Birds Aren't Real *Staff Pick 2024*

The true story of the greatest conspiracy in US history - and how to fight back. Have you ever seen a baby pigeon? You haven't, have you? No one has, not in many, many years. They used to be everywhere. That's because they come out of the factory as adults. In the 1970s, the United States government killed off the entire bird population and replaced them with robotic bird replicas that are used for mass surveillance. Bird drones that recharge on power lines and leave 'liquid tracking devices' on your car are omnipresent while the American people live in blissful ignorance. Until now. In Birds Aren't Real, whistleblowers Peter McIndoe and Connor Gaydos trace the roots of a political conspiracy so vast and well-hidden that it almost seems like an elaborate hoax. These hero Bird Truthers have risked life and limb to spread the word, to free America and prevent other countries' governments from enacting a similar scheme. Birdwatching now goes both ways. In Australia, we must save our kookaburras, our cockatoos and our bin chickens from turning into spies for the politicians in Canberra. The truth is out there: will you stand and fight before it's too late?