When we think of Shakespeare collaborating with another writer, the name John Fletcher quickly comes to mind. Together they penned Two Noble Kinsmen, All is True (also known as Henry VIII), and the now-lost play Cardenio. But what do we actually know about the working relationship between these two men? Did they sit down side-by-side at a table to write, or pass drafts back and forth in letters?

Thanks to new research into the living arrangements of early modern Londoners, we have fresh insight into the possibility that Fletcher and Shakespeare were not just professional collaborators—but next-door neighbors. This week, we’re exploring the archival evidence that places them both on Bishopsgate Street in the late 16th century.

Our guest is Domenico Lovascio, whose article “Giles, John, and Will: The Fletchers and Shakespeare in Bishopsgate Street, London, 1596” offers a compelling look at the real-life proximity of these famous playwrights.

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In the year 1603, just as Shakespeare was writing Othello and the reign of Elizabeth I was transitioning to James I, Galileo Galilei—famous for exploring the heavens—was also measuring the invisible. Among his lesser-known inventions was a device called the thermoscope, an elegant glass instrument that could detect changes in temperature—centuries before the modern thermometer. Today, we call it the Galilean thermometer, named after Galileo because he discovered the principle that the density of a liquid changes in proportion to its temperature—a concept that set the foundations for modern meteorology.

To help us explore how Galileo made his discoveries, exactly how a Galilean thermometer works, and how these scientific advancements were received in Shakespeare’s England, we’re joined by Dr. Dario Camuffo, author of extensive research on Galileo’s contributions to the measurement of temperature and the early development of thermometers.

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“Bait the hook well; this fish will bite.” So says Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, and he’s not alone—Shakespeare drops over 70 references to fish and fishing across his plays, from slippery metaphors to full-on fishing scenes, including actual Fishermen characters in Pericles. But behind those lines lies a very real part of daily life in Elizabethan England.

In a world where Protestant reform gave rise to fish days on the calendar and entire industries formed around what came out of the water, one has to wonder: Where did all this fish actually come from? Who was catching it? What tools did they use? And could Shakespeare himself have cast a line into the Thames for a bit of dinner?

Today, we’re casting our net into the past to find out. Joining us is historian Mark Ferguson, here to help us explore the methods, markets, and meaning behind commercial and sport fishing in Shakespeare’s England.

Let’s dive in.

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