My Favorite Murder, Episode 513 – Best of the Year (Part II)

Hosts: Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark
Date: January 1, 2026
Podcast Network: Exactly Right & iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

In this "Best of the Year (Part II)" edition, Karen and Georgia revisit two of their top listener-favorite stories from 2025. Blending their trademark humor and fascination with all things true crime and weird history, the hosts deliver a “quilt episode” featuring:

• The harrowing true tale of Violet Jessop, known as the “Queen of Sinking Ships” (Karen’s story)
• The almost unbelievable saga of Australia’s Great Emu War (Georgia’s story)

Full of memorable anecdotes, sharp commentary, and plenty of asides, this episode looks back while keeping the laughs and gasps coming.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introduction & Episode Structure

• Georgia sets the stage: “Today we're starting the new year with a look back on two of our favorite stories from 2025.” (02:43)
• Karen: “We're taking two of our listener favorite stories and combining them into a Best of the Year quilt episode.” (02:52)
• The stories: Violet Jessop and the Titanic-era disasters (Karen), and the Great Emu War (Georgia).

2. Violet Jessop: The Queen of Sinking Ships

Storyteller: Karen Kilgariff
Segment begins: 05:32

Background

• Violet Jessop, an Irish-Argentinian stewardess, survived three major maritime disasters: the Olympic collision (1911), the Titanic sinking (1912), and the Britannic sinking (1916).
• Primary sources include Violet’s memoir and a National Geographic article.

Early Life & Family Hardships

• Born in Argentina to Irish immigrants, eldest of siblings, nearly dies of tuberculosis as a child.
• After her father's death, the family relocates to England; her mother works on ocean liners.

Career at Sea

• Faces difficulty finding stewardess work due to her youth and looks, eventually lands a role by “dressing down.”

• By 1911, works on the RMS Olympic, renowned for opulence and difficult, entitled passengers.

  “I often reflected there must be some quality in a sea trip that affects character...mean, paltry and selfish to a degree…”
  —Violet Jessop, as quoted by Karen (15:18)

Maritime Disasters

• Olympic & Hawk Collision (1911): Ship rammed, but no fatalities, hinting at the disasters to come.

• Titanic Sinking (1912):

  • Working as a stewardess when the ship hits the iceberg.

  • Tasked with translating evacuation orders and helping women/children into lifeboats.

  • Given a baby by an officer for safekeeping.

  • Vivid survivor account as Titanic sinks:

    “I watched the Titanic give a lurch forward...The proud ship, our beautiful Titanic gone to her doom.”
    —Karen reading Violet's memoir (20:02)

  • The baby's mother reclaims her on the rescue ship; years later, the "Titanic baby" calls Violet.

• Aftermath:

  • Despite the trauma, Violet quickly returns to sea:

    “I knew that if I meant to continue my sea life, I would have to return at once. Otherwise, I would lose my nerve...I had no love for it, but I needed the work, girl.”
    —Karen reading Violet (24:39)

Britannic Sinking (1916):

• On hospital ship Britannic during WWI:

  • Ship hits a mine; lifeboats sucked into running propellers, causing grisly casualties.

  • Violet forced to jump into the sea despite not knowing how to swim, receives a serious head injury:

    “My brain shook like a solid body in a bottle of liquid...I chuckled, and that was very nearly my undoing, for I swallowed what seemed like gallons of water.”
    —Karen, quoting Violet (33:17)

• Survives, swims to safety, and later discovers she fractured her skull but was never treated.

Later Life

• Goes back to sea, this time facing less snobby passengers during Prohibition, hiding booze for Americans.

• Embraces her “maritime fate,” traveling the world by ship before retiring to a quiet English life.

• Dies at 83, having lived an incredible life of survival and resilience.

  “Despite her long career at sea, she ends her life very grounded...delighting in telling one of her unbelievable stories of survival.”
  —Karen (39:44)

Notable Quotes & Highlights

• Georgia, on Violet's work ethic: “Cause like, what are the chances, right?” (24:19)
• Karen on ship disasters: “The ocean wants to kill you so bad…This is Final Destination, Victorian.” (38:54)
• Hilarious asides about Titanic theories, the challenges of ship life, and making fun of entitled passengers.

Memorable Moments & Tone

• Karen and Georgia riffing on the absurdity of “propinquity” (physical closeness) and ASMR.
• “Don't tell anybody. We gotta stay warm, guys on this fucking Titanic that we're on.” —Karen (08:41)
• Running theme: Violet’s deep faith, survival instincts, and Irish Catholic grit.

3. The Great Emu War

Storyteller: Georgia Hardstark
Segment begins: 43:15

Background

• Australia, 1932. Struggling soldier-farmers face waves of crop-wrecking emus in Western Australia.
• Government intervention transforms a pest problem into a full-blown “war.”

Setting the Scene

• Post-WWI, soldiers given poor farmland; after initial success, the Great Depression tanks wheat prices.
• Emu migration—an estimated 20,000 birds arrive, devastating wheat crops.

Emu Facts & Comic Relief

• Emus: flightless, fast (up to 40 mph!), have “calf muscles” and “deep grunting vocalizations.”

• Hosts compare emus to dinosaurs, joke about emu “zoomies,” and riff on the idea of emus as surprisingly clever adversaries.

  “Emus have a pouch in their throat that they use to make deep booming and grunting sounds for communications. Me too.”
  —Georgia (49:51)

Escalation to War

• Farmers request machine guns from the government; three army marksmen and a cinematographer arrive.

• Spectacular military incompetence ensues—guns jam, birds scatter, and only a handful are killed each day.

  “In a day's work, that's 12 EMUs out of 20,000. And that's a good day, it turns out.”
  —Georgia (57:10)

• Emus careen out of range, appoint “scout leaders” to warn flocks, and become folk legends.

  “Each mob has its leader, always an enormous black plumed bird standing fully six feet high who keeps watch...At the first suspicious sign, he gives a signal and dozens of heads stretch up out of the crop. Dinosaurs.”
  —Georgia (58:20)

Outcome

• Bags of wasted bullets, rising costs, and only 1,000–2,000 emus down (out of 20,000).

• Embarrassed government ends the campaign; farmers eventually use rifles and improved fencing.

• In the end, emus survive, rebound, and are now a protected species.

  “If anyone should be getting a medal, it should be the emus.”
  —Parliament quote, via Georgia (60:27)

Notable Quotes & Highlights

• Karen: “The problem is, and I think we've talked about this a lot of like, it's sheer numbers...20,000 of these birds.” (53:46)
• Georgia on wounded, unstoppable emus: "They're fucking Terminator.” (61:36)
• Karen: “That's the one that got...Don't you think? That's the one he fucking couldn't win.” (63:45 re: Major Meredith's military career)

Memorable Moments & Tone

• Georgia’s delight at “the depths of the Internet” research and video rabbit holes.
• The hosts joke about emu war medals, imagining dinosaurs in sports arenas, and the logic of using brute force against nature.
• Episode closes with pithy reflections on adapting to nature—"You gotta learn how to live in harmony with nature. Yeah, you get your ass kicked if not.” (64:44)

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• “A few cries came to us across the water, then silence as the ship seemed to right itself...Then she went down by the head. And a thundering roar of underwater explosions. Our proud ship, our beautiful Titanic gone to her doom.”
  —Karen reading Violet Jessop, (20:02)

• “It appeared that she put it down on the deck of the Titanic while she went off to fetch something. And when she came back, the baby had gone. I was too frozen and numb to think it strange that this woman had not stopped to say thank you.”
  —Karen reading Violet on the Titanic baby, (22:42)

• “The EMU command had evidently ordered guerrilla tactics and its unwieldy AR army soon split up into innumerable small units that made use of the military equipment uneconomic.”
  —Georgia, reading from John P. Rafferty (59:51)

• “If anyone should be getting a medal, it should be the emus.”
  —Georgia quoting Australian Parliament (60:27)

• “They're fucking Terminator.”
  —Georgia on emus surviving multiple gunshots (61:36)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Opening & Episode Premise: 02:33–03:16
• Violet Jessop Story Begins: 05:32
• Olympic & Titanic Events: 06:03–24:06
• Britannic Sinking: 27:01–36:29
• Violet Jessop’s Later Life: 36:30–40:09
• Emu War Story Begins: 43:15
• Emu Facts & Escalation: 48:02–55:07
• Combat and Emu Tactics: 56:06–61:54
• War Ends & Aftermath: 61:54–64:44
• Reflection & Close: 64:44–65:14

Episode Flow, Tone, and Takeaways

• The tone balances dark historical stories and traumatic survival accounts with sharp wit, pop culture asides, and personal reflections (e.g., hospitality industry gripes, Catholicisms, vacation horror).
• Both stories champion resilience—Violet Jessop’s inhuman luck/fortitude, and the emus’ resourcefulness and stubbornness against human hubris.
• The episode closes with thanks to the research team and a signature reminder: “Stay sexy and don’t get murdered!” (64:57)

Summary Recap

• Violet Jessop’s story is an epic saga of survival, giving life to a little-known Titanic heroine and exposing the grit required by working-class women in a gilded, sexist world.
• The Emu War is a masterclass in absurd history, as military might is outmatched by “dinosaurs with calf muscles,” leading to clever adaptation and, eventually, coexistence.

If you missed this “Best of the Year” episode, you’ll leave with lessons on endurance, the dangers of overconfidence, and, of course, an appreciation for how weird and hilarious history can get—especially through Karen and Georgia’s expert retelling.