Beastly History

About Beastly History

Thrilling tales of people and the wild. Join journalist and natural history super-fan Michelle Douglass, as we uncover the juiciest, strangest and most gripping true stories from our planet’s past. From perilous polar expeditions and extreme survival stories to animal myths, legends, and natural history’s heroes, villains and oddballs - each month we dive into one unforgettable true tale, and explore the social history behind it with an expert guest. The world is brilliantly beastly. Let’s explore. 🐾 Discover more: Follow Beastly History on Insta @beastlyhistory (https://www.instagram.com/beastlyhistory/) Beastly History on Acast website https://shows.acast.com/beastly-history (https://shows.acast.com/beastly-history) Artwork by Bex Glover Beastly History is created by Wild Beast Audio Visual Studios, Bristol, UK. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Wild Beast

Category

history · science · science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

22 Feb 2026

Latest episode

17 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

3 of 8 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   17 Oct 2026

   Waterworld: Hollywood’s Most Epic Behind-the-Scenes Disaster Story?

   It’s 1995 and Waterworld is meant to be blockbuster of the year. Instead, everyone’s talking about it for all the wrong reasons. Before filming even begins, director Kevin Reynolds is warned not to shoot on the open ocean. He decides to do it anyway — with unfolding consequences that will cost him dearly. We’re revisiting one of Hollywood’s most infamously chaotic movie sets, and one of its most enduring cautionary tales. What went wrong on the set of Waterworld to make it the most expensive movie ever made at the time? Why did filming on the Pacific Ocean create a storm behind the scenes? And what were the personal stakes of the legendary falling-out between director Kevin Reynolds and star Kevin Costner? Does Waterworld really deserve its reputation as an epic Hollywood fail? To help us navigate the choppy waters of 90s Hollywood filmmaking, Michelle is joined by movie expert Simon Brew So settle in for a big-screen-worthy adventure, where things are about to get very wet and very wild. DISCOVER MORE Listen to more behind the scenes stories on Film Stories with Simon Brew: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/film-stories-with-simon-brew/id1400296642 Check out the Film Stories website for the latest entertainment news, features and reviews: https://podfollow.com/filmstories Follow Simon Brew on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simon.brew/?hl=en More Beastly: Follow Beastly History on Instagram @beastlyhistory (https://www.instagram.com/beastlyhistory/) Subscribe to @BeastlyHistoryPodcast on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@BeastlyHistoryPodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@BeastlyHistoryPodcast) Email Beastly History at Wild Beast Studios: michelle@wildbeast.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   30 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Terra Nova Expedition: Sex, Death and Survival in Antarctica (Part 2)

   Host Michelle interviews Douglas Russell from the Natural History Museum about the Terra Nova Expedition's harrowing survival on Inexpressible Island.

3. 

   25 Jul 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Terra Nova Expedition: Sex, Death and Survival in Antarctica (Part 1)

   Host Michelle and expert Douglas Russell explore George Murray Levick's shocking penguin discoveries and survival on Inexpressible Island during the Terra Nova Expedition.

4. 

   15 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT

   The Lion Queen: Victorian Big Cat Tamers

   Host Michelle interviews Dr. Peta Tait, exploring Nellie Chapman's rise as Victorian Britain's "Lion Queen" and the dangerous realities behind exotic animal spectacles.

5. 

   12 May 2026

   'Iceberg Right Ahead!' A Titanic Lookout's Story

   Host Michelle interviews Titanic expert Paul Lee, exploring lookout Fred Fleet's firsthand account of the Titanic disaster and its lessons about progress.

6. 

   1 Apr 2026

   Ireland’s Wolf Hunters

   Host Michelle interviews Dr. Kieran Hickey, exploring the dramatic history of Ireland's wolf hunters and the cultural impact of these once-prevalent animals.

7. 

   27 Feb 2026

   The Hound of the Baskervilles: Dartmoor’s Demon Dogs

   Michelle interviews dark heritage expert Dr. Romany Reagan about how Dartmoor's folklore inspired Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles."

8. 

   22 Feb 2026

   Introducing Beastly History

   Wildlife producer Michelle Douglass introduces thrilling tales of people and the wild, exploring perilous expeditions and survival stories.

Inside a recent episode

Terra Nova Expedition: Sex, Death and Survival in Antarctica (Part 2)

Published 30 Aug 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Adelies have a starring role in science today because they're an important indicator species for climate change. Incredibly, we can see massive patches of their poo from space using satellite images and that tells us about the size of their colony. Little did those Edwardian expeditionists know that these days, scientists studying climate change and all sorts of other things are following in their footsteps in the Antarctic right now, hunkering down in research huts to study the environment and our effect on it. There are even some relics of the Terra Nova expedition still there, like an old base called Scott's Hut. […]

Who has been a guest on Beastly History

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Douglas Russell
• Peta Tait
• Paul Lee
• Kieran Hickey
• Romany Reagan

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.3 / 5

154 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

Contact Beastly History

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Beastly History