389 - Chill and Withhold

[0] This is exactly right.

[1] And welcome to my favorite murder.

[2] That's Georgia Hardstark.

[3] That's Karen Kilgariff.

[4] This is the beginning.

[5] We do it right every time.

[6] Boom.

[7] Just like that.

[8] Check it out.

[9] Look at the pros.

[10] Year seven.

[11] Year seven.

[12] Year seven.

[13] And a half.

[14] That's almost two high schools of podcast.

[15] Almost two high schools.

[16] We've almost graduated high school, both of us.

[17] Yeah.

[18] It's great.

[19] It is great.

[20] I'm happy for us.

[21] I know.

[22] I mean, we really stuck in there.

[23] We didn't quit like college, you know.

[24] Or almost high school in my case.

[25] And, you know, I will say this, compared to high school, this show, I've done more homework for this show than I ever once did in high school ever.

[26] Yes, 100%.

[27] I never did homework in high school.

[28] It's like less drugs and more homework.

[29] How did we sell this to ourselves?

[30] Right.

[31] Like, I don't think anybody considered the long -term effects of just starting up a homework show.

[32] Yeah.

[33] And then several side businesses all at once.

[34] Right.

[35] Highly recommend not a podcast that you have to do homework for.

[36] Talking and driving ones are fun.

[37] Plenty of other kinds.

[38] What's going on with you?

[39] What do you got?

[40] I got not much.

[41] I do a lot of the same thing.

[42] But then, it makes it kind of fun because then when I do leave this house and go like meet a friend for dinner or do something, it's like, literally I drive around Los Angeles.

[43] I'm like, look at that.

[44] How long has that been there?

[45] You're like a new baby.

[46] Yes.

[47] Or like I just moved here from Cleveland or something.

[48] Like I signed up on TikTok for like, here's the coolest new rooftop bars on the east side or bars on the east side.

[49] And I literally have not heard of one of the them, I have to look them up like, where would that be?

[50] I don't even recognize the street it's on.

[51] No, I do that all the time.

[52] As if we're like, we're the kind of people to go to rooftop bars.

[53] Never.

[54] Or like, I follow this one Instagram account called secret dot Los Angeles.

[55] And it's like fun things to do this weekend that are like this and that.

[56] And I'm like, this looks fun.

[57] I don't like crowds.

[58] I don't like leaving the house.

[59] I don't like heat, the sun.

[60] I don't know what I'm thinking, that I'm going to utilize any of these things, but it's fun to dream.

[61] It's fun to dream and picture, and sometimes, I think I also signed up for Secret Los Angeles.

[62] That's really funny, because was one of the things, like, a vegan festival?

[63] Probably, I don't know.

[64] I literally was, like, looking like, that's interesting.

[65] And I'm like, Karen, can I please talk to you for a second?

[66] You're not going to a vegan festival.

[67] Hey, you're a carnivore.

[68] Like, that's A and B and C. You're a couch -based carnivore that resents the slightest difficulty.

[69] It's like, we'll send me home.

[70] What am I talking about?

[71] Parking will be a nightmare or fucking, that weren't the case.

[72] I would be at the beach like every day.

[73] I haven't been at the beach in like three years.

[74] Yeah.

[75] Also, sometimes those accounts, like on TikTok, there'll be clips of like, here's our happy hour or whatever.

[76] And I'll kind of like the general look of it.

[77] But it's like if I was sitting at a table there, I'd only be.

[78] negative and judgmental.

[79] Like, what am I talking about?

[80] And I'm also, like, solidly 25 years too old to be in any of those places.

[81] Right.

[82] Yeah.

[83] A lot of them are not for our age range.

[84] What about secret Los Angeles for bitchy 50s?

[85] Yeah.

[86] Something like around that area.

[87] Like, it could be like a Gen X Secret Los Angeles where it's just like, we know you want to stay home.

[88] You're probably not going to come to this, but here is a place to go.

[89] That isn't loud.

[90] That isn't loud.

[91] Not too loud.

[92] Everyone's kind of like chill and withholding.

[93] So you don't have to like get into anything.

[94] No one looks at anyone because they don't want to accidentally recognize each other and have to have awkward small talk when you make eye contact and go, oh, hey.

[95] Or kind of like look and absorb the judgment from a peer group.

[96] Right.

[97] Because that's probably what's happening.

[98] Right.

[99] Okay.

[100] I have a corrections corner that I really appreciate.

[101] This one's from Chanel Renee at Chanel Renee on X. I'm talking about Twitter.

[102] Oh.

[103] This is not a porn discussion.

[104] This is not punk rock band.

[105] It's not Curious Georgia's signature.

[106] It's Twitter.

[107] Chanel Renee wrote, just wanted to share a bare aphorism I learned recently.

[108] Quote, if it's black, fight back, if it's brown lie down, if it's white, say good night.

[109] And then the end says, just a friendly correction.

[110] Grizzlies or brown bears, I think in this week's episode, you meant to compare black bears.

[111] Yes, I did for sure.

[112] Thank you, Chanel, for knowing me and supporting the misinformation that I insist upon putting into the world every week on this podcast.

[113] But we, that's why we have corrections corner is because we are open and willing and almost aggressively excited to correct ourselves.

[114] That's right, which is a really great way to be.

[115] Yeah.

[116] You know, and some people are threatened by that.

[117] Yeah.

[118] Yeah.

[119] Oh, here's what we can talk about.

[120] What?

[121] The loss of Pee -Wee -Herman.

[122] It's heartbreaking.

[123] What a joyous human being that the world is lost.

[124] And the amount of clips that are now I'm seeing on both X, Twitter and TikTok, like he was an early, Letterman comedy panel guest, which is a very difficult thing to do.

[125] He did stand up on Letterman like he was going to do a set and then it was just like him pulling shit out of a bag and acting like a child, which everyone loved.

[126] But then he would have to go sit down and basically do the same thing seated, which is really hard.

[127] And every clip I've seen is like funnier than the last and better than the last.

[128] I just loved that guy.

[129] He was such a huge part of my childhood.

[130] Me too.

[131] And it was great seeing so many people, like a lot of famous people being like, this is how good of a friend he was.

[132] And this is like, not even famous people.

[133] Like the place I got my cat, the orphan kitten club, he was like friends with them.

[134] And they're like showing photos with him.

[135] He like helped save animals and was just like this good fucking person.

[136] It's unbelievable.

[137] That's the legacy you want to leave behind, you know?

[138] Entirely.

[139] Yeah, like overtly caring, invested.

[140] I should say this.

[141] Paul Rubens died.

[142] Pee -Wee Herman was a character he played.

[143] I just was saying the first thing that came to my head.

[144] And that should be said because he played lots of other characters that were so hilarious.

[145] They keep showing that 30 Rock clip.

[146] Oh my God.

[147] Best episode.

[148] Best episode of 30 Rock.

[149] The little hand is like one of the greatest thing.

[150] Welcome to my party.

[151] It's just epic.

[152] Epic.

[153] Oh, man. Go watch it if you haven't seen it and laugh.

[154] So good.

[155] Such a loss.

[156] Yeah.

[157] Yeah.

[158] Definitely.

[159] I have a podcast.

[160] I can just shout out real quick.

[161] It's by my gal who does nothing much happens.

[162] Of course, I love that Go to Sleep podcast.

[163] She's now doing a meditation podcast called First This.

[164] She's cashing it on that voice of hers and her writing skills, which is like good for her, you know?

[165] Yeah.

[166] But it's just a 10 -minute mindfulness meditation podcast by Catherine Nicolai.

[167] 10 minutes.

[168] That's like what I need once a day.

[169] It's 10 minutes.

[170] And I can't fucking do it.

[171] It's impossible for me to sit down.

[172] and not concentrate for 10 minutes and do something.

[173] Can I make a suggestion?

[174] Please.

[175] What if you try to do it like on a walk so that you don't feel the sit down part as a restriction?

[176] I like that.

[177] I like that.

[178] Because sometimes that's the, it's almost like stop your whole day and go do this thing that animals will bug you as you do it.

[179] Oh my God.

[180] You can easily list all the reasons it won't work out.

[181] Yeah.

[182] But if you're already doing something else, you could get into the habit of like spending 10 minutes focused on that.

[183] I like that idea.

[184] I'd never thought of that.

[185] It's like always so restrictive.

[186] Like you have to do it this way or you're not doing it right.

[187] And so I don't do it.

[188] You know, whose voice is that, Georgia?

[189] Who's talking in that?

[190] Janet!

[191] No. I'm just kidding.

[192] I'm kidding.

[193] I'm kidding.

[194] I don't know.

[195] What's my bully voice in my head?

[196] She's real mean.

[197] Yeah.

[198] Yeah.

[199] I got one more thing.

[200] Okay.

[201] I pulled it off the X feed.

[202] Erica, who is at Gillygal on X, Twitter, tells us Mysteries Abound has a Patreon where Paul releases new episodes and adds old episodes onto the end.

[203] So our old favorite podcast that we were talking about last week, Mysteries Abound, does have a Patreon.

[204] We love that podcast.

[205] You should love it, too.

[206] Talk about a great voice.

[207] Yeah.

[208] Yeah.

[209] And great stories, compelling, interesting mystery stuff.

[210] and now you can just directly support him through a Patreon.

[211] That's great.

[212] That's great.

[213] I love it.

[214] Support your local podcasts.

[215] Rate, review, subscribe.

[216] That can do it.

[217] I think that's the perfect segue right into our highlights, don't you think?

[218] Hey, speaking of rate review subscribe, let's do exactly right corner.

[219] Let's do it.

[220] Okay, we're really excited to report that ghosted by Roz Hernandez debuted at the top of freaking comedy podcast charts, you guys.

[221] Nice.

[222] Thank you so much for following her.

[223] for loving her, for reviewing her.

[224] She is such a talent.

[225] The podcast is so incredible and we're so proud to have it on exactly right.

[226] So thank you guys for supporting.

[227] And this week, Roz's guest is none other than comedian and friend of the network, Patton Oswald.

[228] That's going to be a great episode.

[229] Yeah.

[230] What are his ghost stories?

[231] I've known him forever.

[232] I've never heard a ghost story.

[233] All right.

[234] Another reminder that adulting with Michelle Boutot and Jordan Carlos is back after a summer break.

[235] And now this podcast is weekly.

[236] And they're this week joined by comedian Mike Yard.

[237] So make sure you're following that show and then you don't miss the brand new episodes that come out every Wednesday.

[238] And on this podcast, we'll kill you.

[239] Aaron and Aaron discuss all things asthma.

[240] How brilliant is that?

[241] Like, I don't know anything about asthma.

[242] I do.

[243] I had really bad asthma growing up.

[244] Really?

[245] Uh -huh.

[246] Well, find out why by listening to this podcast, We'll kill you.

[247] you.

[248] I'm going to call in and argue with them with the science explainers.

[249] Also, just a quick reminder, the MFF store is stocked with some new merch bundles for Puzzlerinos, BFFs, and those of you who might be new listeners.

[250] So just go over to my favoritemerder .com and check out our merch store.

[251] Yeah, do it.

[252] Thanks.

[253] Hey, thanks so much.

[254] Hey, hi, I'm first this week, right?

[255] You are.

[256] Karen, you know I'm all about vintage shopping.

[257] Absolutely.

[258] And when you say vintage, you mean when you physically drive to a store and actually purchase something with cash.

[259] Exactly.

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[272] important note that promo code is all lowercase go to shopify .com slash murder to take your retail business to the next level today that's shopify dot com slash murder goodbye okay this story is sad and a bummer and not good because it's the story of a kidnapping of a child so it's a hard one the reason i'm covering it is because it's Australia's first ever kidnapping for ransom case.

[273] Oh.

[274] And it completely changed the forensic investigation field there and everywhere.

[275] And it changed laws.

[276] It changed the whole mindset of how cases are solved in Australia and all over the world.

[277] So it's important.

[278] My main source for today is an episode of an Australian show called Crime Investigation, Australia, which interviews many of the original investigators in the case.

[279] This is from the 1960, so they're all old timers now.

[280] And the way they solved is so incredible.

[281] So it's a really great episode.

[282] And the rest of my sources can be found in our show notes.

[283] The story begins with the construction of the Sydney Opera House.

[284] Oh.

[285] Where none other than where you and I did a fucking show once.

[286] We did a show at the Sydney Opera House that was so intimidating.

[287] Like we were driven underground into the parking structure.

[288] where we were a walk to the area.

[289] And then we got on that stage and it was just like, what is how did we get here?

[290] Hollowed grounds.

[291] I thought it was like at last minute they were, like, just kidding.

[292] You're at the chuckle club or something.

[293] It was so crazy.

[294] Yeah.

[295] So construction begins on the now iconic design in 1957.

[296] At the time, the project is supposed to be completed in 1963 at a cost of three million pounds, which is about 76 million in today's dollars.

[297] in reality, the opera house isn't completed until 1973, 10 years later, and the cost ends up being $709 million in today's money.

[298] Oh, that's way over budget.

[299] Way over budget.

[300] Yeah.

[301] And actually, in the time it took to build the opera house, Australia had changed its currencies from pounds to dollars.

[302] So like the fucking money isn't even the goddamn same anymore, you know?

[303] It's like time is truly passing when the money changes.

[304] Exactly.

[305] Exactly.

[306] Yeah.

[307] So the people who were building it had this brilliant idea to cover what ultimately became a 1 ,357 % increase in the budget.

[308] The New South Wales government began to hold lotteries.

[309] So basically you'd go pay for a lottery ticket.

[310] The money for the lottery tickets went to the opera house to build it.

[311] And people would win money.

[312] Like they would choose a lottery winner, basically how lotteries were.

[313] Yeah, the lottery, sure.

[314] It's a great idea.

[315] You know.

[316] It's like usually goes to the state, right?

[317] Or like, it's a great idea to be like, this is how we're going to build stuff.

[318] Well, yeah, because you buy a ticket and then you're just like, see that building over there, I paid for part of it.

[319] I paid my piece.

[320] Yeah.

[321] It's almost like you're doing a raffle at a school, you know, fundraiser.

[322] Yeah.

[323] Recently the Powerball in California was, I think it was over a billion.

[324] Oh, my shit.

[325] And I was like, shouldn't we do a little provision where once it goes over a certain amount, we go ahead and give that also to the schools.

[326] The schools need it really bad.

[327] My sister hasn't had air conditioning her entire career in her classrooms.

[328] They're just getting it this summer.

[329] Yeah, it should go back to the schools.

[330] Anyway, that's for the other podcast about schools.

[331] So great idea, right?

[332] So on June 1st, 1960, a man named Basil Thorn, it was the 10th drawing of the lottery, and he wins first place.

[333] He's just a normal family man, and he wins 100 ,000 pounds, which in today's money would be somewhere around $2 .5 to $3 million.

[334] Oh, wow.

[335] So he becomes wealthy overnight.

[336] Doesn't he already sound wealthy with a name like Basil Thorn?

[337] Basil Thorn.

[338] Yeah.

[339] I feel like when you have a Z in your name, you're just immediately like the upper echelon.

[340] Does he have a Z?

[341] Is it Basil with a Z?

[342] Basel with a Z. Wow.

[343] Okay.

[344] I know very Australian this is a huge windfall for the thorn family basil makes a modest income as a traveling salesman and just so you know how substantial that amount is like you think nowadays three million dollars like you could maybe buy a house in l .A right but back then you could buy a home in a Sydney suburb like a normal home for around 8000 pounds oh so the rest of that money is just like goes to whatever the fuck you want it to so it's a lot of lot of money and you don't have to waste it all on a house like yeah Jesus Christ you could you could buy several neighborhoods if you wanted to exactly exactly so of course when he wins the lottery it's a huge publicity thing they show his name they put his face in the paper with his check there's a photo of it at the time no effort is made to protect lottery winner's privacy because it's PR and everyone's like you know they're happy about it it's 1960 everyone's innocent right yeah not like the guy who put on a screen mask when you won the lottery research for his photos.

[345] My hero?

[346] So smart.

[347] The most genius person of all time where he's like, sure, I'll go down there and take this photo up wearing a scream mask.

[348] I love it.

[349] Also, wait, sorry, really quick.

[350] Did you also see the lady who went in?

[351] They found out first what the location was.

[352] And it was this little, like, convenience store downtown.

[353] And so all the news cameras showed up there.

[354] And this lady walked in and pretended she was the winner and did a whole loop around the store pretending to be crying and going thank you and doing this whole thing and she came in and went right back out and she wasn't the winner she just did it like for fun what the fuck i love her so much okay i'm the main character yes she's like i will have my main character day oh my god it's not hilarious bince and i like to play the lottery every once in a while you know when it's like the big one but a lot of the times i'll buy a lottery ticket based on how the liquor store looks like the ones that win are a little rundown, they're a mom and pot place that have been there forever.

[355] Yeah.

[356] Like those are the ones you see in the paper of like this place in Alhambra like one a billion dollars.

[357] It's always that one.

[358] So you got to buy from them.

[359] Don't buy from the brand new, you know, fucking quickie mart.

[360] I've never seen like the machine that's in the grocery store.

[361] Right.

[362] I've never seen it be like, here's the machine that sold it.

[363] That never happened.

[364] That's true.

[365] Okay.

[366] So all his info goes into the papers, of course.

[367] The Thorn family lives in a rented apartment in Bondi, which is a suburb of Australia's most famous beach, Bondi Beach.

[368] Basil and his wife, Frida, have three children, Cheryl, and they have a son named Graham, who's eight, and a little daughter named Belinda, who's three.

[369] On July 7 of 1960, exactly five weeks after Basil Thorn wins the lottery, which is also posted in the paper that he'll get the money five weeks after the lottery, like they tell you everything.

[370] So exactly five weeks later, little Graham, eight years old Graham, he leaves the house to go to school following his typical daily routine.

[371] He's this cutie pie with his little school uniform on with a tie and a little cap and the like knee high socks and everything.

[372] And like just picture perfect.

[373] Oh, he looked like Angus Young from ACD