In 1972, ornithologist George Hunt and anthropologist Molly Warner discovered homosexuality in the natural world— a turning point for the science and queer community. The scientists found female-female nesting pairs in a seagull colony on Santa Barbara Island, 38 miles off of our coast.

Joining us on the show this week is Lulu Miller, co-host of WNYC Studios Radiolab, to talk about the ripple effects this discovery had on science, politics and acceptance in the queer community.

Hosted by Alexandra Goldberg.

The Indy: A Podcast was co-created by Molly McAnany and the Santa Barbara Independent.

Theme music written by Molly McAnany. Other track used is Big Feeling Man by Blue Dot Sessions.

Sound effects by freesfx.co.uk; http://www.freesfx.co.uk.

Follow ‘The Indy’ on social media @theindypod to support and contact [email protected] for advertisements.

For more information, visit: https://radiolab.org/podcast/seagulls