Birds of a Feather Talk Together Records First Live Episode at Chicago Urban Birding Festival
Birds of a Feather Talk Together, the popular birding and natural history podcast hosted by Field Museum ornithologists Dr. John Bates and Dr. Shannon Hackett alongside RJ Pole and Amanda Pole, recorded its first-ever episode in front of a live audience at this year’s Urban Birding Festival in Chicago.
The milestone brought the podcast’s signature conversational style to the stage, with the hosts talking birds, sharing stories and answering questions from festival attendees.
“Getting to record in front of an audience for the first time was incredibly special,” said co-host and producer RJ Pole. “Our listeners are such a big part of the show. They send us questions and bird stories every week, so getting to actually meet some of them and have them participate in an episode was really exciting.”
For Dr. John Bates, the live recording was a natural extension of what makes the podcast unique.
“One of the things I love about the podcast is that we never quite know where the conversation is going to take us,” Bates said. “Doing that in front of an audience and getting their questions and reactions in real time made it even more fun.”
For Dr. Shannon Hackett, the festival was an opportunity to connect with the kind of community the podcast hopes to build.
“A big part of why we do the podcast is because we love spreading the word about birds and sharing that excitement with other people,” Hackett said. “Getting to be in a room with so many like-minded people who are curious and enthusiastic about birds was really special.”
The Urban Birding Festival brought together birders from Chicago and beyond for a celebration of birds, conservation and urban nature. Bates also led bird walks during the festival.
With more than 150 episodes and 100,000 total downloads, Birds of a Feather Talk Together has built a community ranging from experienced birders to people discovering the birds in their own backyards for the first time.
The live Urban Birding Festival episode is available wherever podcasts are found.
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