Bird Brain

I'm joined by Suzy Buttress from  The Casual Birder Podcast  to find out how closely Sam Eagle from  The Muppets resembles a real bald eagle. In this episode we discuss: Why Benjamin Franklin would have preferred a turkey to be the national bird of America Frank Oz's illustrious career, beyond the Muppets Lead poisoning statistics in the Bald Eagle population At the end of the episode, Suz...

This week on  Bird Brain , we take flight with Archimedes the owl from Disney’s  The Sword in the Stone , joined by nature tour guide Nick Patel from Wilder Skies in Somerset. From the rolling hills of the West Country to the realities of rewilding, we explore what “good” nature really looks like, and why it’s not always the postcard-perfect green landscape we expect. Think messy habitats, brown m...

This week we dive into Beavers, via Mr and Mrs Beaver from  The Chronicles of Narnia . I’m joined by  Sean McCormack , vet, sometime TV personality and project lead at the  Ealing Beaver Project . Together we unpack the things C.S. Lewis got gloriously right and a few of the things he got very wrong (Sean’s incensed by the inclusion of beavers frying fish!). We explore common misconceptions about...

This week on  Bird Brain , it’s a festive deep dive into  The 12 Days of Christmas  with  Jon Carter , Media Manager at the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Together we unwrap one of the most familiar Christmas songs and ask a surprising question:  what if the twelve gifts weren’t romantic gestures at all, but birds destined for a medieval banquet?   We also crunch the numbers using the  Chris...

This week on  Bird Brain , I’m joined by  Stephen Moss : broadcaster, ornithologist, and author of, among a rather large list,  The Robin. Together, we've done a special Christmas deep dive into  Aardman Animations’  Robin Robin . We explore why the robin is Britain’s most beloved festive bird, how Aardman brings nature to life through stop-motion storytelling, and what the film gets right (an...

This week on  Bird Brain , I’m joined by  Alice Vassallo , zookeeper and host of  Asshole Animals with Alice . Together we talk about  Red Lories and Iago . We dig into why Disney’s sharp-tongued parrot is so unforgettable, and which real-life animals might make even better troublemakers. A chat full of colour, chaos, and charismatic villains!

This week on  Bird Brain , I’m live from  Global Birdfair 2025 , joined by ecologist  Naomi Davis, my first non-binary guest on the pod! Together we dive into the iconic flock of chickens from  Chicken Run , that stop-motion classic once pitched as  “The Great Escape with Chickens.” We cover everything from the genius of the word  “wazzock”  and why it matters , to the way internalised misogyny sh...

This week on Bird Brain, I’m joined by ecologist, bird ringer, and rewilding champion  Penny Green , fresh from a decade at Knepp and now heading into her next wild chapter on the South Downs. We’re talking about Green Woodpeckers  (also known as  yaffles ), with a specific focus on Professor Yaffle from Bagpuss. We look at everything, from their role as habitat engineers to their unmistakable lau...

🎙️ In this episode of  Bird Brain , we soar into the vibrant and endangered world of the  Spix’s Macaw —the striking blue parrot made famous by  Blu  in the animated film  Rio . Joining me is  Scarlett Hilton —BTO Young Leader, nature poet, and passionate advocate for equitable access to nature. We discuss: 🦜  Rio  and the real-life story behind Blu 🌵 The caatinga biome – What makes this dry for...

Bonus Beasts: Iorek Byrnison, from the His Dark Materials trilogy. This episode isn’t just about polar bears. It’s about what happens when you’re stripped of your purpose — and how, for some people, recovery means forging a new kind of armour. To explore that, I’m joined by psychiatrist and trauma specialist Dr Mathew Hoskins — who’s worked on cutting-edge therapies for PTSD, including MDMA-assist...

In this episode of  Bird Brain , we take flight into the world of  geese in literature, folklore, and nature  with  Liliana Tarrant Snedden —President of the Cardiff University Ornithological Society and  BTO Youth Rep . We discuss: Kaisa the daemon  – Exploring how Philip Pullman's choice of a Snow Goose for a witch’s familiar in  His Dark Materials is subverting the usual image of a witch’s...

Roadrunners, Cuckoos, and Cold War Cartoons: A Chat with Jon Carter from the BTO In this episode, we’re joined by Jon Carter, Media Manager at The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), to talk all things birds—and a bit of Looney Tunes! 🐦🎥 We dive into why Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote became a surprising cultural phenomenon in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, explore the fascinating connect...

In this episode of  Bird Brain , I’m joined by Stu for a lively conversation as we unpack the challenges of Stu’s vegan lifestyle and examine the often arbitrary ways humans categorise animals—shifting between entertainment, companionship, and consumption. We dive into the ethical implications of mega-corporations like Disney, their influence on wildlife conservation, and the live-action remake of...

In this episode of  Bird Brain , I’m joined by a special guest, Tom Morath, Deputy Head of Living Collections at The Hawk Conservancy Trust. Together, we dive into the fascinating world of vultures—one of the most misunderstood and critically endangered groups of birds on the planet. We’ll discuss why these incredible scavengers are vital for ecosystems and explore their depiction in popular cultu...

In this exciting episode of  Bird Brain , host Kelly Keegan takes flight into the fascinating world of ravens, focusing on Matthew the Raven from the popular comic and Netflix series,  Sandman . Joined by longtime friend and comic book aficionado Joe, Kelly dives deep into the myths and misconceptions surrounding these enigmatic birds. Discover how the real-life raven stacks up against its fiction...

Every 6th episode of the podcast will be dedicated to Bonus Beasts (in honour of the number of the beast!). Whether it’s interviews with humans who are doing incredible work in the conservation and nature spaces or just an excuse to take about beavers, these are the episodes where you’ll find additional content about how popular culture intersects with the natural world. In this inaugural episode...

In this week's episode I am joined by writer Charlie Bingham; together we swoop through pop culture to tackle 2024's Migration (produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination) and explore how similar the character of Chump is to real pigeons. Charlie can be found on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_charliebingham?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== She is r...

In this week's episode I am joined by Roddy and Jack from the How Many Geese? podcast; together we swing through pop culture to tackle the 1997 blockbuster hit George of the Jungle, and explore how similar the character of Tookie Tookie is to a real toucan. A certain "jacking off" monkey also gets an honourable mention, at just before the 32 minute mark - Skip about a minute if you d...

This is a podcast for people who like pop culture and nature. In this episode of Bird Brain I tackle the subject of whether the representation of Red-Billed Hornbills, via the character of Zazu in The Lion King, has done the species justice. I am joined by author Lucy McRobert and translator (of nature books and bird ID guides) James Lidster. You can find Lucy and James on Instagram: https://www.i...

In this episode of Bird Brain, artist Carly Sharp and I tackle the subject of whether the representation of Adelie Penguins in the Dreamworks Madagascar franchise has done the species justice. This is a podcast for people who like pop culture and nature. Carly's work can be seen on Instagram at: https://tinyurl.com/bdhr6j4y

Join us for episode one of Bird Brain, Stephen Moss (renowned nature writer and ornithologist) and I delve into the portrayal of Hedwig from Harry Potter. Discover whether the depiction aligns with the true traits of Snowy Owls and explore the storied history of anthropomorphising this fascinating species. Expect avian anecdotes, fantastic facts, wizarding world geekery, and an appearance from my...