Real Fantastic Beasts

About Real Fantastic Beasts

Alexa Sand and Ian MacInnes explore the world of medieval and Renaissance animals, real, fantastic, and fantastically real. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Alexa Sand & Ian MacInnes

Category

arts · arts · history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

24 Sept 2022

Latest episode

17 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

61 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Oct 2026

   Fatal Bellman

   Did you know that owls feed their babies milk? That owls eggs cure drunkenness? That a dead owl nailed to your barn door stops lightning? We explore the long lore of this terrifying bird of the night -- the symbol of both wisdom and folly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   4 Oct 2026

   A fish with a womb

   Why is the heir to the French throne named after a dolphin? How did a Venetian dynasty end up with one on its crest? And why did Renaissance furniture suddenly sprout dolphin legs? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   20 Sept 2026

   Snakebite!: Cleopatra's Asp Live at the RMMRA

   Before a live audience at the Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association conference, we dive into Cleopatra's famous asp with guest Emily Sharrett. How does medieval and early modern viper lore help us understand why this snake became the iconic instrument of her death? And what was Shakespeare doing with it? Also on YouTube at https://youtu.be/4n1Qmw94oW8 (https://youtu.be/4n1Qmw94oW8) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

17 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 26 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

22

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

77

Contact Real Fantastic Beasts

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

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