Flightless Bird

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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/

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