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Collecting Eiderdown on the Rugged Rocks of the Atlantic

59 min • 16 juli 2025

On a tiny, remote island, an English farmer and writer captures the story of Anna Måsøy, a Norwegian "duck woman." In a practice that dates back to the Vikings, islanders coax wild eider ducks to nest on their islands, where the birds leave behind eiderdown—a material so precious that even kings and queens of Europe used it in their bedding. In learning Anna's story, this Englishman reconnects with his own heritage—passed down through six centuries of farming on his family's land in England. Guest: James Rebanks, farmer and author of "The Place of Tides"