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Flightless Bird

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David Farrier

Flightless Bird sees journalist David Farrier learning about what makes America special, from his unique perspective as a Kiwi accidentally marooned in the Land of the Free. Infinitely curious but never judgmental, each week David seeks to understand what makes America so unique, strange and wonderful.

#118

Inauguration Week

In this week’s episode, David and Rob take a pause on regular programming to try and make sense of what’s happened since the inauguration of Donald Trump. From social media chaos, Elon Musk’s “hand gesture” and mass deportations, to the new D.O.G.E logo and presidential pardons - we are all just trying to make sense of this together. Email us: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Find us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast Show Links: - David Farrier’s Webworm piece on inauguration: https://www.webworm.co/p/welcome-to-american-hell - The Present Age with Parker Molloy: https://www.readtpa.com/p/news-organizations-are-tiptoeing - Ezra Klein: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-trump-inauguration.html - Presidential Pardons: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-proud-boys-tarrio-rhodes-release-pardon-b2683691.html - Officer beaten by mob works 14 hour day at Trump’s inauguration. Comes home to pardons: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/us/politics/officer-jan-6-trump-protection.html - “Trump pardons Silk Road dark web market creator Ross Ulbricht”: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7e0jve875o - “Trump pardons two police officers convicted in murder of Black man in Washington”: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-pardons-two-police-officers-convicted-murder-black-man-washington-2025-01-23/ -The Bishop who angered Trump: https://time.com/7209222/bishop-mariann-budde-trump/ - How We Learn To Be Brave book: https://www.amazon.com/How-We-Learn-Be-Brave/dp/0593539214/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid= - “Only two genders”: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/23/trump-executive-order-fetal-personhood - Royalty Family YouTube video on LA fires: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7K1FKOV9ns - The Shit You Should Care About newsletter: https://shityoushouldcareabout.substack.com/ ... Read more

28 Jan 2025

1 HR 21 MINS

1:21:39

28 Jan 2025

#117

LA Wildfires

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob reflect on the California wildfires, talking to a variety of people affected both directly and indirectly. We hear from one of the team from Watch Duty (the app downloaded by over 2 million people in the last week) about how it works and how it’s saved lives, before talking to one of the people organising at Mutual Aid LA. We then hear from Flightless Bird listeners about various aspects of American wildfires - and what makes this wildfire different. HOW TO HELP: -Lydia & Ryan's GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/fa89b9fc -Mike Rothschild’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MikeRothschild -GoFundMe main list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/10gvOxituYvxxknoY9IQa-YEqfK8WvCjcLBcg4hsmME4/htmlview?ref=theconsciouscitizens.org -Where to volunteer: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eaSXTYlLY_spJ-_w43ac55qu6X4YtgApgRGfads3cM4/htmlview -Mutual Aid LA - what is needed and how you can help: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KMk34XY5dsvVJjAoD2mQUVHYU_Ib6COz6jcGH5uJWDY/htmlview?gid=439359427#gid=439359427 ARTICLE MENTIONED IN EPISODE -What Happens When a Plastic City Burns https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2025/01/los-angeles-fire-smoke-plastic-toxic/681318/ -David Chamberlin - Creed-tastic cover of our theme song: www.RecordLA.com -Lingering Effects of the wildfire: https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/01/indirect-death-toll-from-the-l-a-fires-may-end-up-in-the-thousands/ -Gunman at the LADWP building: https://www.foxla.com/news/ladwp-headquarter-center-heavy-police-presence -Incarcerated firefighters: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/wildfire-camp-incarcerated-teens -Thread from former inmate who fought fires: https://www.threads.net/@5456236980/post/DEkYYlPv4H1 CONTACT US: -Email Flightless Bird: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com -Watch Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast ... Read more

21 Jan 2025

1 HR 39 MINS

1:39:44

21 Jan 2025

#116

Australia: Shark Attacks

In this week’s Flightless Bird David is on the ground in Australia, looking at topics that are distinctly… Australian. Australia has, relatively speaking, a lot of shark attacks. So many there’s a whole Wikipedia page called “Shark attacks in Australia”. Of the 69 “unprovoked shark bites” around the world in 2023, 22% of them happened in Australia. David meets with two men who survived shark attacks - who share their motivational stories of recovery, and talk about an elite members club called “The Bite Club”. Rob and David also discuss the LA fires. Links: -Flightless Bird is looking for first hand stories from Californians affected by the fires. First responders, or those who’ve had their lives changed by these fires. Please send your voice memos to: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com -MALAN Fire & Wind Storm Resources: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KMk34XY5dsvVJjAoD2mQUVHYU_Ib6COz6jcGH5uJWDY/htmlview?gid=439359427#gid=439359427 / Displaced Black Families GoFund Me Directory: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pK5omSsD4KGhjEHCVgcVw-rd4FZP9haoijEx1mSAm5c/htmlview -Brett Connellan - shark attack survivor and motivational speaker : https://www.saxton.com.au/speakers/brett-connellan -Reach the Bite Club’s Dave Pearson (shark attack victims only!): dave.pearson1963@gmail.com -Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast ... Read more

14 Jan 2025

1 HR 18 MINS

1:18:10

14 Jan 2025

#115

Black Box of Doom

In this week’s episode, David talks with author Jason Pargin (John Dies At The End & I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom) about what TikTok and the modern internet is doing to our brains. David and Rob also discuss their New Years’ (David saw Creed in Las Vegas, Rob ate a yummy meal and went to sleep), the Cyber Truck explosion outside Trump’s hotel, and how much a blimp costs. Links: -Email Flightless Bird: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com -YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast -Jason Pargin on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jasonkpargin?lang=en -Jason's Novel, ""I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom: A Novel"": https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Worry-About-This-Black/dp/B0CT43CN6B -Tropicana hotel destroyed: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/10/09/tropicana-hotel-casino-implosion-las-vegas/75347373007/ -Cyber Truck blown up: https://apnews.com/article/trump-hotel-explosion-tesla-cybertruck-5c5a8fd13a50e2bcde46370ae926d427 ... Read more

07 Jan 2025

1 HR 11 MINS

1:11:57

07 Jan 2025

#114

Lord of the Rings Revisited

This week on Flightless Bird, David calls his friend Leon Wadham who plays "Kemen" in Amazon's Rings of Power series. Rob and David then look back at one of their favourite Flightless Bird episodes, when David visited Hobbiton. Calvin then reviews the first two Lord of the Rings films, and Rob gifts David a birthday present! Links: -Dave Kloc: https://www.instagram.com/davekloc/ -Flightless Bird Shirts: www.webworm.store -Email us: flightlessdbirdchat@gmail.com ... Read more

31 Dec 2024

58 MINS

58:36

31 Dec 2024

#113

Leaf Blowers Revisited

This week on Flightless Bird, Rosabel slips on a leaf and David and Rob look back at one of their favourite episodes and what’s changed since it first aired: Leaf Blowers. They also read feedback on the American Girl episode - and there is a lot of it, including horror stories, and trips to the American Girl doll hospital. David also learns that there is a place you can go where Cabbage Patch Babies are birthed. Links: -Cost to convert entire Greenwich fleet to electric leaf blowers 'shellshocking,' officials say: https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/greenwich-leaf-blower-electric-cost-19972096.php -The Leaf Blowers Will Not Go Quietly: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-11-08/cities-that-banned-leaf-blowers-are-getting-an-earful-from-landscapers -Town of Huntington to begin banning gas-powered leaf blowers in January: https://www.newsday.com/long-island/towns/huntington-gas-leaf-blower-vaubzdxa -NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-leafblowers/ -Angry Hugh Grant: https://youtu.be/DF-9R_yCUBw?si=ccwRRA-FfRAMwfTx&t=484 -Angry Cate Blanchett: https://www.tiktok.com/@katewheeeler/video/7358794083625717025?lang=en -Flightless Bird Shirts: www.webworm.store -Email us: flightlessdbirdchat@gmail.com ... Read more

24 Dec 2024

1 HR 03 MINS

1:03:38

24 Dec 2024

#112

American Girl Doll

In this week’s episode, David visits the American Girl store in Los Angeles, attempting to learn what is so American about the American Girl doll. There he meets Alyson Campbell, the Senior Events and Marketing Coordinator at American Girl - who explains how the store works. He then gets Jamie Cygielman on the line, senior vice president and GM for American Girl. He discovers the doll is the invention of Pleasant T. Rowland - an American educator, writer, and philanthropist. She spent some time as a TV news reporter - anchoring KGO-TV in San Francisco from 68 to 71. By the mid 80s, Pleasant had saved over a million dollars from selling the textbooks she’d written for students - and started American Girl, hoping to teach kids about American history through the medium of 18 inch dolls. With all this in mind - David heads up to the restaurant to dine with his own American Girl doll, meeting both kids and adults who are fans. LINKS: Flightless Bird Live in Seattle Feb 8: https://www.stgpresents.org/events/flightless-bird/ Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast Flightless Bird merch: https://www.webworm.store/merch/flightless-bird Contact Rob and David: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com ... Read more

17 Dec 2024

1 HR 10 MINS

1:10:07

17 Dec 2024

#111

Kiwis in America with Rhys Darby

"In this week’s Flightless Bird, David sits down with Rhys Darby - the New Zealander actor and comedian who’s made America his home. They talk about Darby’s breakout role in Flight of the Conchords - a show some Kiwis out of depth in America. From there, Rhys has cemented himself in what seems to be like every part of American TV and film pop culture - appearing in things like The X-Files, Bob’s Burgers and The Simpson’s - not to mention roles alongside the likes of The Rock and Jim Carrey. David and Rob also note they are doing a live show Feb 8 in Seattle at the Neptune Theatre. Links: Tim Batt and Guy Montgomery’s podcast The World Idea of All Time: https://www.worstideaofalltime.com/ Flightless Bird Live in Seattle: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0F006186C0D63E0E Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast Contact David and Rob: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com" ... Read more

10 Dec 2024

51 MINS

51:59

10 Dec 2024

#110

Mysterious Sound

"Today on Flightless Bird: Imagine if you have fulfilled the American dream of buying your dream home… only to find there’s a problem. A big problem. You can’t see it or taste it - but you can hear it. There’s a mysterious sound and it’s out to ruin your life. That’s what this week’s episode is about. Rob and David also look at feedback to the Death Doulas episode from a few weeks back. Links: Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast Contact David and Rob: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Jimmy Fallon and Jon Hamm recreated “With Arms Wide Open”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dku7mCv76cU Susie “I threw my grandma a death part that went viral!” Article: https://torontolife.com/life/threw-grandmother-assisted-suicide-party/ Dr’s Tweets: https://x.com/DavidJuurlink/status/1129811903776198659 UCLA's body donation program: https://www.uclahealth.org/programs/donatedbody How the body of an Arizona great-grandmother ended up as part of a U.S. Army blast test: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-bodybrokers-industry/ " ... Read more

03 Dec 2024

1 HR 18 MINS

1:18:48

03 Dec 2024

#109

Shower Curtains & Porn Revisited

In this weeks Flightless Bird, David and Rob discuss their thanksgiving plans, before hearing from indigenous leader Crystal Echo Hawk about the true meaning behind thanksgiving in America. They then use this holiday week to give thanks for two older Flightless Bird episodes, revisiting the Shower Curtains and Porn episodes from many moons ago. David tries to get to the bottom of my America loves shower curtains so much, before visiting the set of a porn film. In the feedback section, David’s mum writes in. Links: Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast Crystal Echo Hawk: https://illuminative.org/ Finding out whose land you’re on: www.native-land.ca Peter Singer’s “Consider the Turkey”: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691231686/consider-the-turkey NY TIMES: The Best Shower Curtains: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-shower-curtain/ Pornhub’s election day stats: https://www.pornhub.com/insights/2024-presidential-election Contact David and Rob: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com ... Read more

26 Nov 2024

1 HR 14 MINS

1:14:58

26 Nov 2024

#108

Death Doulas

In this week’s episode, David calls his friend Rosabel to see what she thinks about dying, and learns that Rosabel has put him in her will! Rob and David then attempt to face their own fear of death by looking at death doulas in America - a profession born in the USA in 1998, when a foundation in New York sponsored a conference on end of life care, where a Jewish professor talked about the importance of helping the “seriously ill” during the dying process. David meets several doulas, including Alua Arthur and Kathleen Hasay. David also speaks about his experience attending a death workshop, and asks Rob some questions from the Death Deck of cards - which uses humor to talk about death and dying. Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast Flightless Bird t-shirts: https://www.webworm.store/merch/flightless-bird Contact Flightless Bird: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Alua Arthur’s Death Doula School: https://goingwithgrace.com/about/ Alua’s book Briefly Perfectly Human: https://www.aluaarthur.com/ The Death Workshop David attended: https://onedowndog.com/event/workshop-death-awareness-1024/ CA Advance Healthcare Directive: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/Advanced-HealthCare-Directive-Form_031620.pdf The Death Deck: https://thedeathdeck.com/ ... Read more

19 Nov 2024

1 HR 15 MINS

1:15:04

19 Nov 2024

#107

Election Night

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob look back at the last week since the election, trying to make sense of what happened. Farrier attends a Trump Watch party in Long Beach, California - taking in Trump’s voter base. Hundreds of listeners submitted voice memos documenting their election night thoughts last week, and today a selection get played out. Links: Flightless Bird t-shirts: https://www.webworm.store/ Hayden’s column: It’s OK To Feel Shitty: https://www.webworm.co/p/its-ok-to-feel-shitty Sydney: Tickled at the Orpheum: 7pm, November 27: https://www.orpheum.com.au/movie/tickled-qa-event-with-david-farrier-live-on-stage If you ever want to get in touch with show feedback or ideas, we are flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com ... Read more

12 Nov 2024

1 HR 06 MINS

1:06:18

12 Nov 2024

#106

Election Conspiracies

This week on Flightless Bird, David and Rob look at some of the defining conspiracy theories of this election cycle. They’re joined by conspiracy theory experts Mike Rothschild (author of “The Storm is Coming”) and Joseph Uscinski, who literally wrote THE book on conspiracy theories, called “Conspiracy Theories”. Rob and David talk about what they’re expecting November 5 to look like - and the weeks that follow. They then go through feedback to last week’s episode on Catfishing. Email Flightless Bird with your election night recordings: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Links: Matthew Logan Vasquez: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ndN8LWSsLWQqbWVJD8miG?si=EBK0hBnuTC2FII2EeENvCg ... Read more

05 Nov 2024

1 HR 28 MINS

1:28:14

05 Nov 2024

#105

Catfishing

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob sit down with American documentary maker Erin Lee Carr and the subjects of her new film “Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara.” Erin, Tegan and Sara, and producer Jenny Eliscu talk about the deeply unusual catfishing story at the heart of the film, and the relationship between artists and fans. As usual, Calvin weighs in at the end of the episode with his insight and knowledge. Links: Pig butchering: https://www.wired.com/story/pig-butchering-scams-go-high-tech/ Email to submit your election night audio: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Alanis Morisette got her start on You Can't Do That On Television: https://www.tiktok.com/@80sdeennice/video/7326222806553857323?lang=en DND’s ""very famous"" Gelatinous Cube: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/16869-gelatinous-cube Winter’s Starbucks project: www.starbuckseverywhere.net ... Read more

29 Oct 2024

1 HR 13 MINS

1:13:43

29 Oct 2024

#104

Olive Garden

In this week’s episode, David Farrier goes and dines at the Olive Garden as he tries to figure out what makes this place such an American Institution. Inside he is swept away by the antics of Olive Garden’s PR team, wondering if he’s possibly been brainwashed into joining some kind of cult. He also talks with three Olive Garden megafans, one who got Olive Garden tattoos - the other two who say they owe their love story to the restaurant chain. ... Read more

22 Oct 2024

52 MINS

52:47

22 Oct 2024

#103

Slime

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David explores the resurgence of interest in slime on Instagram and TikTok - an incredibly American phenomenon that's slimed its way into American culture since the 1970’s. He meets professor Christopher Michlig, author of File Under: Slime to discuss how slime has an even wider meaning and context within the United States. From The Blob to Ghostbusters, Garbage Pail Kids to skateboarding - slime is bigger than you might think. Links: File Under: Slime (the book): https://hatandbeard.com/products/file-under-slime-by-christopher-michlig Lucy Jones’ Creatures That Don't Conform: https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/creatures-that-dont-conform/ A Natural History of Slime: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/720858/slime-by-susanne-wedlich/ Oliver Payne’s 2022 short film, A Brief History of Slime: https://vimeo.com/684376655 MGMT video for Bubblegum Dog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX5NIs8bV54 ... Read more

15 Oct 2024

54 MINS

54:17

15 Oct 2024

#102

Capital Punishment

David Farrier heads to Missouri two days out from the execution of Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams. He embeds with “Missourians To Abolish the Death Penalty” who are desperately trying to petition Missouri Governor Mike Parson for a stay. Along the way he meets locals who feel passionately about the death penalty, before traveling to Bonne Terre - and the prison where Missouri carries out all its executions. Farrier questions why 27 US States still insist on killing certain prisoners, and why this is a practice that continues to this day - and why statistically you’re more likely to be killed by the state if you’re black. Show Links: Donate to Missourians To Abolish the Death Penalty (MADP): https://madp.salsalabs.org/donationform/index.html Donate to The Innocence Project: https://innocenceproject.org/ways-to-give/ Robert Roberson could be the first person in the US to executed based on the discredited “shaken baby syndrome” hypothesis: https://innocenceproject.org/petitions/call-on-gov-abbott-to-stop-robert-robersons-execution/ A selection of Marcellus Williams’ poetry: https://innocenceproject.org/marcellus-williams-on-death-row-poetry-is-a-lifeline/ https://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/athena/files/2024/09/25/66f488bfe4b0b663235f1864.pdf David Farrier’s photos from St Louis / Bonne Terre: https://www.webworm.co/p/marcellus Capital Punishment statistics: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/ https://dpic-cdn.org/production/documents/pdf/FactSheet.pdf John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight on death row drugs issues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOn3wba8c-Y Tickets for Webworm’s Tickled + Q&A screenings in Sydney and Melbourne: https://www.webworm.co/p/australia Cruise Ship documentary - Meet the Happiest Guy in the World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcBzOesw7sc ... Read more

08 Oct 2024

1 HR 16 MINS

1:16:20

08 Oct 2024

#101

Spaceman Barry

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier takes a darker, weirder deep dive into America with a story that is very specific, niche, and dangerous. This is a story about two Americans who were strangers to each other, until they decided to move in together. One man was in his 30s, the other rapidly approaching 80. One man was called Noah, and the other we’ll call “Spaceman Barry”. This is their story - and how it went wrong. LINKS: "Spaceman Barry" - photos and more information and discussion: https://www.webworm.co/p/spacemanbarrypod "Gary" - the story of a man whose housemate killed the neighbor: https://www.webworm.co/p/garypodcast ... Read more

01 Oct 2024

1 HR 29 MINS

1:29:08