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PODCAST

Flightless Bird

Flightless Bird follows journalist David Farrier as he learns 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 (along with cohost and American Rob) seeks to understand what makes America so unique, strange, and wonderful.

society & culture documentary

All Episodes

01:11:57

Black Box of Doom

Flightless Bird ·

2025/01/07

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:

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00:58:36

Lord of the Rings Revisited

Flightless Bird ·

2024/12/31

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

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01:03:38

Leaf Blowers Revisited

Flightless Bird ·

2024/12/24

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

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01:10:07

American Girl Doll

Flightless Bird ·

2024/12/17

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

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00:51:59

Kiwis in America with Rhys Darby

Flightless Bird ·

2024/12/10

"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

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01:18:48

Mysterious Sound

Flightless Bird ·

2024/12/03

"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:

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01:14:58

Shower Curtains & Porn Revisited

Flightless Bird ·

2024/11/26

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

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01:15:04

Death Doulas

Flightless Bird ·

2024/11/19

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

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01:06:18

Election Night

Flightless Bird ·

2024/11/12

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:

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01:28:14

Election Conspiracies

Flightless Bird ·

2024/11/05

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

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01:13:43

Catfishing

Flightless Bird ·

2024/10/29

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:

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00:52:47

Olive Garden

Flightless Bird ·

2024/10/22

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.

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00:54:17

Slime

Flightless Bird ·

2024/10/15

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):

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01:16:20

Capital Punishment

Flightless Bird ·

2024/10/08

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

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01:29:08

Spaceman Barry

Flightless Bird ·

2024/10/01

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:

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01:07:40

Creed

Flightless Bird ·

2024/09/24

In this week’s episode, David Farrier investigates the rise and fall - and rise again - of American band Creed. Once the highest selling rock band of the late 90s, Creed disappeared for a period before reappearing again in American pop culture. David heads to a Creed concert in San Bernardino, California, to meet the fans and rediscover Creed. What he finds is a confusing mix of music, Christianity, patriotism and Trump. David must reckon with his 15 year old self (a Creed fan) to find out where his

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00:55:03

Homelander

Flightless Bird ·

2024/09/17

In this episode, David and Rob sit down with Ant Starr - the New Zealand actor who plays deranged, narcissistic superhero “Homelander” on Amazon’s The Boys. Seen by many as a caricature of Donald Trump, Starr discusses what it’s like to play a superhero who’s viewed by many as a villain… and by some as a patriotic, American hero.Links: Outrageous Fortune scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMYkUJLhsI4 The Boys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mixlZE7ol1s More on Ant Starr:

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01:04:19

7th Day Adventists

Flightless Bird ·

2024/09/10

In this episode David Farrier sets out to investigate the 7th Day Adventism, a type of Christianity that kicked off in upstate New York in the 1840s. It was a 7th Day Adventist who invented the humble cornflake, a food so bland it was meant to stop boys masturbating - and today the religion boasts 22 million baptized members worldwide. David meets up with Sam Neves, the Associate Director of Communication at General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, before talking to an ex-member who clears up

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00:57:21

Navy Dolphins

Flightless Bird ·

2024/09/03

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier dives deep into the US Navy’s Marine Mammal program. He talks with three former trainers for the program, leaning about how both seals and dolphins are trained to protect American waters from what lurks beneath. David looks at rumors armed dolphins escaped during Hurricane Katrina, and he and Rob Holysz discuss the ethical implications of a dolphin’s horny nature.Links: US Navy’s Marine Mammal

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