Okay, But... Birds

Okay, But... Birds

Dr. Scott Taylor

Episodes 24
Avg. Duration 31m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 4.9 (104)
Since Nov 2025
Latest Episode May 2026

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Publishing Details

Schedule
Weekly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
87%
Hosting
feed.podbean.com

About This Podcast

Hosted by evolutionary biologist Dr. Scott Taylor, Okay, But... Birds explores the drama, brilliance, and science behind bird life. Each snackable 30-minute episode blends smart storytelling, expert interviews, and a touch of humor to reveal how birds shape our world . No jargon. No binoculars required. Just real science, quirky insights, and bird-brained drama you’ll want to share at brunch. Because birds aren’t background. Birds are cool.

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Recent Episodes

S1E23 Okay, but can a bird really cooperate with humans?

May 21, 2026 33m

E23. Across sub-Saharan Africa, wild birds and people work together to find honey. No taming, no breeding, no domestication…  just a partnership thousands of years in the making. Behavioral ecologist…

S1E22 Okay, but can birds predict the weather?

May 14, 2026 34m Transcript

E22. Folklore says birds know a storm is coming before we do. Scott talks with Dr. Gunnar Kramer, Iowa State University, about what's actually happening when a tiny warbler decides it's time to fly,…

S1E21 Okay, but can birds smell?

May 07, 2026 34m Transcript

E21. We're talking sense and scents with Dr. Danielle Whittaker, Oregon State, and author of The Secret Perfume of Birds, who spent a decade unraveling a 200-year-old myth that started with John…

S1E20 Okay, but what can we learn from a drawer of birds?

Apr 23, 2026 35m Transcript

E20. Less than 1% of what's in a museum is actually on display. So what's happening with the other 99%? Scott talks with Dr. Sushma Reddy, Breckenridge Chair of Ornithology at the Bell Museum and…

S1E19 Okay, but are bird feeders helping or hurting?

Apr 16, 2026 32m Transcript

E19. More than 55 million Americans feed birds, and it's not exactly clear the birds asked us to. Dr. Olivia Sanderfoot, Research Scientist and Project Leader of FeederWatch at the Cornell Lab of…

S1E18 Okay, but what’s in a bird’s toolbox?

Apr 09, 2026 32m Transcript

E18. Turns out "bird brain" is less of an insult and more of a compliment. Scott sits down with Dr. Alex Kacelnik, Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford, to dig into one of the most…

S1E17 Okay, but do birds have culture?

Apr 02, 2026 35m Transcript

E17. From sparrow songs that go viral across a continent to cockatoos that watch each other to learn how to open bins, Dr. Lucy Aplin, Australian National University / University of Zurich, studies…

S1E16 Okay, but why put eggs in another bird’s basket?

Mar 26, 2026 31m

E16. What if the secret to raising more babies was to never raise a single one yourself? Dr. Chris Balakrishnan, Associate Adjunct Professor of Biology at East Carolina University and co-founder of…

S1E15 Okay, but what makes a yard a bird paradise?

Mar 19, 2026 24m

E15. Most people picture a bird-friendly yard and imagine feeder, birdbath, maybe a decorative birdhouse with mortgage vibes. And feeders are great. But a feeder can give you the illusion of helping…

S1E14 Okay, but what makes a bird… a bird? Hint: Dinosaurs!

Mar 12, 2026 33m Transcript

E14. What do feathers, toothless beaks, and a 66-million-year-old asteroid have in common. Paleontologist Dr. Daniel Field, University of Cambridge, joins Scott to unpack how birds evolved from…

S1E13 Okay, but why do some birds babysit?

Mar 05, 2026 31m Transcript

E13. Some birds skip having their own families and spend years helping raise their siblings instead. It sounds like altruism, but it's probably more complicated than that. In this episode, host Dr.…

S1E12 Okay, but how do birds stay warm?

Feb 26, 2026 30m Transcript

E12. Winter isn’t just “cold” for a bird, it’s a nightly survival math problem: generate enough heat, lose as little as possible, and don’t get eaten while you’re fueling up. In this episode, host…

S1E11 Okay, but why is a bird’s world more colorful?

Feb 19, 2026 33m Transcript

E11. Bird vision isn’t just “better than ours,” It’s operating in a different color space, including ultraviolet. In Host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Dr. Allison Shultz, Associate Curator at the…

S1E10 Okay, but can birds keep up with climate change?

Feb 12, 2026 33m Transcript

E10. Seasons used to feel predictable. Winter showed up, spring arrived on cue, and birds could run their annual schedules like clockwork. But now the timing is weird: early heat, late snow, shifting…

S1E9 Okay, but is birdwatching the original Pokémon?

Feb 05, 2026 36m

E9. Birdwatching, birding, twitching… whatever you call it, it’s got everything: quests, rare finds, elaborate gear, a sprawling universe of characters, and a deeply committed fandom. Sound familiar?…

S1E8 Okay, but why do some birds thrive in cities?

Jan 29, 2026 31m Transcript

E8. Cities can look like a concrete nightmare for wildlife… yet some birds are absolutely crushing it, while others vanish. In this episode of Okay, But... Birds, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by…

S1E7 Okay, but what does it take to record a bird? The inside scoop on Merlin!

Jan 22, 2026 25m Transcript

E7. Every bird song you’ve ever heard on a hike, through an open window, or sampled in a nature documentary has a story behind it. In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Linda Macaulay,…

S1E6 Okay, but how do chickadees never forget?

Jan 15, 2026 24m Transcript

E6. While chickadees look cute, they are also running one of the most impressive memory systems in the animal world. They hide food across the landscape, then somehow return to an insane number of…

S1E5 Okay, but why fly from the Arctic to Antarctica and back every year?

Jan 08, 2026 27m Transcript

E5. Every spring and fall, billions of birds pull off the most ambitious commutes on Earth. In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Dr. Nate Senner, Mass Audubon Bertrand Chair for…

S1E4 Okay, but bird flu is really bad, right?

Jan 01, 2026 28m Transcript

E4. Bird flu used to sound like a “poultry industry problem.” Now it’s showing up everywhere and rewriting the rules for wild birds, ecosystems, and what “outbreak” even means. In this episode, host…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Okay, But... Birds have?

Okay, But... Birds has published 24 episodes since November 2025, covering topics in Nature, Science.

Is Okay, But... Birds still active?

Okay, But... Birds is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 31m.

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