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
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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
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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
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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
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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
Listen to The Thing with Feathers: birds and hope with Courtney Ellis, Something You Should Know and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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