A Gather of Gatherings
A Gather of Gatherings
Podcast Description
What do you call a group of hawks? A kettle. Rattlesnakes? A rhumba. Orangutans? A buffoonery.Welcome to A Gather of Gatherings, a story-rich, curiosity-fueled podcast exploring the wild and whimsical world of collective nouns. Each episode begins with a single phrase—like a murder of crows—and unfolds into something much bigger: interviews with experts and artists, imagined conversations with historical voices and animals, immersive soundscapes, folklore, poetry, and plenty of animal facts along the way.From language and literature to nature, culture, and the mysteries of meaning, this podcast is your invitation to wander where words take flight.Hosted by Kellie Raines—a writer, artist, and lover of linguistic oddities—this show celebrates the poetic strangeness of how we gather, name, and know the world and each other.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast delves into themes of language, folklore, nature, and culture, exemplified in episodes like 'A Kettle of Hawks' which investigates both the linguistic and historical angles of hawks alongside falconry stories. Other topics explored include literary expressions, animal behavior, and cultural significance of collective nouns.
What do you call a group of hawks? A kettle. Rattlesnakes? A rhumba. Orangutans? A buffoonery.
Welcome to A Gather of Gatherings, a story-rich, curiosity-fueled podcast exploring the wild and whimsical world of collective nouns. Each episode begins with a single phrase—like a murder of crows—and unfolds into something much bigger: interviews with experts and artists, imagined conversations with historical voices and animals, immersive soundscapes, folklore, poetry, and plenty of animal facts along the way.
From language and literature to nature, culture, and the mysteries of meaning, this podcast is your invitation to wander where words take flight.
Hosted by Kellie Raines—a writer, artist, and lover of linguistic oddities—this show celebrates the poetic strangeness of how we gather, name, and know the world and each other.
What do hawks have to do with language, myth, and medieval manuscripts?
In this debut episode of A Gather of Gatherings, we take flight with a fun collective noun—a kettle of hawks—and explore the stories it stirs up.
Join host Kellie Raines as she metaphorically skydives into the world of hawks (and the archives), blending rich storytelling, language, history, and real-life falconry with imagination and curiosity.
You’ll hear from Kate Marden, master falconer and founder of West Coast Falconry, who shares her journey from childhood wonder to working with real-life raptors.
You'll also meet Dame Juliana Berners (sort of…), a 15th-century nun, in a fictional time-traveling interview about birds, books, and who gets to write history.
And yes—there will be soundscapes, bird trivia, falconry terms, and one or two winged metaphors that might surprise you.
This isn’t just a podcast about grammar—it’s a journey through language, nature, culture, and imagination, all launched from the odd and wondrous world of collective nouns.
Show Notes
Host, Producer, Editor, Writer: Kellie Raines
Interviewees
Kate Marden, Founder and Owner of West Coast Falconry
Dame Julianna Berners, portrayed by Kelley Ogden (fictional interview)
Shawn B O'Neal
If I Were a Hawk Writers/Voices (in order of appearance)
Each person below wrote and voiced their own “If I Were a Hawk…” content
Jessica Laskey, Leah Daugherty, Filipe da Cruz (French), Elizabeth Sosner, Emma Young da Cruz (German), Olivia Raines, Shawn B O'Neal, Ruby Sketchley
Special Thanks
David, Shawn, Colleen, Rose, Agnes, Olivia, Alice, Shannon, and the Witches
Music
Music courtesy of Melodie Music.
Melodie Music Subscription: Pro Plan, Lifetime
Title: Acoustic Minor Swing Artist: Bill Palmer; Composers: Palmer William John
https://melod.ie/track-details/1647-acoustic-minor-swing
Title: The Battle Of The Boyne Artist: Vincent Russo Composers: Russo John
https://melod.ie/track-details/2296-the-battle-of-the-boyne
Title: Dappled Light Artist: Karl Steven Composers: Steven Karl Solve https://melod.ie/track-details/1588-dappled-light
Title: Distant Galaxies Artist: Patrick Rydman Composers: Rydman Patrick Finn
https://melod.ie/track-details/4817-distant-galaxies
Title: Trials And Tribulations Artist: Sam Lipman Composers: Lipman Samuel Mark
https://melod.ie/track-details/903-trials-and-tribulations
Sound Effects
LibriVox (free public domain audiobooks)
SoundSnap (pro subscription)
Excerpt from Il pleure dans mon cœur by Paul Verlaine (1874)
From Romances sans paroles (1874)
Public domain. Courtesy of LibraVox performed by Alexandre Ivan Kard
LibriVox
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
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