Flightless Bird

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 Arthur and Kathleen Hasay. David also speaks about his experience attending a death workshop, and asks Rob some questions from the Death Deck of cards - which uses humor to talk about death and dying. Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast Flightless Bird t-shirts: https://www.webworm.store/merch/flightless-bird Contact Flightless Bird: [email protected] Alua Arthur’s Death Doula School: https://goingwithgrace.com/about/ Alua’s book Briefly Perfectly Human: https://www.aluaarthur.com/ The Death Workshop David attended: https://onedowndog.com/event/workshop-death-awareness-1024/ CA Advance Healthcare Directive: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/Advanced-HealthCare-Directive-Form_031620.pdf The Death Deck: https://thedeathdeck.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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: https://www.webworm.co/p/its-ok-to-feel-shitty Sydney: Tickled at the Orpheum: 7pm, November 27: https://www.orpheum.com.au/movie/tickled-qa-event-with-david-farrier-live-on-stage If you ever want to get in touch with show feedback or ideas, we are [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Bird with your election night recordings: [email protected] Links: Matthew Logan Vasquez: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ndN8LWSsLWQqbWVJD8miG?si=EBK0hBnuTC2FII2EeENvCg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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: https://www.wired.com/story/pig-butchering-scams-go-high-tech/ Email to submit your election night audio: [email protected] Alanis Morisette got her start on You Can't Do That On Television: https://www.tiktok.com/@80sdeennice/video/7326222806553857323?lang=en DND’s ""very famous"" Gelatinous Cube: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/16869-gelatinous-cube Winter’s Starbucks project: www.starbuckseverywhere.net Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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): https://hatandbeard.com/products/file-under-slime-by-christopher-michlig Lucy Jones’ Creatures That Don't Conform: https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/creatures-that-dont-conform/ A Natural History of Slime: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/720858/slime-by-susanne-wedlich/ Oliver Payne’s 2022 short film, A Brief History of Slime: https://vimeo.com/684376655 MGMT video for Bubblegum Dog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX5NIs8bV54 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 a practice that continues to this day - and why statistically you’re more likely to be killed by the state if you’re black. Show Links: Donate to Missourians To Abolish the Death Penalty (MADP): https://madp.salsalabs.org/donationform/index.html Donate to The Innocence Project: https://innocenceproject.org/ways-to-give/ Robert Roberson could be the first person in the US to executed based on the discredited “shaken baby syndrome” hypothesis: https://innocenceproject.org/petitions/call-on-gov-abbott-to-stop-robert-robersons-execution/ A selection of Marcellus Williams’ poetry: https://innocenceproject.org/marcellus-williams-on-death-row-poetry-is-a-lifeline/ https://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/athena/files/2024/09/25/66f488bfe4b0b663235f1864.pdf David Farrier’s photos from St Louis / Bonne Terre: https://www.webworm.co/p/marcellus Capital Punishment statistics: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/ https://dpic-cdn.org/production/documents/pdf/FactSheet.pdf John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight on death row drugs issues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOn3wba8c-Y Tickets for Webworm’s Tickled + Q&A screenings in Sydney and Melbourne: https://www.webworm.co/p/australia Cruise Ship documentary - Meet the Happiest Guy in the World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcBzOesw7sc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier goes to his first Monster Truck Jam to try and understand why Americans love big vehicles so much. There he meets Krysten Anderson, who drives Grave Digger - and tells David what it’s like to be a female driver in a male-dominated sport. David then joins Dax Shepard who explains why Americans like big wheels and big power, before the two of them watch the Monster Jam World Finals go down. Slowly Farrier begins to understand these oversized vehicles, realizing that to become truly American he must love a 12 thousand pound truck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets off to understand America's frozen food obsession. Each year Over 80% of American households will eat frozen dinners this year - making the frozen food market worth over $65 billion dollars. Monica Padman takes Farrier frozen food shopping, introducing him to her favorite frozen foods. They then put on a fancy dinner for their friends featuring nothing but frozen foods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"In this week’s Flightless Bird, Monica, David and Rob discuss their favourite (mostly American) TV shows. Because occasionally on Flightless Bird, we break from the usual format and do something a little bit different. You saw that with Flights of Fancy about a month ago, where we got your expert insights into very American things - and also with American Gods, where we focus on an American legend. And today, we’re doing another new thing that we’ll do from time to time: a Top 10 List. David, Rob and Monica each bring their 3 favourite shows to the table - as well as a runner up (.33). Combined - a magical top 10 list!" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s Flightless Bird, Farrier sets out to understand why Americans call “Snakes and Ladders” something completely different: “Chutes and Ladders”. Farrier meets with Hasbro’s Brian Baker, senior vice president for board games. Farrier learns the surprising origins of Chutes and Ladders - as well as other popular American board games like Candyland and Monopoly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier goes to eat at iconic American restaurant chain the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Back in 1994, Forest Gump was box office gold - the highest grossing film in America that year. Forrest Gump also did something not many films have ever done - something truly magical - it leapt out into real life. Because on any day of the week in America, you can stroll directly into a restaurant that wouldn't exist without Forrest Gump: The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. To learn about all things Gump, Farrier talks with David Chen from decodingeverything.com who breaks down the significance of the film. He then takes producer Rob to dine in style at Bubba Gumps, before talking to the Vice President & COO of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Jenny Scharbrough. That's right, Jenny! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier throws himself back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth during the 1500s. Why? Because Americans love Renaissance Fairs. The whole idea of the Renaissance Fair started back in 1963 - when teacher Phyllis Patterson held an event for her students in her backyard. A few months later her and her husband Ron put on a bigger one - hosting about 8000 people. It kept growing - and in 1966 the official “Renaissance Pleasure Faire of Southern California” was launched. Farrier decides to head along to that very fair see what all the fuss is about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re trying something a little different today - something we’re calling “Flights of Fancy.” Now awhile back, if you follow David Farrier on Instagram, you would have seen a prompt where he wanted you to pitch a deeply American topic YOU could speak on. Maybe it was a job you had, or some other personal insight you could give into something AMERICAN. Maybe you worked at Buckees, or in the depths of the White House. We heard from so many of you - like hundreds - with so many ideas. Rob made a fancy spreadsheet to collate all your responses, and we picked a bunch we liked. Then we zoomed with those people - getting them to explain their area of expertise. We met a true cross section of America - and some of the topics you’re about to learn about - some of them we’re gonna dive deeper later in the year. But for now, this is Flights of Fancy - where we talk Flightless Bird listeners about the what they want to see on Flightless Bird. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's Flightless Bird, David Farrier talks to the author of 50 Pies 50 States, Stacey Mei Yan Fong. Farrier sets out to discover why Americans love pie so much, declaring January 23rd National Pie Day back in 1986. Farrier and Fong discuss what makes the pie so American, before looking at Stacey’s top 3 American pies - which David, Monica and Rob then sample. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier looks at the process of gaining American Citizenship, and what it means to become truly American. Why over the last decade did over seven million non-Americans choose to become American? And what does this process look like? David talks to a New Zealander who chose to Naturalise before looking at some Americans who’ve chosen to do the exact opposite. Why would someone choose to become American and why would someone choose to give it up? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's Flightless Bird, David Farrier looks at how America surveils its own citizens and asks why America is a “spying superpower.” In 2022 alone, 145,000 Facebook users and 100,000 Gmail accounts were rifled through by the US government’s spy agencies. How come? Farrier delves into America’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and “Section 702" and talks with journalist Byron Tau, author of “Means of Control: How The Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government is Creating a New American Surveillance State.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's Flightless Bird, David Farrier starts to ponder his own mortality and why despite America spending more on healthcare than any other nation on earth - it’s only 59th on the life expectancy list. To find some answers, he heads to Loma Linda: population 9000, an average life expectancy 10 years longer than the average American. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's Flightless Bird, a new format that we will bust out occasionally called "American Gods." David, Monica, and Rob pick an American that's reached fever status. They share their initial thoughts, before going away for a week of research and "assignments" to do - gathering together again to share what they've learned. This week, we look at Taylor Swift - what we know, what we think we know, and what we definitely don't know! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's Flightless Bird, David Farrier talks to Terra Newell, who you may well know from the Dirty John podcast. We look at what makes the True Crime genre such a big deal, and some of the ethical questions it raises. David also shares his favourite 10 True Crime bits of media with Monica and Rob. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier looks at why so many Americans don’t take their shoes off indoors. A poll by CBS last year found “the majority of Americans don't ask their guests to remove their shoes when they come to visit, and this is particularly true of older Americans.” David wants to find out why, so meets with etiquette coach Elaine Swann, founder of The Swann School of Protocol. The pair talk about the correct thing to do with your shoes, before moving their attention to road etiquette, airplane etiquette, and Zoom etiquette in the USA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier still finds himself stranded back in New Zealand, waiting for his new Visa to be issued so he can make more American Flightless Birds. Cut off from America, he decides to do one of the most touristy things he can imagine: He sets off for Matamata and the tiny sleepy village of Hobbiton. Left over from the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit, he goes to meet Hobbiton general manager Shayne Forrest, who takes Farrier around the most incredibly detailed living film set he’s ever seen. Farrier discovers that Hobbiton has recently opened up a Hobbit house, so Farrier goes inside to experience it with an American man called Matt. Outside, Farrier is lucky enough to meet Pickles, Hobbiton’s one and only rescue cat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier finds himself stranded back in New Zealand, waiting for his new American Visa to be issued. He decides to investigate New Zealand’s most famous fruit - not the kiwifruit, but the feijoa. They’re an icon in New Zealand, put in everything from chocolate to vodka. Farrier then sets out to understand why the feijoa has never taken off in America - and is shocked to find an underground network of feijoa lovers throughout California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to understand the origins of Smokey Bear, an educational mascot who’s turned into the longest-running PSA in American history. Farrier then gets a tip that there is a real Smokey Bear, so travels to the sleepy town of Capitan, New Mexico. Farrier searches for Smokey’s alleged gravesite, meeting with park ranger “Max” to understand the secrets of Smokey, a bear that ended up with their own Zip Code. Along the way Farrier learns about another local legend, Billy the Kid - leading to the question: Who is the most famous local? Smokey Bear, or Billy the Kid? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to understand Costco, the giant membership warehouse club loved by millions of Americans, a store that now pulls in $64 billion in revenue each year. Farrier meets up with a friend of the show Andy, who takes David inside Costco for his first shopping trip. David is so impressed he signs up as a card-carrying Costco member, before returning with a former staff member to get the goss. Finally, Farrier talks to a staff member who’s been at Costco for a quarter of a century, meeting his wife at Costo, buying his engagement ring at Costco, and naming their dog after the iconic Costco brand, Kirkland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to the town of Roswell, New Mexico - home of the 1947 UFO crash that ignited the imagination of the entire planet. After visiting the Roswell UFO Museum, Farrier sets out to see what makes Roswell, well, Roswell. He meets up with artist Michael Beitz who runs the Meow Cat Sanctuary, before getting some Mexican food with local cowboy “Spider Dailey”, who fills Farrier in on the local military academy… and how to be an anarchist. He also goes to see Nancy Fleming who runs the Miniatures & Curious Collections Museum, and stops by Roswell’s UFO-themed McDonalds where he meets a man who’s had a close encounter of his own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to understand why Americans guzzle down over 10 billion donuts every year. He sets off with his friends Andrew and Lauren to sample some Californian donuts, before meeting up with Emily Taing. Tang is behind Pink Box Stories (@pinkboxstories) on Instagram and educates David about the origins of the donut’s famous pink boxes, and the importance of America’s mom-and-pop donuts stores. David then sets his sights on the big East Coast chain - Dunkin’ - meeting with their president Scott Murphy, and one of their franchisees Sue Andrade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier tries to understand why his entire street smells like semen. He finds himself in the world of the Callery Pear Tree - also known as the Linden Tree or the Bradford - AKA “the cum tree”. David talks with Theresa Culley, a professor at the University of Cincinnati - who knows a lot about this particular foul-smelling tree. The plant biologist teaches David why the trees smell like that, before diving into an analysis of how American these trees really are. David is shocked to find out one of these trees survived 9/11, and is now found at the 9/11 memorial site. He also discovers the tree - once the darling of US landscapers and gardeners - is now considered an invasive species. With this in mind, David visits LA’s Natural History Museum to meet herpetologist Greg Pauly, who educates David about some of America’s other invasive species, including one particularly loud and annoying frog. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier dives headfirst into one of America’s favorite foods, the humble hot dog. He learns that Americans eat around 20 billion hot dogs a year, which means the average American eats about 70 hot dogs per year. Why? How did this simple food get so popular here? To understand, Farrier decides to talk to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council. Eric Mittenthal picks up and answers some of Farrier’s burning questions. David then takes foodie and Flightless Bird producer Rob Holysz out to eat some hot dogs - first at the iconic LA joint Pinks, and then to the very niche Wurstküche in the Arts District. There David and Rob dine on rabbit, buffalo, and rattlesnake. They also set out to answer the burning question: “Is a hotdog a sandwich?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier takes Monica’s advice from an earlier episode and investigates America’s obsession with quilts. He begins his journey by interviewing quilting podcaster Ashelyn Downs of “The Grateful Thread”. Farrier discovers that quilting is not just oldies sitting by the fire, but that there’s a new movement of younger, more diverse quilters taking over America. He sets off to meet Latifah Saafir, an engineer who now makes some of the most amazing quilts you’ll see, incorporating bits of her culture and life into the quilts she makes. David then stops in on another young quilter, Luke Haines, who has some of his quilts hanging on gallery walls. Luke insists on making a quilt featuring the one and only Monica Padman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier seeks to be better understood by his co-hosts by diving headfirst into the American accent. He meets with dialect coach Joel Goldes, who’s helped coach actors like Viola Davis through her various accent roles. As “The Dialect Coach” (www.thedialectcoach.com), Joel teaches David how to place his tongue to sound more American, and takes Farrier through what he’s been doing wrong. Monica, Rob and David also take an accent quiz to see how good they are at picking American accents (which you can try at home too: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliafurlan/pahk-the-cah-nomaaaaaah) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier investigates America’s extreme love of cereal. He sets out to answer why America needs over 5000 different types of cereal, and why some of the most popular cereals have been discontinued. He meets with YouTube cereal reviewer Thomas Hicks, AKA The Cereal Snob (https://www.youtube.com/c/CerealSnob), to get the lowdown on how much milk should be used in cereal, and what types of cereal are the best. David also discovers that cereal was invented by John Harvey Kellogg in the 1890s, who created the humble cornflake. David finds that Kellogg was trying to create something so bland it would stop people masturbating or having sex! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier begins to notice how much America loves cars. Why do 92% of American households have at least one vehicle? That is so many cars! The country's love of cars has transformed it, with not only roads - but with millions and millions of parking spaces. David becomes obsessed with all of America’s parked cars, sitting down with Henry Grabar - a staff writer at Slate who writes about cars and transportation, urban policy and housing. And Grabar has also been thinking a lot about how much of America is taken up by cars. Why in America, on average, are there up to 6 parking spaces for every car? Why does NY make more money off parking tickets than parking fees? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to understand America’s obsession with pinball. He heads to Long Beach California for a meeting of the Long Beach Pinball League, headed by passionate pinball man Tom Walker. His league is part of the International Flipper Pinball Association which is made up of 96,000 players from 45 countries. David then meets Tom Radar, a man who has been obsessively collecting pinball machines for years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to understand the mysterious world of fantasy football. He joins a group of manly men as they do a fantasy football draft in a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, trying to understand the appeal of a game played by 50 million Americans. David then meets sports reporter and ESPN correspondent Mina Kimes who drills down into the finer details of fantasy football, even offering some expert tips. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier takes Monica to a haunted house to celebrate Halloween. And not just any haunted house! Each year Universal Studios puts on its Halloween Horror Nights, using its Hollywood tricks to create some of the scariest haunted houses in America. David and Monica meet with John Murdy, the creative director behind the haunted houses. Monica then comes face to face with her ultimate fear: Chucky. And not just one chucky: Hundreds of Chucky’s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird David Farrier investigates bail bonds in America, and more specifically - the bail bondsman. With 15,000 bail bonds agents in America, it seems to be a thriving private enterprise. In Oklahoma he meets with Ron Eden, a bail bondsman who inherited the business from his mother. What’s it like to deal with people accused of crimes, and the families desperate to get their loved ones out while they await trial? David then brushes up on how you get bail in New Zealand, by talking to criminal lawyer Emma Priest. He then talks to Allie Preston, a senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress. Allie explains why having to pay for bail is a problem and who it discriminates against - and also points out that paying for bail doesn’t necessarily make you more likely to turn up for court! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird David Farrier investigates whether we have America to thank for the modern laundromat. After all, there are over 30,000 laundromats in the US - employing 39,000 people, making $5 billion in revenue each year. To help him in his investigation David meets with Brain Wallace of the Coin Laundry Association to discuss how on April 18th,1934 a Texan named CA Tannahill opened the world's first coin-operated laundromat. David then discovers how laundromats mean different things to different people in America. He then talks with Jason Sowell, who is very enthusiastic about the importance of the American laundromat and runs a non-profit called “Current Initiatives” which helps people do their washing. David also learns why Americans have a phobia of clotheslines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After two American surgeons told David he needed back surgery, he fled back to his home of New Zealand where healthcare was less scary! What he discovered in New Zealand surprised him. David calls up journalist Luke O’Neil (writer of the Welcome to Hellworld newsletter and new book A Creature Wanting Form) to chat through what he discovered: two very different medical systems with vastly different approaches. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird David Farrier investigates pizza, one of America’s favourite foods. He discovers that around 76,000 pizza joints bring in $44 billion dollars each year in the US - where every day 13% of the population will eat a slice of pizza. David begins his journey in Los Angeles, as Rob takes him and Monica to a fancy pop-up called “Chain”. Here, chefs riff on chain food but with their own upgraded twists - and tonight it’s Pizza Hut! Next David heads to New York to eat a variety of NY pizzas, from the cheap slices of Joe’s, to Pauly Gee’s famous Hellboy pizza. What makes a good pizza? There is no clear answer, but Farrier attempts to find out, before going to one last joint - Ops - an upmarket take on what a pizza should be. Along the way Farrier meets some of those eating the pizza - New Yorkers - who truly love their city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Flightless Bird David Farrier investigates the incredibly American pastime of storm chasing. There are about 1200 tornados in America each year - for some, they are a source of fear and worry, but for others, they are a challenge to be bested. David travels to tornado alley, visiting Oklahoma in search of answers. There he meets storm chasers Stephanie & Justin Cox (@oklahoma_weather_couple) who talk about falling in love while chasing storms and their shared obsession with finding the next big Twister. David reads that the nearby town of Cole has recently been hit by a tornado (two, in fact) so heads off to investigate, meeting the resilient people there who talk about what it’s like to be hit by a twister. Along the way Farrier talks to storm chaser Jennifer Brindley (faceofastorm.com), and her veteran storm chasing partner Skip Talbot (www.skip.cc), who timed the birth of his children around his storm chasing sensibilities! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices