Absolute Units

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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 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
• Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/

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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 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
• Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/

Send us Fan Mail

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 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
• Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/