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 Shakespearean Moons of Uranus
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 15 Sometimes it seems you can hear or see traces of Shakespeare just about anywhere on Earth. But how about around the planet Uranus, which had not even been discovered in Shakespeare’s time? In this celestial edition,…
Codes and Ciphers from the Renaissance to Today
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 14 It’s a striking comment that occurs late in this podcast—and by the time you hear it, you may well agree: “Without Bacon and Shakespeare, we might not have won the war in the Pacific,” says Bill…
Charlotte Cushman: When Romeo Was a Woman
Charlotte Cushman was a 19th-century theatrical icon, so famous and beloved that, like Beyoncé today, newspapers called her by just her first name. But her fame wasn’t for conventionally Victorian feminine portrayals.
Romeo and Juliet through the Ages
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 12 Though the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet is a perennial favorite, the world around the play has changed in the four centuries since it was first performed. Shifting attitudes about taboo love and marriage,…
Music in Shakespeare
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 11 Our guest Ross W. Duffin, professor at Case Western University, discusses musical hints and references in Shakespeare that were familiar to audiences in his day, but may have been flying over the heads of most audiences and readers since then.
Artistic Directors Talk Shakespeare
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 10 Shakespeare’s words and stories may be timeless, but what does that mean when you stage his plays for a modern American audience? That’s a challenge that artistic directors relish as they explore the plays’ many possibilities.…
Shakespeare and Insane Asylums
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 9 Plenty of people today consider Shakespeare a literary genius, a pillar of theater history, a gifted writer of timeless love poems, and more. But even the most over-the-top contemporary admirer of Shakespeare is unlikely to consider…
Why Shakespeare's Stories Still Resonate
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 8 Why do Shakespeare’s works, written so long ago, still speak to us today? Just as actors and directors strive to work out this question on the stage, the academy continues to find new meaning in Shakespeare,…
Shakespeare LOL
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 7 Let’s face it: Modern audiences sometimes go from roaring with laughter to scratching their heads when it comes to enjoying Shakespeare’s jokes four hundred years later. How (and why) has “what’s funny” changed over the years—and…
Shakespeare in Translation
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 6 What happens when Shakespeare’s work is translated into foreign languages? Is it still Shakespeare? Or does something fundamental to the original evaporate in the process? Scholars and theater artists, with Rebecca Sheir, host of our Shakespeare…
Marcus Kyd on Punk Rock Shakespeare
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 5 How can young people connect with Shakespeare? It’s a question that confronts each generation. Members of Taffety Punk, a Washington, DC, theater company, have taken to heart the mission of bringing Shakespeare into the 21st century.…
Shakespeare Outdoors
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 4 Pack the picnic basket. Grab a blanket. Don’t forget the bug spray. Shakespeare under the stars is a long-standing tradition in America and around the world.