Flightless Bird

David Farrier
  • 5.0 (2.1K)
  • DOCUMENTARY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Flightless Bird Podcast

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.

  1. 5 DAYS AGO

    Creed

    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 fandom sits in 2024 America.

    1h 8m

  2. SEP 17

    Homelander

    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: https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/antony-starr/biography

    55 min

  3. SEP 10

    7th Day Adventists

    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 whether it’s a cult or not. In the mailbox segment, David and Rob discuss feedback to the dolphins episode, paying tribute to the Russian Spy beluga whale that passed away, before talking about the US Navy experimenting with sharks as a weapon. Links: https://www.onewhale.org/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/02/russian-spy-whale-beluga-dead-norway https://undark.org/2016/08/11/sharks-explosives-world-war-ii-mary-roach-what-i-left-out/

    1h 4m

  4. SEP 3

    Navy Dolphins

    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 programme: https://www.niwcpacific.navy.mil/About/Departments/Intelligence-Surveillance-and-Reconnaissance/Marine-Mammal-Program/ Seaquest DSV: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaQuest_DSV Wet Goddess book interview with Farrier: https://thespinoff.co.nz/media/13-03-2018/david-farrier-talks-with-his-old-friend-who-had-sex-with-a-dolphin

    57 min

  5. AUG 27

    OnlyFans

    This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to understand OnlyFans, which while based in the UK boasts a mostly US based audience. David talks to Sara (@pockowokosara) who we first met on Flights of Fancy, an OnlyFans creator based in the USA. She talks about her experiences making content and what it’s like managing and catering to a paying audience. David then explores the world of male only fans creators, talking to Jakk Maddox about some of his stranger experiences on the platform. David ends his journey by talking to someone who used to work for creators as an OnlyFans “chatter,” essentially pretending to be someone else!

    1h 5m

  6. AUG 20

    Rhode Island

    This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier discovers that Rhode Island is not in fact an island. If not an island - what is it? Farrier talks to linguist Kate who has a true love for Rhode Island - and she educates David about the vampire buried there, the food Rhode Island loves, and its place in pop culture. Along the way Farrier discovers Rhode Island has a lot in common with his favourite place, New Zealand - which, arguable, is an island.

    58 min

  7. AUG 13

    Possums

    This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier investigates why American opossums are so different to New Zealand possums. Speaking of which - why does one have an “O” in front of them? To find answers, David meets up with a possum called Horace, and learns that contrary to popular opinion possums are not related to rats. In fact possums have many amazing traits including being pretty much immune to rabies, being living fossils, and masters at playing dead. While New Zealand possums are terrible for the environment, the possums Farrier discovers in LA are very different beasts.

    59 min

  8. JUL 2

    Chocolate

    This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier investigates why American chocolate tastes so different to New Zealand chocolate - and more specifically, why Hershey’s chocolate allegedly smells a little bit like vomit. Farrier talks to a former Hershey’s worker to try and get to the truth, learning about various theories and stumbling on an old rivalry between Hershey’s and Mars. David finds himself talking to flavour expert Barb Stuckey, author of TASTE: Surprising Stories & Science About Why Food Tastes Good. Does he find the answer? Perhaps you need to let your tastebuds decide.

    49 min
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5
out of 5
2,080 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    David Farrier
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Flightless Bird

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