The Thing with Feathers: birds and hope with Courtney Ellis

Courtney Ellis
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The Thing with Feathers: birds and hope with Courtney Ellis

Stories, experts, and special guests on how birds help us keep looking up. courtneyellis.substack.com

  1. APR 8

    93: Looking Up's Audiobook Launch!

    Dan Van Voorhis is a professional podcaster with a PhD in Church History. His podcast, The Christian History Almanac offers daily 5-minute episodes all about the work of God in the world over the centuries. It’s one of my favorites. Dan is also a friend, congregant, and the best interviewer I know. He graciously agreed to come on The Thing with Feathers and interview me about the launch of the audiobook for Looking Up that comes out today (yayyyyyyy!) on the one-year anniversary of the paperback’s launch. Come join us as we chat about the ins and outs of audiobook recording, the joys and surprises at the ways Looking Up has made its way into the world, the birds of spring, and the special additions that come with the audio version of this book. Get full access to Keep Looking Up at courtneyellis.substack.com/subscribe

    38 min

  2. MAR 24

    92: The Breeding Birds of Minnesota

    Lee Pfannmuller and Jerry Niemi know a thing or two about birds. With over one hundred years(!) of birding experience between them, they have spent their lives doing fieldwork related to conservation and ecology throughout the state of Minnesota and beyond. Today we celebrate the publication of their new, beautiful book The Breeding Birds of Minnesota. We talk about everything from bird surveys to caring for creation to wrangling volunteers. Find out the most frequently seen bird in Minnesota (the answer surprised me!), the most difficult places to perform bird surveys, and a great story about one place you should never drive a Prius. Join us for this special, encouraging episode all about the beautiful birds of one of our most fantastic and ecologically fragile states. Get full access to Keep Looking Up at courtneyellis.substack.com/subscribe

    48 min

  3. MAR 10

    91: Creation and Conservation with Peter Harris

    Peter Harris co-founded A Rocha, a Christian nonprofit dedicated to conservation back in 1983. Together he and his wife Miranda built an organization that helped churches and Christians across the world work together to care for creation. Their vision was to build a global family of conservation organizations working together to live out God’s calling to care for creation ​and equip others to do likewise. Today, A Rocha exists in more than 20 countries, from Portugal to the United States to India to Kenya. It continues to bring together those interested in conservation with people of faith, offering practical ways people can work to steward the good gift of creation God has given. Friends, I could have spoken with Peter for days upon days. He is a wealth of wisdom, humility, and kindness, and I learned so much from our hour together. I’m so excited to share today’s episode with you - our discussion ranges from practical tips for conservation to the British evangelist John Stott’s love for birds to coping with grief to and loss to the hollowness of consumerism to how gosh-darned wonderful the avian world is. “People are looking to understand,” said Peter. I’ll also never forget our initial email exchange where I, a little star-struck by a guest who has done so much good in the world, told Peter I was looking forward to learning from him. “We will learn from each other, Courtney,” he said. Check out Peter’s beautiful book from the 1990s, Under the Bright Wings, about the faith-filled founding of A Rocha, too. Enjoy this gift of a podcast, perfect for thinking more about the beauty of God’s creation and how we might better care for it. Get full access to Keep Looking Up at courtneyellis.substack.com/subscribe

    49 min

  4. FEB 24

    90: Seeing God after Losing Faith (Liz Charlotte Grant)

    Liz Charlotte Grant’s new book, Knock at the Sky: Seeking God in Genesis after Losing Faith in the Bible is a wild and wondrous read. And rightly so—anyone who’s spent any time in Genesis knows that it’s a delightfully odd and messy book. Join us on this episode about hope, backyard chickens, and the surprising ways God sometimes shows up even when we feel we’ve lost our faith. You may want to check out Liz’s fabulous Substack, The Empathy List, which has won Webby awards for its writing, as well as her haunting article on one of the saints of the evangelical church, Elisabeth Elliot. Get full access to Keep Looking Up at courtneyellis.substack.com/subscribe

    46 min

  5. FEB 10

    89: Hope in Chronic Illness (Duane Bidwell)

    Duane Bidwell is the author, most recently, of the new book After the Worst Day Ever: What Sick Kids Know About Sustaining Hope in Chronic Illness, with Beacon Press. He’s a professor, a chaplain, and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He also loves a raven, but we’ll get to that. Today’s episode is all about hope. Where we might find it, what we can learn from kids who have it—often against all odds—and how may serve as agents of hope to one another. We also dabble a little in birds, don’t you worry. Whether you’re feeling hopeful or hopeless, this is an episode not to be missed, my friends. And don’t forget to check out Duane’s beautiful book. You can find it anywhere books are sold. Get full access to Keep Looking Up at courtneyellis.substack.com/subscribe

    44 min

  6. JAN 27

    88: Winter Birding with Janet Hill

    Janet Hill first appeared on The Thing With Feathers back in 2023. I’d followed her wonderful photography for years and grown to appreciate her invitational style, and our conversation cheered and heartened me. I couldn’t think of a better person to come on the show to talk all things winter birding than Janet. From Saskatoon to Newfoundland, from California gulls to Black-billed Magpies, join us for a conversation about listening, the benefits of keeping records, and why Janet believes in the importance of getting outside every single day, even in sub-zero weather. Plus: an update on Mary the Blue Jay. Follow Janet over on BlueSky to see more of her beautiful work. Get full access to Keep Looking Up at courtneyellis.substack.com/subscribe

    50 min
  7. 87: Simon Stuart on Conservation and Hope

    JAN 13

    87: Simon Stuart on Conservation and Hope

    Simon Stuart is the senior advisor to conservation at A Rocha. Until April of 2023, he served as Executive Director of A Rocha International. Simon has been instrumental in the species conservation movement around the world, including winning a Blue Planet Prize for his work with the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. Really, I could go on. Simon is a gracious, brilliant guy with a biography longer than my arm. (He spent his gap year with Jane Goodall! He was almost kidnapped twice!) But I’m going to let him tell you his story of conservation and hope in his own words. Two things really stuck out to me about my conversation with Simon. First, his perspective that good, healthy change begins with “cultivating the love of what God has made.” With so much hopeless and despair around everything from the loss of biodiversity to climate change, it can be easy to descend into despair. But he reminded me that all good work begins and ends and has its roots in love. Secondly, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to discover a new species. Simon has that story to share as well. Buckle up for an adventure of an episode that takes us from Bath, England to Tanzania to India and back again. You won’t want to miss this one. Get full access to Keep Looking Up at courtneyellis.substack.com/subscribe

    55 min

  8. 12/30/2024

    86: Roger Hutchison on New Year's Resolutions... for Birds

    Roger Hutchison is an author, illustrator, and Christian educator in the Episcopal Church. He’s a two-time guest on our podcast, and we couldn’t think of a better fit for our end-of-year episode. Together we talk resolutions, words of the year, and what resolutions birds would make, if they made them. Plus, we take a look at his just-about-to-be-released book, The Gift of Baptism. This beautiful children’s picture book took my breath away with its soulful writing and gorgeous illustrations by Claire Westwood. Join us as we talk about finding hope even when *gestures broadly at everything.* Roger shares a bobcat story, how children are bearers and bringers of hope, and what sparrow-centric project he’s working on next. Get full access to Keep Looking Up at courtneyellis.substack.com/subscribe

    50 min
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Stories, experts, and special guests on how birds help us keep looking up. courtneyellis.substack.com

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