of Absolute Units!

Why did people in the past make paintings of impossibly big animals? What does art teach us about the history of the countryside? And how do we work with artists today to explore the past, present and future of rural England?

Here to unpack these questions and guide you through our art collections is Dr Hannah Lyons, Curator of the University of Reading Art Collection.

• See some of the artworks referenced in this episode
• An online version of Sire, an exhibition exploring selective breeding
• Shop our livestock portraiture merch
• Learn more about the University of Reading Art Collection

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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. Theme song by Tai Dawson.

Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan

Producer: Joe Vaughan

• Support our work: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/
• Shop merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html
• Complete our podcast survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/73CQBG8. Help shape the future of Absolute Units!

In April 2018, we shared a photo of a very large sheep on Twitter with the caption 'look at this absolute unit'. Before we knew it, this sheep had changed our museum's fortunes forever.

For our first-ever episode of Absolute Units, we're joined by Adam Koszary – former MERL social media manager from 2012 to 2019 and father of the Absolute Unit post–to revisit the story behind our most viral moment. 

What did it take for a museum to go viral on the Internet? What was its role in our history? And what did it mean for our future?

Episode produced by students at the University of Reading's Department of Film, Theatre, and Television. Intro produced by Joe Vaughan.

P.S. We hope to offer transcripts for future episodes! We're a very small team and trying to figure out the best way of providing these.

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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. Theme song by Tai Dawson.

Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan

Producer: Joe Vaughan

• Support our work: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/
• Shop merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html
• Complete our podcast survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/73CQBG8. Help shape the future of Absolute Units!

EPISODE 1 NOW LIVE

It's just like all the other podcasts you love, but instead of trying to sell you mattresses and underwear we're explaining everything you always wanted to know about the history of rural England but never knew to ask.

Why the name? Well, we're known for the Internet's most famous sheep, an 'absolute unit' who first went viral in 2018. But ask any of our staff and they'll tell you everything at The MERL is worth that level of fuss. 

So join us for a very special pilot season, coming mid-to-late March. We'll be covering topics ranging from square cows to big hogs, to how a museum is like a documentary, and why farmers are using infrared technology to count insect wingbeats in their fields.

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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. Theme song by Tai Dawson.

Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan

Producer: Joe Vaughan

• Support our work: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/
• Shop merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html
• Complete our podcast survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/73CQBG8. Help shape the future of Absolute Units!