Thomas was a feral goose living in New Zealand, who initially made headlines when people realised that he had chosen a black swan as his mate. Their interspecies relationship alone would have been enough to garner attention, but when their fans realised that they were also both males, Thomas and his husband Henry were skyrocketed to international stardom. But it wasn't until a second black swan arrived at the scene and turned Henry's head that the real drama started to go down...

Honestly, this story has got to be one of my all-time favourites! And if you need a wholesome tale as a little pick-me-up, then I'm sure you'll love it too! Thomas is the kind of queer hero we all need in our lives.

Original air date: 17th June 2025

Important note: Unfortunately I wasn't able to import my show when I was switching hosting platforms, and as a result I'm having to re-upload my podcast from the start. Because of that, these early episodes are not indictive of the show's current quality - both in terms of the equipment used and my own skills as a writer & presenter - so apologies for that! Hopefully before too long I'll have caught up to my current output. In the meantime, you can check out my full back catalogue of episodes, and catch up with my newer content, over on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp6MWEI1w5ZrPiEM7zZKmgvtqhmWWbpeB

Show notes: (for content warnings, sources used, related non-profits, etc)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jxIgozTzbKLz30VbCy5WbOVFyaCCm68mX9TcKaVbPm8/edit?usp=sharing

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One day, Blackie the donkey was living a quiet, unsuspecting life in rural Spain. The next, he found himself at the centre of an international rescue mission which included underhand journalism tactics, decades of campaigning, and a fierce debate about the intersection of tradition and animal welfare that still rages on to this day. So sit back and relax (as much as you can) as we dive deep into this complicated (and controversial!) story.

Original air date: 3rd June 2025

Important note: Unfortunately I wasn't able to import my show when I was switching hosting platforms, and as a result I'm having to re-upload my podcast from the start. Because of that, these early episodes are not indictive of the show's current quality - both in terms of the equipment used and my own skills as a writer & presenter - so apologies for that! Hopefully before too long I'll have caught up to my current output. In the meantime, you can check out my full back catalogue of episodes, and catch up with my newer content, over on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp6MWEI1w5ZrPiEM7zZKmgvtqhmWWbpeB

Show notes: (for content warnings, sources used, related non-profits, etc)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rf4s689AVXWQl5dr58Eky5PVrm4Vg8F3HtECv-U4pvY/edit?usp=sharing

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you imagine the kind of wildlife native to Yorkshire, hippopotamuses are probably not the first species that spring to mind. And, sure, these days if you go for a stroll through the Dales you're definitely not going to run into one of them. But prior to the last ice age, they were actually a common sight across much of the UK, and so it's not as uncommon as you'd think for their fossilised remains to be dug up by archaeologists - and that's how the skeleton now known as the Armley or Leeds hippo was first found. And, look, I know an entire podcast episode about a collection of old bones doesn't sound very exciting (I mean, it's not even a full skeleton! Just a partial one!), but I promise this story is a lot more interesting than you might think.

Original air date: 13th May 2025

Important note: Unfortunately I wasn't able to import my show when I was switching hosting platforms, and as a result I'm having to re-upload my podcast from the start. Because of that, these early episodes are not indictive of the show's current quality - both in terms of the equipment used and my own skills as a writer & presenter - so apologies for that! Hopefully before too long I'll have caught up to my current output. In the meantime, you can check out my full back catalogue of episodes, and catch up with my newer content, over on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp6MWEI1w5ZrPiEM7zZKmgvtqhmWWbpeB

Show notes: (for content warnings, sources used, related non-profits, etc)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nYM8ykaz-Yf39hQoXacyCf8036flPy1CyqxH2jMoliQ/edit?usp=sharing

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.