Darren Freebury-Jones and Rachel Aanstad discuss the big questions about Shakespeare's work
Shakespeare and Friends
Claim This Podcastby Rachel Aanstad and Darren Freebury-Jones
5.0(2 reviews)
10 episodes
Updated Daily
Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇬🇧
Podcast Overview
Darren Freebury-Jones and Rachel Aanstad discuss the big questions about Shakespeare's work
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
1/18/2026
1 verified contact email on file for Shakespeare and Friends
Pitch yourself as a guest, propose sponsorships, or reach out directly to the host.
Recent Episodes
July 30, 2026
How Queer Was Shakespeare?
<p>Darren Freebury-Jones and Rachel Aanstad ask "How queer was Shakespeare?" </p><p>I'm not sure what happened to my mic. It's not unbearable but it wasn't as good as usual. Sorry! - Rachel</p><p><br></p><p>Book Recommendations </p><p><br></p><ul><li>Will Tosh, Straight Acting: The Many Queer Lives of William Shakespeare (London: Sceptre, 2024).</li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>Fabio Ciambella, Cristiano Ragni, and Camilla Caporicci (eds), Richard Barnfield's Poetics: Early Modern English Poetry Beyond Shakespeare (London: Bloomsbury, 2025).</li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>Stanley Wells and Paul Edmondson (eds), All the Sonnets of Shakespeare (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020).</li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>MacDonald P. Jackson, ‘Dating Shakespeare's Sonnets: Some Old Evidence Revisited’, Notes and Queries, 49.2 (2002), 237-41.</li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>Stephen Orgel, Impersonations: The Performance of Gender in Shakespeare’s England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996).</li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>Andy Kesson, John Lyly and Early Modern Authorship (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2011).Darren Freebury-Jones, Reading Robert Greene: Recovering Shakespeare’s Rival (London: Routledge, 2022).</li></ul><li>https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Robert-Routledge-Studies-Shakespeare/dp/1032154098/</li><p><br></p><ul><li>Darren Freebury-Jones, Shakespeare’s Borrowed Feathers: How Early Modern Playwrights Shaped the World’s Greatest Writer (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2024).</li><li>https://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-borrowed-feathers-playwrights-greatest/dp/152617734X/</li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>Bray, Alan. Homosexuality in Renaissance England. London: Gay Men’s Press, 1982. Levine, Laura. Men in Women’s Clothing. CUP Archive, 1994. </li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>Smith, Bruce R. Homosexual Desire in Shakespeare’s England : A Cultural Poetics : With a New Preface. Chicago And London: University Of Chicago Press, 1994. </li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>Vanhoutte, Jacqueline. Age in Love. U of Nebraska Press, 2019. </li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>Wells, Stanley. Shakespeare, Sex, and Love. OUP Oxford, 2010. </li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>Aanstad, Rachel. A Bawdy Twelfth Night or What You Will Encyclopedia & Dramaturgical Handbook, 2022</li><li>https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Dramaturgical-Shakespearean-Encyclopedias-Handbooks/dp/B0BT2DZGTK/</li><li>Aanstad, Rachel. A Midsummer Night's Dream Illustrated Handbook and Encyclopedia, 2021</li><li>https://www.amazon.com/Midsummer-Nights-Illustrated-Handbook-Encyclopedia/dp/B09PKSTL1S/ref=sr_1_2</li></ul><p><br></p>
July 29, 2026
What Makes a Monster in Shakespeare?
<p>Darren and Rachel talk about the history of monsters and what makes a monster in ShakespeareJeffrey J. Cohen, ed. Monster Theory: Reading Culture (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1996). David Suchet, ‘Caliban’, in Players of Shakespeare, edited by Philip Brockbank (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), pp. 167-79.Jeffrey Kahan ‘Ambroise Paré’s Des Monstres as a Possible Source for Caliban’, Early Modern Literary Studies, 3.1 (1997), 4.1-11. Stowell, Louis: The OdysseyGilmore, David D. Monsters: Evil Beings, Mythical Beasts, and All Manner of Imaginary Terrors. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003.Bates, A. W. Emblematic Monsters: Unnatural Conceptions and Deformed Births in Early Modern Europe. Rodopi, 2005.Daston, Lorraine, and Katharine Park. Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1150–1750. Zone Books, 1998.</p>
May 30, 2026
Did Shakespeare Travel?
<p>Darren and Rachel discuss whether or not Shakespeare understood geography and how likely was it that he traveled. Plays discussed include Midsummer Night's Dream, A Winter's Tale, As you like it, Tempest, Hamlet, Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet.Darren's recommendationsMap of Early Modern London https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/ELEP1.htmShakespeare and the Mediterranean, edited by Tom Clayton, Susan Brock, and Vicente Forés (Newark, DE: University of Delaware Press, 2004).Paul Brown, ‘“This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine”: The Tempest and the Discourse of Colonialism’, in Political Shakespeare: Essays in Cultural Materialism, edited by Jonathan Dollimore and Alan Sinfield (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985), pp. 48-71.Rachel's recommendationsBrotton, Jerry. This Orient Isle: Elizabethan England and the Islamic World. Published in the US as The Sultan and the Queen: The Untold Story of Elizabeth and Islam. Viking, 2016.Dustagheer, Sarah. Shakespeare and London: A Dictionary. The Arden Shakespeare, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.Klapště, Jan. The Czech Lands in Medieval Transformation. Translated by [translator name if known], East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450–1450, vol. 17, Brill, 2012.Lockhart, Paul Douglas. Denmark, 1513–1660: The Rise and Decline of a Renaissance Monarchy. Oxford UP, 2007.Aanstad, Rachel The Influences Behind Shakespeare's Plays Forthcoming Pen and Sword 2027</p><p><br></p>
10 total episodes available
Deep-dive analytics for Shakespeare and Friends
Frequently asked questions
Have a different question and can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our support team by sending us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
- What is Shakespeare and Friends?
- How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
No, this podcast does not typically feature guests.
Legal Disclaimer
Pod Engine is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected with any of the podcasts displayed on this platform. We operate independently as a podcast discovery and analytics service.
All podcast artwork, thumbnails, and content displayed on this page are the property of their respective owners and are protected by applicable copyright laws. This includes, but is not limited to, podcast cover art, episode artwork, show descriptions, episode titles, transcripts, audio snippets, and any other content originating from the podcast creators or their licensors.
We display this content under fair use principles and/or implied license for the purpose of podcast discovery, information, and commentary. We make no claim of ownership over any podcast content, artwork, or related materials shown on this platform. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
While we strive to ensure all content usage is properly authorized, if you are a rights holder and believe your content is being used inappropriately or without proper authorization, please contact us immediately at hey@podengine.ai for prompt review and appropriate action, which may include content removal or proper attribution.
By accessing and using this platform, you acknowledge and agree to respect all applicable copyright laws and intellectual property rights of content owners. Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or commercial use of the content displayed on this platform is strictly prohibited.