The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean · Sam Kean, Bleav
Trickster, Birder, Soldier, Spy
November 11, 2025·18 min·1 clip
The legendary spy's true passion was birding, which he pursued by amassing 25,000 specimens—half shot illegally, half stolen from museums.
As heard by us
A bird-guide mystery turns into fraud, espionage, and a legend that keeps getting harder to trust.
The episode starts with Pamela Rasmussen at the Smithsonian, working through a field guide to the birds of India, then follows the charge that Richard Meinertshagen was never quite the authority he presented himself as.
Why you'd press play
For when a bird expert's legacy starts to look like a forgery.
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