Flightless Bird sees journalist David Farrier learning about what makes America special, from his unique perspective as a Kiwi accidentally marooned in the Land...
"In this week’s Flightless Bird, David continues his series in Australia. This week, he arrives in Melbourne to try and solve the mystery of “Fake Seizure Guy”, a local man who appears to fake having a seizure so locals can sit on him. Why does he want people to sit on him, and how long has this been going on?
Do you have more information? Email us: [email protected]
Links:
- Webworm article on Fake Seizure Guy: https://www.webworm.co/p/fakeseizureguy
- Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast
- Carrot Man: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/12/melbourne-fitzroy-carrot-man & https://www.instagram.com/whereiscarrotman/ "
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1:16:44
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: [email protected]
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/
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1:21:39
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: [email protected]
-Watch Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast
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1:39:44
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: [email protected]
-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!): [email protected]
-Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast
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1:18:10
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: [email protected]
-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
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.
USA