Flightless Bird

The Parasocial Listener

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 sto...

Reality TV

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Nest Sessions: Cold War Kids on Vintage Shirt Collecting

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

First Amendment Auditors

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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” - ...

Pumpkin Pie

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Thanksgiving-vibed Flightless Bird, David sets out to learn about the iconic American staple on the Thanksgiving table: Pumpkin Pie. ...

Medieval Times

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 i...

Black Shiny FBI Shoes

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 sou...

Nest Sessions: Anthony Green on Sobriety in America

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Once a month, Flightless Bird will release “The Nest Sessions,” a new music-focused series where each week Rob and David have a different musician...

Hell Houses

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s spooky Flightless Bird, Rosabel reveals her thoughts on the afterlife and ghosts, before David meets a bunch of Americans who’ve ta...

Emo Music Pt II

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s episode, Hayden explains why his old band broke up and David reveals some shocking news: Rosabel’s name is not “Roosevelt”. Ne...

Portland Protests

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, we reveal the results of the competition to guess Rosabel’s filthy email address, before David travels to Portland...

Train Hopping

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David talks to a man who lived as a train hopper for two years. They talk about the lifestyle, dangers and chaos of ...

Homecoming

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David attends his first Homecoming football game and Homecoming dance - and Rob and David discuss their feelings aro...

Christian Chaos

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s episode, David looks at the downfall of one of the world’s biggest Christian stars, Michael Tait. The (now former) frontman of The ...

Christian Music

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s episode David and Rob look at the world of Christian Contemporary Music, or CCM for short. Born out of the 1960s Jesus Movement, CCM ...

Chipotle

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, Rob takes David to his first ever Chipotle Mexican Grill experience, before teaching him about what makes this Ameri...

Tunnel Girl

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s episode, David flies to Washington, DC to meet with Kala - AKA “Tunnel Girl” - a woman digging a tunnel under her suburban home. ...

Kony 2012

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David looks back at Invisible Children’s “Kony 2012” documentary through the eyes of Lilly, an intern at the t...

Streisand Effect

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier meets Mike Masnick, the journalist and entrepreneur who came up with the term “The Streisand Effect”...

Cryonics

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Flightless Bird, David Farrier explores cryonics - freezing human corpses in the hope they may one day be resurrected by future humans!...

Pokemon Cards

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob discuss Pokemon Trading Cards. They’re joined in the studio by Alex (@chantastic_collection) to get ...

Home Alone House

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob talk about one of the most iconic American movies of all time: Home Alone. David then meets Lauren, wh...

Deep Dish Pizza

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s episode, Rob takes David around Chicago visiting some of his favourite deep dish pizza spots. The pair check out Pizano’s, Pequod’...

Live in Chicago: Joe Berlinger, Italian Beef, and Possums

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s episode was recorded live in Chicago, where Rob and David brought Flightless Bird to Park West on July 10. They share their thoughts and...

Live in Denver: Cryonics, Hearse Club, Ice Core, & Wolf Reintroduction

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s Flightless Bird is Live From Denver! Rob and David explore the sights and sounds of Denver, CO, presenting their findings to a very fun ...

Candy

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, Rob takes David to Vons. There they each pick their five favourite American candies, ready to taste test back at the...

Prison Firefighters

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Trigger warning: Today’s episode is very much adults only. In this week’s episode, Flightless Bird explores incarcerated firefighters, talking...

Subway

24 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob look at Subway - breaking down what America loves about the sandwich, before dining at a Subway and or...

LA Protests

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob sit down to record on June 10th - a few days after David got a dose of pepper spray to the face at Sun...

Scientology

10 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob explore Scientology in LA and beyond. David goes on a mini tour of LA Scientology, attempting to visit...

Sperm Donation

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob look at the USA’s very unregulated sperm doner market. Along the way David meets Sheena, who recentl...

Live in San Francisco: Smart Vibrators, Zizians, & The Room

27 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s Flightless Bird is live at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Musician Kelcey Ayer reimagines the FB themesong, before David and ...

Topps Trading Cards

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob look at the history and current trajectory of Topps Trading Cards. They talk baseball cards and baseba...

Blockbuster

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob visit the last Blockbuster videostore in the world in Bend, Oregon. On the way they stop off at the Ov...

Emo Music

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob look at emo music in the United States, from its origins to where it is today. Rob presents David with...

Autism Reveal Party

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David talks to Lisa Didion, an Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of Kansas. Lisa wrote in a...

Live in Portland: Bigfoot, Beavers, and the Oregon Trail

22 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s episode is from our live show in beautiful Portland that happened on April 13. David and Rob share stories from their time in Portland, ...

The Cheesecake Factory

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob visit one of America’s most iconic restaurant chains: The Cheesecake Factory. They discover its humb...

Flights of Fancy: Cheese, Kony 2012, Hot Air Balloons, Troubled Teens, Ice Machines

08 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 te...

Deported

01 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Quiverfull

25 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this weeks Flightless Bird, David sets out to understand the Quiverfull movement, which advocates for having lots and lots of children. He talks to...

Goodyear Blimp

18 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this weeks episode, David goes for a ride on the Goodyear Blimp in an attempt to learn more about this iconic piece of America, celebrating its 100...

Prisons

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless bird, David looks at the American prison system, attempting to understand why the US has the largest prison population in ...

Focus on The Family

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Flightless Bird, David looks at Dr James Dobson and Focus on the Family, a Colorado Springs based fundamentalist Christian group formed i...

Live in Seattle

25 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

David and Rob take Flightless Bird to Seattle, doing a live episode to a sold out crowd at the Neptune Theatre. They interview a former homicide detec...

Gallagher

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob are joined by Gareth Reynold’s from “The Dollop” and “We’re Here To Help” podcasts. Garet...

Kanye's Squatter

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, David meets the man who squatted in Kanye West’s Simi Valley house, sleeping in Kanye’s bed, eating Kanye’s pasta, and shitting in Ka...

Australia: Fake Seizure Guy

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"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...

Inauguration Week

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 Donal...

LA Wildfires

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob reflect on the California wildfires, talking to a variety of people affected both directly and indirec...

Australia: Shark Attacks

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird David is on the ground in Australia, looking at topics that are distinctly… Australian. Australia has, relatively s...

Black Box of Doom

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Lord of the Rings Revisited

31 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Flightless Bird, David calls his friend Leon Wadham who plays "Kemen" in Amazon's Rings of Power series. Rob and David then look back at ...

Leaf Blowers Revisited

24 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Flightless Bird, Rosabel slips on a leaf and David and Rob look back at one of their favourite episodes and what’s changed since it fir...

American Girl Doll

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s episode, David visits the American Girl store in Los Angeles, attempting to learn what is so American about the American Girl doll. T...

Kiwis in America with Rhys Darby

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"In this week’s Flightless Bird, David sits down with Rhys Darby - the New Zealander actor and comedian who’s made America his home. They talk abo...

Mysterious Sound

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"Today on Flightless Bird: Imagine if you have fulfilled the American dream of buying your dream home… only to find there’s a problem. A big probl...

Shower Curtains & Porn Revisited

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this weeks Flightless Bird, David and Rob discuss their thanksgiving plans, before hearing from indigenous leader Crystal Echo Hawk about the true ...

Death Doulas

19 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Election Night

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Election Conspiracies

05 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 th...

Catfishing

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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: ...

Olive Garden

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 Institutio...

Slime

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David explores the resurgence of interest in slime on Instagram and TikTok - an incredibly American phenomenon that'...

Capital Punishment

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

David Farrier heads to Missouri two days out from the execution of Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams. He embeds with “Missourians To Abolish the De...

Spaceman Barry

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 dangerou...

Creed

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 o...

Homelander

17 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, David and Rob sit down with Ant Starr - the New Zealand actor who plays deranged, narcissistic superhero “Homelander” on Amazon’...

7th Day Adventists

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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. ...

Navy Dolphins

03 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

OnlyFans

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 talk...

Rhode Island

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ling...

Possums

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier investigates why American opossums are so different to New Zealand possums. Speaking of which - why does o...

Chocolate

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier investigates why American chocolate tastes so different to New Zealand chocolate - and more specifically, ...

Monster Trucks

25 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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. The...

Frozen Foods

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Top TV Episodes

11 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"In this week’s Flightless Bird, Monica, David and Rob discuss their favourite (mostly American) TV shows. Because occasionally on Flightless Bird, ...

Chutes and Ladders

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, Farrier sets out to understand why Americans call “Snakes and Ladders” something completely different: “Chutes...

Bubba Gump

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 wa...

Renaissance Fair

21 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier throws himself back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth during the 1500s. Why? Because Americans love Rena...

Flights of Fancy

14 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re trying something a little different today - something we’re calling “Flights of Fancy.” Now awhile back, if you follow David Farrier on ...

Pie

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 American...

Citizenship

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Surveillance

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 202...

Loma Linda

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 na...

Taylor Swift

09 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

True Crime

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Shoes Indoor

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Lord of the Rings

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 mor...

Feijoas

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Smokey Bear

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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-r...

Costco

27 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to understand Costco, the giant membership warehouse club loved by millions of Americans, a store...

Roswell

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

Donuts

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 f...

Callery Pear Trees

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Hot Dogs

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 a...

Quilts

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier takes Monica’s advice from an earlier episode and investigates America’s obsession with quilts. He beg...

American Accents

05 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Cereal

28 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Flightless Bird, David Farrier investigates America’s extreme love of cereal. He sets out to answer why America needs over 5000 differe...

Cars

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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?...