We journey from the clever self-castrating beaver of the Middle Ages to the near extinction of the North American beaver for the sake of European hats.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We explore the many versions of the Hydra.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For 400 years, the carp was the most popular fish in Europe. What made it so fantastic?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are dog-headed creatures people or beasts? Find out in this live podcast done at the Kalamazoo Medieval Congress. Our guest, Karl Steel, regales us with tales of the Cynocephalus.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Beowulf to the guerrilla rewilding of Britain, guest Elizabeth (Lizzie) Marshall regales us with wolfish lore.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Small, cute dogs that serve no practical purpose other than to make us go “awwww” turn out to have a long and fantastic history.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The griffin was both a ferocious beast and a maternal figure. Nobody took it seriously, but its image is everywhere in the pre-modern world from the Near East to Europe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest expert Mustafa Banister Introduces us to the world of Arabic Beast Fables in the Kalila Wa Dimna and elsewhere.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Animals are everywhere in the end times. We explore early responses to the fantastic, terrifying, yet beautiful beasts of the Book of Revelation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Elizabeth Pastan explores the animals in the Bayeux Embroidery (aka the Bayeux Tapestry). If you want to see the images we're discussing, you can go to the Youtube version of the episode here: https://youtu.be/pOaibXA5XrI .

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.