Episode 097: Using My Ambition and Bottom-Up Processing for Birding! The Big Year (2011) with Marc Klippenstine

Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Marc Klippenstine for a personalized discussion on birding, bird-watching, and psychology: The Big Year (2011). The film stars comedy powerhouses Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Owen Wilson, as three men who love birding so much, they all attempt the Audubon Society’s “Big Year”. Birding is a hobby that relies on bottom-up and top-down processing, cooperation, friendship, and a little bit of intrinsic motivation! But what happens when ambition gets in the way of personal relationships? This question and more are discussed in a wonderful chat about the portrayal of birding in this film from a birder himself! Can you spot all the birds in the film?

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Legal stuff:
1. All film clips are used under Section 107 of Title 17 U.S.C. (fair use; no copyright infringement is intended).
2. Intro and outro music by half.cool (“Gemini”). Used under license.
3. Film reel sound effect by bone666138. Used under license CC-BY 3.0.