Chris Sweeney
@cbsweeney.bsky.social
-Author of “The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne"
-Fan of magazines.
-Sounding alarm on antibiotic resistance for AMR Action Fund.
www.cbsweeney.com
-Fan of magazines.
-Sounding alarm on antibiotic resistance for AMR Action Fund.
www.cbsweeney.com
As a Somerville resident, this is an incredibly amusing rabbit hole. And my god there are some A++ quotes in that Seattle PI piece.
Went down a rabbit hole re: Jeff Turner, the only NBA player from Maine before Cooper Flagg. Turner’s Wiki includes a scandal from a guy named Ronnie Craven who impersonated Turner to have sex with women, and who achieved unprecedented levels of honestly with the reporter who called him out.
November 15, 2025 at 8:32 PM
As a Somerville resident, this is an incredibly amusing rabbit hole. And my god there are some A++ quotes in that Seattle PI piece.
Reposted by Chris Sweeney
Fascinating ABA podcast this week, reviewing the life of Roxie Laybourne, an amazing female scientist who “may be the most influential ornithologist you've never heard of”.
#Ornithology
#Ornithology
New episode of the American Birding Podcast!
Smithsonian researcher Roxie Laybourne may be the most influential ornithologist you’ve never heard of. Her incredible life is documented by journalist Chris Sweeney in his new book.
Listen here: www.aba.org/09-46-the-fe...
Smithsonian researcher Roxie Laybourne may be the most influential ornithologist you’ve never heard of. Her incredible life is documented by journalist Chris Sweeney in his new book.
Listen here: www.aba.org/09-46-the-fe...
09-46: The Feather Detective with Chris Sweeney - American Birding Association
www.aba.org
November 13, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Fascinating ABA podcast this week, reviewing the life of Roxie Laybourne, an amazing female scientist who “may be the most influential ornithologist you've never heard of”.
#Ornithology
#Ornithology
Reposted by Chris Sweeney
We were thrilled to have author @cbsweeney.bsky.social talk to us about his book "The Feather Detective" on the 300th episode of the KPL Podcast. Listen here: kplpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1278428/epis...
November 10, 2025 at 4:57 PM
We were thrilled to have author @cbsweeney.bsky.social talk to us about his book "The Feather Detective" on the 300th episode of the KPL Podcast. Listen here: kplpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1278428/epis...
Reposted by Chris Sweeney
Incredible book, I don’t think I’ve ever read a biography so quickly, I couldn’t put it down! 🪶
If you’ve not read The Feather Detective yet, what are you waiting for? You too may be inspired to volunteer to skin #birds at your local #museum. It has murders, airplane crashes, and the bad ass that is Roxie Laybourne
Order here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-... #mystery #truecrime #wildlife
Order here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-... #mystery #truecrime #wildlife
November 5, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Incredible book, I don’t think I’ve ever read a biography so quickly, I couldn’t put it down! 🪶
If you’ve not read The Feather Detective yet, what are you waiting for? You too may be inspired to volunteer to skin #birds at your local #museum. It has murders, airplane crashes, and the bad ass that is Roxie Laybourne
Order here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-... #mystery #truecrime #wildlife
Order here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-... #mystery #truecrime #wildlife
October 16, 2025 at 5:12 PM
If you’ve not read The Feather Detective yet, what are you waiting for? You too may be inspired to volunteer to skin #birds at your local #museum. It has murders, airplane crashes, and the bad ass that is Roxie Laybourne
Order here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-... #mystery #truecrime #wildlife
Order here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-... #mystery #truecrime #wildlife
A duck hunter in Maine got stuck in mud and nearly died last week. This is exactly what happened to Roxie Laybourne when she was collecting specimens off NC coast circa 1930s. Must be terrifying. people.com/hunter-rescu...
Hunter Rescued by Police After Sinking into ‘Quicksand’-Like Mud: ‘The More He Struggled, the Deeper He Became’
A man in Maine unexpectedly found himself stuck waist-deep in mud during a hunting excursion and had to be rescued, authorities said.
people.com
October 7, 2025 at 12:47 AM
A duck hunter in Maine got stuck in mud and nearly died last week. This is exactly what happened to Roxie Laybourne when she was collecting specimens off NC coast circa 1930s. Must be terrifying. people.com/hunter-rescu...
Whoever put together the NYT list of most influential magazine covers entirely overlooked city mags.
October 1, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Whoever put together the NYT list of most influential magazine covers entirely overlooked city mags.
Reposted by Chris Sweeney
The Feather Detective – how Roxie Laybourne pioneered forensic ornithology www.themarginalian.org/2025/09/30/r...
The Feather Detective: How Roxie Laybourne Pioneered Forensic Ornithology
You wouldn’t know it, looking at the tiny elderly woman in the white lab coat bent over a table in a halogen-lit government office, you wouldn’t know she had spent her youth doing scien…
www.themarginalian.org
October 1, 2025 at 4:47 AM
The Feather Detective – how Roxie Laybourne pioneered forensic ornithology www.themarginalian.org/2025/09/30/r...
Reposted by Chris Sweeney
Dudes cracked me up
September 30, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Dudes cracked me up
Jeez talk about serendipity, from @washingtonpost.com review of Bobbi Brown’s new memoir.
September 23, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Jeez talk about serendipity, from @washingtonpost.com review of Bobbi Brown’s new memoir.
Reposted by Chris Sweeney
nypl book of the day
The Feather Detective
Chris Sweeney
The remarkable story of the world's first forensic ornithologist, Roxie Laybourne, who broke down barriers for women, solved murders, and investigated airplane crashes with only a microscope and a few fragments of feather.
The Feather Detective
Chris Sweeney
The remarkable story of the world's first forensic ornithologist, Roxie Laybourne, who broke down barriers for women, solved murders, and investigated airplane crashes with only a microscope and a few fragments of feather.
September 17, 2025 at 12:32 PM
nypl book of the day
The Feather Detective
Chris Sweeney
The remarkable story of the world's first forensic ornithologist, Roxie Laybourne, who broke down barriers for women, solved murders, and investigated airplane crashes with only a microscope and a few fragments of feather.
The Feather Detective
Chris Sweeney
The remarkable story of the world's first forensic ornithologist, Roxie Laybourne, who broke down barriers for women, solved murders, and investigated airplane crashes with only a microscope and a few fragments of feather.
What a good cover from @science.org
September 10, 2025 at 12:38 AM
What a good cover from @science.org
Reposted by Chris Sweeney
If you're a fan of interesting nonfiction, learn more about Chris Sweeney's The Feather Detective, about Roxie Laybourne and the field of forensic ornithology, from our recent conversation about it at @brooklinebooksmith.bsky.social www.c-span.org/program/book...
[The Feather Detective - Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne]
Journalist Chris Sweeney recounted the career of ornithologist Roxie Laybourne, who became the go-to expert for the FBI, Air Force, and NASA in cases involving birds. Brookline Booksmith in Brookline,...
www.c-span.org
September 4, 2025 at 6:16 PM
If you're a fan of interesting nonfiction, learn more about Chris Sweeney's The Feather Detective, about Roxie Laybourne and the field of forensic ornithology, from our recent conversation about it at @brooklinebooksmith.bsky.social www.c-span.org/program/book...
Awesome to see The Feather Detective on this @wsj.com
Best Book Reviews of August list. www.wsj.com/arts-culture... If you're into #birds #mystery #history and #truecrime, this is a book for you.
Best Book Reviews of August list. www.wsj.com/arts-culture... If you're into #birds #mystery #history and #truecrime, this is a book for you.
12 Books to Read: The Best Reviews of August
How Iran’s revolution shook the world, Matisse’s quest for light, a new generation of tennis champions and more.
www.wsj.com
September 4, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Awesome to see The Feather Detective on this @wsj.com
Best Book Reviews of August list. www.wsj.com/arts-culture... If you're into #birds #mystery #history and #truecrime, this is a book for you.
Best Book Reviews of August list. www.wsj.com/arts-culture... If you're into #birds #mystery #history and #truecrime, this is a book for you.
Reposted by Chris Sweeney
Cracking the code of the feather barbules was the most important task she'd ever been assigned, the success of which could possibly save lives and make air travel safer for everyone. @cbsweeney.bsky.social, The Feather Detective. Fabulous book about Roxie Laybourne! #SundaySentence #Booksky #birds
August 31, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Cracking the code of the feather barbules was the most important task she'd ever been assigned, the success of which could possibly save lives and make air travel safer for everyone. @cbsweeney.bsky.social, The Feather Detective. Fabulous book about Roxie Laybourne! #SundaySentence #Booksky #birds
Reposted by Chris Sweeney
The Audience Award!
Congratulations to @cbsweeney.bsky.social! He won this week's audience award for "She Was a Quiet Bird Expert. Then She Was Called to Investigate a Murder in Maine." at @bostonglobe.com
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/23/m...
Congratulations to @cbsweeney.bsky.social! He won this week's audience award for "She Was a Quiet Bird Expert. Then She Was Called to Investigate a Murder in Maine." at @bostonglobe.com
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/23/m...
She was a quiet bird expert. Then she was called to investigate a murder in Maine. - The Boston Globe
A mild-mannered scientist, a brutal murder in Maine, and the birth of forensic ornithology.
www.bostonglobe.com
August 22, 2025 at 1:14 PM
The Audience Award!
Congratulations to @cbsweeney.bsky.social! He won this week's audience award for "She Was a Quiet Bird Expert. Then She Was Called to Investigate a Murder in Maine." at @bostonglobe.com
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/23/m...
Congratulations to @cbsweeney.bsky.social! He won this week's audience award for "She Was a Quiet Bird Expert. Then She Was Called to Investigate a Murder in Maine." at @bostonglobe.com
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/23/m...
❤️❤️❤️
Currently reading: The Feather Detective by Chris Sweeney. You guys this book is SO GOOD. A quirky, badass woman scientist AND arcane tales of the development of ornithological methods? I LOVE IT. www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Fe...
The Feather Detective
“A biography that reads like a novel.” —The Wall Street Journal • “Laybourne was a badass.” —Los Angeles Times • “Sweeney’s biography must be read ...
www.simonandschuster.com
August 19, 2025 at 10:48 PM
❤️❤️❤️
Reposted by Chris Sweeney
"Her findings helped successfully prosecute murderers, poachers, and even a former grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, who tarred and feathered a civil rights activist."
Chris Sweeney for @bostonglobe.com: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/23/m...
Chris Sweeney for @bostonglobe.com: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/23/m...
She was a quiet bird expert. Then she was called to investigate a murder in Maine. - The Boston Globe
A mild-mannered scientist, a brutal murder in Maine, and the birth of forensic ornithology.
www.bostonglobe.com
August 15, 2025 at 12:03 AM
"Her findings helped successfully prosecute murderers, poachers, and even a former grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, who tarred and feathered a civil rights activist."
Chris Sweeney for @bostonglobe.com: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/23/m...
Chris Sweeney for @bostonglobe.com: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/23/m...
This is so cool. A full-page review in @science.org!
The Feather Detective probes the life of Roxie Laybourne, the first forensic ornithologist.
Read the #ScienceBooks Review: https://scim.ag/4mqeN4U
Read the #ScienceBooks Review: https://scim.ag/4mqeN4U
August 17, 2025 at 11:45 PM
This is so cool. A full-page review in @science.org!
My father died last week. He spent 26 yrs in the NYPD and had *many* stories. Him being among the first responders to John Lennon’s murder was among my favorite. I’d somehow never seen this illustration before his passing.
August 11, 2025 at 3:41 PM
My father died last week. He spent 26 yrs in the NYPD and had *many* stories. Him being among the first responders to John Lennon’s murder was among my favorite. I’d somehow never seen this illustration before his passing.
Reposted by Chris Sweeney
Reposted by Chris Sweeney
reverse heist movie where a single snake has to chase all the priests back into ireland
August 9, 2025 at 7:26 AM
reverse heist movie where a single snake has to chase all the priests back into ireland
So awesome to see The Feather Detective on this!
Michael Clune’s Pan, Barry Mazor’s Blood Harmony: The Everly Brothers Story, and Linn Ullman’s Girl, 1983 all feature among the best reviewed books of the week.
The Best Reviewed Books of the Week
Featuring Michael Clune, the Everly Brothers, Linn Ullman, and more
buff.ly
July 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
So awesome to see The Feather Detective on this!
Reposted by Chris Sweeney
New books published this week include a nostalgic graphic history of video games, a queer, complicated and hopeful novel set in Nigeria, and a biography of a forensic ornithologist.
New books this week explore why shade is so important, the first bird detective, and more
New books published this week include a nostalgic graphic history of video games, a queer, complicated and hopeful novel set in Nigeria, and a biography of a forensic ornithologist.
n.pr
July 22, 2025 at 3:08 PM
New books published this week include a nostalgic graphic history of video games, a queer, complicated and hopeful novel set in Nigeria, and a biography of a forensic ornithologist.
So fortunate to work with the Audubon editors from time to time. Check out this stunning piece on some fun artifacts I came across while researching The Feather Detective (out today, plz order a copy!)
Read more from @cbsweeney.bsky.social on THE FEATHER DETECTIVE here: www.audubon.org/magazine/fea... 🪶
July 22, 2025 at 4:53 PM
So fortunate to work with the Audubon editors from time to time. Check out this stunning piece on some fun artifacts I came across while researching The Feather Detective (out today, plz order a copy!)