Sam ‘Ohu Gon was one of the last people to see an ‘Ō‘ū, a native Hawaiian bird that’s presumed to be extinct. He’s worked at the Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i for nearly forty years. In 1988, he took part in an Audubon Christmas Bird Count, hoping to encounter critically endangered native birds.

Thomas Poulsom is a hobbyist LEGO builder best known for his models of birds. But making birds out of bricks isn’t easy.

As he trained to be an arborist, Thomas Poulsom started developing two new interests: birds and building with LEGO bricks. After first building a European Robin, he went on to create LEGO models of more than 75 species. Thomas became one of the first LEGO fans to have his designs produced as an official set.

Poet Sean Hill performs three poems that encapsulate his dynamic relationship to birds, travel and life as a Black wanderer in the great outdoors. First is The Western Tanager or Why Montana, a villanelle reflecting on why people choose a home. Then, In Houston examines the intimacy of quiet moments and the surprising sounds that can be heard when we really listen. And finally, Silas Fishing 1967 shows how connecting with even small moments in nature can have a transformational effect.

Dave Mull is not your typical birder — he’s a professional skateboarder, or a “skatebirder” as he puts it. He brings binoculars with him when he skateboards and doesn’t mind putting his board down to check out a bird. But the birds aren’t really a distraction for Dave. Tuning into his surroundings, including the birds, helps him stay in the zone and provides inspiration for tricks.

In 1907, a German pharmacist named Julius Neubronner invented the pigeon camera. It was a small camera strapped to a pigeon’s breast — like a photographic baby-bjorn. A timer let the camera take multiple snapshots throughout the bird’s flight. This allowed for some of the earliest aerial photography, and even seemed promising for military reconnaissance.

Skateboarder and birder Dave Mull remembers the first time he heard a Steller’s Jay imitating a Red-tailed Hawk. “These Steller’s Jays were pretending to be something they were not, kind of tricking the world,” he says. It got him into the mindset that he could attempt a terrifying new skateboard trick called the “stump jump.”

Poet Ada Limón often writes about birds, and her new book, The Hurting Kind, is no exception. Birds are a throughline in the book — between the seasons, from childhood to present, and knowing and unknowing. Two of her poems examine opposite sides of the “knowing/unknowing” coin. You can read many more fantastic poems, with and without birds, in Ada Limón’s new book, The Hurting Kind.

Part of an annual series of National Poetry Month episodes I started at BirdNote, highlighting the work of exceptional contemporary poets writing about birds and nature. It was especially exciting to interview the now-US Poet Laureate and sound design some of her poems.

Bills so bright they gotta wear shades.

A student’s birding dream becomes reality.

When poet Ada Limón moved to Kentucky with her husband for his work, she was having trouble adjusting to her new home. To connect with the place, she began learning about the local birds and plants. She found comfort in the idea of the nearly omnipresent state bird, the Northern Cardinal. That inspired a poem in which the state bird becomes a metaphor for love.

Part of an annual series of National Poetry Month episodes I started at BirdNote, highlighting the work of exceptional contemporary poets writing about birds and nature. It was especially exciting to interview the now-US Poet Laureate and sound design some of her poems.

Writer Camille T. Dungy’s book Trophic Cascade deals with themes of nature and becoming a mother. The title is an ecological term, referring to the far-reaching changes on an ecosystem caused by the removal or introduction of a top “trophy” predator. In the case of Camille’s book, that “trophy creature” is her daughter. Camille performs three poems from Trophic Cascade reckoning with these changes to her own ecosystem.

In our second installment of BirdNoir, PI Michael Stein investigates a murder — a fish murder, plucked from The Dame’s pond. Is it a Bald Eagle? Or has ol’ baldy been framed? It’s all about knowing the right questions to ask.

Another installment of BirdNoir, finding playful new ways to teach listeners bird ID. Ft. Avery Trufelman as The Dame.

In this episode of BirdNoir, Michael Stein — Private Eye — gets a call from a friend, Danny, who wants to know why the bluest bird he’s ever seen has vanished. But there are many birds that are blue besides the true bluebirds (which belong to the thrush family). To solve the mystery, the detective needs to know the right questions to ask Danny, finding the relevant information to identify the bird and figure out what happened.

This is the first of an ongoing series of BirdNoir stories, using old film-noir tropes and production to make frequently asked questions about bird-ID and behavior more exciting and memorable. I cameo as fast-talkin’ Danny in this episode.

“It’s a jewel.”

The surprising history of an unjustly maligned bird.

Sculptor and musician Walter Kitundu first became enraptured by birds in 2005 when a Red-tailed Hawk flew four feet above his head. He named the bird Patch, after the white patch on the back of her head, and kept returning to the park to see her. Patch became used to Walter, accepting him as part of the landscape. He documented her transition from juvenile to adult, learning her quirks and mannerisms.

Tig Notaro is known for her acting, writing, and especially her deadpan comedy. Less well known is her love for birds.

When writer Wendy S. Walters lived in LA in the early 2000s, she wrote a collection of poems about the city called The Birds of Los Angeles. For one of her poems, she wanted to examine the idea of the Hollywood romance “and the ways in which people think that they’re going to be walking into a movie about their life,” Walters said. “And you know relationships are often much harder than that.”

In an ornithology class in college, Corina Newsome was introduced to the Blue Jay. After this, Newsome was determined to learn about the world of birds she had never noticed before.

You’re playing Stardew Valley, but like, in real life! 👩‍🌾

You can never have enough kinds of fish sauce.

There is a very delicious world outside of those walls 🍎

Lifelong birder Jordan Rutter co-founded the campaign Bird Names for Birds. The goal? To discontinue the use of honorific names and replace them with names that celebrate the unique attributes, behaviors, and biomes of the birds. “There’s a way for us to remember and learn the history of ornithology…that can be separate from the actual birds,” Jordan says. “And just let birds be celebrated for birds.”

August 22 is the birthday of renowned French composer, Claude Debussy. Born in 1862, Debussy is known for his impressionistic sonic portraits, like La Mer, about the sea. But one of his best known works is an earlier piano piece, Clair de Lune. The song is quiet and haunting. Which got us thinking: what if we paired it with the most haunting birdsong — the song of loons? Enjoy Clair de Loon.

I was proud to hearken back to the old days of NPR with this piece and subject listeners to something truly wacky. I collaborated with Breakmaster Cylinder for turning this idea into a reality.

While at Chicago’s Field Museum, I ran into a School of the Art Institute of Chicago nature illustration class in the hall of birds. I took out my iPhone and interviewed as many students as were willing to take out their earbuds to talk to me, and was thrilled to find Michelle.

For those of us sheltering in place, it can feel like the walls are closing in. But our host Gordon Hempton’s work as an acoustic ecologist can teach us something vitally important about transcending troubling times: sound can set us free. All we need to do is listen.

Fast-tracked and led the production of a new season of our series of soundscapes from Gordon Hempton to help people feel less isolated during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. I interviewed Gordon and coached him for taglines, transitions, and credits. I also art directed the branding for the series. Hear the whole season.

Each September, thousands of Vaux’s Swifts roost in the chimney of Chapman Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, a stopover on their southern migration. Crowds gather every night to watch the spectacle. As a celebration of Poetry Month in the US, we offer this poem, Swifts, by Stefania Gomez.

Part of an annual series of National Poetry Month episodes I started at BirdNote, highlighting the work of exceptional contemporary poets writing about birds and nature.

Bird populations in North America have plummeted since the 1960s. A recent study found that overall bird populations in North America have declined by 3 billion birds, almost 30 percent of the total population. There are a number of factors causing this: habitat loss, climate change, cats. But glass windows are one of the biggest killers of birds in the United States — claiming the lives of up to one billion birds each year. Producer Mark Bramhill has the story on what’s going on — and what folks in NYC are doing to try to fix it

I travelled to NYC to report this story, shadowing Audubon volunteers and visiting the Wild Bird Fund animal rehab center. It was difficult to see so many dead and injured birds, but also hopeful to know that real change is starting to happen.

How a board game about birds became the game of the year.

How Kelsen Caldwell, a bus driver in Seattle, found a love for birds.

Part of the Spark Bird series I started for BirdNote, sharing the stories of how people first became obsessed with birds, whether they’re a bus driver who casually watches birds or a celebrated ornithologist.

In this extended episode, Traci Brimhall shows how poetry can bring us closer to nature.

Part of an annual series of National Poetry Month episodes I started at BirdNote, highlighting the work of exceptional contemporary poets writing about birds and nature. I conducted the interviews, wrote, and produced the piece, with narration by Mary McCann.

While birding in Florida, Sidney Wade discovers something new and unexpected about the Double-crested Cormorant. Her poem, _Blue, captures the sense of wonder in that moment._

Part of an annual series of National Poetry Month episodes I started at BirdNote, highlighting the work of exceptional contemporary poets writing about birds and nature.

What's the cost of having the latest and greatest?

A look into the environmental impact of Apple's devices, how the difficulty to repair and recycle them poses a growing problem, and how these issues have complicated my fandom.

The drama, the inspirations, and the hijinks that went into the creation of sounds you hear nearly every day.

My favorite story from my podcast, Welcome to Macintosh. This story also aired on the podcast 20 Thousand Hertz. Runner-up in Audio Documentary for the 2018 Miller Audio Prize from the Missouri Review.

Tech analysts estimate that over six billion emojis are sent each day. Emojis, which started off as a collection of low-resolution pixelated images from Japan, have become a well-established and graphically sophisticated part of everyday global communication.

But who decides what emojis are available to users, and who makes the actual designs? Independent radio and film producer Mark Bramhill took it upon himself to find out and, in the process, ended up developing and pitching his own idea for a new emoji.

Condensed version of a four-part mini-series on emoji I did for my podcast, Welcome to Macintosh. The piece helped break 99% Invisible’s typical style to experiment with new forms, and allowing more personality into the show.

A profile of Lyn Rathburn, a Houston-based cactus mogul, and king of the succulents.

The story of a farmer, a man in a pickle, a German opera producer, 100 ewes, and a production that took the New York art world by storm. Produced with Jon Earle. Winner of the 2016 UnFictional Award for KCRW’s 24-Hour Radio Race.

The story of how a YouTube video made Steve Jobs dance.

Walking down Main Street in Hyannis, MA, Joe talks about his biggest regrets.

Sarah Outen is on an adventure: doing a lap of the world powered only by her own muscles. She travels by bike, kayak, and row boat. Her trip has brought her the best — and worst — moments of her life. And now, four years after starting her journey, Sarah is preparing for the final leg: rowing home from Cape Cod to London.

Captain Mike Orbe sells more oversized fish each year than many fisherman will catch in a lifetime. But his fish won’t be winding up on the dinner table. Mike’s fish are wooden carvings, ranging between two and eight feet long. His most popular carving? The white sperm whale.