Flightless Bird – Details, episodes & analysis

In this week's episode, David and Rob take calls from Flightless Bird listeners, who pitch the topics they want them to investigate! From a man who tells of being woken up at age 13 to two men in his room with zipties who abducted him to a controversial “Wilderness Therapy Camp”, to someone involved in competitive air ballooning, to an intern involved in the infamous “Kony2012” campaign, we hear from Birdies with stories to tell. Links: - Flightless Bird live in Portland on 4/13: https://bit.ly/lostkiwiPDX - Flightless Bird live in San Francisco on 4/18: http://bit.ly/lostkiwiSF - Flightless Bird T-Shirts: www.flightlessbirdpod.com - E-mail us with your feedback at flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode, David and Rob look at the recent cases of ICE and other agencies detaining and/or deporting various US residents who are in the US 100% legally. David interviews Canadian Jasmine Mooney, who found herself imprisoned for two weeks after arriving in the US for her job. David wonders how safe he is being critical of the current US administration while here on an 01 Visa, and the practical dangers of even doing this episode. Links: Flightless Bird live shows and merch: www.flightlessbirdpod.com Email us: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com News Articles and References: - Detained Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil: https://apnews.com/article/columbia-protests-immigration-detention-mahmoud-khalil-755774045e5e82849e3281e8ff72f26d - Documentary voiced by Mahmoud: https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/columbia-protest-documentary-narrated-by-mahmoud-khalil-has-us-premiere-thursday - What we know about the Tufts University PhD student detained by federal agents: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/27/us/rumeysa-ozturk-detained-what-we-know/index.html - Academic groups sue Trump administration for arresting students: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/academic-groups-sue-trump-administration-arresting-students-faculty-li-rcna198139 - Jasmine Mooney’s essay: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney - The Guardian on Jasmine’s situation: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/18/canadian-actor-jasmine-mooney-detained-mexico-border - Canadian woman detained by ICE being used as ‘example,’ immigration experts warn: https://globalnews.ca/news/11080371/canadian-woman-detained-ice-example-immigration-border/ - University of Washington lab technician and green card holder detained: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/green-card-holder-50-years-detained-ice-rcna198044 - He voted for Trump. Now his wife sits in an ICE detention center. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/03/16/mass-deportation-ice-detains-non-criminals/82304354007/ - Yes, border control can go through your phone. Here's what travelers should know. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2025/03/21/border-control-phone-search/82594653007/ - David Farrier write on Webworm on speaking up during these Crazy Times: https://www.webworm.co/p/missionstatement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to find the perfect turkey, and in doing so discovers what Thanksgiving is all about. Somehow, Farrier gets acclaimed celebrity chef Michael Voltaggio to cook him, Dax, Monica and Rob a full Thanksgiving meal - which involves a lot of turkey, sides, stuffing and pies. Voltaggio and Farrier discuss turkey jacuzzis, and where Michael can be found most Thanksgivings. Puzzled by the origins of Thanksgiving, David talks to Crystal EchoHawk, founder & Executive Director of illuminative.org - to find out the real origins of Thankgiving and how to best spend the Holiday - including just checking an app like Native Land to clock the history of the land we live on. Kristen and Dax smell the turkey in the air and decide to show up for a tasty Voltaggio meal - and the whole Flightless Bird team gives thanks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to understand the American airport, and what makes it tick. Why are the top seven busiest airports in the world all based in America, and what does that mean for the traveler? David sets off for the world’s third business airport - Denver - to dig into the various conspiracy theories surrounding the airport. Why does it greet passengers with a giant terrifying mustang with glowing red eyes, and did it really kill the artist who made it? David descends into the huge underground network of tunnels under the airport to find out what’s really going on there, and tries to find answers to the strange, apocalyptic artwork on display at the terminals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David sets out to understand American Network News, and the country’s obsession with rolling 24/7 news coverage. Why does the Fox News Channel average more total viewers than CNN and MSNBC combined, and how is American TV news faring in the wake of Twitter and TikTok? David talks to Stacy Scholder, a professor at the University of Southern California who teaches TV journalism. What is she teaching the next generation of TV journalists, and what was it like covering OJ Simpson’s escape on the LA freeway? He also meets Victor Vlam, a 38 year old man in the Netherlands who has the biggest collection of news theme songs on the planet. Why does he have 876 hours, 2 minutes and 52 seconds of news music? Victor explains the importance of news theme music, and what it says about the news you’re about to hear. What’s the best news theme song, and the worst? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets to understand where the heck Halloween came from, a holiday which generates over $10 billion in retails sales in the US each year. Why does an average American spend $60 on the scary day, and is it more tied in with paganism, Christianity, or scary monsters? David meets with Regina Hansen - a writer and scholar who teaches at Boston University - to talk about why we used to carve turnips instead of pumpkins, before calling up professor of philosophy and religion Justin Sledge to talk horror movies. Finally, David decides to use the spooky season to try and communicate with a ghost that’s been waking him up every morning at 3am. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to understand why America - despite all its advancements in innovation and technology - has decided to stick with the puzzling shower curtain. Why, while countries like New Zealand embrace the shower door, is America stuck in a long-term love affair with the fabric (or sometimes plastic) mistress? David calls his old friend Harvey from the Toilets episode to discuss American showering habits, before spending the day with the self-proclaimed “Glass Queen” who spends her days removing shower curtains and replacing them with glistening shower doors. He talks to professor David Schmidt about his complex mathematical simulations of shower curtains, to discover why the shower curtain insists on sticking to your body while you shower. Maybe this is a clue to why 66% of Americans shower daily, compared with 80% of Australians… and why 10 million Americans shower once a week or less. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to understand the Amish, a group of Swiss Germans slash Alsatians that chose America as their home away from home. Why does a country that embraces fast cars, fast money, and fast food also embrace the very slow-moving Amish? David discovers why back in 2000 there were only 178,000 Amish in the US, and why that number has climbed to well over 367,000 - an increase of 106%. David sits down with Susan Trollinger, a professor from the University of Dayton, to talk about Amish tourism and culture. He also talks to Misty Griffin, who wrote a book critical of the Amish called “Tears of the Silenced” and consulted on the Peacock documentary “Sins of the Amish.” She discusses why she had a terrible time being Amish and the problems she says exist in the Amish community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices