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David Farrier

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.

Flightless Bird

Before Flightless Bird takes a few weeks off for the holidays, we hear from self-proclaimed parasocial podcast listener Nick. He emailed us with a story he wanted to share - explaining how it all started on a Zoom call with his boss, when suddenly he felt like he’d been hit over the head with a bat. We think Nick’s story is intriguing and inspirational - and we wanted to share it with you as we head towards the end of 2025.

Flightless Bird is taking a few weeks off, and returns on Tuesday January 6.

LINKS: 

The Friendship Paddle: https://www.friendshippaddle.org 

Nick’s bands are Uncle Uncle (https://www.instagram.com/uncleuncleband/?hl=en) and Pookie - whose track “Thank You For Your Service” played us out this week: https://open.spotify.com/track/7zOeJ0T7S5VEgp5RvsRCAL?si=f5277282b92043c6 

JOIN US ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/flightlessbird 

Email us: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flightlessbirdpod 

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast
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The Parasocial Listener

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob delve into the deeply American world of Reality TV. They talk to Sara Reddy - one of the minds behind Honey Boo Boo and a number of record-breaking reality TV shows - before meeting reality TV veteran Jordan Wiseley.

- JOIN US ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/flightlessbird
- Email us: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com
- Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flightlessbirdpod 
- Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast
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Reality TV

In this month’s Nest Session, David and Rob are joined on the couch by Nathan Willett and Matt Maust of Cold War Kids, an indie rock band from Long Beach, California. They talk about their love / obsession with collecting very specific vintage t-shirts, before sharing their memories and passion for their friend and collaborator, musician and producer Richard Swift, who passed away in 2018. They are then joined by their bandmates to perform some of their tracks for your enjoyment. “The Nest Sessions” are a monthly music-focused series where each week Rob and David have a different musician in the studio to talk about a piece of American culture they’re obsessed with, before they share some live music in the studio. Join us for more on Patreon: www.patreon.com/flightlessbirdEmail us: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flightlessbirdpod Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast
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Nest Sessions: Cold War Kids on Vintage Shirt Collecting

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob meet Betsy, a librarian who one day found herself being harassed by a “First Amendment Auditor” - a man in a hoodie badgering her endlessly for her name, salary and employment details. After calling the police, she discovered they could do nothing - and Betsy’s footage was uploaded for 100,000 people calling for her dismissal, and arrest. Farrier interviews Kristina Wilson and Kristi Nickodem, both experts in Public Law and Government, to find out what the hell was going on - and to see what someone like Betsy can do when confronted by this very unusual subculture of insufferable YouTubers.Email us: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Patreon: patreon.com/flightlessbird Dealing with Harassment and Threats Towards Local Government Officials and Employees: https://canons.sog.unc.edu/2022/07/dealing-with-harassment-and-threats-towards-local-government-officials-and-employees/ Responding to First Amendment Auditors: https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/reports/2022-11-09%2020220124%20LGLB%20141.pdf Coates’ Canons NC Local Government Law: https://canons.sog.unc.edu/?s=%22responding+to+first+amendment+audits%22
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First Amendment Auditors

In this week’s Thanksgiving-vibed Flightless Bird, David sets out to learn about the iconic American staple on the Thanksgiving table: Pumpkin Pie. Rob and David blind taste test three pumpkin pies - from supermarket scraps to high end Hollywood - to see if they can tell the difference. Rob then surprises David in the studio with Jordan Kahn, the chef behind incredible restaurants like Vespertine and Meteora (with French Laundry, Per Se, Alinea and Michael Mina also in his CV) who has made the Flightless Bird team his own pumpkin pie. Kahn then shares his pumpkin pie tips, along with his thoughts on what else should go (and not go!) on the Thanksgiving table.

Support Flightless Bird on Patreon: www.patreon.com/flightlessbird

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/flightlessbirdpod

Email us your feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com
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Pumpkin Pie

In this week's Flightless Bird, David and Rob attend Medieval Times in California - and are joined by Rob's son, Calvin. They set out to discover if it's still the same experience documented in the 1996 hit film The Cable Guy, before talking to a former worker at Medieval Times.JOIN US ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/flightlessbirdEmail us: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flightlessbirdpod Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast
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Medieval Times

This week on Flightless Bird, Rob takes the reins and tells the story of Tom Pfaeffle - a mentor, musician, and the quiet force behind Seattle’s sound. What begins as a look into a mentor’s lasting influence becomes a haunting mystery: a motel shooting, a vanished gunman, and a community searching for answers. Rob speaks with Wild Orchid Children’s Kirk Huffman and Thomas Hunter, who share the story of Tom’s influence, and journalist Trent Moorman unravels the strange events that unfolded at the Blue Spruce Motel.

Wild Orchid Children: https://open.spotify.com/artist/48g5S4pDBTkgU4MekOe5yV?si=a4Y9Wd7YRJG6Ei2uzAyQFwBlack Shiny FBI Shoes, the song: https://open.spotify.com/track/3AoUBpJmkZ2f3cqljsH6sn?si=4d2e2eb9fce84853
Kirk Huffman: https://www.instagram.com/realdonmusic
Thomas Hunter: https://www.instagram.com/thomashunter____
Trent Moorman: https://www.instagram.com/cookiesnake

Email us: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flightlessbirdpod 
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Black Shiny FBI Shoes

Once a month, Flightless Bird will release “The Nest Sessions,” a new music-focused series where each week Rob and David have a different musician in the studio to talk about a piece of American culture they’re obsessed with, before they share some live music in the studio. The Nest Sessions debuts with Anthony Green from Circa Survive, L.S. Dunes, The Sound of Animals Fighting, and Saosin. Anthony talks about his battles with sobriety on the road, and reveals his favourite American snack to David. 

Email us: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flightlessbirdpod 

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast 

Anthony Green: https://www.instagram.com/anthonygreen666/
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Nest Sessions: Anthony Green on Sobriety in America

In this week’s spooky Flightless Bird, Rosabel reveals her thoughts on the afterlife and ghosts, before David meets a bunch of Americans who’ve taken part in, or run, Christian Hell Houses. What is a Hell House, and what do they have to do with Halloween? David then drives to visit his first Hell House, learning about the myriad of ways humans can die, and what hell looks like.

Flightless Bird on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flightlessbirdpod

Email us your feedback and ideas: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com
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Hell Houses

In this week’s episode, Hayden explains why his old band broke up and David reveals some shocking news: Rosabel’s name is not “Roosevelt”. Next, Rob takes David deeper down the emo rabbit hole. They’re joined in the studio by Chris Carrabba (Dashboard Confessional) and Nick Thomas (The Spill Canvas) to break down the genre, before they share some acoustic songs. Saosin and Days Away also perform!

email us: Flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast
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Emo Music Pt II

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to understand why Americans say “math”, while New Zealand - and most of the rest of the world - says “maths”. He speaks to Dean Koorey about the mysteries of language, before stumbling into the depths of math/maths and the perils of the metric system. How many ounces in a pound? How many pounds are in a stone? And why is America stuck using the imperial system when the rest of the planet loves the sensible metric system? Farrier is shocked to find that NASA once lost a space probe thanks to a metric conversion disaster, and meets with aerospace engineer Omar Abed to get to the bottom of the mess.
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Maths

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