Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • NPR

    ‘A Catastrophic Theft From Humanity’: An Author’s Mission To Find Stolen Feathers

    Kirk Johnson's new book explores the 2009 theft of rare Victorian-era bird feathers from a British museum by an American music student.
    Apr 26, 2018 7 minutes
    "The Feather Thief," by Kirk Wallace Johnson. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

    Author Kirk Johnson‘s new book “The Feather Thief” explores the 2009 theft of rare Victorian-era bird feathers from a British museum by American music student Edwin Rist, who was obsessed with using the feathers for exotic fishing lures.

    Johnson (@KirkWJohnson) joins Here & Now‘s Robin Young to discuss the book and his own obsession with Rist’s story, which grew as Johnson tried to escape the pressures of his nonprofit The List Project.

    “I felt an obligation to go out and try to hunt these missing birds down because a huge hole had been blown open in the scientific record,” he says. “That’s one thing that you have to understand: These birds hold answers to questions that scientists haven’t even thought to ask yet. And by stealing them, he has — in the words of the director of science for the British museum — this was a catastrophic theft from humanity.”

    Interview Highlights

    On hearing about the feather heist on a fishing trip

    “While I was on a river, my guide in New Mexico mentioned this thing about a museum heist, and he told me that a young kid named Edwin Rist had just broken into the

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from NPR

    NPR2 min readCrime & Violence
    Guatemalan AG Raids Save The Children Office Over A Migrant Children Rights Complaint
    Prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche said that the complaint filed by an unidentified foreigner had raised serious concerns because it involved allegations of abuse of children.
    NPR3 min readAmerican Government
    Trump's Immunity Arguments And The Experiences Of The Justices Who Might Support It
    Five of the six conservatives spent much of their lives in the Beltway, working in the White House and Justice Department, seeing their administrations as targets of unfair harassment by Democrats.
    NPR7 min read
    As Bird Flu Spreads In Cows, Here Are 4 Big Questions Scientists Are Trying To Answer
    Health officials say there's very little risk to humans from the bird flu outbreak among dairy cattle, but there's still much they don't know. Here are four questions scientists are trying to answer.

    Related