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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

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David explores the world of the tribute band - meeting “Dirty Deeds”, America’s best AC/DC tribute band (yes, there are lots of them). With their youngest member in their 30s and their oldest in their 70s - David explores how these American friends ended up choosing to portray Australia’s biggest rock band, learning that the world of the tribute band is expansive, surprising, inspirational... and often deeply weird. 

Links:
- Email us your feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com

- Join us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/flightlessbird
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Tribute Bands

In this month’s Nest Session, David and Rob are joined on the couch by Chat Pile, one of David’s favourite bands who hail from Oklahoma. Raygun Busch and Stin talk about their shared - and differing - experiences being sent to church camp growing up, and explain the origin of their name, referencing the massive hills of hazardous waste found in their home town. If you want to find out what a “chat rat” is, then this is the episode for you. The two then dish out their favourite American snack, before performing broken down versions of two of their deeper cuts - Tenkiller and King. Email us your feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.comJoin us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/flightlessbird You can find Chat Pile here:https://chatpile.nethttps://www.instagram.com/chatpilebandDavid recommends God’s Country, Cool World and In the Earth Again (with Hayden Pedigo).
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Nest Sessions: Chat Pile

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David looks at Best Friends, one of America’s largest animal rescue groups. Promoted by the likes of Mark Wahlberg, and with its own Nat Geo show “Dog Town”, David discovers Best Friends had its origins in a cult called “The Process Church Of The Final Judgement”. They wore a lot of black, had big big iron crosses around their necks, and liked keeping big dogs as pets - mainly German Shepards. Rumours spread they were involved in ritualistic murder - and by the time the Manson murders happened, prosecutors alleged there were links between Charles Manson and “The Process”. Under the leadership of “Mary Ann MacLean” the cult would undergo a series of changes, eventually ending up as - you guessed it - Best Friends. David meets a corner member who was born into the cult, and alleges what is now Best Friends’ Utah HQ was built - in part - by children. 

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

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

Email us your feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Best Friends: Animal Cult

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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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
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Spaceman Barry

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