Christmas countdown day 13: the hidden messages in carols

Beyond the festive there's a hint of rebellion and even revolution.

Ian Bradley

Ian Bradley is Emeritus Professor of Cultural and Spiritual History at the University of St Andrews.

Coventry Cathedral.

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The Christmas Countdown

It’s the season to be jolly, stressed, and all round Christmassy. On the Seen & Unseen Aloud podcast, we’re here for you with our Aloud Christmas Countdown!

Every day in December, we’ll drop some of the best seasonal content from Seen & Unseen Aloud. From how to survive Christmas, reviews of the best Christmas movies and the origin story of Santa Claus.

For when you’ve got your hands full of mince pies and baubles, but you still want to hear some thoughtful content, subscribe to Seen & Unseen Aloud for the Christmas Countdown.

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Throughout the year, the Seen & Unseen Aloud brings you the week’s best articles, in a short 20 minute podcast episode. Browse the index for episodes from Seen & Unseen Aloud, Re-enchanting and GodPod.

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Re-enchanting

Theatre

12 March 2025

1 min read

Kate Flaherty: re-enchanting... Shakespeare

How enchantment shows up in the playwright's iconic works.

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

A podcast guest holds up her hand and looks at it while speaking.

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Dr Kate Flaherty is Senior Lecturer in English and Drama at the Australian National University. She researches how Shakespeare’s works play on the stage of public culture. Her insights have been published in Contemporary Theatre Review, New Theatre Quarterly, Australian Studies and Shakespeare Survey. She is also the author of the book Ours as we play it: Australia Plays Shakespeare and of the latest volume of the Cambridge Elements series - Ellen Terry, Shakespeare and Suffrage in Australia and New Zealand.

So today Justin and Belle are going to be speaking with Kate about how enchantment shows up in the iconic works of Shakespeare.

Find about more about Kate's research.

Kate Flaherty