Little Bird

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When triggered by a challenge from her peers, the daughter of a former military interrogator puts her father's inhumane lessons to the test, endangering her friends in order to protect herself.

“Little Bird” is adapted from the short story of the same name which won the Black Warrior Review Fiction Contest in 2014. I wrote the first draft of the story in grad school in a class titled The Literature of War. The title comes from an Army cadence call in which the speaker lures a beautiful bird to the window sill and kills it. I was inspired by the grotesque and inhumane images from Abu Ghraib prison. I couldn’t help imagining those guards who treated others in such a despicable manner going home to their own families. 

The story has been adapted into a staged reading as well as a screenplay. This episode contains profanity and adult situations as well as suggestions of abuse. It is intended for listeners over the age of 13. 

A little bird with a yellow bill
Was sittin' on my window sill
I lured her in with a piece of bread
And then I smashed her little head
—Army cadence call

Narrator: Lily Sanders
Soldier: Kai McAlvin
Sir: Tim Knudson
Sam: Ryan Goffman
Eddie: Eddie Philpot 
Marco: Marco Marx 

Sound effects courtesy of Pixabay. 
Special thanks to Annie Weaver, Shenandoah Evans, and Travis Maguire. 

All episodes directed and edited by Michael Mau
Original Music by Trevor Tremaine
Podcast cover art created by Geneva Hicks