The Flute Player Who Stole A Million Dollars Worth Of Feathers From A Museum

Fly-tying (creating handmade flies for fly-fishing) is probably not an occupation you would automatically associate with a million-dollar museum heist, but this is exactly what this remarkable (and humorous) podcast from This American Life covers.

Based on Kirk Wallace Johnson's book 'The Feather Thief', the eight-part broadcast titled The Feather Heist speaks to the author (Johnson) about how he uncovered one of the century's most remarkable and unusual heists and then went about telling its intricate and fascinating story.

The introduction starts with a present-day flautist who was looking to raise money for a rare and expensive instrument, and who decided to break into a museum and steal rare Victorian bird specimens to sell to salmon fishers who prized unusual hand-tied feather lures. As a background to the the 21st Century heist, Johnson later explains where the feathers came from, and why they were so prized by different markets — for fashion or for fishing.

Each episode is short and entertaining, and illuminating — easy and interesting listening that can be enjoyed 'as the crow flies'.