Just the Gist

In 1987 the Royal Family needed to win back the hearts & minds of the commoners who were starting to revere the monarchy less than they had previously. Prince Edward, the youngest of Queen Elizabeth’s kids, came up with what he thought was the perfect solution: have the Windsors dress up in silly costumes & play wacky, slapstick games with celebrities on a TV special that would be broadcast around the world. 

The end result was a bizarre fever dream in which famous faces like John Travolta, Tom Jones & Meatloaf were running around a field dressed up as jesters, potatoes and chess pieces, throwing giant foam hams at each other, while the royals cheered and hooted. Yes, it was messy. No, it hasn’t been depicted in The Crown (yet). 

The whole undignified debacle was a huge embarrassment for the royal family, and a definitive turning point in public sentiment when it came the monarchs. It’s also absolutely flippin’ hilarious and you need to watch the whole show after you listen to this ep! 

Skip straight to the story: approx 9:08

Jacob shares the story with Bianka Ismailovski

Follow Bianka on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/biankaismailovski/

We recommend listening to this episode of her podcast 'Sad And Sexy' https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/accents-mistakes/id1637279237?i=1000585558727 

Check out Bianka's Dad on Eurovision https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ6E-pfWPjo 

Go and see Bianka https://moretalent.com.au/tours/like-godzilla/ 

We give you just the gist, but if you want more, there's this: 

WATCH the full show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwkv0-QlbZY 

READ a few articles & think pieces about the show and its aftermath: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/was-this-the-day-when-royalty-lost-the-plot-1305932.html 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/17400890/royal-knockout-queen-prince-andrew-edward-meat-loaf/ 

https://www.oversixty.com.au/entertainment/tv/the-excruciating-public-blunder-that-haunted-the-royal-family-for-years 

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/its-royal-knockout-80s-tv-7041550 

https://whynow.co.uk/read/its-a-royal-knock-out-the-holiday-special-buckingham-palace-wishes-wed-forget 

http://www.its-a-knockout.tv/royal.htm 

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It could’ve been the start of a strong friendship between two of history’s most brilliant authors. It wasn’t.

When Hans Christian Andersen invited himself to stay at Charles Dickens’ house, Dickens was too polite to say no, and besides, maybe it’d be pleasant having him around the house for a few weeks. It wasn’t. Andersen wore out his welcome the same day he arrived, made everyone he encountered uncomfortable, extended his stay, ruined a marriage, and destroyed his relationship with Dickens. He was more of a pest than a guest. 

Skip straight to the story: approx 6:26

Jacob shares the story with Sean Szeps

Follow Sean on Instagram @seanszeps

We recommend listening to his episode of 'Come Out Wherever You Are' with Casey Dellacqua https://link.chtbl.com/p-Ylga_1 

We give you just the gist, but if you want more, there's this: 

https://lithub.com/charles-dickens-really-really-hated-his-fanboy-hans-christian-andersen/ 

https://www.grunge.com/617197/the-truth-about-hans-christian-andersen-and-charles-dickens-friendship/ 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/sep/10/charles-dickens-hans-christian-andersen-letters-correspondence-auction 

https://dickensmuseum.com/blogs/charles-dickens-museum/hans-christian-andersen-the-eccentric-guest 

https://historianandrew.medium.com/the-famous-phobic-chronic-masturbating-author-who-wouldnt-leave-charles-dickens-house-aa3c937a80a0  

Read the tweets that got Jacob interested in the story https://twitter.com/danaschwartzzz/status/1570824733444415488 

Follow us on Insta: @justthegistpodcast

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It's the American Dream: open a nightclub, transform it into a strip club, become Hugh Hefner, and have anyone who stands in your way assassinated. 

It's the true story of Somen Banerjeet, the creator of Chippendales Male Review, and the ruthless lengths he went to as he built his empire.

This wild story has just been adapted into a TV series called 'Welcome To Chippendales' and we're obsessed. So to celebrate, we're re-releasing our episode about the Chippendales Murders from December 2021.

Welcome To Chippendales is on Disney+ now https://www.disneyplus.com/series/welcome-to-chippendales/5Xes8hB719ux

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Today there are more than 16 million Mormons around the world. The Mormon Church is one of the fastest growing religions worldwide and it’s the third wealthiest. Pretty impressive for an organisation started by a conman from New York less than 200 years ago… 

Joseph Smith Jr was 25 when he declared himself a prophet who spoke to God & Jesus Christ, published an updated bible he’d “transcribed” from an ancient text (the Book of Mormon), and founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1830. We’re serving the gist of the church’s unique set of beliefs about world history, the universe, the afterlife, “purity”, Bigfoot and magical underwear in this episode. Strap in! 

Skip straight to the story: approx 13:48

Jacob shares the story with comedian Jake Howie 

Follow him on Instagram to find out when he's performing next: @jakehowie_

We give you just the gist, but if you want more, there's this: 

WATCH this vintage video that covers a lot of the things the church believes (or at least used to) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3BqLZ8UoZk

Here’s a helpful site with a good video summary https://www.gotquestions.org/Mormons.html

Here’s a starting point if you wanna explore the church’s YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbXWtuqc_FM

Here’s another helpful video ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCyV66G984Q 

Follow us on Insta: @justthegistpodcast

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In 1988, Arno Funke was a broke, 38-year-old German man with a plan turn his life around. He decided to bankroll his dream of starting a food truck business by becoming…an extortionist. His method was simple: he detonated pipe-bombs in fancy department stores and warned the police that if they didn’t pay his ransom demands, he’d detonate more.

Over the course of six years, Arno, or Dagobert (the German name for Scrooge McDuck), as he was more affectionately known, led the cops on a wild goose chase as his plans to claim his money and outsmart the police became increasingly outlandish and cartoonish. All the while, he was becoming more and more famous and beloved by the people of Germany.

Skip straight to the story: approx 7:50

Jacob shares the story with Annabelle Lee from Shameless Media

Listen to Annabelle's podcast 'Everybody Has A Secret' https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/everybody-has-a-secret/id1621235461

We recommend the episode 'The Missing Money' https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-missing-money/id1621235461?i=1000585792618

And 'The Best Man' https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-best-man/id1621235461?i=1000567531580 

We give you just the gist, but if you want more, there's this: 

READ this New Yorker article that got us obsessed with this story https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-strange-story-of-dagobert-the-ducktales-bandit 

And then read this one https://berlinspectator.com/2022/06/08/arno-funke-the-most-likeable-extortionist-ever/ 

Here’s Arno’s wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arno_Funke 

WATCH this archival news footage. Doesn’t matter if you don’t know exactly what they’re saying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5pLdwEYrWI 

READ some other articles and interviews - just get your browser to translate the website if you don’t speak German ;) https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article528249/Dagobert-spielt-Katz-und-Maus-mit-den-Medien.html 

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It's another midweek dinner party treat for ya, Gisteners! This time with Claude Elliott, the former Mayor of Gander, Newfoundland.

A few months ago we shared the story behind the musical 'Come From Away', when 38 planes, carrying 7,000 people, were grounded in the small town of Gander in the far eastern corner of North America, during 9/11.

You loved it, we loved it, and to celebrate the return of Come From Away to Sydney, we sat down with the former Mayor of Gander, Claude Elliott to find out what it was really like on the ground of Gander when the 7,000 plane people arrived.

Stick around to the end to hear the original story Jacob shared with Michelle Andrews.

Get tickets to Come From Away in Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra & New Zealand https://comefromaway.com.au/tickets/sydney/ 

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We invited Lewis Hobba to come by for a little midweek dinner party treat and asked him to BYO some stories about the wacky competitions he’s been researching. 

Lewis Hobba is a stand up comedian, co-host of triple j's Drive show and adjudicator of his brand new TV show 'Australia's Best Competition Competition' with Michael Hing.

So sit back, relax and enjoy his stories of pool parties at George Harrison's house, being hypnotised to get over his crippling fear of custard, covering himself in oil to wrestle men in leather pants, breaking one leg during his TV show and which competition he's willing to break his other leg for.

Watch 'Australia's Best Competition Competition' https://iview.abc.net.au/show/australia-s-best-competition-competition 

Listen to the George Harrison episode of 'Simply The Jest' https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/simply-the-jest/neighbours/13267046

Watch Lewis being hypnotised to overcome his fear of custard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCl1OoH944Q 

Listen to Lewis & Michael Hing on Drive https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/drive 

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On a Sunday morning in March 1990, two security guards arrived at the prestigious Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston ready to start work, only to find the museum had been robbed overnight. Thirteen artworks were missing and so were the two security guards who’d worked the night shift.

The value of the missing art was around $500 million USD in today’s money, making this heist the largest art theft, and largest property, theft in history.

The suspects included a stoner security guard, disgruntled ex-employees, the Boston Mafia, the IRA and even the museum’s director... but to this day the case has never been solved and the artworks have never been recovered. 

Skip straight to the story: approx 17:05

Jacob shares the story with model and Gistener Kate Wasley

Follow Kate on Instagram @katewas_

We give you just the gist, but if you want more, there's this: 

WATCH the Netflix doco series “This Is A Robbery” https://www.netflix.com/watch/81085937?trackId=255824129

LISTEN to the podcast series “Last Seen” & check out each episode’s companion website for more https://www.wbur.org/lastseen/2018/09/16/eighty-one-minutes

READ the book Master Thieves if you really wanna take a deep dive https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/22715952-master-thieves 

Follow us on Insta: @justthegistpodcast

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 Happy Halloween, Gisteners!

You might have seen the new Netflix series based on this story. Trust us when we tell you the true version of events is more chilling than the fictionalised version... This spookiness starts when Derek and Maria Broaddus buy their dream house, a $1.6 million mansion in New Jersey. Before they move into their new home, menacing letters start appearing in the Broaddus’ mailbox from someone who called themselves “The Watcher”. This mysterious letter writer claimed to have been the house’s guardian for decades, and they threatened to commit violence against Derek, Maria and their three young children.

The creepiest part? The Watcher has still never been found.

Skip straight to the story: approx 14:56

Jacob shares the story with Fiona Cox @fionacoxfionacox

Follow Fiona on Instagram to find out when she has shows coming up 

We give you just the gist, but if you want more, there's this: 

Read https://www.thecut.com/article/the-haunting-of-657-boulevard-in-westfield-new-jersey.html

Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBoKesAQFHU

Watch https://www.today.com/video/homeowners-sue-over-threatening-letters-from-the-watcher-469303875669

Read https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/the-watcher-true-story-house-real-b2207146.html?r=17785

Read https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/12/us/the-watcher-house-stalker-trnd/index.html

Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HDkw100sXQ 

Follow us on Insta: @justthegistpodcast

Send us your suGISTions for stories and guests: [email protected]

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Possibly our wildest story yet!

On June 10th 1990, British Airways flight 5390 took off from Birmingham en route to Malaga, Spain. 13 minutes into the flight, 6 kilometres up in the sky, the windscreen of the plane's cockpit blew off & Captain Tim Lancaster was sucked out the hole where the window should be.

By pure chance, Captain Tim’s legs anchored him to the plane…but they were also forcing the plane into an accelerating nosedive. What happened next? You’ll have to listen to find out…

Skip straight to the story: approx 20:00

Jacob shares the story with Abbie Chatfield

Follow Abbie on Instagram @abbiechatfield

We love Abbie's podcast It's A Lot

Listen to the episode with Producer Lem: https://link.chtbl.com/JQNjbMyJ

And the episode with porn star and producer Angela White: https://link.chtbl.com/Kto65Ao7

And the Nightmare Fuel with Christian Hull...if you're up to it: https://link.chtbl.com/vYwnyzVb  

We give you just the gist, but if you want more, there's this: 

Watch this documentary with a dramatised reenactment of all the events https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SI2V_DbCTw 

Watch this video of a pilot explaining the details that non-pilots wouldn’t necessarily understand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGwHWNFdOvg 

Read Nigel’s article “The is Your Captain Screaming” (yes, Jacob got the name wrong in the ep) https://www.smh.com.au/world/this-is-your-captain-screaming-20050205-gdkmtm.html 

Follow us on Insta: @justthegistpodcast

Send us your suGISTions for stories and guests: [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.