cover of episode 754: Spark Bird

754: Spark Bird

2024/8/25
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This American Life

Chapters

Noah Strycker's journey into birding began with a turkey vulture encounter that changed his life, leading him to become a renowned bird expert and author.
  • Noah Strycker's passion for birding started in fifth grade.
  • He has written five books about bird behavior and has seen over 6,000 bird species.
  • His life-changing encounter with a turkey vulture inspired him to organize his life around birding.

Shownotes Transcript

Stories about birds and the hearts they sway, the havoc they wreak, the lives they change.

  • Prologue: Ira goes out birding with birder extraordinaire Noah Strycker, who tells the dramatic story of the bird that changed his life: the turkey vulture. (13 minutes)
  • Act One: Carmen Milito tells Ira the story of a date she went on as a teenager, and the bird her mom brought to the occasion. (14 minutes)
  • Act 2: Ira tromps around the woods some more with Noah Strycker, who explains, among other things, his problem with the movie Spencer.
  • Act Two: Producer Bim Adewunmi on a decades-long political battle in Florida — between the incumbent state bird and the challenger that threatens to knock it off its perch. (7 minutes)
  • Act Three: There are the birds who exist, and then there are the birds who may as well exist. Producer Sean Cole explains. (18 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org)

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