Why is it always the youngest, humblest sibling who gets the magic animal on their side? This episode we explore Puss in Boots, La Chatte Blanche, and what animal companions tell us about who folklore thinks deserves to win. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk lions, hybridity, and the unsettling power of a creature that's often part woman, part beast, and entirely a threat to masculine authority — the Sphinx, in all her medieval and Renaissance guises. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean for a cold, damp, thoroughly amphibious creature to become the defining symbol of elemental fire? In this episode, we explore the salamander, the fire-resistant (allegedly), asbestos-covered, love-poetry-inspiring, hellfire-embodying little amphibian that confused natural philosophers from Aristotle to Linnaeus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Hildegard to the Habsburgs, we explore the European perspective on the most spectacular bird. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss the curious lore of the Egyptian mongoose or ichneumon and its habit of disemboweling crocodiles – from the inside. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest expert Christine Cooper-Rompato regales us with the most excremental of all animals, the bonnacon, which defends itself by ejecting burning poo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the OG bird of the soul to the medieval dining table, we explore the long fascination with swans and their (mostly nonexistent) song. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back with our 50th episode on the truly fantastic sheep of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, from the Lamb of God to environmental justice, animal rights, and the lubricants that made the industrial revolution possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The quintessential imperial attention whore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.