NOTE: Jan 30, 2025: I just emailed the 10 winners of the Flightless Bird tees. If you didn't get an email, check your junk folder! If it's not in your inbox or your junk, you didn't win sorry!
I've been meaning to send an email with this small tidbit from my own flightless bird (my French father, who got to the US in 1979) - when he arrived in the US, he was mystified by the newspaper boxes that used to be on every street corner, where you'd put a quarter in and the door would open and you could take a paper. He asked my mother how the first person wouldn't take every paper for their quarter, and she was baffled - what would they do with twenty of the same newspaper?
And that's when he learned that Americans are not quite as capitalistically ingenious as he'd thought (in France, apparently, someone would quickly take them all out for one quarter then sell them for 20c each while standing next to the box and make a quick couple bucks).
Anyway, this story made me laugh and think about your podcast!
Something I've been thinking about recently has been the standard ethics of the generic US citizen, and that was the type of thing that prevented the significant majority from going and taking all of the newspapers out of the box. But then there are always a few who find that they can eschew the ethics when they find that exploiting the standards of others for their own benefit is sufficiently worth it and doesn't bother them (because they have no ethics, or just don't care). The social agreement stops working when there isn't a collective expectation being applied by all, and becomes the situation we've seen over the last decades where more detailed specific regulations/rules/policies are defined to either try and stop the unethical, or to take advantage of the counterparty. I've believed for a long time that's how certain NYC "real estate moguls" have created their brand, often by claiming any gains for themselves, manipulating the numbers to their own personal advantage, and socializing any losses to others to walk away clean.
Been a huge fan since Dark Tourist. Flightless bird is my go to podcast. As an American I can say I've learned a lot from the podcast and from webworm. I spread the info to any family or friends that I can. No question here, just wanted to say thank you for what you do!
I just listened to the LA Wildfires episode and GOD DAMN! It is an amazing piece of work. As someone living in NY I feel like the stories, interviews, and comments you chose to include in the episode struck a perfect balance between personal experiences and in-depth reporting. The interview with the VP from Watch Duty was AMAZING! Have you thought about doing more shows that involve current events? I don’t think they necessarily need to be political in nature, but your perspective could cut through the noise on some important issues. I feel like a Peabody Award isn’t out of the question. You really do stand out!
I think sometimes we will go current - but the nature of this show doesn't lend itself to it. We are not that show. And others shows (ie The Daily) do the news SO much better.
Because each episode tends to contain a produced 20 - 30 minute audio doc (which is scored, and animated for YouTube), that needs to be written over a month in advance usually.
So yeah, FB won't be a news show, in general.
Sometimes it will when we break format, but as a general rule it'll be our usual thing.
PS I am very glad how the fires epi turned out too - and that was thanks to voicemails sent in by listeners, and just the fact it was all happening around us.
I feel like if it's a news item directly affecting you David then you could make a FB episode out of it. Sorry I haven't listened to the latest one yet but as soon as I get the chance, I'll be there 😈💝
I really appreciate YOUR perspective in particular 🤔 no pressure though, ever 😅
It's the first time I have gone: "What do I want life to look like?"
"How does the rest of my life play out?"
"Is there a better way?"
Full disclosure - I think this is also just part of being in my 40s.
I am split. I see myself primarily as a journalist and documentary maker (even as opposed to say a "husband" - I am not one, or a "father" - I am not one), and tbh there is a lot of work I feel I can do here. And this work is what makes me really excited in life (amongst friends and patting cats etc).
I am not sure what life would look like in New Zealand - it's not that that place is entirely free of the kinds of chaos we are seeing here.
It's also not easy to uproot - costs, friends, all sorts.
But there is background anxiety, for sure. I am a white man, I will be fine here - and I want to be able to yell and shout about the shit I see happening to others in a less fortunate position.
I wonder if it is easier for you to stay, knowing that you have a non-authoritarian place to flee to should you need to leave. I would give anything in the world to be able to relocate my family to New Zealand or Australia. I worry about you and everyone who publicly speak out about our atrocious government and felon of a leader. Stay safe.
On the topic of self-identification (you say you see yourself as primarily a journalist as opposed to primarily an extension of another person)...I read awhile back that certain neurodivergent individuals tend to identify themselves first by their own attributes, whereas normies tend to put father/husband, mother/wife first. Unfortunately I don't have the citation, but it was an actual published study, not pop psych. Interesting, the varied ways we perceive ourselves.
It takes effort for me to identify myself in terms of a relationship out of context. Except for "cat mom", but animals are better than people so it's different 😅
While I'm possibly on the autism spectrum, it has never occurred to me to consider myself an extension of anybody else. In both my (failed) marriages, one of 25 years and one of 10 years, I did everything I could (I thought) to make my husband happy, but I never considered myself a "wife". I can't imagine identifying myself by a job, either. I just think of myself as another human being!
I find this comment interesting mainly because I consider myself the most typical of neurotypical people but have never considered myself a 'wife' (and not a mother because I'm not one) or similar. I would always self-identify as my profession or my ethnicity/nationality. Maybe because these are the traits that I consider will most influence/ give context to my opinions? I would only self identify as a 'wife' if the discussion was around relationship dynamics.
That's so interesting! I am not diagnosed with anything but have long suspected I have some variation of neurodivergence, and this also fits for me. Being a daughter/sister/fiancée are definitely secondary to my own attributes.
Yes! Pet is a noun in NZ. Cats and dogs are pets and we pat them. Come and visit us, we have other things we need to discuss. Here's one to start with: if you could not care less about something you should say "I couldn't care less" but Americans say "I could care less". What's that about??
We pat animals in Australia too. As for “heavy petting,” I’ve never actually heard the term, or it’s equivalent with “patting” used here. In my day we would have just said “hooking up” (among other terms, which are escaping me this second). Hooking up (in my experience/memory) covered the whole spectrum from kissing to having sex. “Making out” was never really used as a description here either. Now that I’m thinking about it, I’d be curious if these phrases have are creeping into the vernacular with the YouTube and TikTok generation, as I notice younger people using a lot more Americanisms (as I’m sure my parents did with my generation, I’m mid-late 30s). If that’s the case I’d expect they would just say “heavy petting” as I expect it would transfer as a phrase directly in the same way the American pronunciation of “dupe” et all seems to have. Lol that I’m suddenly thinking so seriously about your question, which I know was not asking for an interrogation of different forms of English, lol. I’m not a linguist (obviously!) but it is interesting (to me, at least. Lol again). 🌀
I know you can escape to NZ, but are you concerned at all about your visa being tanked due to Trump’s day one Executive Action that stated any visa could be revoked due to “hostile attitudes”? This, among with many other things, concerns me due to its broad language, which could be very loosely interpreted to throw any Visa holder out of the country.
Are you concerned though, that the current dictatorship will eventually attack or detain people like you? Wouldn't it be safer to comment on America from outside, given the nature of its government? Sure you are white, but eventually anyone who speaks out will be attacked or silenced.
I do have that very privileged knowledge in the back of my mind that I can get to New Zealand very easily if I need to. I do not have a partner or kids here. I have some stuff. Some laptops and harddrives. A car I lease. It is very easy to get on a plane (or boat! The Creed cruise?) and head for NZ.
Sorry I'm just seeing this now. It absolutely makes sense! It sounds, to me, like you feel you're in a place where you can do some good that alligns with your skills and interests. That's a good thing for you, and very likely the folks around you.
About the wildfires: if the two interviewees were willing, I’d love to hear a follow up episode in 6 months or a year or both! Like others have said, the nightmare will continue for years on rebuilding. I know the mayor has said they’re going to make the permit process easier but it’s doubtful it will be “easy”. Then comes the painful process of finding builders and obtaining material. I hope they eventually find peace.
I think it's so awesome that you do these AMA's! So proud of you and Rob and how you have turned the whole FB situation around! So excited to see it continue to grow and where you take it from here! (Hopefully a live show in Chicago soon 🤞)
Do you have any paranormal themed episodes planned this year?
Bigfoot, but he doesn't really feel "paranormal" per se. The Jersey Devil maybe?
There's the Winchester mystery house right here in California. It was built by the widow of the Winchester gun manufacturer. She supposedly built the house as a maze to confuse the spirits of all the people killed by Winchester guns.
I really need to go there someday.... I am only about an hour away from the Winchester Mystery House and it's one of those things I still haven't done yet!
The Appalachian region is full of American-flavored paranormal stuff. Lots of Scots-Irish settlers bringing their folktales to an isolated, difficult region (and the oldest mountain range in the world) brewed a strange culture of belief in the supernatural. And Mothman ties in because Point Pleasant, WV, is considered part of Appalachia, so that's an easy starting point.
I mean, Mothman is pretty popular. Point Pleasant WV has a festival for Mothman every September, that would be a great Flightless Bird episode on its own.
This is paranormal adjacent as well, but have you heard of the Ghostbuster fan groups? I think there are branches all over the country. People join and get fully decked out - jumpsuit, proton pack, all of it. Someone I knew in high school is part of one and they do a charity drive every year and walk in the Thanksgiving parade in downtown Chicago. Sometimes there's drama between the fractions lol Kind of niche, but thought it was interesting!
You should totally do a Salem episode. After having been fascinated with the case for most of my life (and a huge fan of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible) I found out I’m descended from one of the accusers, which only deepened my need to consume every bit of info on it.
Louisiana has its fair share of paranormal whether it's in New Orleans or at a haunted plantation home out in the boonies. Voodoo (Vodoun) is also practiced in New Orleans as I'm sure most people know. However, that's not so much paranormal as it is religious/belief system? Episodes about UFOs are always enjoyable though.
Welllllll if you want to go to Salem, just drive a lil further north to New Hampshire where there’s a fun UFO/alien festival in September (https://exeterufofestival.org/festival-events) celebrating Betty and Barney Hill. It’s still kind of small, but it gets bigger every year and the merch is great! New Hampshire is…really weird (especially politically) in and of itself, and is probably worth its own episode (see:Free Staters)
I didn’t realize how irritated I was by a certain someone (who I normally love) making fun of the way David says certain words. I’ve lived in the US my whole life but even I know most other countries say maths. Rant over. I do really love the new format and the vibe between David and Rob. Ohmygosh, plus Rob’s boys are a highlight
Hey there you kind, funny, smart, curious, egg smashing, head banging, creative peep. I have your wormy webworm tee, (glasses worm) and the college style Flightless Bird tee.
Everyone needs to know that the shirts are spun by magical fairies using their own soft, fine body hair that makes the shirts oh so snuggly, just like the fine fur of the belly of a kitten. So my question is, why not sell your kick ass rock FB tee to the wider audience?
P.s. thanks for connecting with us here, especially appreciated to chill my brain during my regular 3-4 am insomnia.
P.p.s. “Australia day” coming up soon here in Oz, with all its toxic, hurtful debates and extremely opinionated, uncaring attitudes and actions. I’d love to hear a FB episode around this.
currently on the phone to my bank as I've just been scammed, like 10 mins ago. A lady running a fundraiser in support of 'invasion day', I go to check AFTER (!) making the donation and find several news articles that the person running it is a conwoman. So maybe $50 lost but the bank are launching an investigation and hopefully the person can be stopped from pulling at heart strings during this high tense lead up to 'Australia Day'. So, research first, then money is the basic lesson I've just learnt. Unfortunately, I imagine many people will be trying to take advantage of others with fundraising for your terrible fires over there. Research first Tania, research first........
Having just received a FB tshirt for xmas, I’d be greedy if I asked for another one - plenty of more deserving worms on here needing one.
Hearing about you bringing your goat into Whangārei as a kid (kid you, and kid goat) reminded me of xmas day 2007 I was in Gisborne for work, after a delicious evening meal I was leaving McDonald’s and walking back to my hotel when a shirtless dude on a horse galloped out of the drive through there with a swappa crate of Waikato Draughts under one arm and a bag of maccas in the other. The horse turned down the Main Street and galloped off, rein-free, I’m guessing on autopilot toward its home. The streets were empty and all I could hear and see was this horse galloping away and the dudes hair flowing.
Have you considered an episode (or maybe even a larger project) about the "Christian music industry?" I know you have mentioned several times that you grew up with a lot of the bands that were a part of this in the 90s and 00s. I've often been curious to know who got rich off WWJD bracelets and the Jesus fish on everyone's cars back then. I've actually toyed with the idea of a doc centered around the strange juxtaposition of Christianity and Capitalism, specifically with merchandise and music, but I'm just curious if this is something you are interested in or have explored. It seems as though America was the center of the music side of that equation...well I suppose The Newsboys were one of the exceptions ;) Were you into Tooth and Nail, Solidstate bands or just dc talk, audio adrenaline level pop rock?
I went to college in Colorado Springs and we actually took a field trip to Focus on the Family for a religion class. It was a very weird experience. 25 or so liberal arts kids talking with a few conservative Christians. This was in late 90s. Highly recommend doing an episode on it and dropping in for a tour!
I was born and raised in Colorado Springs and being surrounded by so many Focus on the Family and New Life Church people was interesting to say the least. I’m glad that the Springs seems to be growing and diversifying, but they definitely still have a massive presence.
Yes! I grew up N.I in the 90s and 00s in church and I didn't realise how much the US influenced that! From doing the Alpha Course to Christian music to the bizarre few months were EVERYONE at school was reading the Left Behind series and traumatising ourselves... So strange!
I used to go to tooth and nail shows at The Graceland in Seattle as a little Jewish girl in the early aughts and had ZERO idea that The Juliana Theory and Copeland were singing to me about Jesus...
You had bands up there like MXPX and Pedro the Lion that were in that scene too but more on the fringes. It was such an interesting time. I don't know enough about the business side to know if the bands signed to "Christian" labels because it was easier to break or if it was out of a true desire to be in that scene. Clearly, a lot of the bands from that era eventually expanded their audiences outside of the youth group bubbles e.g. Chevelle, Further Seems Forever, mewithoutYou, P.O.D., Blindside, etc.
Oh I LOVED MxPx 😍 ....on our semi-regular family trips to Brisbane from the tiny town I grew up in we always had to stop at Koorong (the Christian bookstore) for mum and dad to stock up on Focus on the Family parenting material (please do it Dave! Would love to add it to my 'see mum and dad you done fucked up' material. In a loving way ofc) anyway and we were always allowed to pick one thing for ourselves and I always would get a MxPx CD to blast on my discman to try and drown out the Hillsongs albums on repeat in the car. Thanks for the reminder!!! Gunna go listen to Life in General now and relive some childhood church trauma.
This would be an amazing episode. How all the Christian bands are now turning to just worship because it sells more even if it all just sounds like U2 playing the same chord structures. I was having a chat with a friend about this very same thing because Elevation Church has a side project with some heavy hitters called Sons of Sunday and it seems like a cash grab. I would love to hear David’s thoughts and yours as well on the culture of Christian music.
What I love about the T-shirts is ..... I wear them in the hopes that eventually someone will recognise that it's a David Farrier shirt and I can get excited, give someone a hug (or fist pump) and talk their ear off about you.
I made a friend from NZ at my work place when I mentioned that I was a subscriber and we had a huge chat and just couldn't stop talking. Also she had written to you regarding their experiences in the church. The list could go on about what we talked about but it was exciting. So yes my hope is one day someone will recognise the shirt and I will make a new friend.
I really love the Live Show tee design! Super wanna see you in Colorado, and considering the last two people you had on about Wildfires (callers in) live in Colorado, there are at LEAST 3 of us here. Boulder would LOVE your quirk! Come hang, visit Nederland and learn about how the Mayor of Ned is a CAT! Please come! I can host you, if you need a place to land!
Another Boulder rep here 🤚🏻. I just became a Webworm subscriber today and I only did the yearly because it cost $69.69. I’m a teenage boy at heart, apparently.
I am glad some people appreciate the infantile joke. Also, thanks! If it ever becomes a burden, email me and I will comp you: davidfarrier@protonmail.com
I have spent the last few months listening to all of FB, and am absolutely loving it, especially Spaceman Barry, I made my partner listen to this episode, and he has suggested it to friends!
I know you have got, and are getting,100s of ideas for episodes for FB, I'm going to add one more. Craigslist. It's been mentioned on TV, Movies and Podcasts for years, and hailing from NZ I know very little about it, especially its history.
I think that's a really fun one, if I find the right hectic fun story as an "in" to that world.
Glad you are digging FB. And Spaceman Barry started life as a Webworm podcast... so your support on Webworm helped get that thing made in the first place. So - thanks!
Hey David! Just want to say that I love the metal shirt. I like the idea of someone walking by thinking it’s a metal band when it’s really a podcast. Hope to see the live show in SF sometime!
I've finally caught up with all the FB episodes (I'm listening to the LA wildfires one right now as I type) - I really like having them all in one spot, rather than having to scroll through all the other Armchair Expert stuff previously :-)
I also really love that T-shirt! I love metal, and NZ birds, so it's a superawesome combo. The wee guy of the side with the skull mask is an especially nice touch.
Anyway - a question. I don't think you've done a FB episode on money yet. Do you think you'd do one on that? All the notes in the US kinda look the same - there's less visual difference re. colour compared to other countries (and I think they feel different to notes in other countries). But if you look closely there's all sorts of interesting bits on the notes. So it could be a good topic to cover?
It's a great idea, and it's kinda under the topic of "banking" I am trying to crack.
The trouble is? It's fucking boring. Ha! In theory it's good, but good God it's hard to make it interesting besides the initial observation. I like to think I will get there one day though.
You may have spoken about this before (an old flatmate perhaps?). But have you ever been friends with someone who you later discovered to be completely unhinged? I was going through my old letters this week and looked up an old crush / penpal. I was 14 and we met after a game of rugby and wrote to each other. Turns out he was charged with shooting a guy, execution style, in the head in wellington (found not guilty, but as the head cop said that doesn't mean innocent). He moved to Amsterdam where he was charged with another murder (found not guilty), and is now in prison for nine years for running torture chambers over there! His defence was he hadn't used them, yet. His job description, unemployed model!!! Anyway, I just find it fascinating what happens to people and those fleeting connections that could have turned out differently. PS - that T-shirt is mint. Would love to be in the draw
Also, I sold my at the time boyfriend’s car (he went back to his home country and left it with me to do what I wanted with it) to a guy who had an unusual name, Magdi Girgis. My bf’s friend arranged the sale through Craigslist cheap to make a quick sale, but Girgis never filed the paperwork with the DMV. So I ended up getting a bunch of parking tickets from West Hollywood, a place I’d never been to at the time, and certainly wasn’t driving at the time, and he’d apparently just abandoned the car there. AAA even got involved and tried to come after me over it. A couple of months later, I happened to be in the room the local news was playing on tv and the announcer says for their last story, an Orange County man, Magdi Gergis was ARRESTED FOR CONTRACTING A KILLER TO MURDER HIS WIFE. I don’t know if he used the car to help commit the crime, but it was the eeriest thing
NOTE: Jan 30, 2025: I just emailed the 10 winners of the Flightless Bird tees. If you didn't get an email, check your junk folder! If it's not in your inbox or your junk, you didn't win sorry!
Thanks for being here.
I've been meaning to send an email with this small tidbit from my own flightless bird (my French father, who got to the US in 1979) - when he arrived in the US, he was mystified by the newspaper boxes that used to be on every street corner, where you'd put a quarter in and the door would open and you could take a paper. He asked my mother how the first person wouldn't take every paper for their quarter, and she was baffled - what would they do with twenty of the same newspaper?
And that's when he learned that Americans are not quite as capitalistically ingenious as he'd thought (in France, apparently, someone would quickly take them all out for one quarter then sell them for 20c each while standing next to the box and make a quick couple bucks).
Anyway, this story made me laugh and think about your podcast!
Genius 😅
Something I've been thinking about recently has been the standard ethics of the generic US citizen, and that was the type of thing that prevented the significant majority from going and taking all of the newspapers out of the box. But then there are always a few who find that they can eschew the ethics when they find that exploiting the standards of others for their own benefit is sufficiently worth it and doesn't bother them (because they have no ethics, or just don't care). The social agreement stops working when there isn't a collective expectation being applied by all, and becomes the situation we've seen over the last decades where more detailed specific regulations/rules/policies are defined to either try and stop the unethical, or to take advantage of the counterparty. I've believed for a long time that's how certain NYC "real estate moguls" have created their brand, often by claiming any gains for themselves, manipulating the numbers to their own personal advantage, and socializing any losses to others to walk away clean.
Been a huge fan since Dark Tourist. Flightless bird is my go to podcast. As an American I can say I've learned a lot from the podcast and from webworm. I spread the info to any family or friends that I can. No question here, just wanted to say thank you for what you do!
Jill - THIS IS SO KIND AND ENCOURAGING THANK YOU!
PS sorry for shouting.
Shout all you want!!☺️
Check out the band Bit Back... you might like them
I just listened to the LA Wildfires episode and GOD DAMN! It is an amazing piece of work. As someone living in NY I feel like the stories, interviews, and comments you chose to include in the episode struck a perfect balance between personal experiences and in-depth reporting. The interview with the VP from Watch Duty was AMAZING! Have you thought about doing more shows that involve current events? I don’t think they necessarily need to be political in nature, but your perspective could cut through the noise on some important issues. I feel like a Peabody Award isn’t out of the question. You really do stand out!
I think sometimes we will go current - but the nature of this show doesn't lend itself to it. We are not that show. And others shows (ie The Daily) do the news SO much better.
Because each episode tends to contain a produced 20 - 30 minute audio doc (which is scored, and animated for YouTube), that needs to be written over a month in advance usually.
So yeah, FB won't be a news show, in general.
Sometimes it will when we break format, but as a general rule it'll be our usual thing.
PS I am very glad how the fires epi turned out too - and that was thanks to voicemails sent in by listeners, and just the fact it was all happening around us.
I feel like if it's a news item directly affecting you David then you could make a FB episode out of it. Sorry I haven't listened to the latest one yet but as soon as I get the chance, I'll be there 😈💝
I really appreciate YOUR perspective in particular 🤔 no pressure though, ever 😅
Does the current political climate give you any desire to move back to NZ? Or is it worth it to you to say in the USA?
It's the first time I have gone: "What do I want life to look like?"
"How does the rest of my life play out?"
"Is there a better way?"
Full disclosure - I think this is also just part of being in my 40s.
I am split. I see myself primarily as a journalist and documentary maker (even as opposed to say a "husband" - I am not one, or a "father" - I am not one), and tbh there is a lot of work I feel I can do here. And this work is what makes me really excited in life (amongst friends and patting cats etc).
I am not sure what life would look like in New Zealand - it's not that that place is entirely free of the kinds of chaos we are seeing here.
It's also not easy to uproot - costs, friends, all sorts.
But there is background anxiety, for sure. I am a white man, I will be fine here - and I want to be able to yell and shout about the shit I see happening to others in a less fortunate position.
Does any of that ramble make sense?
I wonder if it is easier for you to stay, knowing that you have a non-authoritarian place to flee to should you need to leave. I would give anything in the world to be able to relocate my family to New Zealand or Australia. I worry about you and everyone who publicly speak out about our atrocious government and felon of a leader. Stay safe.
I have the privilege of being able to leave - definitely. So many do not. And for many minorities that is TERRIFYING rn.
On the topic of self-identification (you say you see yourself as primarily a journalist as opposed to primarily an extension of another person)...I read awhile back that certain neurodivergent individuals tend to identify themselves first by their own attributes, whereas normies tend to put father/husband, mother/wife first. Unfortunately I don't have the citation, but it was an actual published study, not pop psych. Interesting, the varied ways we perceive ourselves.
Ha, that's so interesting! Yeah, part of me recoils when being thought of in terms of my relationship to someone else.
YES. Exactly that.
It takes effort for me to identify myself in terms of a relationship out of context. Except for "cat mom", but animals are better than people so it's different 😅
While I'm possibly on the autism spectrum, it has never occurred to me to consider myself an extension of anybody else. In both my (failed) marriages, one of 25 years and one of 10 years, I did everything I could (I thought) to make my husband happy, but I never considered myself a "wife". I can't imagine identifying myself by a job, either. I just think of myself as another human being!
It's typical in less individual cultures too, to identify as part of a group (sister, mother)
Joseph Heinrich talks about it in his book: weirdest people in the world.
I'm quite nuerotypical but there's the odd thing that makes me pause for thought 😅 I guess we're all on a spectrum aye ❣️
I find this comment interesting mainly because I consider myself the most typical of neurotypical people but have never considered myself a 'wife' (and not a mother because I'm not one) or similar. I would always self-identify as my profession or my ethnicity/nationality. Maybe because these are the traits that I consider will most influence/ give context to my opinions? I would only self identify as a 'wife' if the discussion was around relationship dynamics.
That's so interesting! I am not diagnosed with anything but have long suspected I have some variation of neurodivergence, and this also fits for me. Being a daughter/sister/fiancée are definitely secondary to my own attributes.
So, wait. People from NZ pat cats??? Here in the US, we pet them.
I actually very much get what you said about your self-identity. I could go on and on but this is about you. :)
Yes! Pet is a noun in NZ. Cats and dogs are pets and we pat them. Come and visit us, we have other things we need to discuss. Here's one to start with: if you could not care less about something you should say "I couldn't care less" but Americans say "I could care less". What's that about??
So does that mean that “heavy petting” should be “heavy patting?”
We pat animals in Australia too. As for “heavy petting,” I’ve never actually heard the term, or it’s equivalent with “patting” used here. In my day we would have just said “hooking up” (among other terms, which are escaping me this second). Hooking up (in my experience/memory) covered the whole spectrum from kissing to having sex. “Making out” was never really used as a description here either. Now that I’m thinking about it, I’d be curious if these phrases have are creeping into the vernacular with the YouTube and TikTok generation, as I notice younger people using a lot more Americanisms (as I’m sure my parents did with my generation, I’m mid-late 30s). If that’s the case I’d expect they would just say “heavy petting” as I expect it would transfer as a phrase directly in the same way the American pronunciation of “dupe” et all seems to have. Lol that I’m suddenly thinking so seriously about your question, which I know was not asking for an interrogation of different forms of English, lol. I’m not a linguist (obviously!) but it is interesting (to me, at least. Lol again). 🌀
Is that an American thing? I hadn't really thought about that!
I do think that maths with an s sounds kind of silly. But I guess it makes sense because it's short for mathematics which ends with an s.
We definitely pat them, but it sounds like we pet them, because of our accent.
LOL
I know you can escape to NZ, but are you concerned at all about your visa being tanked due to Trump’s day one Executive Action that stated any visa could be revoked due to “hostile attitudes”? This, among with many other things, concerns me due to its broad language, which could be very loosely interpreted to throw any Visa holder out of the country.
Not really? Worst case scenario: I have to leave America. That is OK with me. I mainly feel very lucky I have that option. So, so many do not!
Are you concerned though, that the current dictatorship will eventually attack or detain people like you? Wouldn't it be safer to comment on America from outside, given the nature of its government? Sure you are white, but eventually anyone who speaks out will be attacked or silenced.
I do have that very privileged knowledge in the back of my mind that I can get to New Zealand very easily if I need to. I do not have a partner or kids here. I have some stuff. Some laptops and harddrives. A car I lease. It is very easy to get on a plane (or boat! The Creed cruise?) and head for NZ.
Sorry I'm just seeing this now. It absolutely makes sense! It sounds, to me, like you feel you're in a place where you can do some good that alligns with your skills and interests. That's a good thing for you, and very likely the folks around you.
About the wildfires: if the two interviewees were willing, I’d love to hear a follow up episode in 6 months or a year or both! Like others have said, the nightmare will continue for years on rebuilding. I know the mayor has said they’re going to make the permit process easier but it’s doubtful it will be “easy”. Then comes the painful process of finding builders and obtaining material. I hope they eventually find peace.
That's a really good idea, Michele. You have a producer's brain. Thank you!
☺️ Forgot to mention
the t-shirt! Would love to add it to my embarrassing small collection of shirts!
I think it's so awesome that you do these AMA's! So proud of you and Rob and how you have turned the whole FB situation around! So excited to see it continue to grow and where you take it from here! (Hopefully a live show in Chicago soon 🤞)
Do you have any paranormal themed episodes planned this year?
I do want to get into UFOs which are paranormal adjacent, in my mind.
I want to head to Salem to get into witches... but unfortunately that is more just about horrible humans.
Suggestions? What is distinctly American-paranormal? What is America's most famous ghost or ghoul?
PS probably Epstein, right? Hate to think what his ghost is up to atm.
Bigfoot, but he doesn't really feel "paranormal" per se. The Jersey Devil maybe?
There's the Winchester mystery house right here in California. It was built by the widow of the Winchester gun manufacturer. She supposedly built the house as a maze to confuse the spirits of all the people killed by Winchester guns.
YES! This is a great reminder. The Winchester house is ideal. I keep remembering and then forgetting!
This was the inspiration for the tv mini series Rose Red, correct? That scared me so bad when it came out haha
Yep! There's stuff like staircases that don't go anywhere, doors that open to nothing, trap doors etc.
It was under continuous construction because Sarah Winchester thought she would die when the house was completed. Or that's the lore, anyway.
I really need to go there someday.... I am only about an hour away from the Winchester Mystery House and it's one of those things I still haven't done yet!
I love this thread 🤣
You should check out the Your Wrong About podcast on the Winchester Mansion.
The Appalachian region is full of American-flavored paranormal stuff. Lots of Scots-Irish settlers bringing their folktales to an isolated, difficult region (and the oldest mountain range in the world) brewed a strange culture of belief in the supernatural. And Mothman ties in because Point Pleasant, WV, is considered part of Appalachia, so that's an easy starting point.
Love the Old Gods of Appalachia podcast, for a bit of folk-horror.
You remember the Brown Mountain Lights in North Carolina?
Oooo, yes! I think it was verified that they were auto/train lights?
Something like that! And now Marion, NC also has the Bigfoot Festival. NC has such cool little oddities.
Anything called Pt Pleasant has got to be covering up some nasty secrets! 😬
I mean, Mothman is pretty popular. Point Pleasant WV has a festival for Mothman every September, that would be a great Flightless Bird episode on its own.
Omg YES PLEASE
Yesss, more aliens! Loved the Area 51 episode!!
This is paranormal adjacent as well, but have you heard of the Ghostbuster fan groups? I think there are branches all over the country. People join and get fully decked out - jumpsuit, proton pack, all of it. Someone I knew in high school is part of one and they do a charity drive every year and walk in the Thanksgiving parade in downtown Chicago. Sometimes there's drama between the fractions lol Kind of niche, but thought it was interesting!
Someone here said mothman and I would second that. It also originated in West Virginia which I think would be a really fun place to see you visit…
The Appalachian Mountains would make a great paranormal episode!
Not ghosts, but Area 51 and the supposed bunkers in mountains for President’s cabinet to hide in are strictly American.
You should totally do a Salem episode. After having been fascinated with the case for most of my life (and a huge fan of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible) I found out I’m descended from one of the accusers, which only deepened my need to consume every bit of info on it.
Louisiana has its fair share of paranormal whether it's in New Orleans or at a haunted plantation home out in the boonies. Voodoo (Vodoun) is also practiced in New Orleans as I'm sure most people know. However, that's not so much paranormal as it is religious/belief system? Episodes about UFOs are always enjoyable though.
Welllllll if you want to go to Salem, just drive a lil further north to New Hampshire where there’s a fun UFO/alien festival in September (https://exeterufofestival.org/festival-events) celebrating Betty and Barney Hill. It’s still kind of small, but it gets bigger every year and the merch is great! New Hampshire is…really weird (especially politically) in and of itself, and is probably worth its own episode (see:Free Staters)
I didn’t realize how irritated I was by a certain someone (who I normally love) making fun of the way David says certain words. I’ve lived in the US my whole life but even I know most other countries say maths. Rant over. I do really love the new format and the vibe between David and Rob. Ohmygosh, plus Rob’s boys are a highlight
Hey there you kind, funny, smart, curious, egg smashing, head banging, creative peep. I have your wormy webworm tee, (glasses worm) and the college style Flightless Bird tee.
Everyone needs to know that the shirts are spun by magical fairies using their own soft, fine body hair that makes the shirts oh so snuggly, just like the fine fur of the belly of a kitten. So my question is, why not sell your kick ass rock FB tee to the wider audience?
P.s. thanks for connecting with us here, especially appreciated to chill my brain during my regular 3-4 am insomnia.
P.p.s. “Australia day” coming up soon here in Oz, with all its toxic, hurtful debates and extremely opinionated, uncaring attitudes and actions. I’d love to hear a FB episode around this.
We love ya guts.
Tania in PPEOTE (Perth, Perth, End of the Earth).
I am a big fan of Australia. You can stay.
currently on the phone to my bank as I've just been scammed, like 10 mins ago. A lady running a fundraiser in support of 'invasion day', I go to check AFTER (!) making the donation and find several news articles that the person running it is a conwoman. So maybe $50 lost but the bank are launching an investigation and hopefully the person can be stopped from pulling at heart strings during this high tense lead up to 'Australia Day'. So, research first, then money is the basic lesson I've just learnt. Unfortunately, I imagine many people will be trying to take advantage of others with fundraising for your terrible fires over there. Research first Tania, research first........
Hello from Canberra! <3
Aussie Worms Unite!!
Wunya Ngulum 🤩
Having just received a FB tshirt for xmas, I’d be greedy if I asked for another one - plenty of more deserving worms on here needing one.
Hearing about you bringing your goat into Whangārei as a kid (kid you, and kid goat) reminded me of xmas day 2007 I was in Gisborne for work, after a delicious evening meal I was leaving McDonald’s and walking back to my hotel when a shirtless dude on a horse galloped out of the drive through there with a swappa crate of Waikato Draughts under one arm and a bag of maccas in the other. The horse turned down the Main Street and galloped off, rein-free, I’m guessing on autopilot toward its home. The streets were empty and all I could hear and see was this horse galloping away and the dudes hair flowing.
Vale Frisky 💙
THIS IS THE BEST!
Have you considered an episode (or maybe even a larger project) about the "Christian music industry?" I know you have mentioned several times that you grew up with a lot of the bands that were a part of this in the 90s and 00s. I've often been curious to know who got rich off WWJD bracelets and the Jesus fish on everyone's cars back then. I've actually toyed with the idea of a doc centered around the strange juxtaposition of Christianity and Capitalism, specifically with merchandise and music, but I'm just curious if this is something you are interested in or have explored. It seems as though America was the center of the music side of that equation...well I suppose The Newsboys were one of the exceptions ;) Were you into Tooth and Nail, Solidstate bands or just dc talk, audio adrenaline level pop rock?
I have not, but really want to. I think the Creed episode was dipping my toe in.
I think Focus on the Family will be the next.
This whole world - so much of my young world - was/is informed by America. I just never knew it at the time.
I went to college in Colorado Springs and we actually took a field trip to Focus on the Family for a religion class. It was a very weird experience. 25 or so liberal arts kids talking with a few conservative Christians. This was in late 90s. Highly recommend doing an episode on it and dropping in for a tour!
I was born and raised in Colorado Springs and being surrounded by so many Focus on the Family and New Life Church people was interesting to say the least. I’m glad that the Springs seems to be growing and diversifying, but they definitely still have a massive presence.
If you do, D.L. and Krispen at Strongwilled Substack are the go to. Bonkers.
https://strongwilled.substack.com/p/chapter-9-children-of-the-positive
I am in touch with them! Excited (and scared) to get into this topic. The memories I had forgotten are gonna HIT HARD.
Lemme know if you need extra hands
This one on James Dobson's mentor being one of the U.S.'s early promoters of the eugenics movement is particularly wild ⬆️
I was unaware of how nazi Focus on the Family was until I started reading Strongwilled..
The connection between Christian authoritarian parenting and creating compliant citizens for fascism is super dark.
Yes! I grew up N.I in the 90s and 00s in church and I didn't realise how much the US influenced that! From doing the Alpha Course to Christian music to the bizarre few months were EVERYONE at school was reading the Left Behind series and traumatising ourselves... So strange!
Left Behind Series!! Forgot about that one- I was surrounded by people reading that. So strange.
Nic Cage was in one of the films! Insane move.
But also 80’s sitcom heartthrob Kirk Cameron!
This was around the same time they released The Omega Code! All of that apocalyptic stuff because Y2K was the end and all that fun stuff.
I used to go to tooth and nail shows at The Graceland in Seattle as a little Jewish girl in the early aughts and had ZERO idea that The Juliana Theory and Copeland were singing to me about Jesus...
You had bands up there like MXPX and Pedro the Lion that were in that scene too but more on the fringes. It was such an interesting time. I don't know enough about the business side to know if the bands signed to "Christian" labels because it was easier to break or if it was out of a true desire to be in that scene. Clearly, a lot of the bands from that era eventually expanded their audiences outside of the youth group bubbles e.g. Chevelle, Further Seems Forever, mewithoutYou, P.O.D., Blindside, etc.
Oh I LOVED MxPx 😍 ....on our semi-regular family trips to Brisbane from the tiny town I grew up in we always had to stop at Koorong (the Christian bookstore) for mum and dad to stock up on Focus on the Family parenting material (please do it Dave! Would love to add it to my 'see mum and dad you done fucked up' material. In a loving way ofc) anyway and we were always allowed to pick one thing for ourselves and I always would get a MxPx CD to blast on my discman to try and drown out the Hillsongs albums on repeat in the car. Thanks for the reminder!!! Gunna go listen to Life in General now and relive some childhood church trauma.
This would be an amazing episode. How all the Christian bands are now turning to just worship because it sells more even if it all just sounds like U2 playing the same chord structures. I was having a chat with a friend about this very same thing because Elevation Church has a side project with some heavy hitters called Sons of Sunday and it seems like a cash grab. I would love to hear David’s thoughts and yours as well on the culture of Christian music.
Hi David,
What I love about the T-shirts is ..... I wear them in the hopes that eventually someone will recognise that it's a David Farrier shirt and I can get excited, give someone a hug (or fist pump) and talk their ear off about you.
I made a friend from NZ at my work place when I mentioned that I was a subscriber and we had a huge chat and just couldn't stop talking. Also she had written to you regarding their experiences in the church. The list could go on about what we talked about but it was exciting. So yes my hope is one day someone will recognise the shirt and I will make a new friend.
I think this is a really fun reason to wear a tee of a certain thing. It's like you can find your people!
I live in West Texas and I do this too! No one has stopped me yet. Haha
Same, re finding others in the wild.
I have the same hope wearing my shirt, not happened yet, might have to take it to the city heh.
I really love the Live Show tee design! Super wanna see you in Colorado, and considering the last two people you had on about Wildfires (callers in) live in Colorado, there are at LEAST 3 of us here. Boulder would LOVE your quirk! Come hang, visit Nederland and learn about how the Mayor of Ned is a CAT! Please come! I can host you, if you need a place to land!
hi from boulder! :)
Wow Boulder represent!
Another Boulder rep here 🤚🏻. I just became a Webworm subscriber today and I only did the yearly because it cost $69.69. I’m a teenage boy at heart, apparently.
I am glad some people appreciate the infantile joke. Also, thanks! If it ever becomes a burden, email me and I will comp you: davidfarrier@protonmail.com
YAY!! We need to get a meet up together!!
I'm just up the road in Fort Collins and agree!
Well, its official. We have quite a few of us around! We have to entice David and Rob to do a Live Show!
I have spent the last few months listening to all of FB, and am absolutely loving it, especially Spaceman Barry, I made my partner listen to this episode, and he has suggested it to friends!
I know you have got, and are getting,100s of ideas for episodes for FB, I'm going to add one more. Craigslist. It's been mentioned on TV, Movies and Podcasts for years, and hailing from NZ I know very little about it, especially its history.
Ah yes, America's TradeMe! Sort of?
I think that's a really fun one, if I find the right hectic fun story as an "in" to that world.
Glad you are digging FB. And Spaceman Barry started life as a Webworm podcast... so your support on Webworm helped get that thing made in the first place. So - thanks!
(https://www.webworm.co/p/spacemanbarrypod)
Didn’t someone buy a koala off Craigslist? 😀 maybe an ‘in’?
Hey David! Just want to say that I love the metal shirt. I like the idea of someone walking by thinking it’s a metal band when it’s really a podcast. Hope to see the live show in SF sometime!
Noted - consider yourself in the draw to win (winners will get an email)!
I've finally caught up with all the FB episodes (I'm listening to the LA wildfires one right now as I type) - I really like having them all in one spot, rather than having to scroll through all the other Armchair Expert stuff previously :-)
I also really love that T-shirt! I love metal, and NZ birds, so it's a superawesome combo. The wee guy of the side with the skull mask is an especially nice touch.
Anyway - a question. I don't think you've done a FB episode on money yet. Do you think you'd do one on that? All the notes in the US kinda look the same - there's less visual difference re. colour compared to other countries (and I think they feel different to notes in other countries). But if you look closely there's all sorts of interesting bits on the notes. So it could be a good topic to cover?
It's a great idea, and it's kinda under the topic of "banking" I am trying to crack.
The trouble is? It's fucking boring. Ha! In theory it's good, but good God it's hard to make it interesting besides the initial observation. I like to think I will get there one day though.
Banking and monetary theory are my favorite macroeconomics topics. There are totally interesting angles!
tbh I may not be a reliable judge on that though
You can do it! I don't think it will be boring as much as it will be rage-inducing.
You may have spoken about this before (an old flatmate perhaps?). But have you ever been friends with someone who you later discovered to be completely unhinged? I was going through my old letters this week and looked up an old crush / penpal. I was 14 and we met after a game of rugby and wrote to each other. Turns out he was charged with shooting a guy, execution style, in the head in wellington (found not guilty, but as the head cop said that doesn't mean innocent). He moved to Amsterdam where he was charged with another murder (found not guilty), and is now in prison for nine years for running torture chambers over there! His defence was he hadn't used them, yet. His job description, unemployed model!!! Anyway, I just find it fascinating what happens to people and those fleeting connections that could have turned out differently. PS - that T-shirt is mint. Would love to be in the draw
This is a lot. Do you have a link to the news story? Holy shit.
I don't have anything like this directly. This was my closest brush: https://www.webworm.co/p/garypodcast
I thought I remembered Gary! Below is the link to the article, but you if you look up his name (William Haanstra) there are quite a few. I'd love to know more about his family and what has happened to him since. I wouldn't be surprised if he's a 'prison husband' since he is quite good looking... https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/128653645/he-was-acquitted-of-a-wellington-murder-now-hes-been-jailed-after-dutch-torture-chamber-case
Wow, chilling!
Jesus, that’s insane.
I don’t quite have a story like that…
But my brother’s best man (28) was talking at the wedding about a girl he had met on a Christian chat site, and how she was really into theology just like him, and how she could be ✨The One✨ this time…it turned out she was 16 and he got arrested and sentenced for kidnapping her. The ruling eventually got overturned, but it was a weird, creepy situation. https://www.jdnews.com/news/appeals-court-reverse-mans-conviction-in-jacksonville-teens-kidnapping/article_22fc35de-07c0-5788-aeb6-ae9139dbbfe3.html
Also, I sold my at the time boyfriend’s car (he went back to his home country and left it with me to do what I wanted with it) to a guy who had an unusual name, Magdi Girgis. My bf’s friend arranged the sale through Craigslist cheap to make a quick sale, but Girgis never filed the paperwork with the DMV. So I ended up getting a bunch of parking tickets from West Hollywood, a place I’d never been to at the time, and certainly wasn’t driving at the time, and he’d apparently just abandoned the car there. AAA even got involved and tried to come after me over it. A couple of months later, I happened to be in the room the local news was playing on tv and the announcer says for their last story, an Orange County man, Magdi Gergis was ARRESTED FOR CONTRACTING A KILLER TO MURDER HIS WIFE. I don’t know if he used the car to help commit the crime, but it was the eeriest thing
https://www.ocregister.com/2018/10/12/man-convicted-in-killing-of-westminster-woman-on-behalf-of-her-husband-gets-life/amp/
Wow. I guess you have to go into each situation trusting people, but you just never know...
Wow. I have old friends that got a bit weird, like dipping into conspiracy theories, but that is next level!
O_O
WOW