From loveable companion for monks to toxic witch's familiar, we trace the fantastic history of the cat from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance.

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Two expert guests, Jane Buckingham and Samayita Banerjee, help us understand the pre-modern tiger in India, with special attention to Bengal.

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The European Middle Ages witnessed the birth of an entirely new bird: the pelican. This is not the "water pelican" we all know but an entirely fantastic beast.

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Guest experts Keith Botelho and Joe Campana regale us with fantastic tales of bees in the Renaissance.

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We investigate the most fantastic bugs of all: kermes and cochineal. These little creatures not only gave us many of our words for red but also famous symbols from British redcoats to the U.S. flag.

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In honor of International Unicorn Day, here's a chance to explore the search for the real unicorn, from the mystery in Middle Ages to its ultimate discovery in the seventeenth century.

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We investigate worms and caterpillars and discover them everywhere.

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Guest experts Asa Mitman and Holly Dugan explore two fantastic beast manuscripts, one from the Middle Ages, one from the Renaissance.

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We continue our exploration of dragons by learning about Chinese dragons from guest Winston Kyan, a historian of medieval Chinese art at the University of Utah.

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From charismatic megafauna, like dragons, we descend to the small and distinctly uncharismatic.

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