Best Friends: Animal Cult

Flightless Bird

David Farrier

Comedy, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.9 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 January 2026

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David looks at Best Friends, one of America’s largest animal rescue groups. Promoted by the likes of Mark Wahlberg, and with its own Nat Geo show “Dog Town”, David discovers Best Friends had its origins in a cult called “The Process Church Of The Final Judgement”. They wore a lot of black, had big big iron crosses around their necks, and liked keeping big dogs as pets - mainly German Shepards. Rumours spread they were involved in ritualistic murder - and by the time the Manson murders happened, prosecutors alleged there were links between Charles Manson and “The Process”. Under the leadership of “Mary Ann MacLean” the cult would undergo a series of changes, eventually ending up as - you guessed it - Best Friends. David meets a corner member who was born into the cult, and alleges what is now Best Friends’ Utah HQ was built - in part - by children. Support Flightless Bird on Patreon: www.patreon.com/flightlessbird Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/flightlessbirdpod Email us your feedback: flightlessbirdchat@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Dave, Dave, Dave.
0:03.7	Hi Hayden, my little New Year Snugglebug.
0:06.5	What?
0:08.0	You never say anything like that to me in real life.
0:11.4	It's just a show that you put on for the podcast.
0:14.2	You'll be glad to know that I've found a website called 100 cute pet nicknames to call your girlfriend or fiancé.
0:20.3	New Year Snugglebug was in there? I added the new year just riffing a little bit. Okay. Do you want to hear some of the other names I've got coming up for you? No, I'd like it to be a surprise. Okay. This episode is actually going out on January 6th, a big day for America. I'm just wondering how you're feeling about this year ahead for flightless bird.
0:41.3	That's not the direction I thought you were going to go in there.
0:45.3	I mean, you're running out of stuff, let's face it.
0:48.3	How many differences could there be between two anglosphere countries with sort of broadly similar cultural references.
0:55.7	You're going to be doing some weird shit like Americans stamp their feet slightly louder
1:01.5	going up the stairs soon.
1:02.9	So I feel like you're pretty much fucked.
1:05.5	That's what I'd say about flightless bird.
1:07.3	But you do seem to be branching out into music and stuff.
1:10.6	It's going on January 6th.
1:11.8	Do you want to ask me about the insurrection and the lapse into fascism in your country,
1:16.4	or is this just, you just want to look inside on this auspicious day?
1:20.8	I'm a bit scared on this particular day to sort of look outward because it's just too scary,
1:25.2	you know? Yeah, you look outward, it could be someone climbing the wall.
1:29.4	I'm David Farrier and New Zealand are accidentally marooned in America
1:32.4	and I want to figure out what makes this country tick.
	...

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