Kiwis in America with Rhys Darby

Summary

Flightless Bird – "Kiwis in America with Rhys Darby"

Podcast: Flightless Bird
Host: David Farrier
Guest: Rhys Darby, Rosie Carnahan Darby, with cohost Rob and guest cameo Tim Batt
Date: December 10, 2024

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Episode Overview

This episode explores what it means to be a New Zealander ("Kiwi") navigating life and culture in America, viewed through the experiences of beloved Kiwi comedian/actor Rhys Darby. Host David Farrier is joined by Darby and his wife, Rosie Carnahan Darby, to discuss the Kiwi journey to American pop culture prominence, the subtle dynamics of Kiwi/American identity, staying authentic abroad, "tall poppy syndrome," and the joys and oddities of living between two worlds.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Introductions & Podcast Crossovers (00:04–01:25)

• Tim Batt (cohost of The Worst Idea of All Time) joins to discuss his podcast’s bizarre premise: reviewing the same movie every week for a year.
  • "It's deeply fascinating because you start sort of tearing yourself apart and it gets very navel gazing very quick." – Tim Batt (01:06)
• David reflects on Tim's show as a favorite and segues into today's topic.

Kiwi Success Abroad and Rhys Darby's Rise (01:25–04:13)

• Tim Batt explains New Zealand’s pride in Rhys Darby and the phenomenon of only celebrating local talent after it's been validated overseas.
  • "There's this funny thing in New Zealand where the general public are not interested really in anything from New Zealand until America has deigned that thing good." – Tim Batt (02:20)

Honesty & New Zealand Friendship Culture (04:40–06:24)

• Humorous digression about David's 'friend vs colleague' list in the newsroom, reflecting the Kiwi tendency for straightforwardness.
  • Farrier apologizes to Tim for underselling their friendship.
• Sidebar on the Kiwi habit of honesty and understated self-presentation.

Flight of the Conchords and Cultural Impact (06:35–09:19)

• Rhys Darby's breakout role as Murray in Flight of the Conchords serves as a lens to understand how New Zealanders are perceived and perceive themselves in US pop culture.
• Discussion of actors who play "themselves" vs true chameleons: The Rock, Jesse Eisenberg, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Cruise.

Rhys & Rosie Darby: Life, Animals, and Staying Kiwi (12:09–14:52)

• At the Darby home, David chats with Rhys and Rosie over their multiple pets—reflecting on their Kiwi roots and deep affection for animals.
• Both come from animal-loving families; David recalls a pet goat and “ducks in the bathtub.” Rhys notes, “They [goats] suit me to a tee.” (14:42)
• Explores how these rural, grounded childhoods contrast with Hollywood life.

Making It in America: Culture Shock & Accents (14:52–22:46)

• Rhys recounts first coming to the US for Flight of the Conchords. The pilot’s launch on MySpace gave the show viral visibility.
  • "I certainly did [feel] that I'd won a lottery." – Rhys Darby (19:41)
• Rosie laughs about their excitement: taking photos of TV trailers and sets, not tourist sights.
• Rhys details moving to America for Yes Man with Jim Carrey, a lifelong comedic idol.
  • "If you had one dream… it would be to work with Jim Carrey. And then here's my first movie, working alongside him." – Rhys Darby (22:22)

Keeping the Kiwi Essence: Accent and Outsider Status (23:14–24:19)

• Despite fame, Rhys keeps his distinctive accent and outsider perspective.
  • "I live in my own world… Even back home, I feel like I was dropped out of space." – Rhys Darby (23:30)
  • Not yet a US citizen, he likes feeling a little alien.

Tall Poppy Syndrome and New Zealand Psychology (29:12–31:19)

• Rhys created Short Poppies, a show based on New Zealand's "tall poppy syndrome"—the tendency to cut “the tall poppy” down and the suspicion of stand-outs.
  • "Americans… just can't understand what that is. Everyone should stick their heads out and be confident. So I wanted to look at the fact that short poppies are basically everyone else in New Zealand." – Rhys Darby (29:17)
• Characters in the show reflect the unique blend of humility, oddness, and confidence in 'ordinary' Kiwis.

Kiwi vs. American Life: What’s Missed and What’s Loved (31:41–34:06)

• Rhys and Rosie list what they miss when away from their respective homes:

  • From America: tacos, valet parking.
  • From NZ: fish and chips, the village/Shire vibe, and Vegemite.
    • "When you go home… you take that first breath… and you go, oh my gosh, I'm home. And then someone goes, hey bro, do you want a flat white?" – Rhys Darby (32:14)

• Discussion of how their kids benefit from US culture’s willingness to celebrate achievement, compared to NZ's automatic egalitarian ethos.

  • "Over here, it's okay to tell kids they're the best in the class… to be celebrated." – Rosie Carnahan Darby (33:29)

The “Kiwi Spirit” Abroad (34:40–35:14)

• Rhys reflects on New Zealand’s comedic spirit and global impact.
  • "We have a great sense of humor and we just don't take life too seriously. We're very inventive and courageous people… willing to get out there and give it a go and probably not succeed, but have a laugh along the way… That's the New Zealand spirit." – Rhys Darby (34:40)

Reflections: Identity, Fame, and Cultural Validation (38:46–39:32)

• David and Rob analyze how New Zealanders only value their own artists after international validation, and then tend to “level” them if they get "too big."
  • "We have this very unusual psyche about people leaving and about fame...it's a really weird thing to see." – David Farrier (39:23)

Tangents on Food, Streaming, and Childhood Heroes (42:41–45:17)

• Extended, lively exchange on LA food, Chicago vs. New York pizza, Mexican cuisine, and how American cities’ culinary diversity contrasts with smaller NZ towns.
• Nostalgic appreciation for HBO’s golden era of TV curation.
• Rhys’s extensive filmography receives a shout-out, especially his unexpected global reach.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On international Kiwi success:
  "Some people, they just attract animals. My dad was one of those." – Rhys Darby (13:23)

• On keeping his identity:
  "I'm not changing myself… I live in my own world and I've always felt like an alien no matter where I am…" – Rhys Darby (23:14, 23:30)

• On what makes Kiwi humor work:
  "We have a great sense of humor and we just don't take life too seriously... willing to get out there and give it a go and probably not succeed, but have a laugh along the way." – Rhys Darby (34:40)

• On ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’:
  "If you stick your head out in a small population… people will look at you strangely. Americans… just can't understand what that is… everyone should stick their heads out and be confident." – Rhys Darby (29:17)

• On celebrating achievement in America:
  "It's okay to tell kids they're the best in the class every now and again… to be celebrated because it makes the kids feel really good about themselves." – Rosie Carnahan Darby (33:29)

• David and Rob on fame and validation:
  "In New Zealand, before America gave her [Lord] the approval, everyone was just like, ah, it's some musician. America gives the approval… this is our main thing… A few years go by… and then New Zealand goes, oh, no, you're too big now." – David Farrier (39:03)

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Highlighted Timestamps

• 00:06–01:25: Tim Batt describes his podcast's premise and the oddity of watching the same movie every week.
• 01:55–02:50: Tim Batt on Rhys Darby breaking out in New Zealand.
• 12:09–14:52: David joins the Darby household, animal tales and upbringing.
• 19:17–20:27: Rhys describes arriving in America for Flight of the Conchords pilot.
• 22:22–22:46: Rhys reflects on achieving his dream to work with Jim Carrey.
• 23:14–23:30: Rhys on keeping his Kiwi accent and identity.
• 29:12–31:19: Rhys explains "Tall Poppy Syndrome" and its effect on Kiwi psyche.
• 33:29–34:06: Rosie Carnahan Darby on celebrating kids’ achievements in America.
• 34:40–35:14: Rhys Darby on the uniquely inventive, humorous Kiwi spirit.
• 39:03–39:32: David and Rob dissect New Zealand attitudes toward fame and validation.

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The Tone & Spirit

The episode is conversational, self-deprecating, and gently humorous, perfectly capturing the Kiwi blend of earnestness and humility. Farrier’s affectionate curiosity, Rob’s dry American perspective, and Rhys Darby's comic timing combine for an insightful cultural meditation that never takes itself too seriously. The show’s warmth and informality are infectious, making listeners feel part of a kitchen-table chat among friends.

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For New Listeners

Even if you’ve never seen Flight of the Conchords or heard of Rhys Darby, this episode vividly conveys the essence of New Zealand’s cultural DNA, and the unique joys and challenges faced by outsiders-turned-insiders in American society. Like the ‘flightless birds’ of the show's title, these Kiwis demonstrate that you don’t need to fly to soar.

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Transcript

[Tim Batt]

Hello, David.

[David Farrier]

Hi, Tim. How are you?

[Tim Batt]

I'm good, thank you. How are you doing?

[David Farrier]

I'm good. It's 5:45pm Here in LA. It's dark. What is it in New Zealand? What time?

[Tim Batt]

It's quarter to three in the afternoon.

[David Farrier]

Okay, so just quickly, for some context of who you are, we are not like super close friends, but we have known each other forever. You have your own podcast, which I love. I was just wondering if you could explain the premise of that, because I think it's worth people hearing about if they don't know already.

[Tim Batt]

Yeah. So me and my friend Guy Montgomery, we did a. We do sort of a movie review podcast, but the hook is that the movie very rarely changes. So we watched Grown Ups 2 and reviewed it for an entire year, week after week. And then we did that with Sex and the City 2 and Sex and the City 1 and a movie called we are your friends, which was an unsuccessful star vehicle for Zac Efron.

[David Farrier]

What's it like watching the same film and reviewing the same film 52 Weeks in a row?

[Tim Batt]

It's deeply fascinating because you start sort of tearing yourself apart and it gets very navel gazing very quick. And you think the movie is changing, but of course that's absurd. So what you're actually noticing is yourself changing week to week. So it's quite meditative and maddening are the two words I would use.

[David Farrier]

Now, the podcast I make is about American culture, and this week we're focusing on New Zealand comedian and actor Rhys Darby, who's sort of ingratiated himself into American culture. You know, he's in the X Files, he's in movies with Jim Carrey, and you're a comedian. And I'm just wondering, from a New Zealand perspective, I was just wondering if you could kind of explain who Reece Darby is and what your take is on him.

[Tim Batt]

Who is Rhys Darby? What a wonderful question. He's a beloved figure in New Zealand. Well, he's part of a generation of comedic talent in New Zealand that didn't have a lot of examples of people who were able to leave the gravity of New Zealand, but he did in a major way, by sheer force of being so bloody funny. So obviously Flight of the Concords is the thing that introduced him to an international audience. But before he was known around the world, anyone who cared about comedy in New Zealand absolutely adored and revered the man. But there is this funny thing in New Zealand where the general public are not interested really in anything from New Zealand, be it film, comedy or music, until America has Deigned that thing good. And then we get on board so that. So now everyone's allowed to love re Darby, which.

[Rob]

Which is nice.

[David Farrier]

I'm David Farrier, a New Zealander accidentally marooned in America, and I want to figure out what makes this country tick. Now, I have to admit, despite getting to make the show with my handsome, wonderful friend Robert, sometimes I feel outnumbered and metaphorically outgunned by Americans. Sometimes I yearn for the sweet sound of a New Zealand accent, where words come out differently and we're not destined to say maths incorrectly. Sure, I call one of my long suffering friends when we start the episode each week, but sometimes I want more. I want more New Zealand. So this week I decided I wanted to get another New Zealander who is living in America on the show. Someone who's chosen to make America their home. One of them happens to have inserted himself into American pop culture like no other New Zealander, appearing in the X Files, Bob's Burgers, the Simpsons, and acting alongside people like the Rock and Jim Carrey. And in all of this, somehow he's managed to keep his New Zealand accent, paving the way for annoying voices like mine to be accepted here. So get ready to hear multiple New Zealand accents in this episode, because this is the Reece Darby episode.

[Rhys Darby]

Flightless, flightless bird. Touchdown in America.

[David Farrier]

I'm a flightless bird.

[Rhys Darby]

Touchdown in America.

[Rob]

Do you think it was a little insulting to tell Tim that you guys weren't super close friends?

[David Farrier]

Oh, something about New Zealand is honesty, you know, And I just want to say. I don't want to say, hey, my old friend Tim, you know, it's David. I want to be like, you know.

[Rob]

Old friend is a pretty. Like, that's not a huge commitment, I feel. No, but what if he was like, David, heartbroken friends and he just said, we're not super good friends.

[David Farrier]

I actually never thought of the context of what I'd said. It is quite a potentially mean thing to say somebody a little bit. Why did I. Why did I say that to Tim? Why didn't I just say, tim, it's Dave?

[Rob]

I think you owe Tim an apology. Potentially.

[David Farrier]

When I worked in a newsroom in New Zealand, I had a list up on my little wall where my little computer was, and I'd have a list of friends and colleagues and I'd move people around in the newsroom depending on how I felt about them that week.

[Rob]

You let people see it.

[David Farrier]

This was public. It was public. And they'd swap. Like if someone wronged me in some way that I. I Perceived. I'd like, shift them into the colleagues and if they were good to me, back into friends. So it's a little bit.

[Rob]

Sounds so catty. Did anyone actually pay attention to it or.

[David Farrier]

People loved it.

[Rob]

Okay. Some, like, weird thing that Davey does.

[David Farrier]

Oh. I mean, David.

[Ad Read Announcer]

It'S.

[David Farrier]

It's amazing when you call me Davey, how much I bristle. I can feel like everything in me bristling, and I say I want to fight. Yeah.

[Rob]

Just fully throws you off course, too.

[David Farrier]

No, does. Okay. So Tim B. Is a good friend of mine.

[Rob]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

And, like, sorry, Tim, he's. We are. We've known each other forever. Why did I say that?

[Rob]

I've heard of him in his podcast from you.

[David Farrier]

Thanks for calling that out. And, Tim, I apologize.

[Rob]

You've moved him from acquaintance.

[David Farrier]

Yeah, he's an acquaintance. To close friend.

[Rob]

Okay.

[David Farrier]

His show, I forgot to mention, it's called the worst Idea of All time, and it is one of the funniest shows I've ever podcast I've ever heard. I love it. Reese Darby.

[Rhys Darby]

Yes.

[David Farrier]

Are you. I'm curious if you're at all familiar with, like, say, Flight of the Concords? Did you watch that show?

[Rob]

Yeah, I love that show. That show had such a. Like.

[David Farrier]

Yeah.

[Rob]

Massive cultural significance when it aired.

[David Farrier]

So that was in your life.

[Rob]

So the weird thing is, I was realizing as you guys were talking about it is I knew it was New Zealand, but I didn't connect. Oh, I never connected it to you. Like, that was. That's. That was before David.

[David Farrier]

Yeah.

[Rob]

Context of New Zealand.

[David Farrier]

It kind of makes sense. And the thing that I hadn't thought about until I was thinking about this episode is that it was kind of about New Zealanders in America out of, like, fish out of water, going, this is such a weird country.

[Rob]

And they also have flight in the title. Like, oh, my God. We do. About birds.

[David Farrier]

That's actually.

[Rob]

Concord's a bird, right?

[Ad Read Announcer]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

Wow.

[Rob]

So we inadvertently.

[David Farrier]

We basically, like, ripped off the HBO show.

[Ad Read Announcer]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

I love that show a lot. Do you know Reese's other. So Reese was obviously. He was the Murray character in the show. So he was a manager. He, like, worked out of the NZ consulate. He had always had, like, funny New Zealand posters on the wall.

[Rob]

Was that character, like, very, very Reese? Like, because it seemed. It seemed heavily improvised. It seemed totally, like, just an extension of his own.

[David Farrier]

Yeah. And I feel like. I think it's fair to say there's, like, a lot of his characters are based in certain elements of him.

[Rob]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

And that. That particular character I hadn't seen before. Like, he's got a few different characters he does in a stand up, but he does this like park ranger character who's really funny, but Murray, the like hapless manager, it's like a new character, but it's still Reese.

[Ad Read Announcer]

Right.

[David Farrier]

That is Reese that you're seeing. And that's kind of what's amazing about him is he pops up in all these different shows and films here, but he's always like, oh, that's Rhys. Like, he's somehow. He's got this ability. He's acting, but he's also just being himself, which is such an un. Many other actors that do that did it. Just them. I'm trying to think.

[Rob]

Yeah, the Rock.

[David Farrier]

The Rock's kind of one of them. He is literally the same character in every film seen as the same wrestlers, basically.

[Rob]

Yeah, yeah. There's got to be more than that, though. I mean, the good ones are just kind of versions of themselves on all pretty much.

[Ad Read Announcer]

Right.

[Rob]

I mean, you've got that route and then you've got the like Daniel Day Lewis route.

[Ad Read Announcer]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

Method acting. Christian Bale. Yeah. Completely changing everything about themselves.

[Rob]

Yeah. And then you just have the, like, people trying to do things not as well.

[David Farrier]

If you're listening to this right now and you're thinking, oh, my God, there's all these actors that they're not talking about right now. Email us. It's flightless bird chat gmail.com. we'd love to hear.

[Rob]

There's a lot. I think we should acknowledge that there's a lot.

[David Farrier]

I just know there'll be such obvious ones we're missing.

[Ad Read Announcer]

We'll.

[David Farrier]

We'll hear from people.

[Rob]

Should we sit and think about it for a little bit?

[David Farrier]

Just in silence? Yeah. We'll remember the second we leave this room. That's when it's gonna happen.

[Rob]

Oh, Kieran Culkin, he is like. And Jesse Eisenberg, like, both of them are very much seemingly extensions of their real personalities.

[David Farrier]

Yeah. That's fair. I think they're doing more of a shift. No, you're right, though. They're very clearly them. Tom Cruise. No, Tom Cruise is different. You watch him in Collateral vs Mission Impossible vs Magnolia. Very different people.

[Rob]

I feel like what Tom Cruise has done is he has turned himself into this action hero that he was playing on screen and then it's like evolved into. That's Tom now.

[David Farrier]

That's Tom. And that's part of this whole world of Scientology that's like pushed him into the space, I reckon.

[Rob]

Eyes Wide Shut.

[David Farrier]

Yeah. Which I'VE never seen. I need to. Still haven't seen it. Quick bit of housekeeping and this is exciting. We've been talking about this for a while. We're going to do a live show of this podcast, Flight this Bird Live. We've got one date lined up. It's February 8th in Seattle at the Neptune Theater.

[Rob]

Do you know what state Seattle's in?

[David Farrier]

No idea.

[Rob]

Seattle, Washington.

[David Farrier]

Is it Washington? We're going to Washington.

[Rob]

Can you tell me where?

[David Farrier]

On the map? It's up. It's north. We've been there before.

[Rob]

Yes, we have.

[David Farrier]

We're going back years ago.

[Rob]

We went there with Bill Gates.

[David Farrier]

Bill. That was weird. February 8th in Seattle. Neptune Theater tickets are on sale now. I've just put the link in my bio on Instagram, which is David Farrier. So if you go there, bio links, tickets are there. Grab them now. I'm excited. It'll be fun to be in the room with people. We'll have some merch with us.

[Rob]

Yeah. And I think for the live show, we're going to try to play with format a little bit. So it's not necessarily going to be just what we're doing right now.

[David Farrier]

Well, I think both of us are aware of, like, I think when we go to live shows, we want something that's like, that fits the live environment, I guess. And so we're thinking of some fun things. But mainly, I don't know, I just think I love the idea of taking something out from a studio and having something in the real world. I just get very excited about that and it's nice to meet people.

[Rob]

We'll see how I feel about being on a stage doing this.

[David Farrier]

I'm curious. Yeah, I mean, I think you'll be. I think you'll enjoy it. I think you'll enjoy it. I think it's going to go to your head and you're going to become like, absolutely insufferable. And I. And I. And I can't wait for it. All right, are you ready to learn a bit more about Mr. Reece Darby?

[Rob]

Let's do it.

[David Farrier]

It's about 4pm in the afternoon and I'm sitting around the kitchen table with Reece and Rosie Darby.

[Rosie Carnahan Darby]

I'm Rosie Carnahan Darby. I work as a talent manager. And yeah, I was going to say something smart then, but I won't.

[David Farrier]

There's a dog Marley looking up to me for food and scratches. And Gizmo the cat is sitting on the table also demanding food and scratches.

[Rhys Darby]

Reece Darby. I guess cultural icon would be.

[Rob]

No.

[Rhys Darby]

Actor, comedian. Entertainer. Yeah.

[David Farrier]

Right.

[Rosie Carnahan Darby]

Person that does the cat litter.

[Rhys Darby]

I mean, around the house. Definitely the guy that. I mean, I don't know if you can call them man jobs, but anything that's shit, that's what I'll do. Including shit. Like, I will deal with the. The dog shit, the kitty litter and the trash, and also a bit of plumbing work now and again.

[David Farrier]

Right now there's a lot of kitty litter in this house because there's also another cat, Bumbles. Plus they're also fostering a bunch of kittens. James, Kippy, Batman and Caesar. I've known Reese and Rosie for almost two decades now and like me, they're big into the animals. Rhys reckons he got it from his dad.

[Rosie Carnahan Darby]

Yeah.

[Rhys Darby]

Didn't he have a horse? At one moment he was living in a residential area, but out the back of his house, on the back lawn, there was just a horse. I said, what's happening with this? And he went, oh, yep, that was a stray. Because he just feeds animals. So some people, they just attract animals. And my dad was one of those. So he had birds, so many cats. And obviously he trained and raced greyhounds for 25 years.

[David Farrier]

This is a bit like my dad, Alistair, growing up. He was a veterinarian, so we always had an assortment of random animals in the house. We didn't have a horse on the back lawn, but at one point we had ducks in the bathtub and a recovering hedgehog in the lounge. Oh, and I had my pet goat, Frisky. Reece currently has two goats back in New Zealand.

[Rhys Darby]

I've got a history of raising young animals during the pandemic. Of course, I brought two goats up, they were two weeks old. And I bottle fed young Barney and Fred. And back in New Zealand, my dad was a vet.

[David Farrier]

And so we grew up with a million animals as well. And we had a pet goat, because my dad also really loved hunting. He loved animals, but he loved hunting. And he went out and shot some goats and didn't realize there was a kid there and so bought this little orphaned goat back. And that was Frisky. And Frisky was like my best friend for years. They're the funniest fucking creatures. They're so weird.

[Rhys Darby]

They're so funny. And I think that's the thing, is that they're just so weird and bizarre and smart and goofy. They suit me to a tee.

[David Farrier]

Before you come at my dad for shooting a goat, wild goats are pests in New Zealand, which isn't a great thing for our environment. Plus, that was like 30 years ago, when I was driving over here, it kind of hit me. I feel like I've been interviewing you, Rhys, for just way too long now. I was thinking like the mats when I first interviewed you when I was working at TV3 in New Zealand, would have probably been almost 20. Was it 20? I just checked while I was writing this script and it was 16 years ago. It was in this weird boardroom and I said I had that question. A really great question for you. Where do you get your ideas? God. I looked up the story that aired on our late night news in New Zealand. It's really hard for me to watch. Watching a young version of myself that sounds a lot like me, but also not like me. He's recently wrapped a movie with Jim Carrey, but right now he's back in New Zealand and David Farrier caught up for a chat. It's been a busy year for Rhys Darby, known by many these days as Murray.

[Rhys Darby]

New Zealand Consulate. Murray Hewitt speaking.

[David Farrier]

His role as manager for Flight of the Concords has thrown him into the limelight like never before. Where does that come from?

[Rhys Darby]

How did I come up with that sort of stuff?

[David Farrier]

Yeah.

[Rhys Darby]

It'S an elaborate way of saying, how do you come up with your ideas? But you almost got me there. But it's a hack question.

[Rosie Carnahan Darby]

So that was 15 and a half years ago.

[David Farrier]

I was just thinking it's kind of insane. It's just a strange thing.

[Rhys Darby]

Well, it's that. But also time has flown. We've had similar trajectories in terms of like getting out of New Zealand, but really caring about New Zealand. And I think we run into each other a lot because we go to similar do's and things and you know, and New Zealand is two degrees of separation, so we all know each other anyway, so it's. Yeah, it's not a huge shock to me that once again Fairy is round at my place interviewing me.

[David Farrier]

Just some background. When I interviewed Rhys 15 years ago, we ended up becoming friends. He's the guy I did my first ever podcast with. It was called the Cryptid Factor. It was me, him and our other friend Leon. And we mostly just talked about cryptozoology and UFOs and had on guest stars like Taika Waititi. At the moment we don't have a title for it, but it's called. Our sort of tentative title is what we do in the Shadows. And it's a. It's a documentary about vampires about three vampires who flat in Wellington but see, vampires, werewolves, that's all cryptozoological. There's people believe in vampires, werewolves. That was over a decade ago now. And the cryptid factor is still going strong. And it's better. I got replaced by a guy called Dan Schreiber, basically a better version of me.

[Rhys Darby]

And so we're really good friends. And it's a matter of just, like, when can we do another one? And then when we do, we have an absolute blast. And so. And you can see that. And that's why the fans love it, because you've got three people that are just enjoying each other's company. It doesn't really matter what we're talking about.

[David Farrier]

I digress. The reason I was first interviewing Rhys Darby back in 2008 was that the comedian had just been cast in a relatively new TV show called Flight of the Concords. It was essentially about two New Zealand musicians in America, out of their depth, trying to come to terms with what America was all about. Rhys Darby played their manager, Murray, who worked out of the New Zealand embassy.

[Rhys Darby]

Item one, fan base. Ways to increase the American fan base.

[David Farrier]

What fan base?

[Rhys Darby]

The fan base of the band. Well, you mean Mel.

[Rosie Carnahan Darby]

Mm.

[Rob]

It's not a fan fan base.

[David Farrier]

It's just a woman.

[Rhys Darby]

Yeah, but I'm calling it fan base from now on. It's just easier when I call because, you know, you say, oh, the fan will be there. Just, you know, they can tell there's only one person. I'm trying to make it look bigger.

[David Farrier]

Do you remember the first time you ever came to America?

[Rosie Carnahan Darby]

Yep. Flight of the Conchords. That was my very first time. We landed in 8 foot of snow in New York in February, and I'd never been here.

[David Farrier]

Flight of the Conchords is sort of a who's who of talented New Zealanders. People like taika Waititi, Brett McKenzie and Jermaine Clement. If you haven't seen it, it's on Mac, so just Google it. Back in the early 2000s, they'd tried to make the show in New Zealand, but no one would fund it. Basically saying, who'd want to watch a show about that? So they went to America and made it there instead.

[Rhys Darby]

I'd never been to America before and I flew straight into jfk and they put me up in a really fancy hotel downtown, and I was excited. I was amongst the incredibly tall buildings that you see on television. We made the pilot for the show and I love watching that episode one, which is the thing we shot back then, and how young I look and how bushy my hair is.

[David Farrier]

My hair's wild. Yeah.

[Rhys Darby]

My big, thick Goatee. And the other two just really young as well, Brett and Jermaine. And you can see the three of us excited with the prospect of making a television show in America with hbo, with American. We really felt like, yeah, I mean, I certainly did, that I'd won a lottery.

[Rosie Carnahan Darby]

You bought our little camera that we had bought when we had our first kid. And all the photos on this digital camera when you got back from shooting the pilot were of, like the trailers and the crew and cameras. Cause it was, like, all so new and that's what I wanted to see. I didn't care about the picture of the Statue of Liberty, which you didn't take, because that was your first television show. It was this new world. It was crazy.

[David Farrier]

The show was a hit, I think, just because it leaned so hard into how low key and strange New Zealanders can be, especially when brushing up against loud, brash Americans. It also helped that Flight of the Conchords, the fictional band in the show, were also just a really good band. You're so beautiful. For me, I think the most beautiful girl in the room and inner city pressure are my faves.

[Rhys Darby]

Inner city life, inner city pressure, the concrete world. The Pilot was on MySpace, so everyone in the world got to see the pilot, which was genius marketing. So that was. MySpace was the big hit thing. It was the new thing. And so we put the pilot on that and then it was just, like shared around and everyone's like, oh, wow, this show's cool. I thought it was obviously funny because the guys are great, the music's brilliant. I could see it coming together and Taika was involved as well. And so I knew, you know, that it was cool and it was gonna be good, but I didn't know how much of an impact it would have culturally and in the comedy world. So we're back in the UK. I started getting recognised from MySpace and from Americans coming over and, you know, it was on hbo. That was the difference. It's such a huge giant channel. Their slogans was, we're not television, we're hbo.

[Rosie Carnahan Darby]

Yeah, yeah.

[Rhys Darby]

Turns out they were just television at this point.

[David Farrier]

They were pretty glad New Zealand hadn't wanted the show, because now they were on hbo. For Rhys, who'd been living in London, the place most New Zealanders seem to flood to, this was his big break into America.

[Rhys Darby]

Season one did well. And then we're living in Tooting in London, and when I get the phone call from Peyton Reed and he said, I'm making a movie with Jim Carrey and I want you in it. And I'm just like, hold my beer, you know, I said. I think I just said that to a random guy on the street. Why I'm drinking on the street, I don't know, you know, Things were not great. I remember walking through a graveyard, just crying, thinking, why am I walking through a graveyard? Well, it was in Tooting. We lived near a graveyard. But this was it. I was like, this is my big break. And only five years earlier, I'd said to my agent and he said, what's your big aspiration? If you had one dream, what would it be? And I said, well, it would be to work with Jim Carrey, because I. I idolized him. And then here's my first movie, working alongside him.

[David Farrier]

Over the course of a few days, they packed up and left London for America, this time to make yes man with Jim Carrey.

[Rhys Darby]

Wow, cool costume, my man. The only one they had left was for Toddlers. This is Alison and her wand made from a sequoia.

[David Farrier]

Hi, you must be Norman. Yes.

[Rhys Darby]

Nice to meet you.

[David Farrier]

Back then, it was crazy to hear a New Zealand accent in this big American movie. And somehow Rees was just able to keep doing this.

[Rhys Darby]

Yeah, it's just a completely different country. But look, I'm not changing myself.

[David Farrier]

It is remarkable how you've kept your essence of who you are. Not many people get to do that. You're doing all these different roles, but you're still bringing such strong elements of yourself and New Zealand to them.

[Rhys Darby]

I live in my own world, you know, and I've always felt like an alien no matter where I am. Even back home, I feel like, you know, I was dropped out of space, so that's what's kept me being me. Me and some characters. I'm going to always be laid back. I'm always going to have that eye of the outsider that I don't quite belong here. My voice is famous here now, and this is the accent. And it's kind of like, yeah, this guy. And I'm just here kind of observing and you're doing the same thing. And I think that feels good because I'm not gonna be roped into something that I don't really wanna be part of.

[David Farrier]

And he means that too, because despite living here with his wife and kids, he hasn't gone for citizenship yet. He wants to keep that feeling of being like a bit of an alien. Rosie, on the other hand, has made the jump.

[Rosie Carnahan Darby]

I'm an American citizen now. So you have done.

[Rhys Darby]

Yeah, yeah, but you did that so you could vote and that was courageous. And now our kids both have American passports. And I just said, if you're going overseas, don't use them. Let's wait and see what the world's like in about a year's time.

[David Farrier]

I really admire what Rhys and Rosie have done, managing to sort of crack America, something I feel I'll probably never be able to do. I do genuinely feel jealous looking at you sometimes because you have inserted yourself into some of the biggest bits of American pop culture as well. Like you getting that role in the X Files. Star Trek is coming up. It is crazy that you, as this Kiwi, you are inserting yourselves into these. Do you know what I mean?

[Rhys Darby]

Yeah, I know I don't pause long enough to really think about it, but with the Star Trek one, one of my friends back home went, okay, so you're just one of the guys in red that's going to die straight away. And I said, no, no, no. I'm actually a really interesting character. I can't reveal it now, but it's going to be great. And so, yeah, I think that what people see in me is that alien thing, but also, I guess it's just a really unique talent that needs to be in things. And they're all otherworldly things, too, by the way. You know, X Files, this, even Jumanji. I'm inside trapped in some weird video game that's possibly another dimension, and it kind of makes sense. So, yeah, I'm really proud that I've been able to do those things.

[David Farrier]

Stay tuned for more Flightless Bird. We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors.

[Ad Read Announcer]

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[David Farrier]

I've talked about this a lot, but.

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[David Farrier]

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[David Farrier]

It's been sort of surreal watching Rhys go and do all this stuff back in New Zealand. In 2014 or so, he cast me in this New Zealand TV show, Short Poppies. My one and only acting job. I played a version of myself, a journalist looking into small town New Zealand. Hey, sweetie. Oh, Rod.

[Ad Read Announcer]

Sorry.

[David Farrier]

Linda, what are you doing? I didn't know you changed her hair.

[Rhys Darby]

That's my sister. Oh, is this like a reality show?

[David Farrier]

No, it's more of a documentary. We're just following around ordinary New Zealanders.

[Ad Read Announcer]

Pretty ordinary.

[David Farrier]

Dude, maybe go for Pete.

[Rhys Darby]

He's more your ordinary kind of guy.

[David Farrier]

The entire premise of the show was based around a strange part of New Zealand's psychological makeup.

[Rhys Darby]

The original idea comes from the term Tall Poppy syndrome, which if you guys haven't heard it that are listening, look it up. It's about the idea that if you stick your head out in a small population area, people will look at you strangely. And this happens in New Zealand because it's basically a village of 5 million. And I've heard stories of like the Irish saying they have a similar thing now here in America. They just can't understand what that is. You know, everyone should stick their heads out and be confident and try and succeed. So I wanted to look at the fact that short poppies are basically everyone else in New Zealand. So it was everyone going about their normal jobs. And I wanted to show that even, let's say ordinary people or whoever these people were that I portrayed, they are weird as well and they are confident within themselves and are bizarre. And so I wanted to kind of put a magnifying glass on just regular people and try to prove that I'm not weird. Everyone's kind of weird. But ironically I was the guy playing all these weirdos. But yeah, I think some of these characters came from particularly my family. So I played Mary Ledbetter who was the old lady and that was based on my mum. And I think a lot of people can relate to the older generation, females who are strong minded and really a backbone for New Zealand because you don't f with them.

[David Farrier]

Are you on Twitter?

[Rhys Darby]

How dare you? I've never done drugs in my life. The rural kind of dude. Bill Napier, who's the ranger who knows a lot about plants and trees and outdoor stuff, but really socially is inept. And growing up and working in the army and some of the jobs that I had, I came across a lot of males that were definitely that kind of Kiwi mentality of she'll be right and this is the way things are and there's no other way to look at it. So that's where I got him from. In each of these characters, there's still the essence of me inside that is not mean spirited and has a sense of optimism and just wants to everyone to get along.

[David Farrier]

Filming short poppies, I discovered how hard acting is, even when you're just acting as you. I wasn't good at it and it gave me a real appreciation for what people like Rhys can pull off. And for some reason now, somehow we're both ended up here in America? What do you find yourselves missing about America when you're in New Zealand?

[Rosie Carnahan Darby]

Oh, tacos. The ease of going to a restaurant and someone parking your car for you.

[David Farrier]

That's something. It took me a long time to get used to the idea of valeting. I avoided. I'm not gonna that.

[Ad Read Announcer]

What?

[David Farrier]

This seems weird. It took me so long to start doing that. But then that's just what you do here, certainly in Los Angeles.

[Rhys Darby]

Yeah, look, we embraced that really quickly because you just pull up to the restaurant and you just get out of your car and some dude takes it. It is weird.

[David Farrier]

What's something when you're here that you miss about New Zealand? What are you jonesying for about New Zealand when you go back?

[Rosie Carnahan Darby]

The outdoors and vegemite?

[Rhys Darby]

I could easily say the food as well. I'm a fish and chips guy and you just can't get that here. But the other thing I really miss about home is the feeling of being in a village. The feeling of coming back to the Shire because we are all in on it back there. That has negatives and positives because we end up yelling at each other more and can be annoying. But there's that sense of being a kiwi. And that kind of feeling never leaves your head. So when you go home and you take that first breath of beautiful New Zealand fresh air, and you go, oh, my gosh, I'm home. And then someone goes, hey, bro, do.

[Ad Read Announcer]

You want a flat white?

[David Farrier]

In case you're wondering, a flat white is a popular coffee invented in New Zealand. Australians will try and tell you they invented it. They're wrong. And as you can probably tell, we're all sort of torn between the good things in New Zealand and the good things in America. The bad things in America and the bad things in New Zealand. For Rosie, part of what appealed about America in the end was just how there's no tall poppy syndrome. Americans are somehow immune to it. For their kids, Theo and Finn, that was a big bonus to the United States.

[Rosie Carnahan Darby]

When Finn was maybe six, that was when I really realised that this was gonna be a good place to bring up our children. Cause he came home from school and he goes, mum, I was the best in math today. I went maths, you went math. And I realised that over here, rather than everyone being equal, it's okay to tell kids they're the best in the class every now and again. It's okay to be that person who is the tall poppy and be celebrated because it makes the kids feel really good about themselves. That's not to say that it doesn't work the way it works in New Zealand. It's just I felt as me, as a mother, I wanted my kids to be able to hear that.

[David Farrier]

And for me right now it was just good to be able to hear someone say maths, to say it the correct way. And as wonderful as it is hanging out with Americans as a Kiwi, nothing really beats being around other Kiwis. And various Kiwi isms are what Rhys has always brought to his work. From Flight of the Concords to Short Poppies, the X Files to Wrecked. I mean, the guy has just been cast in Star Trek Strange New Worlds, and my money is on a New Zealand accent up in space. And if not that, it'll be something surprising and a bit weird and probably funny.

[Rhys Darby]

We have a great sense of humour and we just don't take life too seriously. And we're very inventive and courageous people. And I think that's what you see in those shows. Guys that are willing to get out there and give it a go and probably not succeed, but have a laugh along the way and not upset anybody. And I think that's the New Zealand spirit. And, you know, now and again, one of us will conquer Mount Everest or one of us will invent flight before the Wright brothers look it up.

[David Farrier]

Yeah. Mr. East.

[Rob]

Darby, we can't forget your reporter voice.

[David Farrier]

Oh, what?

[Rob]

I don't think I've ever heard you sound so excited. Your pitch was higher than it normally is.

[David Farrier]

Yeah. Started in that newsroom straight out of university and the advice I was given was to be. I don't know, it was probably bad advice to be like a bigger version, like a more hyped up version of what you normally are.

[Rob]

It sounded like a fun impression of a reporter.

[David Farrier]

Yeah. I think I was trying to do reporter and as I was on the late night news and so I'm just trying to think. I'm just trying to. I'm going to try and read like my script for that intro and how.

[Rob]

I did voice that was insane. I. I could. It was like seeing Colin Farrell and the Penguin where like you can see it a little bit and I can hear you a little bit in it.

[David Farrier]

But it was in its loss entirely.

[Rob]

Yeah. Of like. Well, David would never sound that happy or that loud or that high pitched.

[David Farrier]

I also did a very intense sign off at the end of my stories, but I'm just gonna.

[Rob]

Yeah, try it.

[David Farrier]

Okay. So this is. I'm just taking myself back. I'm 20 years old. No, 21 in a voiceover booth in New Zealand.

[Rob]

Let's go straight to camera there for you.

[David Farrier]

Okay. I'd be like, okay. It's weird. This is like tundra. I'm David Farrier, a New Zealander accidentally marooned in America, and I want to figure out what makes this country tick. Now, I have to admit, despite getting to make this show with my handsome friend Rob, sometimes I feel outnumbered and metaphorically outgunned by Americans.

[Rob]

I think that maybe you could adopt that Persona occasionally for this show.

[David Farrier]

Listening back to it was, like, on those old clips was rough. I found it really hard.

[Rob]

I can imagine.

[David Farrier]

But I thought you'd enjoy that, and.

[Rob]

I'm glad you did. I enjoyed that probably more than I should have.

[David Farrier]

You got confused over some accents in there a few times. I think you thought I said picking instead of parking.

[Rob]

I thought it was packing.

[David Farrier]

Yeah. Packing up.

[Rob]

You guys. You guys have really got out of touch where you're talking about people packing your.

[David Farrier]

Like, what are you talking about? So what happens when you get New Zealanders together? I think our New Zealand accents get even more New Zealand.

[Rob]

But parking the car. Parking. Yeah, but.

[David Farrier]

Yeah. I just remember for me, I think when Rhys, he got a bit part. Well, he played like, a Monster of the week in the New X Files when that came out. And just seeing him in that just made me go, holy shit. Like, this Kiwi is in, like, every bit of pop culture. He was a character in the Simpsons, you know, Bob's Burgers is crazy.

[Rob]

It's cool how impactful something like that is to you, no matter where you're from. Like, I had that growing up in the suburbs of Chicago. Like, Fallout Boy was a local band that played the vfw. And I remember, like, when they started getting bigger and we'd see him on Jimmy Kimmel Live, just like, holy shit. How big of a deal it was that this was attainable.

[David Farrier]

Yeah.

[Rob]

For someone that we just knew from this town.

[Rhys Darby]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

Because the default is right. You're in a place, and the idea is, we're going to be here forever, and it's impossible to do anything else. And when you see someone, you know, do that stuff, you're reminded of, like, oh, I can do other things, and.

[Rob]

Just how big the world is.

[David Farrier]

Yeah.

[Rob]

Completely the other piece of it.

[David Farrier]

It's a different thing to what you're talking about. But it's what Tim said at the beginning is, we've got a thing in New Zealand where we don't really give a about what anyone is doing until a bigger country gives Them, the thumbs up.

[Rob]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

But then eventually we also turn on them. So, like, when, like, Lord, in New Zealand, before America gave her, like, the approval, everyone was just like, ah, it's some musician. America gives the approval. It's like, oh, my God, this is our main thing. We love this. And then a few years go by, an album or two comes out, and then New Zealand goes, oh, no, you're too big now.

[Rob]

Like, you're no longer an idol.

[David Farrier]

Yeah, we're gonna level you. So we have this very unusual psyche about people leaving and about fame, and that's a really weird thing to see.

[Rob]

It was nice to reminisce on just how massive HBO was.

[David Farrier]

Yeah.

[Rob]

In that era, too. Everything they put out was just so good and curated.

[Ad Read Announcer]

Yeah.

[Rob]

Before it was a streaming platform and totally. You didn't have this, like, selection.

[David Farrier]

Yeah. That of things. Sting for every show was like this stamp of approval. It's like anything that followed was going to be amazing. And you compare that now with, like, certain streamers that you start up and you're like, it's just full of junk.

[Rob]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

HBO was like a stamp of approval.

[Rob]

Yeah. It's hard when you open your catalog to a streamer like that to then give it as much credibility as HBO had at that time.

[Ad Read Announcer]

Yeah.

[Rob]

Pretty much anything they were gonna put out, you knew was gonna have a level of quality that you could trust.

[David Farrier]

And I feel like tv, HBO did that. And then there was kind of this era of, like, prestige tv, Showtime, kind of Showtime. And now I think we're back now in a kind of a time at the moment of there being a lot of really average tv, like, there's good tv, but it's not memorable. It's like I've watched entire shows. I don't remember what happened. We're in this kind of place at the moment where, like, the quality, like, technically is good.

[Rob]

There's just much.

[David Farrier]

There's too much stuff.

[Rob]

I do feel like hbo, though, is still maintained for their originals.

[David Farrier]

Let's go, Max. Yeah, Max.

[Rob]

Yeah, Max has maintained because you. You have succession, you have Penguin. Like, you do have a lot of really solid shows.

[David Farrier]

I have more confidence going to Max than I do going to other streaming services. It sounds like we're doing an ad for Max, but it is good. It is good.

[Rob]

They're also only putting out, what, like, two, three original shows.

[David Farrier]

They're not pumping up 20 a week.

[Rob]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

Did you ever watch a show called Carnival?

[Rob]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

Yeah. Okay. We've talked about this.

[Rob]

Yeah. I've got the Bach. I'VE got the DVD set of that still.

[David Farrier]

Same.

[Ad Read Announcer]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

Carnival. I feel like if you haven't watched it, seek it out and watch it. It's for us. I think we probably love it because we were raised religious. It's got. It's basically about these. A traveling circus kind of freak show. And it's got this really hard to explain sort of the antics of this. This freak show. But also it's got this like. Like brewing spiritual battle between good and evil that like, brews up and it just gets so epic and the bad guy is so good.

[Rob]

And it was in New Zealand, right? It's another New Zealand show.

[David Farrier]

God, no, not New Zealand. I wish. That's you doing a deadpan where I'm like, do you actually think this. Am I meant to. What's going on?

[Rob]

Wild west of New Zealand.

[David Farrier]

So, yeah, HBO is great. Plight of the Concords is great. It's also very funny. Listening back to our old podcast where we had Taika Waititi basically saying, I've got this new, like, movie coming out, like a mockumentary that was pretty trippy, which is now its own series on fx, which.

[Rob]

I loved that movie, though.

[David Farrier]

It's so good.

[Rob]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

And of course, yeah, Reese was in it. He played the werewolf God. Yeah, Reese. He's been in everything.

[Rob]

I did want to just also acknowledge how good tacos are here.

[David Farrier]

They're so good.

[Rob]

I mean, one thing, I'm sure they're better in Mexico.

[David Farrier]

Just New Zealand is. I think we're lucky in la.

[Ad Read Announcer]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

Just New Zealand Mexican food. It may have. There may be some amazing Mexican place I haven't been to, but generally Mexican food, you don't go to New Zealand for that.

[Rob]

I think that's one of my favorite parts of America is just the cuisines of, like, you have this melting pot of every different kind of cuisine.

[David Farrier]

It's the best.

[Rob]

And even just like subsex within it where, like, you've got pizza from different origins.

[David Farrier]

I mean, you love your food and you're pretty much in heaven.

[Ad Read Announcer]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

In this country.

[Rob]

And it. Well, then it's interesting too, to like, see that you can't get really good Chicago pizza in la. People try.

[David Farrier]

Is that the deep dish? The deep dish stuff.

[Rob]

So then disgusting. That's not disgusting, but, like, there's something different. There's something different than how they make it there.

[David Farrier]

Yeah.

[Rob]

So then I imagine that's kind of like all food in New Zealand.

[David Farrier]

Wow. Wow.

[Rob]

No, No, I don't. But you just.

[David Farrier]

You just turned a whole country. I'm Kidding.

[Rob]

I'm kidding. I'm kidding.

[David Farrier]

Five million people coming here.

[Rob]

No, I, I, it's more that it, it's hard. Like I, I can acknowledge that even within the United States that it's hard to make like good New York pizza across the country. So I can't imagine then how much harder it is.

[David Farrier]

Yeah.

[Rob]

To try to do different cuisines in an island across the world.

[David Farrier]

Totally. LA is also this microcosm of so many cultures here, all doing certain things, like really, really well.

[Rob]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

I mean, I feel very lucky to be here at the moment, just eating the most delicious things.

[Rob]

That's how I feel about Chicago too.

[David Farrier]

What food do you miss the most from Chicago? Would it be like deep dish pizza? Would that be the thing?

[Rob]

No, I mean the real thing that I miss the most about Chicago is that you can get almost every different kind of cuisine at every level where like you get really high end of any cuisine down to like really good hole in the wall.

[David Farrier]

Yeah. Right, right, right, right.

[Rob]

Tacos and stuff are obviously better here.

[David Farrier]

Yeah.

[Rob]

Than there, but. Yeah. You've got like Rick Bayless, like super high end Mexican food there though too. Yeah. It's just the variance, which I think again is what I like so much about America.

[David Farrier]

Yeah.

[Rob]

And its food in general.

[David Farrier]

One thing I have noticed is that as you drive across like the middle of America, that's when food starts to like dry up. Like when you're in suddenly the middle of nowhere sometimes then it gets a bit like. It's not that, but in those big thriving centers, it's like everything. Yeah.

[Rob]

You're getting more chain food. And I think we took a little bit of heat for saying that in our Olive Garden episode. So we don't have to repeat it.

[David Farrier]

Double down, double down. Yeah. Reece Darby, I was just going through his Wikipedia page and he's been in like so much stuff.

[Rob]

Yeah. Calvin's been watching Jumanji's, all of the Juanjis.

[David Farrier]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was in Modern Family, Voltron, Series of Unfortunate Events, Jim Jeffrey Show, Venture Bros, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja. It's insane. Okay, feedback. Should we do some.

[Rob]

Let's do some feedback.

[David Farrier]

I had a lot of people when I posted the clip from YouTube commenting and some people still not being able to find the podcast. Like people would say things like, is it on some streaming service?

[Rob]

Luminary.

[David Farrier]

Luminary. And I was like, I don't know what Luminary is. So I, I went to Google, I typed in Luminary, went to the site, there was another search box. I typed in flightless bird, and it was there straight away. I said to that person, I just replied saying, I went to Luminary. I typed in flightless bird, and there it was.

[Rob]

Yeah, I'm sure you said it that nicely.

[David Farrier]

I know I did. I did. But then someone else responded to me, Catherine. Saying, I had a conversation with someone just yesterday that millennials or younger Gen X's are the only generation that learn the fine art of Googling. It sounds like a silly statement, but I stand by it. We learned how to do research online in school, whereas younger folks are so used to receiving information through social. And older folks don't necessarily have the opportunity to develop those skills either. It's interesting, frustrating, and makes me look very smart in front of my coworkers, but I think they raise a good point. But I talk about people not knowing how to search, sort of as a joke.

[Rob]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

But I didn't realize that there's a lot of people out there that can't search. They just. Unless it's given to them in the moment, like in the Instagram post, they don't know how to get it. And I just. Obviously, people listening to this show have got it.

[Rob]

Yep, Yep.

[David Farrier]

But just to those people just. It's an interesting thing to be aware of. Like, people can't search anymore.

[Rob]

I mean, I guess there is an art to the Google search, the way.

[David Farrier]

You type things, like maybe adding a keyword on.

[Rob]

Yeah.

[David Farrier]

Like, if you search for Flight this Bird, you'll get a lot of actual birds.

[Rob]

Yes.

[David Farrier]

Whereas Flight this Bird podcast.

[Rob]

There we go.

[David Farrier]

You're good. But no, it's just been. It's like in spreading the word about the show, it's just. It's been a funny thing. Like the questions you get a while to me.

[Rob]

Did you ever use the website Last Jeeves? Nope. Let me Google that for you.

[David Farrier]

That's good. Yeah. That's a level of passive aggressiveness that.

[Rob]

Seems so much like what you would do.

[David Farrier]

I'm almost there. I like to explain it to people. I'm like, get your keyboard. Type in these words.

[Rob]

Well, should we tell people? Well, let me Google that for you. Is. It was. So it was a website where you would type the search query in and it would give you a link and it would take you to the link, and it basically walked you through going to Google, searching it, and you had to watch it, search for it, and then it hit search, and then it just gave you all the results.

[David Farrier]

Yeah, let me google that. It's still there. Yeah, let me Google that dot com. If you're passive aggressive like me, it's a good thing to send to friends. Okay. A lot of feedback to the mysterious sound episode from last week. Zed said I went from funny, that guy looks a lot like the Leroy I know to that is the Leroy I know. Not directly friends, but a lot of mutuals since his bandmates went to my school. I can relate to the pain of interference. Thankfully not to this level. I'm an audiologist that does evoked potential recordings of muscle and brain activity. And for the first half of the year we'd randomly get horrible artifact ruining my results. We tried changing cables different positions in the room. We ended up moving to a room with a Faraday cage for other reasons. But we eventually found out the issue was a server on the other side of the room. Matt said the real story is how Leroy built something useful from a conspiracy theory. Opens up all kinds of philosophical questions. Without the information people gathered and refined, this wouldn't have been possible. Without doing all of that work. Happy accidents. Magic Roast said it's becoming a massive issue. Not just cell towers, but radio frequency interference in general. Even LED lights, AKA many of the world's street lights, emit radio frequency. My dad is a ham radio guy here in New Zealand. He operates on the public frequency that allows you to talk to geezers all around the world. He reckons it's easy to talk to people in Greenland than in Auckland due to all the RF. Heck, even in my own home there's six cell phones, five WiFi repeaters, seven Wi Fi smart devices, and four LED lights in every room. RIP silence.

[Rob]

Yeah, that's about a normal amount of devices.

[David Farrier]

It's like the way we live now, right? It's crazy.

[Rob]

We've got more devices connected to Internet than that. Probably.

[David Farrier]

I wonder what it is doing to us. Like, it can't be great.

[Rob]

I think we need to trust whoever made the technology that they clearly they care about us.

[David Farrier]

They've definitely tested us. They're definitely not out just to make money. We'll be fine. Yeah, it's all okay. Stick around for Calvin. We will be back again in exactly one week.

[Rob]

Calvin, do you know who Rees Darby is?

[Rhys Darby]

A human.

[Rob]

Very good. Okay, I'm gonna show you a photo of him. Do you know this man?

[Rhys Darby]

But he's from Jumanji.

[Rob]

Do you like him in it?

[David Farrier]

Mm, there's a couple.

[Rosie Carnahan Darby]

I think there's three.

[David Farrier]

And the space one also is four.

[Rob]

Anything else you want to say about Reese Darby?

[Rhys Darby]

No.

[David Farrier]

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