Podcasts and recordings
Explore Shakespeare and his world with our podcasts and recordings.
Shakespeare Unlimited
When British radio listeners voted William Shakespeare their “British Person of the Millennium,” the honor was entirely understandable. Shakespeare and his works are woven throughout not only English-speaking culture, but global culture. As you’ll hear in this podcast, Shakespeare turns up in the most interesting places—not just literature and the stage, but science and social history as well. Join us for this “no limits” podcast tour of the fascinating and varied connections between Shakespeare, his works, and the world around us.
Find Shakespeare Unlimited on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Full Episode List
Browse Episodes by Topic
Browse Episodes by Play
Recent episodes
Studying Shakespeare Now
Discover how the Folger’s new teaching guides make Shakespeare’s works more engaging, accessible, and relevant, with strategies for teaching the plays, tackling topics like race and gender, and meeting the needs of today’s students.
How Shakespeare Revolutionized Tragedy, with Rhodri Lewis
Explore how Shakespeare reshaped the tragic form with complex characters and self-deception. Rhodri Lewis dives into the evolution of Shakespearean tragedy, revealing its lasting modern impact.
Tabitha Stanmore on Practical Magic in Shakespeare’s England
Uncover the world of cunning folk in Shakespeare’s England, as scholar Tabitha Stanmore reveals how these magic practitioners helped everyone from commoners to royalty with their practical spells and charms.
Will Tosh on the Hidden Queer Lives of William Shakespeare
Scholar Will Tosh explores the hidden queer lives in Shakespeare’s works, revealing how early modern gender fluidity and same-sex desire influenced the Bard’s plays and characters.
Throughlines, with Ayanna Thompson and Ruben Espinosa
Explore Throughlines, a free resource offering teaching materials to help educators integrate discussions of race into Shakespeare and other premodern texts in college classrooms.
Juliet, Then and Now, with Sophie Duncan
Discover how our perceptions of Juliet have evolved over centuries, as Sophie Duncan explores the lasting legacy of Shakespeare’s first tragic heroine.
Colman Domingo on the Power of Theater
Actor Colman Domingo takes us behind the scenes of the making of his new film, Sing Sing, the inspiring true story of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at the maximum security prison.
The Brief Life and Big Impact of the Federal Theatre Project, with James Shapiro
James Shapiro explores the cultural and political impact of the New Deal theater program in The Playbook: A Story of Theater, Democracy, and the Making of a Culture War.
A Tour of the Newly-Reopened Folger | Part 1
Join Shakespeare Unlimited host Barbara Bogaev on a personal tour of the Folger’s newly-renovated public spaces, opening June 21.
Fred Wilson on His New Work for the Folger
The contemporary artist reflects on his new piece for the Folger’s Shakespeare Exhibition and how his work uses museums’ collections to explore their histories.
More Podcasts and Recordings
Shakespeare in American Life
Explore Shakespeare’s influence on American performance, politics, and popular culture in this radio documentary narrated by Sam Waterston.
The Folger Shakespeare Audio Editions
Listen to full-cast dramatizations of the unabridged texts of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, available from Simon & Schuster Audio.
Shakespeare's Birthday Lectures
Every year, the Folger celebrates Shakespeare birthday with a public lecture from a Shakespearean. Listen to recordings of recent talks from scholars including Julia Reinhard Lupton, Wendy Wall, Jonathan Bate, Stephen Greenblatt, and others.
Shakespeare Anniversary Lecture Series
In 2016, the Folger Institute’s Center for Shakespeare Studies commemorated the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death with a series of public lectures. Listen to talks by Michael Witmore, Tiffany Stern, Kim Hall, and others.
Men of Letters: Shakespeare's Influence on Abraham Lincoln
Three books sat on Abraham Lincoln’s White House desk. One of them was the works of Shakespeare—a writer Lincoln cherished throughout his life. Learn about Shakespeare’s enduring influence on Lincoln and on Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth, as well as why Shakespeare continues to occupy a special place in the hearts of political leaders.
'Now Thrive the Armorers": Arms and Armor in Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s plays dramatize a military culture in transition, as Richard II’s knights on horseback give way to Othello’s career army men. Featuring Jeffrey Forgeng of the Higgins Armory Museum and Barbara Mowat, Co-Editor of The Folger Shakespeare.
Line by Line
Listen to select recordings from the Folger’s archive of poetry readings.
Lend me your ears.
–Julius Caesar, 3.2