The Thing with Feathers: birds and hope with Courtney Ellis

Courtney Ellis

courtneyellis@substack.com

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Booking Overview

A birds-and-hope show that pairs avian wonder with practical encouragement, often through authors, pastors, and faith-adjacent leaders. For PR pros, it’s a strong venue to place speakers who connect nature (birds) with values, resilience, and community care.

Metrics

Episodes: 123

Frequency: Irregular

Rating: 4.9/5.0

Estimated listeners: 1k-10k

Gender skew: Female

Location: USA

Contact Information

courtneyellis@substack.com

For verified host and producer emails, sign up to view.

Host

Courtney Ellis - Host of The Thing with Feathers: birds and hope. She shares stories and conversations centered on how birds help people keep looking up, blending spirituality/hope themes with birding and lived-fai...

Booking Intelligence

Booking Requirements

medium
Typical Credentials:  
Christian authors/ministers, faith-based conservation voices, and leaders from mission-focused organizations (often with an ability to connect birds/birding to hope, prayer, resilience, or encouragement).
Required Achievements:  
Published book(s) with a faith-and-living theme, Role leadership in church, ministry, or faith-based nonprofit work, Public-facing content leadership (e.g., organizational content roles) or recognized podcast authorship

Recent Guest Discussions

Caleb Cray Haynes - Faith Within Limits; Themes Overlapping With His And The Host’s Books; Values-based Ecological Spirituality

Ryan Hamm - Persecuted Christians; Fear Of Birds; Hope In Difficult Times; Supporting Christians At Risk

Kim Knowle-Zeller - Blessing Others; Spiritual Encouragement; Words/prayers; Birding Reflections (e.g., Red-winged Blackbirds); Life/pilgrimage Framing

Recent Topics

Birding, Conservation, Christianity, Spirituality, Hope

Episodes

Here's the recent few episodes on
The Thing with Feathers: birds and hope with Courtney Ellis
:

124: Loving like a Mother

June 15, 2026

Elizabeth Berget is the author of the beautiful new book Love Like a Mother: How the Sacred Work of Motherhood Reveals the Maternal Heart of God. If you are a mom, work with moms, are married to a mom, or have a mom (is that everyone? I think it’s everyone), this book will be a wonderful encouragement to you.From pregnancy to birth to adoption, from trauma to delight, from compassion to strength, Berget walks us through the ways mothers show, work out, and experience God’s deep love through t...

123: The Joy of Living Within Limits

June 01, 2026

Caleb Cray Haynes and I first connected when we realized Ben Lowe, Executive Director at the Christian conservation ministry La Rocha blurbed both of our books, which came out around the same time. I read Caleb’s new book, Earthbound Christian, and loved it. He read my newest, Weathering Change, and said the same.Then I invited him on my podcast and he invited me on his and then we realized—this is an amazing opportunity for a crossover event! So today I am delighted to bring you a joint epis...

122: Ryan Hamm on Open Doors and Fearing Birds, Live from Lakeside Chautauqua

May 18, 2026

Ryan Hamm is the Global Head of Content for Open Doors International, an organization that cares for persecuted Christians around the world.He joined me live at Lakeside Chautauqua to chat about his fear of birds (yes, really), where he’s finding hope in the midst of a world that’s burning, and why ducks are the friendliest of all avian sorts.Plus: how we might support Christians around the world who fear for their livelihoods or even their lives.Many thanks to Ryan for joining me for this sp...

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