Audubon’s Enemies and Frenemies, with Mary Winn Heider (episode 5)

Val talks to author Mary Winn Heider about ornithologist (bird scientist) drama from the early to mid 1800s. We get into the gigging lifestyles of Alexander Wilson and John James Audubon. Charles Lucien Bonaparte, George Ord, and a snooty engraver named Lawson also make appearances.

from left: Audubon, Ord, Bonaparte, Wilson. Like class pics! (all images from Wikipedia)

SHOW NOTES: 

Most of this research hole came from a book I read called A Glorious Enterprise: The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and the Making of American Science by Robert McCracken Peck and Patricia Tyson Stroud.

Wilson’s tome was called American Ornithology. It was nine volumes long.  

Group of jellyfish is called a ‘bloom’ or ‘swarm.’ There are many online sources that say a group of jellyfish is called a ‘smack’ but none of them are good sources, so this might be wishful thinking. 

Detailed account of the frenemous relationship between Charles Bonaparte and John - Audubon can be found here.

The TED Talk my dad listened to is called The Power of Deliberate Listening by Ronnie Polaneczky. You can find it on youtube. 

Mary Winn Heider is the author of The Mortification of Fovea Munson and The Losers at the Center of the Galaxy. Find her books (and more about her) at Marywinnheider.com.

Email us at researchholepodcast@gmail.com to share something you learned this week, either through a research hole or while just living your life!