Flightless Bird

• Scientology

  In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob explore Scientology in LA and beyond. David goes on a mini tour of LA Scientology, attempting to visit the Museum of Psychology, Big Blue and the Celebrity Centre to varying degrees of success. He looks at how this church/cult recruits members, before meeting someone who joined and spent around $50,000 on courses before leaving. He then meets Mike Brown, someone raised in Scientology, eventually joining the Sea Org before managing to escape. He takes David through his experience and his own theories about the church today in 2025. Email us: [email protected] show tickets for Denver on July 3: http://bit.ly/lostkiwiDENLive show tickets for Chicago on July 10: http://bit.ly/lostkiwiCHI Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Sperm Donation

  In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob look at the USA’s very unregulated sperm doner market. Along the way David meets Sheena, who recently met her biological father and discovered over 80 half-siblings… and counting. Email us: [email protected] Live show tickets for Denver on July 3: http://bit.ly/lostkiwiDEN Live show tickets for Chicago on July 10: http://bit.ly/lostkiwiCHI Links: - Sperm donor who fathered 550 children ordered to stop: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65429936 - Lawsuit alleges ex-Harvard Medical School professor used own sperm to secretly impregnate patient: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lawsuit-alleges-ex-harvard-medical-school-professor-used-sperm-secretl-rcna129696 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Live in San Francisco: Smart Vibrators, Zizians, & The Room

  This week’s Flightless Bird is live at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Musician Kelcey Ayer reimagines the FB themesong, before David and Rob share their thoughts on the city and peruse the headlines. Their special guests include Anna Lee of Lioness who has created a smart vibrator, and journalist Io Dodds who has been investigating the Zizian cult. Greg Sestero talks The Room film, and then there’s a Q&A with guests! Contact us: [email protected] LINKS: - Io Dodds on the Zizians’ Trial: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/zizians-murder-trial-witness-court-b2736777.html - Anna Lee and Lioness: https://lioness.io/ - Kelcey Ayer: http://instagram.com/kelceyayer - Photos by Jim McCambridge - Flightless Bird Live in Denver on 7/3: http://bit.ly/lostkiwiDEN - Flightless Bird Live in Chicago on 7/10: http://bit.ly/lostkiwiCHI Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Topps Trading Cards

  On this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob look at the history and current trajectory of Topps Trading Cards. They talk baseball cards and baseball cards, before looking at all the strange trajectories this bubblegum company went in - including War trading cards, Garbage Pail Kids, and Mars Attacks! cards. They look at the most expensive cards of all time, and the act of wonderment that delving into this topic brings. Rob also calls his dad to find out about their card investment, and David talks about seeing a weird dead deer and the reaction it got from Americans. Email us: [email protected] Merch and links: www.flightlessbirdpod.com Links: - Swedish Mom Fined for Cracking Egg on Daughter’s Head: https://townflex.com/mom-fined-for-cracking-egg-on-daughters-head-in-viral-tiktok-prank - Why Are the Menendez Brothers on a Basketball Trading Card? https://people.com/the-menendez-brothers-basketball-card-8718273 - American Pope Topps card: https://www.topps.com/products/pope-leo-xiv-2025-topps-now%C2%AE-card-pope Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Blockbuster

  In this week’s Flightless Bird, David and Rob visit the last Blockbuster videostore in the world in Bend, Oregon. On the way they stop off at the Overlook Hotel (sort of) and discuss their love of physical media. This week’s feedback is all very emo (in a good way). Email us: [email protected] LINKS: - Robin Hood change: https://nichegamer.com/robin-hood-film-censored-to-remove-anti-establishment-intro-message/ - The Last Blockbuster in New Zealand? https://web.archive.org/web/20201021165435/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2020/01/credits-roll-on-nz-s-last-blockbuster-video-store.html - https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/small-business/final-credits-dargavilles-blockbuster-dvd-and-video-rental-store-blue-2-video-is-closing/EJVFKWDEV5TONP6VFR2C7CUHAQ/?c_id=3&objectid=12301650 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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