"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 Seizure Guy”, a local man who appears to fake having a seizure so locals can sit on him. Why does he want people to sit on him, and how long has this been going on?

Do you have more information? Email us: [email protected]

Links:

- Webworm article on Fake Seizure Guy: https://www.webworm.co/p/fakeseizureguy

- Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast

- Carrot Man: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/12/melbourne-fitzroy-carrot-man & https://www.instagram.com/whereiscarrotman/ "

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: [email protected]

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/

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob reflect on the California wildfires, talking to a variety of people affected both directly and indirectly. We hear from one of the team from Watch Duty (the app downloaded by over 2 million people in the last week) about how it works and how it’s saved lives, before talking to one of the people organising at Mutual Aid LA. We then hear from Flightless Bird listeners about various aspects of American wildfires - and what makes this wildfire different.

HOW TO HELP:

-Lydia & Ryan's GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/fa89b9fc

-Mike Rothschild’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MikeRothschild

-GoFundMe main list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/10gvOxituYvxxknoY9IQa-YEqfK8WvCjcLBcg4hsmME4/htmlview?ref=theconsciouscitizens.org

-Where to volunteer: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eaSXTYlLY_spJ-_w43ac55qu6X4YtgApgRGfads3cM4/htmlview

-Mutual Aid LA - what is needed and how you can help: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KMk34XY5dsvVJjAoD2mQUVHYU_Ib6COz6jcGH5uJWDY/htmlview?gid=439359427#gid=439359427

ARTICLE MENTIONED IN EPISODE

-What Happens When a Plastic City Burns

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2025/01/los-angeles-fire-smoke-plastic-toxic/681318/

-David Chamberlin - Creed-tastic cover of our theme song: www.RecordLA.com

-Lingering Effects of the wildfire: https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/01/indirect-death-toll-from-the-l-a-fires-may-end-up-in-the-thousands/

-Gunman at the LADWP building: https://www.foxla.com/news/ladwp-headquarter-center-heavy-police-presence

-Incarcerated firefighters: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/wildfire-camp-incarcerated-teens

-Thread from former inmate who fought fires: https://www.threads.net/@5456236980/post/DEkYYlPv4H1

CONTACT US:

-Email Flightless Bird: [email protected]

-Watch Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast

In this week’s Flightless Bird David is on the ground in Australia, looking at topics that are distinctly… Australian. Australia has, relatively speaking, a lot of shark attacks. So many there’s a whole Wikipedia page called “Shark attacks in Australia”. Of the 69 “unprovoked shark bites” around the world in 2023, 22% of them happened in Australia. David meets with two men who survived shark attacks - who share their motivational stories of recovery, and talk about an elite members club called “The Bite Club”. Rob and David also discuss the LA fires.

Links:

-Flightless Bird is looking for first hand stories from Californians affected by the fires. First responders, or those who’ve had their lives changed by these fires. Please send your voice memos to: [email protected]

-MALAN Fire & Wind Storm Resources: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KMk34XY5dsvVJjAoD2mQUVHYU_Ib6COz6jcGH5uJWDY/htmlview?gid=439359427#gid=439359427 / Displaced Black Families GoFund Me Directory: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pK5omSsD4KGhjEHCVgcVw-rd4FZP9haoijEx1mSAm5c/htmlview

-Brett Connellan - shark attack survivor and motivational speaker : https://www.saxton.com.au/speakers/brett-connellan

-Reach the Bite Club’s Dave Pearson (shark attack victims only!): [email protected]

-Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast

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 TikTok and the modern internet is doing to our brains. David and Rob also discuss their New Years’ (David saw Creed in Las Vegas, Rob ate a yummy meal and went to sleep), the Cyber Truck explosion outside Trump’s hotel, and how much a blimp costs.

Links:

-Email Flightless Bird: [email protected]

-YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast

-Jason Pargin on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jasonkpargin?lang=en

-Jason's Novel, ""I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom: A Novel"": https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Worry-About-This-Black/dp/B0CT43CN6B

-Tropicana hotel destroyed: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/10/09/tropicana-hotel-casino-implosion-las-vegas/75347373007/

-Cyber Truck blown up: https://apnews.com/article/trump-hotel-explosion-tesla-cybertruck-5c5a8fd13a50e2bcde46370ae926d427

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 one of their favourite Flightless Bird episodes, when David visited Hobbiton. Calvin then reviews the first two Lord of the Rings films, and Rob gifts David a birthday present!

Links:

-Dave Kloc: https://www.instagram.com/davekloc/

-Flightless Bird Shirts: www.webworm.store

-Email us: [email protected]

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 first aired: Leaf Blowers. They also read feedback on the American Girl episode - and there is a lot of it, including horror stories, and trips to the American Girl doll hospital. David also learns that there is a place you can go where Cabbage Patch Babies are birthed.

Links:

-Cost to convert entire Greenwich fleet to electric leaf blowers 'shellshocking,' officials say: https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/greenwich-leaf-blower-electric-cost-19972096.php

-The Leaf Blowers Will Not Go Quietly: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-11-08/cities-that-banned-leaf-blowers-are-getting-an-earful-from-landscapers

-Town of Huntington to begin banning gas-powered leaf blowers in January: https://www.newsday.com/long-island/towns/huntington-gas-leaf-blower-vaubzdxa

-NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-leafblowers/

-Angry Hugh Grant: https://youtu.be/DF-9R_yCUBw?si=ccwRRA-FfRAMwfTx&t=484

-Angry Cate Blanchett: https://www.tiktok.com/@katewheeeler/video/7358794083625717025?lang=en

-Flightless Bird Shirts: www.webworm.store

-Email us: [email protected]

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. There he meets Alyson Campbell, the Senior Events and Marketing Coordinator at American Girl - who explains how the store works. He then gets Jamie Cygielman on the line, senior vice president and GM for American Girl. He discovers the doll is the invention of Pleasant T. Rowland - an American educator, writer, and philanthropist. She spent some time as a TV news reporter - anchoring KGO-TV in San Francisco from 68 to 71. By the mid 80s, Pleasant had saved over a million dollars from selling the textbooks she’d written for students - and started American Girl, hoping to teach kids about American history through the medium of 18 inch dolls. With all this in mind - David heads up to the restaurant to dine with his own American Girl doll, meeting both kids and adults who are fans.

LINKS:

Flightless Bird Live in Seattle Feb 8: https://www.stgpresents.org/events/flightless-bird/

Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast

Flightless Bird merch: https://www.webworm.store/merch/flightless-bird

Contact Rob and David: [email protected]

"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 about Darby’s breakout role in Flight of the Conchords - a show some Kiwis out of depth in America. From there, Rhys has cemented himself in what seems to be like every part of American TV and film pop culture - appearing in things like The X-Files, Bob’s Burgers and The Simpson’s - not to mention roles alongside the likes of The Rock and Jim Carrey. David and Rob also note they are doing a live show Feb 8 in Seattle at the Neptune Theatre.

Links:

Tim Batt and Guy Montgomery’s podcast The World Idea of All Time: https://www.worstideaofalltime.com/

Flightless Bird Live in Seattle: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0F006186C0D63E0E

Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast

Contact David and Rob: [email protected]"

"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 problem. You can’t see it or taste it - but you can hear it. There’s a mysterious sound and it’s out to ruin your life. That’s what this week’s episode is about. Rob and David also look at feedback to the Death Doulas episode from a few weeks back.

Links:

Flightless Bird on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flightlessbirdpodcast

Contact David and Rob: [email protected]

Jimmy Fallon and Jon Hamm recreated “With Arms Wide Open”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dku7mCv76cU

Susie “I threw my grandma a death part that went viral!”

Article: https://torontolife.com/life/threw-grandmother-assisted-suicide-party/

Dr’s Tweets: https://x.com/DavidJuurlink/status/1129811903776198659

UCLA's body donation program: https://www.uclahealth.org/programs/donatedbody

How the body of an Arizona great-grandmother ended up as part of a U.S. Army blast test:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-bodybrokers-industry/ "