Ban this sick filth.

Love love love everything about this. Adrian and the Marshians are doing absolutely extraordinary work, and would highly recommend anyone going along for some wonderful stomping and community (does it get better than that?)

New Absolute Units episode is here! We’re back with Professor Paddy Bullard (University of Reading) and Isabel Hughes (The MERL), with a bonus episode marking 250 years since Jane Austen’s birth. Listen below or wherever you get your podcasts: merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...

Our last podcast of 2025! Enjoy <3 <3

remember when AI slop was good

An episode of our @themerl.bsky.social pod in which I confess to not having read much Austen. Then, for some utterly harebrained reason, I recite my own poetry after discussing one of the world’s most celebrated writers! Thankfully @joevaughan.net edits me to sound less stupid than I clearly am!

new pod, with lots of sound design

The only AI podcast we would launch would be about Artificial Insemination

in your 20s you are going to work in a museum and everyone's going to say 'should we join TikTok' and 5 years later you will say 'yes'

Santa Claus is coming to town but first he's coming to The Museum of English Rural Life to learn about the history of rural England, research repairs for his sleigh, and have an out-of-body experience buying a tote bag

evergreen reminder: please do not drive in the galleries. our interpretation was not designed for vehicles and we can't guarantee them a quality vehicular experience

working title is: 'How to Spot a Wrong'un with Jane Austen'

I'm writing some reflections on Museums Computer Group conf (don't know when I'll share this, but it's nice writing long-form)

Life after X: @joevaughan.net from @themerl.bsky.social on absolute units and leaving Elon Musk's Twitter for a new home in Bluesky #MuseTech25

I'm speaking at this today - about your friend and mine, @themerl.bsky.social Bluesky

5. We're looking to expand our board. So if you think you're a good fit for one of our non-executive director roles, do please apply here: www.earthroverprogram.org/job-opportun...

🎵 On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me / A mouse with a lobster taxi 🎵 Shop the world's most sophisticated merch this Christmas: merl-shop.co.uk/shop/curiosi...

POV: you're a museum that just threw a party. Huge thanks to everyone who joined us at last month's LATE! Hope you had as much fun as we did ❤️

Both episodes of this with @georgemonbiot.bsky.social were excellent. Made me think a lot. Podcasts from @themerl.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a...

woah

"The perfect mug does not exist." The perfect mug:

We're back with the wonderful @georgemonbiot.bsky.social :)

the world of brands craves powerful, authentic, memorable and accurate advocacy like this. yet the means stares them right in the face: make a tote bag with your logo on it being held by a mouse riding a lobster

Merry Christmas <3

Absolute Units returns tomorrow! We're back again with the brilliant @georgemonbiot.bsky.social, continuing our conversation about land use under capitalism, colonial agriculture, and divisions between town and country. Listen to part 1 below or search Absolute Units on your podcast app of choice 👉

I'm giving a conference talk next week about the story behind our Bluesky account, which means I've spent much of the last week thinking about how to best articulate the advantages of sharing your hog on the Internet bsky.app/profile/them...

#MuseTech25 talk announcement: ‘Life after X: How Twitter’s favourite museum left Twitter’ Joe Vaughan, Marketing Manager at @themerl.bsky.social joins us to talk post-Twitter digital strategy Learn more and buy tickets at museumscomputergroup.org.uk/events/mcg-m...

we don't have a Christmas advert but we *do* have an online shop with mugs, t-shirts and more that will dramatically heighten the rural representation within your personal wardrobe and kitchen cupboards explore: merl-shop.co.uk

Author wrote best book he's ever written. Publisher disintegrated/fucked off with author's earnings. Book was finally published by new publisher. Author has bought two hardbacks, for full price, to give away, signed. Please repost/reply if you'd like a chance to win one.. bsky.app/profile/zygo...

Thanks to @georgemonbiot.bsky.social for a fascinating discussion about the past and future of rural life, food, and farming. Lots of links to @themerl.bsky.social. Here’s Part 1 of our conversation, expertly edited by my co-presenter @joevaughan.net.

getting the chance to speak with the wonderful @georgemonbiot.bsky.social has been one of the highlights of my year. I hope you enjoy this episode!

Interested in art? Join @unirdg-artcol.bsky.social tonight for a free online talk! Print historian Martin Andrews will dive into the work of Allen W. Seaby (1867-1963), ornithological painter, printmaker, and former professor at the University of Reading. merl.reading.ac.uk/event/conver...

it was a total dream to have the chance to speak with @georgemonbiot.bsky.social! very excited to share this with you

in short: if you're looking for love, get your nuts out by the fire.

fun fact: Halloween in the north of England used to be known as nut-crack night. people would mark nuts with the names of lovers and place them around a fire. nuts that sizzled, spat or jumped indicated romantic incompatibility. nuts that burned together suggested peaceful, happy partnerships.

In case you missed it: last week, we released two new episodes of our podcast, Absolute Units! Learn about tracing queer rural history in our archives with @timjerrome.bsky.social. And/or explore the history of Halloween with @folklorepod.bsky.social. merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...

i don't throw around the word "hero" too often,

The horrors! Two episodes of Absolute Units in one week. And an absolute shocker this time too, all about Halloween and folklore (with done discussion if Scooby Doo). This time, @joevaughan.net and I are joined by the amazing Mark Norman, host of @folklorepod.bsky.social. Enjoy!

sound design is my passion!!!

Back again with the brilliant @timjerrome.bsky.social and the very finest of podcast co-presenters, @joevaughan.net. Latest episode of Absolute Units now out!

new pod! Tim is such a star, brilliant to have him back

Absolute Units is back! We continue our conversation with @timjerrome.bsky.social (University of Brighton; formerly, The MERL) about his research into queer rural life. Discover what Tim has found in our archives to date & the research challenges he's faced. merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...

Here is a brilliant new episode of Absolute Units with @timjerrome.bsky.social. Co-presented and very professionally produced by the inimitable @joevaughan.net, as always. merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...

Thank you to the eternally wonderful Joe and Ollie for guiding me through my first time on a podcast - if intense ramblings about finding queer snippets in rural archives is your thing, give it a listen! @themerl.bsky.social

we are live!

This bound volume of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and volume I of The Ghost Seer by Friedrich Schiller is exactly what we need at this time of year! These illustrations depict iconic moments from the stories, though Schiller's tale remains unfinished…

Our next free monthly gallery tour takes place tomorrow (14 October, 11.30 am)! Join our very own Dr Ollie Douglas with @uniofreading.bsky.social's Associate Professor Jeremy Burchardt to learn about the history of fences, and why we divide and enclose the countryside. No booking required!

🥳 Now open 🎉 Discover rarely-seen letters and artefacts from the personal archive of beloved author James Joyce in James Joyce: Enigmas & Puzzles. Explore Joyce's social network of friends and artists, his family life, his inspirations, and the adjustments he made to work despite ill-health.

Never-before-seen papers from beloved author James Joyce, part of @uorspeccoll.bsky.social's remarkable new Solange and Stephen James Joyce Collection, will form the free exhibition, James Joyce: Enigmas and Puzzles. Opens 7 Oct at @themerl.bsky.social whatsonreading.com/venues/museu...

Latest episode folks. With thanks to @katrinanavickas.bsky.social and @joevaughan.net for general awesomeness!