Flightless Bird

In this week’s Flightless Bird, Rob schools David on Nickelodeon, the American TV channel launched on April 1, 1979, when David was just three years old. Nickelodeon gave us Rugrats, Doug, and SpongeBob SquarePants - and a bunch of shows David has never heard of like Are You Afraid of the Dark, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Keenan and Kel, and CatDog. What did it means to be a kid in America growing up with these characters, and what’s it like looking back? To explain: A Rob slideshow to rival all his previous slideshows.
Upcoming live show dates:
3/29 in Salt Lake City at the Depot https://bit.ly/flightlessSLC
4/2 in Austin at Emo's https://bit.ly/flightlessATX
4/4 in Dallas at the Texas Theatre https://bit.ly/flightlessDFW
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In this week’s Flightless Bird, Rosabel muses on the fallout from her episode a few weeks ago, before David and Rob set off for Hooters - absolutely terrified to their core that they will be cancelled in the process by saying the wrong thing or looking in the wrong direction. They hear from a variety of former “Hooters Girls” (their term, not ours) over the last few decades, before talking to current Hooter ambassador Averey Tressler (who eagle eyed listeners may recognise from another All-American institution, The Challenge). Join us as we learn about Hooters - hoot hoot!
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The Original Hooters guide for staff: https://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/so-you-wanna-be-hooters-girl?page=1

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In this week’s Nest Session, we’re joined by Peter Matthew Bauer of The Walkmen, who brings in a fresh Kentucky Southern Casserole for David and Rob to sample. Peter shares some pie, as well as what it was like growing up as part of a meditation cult, the oddness of astronomy to the current moment, and how saying no to your own destruction can be fun. Peter then preforms his songs Doom, Knife Fighter and Gold Paint for Blue Skies.
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You can find Peter Matthew Bauer here:
https://petermatthewbauer.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/petermatthewbauer/
Doom Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1R_qJnxdTc

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In this week’s Flightless Bird, David meets Doretta, an American who met and fell in love with a New Zealander - a man who happened to be one of NZ’s most well known celebrities: The Milky Bar Kid. Sort of. Back in the late 80s and early 90s the Milky Bar Kid starred in NZ’s biggest commercial. How did he end up in America, and with a woman who also has a past forged in chocolate?
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In this week’s Flightless Bird, David meets Phil - a man who’s been playing the same Dungeons and Dragons campaign since D&D was first released in 1974. Phil explains what’s so important about the game, and the friends he’s made and lessons learnt along the way. David then talks to the team behind D&D, to discus how the game has transcended generations and continues to grow in relevance after 50+ years!

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On this week's Flightless Bird, David Farrier temporarily halts his New Zealand holiday to bring you the guest to end all guests: Rosabel. If you've listened to Flightless Bird for awhile, you will be familiar with the Rosabel calls that kick many episodes off. You may also recall the time David cracked an egg on Rosabel's head. In this episode, let's learn a little more about Rosabel - and whether she has revenge in her heart.

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In this week’s Flightless Bird, David explores the world of the tribute band - meeting “Dirty Deeds”, America’s best AC/DC tribute band (yes, there are lots of them). With their youngest member in their 30s and their oldest in their 70s - David explores how these American friends ended up choosing to portray Australia’s biggest rock band, learning that the world of the tribute band is expansive, surprising, inspirational... and often deeply weird. 

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In this month’s Nest Session, David and Rob are joined on the couch by Chat Pile, one of David’s favourite bands who hail from Oklahoma. Raygun Busch and Stin talk about their shared - and differing - experiences being sent to church camp growing up, and explain the origin of their name, referencing the massive hills of hazardous waste found in their home town. If you want to find out what a “chat rat” is, then this is the episode for you. The two then dish out their favourite American snack, before performing broken down versions of two of their deeper cuts - Tenkiller and King.
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You can find Chat Pile here:
https://chatpile.net
https://www.instagram.com/chatpileband
David recommends God’s Country, Cool World and In the Earth Again (with Hayden Pedigo).

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In this week’s Flightless Bird, David looks at Best Friends, one of America’s largest animal rescue groups. Promoted by the likes of Mark Wahlberg, and with its own Nat Geo show “Dog Town”, David discovers Best Friends had its origins in a cult called “The Process Church Of The Final Judgement”. They wore a lot of black, had big big iron crosses around their necks, and liked keeping big dogs as pets - mainly German Shepards. Rumours spread they were involved in ritualistic murder - and by the time the Manson murders happened, prosecutors alleged there were links between Charles Manson and “The Process”. Under the leadership of “Mary Ann MacLean” the cult would undergo a series of changes, eventually ending up as - you guessed it - Best Friends. David meets a corner member who was born into the cult, and alleges what is now Best Friends’ Utah HQ was built - in part - by children.

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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 story he wanted to share - explaining how it all started on a Zoom call with his boss, when suddenly he felt like he’d been hit over the head with a bat. We think Nick’s story is intriguing and inspirational - and we wanted to share it with you as we head towards the end of 2025.

Flightless Bird is taking a few weeks off, and returns on Tuesday January 6.

LINKS:

The Friendship Paddle: https://www.friendshippaddle.org

Nick’s bands are Uncle Uncle (https://www.instagram.com/uncleuncleband/?hl=en) and Pookie - whose track “Thank You For Your Service” played us out this week: https://open.spotify.com/track/7zOeJ0T7S5VEgp5RvsRCAL?si=f5277282b92043c6

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