Austen Chat

About Austen Chat

Welcome to Austen Chat, the podcast of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA). Join us each month as we interview scholars, authors, and subject experts on a wide range of topics related to Austen’s writings, her life and times, and more. There is always more to learn and enjoy about Jane!

Publisher

Jane Austen Society of North America

Category

arts · arts · history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Jun 2023

Latest episode

7 May 2026

Latest episodes

3 of 36 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   7 May 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Jane Austen & Crime: A Visit with Susannah Fullerton

   Host [Host Name] interviews Susannah Fullerton, president of the Jane Austen Society of Australia, exploring the hidden world of crime and vice within Jane Austen's novels.

2. 

   2 Apr 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Jane Austen & Hypochondriacs: A Visit with Sarah Marsh

   Jane Austen's novels feature a number of characters we might describe as "hypochondriacs" today: Mr. Woodhouse, Mary Musgrove, and Mrs. Churchill, to name a few. Although she never used the word herself, Austen was adept at exploring how the worries and complaints of individuals preoccupied with their health affected the people around them. Professor Sarah Marsh joins us in this episode to discuss health and medicine in the Regency era, the parallels between the health of individuals and the ...

3. 

   5 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Jane Austen & Needlework: A Visit with Jennie Batchelor

   "Elizabeth took up some needlework, and was sufficiently amused in attending to what passed between Darcy and his companion." —Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen often wove needlework and other domestic crafts into her novels in thoughtful and meaningful ways. In this episode, Professor Jennie Batchelor joins us to discuss Austen’s own skill with a needle and explore how she used such “women’s work” to reveal her characters’ strengths and flaws, illuminate their social and power dynamics (think ...

Inside a recent episode

Jane Austen & Crime: A Visit with Susannah Fullerton

Published 7 May 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] But she, I think, was fascinated by them. And she loved reading Gothic crime. I'm sure, was she alive today, she'd be reading some of the excellent crime novels that are around and enjoying them. And so, yes, she was really interested. But some of the crimes, as you said, people like Highwaymen had a romanticized image. And some of the crimes of her day did, and another one of those was smuggling. Jane Austen almost certainly drank smuggled tea in her lifetime. There was so much of it in England. And it was really quite almost acceptable to have dealings with your local smuggler. Parson Woodford, who was one of her contemporaries, who wrote a wonderful diary, he talks about little arrangements late at night with his local smuggler to get his brandy. from France and his snuff and other things. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

25,076

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

225 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

67 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 76 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

79

Social presence

0

YouTube

85

Engagement

98

Pitching Austen Chat

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting pitches.

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