Fantastico with Alistair McGowan

EP110: Servant of Florence (with Avril Burke)

There's a party at the Medici palace and the gang wasn't invited! Plus, Lisa discovers Piero is the head of the cult they have been up against all season, Mac is briefly kidnapped, and we finally meet a Charioteer from Lorenzo's infamous Charioteers Monthly. Joining us today to discuss all this and more is comedian and editor Avril (@aviie1296 [https://www.instagram.com/aviie1296/]) Together we talk about the best way to reveal a villain, whether we’d tell each other if we discovered one of our parents was in a cult, and the true meaning of Teenage Renaissance Batman. (Originally recorded in 2025 – that’s right, the podcast hasfinally caught up to this year!) Follow the podcast on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@FantasticoPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/fantasticopod/] Tiktok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@FantasticoPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@fantasticopod] Follow the hosts: Dervla is on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@dervlaj⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/dervlaj/] Avril is also on Instagram: @aviie1296 [https://www.instagram.com/aviie1296/] Avril on Conan O'Brien's podcast: Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/episode/5PZBOcoiwYkQrMtGrG6psq?trackId=3MrRksHupTVEQ7YbA0FsZK] Everywhere else [https://listen.teamcoco.com/datingadvice?c=9B9m4_OjXcsw1HKQseQGbg&h=2beaf0465c81afd85] SOURCES Leonardo and the Camera Obscura [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41133995] DIY Camera Obscura IRL ! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvzpu0Q9RTU&ab_channel=NationalGeographic] Leonardo's study of feet [https://www.rct.uk/collection/919010/the-muscles-and-tendons-of-the-sole-of-the-foot-recto-the-muscles-of-the-lower-leg] Leonardo studying frogs [https://www.jstor.org/stable/26618931]

EP109: Lost and Found (with Zoé)

Mummy issues! Fake marriage! Love triangles! There's lot to unpack in this episode when Lisa’s mother arrives in Florence to take Lisa home and force her into marriage. Zoé (⁠@punk_kinsoup⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/punk_kinsoup/]) joins the podcast to help unravel the complications that follow. Together we talk family, gender roles and games where you have a hoop and a stick. Originally recorded in 2023 Follow the podcast on Instagram and Threads: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@FantasticoPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/fantasticopod/] Tiktok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@FantasticoPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@fantasticopod] Follow the hosts: Dervla is on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@dervlaj⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/dervlaj/] Zoé's Etsy: Cosmicbonesclub [https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/cosmicbonesclub?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAadkj9uLFvJZwBZRfXssh-yC8UplceFbmgUwvI_0Hiw9m4jK7b1wAw-ix-ZfJQ_aem_BdbJJ0lmMoV70A9rg5m08A] Zoé's Instagram: @punk_kinsoup [https://www.instagram.com/punk_kinsoup/] SOURCES Leonardo and the stars [https://editions.covecollective.org/chronologies/leonardo-da-vinci-and-telescope] Leonardo Da Vinci + "Earth shine" [https://editions.covecollective.org/content/da-vinci-glow] Ring and hoop (hoop rolling) [https://www.britannica.com/topic/hoop] Spinning top [https://www.britannica.com/topic/top]

EP108: Angels and Cherubs (With Meg Barrett)

Florence’s annual art contest is here, and Leonardo and Lisa are competing against Michelangelo. With oil-based sabotages and schemes of stolen identity, who will triumph? This week we discuss Michelangelo and Leonardo’s rivalry, whether the Duke can truly love democracy as a reigning monarch, and how this should have been a Lisa episode. Joining us today is art historian Meg who has some surprising truths to reveal about the real-life paintings used in his episode. (Originally recorded in 2023) FOLLOW THE PODCAST You can find the show on: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@FantasticoPod⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/fantasticopod/] Tiktok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@FantasticoPod⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@fantasticopod] FOLLOW THE HOSTS Hope Anna is on ⁠⁠Substack⁠ [⁠⁠⁠https://bogofbread.substack.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠] Dervla is on Instagram: ⁠@dervlaj⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/dervlaj/] Meg is also on Instagram: @megentomori [https://www.instagram.com/megentomori/](a username she picked live on the podcast!) Sources History of the music box [https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/2771] Art featured this episode:      Baptism of Christ – Verrocchio and Leonardo [https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/verrocchio-leonardo-baptism-of-christ] Mona Lisa [https://www.louvre.fr/en/explore/the-palace/from-the-mona-lisa-to-the-wedding-feast-at-cana] San Francesco al Prato Resurrection [https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-05/beauty-art-faith-consolation-vatican-museum-42.html] - Pietro Perugino [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietro_Perugino] Battle of Anghiari [https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/work-of-art/the-battle-of-anghiari] (Leonardo's painting irl, Michelangelo's painting in the show)

EP107: Time Waits (with Hannah Scott-Ravikumar)

The time travel episode is here! Or is it....?  Morgues, corpses, and absentee parents abound in this episode centred around a watch which may (or may not) be the key to time travel. Dervla and Anna are joined by writer, bookseller and historian Hannah (@hannahsrwriter [https://www.instagram.com/hannahsrwriter/#]) and together they discuss bodies, daddy issues, and the fantastical. (Originally recorded in 2022) FOLLOW THE PODCAST You can find the show on: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@FantasticoPod⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/fantasticopod/] Tiktok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@FantasticoPod⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@fantasticopod] FOLLOW THE HOSTS Hope Anna is on ⁠⁠Substack⁠ [⁠⁠⁠https://bogofbread.substack.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠] Dervla is on Instagram: ⁠@dervlaj⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/dervlaj/] Hannah is also on Instagram: @hannahsrwriter [https://www.instagram.com/hannahsrwriter/] Our Recs: 📚 Stiff by Mary Roach Sources: History of the pocket watch [https://archive.org/details/timetimekeepersi00milhuoft] Leonardo’s alarm clock / water clock [https://www.rct.uk/collection/912716/designs-for-a-water-clock] Leonardo and anatomical studies [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leonardo-da-Vinci/Anatomical-studies-and-drawings] Skull used in Hamlet [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2008/nov/23/hamlet-rsc-david-tennant-theatre]

Fantastico with Alistair McGowan

We know him as Piero de Medici, villainous secret society leader and devoted father, but you may also know him as an impressionist, comic, actor and pianist. Alistair McGowan is here with us to discuss everything you’d ever wanted to know about Piero, from what it was like playing the villain and the experience of filming Leonardo in South Africa. *** Please note that this interview was originally recorded in 2022. Since then, Tom Wilkinson, one of the actors who Alistair mentions as being an inspiration for Piero, has sadly passed away. We’re so grateful for Tom's inspiration on this show we love. *** Alistair McGowan Listen and buy Alistair's amazing piano album ⁠here⁠ [https://slinky.to/ThePianoAlbumVolTwo] Alistair's website [https://highfieldproductions.com/alistair-mcgowan/] Alistair's book [https://www.waterstones.com/book/not-what-we-were-expecting/alistair-mcgowan/9781739623173] Follow the podcast on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@FantasticoPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/fantasticopod/] Tiktok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@FantasticoPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@fantasticopod] Tumblr: CBBCLeonardoPodcast [https://www.tumblr.com/cbbcleonardopodcast] Follow the hosts: Hope Anna is on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠ [⁠⁠⁠https://bogofbread.substack.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠] Dervla is on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@dervlaj⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/dervlaj/]