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Karen Kilgariff
This is exactly right.
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Jacob Goldstein
Goldstein from what's yous Problem? Business software is expensive and when you buy software from lots of different companies, it's not only expensive, it gets confusing. Slow to use, hard to integrate. Odoo solves that because all Odoo software is connected on a single, affordable platform. Save money without missing out on the features you need. Odoo has no hidden costs and no limit on features or data. Odoo has over 60 apps available for any needs your business might have, all at no additional charge. Everything from websites to sales to inventory to accounting. All linked and talking to each other. Check out odoo@odoo.com that's o d o o.com well, the holidays have come and gone once again, but if you've forgotten to get that special someone in your life a gift, well, Mint Mobile is extending their holiday offer of half off unlimited wireless. So here's the idea. You get it now, you call it an early present for next year.
Georgia Hardstark
What do you have to lose?
Jacob Goldstein
Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch limited time.
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Karen Kilgariff
My favorite.
Georgia Hardstark
Hello and welcome to my favorite Murder. Today we're starting the new year with a look back on two of our favorite stories from 2025.
Karen Kilgariff
That's right. We're taking two of our listener favorite stories and combining them into a Best of the Year quilt episode.
Georgia Hardstark
So Karen's gonna kick things off with the story of Violet Jessup, the Queen of Sinking Ships.
Karen Kilgariff
And Georgia is gonna take us through the unforgettable tale of Australia's great Emu War.
Georgia Hardstark
That's right. Right here on this true crime podcast. You're gonna love it. That's right. So enjoy this Best of the Year quilt episode and Happy New Year.
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah, let's make 2026 a real one.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh God.
Karen Kilgariff
Goodbye.
Orangetheory Fitness Announcer
Ready to change your Life for just $2 a day, Orangetheory Fitness delivers one hour workouts that combine strength and cardio to help you burn fat, build muscle and feel unstoppable. Right now, get a full month of unlimited classes for just $62. Don't wait. This offer ends soon. Visit orangetheory.com or your local studio and start your transformation today. Offer ends January 31, 2026. New members only. Premier membership, performance monitor and monthly billing required. Discount applies to first month only. Other terms apply. C Studio for details.
Jacob Goldstein
This is Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Problem? When you buy business software from lots of vendors, the costs add up and it gets complicated and confusing. Odoo solves this. It's a single company that sells a suite of enterprise apps that handles everything from accounting to inventory to sales. Odoo is all connected on a single platform in a simple and affordable way. You can save money without missing out on the features. You need to check out odoo@o-o o.com that's o d o o.com well, the holidays have come and gone once again, but if you've forgotten to get that special someone in your life a gift, well, Mint Mobile is extending their holiday offer of half off unlimited wireless. So here's the idea. You get it now. You call it an early present for next year.
Georgia Hardstark
What do you have to lose?
Jacob Goldstein
Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch limited time.
Orangetheory Fitness Announcer
50% off regular price for new customers. Upfront payment required $45 for 3 months $90 for $180 for 12 month plan taxes and fees. Extra speeds may slow after 50 gigabytes per month when network is busy. See Terms.
Greenlight Announcer
Did you know that parents rank teaching financial literacy as the toughest life skill? That's where Greenlight comes in. The debit card and money app made for families. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up Chores, automate allowance and track spending with real time notifications. Kids learn how to earn, save and spend responsibly while parents have peace of mind knowing smart money habits are being built with guardrails in place. Try Greenlight Risk free today@greenlight.com iheart that's greenlight.com iheart.
Karen Kilgariff
We'Re going to go to a place we've been to before that I've actually forced you to come to twice before. But I need to go back and you'll see why. Okay, so it's 2am on April 15, 1912.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay.
Karen Kilgariff
You get a sense of what we're about to do?
Georgia Hardstark
Nope.
Karen Kilgariff
We're in the middle of the North Atlantic where the Titanic is sinking.
Georgia Hardstark
Motherfucker. The Titanic.
Karen Kilgariff
We're going back to the Titanic.
Georgia Hardstark
I love that guy.
Karen Kilgariff
Love the Titanic.
Georgia Hardstark
You love that vessel.
Karen Kilgariff
A lot of stuff happened on that vessel that I want to tell you about.
Georgia Hardstark
It's funny that you say 2012 and I'm in the middle of the night and I'm like, I don't know, 1912. What did I say?
Karen Kilgariff
2012.
Georgia Hardstark
That was a bad year too.
Karen Kilgariff
So. So 2012 was rough. I fully agree.
Georgia Hardstark
I love your Titanic stories. It's just so funny.
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah. Here's the thing about me and the Titanic. I love to talk about the people that made it off of the Titanic.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah.
Karen Kilgariff
It's pretty an amazing topic. I have no interest to go down and look at the Titanic.
Georgia Hardstark
No.
Karen Kilgariff
A lot of people want to.
Georgia Hardstark
I think photos are cool, but they never, they never give you what you want, you know, they don't put you there. They don't put you there. Maybe like a dish is so exciting, but like that's about it.
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah. And it's got all those weird algae on it, that dish. So much algae and a couple snails.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay, here we're going to 1912. Everything is snail free. The Titanic is sinking. And when it finally disappears under the water, it will take the lives of more than 1,500 people with it. There will be around 700 survivors. The survivors we've talked about on this show, episode 411, which was entitled Eight Years One Episode. That's when I talked about the unsinkable Molly Brown. They actually called her Margaret Brown, but everyone knows her as the unsinkable Molly Brown. She makes it onto Lifeboat 6 and she spends her time on that lifeboat rallying the terrified passengers and urging them to keep rowing. When the officer in charge starts to spiral in the midst of all the terror of what's going on around them. Molly threatens to throw them overboard. It's great for morale. Everybody keeps going. They survive.
Georgia Hardstark
Get it, girl?
Karen Kilgariff
At the same moment that she's doing that, over on Lifeboat 6, the Titanic's baker, Charles Joughin, you might remember, he was the drunk one. Yes.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh yes, we learned about the drunk one. Everyone was shit faced.
Karen Kilgariff
I mean that, you know, that band was barely able to like keep the bow to the strings.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh my God, so much good champagne.
Karen Kilgariff
If you want to hear me talk about Charles Joughin, it's episode 348. It's called Old Biscuit. And we learn on that one that basically the thing that saved Charles Joughin's life, they think is that he got super shit faced as the ship sank. He jumped up onto the railing and rode it down as the ship was going into the water. Then he tread water in 28 degree waves for several hours and lived. And it defies science. And they think it's because the liquor that was in his system just kept his body warm. Almost like tricked him into being warm.
Georgia Hardstark
That's why I drink is just to same.
Karen Kilgariff
Don't tell anybody. We gotta stay warm, guys on this fucking Titanic that we're on.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah.
Karen Kilgariff
So when Charles Joughin is finally rescued, and we talked about this on that episode, but I still love this. He has two swollen feet. And that's it. That's the only thing wrong with that man who tread water in 28 degree ocean for hours until he got rescued.
Georgia Hardstark
I mean, I wake up in my bed in worst shape.
Karen Kilgariff
Two swollen feet. I wish.
Georgia Hardstark
That's why.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay, so let's see what character is that? So some of our favorites. But today I'm gonna tell you about your new favorite Titanic survivor.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay.
Karen Kilgariff
She's a third Titanic survivor whose story is more unbelievable than the first two put together. Throughout this woman's life, she'll be involved in not one, not two, but three historic maritime disasters. The sinking of the Titanic arguably is not even the worst one for her. Some people call her the queen of the sinking ships. This is the story of stewardess Violet Jessup.
Georgia Hardstark
Yes.
Karen Kilgariff
So main sources that Maren used for the story are Violet's memoir entitled Titanic, the memoirs of Violet Jessop, comma, stewardess. She fucking worked on the Titanic.
Georgia Hardstark
Incredible.
Karen Kilgariff
And also a National Geographic article by journalist David Kindy entitled she Survived the Titanic. But it wasn't the only time she faced death at sea. And the rest of the sources are in our show notes. Okay. We start the story 25 years before the Titanic sinks with an Irish Catholic couple from Dublin named William and Kelly Jessup. They have immigrated to South America, and now they have a sheep farm in Argentina. And in 1887, they welcome their first child, Violet. They will have eight more children in the coming years. Only six will survive childhood. So this was the horrible infant mortality situation of the turn of the 1920th century. So Violet herself nearly dies of tuberculosis when she's little. She is six for weeks, and later she'll describe this time as, quote, a dim awareness of being plunged into a very hot bath, then wrapped in cold, wet sheets, followed by long periods of nothingness.
Georgia Hardstark
Yikes.
Karen Kilgariff
So scary and sad for a child. And speaking of, her coughing fits are so intense at this time that, quote, blood seemed to be on everything. And her eventual recovery from this is said to be miraculous. So normally, Violet's day to day involves helping her family. She's the oldest sister in a big family, which means she's doing cooking, cleaning, taking care of her younger siblings, the whole nine. Then in 1903, when Violet is 16 years old, her father William dies while undergoing some kind of a surgery. It's sudden, it's shocking. The loss hits Violet especially. She was her father's favorite child. And she will later write, quote, in my grief, I was tongue tied and stunned. Whenever I tried to speak, I discovered I had lost my voice completely. So sad. But of course, the family has no time to mourn because now Violet's mother, Kelly, is a widow with six kids who has to find a way to support the family. So she moves the family back to Europe, where they settle in England, and Kelly gets to work on ocean liners sailing between the UK and America. She's hired as a stewardess, and that means she's doing things like cleaning cabins, serving meals, and even some light nursing duties. And while she's at sea, Violet is left to raise her siblings by herself.
Georgia Hardstark
Wait, her mom left to do that? Yep. Okay.
Karen Kilgariff
And she's home with the five other kids.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay.
Karen Kilgariff
And the youngest is an infant?
Georgia Hardstark
No. No.
Karen Kilgariff
So they were just making do?
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah.
Karen Kilgariff
For the next several years, Violet's basically a stay at home mom, dreaming about the day her mother will come home for good. And when she does, Violet plans that she will join the convent. But that dream never pans out, because instead, in 1908, when Violet is around 21 years old, her mother gets very sick. And it's serious enough that she has to stop working. So to keep food on the family table, Violet again steps up for the family. And even though she does not like the ocean, she does not know how to swim. And she's kind of freaked out by the vast openness of the sea. She starts looking for stewardess work. She knows it's a good job. If she can get paid well, her mom can tell her how to do it. And she not only has years of caregiving experience raising her brothers and sisters, she's fluent in Spanish from having been raised in Argentina. But at the time, she struggles to get work as a stewardess, partly because she's so young. Much younger than most of the stewardesses who are working at the time. But also, Violet is very beautiful, which works against her because in a job like that, you're supposed to blend in and just be part of the wallpaper, right? And whether she wants to or not, Violet does not blend in.
Georgia Hardstark
I get it.
Karen Kilgariff
Nice. J.K. j.K. I've been through it. I feel that I've never been a stewardess for that very reason on the Titanic. So after she gets interviewed a couple times and gets rejected, she starts dressing down for the interviews. She stops wearing makeup altogether.
Georgia Hardstark
And?
Karen Kilgariff
And it works. She ends up landing one job after another. And by 1911, 24 year old Violet is hired by the White Star line to work aboard the RMS Olympic. So at the time, the RMS Olympic is the largest passenger ship in the world. It's completely state of the art. It has electric elevators, Turkish baths, a swimming pool, and ornate features like crystal chandeliers and marble statues and plush velvet furniture.
Georgia Hardstark
Amazing.
Karen Kilgariff
They really went all out. It was like the Empire State Building on the sea. Not that tall. But anyhow, Violet isn't all that impressed. She's just there for the money. And that's what keeps her going when she has the experience that she really doesn't like, which is the passengers treating her like their servant, which happens often. And rich male passengers leer at her. They proposition her. Some even propose, like the second they meet her. While the women passengers can be extremely cutting, very condescending. Later on, Violet will write, quote, I often reflected that there must be some quality in a sea trip that affects character. Or maybe its enforced propinquity emphasizes how awful normal folk can become. Mean, paltry and selfish to a degree when they are in the position of indiscriminate power.
Georgia Hardstark
It's like what happens on the Titanic stays on the Titanic.
Karen Kilgariff
And also it's like, just cause we're stuck on this boat together, doesn't mean I gotta do everything you say. Maren made a note to me. Propinquity means physical closeness or Nearness.
Georgia Hardstark
Thank you.
Karen Kilgariff
And then she was like, I've never heard this word before.
Georgia Hardstark
Thank you again.
Karen Kilgariff
Propinquity.
Georgia Hardstark
Propinquity.
Karen Kilgariff
It's your continual propinquity that causes the problem.
Georgia Hardstark
Say it in asmr if you have.
Karen Kilgariff
A tendency toward propinquity. Tapping your nails on stuff. Yeah, it's misused. Okay, so now it's September 1911. Violet's been working as a crew member on the Olympic for months. And then one night, the boat she's on, the Olympic, collides with a British warship called the Hawk off the coast of the Isle of Wight. So the Hawk is this little. It's like a sixth of the size of the Olympic and it's actually specifically built to ram and sink enemy vessels. So it's very strong. The two boats collide and the Hawk nearly capsizes, but it still manages to leave a 40 foot gash along the side of the Olympic. Water rushes into the bottom of the ship and it actually downs a propeller. And of course, from her room, Violet hears and feels this horrible impact. Although no one's injured or killed from this crash and the ships aren't very far from land. And even with that propell, the Olympic is able to just hobble back to port. So no one has to evacuate on lifeboats. So comparatively, this is probably the tamest of all the horrible ship accidents that Violet is involved in. She gets reassigned to another White Star Line ship and it is the company's brand new luxury ocean liner that's gearing up for its maiden voyage. It is the Titanic.
Georgia Hardstark
Hey.
Karen Kilgariff
So we're back on the North Atlantic. Just before midnight on April 14, Violet is in her quarters. She is getting ready for bed after being a stewardess all day on the Titanic.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh, the feet, the feet pain.
Karen Kilgariff
Just the feet. The work. The. Over here. Can you get me a roll?
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah.
Karen Kilgariff
Snap, snap, snap, snap, roll. So Violet's back in her quarters. She's holding a piece of paper that has a handwritten prayer on it. And it's one that's supposed to protect her from fire and water, which is very Catholic. We have saints. They do very specific things for very specific people. I guess there's a fire and water saint. I'll look up who it is later. And as all of that is going on, Violet hears a huge crash followed by a quote, low rending, crunching, ripping sound. So of course it's a scary thing for her to experience. But like everyone else on board, they've time and again that the Titanic is unsinkable. Right so no one's panicking. She certainly is not. But eventually, a shell shocked Violet is called up to the deck. This will be her very last assignment on the Titanic. She's told to translate evacuation instructions for the Spanish speaking passengers and then to assist women and children getting on the lifeboats. So that's what she does until she herself is loaded onto lifeboats.
Georgia Hardstark
Wow.
Karen Kilgariff
Moments before her group is lowered into the ocean, an officer rushes over and says to Violet, quote, Here, Ms. Jessup, look after this. And then basically hands her a baby girl. The baby had been left alone on deck, and so the officer just basically made the hasty decision to grab this baby and throw it to Violet for safekeeping. So as their boat is lowered some 60ft in the dark to the freezing cold ocean below, with icy wind whipping at their faces like, quote, a knife in its penetrating coldness, Violet is trying to soothe this baby girl. But the lifeboat hits the water hard. You don't think about that part of it where it's like, yes, you're being saved in a way, but off of a sinking ship into, in a hurry. The North Sea that we've all seen. TikTok. Is it the North Sea? Yeah. Well, the North Atlantic, yeah. So the baby starts crying when the lifeboat hits the water again. Just quick reminder, Violet does not know how to swim. And she's of course, terrified herself, but she focuses on the baby. She pulls the baby to her chest, hoping to keep her warm. And she just watches as the Titanic sinks into blackness.
Georgia Hardstark
Holy shit.
Karen Kilgariff
And here's how Violet will later describe this moment. She says, quote, I watched the Titanic give a lurch forward. One of the huge funnels toppled off like a cardboard model falling into the sea with a fearful roar. A few cries came to us across the water, then silence as the ship seemed to right itself. Like a hurt animal with a broken back. She settled for a few minutes, but one more deck of lighted ports disappeared. Then she went down by the head. And a thundering roar of underwater explosions. Our proud ship, our beautiful Titanic gone to her doom.
Georgia Hardstark
God, what a sight.
Karen Kilgariff
And you're like however many feet away you could get away. Totally looking at that. I don't like it. It's too big and it's too vast. I'm on Violet's side.
Georgia Hardstark
I don't like it.
Karen Kilgariff
That's why I need to keep talking about it.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay, I get it.
Karen Kilgariff
So for the next several hours, as traumatized Titanic survivors wait to be rescued, Violet clings to this baby as you would at one point. She worries that both she and the infant are gonna freeze to death in lifeboat 16. And then the rescue ship, the SS Carpathia, shows up around 4am so it's like, about two hours.
Georgia Hardstark
Did we ever have the discussion about, like, the magnets?
Karen Kilgariff
How do they work?
Georgia Hardstark
How do they work? How do they maybe affect the Titanic's scouting system?
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah.
Georgia Hardstark
Do we talk about that in any of these?
Karen Kilgariff
I don't think so.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay.
Karen Kilgariff
Do you want to throw some theories out?
Georgia Hardstark
I'll do it. Another thing.
Karen Kilgariff
Have you been listening to RFK's podcast? What's happening? It's all magnets.
Georgia Hardstark
It's all magnets.
Karen Kilgariff
You think something interfered and that's how it dove into the iceberg.
Georgia Hardstark
Yes, but a natural phenomenon interfered, and. Yeah, that's why.
Karen Kilgariff
Some, like, Bermuda Triangle stuff.
Georgia Hardstark
Exactly. So if you know what I'm talking about, send me the article that I read about at least.
Karen Kilgariff
Cause I don't remember if you know what we're talking about, and you're in the North Atlantic right now.
Georgia Hardstark
Tell me.
Karen Kilgariff
Tell me what I'm talking.
Georgia Hardstark
Tell me. Was this just an episode of Below Deck and I'm totally fucking wrong? It could be.
Karen Kilgariff
I slept with him because of the magnets. They drew me toward his cabin.
Georgia Hardstark
His dick is the Bermuda Triangle.
Karen Kilgariff
It's not my fault that the draw is so strong. It's like two cartoon magnets pulling Wile E. Coyote off a car.
Georgia Hardstark
Dick was the lifeboat. Okay, stop it.
Karen Kilgariff
Stop it.
Georgia Hardstark
Serious podcast.
Karen Kilgariff
I was just talking about a baby.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay, you're playing this for your mom, and now she's horrified.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay, we're gonna do a quote from Violet about the moment that she and the baby are saved. Okay, ready? Quote. I was still clutching the baby against my hard cork lifebelt when a woman leaped at me and grabbed the baby and rushed off with it.
Georgia Hardstark
Hey.
Karen Kilgariff
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, end quote.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh, so the mom came.
Karen Kilgariff
The mom was like, you have my baby. That's my baby.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay, well, everyone's panicking, so.
Karen Kilgariff
And nobody would blame. She thought she lost the baby entirely. And there's a lady that has the baby.
Georgia Hardstark
But also, like, babies all look the same to me. Like, how do you know it's your baby?
Karen Kilgariff
The same like, such babies, the attitudes. Years later, Violet will receive a very short phone call from a woman who, claiming to be that baby. Oh, the baby. The Baby calls. Her phone.
Georgia Hardstark
Hello?
Karen Kilgariff
It's a baby call.
Georgia Hardstark
Caller id. It's the baby.
Karen Kilgariff
That baby.
Georgia Hardstark
That baby.
Karen Kilgariff
Your favorite baby. The Titanic baby from the North Atlantic. Some people say that that call was either a hoax or it wasn't really. Violet seemed to believe she really was the caller.
Georgia Hardstark
Sure, why not?
Karen Kilgariff
So The Carpathia spends 14 hours pulling Titanic survivors from their lifeboats. Ultimately, they deliver around 700 people to safety in the New York harbor.
Georgia Hardstark
I thought they went to Canada.
Karen Kilgariff
I think they took the dead bodies to Canada. Oh, that's where the big morgue was.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay.
Karen Kilgariff
But sorry, that's just what it said here, so you could be right.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay, that's probably below deck.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay, that's more below deck. Newfoundland. From there, Violet catches a ship back to England, and not two weeks later, she signs back up to go out to sea to work as a stewardess once again.
Georgia Hardstark
Cause, like, what are the chances, right?
Karen Kilgariff
I'm sure. And she's kind of like, this is a real skill. She probably can make good money, comparatively.
Georgia Hardstark
And she needs the money. It's not like she can't take time off.
Karen Kilgariff
No. She can't go find herself and do a year abroad.
Georgia Hardstark
Do you think there was a Titanic survivor fund or something? No, they didn't do that then.
Karen Kilgariff
I mean, you would think something. But anyway, she's kind of like all business, which. Sorry. I do love that. We're just like, hey, look, it's Irish, man. It really is. It's Irish Catholic. Because it's like, I'll get my reward later. I'll go back onto the thing that tried to kill me last two times. Okay. She will say, quote, I knew that if I meant to continue my sea life, I would have to return at once. Otherwise I would lose my nerve. For I had no love for it, but I needed the work, girl. Yeah. Intense. So Violet will later write about how the sinking of the Titanic changes her entire perspective on life and strengthens her already very deep faith. What it does not do is change how much she hates being at the beck and call of rich travelers. There's no faith strong enough to get you over rich people snapping their fingers at you.
Georgia Hardstark
Absolutely not.
Karen Kilgariff
Violet writes on that topic. Quote, I wanted the quietness of happy contentment, not the hectic turmoil of riches, which sapped simplicity and spontaneous kindness out of people. I wanted desperately to shut out the encroachment of sea life on my inner self, to retain something I feared I was losing, a kind of action that's performed for the love of pleasing and not for Gain. I had gained one thing. I learned how to look very deeply into people and to value them for what I found. Famous names and possessions no longer moved me. I was more confident when confronted by some powerful woman whose cold eyes, as I served her breakfast, might once have shattered me. She's literally talking about my career. But each day it was more. But each day it was more difficult to be my simple self. To ignore the pettiness, artificiality, and frothy gaiety that encompassed a stewardess's life on board a ship.
Georgia Hardstark
I fucking totally hear that. Yeah, as an ex waitress, I fucking hear it.
Karen Kilgariff
Come on. Like it's not entitled motherfuckers on vacation being like, you make my vacation go Totally. So it's the literal opposite of a vacation. You are here to serve, to serve.
Georgia Hardstark
Me, and that's your purpose.
Karen Kilgariff
Snap, snap, snap.
Georgia Hardstark
Fuck you.
Karen Kilgariff
So now it's 1914, and World War I begins.
Georgia Hardstark
Heard of it?
Karen Kilgariff
Violet is 27. And as we all do, at age 27, she decides to pivot. So what she does is become a war nurse.
Georgia Hardstark
Definitely. That's what you did.
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah, you got to. So she's in hospitals both on land and at sea. Oh, honey, she can't stop. In late 1916, she's assigned work on the Britannic, which is the third of the White Star Line's signature luxury vessels. This sister ship to the Olympic and to the Titanic.
Georgia Hardstark
Why don't they know when to quit? Or, like, change the name of the company?
Karen Kilgariff
With this assignment, Violet will have worked on all three of the White Star Line luxury ships.
Georgia Hardstark
There can't be a lot of them.
Karen Kilgariff
No. I bet you they gave her a nice pocket watch for it. So during the war, the Britannic is repurposed into a hospital ship. And on November 21, 1916, it's moving through the Aegean Sea on the way to the battlefields in Turkey to treat wounded soldiers there. So they go pick up all the wounded soldiers and take them back away from all the war. So at a little after 9am Violet has just left Mass Church, and she's now quietly eating her breakfast.
Georgia Hardstark
You mean temple?
Karen Kilgariff
Yes. Oh. Do I have to translate it for you? Thank you.
Georgia Hardstark
Thank you. She's eating breakfast. Post Mass.
Karen Kilgariff
Post Mass. And not Massachusetts. And her breakfast is interrupted by a loud boom. We're doing it again. For years, the cause of the blast will be unclear, but today, in 2025, it's believed that the Britannic hit a mine. No way.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah.
Karen Kilgariff
So the ship shakes violently, begins to sink. Violet yawns Checks her watch, looks around.
Georgia Hardstark
Is there a baby? Does anyone wanna give me a baby?
Karen Kilgariff
Stop crying. It's not that big of. Seen worse. Does anybody have a baby? Amy? All babies.
Georgia Hardstark
I'll take the babies.
Karen Kilgariff
Hand the babies over here, please. She's finishing her English muffin. Okay. Officers immediately start moving people onto lifeboats. But Violet runs back to her room to get a prayer book and a toothbrush.
Georgia Hardstark
Honey.
Karen Kilgariff
Which is something she sorely missed after surviving the Titanic sinking. A friend had jokingly told Violet to, quote, never undertake another disaster without first making sure of your toothbrush. That's how much she complained about not being able to brush her teeth after surviving the sinking of the.
Georgia Hardstark
How much were toothbrushes back then? And then, money. What? What did the toothbrush cost?
Karen Kilgariff
I think she was just, like, it was no one's priority to get me a toothbrush after we got back to land. And so she's like, never again.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay. All right, girl. Seems like you could use your finger. Like we all did when we crashed at a dude's house in our 20s.
Karen Kilgariff
So now Violet's loaded onto a crowded lifeboat. This is. If you are the kind of person that doesn't understand why you listen to true crime podcasts. Because they are upsetting. This part might upset you.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh, okay. Got it.
Karen Kilgariff
This is a very upsetting part, especially if you have ocean issues.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay. Or you're on a boat right now.
Karen Kilgariff
Or if you're on a boat right now. So they're slowly being lowered into the water, which is not a smooth journey. The ship starts tilting. The lifeboat gets snagged on an open porthole. It almost flips upside down. But the people on the lifeboat managed to get it uncaught. Now it's scraping down the side of the Britannic as it's lowered. At one point, the ship takes another hard tilt and the lifeboat goes out and swings into the ship's green hospital band, which is made of glass. So it's a hospital ship. The green band around it is actually made of glass. Which I didn't know that. So there's like a red cross up here, red cross back there. That's so, you know, hey, don't bomb the canvas. Yeah.
Georgia Hardstark
Was there a shortage of canvas right away?
Karen Kilgariff
I don't know who planned that. But they smash into it and glass shatters. And Violet and the other people on the lifeboat are sprayed with shards of glass.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay.
Karen Kilgariff
All the while, Violet is looking down at the water. She can see two lifeboats are already down there. And the people who are on those lifeboats are doing everything they can to row away from the ship itself. But the captain is still trying to move the Britannic towards shallower waters. And he has not turned off the ship's propeller.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh, no.
Karen Kilgariff
Yes.
Georgia Hardstark
No.
Karen Kilgariff
The propeller is now sucking the evacuees in their lifeboats toward the ship. Violet watches as the worst case scenario plays out in front of her. One of the lifeboats gets sucked into the ship's blades and the boat and all of the people on it are hacked to pieces. And the water then turns red with blood as she. As they're dangling over the same water they're supposed to go down into.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh, no.
Karen Kilgariff
Violet will later say, quote, I gave that foolish, nervous laugh as people sometimes do when faced with an unpleasant discovery and a doubtful alternative.
Georgia Hardstark
That's a beautiful way of putting.
Karen Kilgariff
Oh, fuck.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh, fuck.
Karen Kilgariff
Oh, fuck. Fuck. Holy fuck.
Georgia Hardstark
Wow.
Karen Kilgariff
Just sitting there, looking down.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh, my God.
Karen Kilgariff
Violet's lifeboat is finally dropped into the same water. Almost on cue, everyone except for Violet and one other man jump out of the boat and into the sea. Violet will later write about this. Quote, not a word, not a shout was heard, just hundreds of men fleeing into the sea as if from an enemy in pursuit. It was extraordinary to find myself, in the space of a few minutes, almost the only occupant of the boat. I turned around to see the reason for this exodus, and to my horror saw the Britannic's huge propellers churning and mincing up everything near them. Men, boats, and everything were just one ghastly whirl.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh, man. Dude, shut it off.
Karen Kilgariff
So she turns around to see why everyone's jumping off the boat, and then when she turns back, the one guy that was left left also jumps off the boat. Cool. It's so horrible. She can't swim, right? That's right. It's not an option. And yet she knows if she stays on this boat, she's going into that propeller. So she flings herself into the water kicking and paddling for her life, and it is the very first time her whole body and her head are underwater like that.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay.
Karen Kilgariff
I mean, I'm sure she took baths before, but, like, never. She has never.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah, yeah.
Karen Kilgariff
She's immediately jerked around by the power of these propellers.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah, they just suck you right in.
Karen Kilgariff
Yes. You're gonna go where that water takes you. Her head is hit onto the ship's keel, which is the bottom spine. Twice she's pulled down and her head is knocked into the keel. Twice, she will later write, quote, My brain shook like a solid body in a Bottle of liquid.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh, my God.
Karen Kilgariff
At the same time, the keel is also blocking Violet from being able to come back up and surface. So she is under there about to drown. She says, quote, suddenly some twist of fancy made me see even then underwater, the humor of my situation.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh, my honey.
Karen Kilgariff
And I chuckled. That was very nearly my undoing, for I swallowed what seemed like gallons of water and everything that was in it.
Georgia Hardstark
I love her.
Karen Kilgariff
I love her.
Georgia Hardstark
Like, how much fun was she to have a drink with?
Karen Kilgariff
Because she was like, you gotta be fucking. Fucking. Someone hand me a baby down here.
Georgia Hardstark
Can you believe it?
Karen Kilgariff
Miraculously, this is when the captain finally cuts the ship's engine.
Georgia Hardstark
Thanks, guy.
Karen Kilgariff
The propellers stop, and now Violet's adrenaline kicks in. Yes, she's injured. It is a head injury, but somehow she forces her way to the surface and finds a life vest floating nearby. She holds onto that life vest, she keeps her head above water, and she swims past dismembered corpses and dangerous debris from the chopped up lifeboats. Dude, horror show.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah, this is the worst one.
Karen Kilgariff
While the Britannic continues sinking behind her, Violet is far enough away. She gets far enough away, and when she does, she turns around and she watches it go down. Quote, she says all the deck machinery fell into the sea like child's toys. Then she took a fearful plunge, her stern rearing hundreds of feet into the air until with a final roar, she disappeared into the depths. The noise of her going resounding through the water with an undreamt of violence.
Georgia Hardstark
Wow.
Karen Kilgariff
You just don't want to be that close to these gigantic ships when they sink.
Georgia Hardstark
True. Like, really, you want to be at.
Karen Kilgariff
Home, far, far away, at home with your eight brothers and sisters. So Violets out there bobbing in the water, clinging to the life vest until a motorboat approaches and pulls her up to safety. She then realizes for the first time that her leg has been slashed and her head is, quote, battered almost to a pulp. Doctors are amazed by how mobile and alert Violet is when she sees a Britannic doctor that she'd sat beside at mass earlier that morning. He tells her, quote, I know what saved you today, young lady.
Georgia Hardstark
English muffin.
Karen Kilgariff
Did you hear the way I choked on the finishing that sentence where I'm like, oh, wait, he means God. Hold on a second. Hold on a second.
Georgia Hardstark
What did you think about this?
Karen Kilgariff
I don't know. I wasn't really thinking. I was like, this is a highly Catholic church sponsored episode.
Georgia Hardstark
It truly is.
Karen Kilgariff
The Britannic will sink in just under 55 minutes. It took the Titanic 2 hours and 40 minutes to sink. This thing went down fast. 28 people are killed when the Britannic sinks. It could have been much worse if the ship had picked up wounded soldiers, but it was on the way, thank God.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah.
Karen Kilgariff
Violet is patched up, and she's sent home to England, where she lives with her mom, Kelly. She ends up getting a job at a bank.
Georgia Hardstark
That sounds way better.
Karen Kilgariff
I mean, but she's having problems with her, basically with her cognition because of the head injury. Years after the sinking, a doctor will be doing a routine examination when he tells Violet that she'd actually fractured her skull when her head hit the Britannic's keel. And she somehow not only survived, but was never treated for it and basically got through it.
Georgia Hardstark
Good to know.
Karen Kilgariff
So a few years after that, in 1920, when Violet is around 33 years old, she gets an itch to go back to sea. Violet will go back to the White Star Line on the restored Olympic, which is the ocean liner she worked on that collided with the Hawk Number one. Yes.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay.
Karen Kilgariff
Violet immediately notices how different the Olympics passengers are from the last time she was on it. Instead of the stuffy, ultra rich, bossy assholes that she had worked for before.
Georgia Hardstark
The war, the Victorian Richie Riches, right.
Karen Kilgariff
Now she's dealing with Americans, many middle class. They're just there to have fun.
Georgia Hardstark
Great.
Karen Kilgariff
Because on land, it's Prohibition.
Georgia Hardstark
Right.
Karen Kilgariff
So that's a new responsibility as a steward. And stewardesses, on this ship, it's part of your job to basically help these VIPs to booze it up while they're on the ship.
Georgia Hardstark
Sounds great.
Karen Kilgariff
And basically, part of the job is you have to hide the booze from customs agents.
Georgia Hardstark
Got it.
Karen Kilgariff
Violet will write about that quote. It was all so fantastic. There were pillars of Wall street, senators, lawyers, debutantes, all with their minds on the same problem as we approached the shores of the United States. How do we keep drinking? So from here, Violet bounces around to other ships. She even completes two cruises around the world on the Red Star Line. And that experience means a lot to Violet. She's surrounded by diverse people. She's exposed to different world cultures. And this is when she really begins embracing her life as a stewardess, which she then comes to appreciate for its excitement and its unpredictability and the ways it's tested her spirit and resolve.
Georgia Hardstark
Fair enough.
Karen Kilgariff
I mean, that's quite a line, Maren, having written that, of, like, testing her spirit and resolve.
Georgia Hardstark
It's like you almost died on a three.
Karen Kilgariff
The ocean wants to kill you so bad.
Georgia Hardstark
Violet, definitely. This is fucking Final Destination. Victorian.
Karen Kilgariff
She's like, guess what? I was at church this morning. It's not happening today. That's right. Mass will keep you from dying. Violet spends the next several years at sea. She marries and quickly divorces a fellow steward in 1950. She retires at the age of 63 and moves into a cottage in Suffolk, England, in a village called Great Ashfield, where she raises chickens, makes an adjacent field available for her neighbors, horses, who she loves like her own. And she even grows flowers that remind her of the ones that she loves as a little girl in Argentina. Violet Jessup dies of congestive heart failure in 1971 when she is 83 years old.
Georgia Hardstark
What a fucking life.
Karen Kilgariff
What a life. And despite her long career at sea, she ends her life very grounded. Close with her family, doting on her neighbor's horses, tending to her garden, and every so often, delighting in telling one of her unbelievable stories of survival. And that is the story and the legend of the so called queen of the sinking ships, Violet Jessup.
Georgia Hardstark
Wow. Yeah. I'd take that. I'll take that life, you know. Okay.
Karen Kilgariff
I'll take it all the way up until hovering over red water while people.
Georgia Hardstark
Yes. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't want that one. I don't want that one. That's fucking wild.
Karen Kilgariff
It is not cool.
Georgia Hardstark
Wow. Great job.
Karen Kilgariff
Thank you.
Georgia Hardstark
You did it again.
Karen Kilgariff
Great job. My researcher, Maren McGlashan, who took that basically was like, I think I found one that's crazier than all of the Titanic stories combined. I'm like, how is that possible?
Georgia Hardstark
That's a good one.
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah. She did it.
Georgia Hardstark
We believe you guys. We believe in you guys.
Karen Kilgariff
We believe you.
Georgia Hardstark
Good job. To everyone listening, don't forget my favorite hot dog.
Karen Kilgariff
Hashtag it up. Prove to us that you like hot dogs the most.
Georgia Hardstark
We'll show you ours if you show us your right.
Karen Kilgariff
That's right.
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Karen Kilgariff
How are the test scores? How many kids do a classroom?
Georgia Hardstark
Homes.com knows these are all things you.
Karen Kilgariff
Ask when you're home shopping as a parent. That's why Each listing on Holmes.com includes extensive reports on local schools, including photos, parent reviews, test scores, student teacher ratio, school rankings, and more. The information is from multiple trusted sources and curated by Holmes.com's dedicated in house research team. It's all so you can make the right decision for your family. Homes.com, we've done your homework. Okay, now it's your turn.
Georgia Hardstark
Now it's my turn and we're gonna take a turn.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay, great.
Georgia Hardstark
Not right away. This is about a not well known war that took place in Western Australia in the 1930s. Oh, that. I mean, it's so not well known that we got one email from a listener about it in the Gmail. That's it.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay.
Georgia Hardstark
But I think it's going to be your new favorite war.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay.
Georgia Hardstark
Because I know you have so many.
Karen Kilgariff
I mean, yeah, it's going to be tough. I'd say my first favorite war is mash.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay. So I'm going to start cold and I'll tell you what it's called in a moment.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay, I'll wait.
Georgia Hardstark
Please wait. Okay, please hold. So we're in the aftermath of World War I. Thousands of veterans who are nicknamed soldier settlers moved to Western Australia. And it's a vast area with a huge array of climates. There's tropical coast up north, desert in the interior, a Mediterranean climate, similar to parts of California on the southwestern coasts. It's a fucking beautiful place. We should all move to.
Karen Kilgariff
We should.
Georgia Hardstark
Don't you think?
Karen Kilgariff
Remember, we did, like, a tour which was kind of southeastern.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah. We didn't go to Perth.
Karen Kilgariff
We didn't go to Perth.
Georgia Hardstark
Dang.
Karen Kilgariff
Next time.
Georgia Hardstark
So the Australian government has bought thousands of tracts of land to sell to the soldiers at discounted prices in an effort to reward the men for their service with farmland to develop and profit from. So they're trying to, you know, expand, give back. Yeah. There are more than 5,000 soldiers who buy land under the scheme. And the problem is that the amount of land with good soil for farming in Western Australia is kind of low. So many of these soldiers are stuck out on tracks with low quality soil and a host of other issues that haven't really been thought through. In the end, most of these soldiers wind up raising sheep and planting wheat, which is what's most suited to the climate. And in the 1920s, there's actually a string of really good years. The wheat grows well, the farmers are insulated a bit from bad years by selling wool from the sheep, and everyone is making money. Everything's fine. Then in 1929, your favorite great Depression happens. The Great Depression?
Karen Kilgariff
The great.
Georgia Hardstark
The greatest.
Karen Kilgariff
The greatest depression.
Georgia Hardstark
I was falling asleep last night. To the World According to Kunk by Philomena Kunk, of course.
Karen Kilgariff
So funny.
Georgia Hardstark
It's truly one of the best books ever written, period.
Karen Kilgariff
Oh, I thought you were talking about the TV show. You're listening to the book.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah, the audiobook I was listening to.
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah. Okay, got it.
Georgia Hardstark
At first, when the Great Depression starts, the price of wheat stays pretty stable. Other prices for goods tank in Australia. So the government pushes a big initiative to get farmers to produce more wheat because it's selling. Hey, great, let's just do it. The slogan they come up with for the farmers to grow more wheat. Wheat is. You want to guess?
Karen Kilgariff
Hey, it's wheat time, guys.
Georgia Hardstark
Nope, it's. It's more complicated. It's just grow more wheat.
Karen Kilgariff
Damn it.
Georgia Hardstark
Should have had you on their creative team.
Karen Kilgariff
God damn it.
Georgia Hardstark
The Australian Prime Minister promises the farmers that the government will buy the wheat at a good price. Australian farmers enthusiastically take him up on this offer, vastly expanding their wheat production. Right. By the. But by the early 1930s, there's a new prime minister. That always fucking happens. You never plan for that.
Karen Kilgariff
Every time. Right? Happens.
Georgia Hardstark
That's Joseph Lyons. And the global price of wheat tanks. Tanks for nothing. The government.
Karen Kilgariff
You acted like you were reading off the page.
Georgia Hardstark
Good one. The government, which already is facing a massive deficit, actually goes back on the previous prime minister's promise, because they can do that. So the situation is already fairly bleak at this point. By October of 1932, that's where we are when that year's wheat harvest is supposed to start. Farmers in the town. I'm gonna get these wrong Australians. I'm real sorry. Farmers near the towns of Campion and Walgoolin. That sounds right.
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah.
Georgia Hardstark
Report an issue. So this area is one of the drier parts of the state, and it wasn't as well suited to farming already. Right before the farmers are meant to start harvesting their wheat on this land, a plague overtakes the farms and wreaks havoc on the crops. They trample, they devour. They're more than a nuisance. They're a downright pestilence of epic proportions. This is the story of the Great Emu War. Oh, what emu?
Karen Kilgariff
All of a sudden, these poor soldier farmers. Gentlemen farmers.
Georgia Hardstark
It's like it's already not going great.
Karen Kilgariff
They're just trying to make the best of it, and suddenly they talk their.
Georgia Hardstark
Wife into coming to be great. We're going to be farmers. We're going to own land.
Karen Kilgariff
It's okay. You're afraid of birds. That's fine. There's hardly any birds out here.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah, no, no, it's totally fine. It's Australia. What could go wrong? I mean, wild animal. Wise nut.
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Snakes.
Georgia Hardstark
Snakes. Crocs, alligator and big. Shout out to my researcher, Ali Elkin for even coming up with this story because so good. I saw it and responded in all caps because it was so exciting, you know?
Karen Kilgariff
Yes.
Georgia Hardstark
So. So let me tell you a little bit about emus, since I don't know how familiar you are with them.
Karen Kilgariff
I could be thinking of kiwi, which is the small bird.
Georgia Hardstark
It's not a kiwi. This is the large one that looks kind of like a ostrich. Yeah.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah. Okay, so emus are actually native to Australia. And I wrote, like, Charlize Theron. Wait, that's not right. Is she.
Karen Kilgariff
No, I think she's South African. Shit.
Georgia Hardstark
You know who I met? I met Nicole Kidman.
Karen Kilgariff
Oh, yes. Barbie.
Georgia Hardstark
I met Barbie.
Karen Kilgariff
Margot Robbie.
Georgia Hardstark
Margot Robbie's Fuck, man. I can't even get that. Don't believe a word I say.
Karen Kilgariff
You had so many choices.
Georgia Hardstark
I did. Just blonde, beautiful actresses. And I picked the wrong fucking one. They're the world's second or third largest bird. I couldn't tell based on searching. Right. They're Right. After ostriches. So ostriches are bigger than them. Then there's emus. Emus are considered one of the closest living relatives to dinosaurs.
Karen Kilgariff
Yes.
Georgia Hardstark
Right.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay.
Georgia Hardstark
Particularly to raptors.
Karen Kilgariff
Oh, man.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah. They're the only species of bird that has calf muscles.
Karen Kilgariff
That's so creepy.
Georgia Hardstark
Isn't that creepy?
Karen Kilgariff
And little, like, fighting Irish tattoos on those calf muscles. Even worse.
Georgia Hardstark
And they can jump 7ft high. They can sprint for short distances of 40 miles per hour.
Karen Kilgariff
That's fast. That is fast.
Georgia Hardstark
That's, like, on the freeway here. And that's actually about the speed of an average racehorse, too. So they're fucking fast little sharks.
Karen Kilgariff
They're fast, right?
Georgia Hardstark
Emus have a pouch in their throat that they use to make deep booming and grunting sounds for communications that are. Me too.
Karen Kilgariff
You knew I was gonna say that.
Georgia Hardstark
This is you, too. Particularly during breeding season.
Karen Kilgariff
Hey.
Georgia Hardstark
And then here is where. Note to Georgia. Ali put a video of an emu running to see how fast it could go. And then I got into a fucking rabbit hole of emu videos.
Karen Kilgariff
How'd it go?
Georgia Hardstark
I wrote zoomies. Cause emus get zoomies. Emus playing fetch with a little girl dog and baby. There's one with a dog and a baby emu playing. They're fucking adorable.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay, so is this, like, people now have emu farms? Like, they're raising them like ostriches?
Georgia Hardstark
Yes. Okay, so, yeah, so I went down this rabbit hole. I saw them run. It totally looked like the beginning of Jurassic park with all these long necks. Just like. They're really fun, and I want one now.
Karen Kilgariff
And you're. Yes, I was going to say. And you're like, but, Vince, come on, just one more.
Georgia Hardstark
Come on, we got to save the emus. And actually, some emus can be gentle and affectionate if they're raised that way from a young age. But others can be aggressive and moody, especially if they're not socialized property. Ditto. And they may react angrily to being touched or handled.
Karen Kilgariff
Hey, what's up? Yeah.
Georgia Hardstark
So they have tiny wings, so they're flightless. But they're known to migrate very long distances in search of food and water. In the past, emus typically moved through this area that we're in toward the coast without staying long before. But there's been a drought in 1932, and the creation of this new farmland has both cleared areas of vegetation and obstacles and has established new water sources for livestock and irrigation. And it's the perfect place for emus. So in this area in this time period, guess how Many migratory emus visit this area at once.
Karen Kilgariff
I'm gonna go ahead and say you.
Georgia Hardstark
Don'T have to guess if you don't want to.
Karen Kilgariff
I mean, look, I don't want to guess, but I have to guess.
Georgia Hardstark
Okay?
Karen Kilgariff
No, I really want to. I just.
Georgia Hardstark
One emu standing here. How many do you think fucking showed up for the great emu war? 520,000. What? 20 fucking thousand emus?
Karen Kilgariff
Oh, no.
Georgia Hardstark
Onto this like smallish area. Of.
Karen Kilgariff
Cause also they're eating that wheat.
Georgia Hardstark
They're eating the wheat? Yep. They're drinking all the irrigated water. They're like stomping, they're trampling, they're like wreaking havoc.
Karen Kilgariff
Partying.
Georgia Hardstark
They're fucking partying.
Karen Kilgariff
This is their kind of. What do you call it? Burning man. It's a 1932 early Burning man, totally emu style.
Georgia Hardstark
Hey, meet me on the playa.
Karen Kilgariff
Hey, man, be yourself.
Georgia Hardstark
To put that number in perspective, Ali let me know. That 20,000 EMUs would fill your typical arena where an NBA team would play. It's the exact capacity of the crypto.com arena. So imagine playing basketball and then you look up into the crowd and it's fucking just wall to wall emus and.
Karen Kilgariff
They'Re like doing weird shit, like they're gonna come down, right?
Georgia Hardstark
They're like getting ready to it and they're dinosaurs.
Karen Kilgariff
They're dinosaurs. Same amount of feathers as ostriches?
Georgia Hardstark
I think so. Yeah. Yeah, they're similar to ostriches.
Karen Kilgariff
They kind. You would think it was an ostrich.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah, you would. You would, yeah. You'd get it wrong. And you wouldn't be stupid, Right.
Karen Kilgariff
For it. Yeah, that's what we keep telling ourselves.
Georgia Hardstark
Right. And to make matters worse, high tariffs imposed in the post war and depression era have made wire netting prohibitively expensive. So they can't afford to fence out the emus. That's not a choice.
Karen Kilgariff
Oh, no.
Georgia Hardstark
I know.
Karen Kilgariff
So it's literally a perfect story.
Georgia Hardstark
It is. So the farmers who are all vets, remember, they're all veterans to World War I. They do the level headed thing and they write to the Minister of defense asking to be supplied with machine guns to kill the emos, as you do.
Karen Kilgariff
Well, the problem is, and I think we've talked about this a lot of like, it's sheer numbers where it's like, yeah, if it was 500 emus, they would be a little more reasonable. 20,000 of these birds.
Georgia Hardstark
20,000. And then so maybe because the government has jerked these farmers around so many times with the price of Wheat already. Like, they. They kind of know they're in trouble with these farmers already. They want to appear like they're helping them. So the minister says yes to the gun request. But since the government of Australia has smart brains that think in a normal way, machine guns are tightly regulated there.
Karen Kilgariff
Yes.
Georgia Hardstark
Can you imagine?
Karen Kilgariff
I mean, what a. What a world to live in. But also, they just. Because the. The farmer soldiers asked for machine guns, why can't they just have regular guns?
Georgia Hardstark
Right. They wanted machine guns. I know it sounds more fun, probably. They're probably bored out of their fucking minds at this point.
Karen Kilgariff
And they're enraged.
Georgia Hardstark
Enraged. So instead, three specially trained soldiers are sent from Perth to the region to operate the machine guns.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay. Okay.
Georgia Hardstark
Everyone doesn't get a machine gun.
Karen Kilgariff
Great.
Georgia Hardstark
These three guys get a machine gun.
Karen Kilgariff
We'll send machine guns to you with.
Georgia Hardstark
People who can operate them.
Karen Kilgariff
Good plan.
Georgia Hardstark
And it's not just like a little machine gun that you can hold and operate and move around with. It's a huge tube that needs to be propped up. It has a wheel of bullets. It's like, you know, a World War I type gun.
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah.
Georgia Hardstark
The rest of the farmers are allowed to help shoot at the emus, but they have to use boring old regular rifles.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay.
Georgia Hardstark
So the farmers also agree to house the three military specialists and to pay for the ammunition for the guns.
Karen Kilgariff
So not the greatest deal, plan or deal for them.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah.
Karen Kilgariff
But you do have to do that thing where, like, after a while you're like, sure, but you did agree to do this huge crazy thing.
Georgia Hardstark
Yes, that's true. But under what pretenses? Like, were they lies?
Karen Kilgariff
True. Where it's like, oh, you can farm this beautiful area, but it's Australia. So it's like, it's all snakes and spiders.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah.
Karen Kilgariff
They can't. The expectation couldn't have been.
Georgia Hardstark
And no emus.
Karen Kilgariff
Easy breeze. Yeah.
Georgia Hardstark
There was no. No emu claws.
Karen Kilgariff
No emu claws. We guarantee no large bird will come at you on mass.
Georgia Hardstark
Legit dinosaur.
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah. Hordes of them.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah. Okay. So the army specialists are overseen by a man named Major Gwynedd Purvis. Win. Aubrey Meredith is his.
Karen Kilgariff
Or his six first names.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah.
Karen Kilgariff
Cool.
Georgia Hardstark
And so he's there overseeing it. And then a cinematographer also joins the group to film the anti emu offensive.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay.
Georgia Hardstark
Which is great.
Karen Kilgariff
Yes.
Georgia Hardstark
Presumably because people in the Australian government believed it would be successful. They're like, let's send a cameraman out there. And this will be great propaganda for, like, what we do for our farmers. The soldiers arrive on November 2, 1932. And the war begins. On the first day they arrive, a flock of 50 emus is spotted at one of the farms. So they set up their guns on some new nearby high ground. The guns jam almost immediately and the emus scatter. Ooh. The next day, the soldiers have a bit more success when they set up ambushes around water sources, but immediately proves to be very slow going between the rifles and the machine guns. The soldiers are able to pick off about out of 20,000 EMUs in one day. They pick off about 12 EMUs max before the rest of the flock has scurried out of range.
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah.
Georgia Hardstark
So in a day's work, that's 12 EMUs out of 20,000. And that's a good day, it turns out.
Karen Kilgariff
Oh.
Georgia Hardstark
The farmers in the military have woefully underestimated their adversaries. I told you about how fast they are and I told you about how they have calf muscles. So they're like.
Karen Kilgariff
So they're cool. Yeah, Kind of hot.
Georgia Hardstark
The soldiers that were sent to the farms, they start getting nervous. They've been instructed by one of their commanding officers to bring back at least 100 emu skins, because emu feathers are used to decorate the ceremonial helmets for a particular military unit in Australia. So this commanding officer was like, hey, this is a great way to get a bunch of fucking emus. But it's becoming increasingly apparent that killing any emus, let alone a hundred, to bring back, is not going to be easy.
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah.
Georgia Hardstark
Because the emus have now started to appoint their own officers. Oh. Who act as scouts for the rest of the flock.
Karen Kilgariff
Yes. Yes.
Georgia Hardstark
They're fucking smart.
Karen Kilgariff
They went back to headquarters and they said, sorry, those guys on the hill do not want what's best for us.
Georgia Hardstark
No.
Karen Kilgariff
Something's going down.
Georgia Hardstark
That's right. One emu war correspondent wrote at the time, quote, the emus have proved that they are not so stupid as they are usually considered to be because they do run around like fucking idiots. Like, they do run around.
Karen Kilgariff
They look goofy like turkeys, but it doesn't mean they're dumb.
Georgia Hardstark
No. He says, each mob has its leader, always. An enormous black plumed bird standing fully six feet high who keeps watch while his fellows busy themselves with the wheat. At the first suspicious sign, he gives a signal and dozens of heads stretch up out of the crop. Dinosaurs. A few birds will take fright, starting a headlong stampede into the scrub. The leader always remaining until his followers have reached safety. Wow. End quote.
Karen Kilgariff
Shit.
Georgia Hardstark
So fucking Papa Bear is like, hey, guys, here they are also. Scatter.
Karen Kilgariff
We've survived for hundreds of millions of years. So we got this.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah, we're fucking dinosaurs.
Karen Kilgariff
No one panic.
Georgia Hardstark
Remember those cavemen from back then?
Karen Kilgariff
Remember those?
Georgia Hardstark
Real recently?
Karen Kilgariff
He barely made it. It's those guys. These are cousins of those guys.
Georgia Hardstark
And they think they're going to kill us. After the first week of the emu war, it is reported that the group have used 2500 rounds of ammunition to kill just 300 EMUs.
Karen Kilgariff
Oh my God.
Georgia Hardstark
And that's a generous estimate that comes from one of the military specialists. And you know, they raise those numbers.
Karen Kilgariff
Absolutely.
Georgia Hardstark
So I'm gonna read you this quote. The one person who wrote to our Gmail about like you guys should cover this story, it's really crazy, is someone named Zagreb. She, her and Zagridi included a quote from someone named John P. Rafferty that came from the Wikipedia. So here is that quote that Zagretti included.
Karen Kilgariff
Okay? Quote.
Georgia Hardstark
The machine gunner's dream of point blank fire into serried masses of EMUs were soon dissipated. 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. Meaning, like, you're wasting your fucking bullets.
Karen Kilgariff
Yep.
Georgia Hardstark
Meanwhile, in Parliament, Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, remember him, is now facing questions about the expense of the emu war. One of the members of Parliament from Sydney asked sarcastically if any of the parties involved in the emu war should be receiving a medal.
Karen Kilgariff
Harsh.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah. And someone. If anyone should be getting a medal, it should be the emus. Sounds like a fun parliament.
Karen Kilgariff
It's true.
Georgia Hardstark
After two weeks, the emus seem to have learned the range of the machine guns they fucking. You can't hit me this far. You can't get me. I'm out of your range.
Karen Kilgariff
That's Rick. It's like when you can't leave the part of the couch that you have won.
Georgia Hardstark
Right.
Karen Kilgariff
And so then your sister just walked just out of range of like, well then I'll go get myself like a cookie. And you can't have one exact.
Georgia Hardstark
They set up shop in the wheat fields just out of that range and move every time. The soldiers reposition themselves, scatter when the farmers get close with the rifles. All this scattering and running is also causing the emus to trample more wheat than they would have if you had never started this emo war. After the most successful day of the war, where maybe two dozen EMUs are killed, rip one of the military specialists examines one of the dead emus and finds that it is. It has five bullets in its body, some of which are clearly old wounds from the beginning of the campaign. Oh, shit. Which means that the emus are staying alive and running at close to full speed even after being shot multiple times. Like, they're fucking Terminator.
Karen Kilgariff
Yes. They're like, oh, no, we're going to. Yeah, yeah.
Georgia Hardstark
Isn't that creepy? Like it's sending a message. With his body, it's looking more and more like the IMA's will win the war. Until suddenly, on December 2, the war is called off. I think they're like, let's cut our fucking losses.
Karen Kilgariff
Yes. This is insanity.
Georgia Hardstark
The soldiers claim to have killed between 1,000 and 2,000 EMUs out of roughly 20,000 that were in the combat zone. And the emus seem to become a part of life for the farmers at this point, having bested the soldiers. Still, in future years, the soldiers, settlers will continue to request machine guns to fight off the fucking emus, because I bet they're reproducing. But the Australian Ministry of Defense will turn them down every. Instead, the soldier settlers are supplied with additional rifles. And eventually they become more successful at fending off the emus on their own.
Karen Kilgariff
Picking them off one at a time.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah. Between the 1940s and 1960s, the farmers kill more than 200,000 of them under a bounty system. Oh, that's a lot. PETA doesn't like that.
Karen Kilgariff
No, that's bad.
Georgia Hardstark
I mean, they're so cute. Little babies are. They're so cute.
Karen Kilgariff
I mean, can't it be like, you just get rid of enough so that your stuff isn't at risk?
Georgia Hardstark
Right.
Karen Kilgariff
It always has to be this, like, now they've killed 200,000 and they aren't. Now they're in danger.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah, exactly. Okay, so then later, eventually the price of fencing comes down, and this becomes a much more practical way to deal with emus than fucking killing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them. Then in 1999, EMUs become a protected species in Australia.
Karen Kilgariff
Yay.
Georgia Hardstark
And there are about 600,000 of them living in Australia today, which is considered a strong population. So good, they're back, baby.
Karen Kilgariff
Good, good, good. All riddled with bullets and old wounds. Yeah.
Georgia Hardstark
Oh, my God. Yeah. Grandpa's telling the stories about how he survived the emu war.
Karen Kilgariff
They thought they got me with this one. I just kept running.
Georgia Hardstark
Major Meredith, remember him with a really long name. He goes on to have a storied military career, having already served in World War I. He also serves in World War II and in the Korean War. With distinction. But I bet that emu war stuck in his craw.
Karen Kilgariff
That's the one that got.
Georgia Hardstark
Don't you think? That's the one he fucking couldn't win.
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah.
Georgia Hardstark
And that is the story of the great emu war.
Karen Kilgariff
It's totally insane. I know why it's so good.
Georgia Hardstark
Here's a farmer with an emo. Dead emu. Oh, it's pretty sad.
Karen Kilgariff
He's all mad.
Georgia Hardstark
He's a big bird, right?
Karen Kilgariff
Yeah, that is a big old bird.
Georgia Hardstark
You know, he's saying, crikey.
Karen Kilgariff
He's saying, my calves, please. My calves. Wow.
Georgia Hardstark
All right.
Karen Kilgariff
That was great.
Georgia Hardstark
Thank you. Thank you, Allie, for finding that in the depths of the Internet.
Karen Kilgariff
Nice one, Allie. I really didn't understand what we were doing at the beginning, but it was fun.
Georgia Hardstark
What do you think was gonna happen?
Karen Kilgariff
I don't know, but I'm really happy to hear, like, the idea that, like, here's how we're gonna use sheer brute force to solve a problem. And then that problem, like, you're not going to, though.
Georgia Hardstark
That doesn't work that way.
Karen Kilgariff
That's always, I think, a better, you know, it's good. It helps people evolve better ideas.
Georgia Hardstark
Yeah. You gotta learn how to live in harmony with nature. Yeah, you get your ass kicked if not.
Karen Kilgariff
Or how about somebody figures out cheap barbed wire? You fools. You could have saved yourself so much time.
Georgia Hardstark
Thank you guys for listening. We appreciate you being here. Stay sexy and don't get murdered. Goodbye, Elvis. Do you want a cookie?
Karen Kilgariff
This has been an exactly right production.
Georgia Hardstark
Our senior producer is Molly Smith and our associate producer is Tessa Hughes.
Karen Kilgariff
Our editor is Aristotle Lacvedo.
Georgia Hardstark
This episode was mixed by Liana Squillace.
Karen Kilgariff
Our researchers are Mary McGlashan and Ali Elkin.
Georgia Hardstark
Email your hometowns to my favorite murder@gmail.com.
Karen Kilgariff
And follow the show on Instagram at My favorite murder.
Georgia Hardstark
Listen to my favorite murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Karen Kilgariff
Or you can Watch us on YouTube. Search for my favorite murder, then like and subscribe.
Georgia Hardstark
Goodbye.
Jacob Goldstein
This is Julian Edelman from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jewels. Sunday mornings I've got my game day retreat tool coffee, lucky socks, and now new morning uncrustable sandwiches. It's all about that 12 gram protein boost with the new uncrustables. Bright Eyed berry or up and apple flavors. Bright Eye Berries got a feisty receiver energy up an apple. Your classic do it all tight end, soft, pillowy, packed with protein and easy enough enough for Gronk to grab from the freezer. Whether you're on the couch, driving to the tailgate, or heading to the locker room, New Morning Uncrustable Sandwiches are the MVP of snacks. Your new Sunday kickoff ritual starts here with New Morning Uncrustable sandwiches packed with 12 grams of protein. Janice Torres here and I'm Austin Hankwitz. We host the podcast Mind the Business.
Georgia Hardstark
Small Business Success Stories, produced by Ruby.
Jacob Goldstein
Studio in partnership with Intuit QuickBooks.
Karen Kilgariff
We're back for season four to talk to some incredible small business owners. The big thing about working at tech.
Georgia Hardstark
Is that it's ever evolving, ever changing.
Karen Kilgariff
Everyone's a rookie.
Georgia Hardstark
That's how fast the industry is changing. So what I'm really excited about is to be part of that change.
Jacob Goldstein
So listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Karen Kilgariff
Running a business is hard enough. Don't make it harder with a dozen apps that don't talk to each other other One for sales, another for inventory. A separate one for accounting. That's software overload. Odoo is the all in one platform that replaces them all. CRM, accounting, inventory, E Commerce, hr. Fully integrated, easy to use, and built to grow with your business. Thousands have already made the switch. Why not you try Odoo for free@odoo.com.
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Karen Kilgariff
Food, even home goods and makeup.
Jacob Goldstein
So to recap, I have more time to catch up on life while someone shops for me and I spend less. It's a win win. Order now@shipt.com 360trees apply.
Hosts: Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark
Date: January 1, 2026
Podcast Network: Exactly Right & iHeartPodcasts
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:
Full of memorable anecdotes, sharp commentary, and plenty of asides, this episode looks back while keeping the laughs and gasps coming.
Storyteller: Karen Kilgariff
Segment begins: 05:32
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)
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)
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.
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)
Storyteller: Georgia Hardstark
Segment begins: 43:15
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)
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)
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)
“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)
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.