Episodes

  • Wisconsin: Cheeseheads

    Wisconsin: Cheeseheads
    Apr 21 2026
    In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier travels to Madison, Wisconsin, to investigate the World Championship Cheese Contest. With 3375 entries and 150 classes, we are talking a lot of cheese. Hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, the comp has been running since 1957 - and this year was bigger than ever. Why is cheese so big in this part of the US, and what exactly is a cheesehead? All will be revealed in this very cheesy episode. Links: Join us for bonus Flightless Bird episodes on Patreon: patreon.com/flightlessbird Contact us with your feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    57 mins
  • Pro Puzzler

    Pro Puzzler
    Apr 14 2026
    On this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob discover that doing jigsaw puzzles is not just a hobby - it’s a sport! They talk to US speed puzzler Karen Kavett - AKA Karen Puzzles - who’s about to head off to the 2026 USA Jigsaw Nationals. How big is the scene and what does it take to get to the worlds? What is the secret to doing puzzles very, very fast? David also reveals that he’s being sued in America after an article he wrote for Webworm, and Rob and David discuss the recent Flightless Bird tour which featured the one and only Rosabel! Links: Email us your feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Karen Puzzles on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenpuzzles/ Rosabel on tour & our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-rosabel-155107678 Why is David being sued? https://www.webworm.co/wildingpart9/ Vote for us at the Webbys: Or - https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/features/best-indie-podcast 1. ⁠Go to webbyawards.com 2. ⁠Click “Go Vote” button 3. ⁠Hit SEARCH 4. ⁠Type in “Flightless Bird” and click on “Flightless Bird” when it turns up 5. ⁠Cast your vote Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • Parasocial Listener II

    Parasocial Listener II
    Apr 7 2026
    In this week’s Flightless Bird, we return to Nick from last year’s Parasocial Listener Episode. Nick had been diagnosed with a rare kind of brain tumor - rare in that you can remove it, but it keeps coming back. In today’s episode, Nick has taken a leap of faith and arrived in New Zealand, to eat meat pies, surf, and visit Hobbiton. We catch up with Nick as he meets some fellow Flightless Bird listeners, goes on some soaring adventures, and has a terrifying encounter in a cave. Links:Nick’s paragliding experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l8QYZW2v_INick’s band Pookie: https://www.instagram.com/pookietheband/ The Friendship Paddle: https://www.friendshippaddle.org/ Vote for our Webby: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/features/best-indie-podcastJoin us for bonus Flightless Bird episodes on Patreon: patreon.com/flightlessbird Contact us with your feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    54 mins
  • Nest Sessions: Genevieve Schatz on being clairvoyant

    Nest Sessions: Genevieve Schatz on being clairvoyant
    Apr 2 2026
    In this week’s Nest Session, David and Rob are joined by Genevieve Schatz, frontperson of Chicago indie band Company of Thieves. Schatz has been on quite the journey since fronting that band - which includes delving into a new type of field: being a clairvoyant! What does this mean exactly, and what’s the boundary between woo and reality? Genevieve also performs in the Flightless Bird studio, showcasing her lyricism and vocal prowess in a pretty hypnotic way!Email us your feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.comJoin us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/flightlessbird You can find Genevieve here: https://www.instagram.com/gemmebean/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Goosebumps

    Goosebumps
    Mar 31 2026
    In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob talk iconic series Goosebumps - discussing their favourite books in the series, the joy of the Scholastic Book Fair, and how Goosebumps have managed to sell over 400 million copies around the world. David then interviews the man himself - R.L. Stine - who has just finished writing his latest book: A book for adults. Join us for bonus episodes on Patreon: patreon.com/flightlessbird Contact us with your feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    53 mins
  • Food Trucks with Roy Choi

    Food Trucks with Roy Choi
    Mar 24 2026
    In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob have Korean-American chef Roy Choi in the studio to talk food trucks. The creator of legendary Korean-Mexican taco truck “Kogi”, Roy talks about his influences growing up, launching a game-changing food truck, and what makes food trucks so important in America’s DNA.LINKS:Upcoming Flightless Bird live shows: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 Join us for bonus episodes on Patreon: patreon.com/flightlessbird Contact us with your feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 56 mins
  • Train Crashes

    Train Crashes
    Mar 17 2026
    In this week’s Flightless Bird, David talks to a woman who’s been working at a law firm for over a decade that represents motorists who get hit by trains. How is this a full time job? Well, there are around 1300 train derailments in the US every year - 3.5 per day. Since 1975, those derailments have killed 467 people, 12,500 people maimed along the way. Then there are all the incidents of trains hitting cars, mostly at railway crossings. Last year, trains hit cars 1,870 times. 247 people died in the process - and 623 were injured. The year before that, even more people died being hit by America’s trains. David talks survival tips, and tries to get to the bottom of why this is happening. LINKS: Upcoming Flightless Bird live shows: 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 Join us for bonus episodes on Patreon: patreon.com/flightlessbird Contact us with your feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • Jehovah's Witnesses

    Jehovah's Witnesses
    Mar 10 2026
    In this week’s Flightless Bird, David talks to two former members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion in the USA, to find out what it’s really like inside. Can members really not pledge their allegiance to the American flag? Are they really not allowed to have blood transfusions? Are they not allowed to be gay? Is there anything JW’s *are* allowed to do, besides door knock? David tries to find out. LINKS: Upcoming Flightless Bird live shows: 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 Join us for bonus episodes on Patreon: patreon.com/flightlessbird Contact us with your feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    58 mins