Flightless Bird

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.

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?

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.”

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?