Beastly History

It’s 1912, and on the Terra Nova British Antarctic Expedition, scientist and explorer George Murray Levick and five other men are marooned on what they’ll come to call ‘Inexpressible Island’.

Their ship has failed to return. The Antarctic winter is closing in — seven months of brutal cold and constant darkness.

With time running out, the men must build a tiny ice cave, hunt seals and penguins for food, and somehow survive the most hostile environment on Earth.

They’ll battle hunger, illness and exposure. And if they make it through the winter, they face a gruelling journey back to base, to discover what has happened to the rest of Captain Scott’s expedition.

They’ll need every ounce of physical and mental strength they possess to have a hope in hell of surviving.

And if they do make it… what changed world will they emerge into?

Michelle is joined by expert Douglas Russell from the Natural History Museum. So hunker down for Part 2 of this little-known story from Captain Scott’s expedition and the Age of Heroic Antarctic Exploration.

Discover More:

Discover London's amazing Natural History Museum:
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/

Read all about Scott of the Antarctic's doomed expedition with Antarctic Heritage Trust:
https://nzaht.org/conserve/explorer-bases/scotts-hut-cape-evans/history-of-scotts-expedition/
More Beastly:

Follow Beastly History on Instagram @beastlyhistory

Subscribe to @BeastlyHistoryPodcast on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@BeastlyHistoryPodcast

Email Beastly History at Wild Beast Studios: michelle@wildbeast.uk
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You may have heard of Captain Scott's doomed race to the South Pole. But do you know about the other gripping survival stories on history's most infamous Antarctic Expedition?

Scientist and explorer George Murray Levick makes discoveries about Adélie penguins’ sex lives that shock him and could scandalise Edwardian British sensibilities.

But will Levick even live to share his story? When he and five other men are marooned on ‘Inexpressible Island’, they must summon all their mental and physical strength to face the most brutal winter on Earth alone.

Michelle is joined by expert Douglas Russell from the Natural History Museum for an epic true tale of sex, death and survival in this remarkable alternative story from the infamous Terra Nova Expedition.

This is Part 1 of a two-part tale. Part 2 is coming soon!

Discover More:

Discover London's amazing Natural History Museum:
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/

Read all about Scott of the Antarctic's doomed expedition with Antarctic Heritage Trust:
https://nzaht.org/conserve/explorer-bases/scotts-hut-cape-evans/history-of-scotts-expedition/
More Beastly:

Follow Beastly History on Instagram @beastlyhistory

Subscribe to @BeastlyHistoryPodcast on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@BeastlyHistoryPodcast

Email Beastly History at Wild Beast Studios: michelle@wildbeast.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nellie Chapman has an extraordinary way of drawing a crowd. Born into the strange and spectacular world of 19th Century travelling menageries, she rises to fame as one of Britain's most celebrated lion tamers. Performing inside the cage with some of the world's most feared predators, Nellie captivates audiences eager for a glimpse of danger.

A performance for Queen Victoria offers the chance of a lifetime, but life among the big cats comes with enormous risks. At the height of Nellie's career, a shocking on-stage tragedy sparks public outrage and shines a spotlight on the hidden realities of the menagerie industry.

How did Nellie Chapman become Britain's famed Lion Queen? Why were Victorian audiences so enthralled by lion tamers and exotic animals? What dark and dangerous truths lay behind the spectacle? And what can Nellie's story reveal about our complicated relationship with wild animals?

Michelle is joined by expert Dr Peta Tait to explore a world of spectacle, danger, and caged beasts, uncovering the remarkable story of Britain's Lion Queen.

Discover More:

Check out Dr Peta Tait's book, Fighting Nature
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fighting-Nature-Travelling-Menageries-Publics/dp/1743324308
More Beastly:

Follow Beastly History on Instagram @beastlyhistory

Subscribe to @BeastlyHistoryPodcast on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@BeastlyHistoryPodcast

Email Beastly History at Wild Beast Studios: michelle@wildbeast.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(Content warning: please be aware this episode includes discussion of suicide). It's 1140pm in the North Atlantic Ocean, April 14 1912, when Titanic lookout Fred Fleet first glimpses a hulking great mass of ice looming out of the darkness. He desperately warns the crew with the famous words "Iceberg! Right Ahead!" But it's already too late.

Many things went wrong in the build up to one of history's most famous disasters and the loss of around 1500 lives.

And in this episode we're focusing on the Titanic story through the point of view of 24-year-old lookout Fred Fleet.

Why didn't Fleet see the iceberg in time? How come crew apparently ignored ice field warnings? And what does the catastrophe tell us about the Edwardian attitude towards the natural world in the name of progress?

Michelle's joined by Titanic expert Paul Lee for an epic Beastly History.

Discover More:

Explore Paul Lee's Titanic research: https://www.paullee.com/titanic/

Read Fred Fleet and others' testimony at the Titanic inquest in 1912: https://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTInq15Fleet01.php
More Beastly:

Follow Beastly History on Instagram @beastlyhistory

Subscribe to @BeastlyHistoryPodcast on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@BeastlyHistoryPodcast

Email Beastly History at Wild Beast Studios: michelle@wildbeast.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rory Carragh has a deadly reputation. He hunts wolves, and he’s very good at it.

Now he faces his toughest challenge yet. Two large wolves keep taking sheep in a remote mountain village, and the people are getting desperate. These elusive wolves are said to be among the last in County Tyrone. For Carragh, success means reward and status. But failure could cost him everything.

In this episode, we journey back to a time when wolves and humans coexisted across Ireland, before the violent upheaval of the 17th century. Under Oliver Cromwell, forests were destroyed and bounties placed on wolves, pushing them toward extinction.

Join Michelle and expert guest Dr Kieran Hickey to unpack the gripping story of Ireland’s wolf hunters, and the cultural legacy of these lost magnificent beasts.

Discover more:

Check out Dr Kieran Hickey's book Wolves in Ireland:
https://www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2013/wolves-in-ireland

Read an account of wolf hunter Rory Carragh's famous case in the Irish Penny Journal:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/30001398?seq=1

More Beastly:

Follow Beastly History on Instagram @beastlyhistory

Subscribe to @BeastlyHistoryPodcast on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@BeastlyHistoryPodcast

Email Beastly History at Wild Beast Studios: michelle@wildbeast.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.