Webworm with David Farrier

Getting tear gassed by the National Guard fucking sucks. Everything stings, you can’t breathe, and you can’t see. You can hear just fine — the almost comical pop-pop-pop of more tear gas canisters arcing over the crowd. It strikes you how everyone has their own unique cough; their own way of sounding when they splutter. Like many of you, last night I heard that Donald Trump was allegedly sending 2000 members of the National Guard to LA [https://apnews.com/article/insurrection-act-trump-troops-newsom-military-national-guard-a842f79e1c0e244039be274a6f266a7a], all with the purpose of stopping the terrible violent protests against all the ICE raids and deportations going on in this city. Of course there has been little to no violence — he just wants to swing his tiny lizard dick around, and stoke fear. His dream, I imagine, is conflict. “See, look, the people of LA are out of control,” he’ll mumble and dribble, distracted by whatever bugs are buzzing around in his sloppy mess of a brain. I saw there was a planned protest outside City Hall at 2pm — so I drove downtown at 10am to get an early start. You fund my journalism here on Webworm, so let’s fucking do journalism on my Sunday. For more and to comment, please come to www.webworm.co This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.webworm.co/subscribe [https://www.webworm.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Hi, Tear gas in the air, a lot of coughing. A lot of guns. And anger. But so far, peace. I’ll be going live throughout the day here on Webworm. If you have the app, you’ll automatically see when I go live. UPDATE, 7.45pm PT: For anyone who missed the lives — the quality was pretty patchy, so I have summed up my experiences and interviews (with much better audio) here [https://www.webworm.co/p/teargasandrubberbullets]: David. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.webworm.co/subscribe [https://www.webworm.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

I wanted to share the short audio documentary I created for Flightless Bird about the execution of a quite possibly innocent man, Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams. I travelled to Jefferson City, Missouri, as both the victim’s family and the original prosecutor in the case urged lawmakers to halt the execution — saying terrible mistakes had been made in the case. This was all based on the reporting I did for Webworm back in September last year [https://www.webworm.co/p/marcellus]. Some of you are Flightless Bird [https://www.flightlessbirdpod.com/listen] listeners and will have heard this already, but I figure plenty of you aren’t. I felt proud of how this turned out and wanted to share it with you. It’s just the audio documentary — no yapping from any podcast hosts. This reporting wouldn’t have been possible without you. So thank you. Finally, I wanted to note that January 20, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order to implement a fed­er­al death penal­ty [https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-the-death-penalty-and-protecting-public-safety/]. Looking back on my time in Jefferson City, this fills me with fucking horror. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.webworm.co/subscribe [https://www.webworm.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

In this Webworm podcast, a story I've been working on for some time. Just over a year ago — in March of 2024 — I got an email from Jake. He had a story he wanted to tell, and he wanted to find a way to tell it that could help others. A warning, of sorts. And so over the last year, as a court case played out — I’ve been working on this story. It takes place in and around CityLife church in Melbourne. And while this story is a warning, I also think it’s a story about the truth, justice, and pushing back against institutions that allow abuse to happen. This piece discusses emotional and physical abuse that may be distressing for some readers, so please take care when reading. For more see https://www.webworm.co This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.webworm.co/subscribe [https://www.webworm.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Something is killing the birds in a sleepy Auckland suburb. The locals are on a witch hunt. Alexandria Edwards was playing Pokemon Go in her car when she saw the sparrows. Dozens of them were strewn in various states of stupor on the grass nearby. Some had passed out. Others were struggling and failing to fly. Magpies were swooping at the ones who couldn’t get away. She got out to shoo the bigger birds. Help arrived promptly. A call had gone out on the local Facebook community page. Come down, it said. The birds have been poisoned again. TAKE PART IN THE DISCUSSION: https://www.webworm.co/p/brownsbaybirdpoisoner [https://www.webworm.co/p/brownsbaybirdpoisoner] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.webworm.co/subscribe [https://www.webworm.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]