Shakespeare Unlimited podcast
William Shakespeare and his works are woven throughout our global culture, from theater, music, and films to new scholarship, education, amazing discoveries, and more. In our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast, Shakespeare opens a window into topics ranging from the American West, to the real history of Elizabethan street fighting, to interviews with Shakespearean stars. As you’ll hear, he turns up in surprising places, too—including outer space. Join us for a “no limits” tour of the connections between Shakespeare, his works, and our world.
The Booksellers
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 148 The Folger Shakespeare Library started with Henry and Emily Folger, two collectors who loved books and Shakespeare and had the means to pursue what they loved. They were supported by booksellers, who make their livelihoods poring…
Lucy Munro on The King's Men
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 147 Who were the actors who first performed Shakespeare’s plays? Shakespeare was a member and shareholder of a company called the King’s Men. You might know the names of some of his fellow members, like Richard Burbage,…
Jonathan Bate on the Classics and Shakespeare
Every artist needs inspiration. In this podcast episode, we talk to Sir Jonathan Bate. His book, How the Classics Made Shakespeare, explores the Greek and Roman authors, narratives, and ideas that suffuse Shakespeare’s works.
Sandra Newman on The Heavens
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 145 A young woman falls asleep in the 21st century and slowly finds herself slipping into 16th-century England, where she falls in love with an obscure young poet named Will. Sandra Newman’s new novel The Heavens crosses…
Kathryn Harkup on Death by Shakespeare
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 144 It’s quite a list: Hanged. Prison fever. Stabbed. Stabbed. Poisoned. Beheaded. Beheaded. “Malady of France.” Cannonball. Burnt. Bitten. Eaten. Mauled. Shakespeare wrote about a lot of things, but he really wrote a lot about death. Chemist…
Shakespeare and Solace
Folger Director Michael Witmore and his predecessor, Director Emerita Gail Kern Paster, talk about the bits of Shakespeare that bring them comfort.
The Long Life of Shakespeare's Sonnets (18th century – today)
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 142 Today, we think of Shakespeare’s Sonnets as a triumph. We read them, puzzle over them, and recite them. We compare our significant others to summers’ days, beweep our outcast states, and never admit impediments to the…
Emma Smith on This Is Shakespeare
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 141 Is there a right way to interpret the plays? No, says Emma Smith, and there’s a good reason for that. In her book This Is Shakespeare, she writes that they are characterized by gaps, including unknowable elements.
James Shapiro on Shakespeare in a Divided America
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 140 Even with our country feeling more divided than it has in 50 years, there are still things that tie us all together. Loving our families, cheering on a favorite team, and—according James Shapiro—Shakespeare. Shapiro is an…
Abraham Lincoln and Shakespeare
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 139 There are lots of stories about Abraham Lincoln and his passion for Shakespeare. Some are true, while others are made up out of whole cloth. We talk to scholar Michael Anderegg about Lincoln’s love of Shakespeare…
Shakespeare and Folktales
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 138 You probably know where Shakespeare got the ideas for his plays. His Histories come from Holinshed’s Chronicles. Caesar and other Roman plays depend on Plutarch’s Lives. The Comedy of Errors is based on Plautus’s Menaechmi. But what…
Books and Reading in Shakespeare's England
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 137 Do you have a book that means something special to you? 400 years ago, when printed books were a fairly new thing, they meant something to their owners too. But in many ways, what they meant…