Flightless Bird

In this week’s spooky Flightless Bird episode (you know, Halloween and that) we look at one of the scariest motifs known to man: Clowns. Rob and David are joined in the studio by Guilford Adams, director of the documentary American Clown and a professional clown himself - to discuss the history of clowns in the United States, and the various clown scares that have gripped the nation and ask… have...

The Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film is as iconic as the moon landing and footage of the JFK assassination. But was it real? In today’s episode, we have the final, conclusive answer to this question. If you missed the memo, today is the National Bigfoot Day, so Flightless Bird is doing a deep dive into some of the most famous movie footage ever taken: The Patterson-Gimlin bigfoot film. Allegedly shot...

In this month’s Nest Session, David and Rob are joined in the studio by Yvette Young, frontwoman of math rock band Covet, and an incredible guitarist who ended up on a Rolling Stone list of greatest guitarists of all time. She also really, really loves birds (including the kiwi) - so how would we not have her in the Flightless Bird studio? As well as sharing her amazing guitar skills in an intimat...

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob are joined in the studio by legendary comedian Margaret Cho to check in on how she feels about the USA here in 2026. We (Rosabel, me and Rob) are all giant fans of Margaret, and dig into how she is somehow still a fan of the USA. What gives her hope, and what makes her want to scream into the void? And how does she manage to be such a prolific comedian...

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David looks at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - AKA Mormons - AKA “The American Religion”. Mormons are the quintessential American religion, created by a New Yorker in New York who allegedly emerged from the woods with some very special golden plates. David meets Terryl Givens, professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond, and...

In this week’s Flightless Bird, we revisit what the heck is going on with the banning of Kratom and 7-OH after the DEA got involved. We talk to a major manufacturer of these so-called “gas station drugs” to get his take on things, before revisiting Michael from our last episode to see if he’s kicked his habit. We also hear from listeners about their experiences, and catch up with musician and frie...

In this week's Flightless Bird, David takes a long hard look at himself, and in doing so, takes a long hard look at Canada. To help Farrier on his journey into understanding more about Canada - the Flightless Bird team is joined in the studio by author, podcaster and proud Canadian Liz Plank. Join us for bonus Flightless Bird episodes on Patreon: http://patreon.com/flightlessbird Feedback: flightl...

Rob and David are joined in the studio by Medium Build, AKA US singer songwriter Nicholas Carpenter. Medium Build have been incredibly busy over the last few years, touring heavily and playing festivals like Coachella, Outside Lands, and Austin City Limits. He’s here to talk about his career and music, but also what it was like to discover he was a sperm donor kid. He also performs a special acous...

In this week's Flightless Bird - still reeling in the fact Donald Trump just renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America, David decides to investigate the wonderful country of Canada, encountering bagged milk, clowns, and an American-Canadian hybrid baby. Join us for bonus Flightless Bird episodes on Patreon: http://patreon.com/flightlessbird Feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.comWatch on Spotify. Spotif...

In this week's Flightless Bird, David investigates ranch dressing, one of America’s favourite things! Over 40% of Americans list ranch as their favourite dressing - and is particularly popular in the midwest. David sets out to meet one of LA’s biggest ranch enthusiasts, who takes David through his own private Ranchella: Tasting the best of the best and the worst of the worst. From Hidden Valley to...

In this week's Flightless Bird, David investigates America's obsession with timeshares - going undercover at a timeshare sales session, where he feels his sanity slowly slipping away as the hours pass by. More on timeshares: https://www.go-koala.com/timeshare/resources/are-timeshares-scams Join us for bonus Flightless Bird episodes on Patreon: http://patreon.com/flightlessbird Feedback: flightless...

In this week's Flightless Bird, David heads to Wisconsin Dells, America's "waterpark capital" - discovering a chaotic holiday spot that's like Las Vegas for kids, all high on sugar and waterslides. He then turns his attention to the locals who have lived here all their lives, and the stories they have to tell. What does The Dells mean to them? Join us for bonus Flightless Bird episodes on Patreon:...

Ben Jorgensen of Armor for Sleep joins Rob & David for this month’s Nest Session, where he talks about the themes of their seminal work “What to Do When You Are Dead,” before sharing a truly unhinged American meal with David. Ben also talks about growing up in New Jersey and how involvement with school invention competitions changed his life, before sharing three acoustic cuts live in the studio....

In this week’s episode, David travels to Wisconsin to meet up with Everlee Wihongi, the New Zealander kidnapped by ICE at LAX, released after 73 days in prison. She and her mother Betty reflect on what it was like the day she got out, and the people she left behind. Everlee’s GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-free-and-get-everlee-home Join us for bonus Flightless Bird episodes on Patreon:...

Rob takes David out to the iconic American chain Chilis to eat some baby back baby back baby back ribs. David discovers how the first ever Chilis was a post office on Greenville Avenue in Dallas that closed down in the 70s, reopening as a casual dining restaurant that eventually spread to over 1600 locations around the US. Rob shares the secrets of Chili's menu, and we hear from Flightless Bird li...

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob are joined by “Meekah,” AKA Kaitlin Becker - the much loved children educator known for her work with the likes of Blippi and Ms Rachel. She talks about how she got into this unique field, and about her place in the world of kid’s YouTube, entertainment and education in the United States. From screen time to Blippi’s Harlem Shake past - Flightless Bird...

This week’s Flightless Bird comes to you live from Dallas, Texas, where David and Rob explore the city and interview a range of guests to dig deeper into what Dallas is all about! On the couch is Stefano Daza Arango from Colossal, to talk about their quest to bring the wooly mammoth and moa back from extinction, along with JFK researcher Robin Brown (who you may remember from Netflix’s Dark Touris...

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob look into the proliferation of gas station drugs like kratom and the more powerful 7-OH. What are these drugs, who is using them, and why? And how are these opioid substitutes even allowed? David talks to Pat Aussem from “Partnership To End Addiction" to find out more, before meeting a man who is heavily addicted to 7-OH, who breaks down what it’s like...

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob are joined on the couch by actor Rahul Kohli. Originally from London, Rahul moved to LA where he ended up being cast in some of David’s favourite shows including iZombie and Netflix’s Midnight Mass. But what really caught our attention recently is that Rahul is starring in a massive Playstation videogame. Rahul is an avid gamer - so this was his dream...

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David looks into the state of trash in the USA, through the eyes of a New Yorker who’s made it her mission to clean up all the trash on the Brooklyn bridge. New Yorkers produce more than 14 million tons of waste every year, with 44 million pounds of trash flung onto the curb every day. Begging the question: What’s it like in the rest of the country? Join us for bonu...

In this month’s Nest Session, David and Rob sit down with musician Matthew Logan Vasquez, best-known as the co-founder and frontman for Delta Spirit. Vasquez has a rich history with Flightless Bird, scoring the early episodes and opening up a few of their live shows! Vasquez tells Rob and David about his run-ins with the US healthcare system while he navigated a botched vasectomy. When all the gen...

This week’s Flightless Bird comes to you live from Austin, where David and Rob explore the city before interviewing a range of guests to dig deeper into what Austin, TX is all about! They meet Merlin Tuttle, the legend responsible for the bats under the bridge, and who helped change Austin’s (and America’s) perception of this misunderstood animal. They’re also joined by Erik Sprague AKA the Lizard...

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob have the pleasure of being joined on the couch by actor Rachel Bilson, to talk about the American juggernaut of pop-culture: The OC. Feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.comWatch on Spotify. Spotify subscribers get fewer ads on our episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David travels to New York to the debut live show of America’s newest boyband, Boy Throb. Formed in October of last year, the three American members of Boy Throb are attempting to get an 01 visa for their fourth member Darshan, who’s in India. Begging the question: What is Boy Throb, exactly? David attends a packed Bowery Ballroom show in an attempt to find out. Feed...

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David looks into a small but dedicated group of Americans who are still obsessed with the (alleged) sinking of the Titanic. They find it terrifying, they find it moving, they find it all quite hard to believe. In fact - did the Titanic even sink, or was it the sister ship, the Olympic? Farrier wants to understand why this tragedy is still felt so strongly, so many y...