479 - No Bangs

On today’s episode, Georgia and Karen cover the Apollo 13 mission. For our sources and show notes, visit www.myfavoritemurder.com/episodes http://www.myfavoritemurder.com/episodes. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3UFCn1g. See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Karen Kilgariff?

  This is exactly right.

• 0:06Speaker 01

  Cash Flow Crunch? OnDeck's small business line of credit gives your business immediate access to funds, up to $200,000, right when you need it. Cover seasonal dips, manage payroll, restock inventory, or tackle unexpected expenses without missing a beat. With flexible draws, transparent pricing, and control over repayment, get funded quickly and confidently. Apply today at ondeck.com. Funds could be available as soon as tomorrow. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by OnDeck or Celtic Bank. OnDeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

• 0:37Speaker 02

  She's been thinking about this sleepover all week, but I think about her food allergies all the time. Fortunately, her doctor prescribed Zolair, omalizumab. It's proven to significantly reduce allergic reactions if a food allergy accident happens.

• 0:50Speaker 03

  Zolair 150mg is a prescription medication used to treat food allergy in people one year of age and older to reduce allergic reactions due to accidental exposure to one or more foods. While taking Zolair, you should continue to avoid all foods to which you are allergic. Don't use if you are allergic to Zolair. Zolair may cause a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. Tell your doctor if you ever had anaphylaxis. Get help right away if you have trouble breathing or if you have swelling of your throat or tongue. Zolair should not be used for the emergency treatment of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Zolair is for maintenance use to reduce allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, while avoiding food allergens. Serious side effects such as cancer, fever, muscle aches and rash, parasitic infection, or hardened circulation problems have been reported. Please see zolair.com for full prescribing information. Ask an allergist about Zolair.

• 1:33Speaker 03

  This is an advertisement for Zolair, paid for by Genentech and Novartis.

• 1:52Karen Kilgariff?

  Hello. And welcome. To my favorite murder. That right there is Georgia Hardstark. And that, folks, is Karen Kilgariff. And we, together, ladies and gentlemen, are here to podcast... Have you heard of podcasting?

• 2:10Georgia Hardstark?

  It's all the rage these days.

• 2:12Karen Kilgariff?

  People love it.

• 2:14Georgia Hardstark?

  Everyone's doing it. Everyone has multiples, you know?

• 2:18Karen Kilgariff?

  And why not do it? Why not get on a mic and just talk it through?

• 2:22Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, it's the podcast singularity, guys. And you're part of it. You're part of it by just listening.

• 2:28Karen Kilgariff?

  Wait a second. I just had one of those galaxy brain moments. What if podcasts are the singularity, which then birthed humanity? And that's why we are who we are. We're just the results of other people's podcasts on like either a different planet.

• 2:46Georgia Hardstark?

  Life is just one big podcast loop.

• 2:48Karen Kilgariff?

  It's a podcast loop.

• 2:50Georgia Hardstark?

  And we've gotten to the, we've gotten to the oversaturation of podcasts and now have to start fucking the cycle all over again. I'm get reborn.

• 2:57Karen Kilgariff?

  That's right.

• 2:58Georgia Hardstark?

  Go through the industrial revolution, figure out a way to like rate the radio, all this shit, terrestrial.

• 3:05Karen Kilgariff?

  I'm super broke. I don't know how to get a job that pays enough.

• 3:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Right. And then we go to podcasting.

• 3:12Karen Kilgariff?

  And then podcasting.

• 3:13Georgia Hardstark?

  All over again.

• 3:14Karen Kilgariff?

  And then careers.

• 3:15Georgia Hardstark?

  We've solved it.

• 3:16Karen Kilgariff?

  And it feels great to live in this solution now. That's what I like about it.

• 3:20Georgia Hardstark?

  The solutionarity now is where we're at.

• 3:23Karen Kilgariff?

  Can I tell you the ultimate compliment that my little cousin Anna gave me this morning?

• 3:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Yes.

• 3:28Karen Kilgariff?

  She called me because last night she watched the movie The Shining and she needed to talk through the trauma that she experienced by watching that.

• 3:35Georgia Hardstark?

  First time?

• 3:36Karen Kilgariff?

  She's 20.

• 3:37Georgia Hardstark?

  How old is she? She's 20. Okay, cute.

• 3:39Karen Kilgariff?

  She used to be the little baby of the family until Nora was born. And then she basically spent all her time kind of actively hating Nora until they were like, you know, a little bit older. And then now they're all best friends. Very cute.

• 3:52Georgia Hardstark?

  That's what sisters are.

• 3:53Karen Kilgariff?

  Exactly. And Nora never felt it or cared, or she was always like, I love them. And it didn't matter to her. But anyway, she's the best. And she gave me the best compliment. She said, I watched this movie and it reminded me of you.

• 4:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh.

• 4:11Karen Kilgariff?

  Come play with us, Danny. There's Auntie Karen.

• 4:15Georgia Hardstark?

  Right?

• 4:16Karen Kilgariff?

  She goes, you're a real burnt orange in my mind.

• 4:21Georgia Hardstark?

  The color palette?

• 4:22Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, I was like, yeah, Anna, thank you. This means the world to me.

• 4:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Huge compliment.

• 4:28Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 4:28Georgia Hardstark?

  I was with my mom last night and she starts talking about, I said something and she goes, "Well, I heard from a true crime podcast that you have to not be polite." And I was like, I got really mad and I was like, "What true crime podcast are you listening to?" She goes, "Yours." She meant mine, but I was so like jealous.

• 4:47Karen Kilgariff?

  You were ready.

• 4:48Georgia Hardstark?

  I was like, "Who? You don't even into true, she's not even into true crime." Like, what?

• 4:51Karen Kilgariff?

  That's so funny. So basically Janet's getting on the train.

• 4:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Well, she's misinterpreting our, like, she meant fuck politeness. Like, she meant that we talk about that, but she got it wrong because she doesn't listen, which is for the best.

• 5:03Karen Kilgariff?

  What did she think it meant?

• 5:06Georgia Hardstark?

  She said like, "Be mean," or some like misinterpretation.

• 5:10Karen Kilgariff?

  Sure, that works too.

• 5:11Georgia Hardstark?

  That works too. And she goes, "It's not like I, I mean, I've always been mean," but it was kind of like funny.

• 5:18Karen Kilgariff?

  Aw, Jan, I was like, oh, if she started listening now, she's got some real surprises ahead.

• 5:24Georgia Hardstark?

  We all do.

• 5:24Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean, hey.

• 5:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Once she starts listening, that's when time implodes. Black hole.

• 5:30Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 5:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Fucking cut to the beginning. Big bang.

• 5:33Karen Kilgariff?

  That's the kind of the final Easter Island head that falls is Janet pressing play on this podcast. Incredible. Can't wait.

• 5:41Georgia Hardstark?

  Well, should I do a story in Janet's honor?

• 5:43Karen Kilgariff?

  Let's, and Janet will finally understand what we're doing over here.

• 5:46Georgia Hardstark?

  She won't, because this is not a true crime story. So she won't get it.

• 5:51Karen Kilgariff?

  Interesting.

• 5:52Georgia Hardstark?

  But she'll remember it and she'll, yeah, it's from her time, you know, of life, which is, you know, the late 1900s.

• 6:02Karen Kilgariff?

  Janet.

• 6:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Mid, mid to late 1900s.

• 6:06Georgia Hardstark?

  The holidays are coming, which means we'll all be spending more time away from home.

• 6:09Karen Kilgariff?

  Whether you're visiting family or doing something actually fun, you want to know your home is protected while you're away.

• 6:15Georgia Hardstark?

  That's why now is a good time to think about home security with SimpliSafe.

• 6:18Karen Kilgariff?

  Unlike traditional security systems that alert you after a break in starts, SimpliSafe is designed to help stop intruders before they get inside. These days, you're worried about your house, you're out of town, and And something comes up and you get to look on your phone and Simply Safe is going to show you not only the video of like, it's a raccoon at your front door, but also that they have staff that's sitting there, they already know. And if it was something different or worse, they would have already been on it.

• 6:44Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, I really think that's invaluable peace of mind that just like relying on your neighbors, paying attention is not going to give you. We've partnered with Simply Safe to offer our listeners their biggest savings of the year. Seventy percent off your new system with professional monitoring when you visit simplysafe.com/mfm.

• 7:01Karen Kilgariff?

  That's simplysafe.com/mfm. And when you order, write in MFM at checkout and it tells them we sent you and it really helps the show.

• 7:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Simply Safe, ahead of crime in real time.

• 7:12Karen Kilgariff?

  Goodbye.

• 7:13Speaker 01

  Cash flow crunch? OnDeck's small business line of credit gives your business immediate access to funds, up to $200,000, right when you need it. Cover seasonal dips, manage payroll, restock inventory, or tackle unexpected expenses without missing a beat. With flexible draws, transparent pricing, and control over repayment, get funded quickly and confidently. Apply today at ondeck.com. Funds could be available as soon as tomorrow. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by OnDeck or Celtic Bank. OnDeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

• 7:43Speaker 05

  Hi, I'm Jenna Oshkowitz. You might know me from Glee. This is At the Table, the food allergy podcast, a show about food, connection, and what it really looks like to live with food allergies. Each episode, we hear stories from real people like Daniel.

• 7:58Speaker 06

  People would always think I was lactose intolerant, so I just kind of shortened my explanation to I'm deathly allergic, in a big way that defined a lot of my childhood.

• 8:09Speaker 05

  And while there are challenges, there are moments that remind you, you're not alone.

• 8:14Speaker 07

  One of the best guys that I dated, he made a point to memorize all my food allergies.

• 8:20Speaker 05

  So join us and hear their stories and more, because living with food allergies isn't just about what you can't eat. It's about still having your seat at the table. Brought to you by Genentech and Novartis. Listen to At the Table, the food allergy podcast, on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow At the Table and start listening on the free iHeart Radio app today.

• 8:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, so I'm just, I'm gonna just tell you, I'm fucking telling you the story.

• 8:45Karen Kilgariff?

  Just kick it off. We never do this. Just kick it off.

• 8:48Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, this is a fucking Apollo 13 mission story.

• 8:52Georgia Hardstark?

  No fucking preamble.

• 8:53Karen Kilgariff?

  Wow.

• 8:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 8:55Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay, great.

• 8:56Georgia Hardstark?

  Right? Did you watch the movie?

• 8:57Karen Kilgariff?

  I can't remember.

• 8:59Georgia Hardstark?

  It's the 1995 blockbuster starring Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, and Tom Hanks, who famously was the one who said, "Houston, we have a problem." That's like the iconic line.

• 9:08Karen Kilgariff?

  Right. Space makes me very anxious, so this should be great.

• 9:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, okay, it does. Like, you're not, yes, you're not a fan of like being in a spaceship? Or being in like both of those things?

• 9:17Karen Kilgariff?

  It's just vast. I remember having very long, deep thoughts about it as a child of like, "So you're telling me it just goes on and on in blackness forever? And there's no ending and no one knows what's out there." Like, it was that kind of shit. But I'm like, "I don't like that at all."

• 9:31Georgia Hardstark?

  I don't like not knowing what's happening out there.

• 9:33Karen Kilgariff?

  So tell me about it. Like, tell me about then a bad thing that happened out there.

• 9:36Georgia Hardstark?

  I feel like this, yeah, let me tell you about the, one of the worst. It's not one of the worst, but this is like an episode about black holes in space and stuff.

• 9:44Karen Kilgariff?

  Cool.

• 9:45Georgia Hardstark?

  And space-time continuum. Okay. The main sources I used in today's story include articles from NASA's website, including "Apollo 13: Mission Details," with no author listed, and "Apollo 13: The Successful Failure" by Lee Mahone. And then another article from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's website, titled "Conserving the Creativity That Saved the Apollo 13 Astronauts" by Lauren Gottschlick. And other sources can be found in our show notes. So here we are, 1961. And in response to the ongoing space race between Russia and the US that you're like such a big fan of.

• 10:21Karen Kilgariff?

  Huge fan.

• 10:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Mm-hmm. President John F. Kennedy makes the US moon landing a priority goal. And the attempts begin with Project Mercury, which succeeds in placing several astronaut crews into Earth's orbit between 62 and 63. Then there's Project Gemini, fucking go Geminis. And that successfully sends a total of 16 astronauts, US astronauts, into low Earth orbit between 65 and 66. So we're like getting going, you know?

• 10:47Karen Kilgariff?

  Yep.

• 10:48Georgia Hardstark?

  But then in 1969, Kennedy's goal is finally reached when, you know the story, is it true? That's not, that's not what this is about. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin complete the first successful moon landing aboard Apollo 11. Blah, blah, blah. The moon, we made it.

• 11:07Georgia Hardstark?

  We made it.

• 11:08Karen Kilgariff?

  You know, the moon landing, blah, blah, blah. Blase, blase.

• 11:13Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. Was it a fucking soundstage in Burbank? We'll never.

• 11:16Karen Kilgariff?

  We'll never know, or they'll know 40 years in the future and it won't matter by then.

• 11:21Georgia Hardstark?

  That's true. A second moon landing happens and then now that that journey to the moon has been completed twice with no really big issues, NASA is confident they can focus the astronauts' energies now on acquiring some new scientific data with this third moon landing. So before they were just like posing for pictures and shit. Now it's like, let's get down to science.

• 11:41Karen Kilgariff?

  Let's really dig some of that moon dirt up and figure out what's on there.

• 11:45Georgia Hardstark?

  Snort a big old rail of moon dust and see what happens. So the three astronauts training for the Apollo 13 mission, James A. Lovell Jr., John Jack L. Swigert Jr. and Fred W. Hayes Jr. And they are armed with some geological training so that they can collect those rock samples, bring them home to Earth for their study. The mission's insignia highlight this goal with the Latin phrase, ex Luna scientia, or from the moon, knowledge. So like, let's study that shit. So on this 10 day mission, Lowell, Swigert and Hayes will journey to the Frumoro region of the moon. And there they'll retrieve rock

• 12:26Georgia Hardstark?

  samples. So there are two major components of the spacecraft built for the Apollo 13 mission. There's the command service module, which is called the Odyssey, and the lunar module, which is called Aquarius. Odyssey is where the astronauts are housed and control the entire spacecraft. And then the service module is where the fuel and power sources are stored. And then the lunar module is the part that's going to detach and land on the moon while the other person stays back and, you know, controls it.

• 12:54Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay.

• 12:55Georgia Hardstark?

  So a graduate of the US Naval Academy, 42 year old James Lovell has logged 572 hours of space flight prior to the Apollo 13 mission, making him the most traveled astronaut at this time, while 38 year old Jack Swigert hasn't yet flown to space before. So he's got a deep knowledge of how the spacecrafts are built. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering and aerospace science. So fucking super smart.

• 13:19Karen Kilgariff?

  But a baby in terms of experience.

• 13:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. 35 year old Fred Hayes also has a military background, having served in the Marines as a fighter pilot. He studied aeronautical engineering and was working as a civilian research pilot for NASA when he joined the astronaut rank in the same group as Zweigert did in 1966. So they're all buds. So let's get to the launch. So it's 2:13 PM Eastern Standard Time on April 11th, 1970, and the Apollo 13 spacecraft lifts off from Kennedy Space Station in Florida. The team of flight directors, who are like the flight controllers, who communicate with the crew oversee operations from their station at Mission Control in Houston, Texas. Okay. Okay.

• 14:03Karen Kilgariff?

  Are you having a hot flash?

• 14:05Georgia Hardstark?

  I think I'm having a fucking hot flash. Oh, my God, I didn't even think about it.

• 14:09Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, no.

• 14:10Georgia Hardstark?

  Holy shit.

• 14:11Karen Kilgariff?

  It sucks so bad.

• 14:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my God, I'm totally, wow. That was like the first time I realized I'm having a hot flash when I wasn't sleeping.

• 14:18Karen Kilgariff?

  You might have to go change into a tank top.

• 14:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my God, okay. So the first five and a half minutes or so go smoothly, which is not enough time for a fucking space flight to go smoothly. Like, that's nothing.

• 14:30Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, you need, I don't know, a solid hour if you're going into space.

• 14:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Couple of days, maybe. Let's go for it. Yeah. Everyone on board feels a minor vibration from deep within the vessel, and they discover that one of the engines meant to get them up towards the atmosphere has shut off two minutes early. This forces the remaining engine to burn 34 seconds longer than planned, but all goes well, and the Apollo 13 aircraft enters orbit safely despite this little hiccup, but foreshadowing, baby.

• 14:59Karen Kilgariff?

  Bad omen, yeah.

• 15:00Georgia Hardstark?

  So the journey to the moon is expected to be about three days at 46 hours and 43 minutes. In capsule communicator or Capcom, Joe Kerwin down in Houston reports that the spacecraft is in real good shape as far as we're concerned, and it actually says that they're bored to tears down there. Like, that's how well it's going.

• 15:19Karen Kilgariff?

  It's just fine. They're not worried in any way.

• 15:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. So now let's fast forward to the third day. We're 55 hours into the journey. The crew conduct a routine inspection of the lunar module, then they take the lone TV camera crew through a lighthearted tour of space. The other moon landings that have happened before have been like big frickin' deals. This one is less so, and the general public at this point is like yawn, basically.

• 15:43Karen Kilgariff?

  We've seen it.

• 15:44Georgia Hardstark?

  Which is great. But also, the Vietnam War is going on, so people are a little more concerned with other stuff. And because of the limited broadcast levels, wife Marilyn watches her husband from a VIP room at mission control. What kind of snacks were there is all I want to know.

• 15:59Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean, can I just say?

• 16:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Tiny sandwiches.

• 16:02Karen Kilgariff?

  Cut up pieces of celery. What did he say?

• 16:04Georgia Hardstark?

  Tiny sandwiches?

• 16:05Karen Kilgariff?

  Tiny sandwiches, the celery with like cream cheese and

• 16:07Georgia Hardstark?

  Yes.

• 16:08Karen Kilgariff?

  and sprinkled stuff on the top.

• 16:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 16:10Karen Kilgariff?

  Sixties appetites.

• 16:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Martinis.

• 16:12Karen Kilgariff?

  So many martinis.

• 16:14Georgia Hardstark?

  So many martinis and cigarettes. Oh, my God, everyone was smoking, chain smoking.

• 16:19Karen Kilgariff?

  And that just increases as the stress begins.

• 16:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. Okay, so the broadcast ends at the 55 hour, 46 minute mark of the journey. All systems operational and the crews on both the ground and aboard the spacecraft are in good spirits. But then, just 95 seconds later, at 9:08 PM, a loud bang rattles the ship.

• 16:42Karen Kilgariff?

  Hmm.

• 16:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Maybe a loud meow would be the only acceptable loud noise.

• 16:47Karen Kilgariff?

  Maybe a loud yawn.

• 16:48Georgia Hardstark?

  A loud yawn.

• 16:50Karen Kilgariff?

  Please, no bangs on

• 16:51Georgia Hardstark?

  No bangs.

• 16:52Karen Kilgariff?

  on the ship.

• 16:53Georgia Hardstark?

  No, for once in my life, I'm saying no bangs. Talking about my hair, not. Swigert sees a warning light in the vessel's control center that worries him. He radios to ground control and delivers the line that would define the rest of the journey. Houston, we have a problem.

• 17:10Karen Kilgariff?

  We have a problem.

• 17:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Famous. The movie is pretty good, though, if you guys feel like watching a vintage movie, fall of 13. And then a flurry of warning lights flash on the ship's controls. Two of the three fuel cells used to power the ship are fucking dead. Two out of three.

• 17:26Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh.

• 17:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Not good. I don't know math.

• 17:29Karen Kilgariff?

  Two days into the trip?

• 17:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 17:31Karen Kilgariff?

  Am I right?

• 17:32Georgia Hardstark?

  Three days, three days.

• 17:33Karen Kilgariff?

  Three days into their trip.

• 17:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 17:35Karen Kilgariff?

  You run out of gas in space.

• 17:36Georgia Hardstark?

  Your engines fucking die.

• 17:37Karen Kilgariff?

  Hmm.

• 17:38Georgia Hardstark?

  And it cuts off most of their electricity. And then another set of warning lights indicate that one of their two oxygen tanks has emptied completely and the second one is draining fast. So as the astronauts scramble to troubleshoot the problems, commander level glances out the window on his left to see that they are venting something out into space, basically, just like the gas is leaving the fucking ship. Unfortunately, that gas is the command module's oxygen supply. So the ship they're in, it's the oxygen supply for that ship that they're in. And so it gets dangerously low and about an hour and a half after the bank, ground control and commander level reached the same conclusion. If they're going to survive, they all have to transfer over to the lunar module, which was just supposed to go down to the moon.

• 18:22Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 18:23Georgia Hardstark?

  So with just 15 minutes of power left aboard, the command module, Lovell and Hayes make their way to the lunar module. Swigert races against the clock to finish up last minute duties and shut down the command module. He manages to do so just in the nick of time, slipping into the lunar module as the last wisps of oxygen leave the second bank. So they just have to completely abandon ship.

• 18:46Karen Kilgariff?

  It's in space.

• 18:47Georgia Hardstark?

  In space, in the middle of space.

• 18:49Karen Kilgariff?

  Also, you know, like you're on like a Southwest flight and the captain comes on and he's so drab and he's so like, look, here we're going up to Oakland. Everything's fine. And so like, these people are professionally calm.

• 19:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 19:02Karen Kilgariff?

  But then in this situation, it's like, is this what rattles a pilot? Is this what gets, you know?

• 19:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 19:09Karen Kilgariff?

  A guy like that kind of worked up because.

• 19:12Georgia Hardstark?

  To say Houston, we have a problem. I mean, it's almost like this is what they're trained for is to stay calm in a situation like this, but like they're hopefully and usually don't ever have a reason to test that.

• 19:22Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 19:22Georgia Hardstark?

  Right?

• 19:23Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, exactly. They would assume they would be, but now they know whether or not they are.

• 19:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Here it is.

• 19:28Karen Kilgariff?

  I think my thing, I would just go blank and kind of lock up and I wouldn't help anything. I would just be like sitting there and they'd be like, come on, pick up those things.

• 19:36Georgia Hardstark?

  What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? Over and over again.

• 19:40Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean.

• 19:40Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. Terrifying. But guess what? It only gets worse.

• 19:44Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh.

• 19:44Georgia Hardstark?

  So now obviously the moon landing is fucking 86.

• 19:49Karen Kilgariff?

  Let's go. We're gonna flake on that.

• 19:51Georgia Hardstark?

  Right, we're gonna flake on that. Their mission now is to get home safely and their only chance at doing so is by all of them cramming into this lunar module. There are some positives in this situation. First is that the lunar module does not appear to have been damaged in whatever explosion it was that took place. Second is that the lunar module has plenty of oxygen to sustain everyone on their journey back home. So yay for that.

• 20:13Karen Kilgariff?

  Very important.

• 20:14Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, oxygen. So however, there are some pretty severe drawbacks because one of the astronauts was always meant to stay back in the command module while the other two went down to, you know, it's called the moon.

• 20:24Karen Kilgariff?

  The moon.

• 20:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 20:27Georgia Hardstark?

  It's only built for two people, so it's tight. And while there's plenty of oxygen for all three men, the food and water supply in the lunar module is only meant to last 45 hours for the two people, and a trip home will take them about 90 hours. So a trip home is gonna be three fucking days.

• 20:44Karen Kilgariff?

  Just like back to back spooning with your workmates, gasping for air.

• 20:49Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 20:50Karen Kilgariff?

  Thirsty.

• 20:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Thirsty, exactly. So they have to do strict rationing. Same with the power supply. There's only enough battery to last 45 hours, so they have to shut down any non-essential operations, so they have enough power to get back to Earth. But it is doable. So basically, they had brought extra canisters of oxygen over from the command module, but they don't fit into the filters on the lunar module. They're like not made to be switched back and forth. So the abundance of oxygen itself creates another issue, because that means, as we learned in science class-

• 21:23Karen Kilgariff?

  Too many plants.

• 21:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 21:26Karen Kilgariff?

  Moss growing everywhere.

• 21:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Exactly. No, too much carbon dioxide, which is dangerous. The spacecraft has special lithium hydroxide canisters that remove the carbon dioxide from the air and keep it safe to breathe onboard. But again, the canister supply they have is only meant to last for about two days for two people, so back at square one. They have brought extra canisters over from the command module, but they were not made for the lunar module, so they don't fit. It's like putting a square peg in a round hole. So a day and a half into their escape to lunar module, on April 15th, 1970, a warning light signals a dangerous level of CO2. They're running out of time.

• 22:06Karen Kilgariff?

  Outside, inside.

• 22:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Constant.

• 22:09Karen Kilgariff?

  Everything's against them.

• 22:10Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. Because everything has to be tested at mission control before it can be put to use in the spacecraft, because you can't test shit on the spacecraft, it'll blow up. Engineers down in Houston quickly work to devise a solution. They communicate with the astronauts onboard. They kind of figure out what they have to use, and then on the ground, the engineers, these smart people, put together a device using whatever items they said they had: a plastic bag, cardstock, a space suit hose, and duct tape. Like, this is MacGyver.

• 22:41Karen Kilgariff?

  They're MacGyver-ing from Houston to tell them, "You can do this to fix it."

• 22:46Georgia Hardstark?

  Right, like based on what you have. And it's like when someone's like, "What do you have in your fridge?" And I'll tell you what to cook for dinner. But, but your life depends on it.

• 22:52Karen Kilgariff?

  I am, no joke, super stressed out right now.

• 22:56Karen Kilgariff?

  This is stressing me out. Yes.

• 22:57Georgia Hardstark?

  That's why I had a hot flash, I think.

• 23:00Karen Kilgariff?

  Cause you knew what was coming.

• 23:01Georgia Hardstark?

  I knew it and I had to tell it without sounding stupid because I know there's people who are very smart listening right now who are fucking laughing.

• 23:08Karen Kilgariff?

  Look, this is exactly what happened to me with Jack the Ripper in London. Where I was like, why did I pick this? Everyone here knows how this actually goes.

• 23:16Georgia Hardstark?

  Right. Like there has to be a list. What are you even doing right now? Are you in space listening? Like that would be.

• 23:23Karen Kilgariff?

  Are you, do you work at JPL and are you judging us? Because we, we hope you understand that we are not cosmologists or doing this in any way.

• 23:32Georgia Hardstark?

  We're not even cosmetologists. Like we're not even.

• 23:35Karen Kilgariff?

  I would love to be. God.

• 23:37Georgia Hardstark?

  I went to three months of beauty school, so I basically am.

• 23:40Karen Kilgariff?

  Your bangs look great, by the way.

• 23:41Georgia Hardstark?

  Thank you.

• 23:44Georgia Hardstark?

  The holidays are coming, which means we'll all be spending more time away from home.

• 23:48Karen Kilgariff?

  Whether you're visiting family or doing something actually fun, you want to know your home is protected while you're away.

• 23:53Georgia Hardstark?

  That's why now is a good time to think about home security with Simply Safe.

• 23:57Karen Kilgariff?

  Unlike traditional security systems that alert you after a break in starts, Simply Safe is designed to help stop intruders before they get inside. These days, you're worried about your house, you're out of town, and then something comes up and you get to look on your phone and Simply Safe is going to show you not only the video of like, it's a raccoon at your front door, but also that they have staff that's sitting there, they already know. And if it was something different or worse, they would have already been on it.

• 24:22Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, I really think that's invaluable peace of mind that just like relying on your neighbors, paying attention is not going to give you. We've partnered with Simply Safe to offer our listeners their biggest savings of the year. 70% off your new system with professional monitoring when you visit simplysafe.com/mfm.

• 24:40Karen Kilgariff?

  That's simplysafe.com/mfm. And when you order, write in MFM at checkout and it tells them we sent you and it really helps the show.

• 24:47Georgia Hardstark?

  Simply Safe, ahead of crime in real time.

• 24:50Karen Kilgariff?

  Goodbye.

• 24:51Speaker 08

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• 25:19Speaker 05

  Hi, I'm Jenna Ushkowitz. You might know me from Glee. This is At the Table, the food allergy podcast, a show about food, connection, and what it really looks like to live with food allergies. Each episode, we hear stories from real people like Daniel.

• 25:34Speaker 06

  People would always think I was lactose intolerant, so I just kind of shortened my explanation to I'm deathly allergic, in a big way that defined a lot of my childhood.

• 25:45Speaker 05

  And while there are challenges, there are moments that remind you you're not alone.

• 25:50Speaker 07

  One of the best guys that I dated, he made a point to memorize all my food allergies.

• 25:56Speaker 05

  So join us and hear their stories and more, because living with food allergies isn't just about what you can't eat, it's about still having your seat at the table. Brought to you by Genentech and Novartis. Listen to At the Table, the food allergy podcast, on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow At the Table and start listening on the free iHeart radio app today.

• 26:17Georgia Hardstark?

  So they figure out what it's going to be based on all these mismatched parts. They name it the mailbox because it's like a boxy thing they put together. Okay, they didn't have a lot of time to workshop names, so.

• 26:29Karen Kilgariff?

  Don't waste time on that. It would be fun. You're going to want to distract yourself by doing that.

• 26:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, hold for name is not something you can tell people in an emergency situation. So they build it on the ground, then the engineers at mission control walk the astronauts through how to put it together. They demonstrate how to use it once it's put together, and this is all while warning lights are flashing, indicating the increasingly dangerous levels of CO2 onboard. So like, you know, when your phone's running out of batteries and it turns red and you get stressed out, it's like that times 1,000.

• 26:59Karen Kilgariff?

  That in space.

• 27:00Georgia Hardstark?

  And you might die in space. The air becomes harder to breathe as the astronauts work diligently to connect the makeshift device and luckily it works. The CO2 levels start to drop and the lunar module becomes livable again.

• 27:14Karen Kilgariff?

  Thank you, mailbox.

• 27:15Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. Was it funny that Tom Hanks would later be in a movie called You've Got Mail? And is there any connection there?

• 27:22Karen Kilgariff?

  Is it before or after this?

• 27:24Georgia Hardstark?

  I think it's before.

• 27:25Karen Kilgariff?

  Or in a movie about living at the airport?

• 27:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 27:29Karen Kilgariff?

  That's not related.

• 27:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, their airport. It's close enough to both going in the same fucking direction.

• 27:36Karen Kilgariff?

  What is Tom Hanks lately? Let's just change this into talking about Tom Hanks. So I don't have to listen to how stressful this is.

• 27:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Love him. And this is even more impressive because not only is this like fucking dead battery light flashing, which is not dead battery, they're subsisting on next to nothing while they work. Their water ration is only six ounces of water a day. So if you think of like a shot of vodka, which is like an ounce, you know? So six ounces, six shots of water.

• 28:03Karen Kilgariff?

  I need more. I need like the tallest weird plastic cup with a straw.

• 28:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Absolutely.

• 28:09Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 28:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Absolutely. There's a little fruit juice as well, but the lack of proper hydration even gives Hayes a UTI, which just to be like a team player, I have one too right now.

• 28:22Georgia Hardstark?

  Just, I was doing this story and I was like, you know what? I'm gonna go ahead and wake up Saturday morning with a fucking UTI just to be supportive.

• 28:29Karen Kilgariff?

  That is.

• 28:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 28:30Karen Kilgariff?

  First of all, I didn't know boys could get UTIs. That really sucks.

• 28:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 28:34Karen Kilgariff?

  They are the worst.

• 28:35Georgia Hardstark?

  The worst.

• 28:36Karen Kilgariff?

  They're the worst.

• 28:38Georgia Hardstark?

  How fucking horrible is that? So add a UTI to this nightmare.

• 28:42Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 28:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Like, come on.

• 28:43Karen Kilgariff?

  And then someone gets pink eye.

• 28:46Georgia Hardstark?

  The lack of food isn't great either. They avoid eating as much as possible so they don't burn through their supply. But when they do eat, it's things like hot dogs, which isn't very nourishing, even though we love them.

• 28:57Karen Kilgariff?

  It's a snack.

• 28:58Georgia Hardstark?

  Not a meal.

• 28:59Karen Kilgariff?

  A lot of nitrates.

• 29:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Right. And various unappetizing wet pack foods, the kind that like won't spoil in space. So nothing fucking great. No one's having.

• 29:10Karen Kilgariff?

  No one's loving life. No one's looking forward to their mealtime.

• 29:13Georgia Hardstark?

  Right. It's sustenance. It's all it's all it is. And they actually can't avoid rapid weight loss for the next couple of days. So they lose a fucking ton of weight that quickly.

• 29:22Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 29:23Georgia Hardstark?

  So even worse than the dehydration and starvation is the intense cold because they have to keep non-essential systems powered off. So there's nothing heating the interior of the lunar module and temperatures drop as low as 38 degrees. So you weren't fucking joking about the spooning like that's gotta happen probably.

• 29:40Karen Kilgariff?

  Jesus Christ.

• 29:41Georgia Hardstark?

  I know, like miserable. Like think of the worst flight you've ever been on. This is worse. Obviously.

• 29:49Karen Kilgariff?

  This is some Tower Air shit right here.

• 29:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, this ain't good. And because the temperatures are so low and it's so cramped, it's almost impossible to sleep. So they're exhausted. They're delirious. There's just so much shit going on.

• 30:02Karen Kilgariff?

  I fucking relate entirely.

• 30:06Georgia Hardstark?

  I just don't know why I thought of this, but they're probably all also chain smokers? So they're not having cigarettes. I don't know why I thought of that, but are astronauts allowed to smoke? I doubt it. I think they're not. No. Lung capacity.

• 30:17Karen Kilgariff?

  What if that was actually the reason that this all happened? Someone like flicked their cig and then kaboom. Also, but there was people to like, those guys are so smart and they, you know, those are big brain people that even back then they might've been like, yeah, I don't smoke.

• 30:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Yes.

• 30:33Karen Kilgariff?

  They may have been. Yeah.

• 30:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, that would make sense. They have to be at the top of their game and breathe in space. You're not gonna like, yeah, okay. So Lovell Hayes and Swigert have just one more obstacle standing between them and their safe return. It's a big one. It's just navigating home to Earth. Because remember that moon module? You're just supposed to go to the moon and then back.

• 30:56Karen Kilgariff?

  It doesn't know how to get home.

• 30:58Georgia Hardstark?

  It's not supposed to fucking go home on its own.

• 31:00Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, oh, at all. Oh, no.

• 31:02Georgia Hardstark?

  On its own. Cause it's supposed to be attached to the bigger guy. You know? Right? So, but yeah, so its navigation system isn't equipped to handle finding its way back to Earth. Like they're fucked in a lot of ways and they fucking know it probably.

• 31:14Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 31:14Georgia Hardstark?

  Their best shot at getting back to Earth is to enter what's called a free return trajectory. Here's your fucking worst nightmare.

• 31:22Georgia Hardstark?

  Basically, they have to go around the moon and get into a path where gravity can guide them back to Earth without them needing to control the flight. So they're fucking relying on gravity. But because they were on a moon landing mission, they had positioned themselves in a hybrid trajectory, which basically means they left the free return course so that they could land in a specific spot on the moon. Now, without the proper navigational system to maneuver back into a free return trajectory, the astronauts are forced to rely on mission control to map out their course. So they're all working together.

• 31:55Karen Kilgariff?

  And if they do, if they accidentally land on the moon, that's that, right?

• 31:59Georgia Hardstark?

  Definitely.

• 32:00Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 32:01Georgia Hardstark?

  I would imagine, yeah. But if they burn the lunar module engines at the right times and the right direction, they can kind of just basically push themselves on the right course, but also without burning through their fuel supply.

• 32:15Karen Kilgariff?

  Jesus.

• 32:16Georgia Hardstark?

  Like, this is impo- like, the more you hear about this.

• 32:18Karen Kilgariff?

  It's insane.

• 32:19Georgia Hardstark?

  So, basically, they're forced to use the sun's position to help achieve a proper alignment of the spacecraft. It's risky because a blast in the wrong direction would send them fucking hurling past Earth into the great unknown, Karen's worst nightmare.

• 32:37Karen Kilgariff?

  I know.

• 32:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Like, just forever going.

• 32:41Karen Kilgariff?

  Forever with chapped lips.

• 32:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, god.

• 32:45Karen Kilgariff?

  Damn it. God damn it.

• 32:47Georgia Hardstark?

  Ugh, but mission control guides their calculations and fortunately puts them on the right track, like geniuses. If we had, like, one or two IQ points lower, this not, like, none of this would have worked out.

• 32:57Karen Kilgariff?

  Thank you, smart people.

• 32:59Georgia Hardstark?

  Appreciate you. Using only the sun puts them off by half a degree, which is still within the margin of error to get them home. As they approach Earth, the astronauts get word from mission control that the only way to successfully break through the atmosphere is by, once again, powering up the command module so that they can detach the lunar module from it. So this whole time, they've been attached to the broken command module.

• 33:23Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 33:23Georgia Hardstark?

  So, basically, there's all these issues with that. So the damage in the cold to the command module led to condensation buildup on the interior walls of the command module and behind the control panels. And so the condensation from that is so thick that as the ship descends to Earth, it appears like it's raining inside the module. So, fun.

• 33:46Karen Kilgariff?

  What the fu-

• 33:47Georgia Hardstark?

  All of that moisture threatens to short circuit the command module's electrical board, which would be catastrophic at this phase. But because of years of development from the earliest Apollo aircraft models, there are safeguards in place that prevent any short circuiting. But even still, writing up the procedures necessary to start up that dead command module mid-flight so that they can detach it could take as long as three months. Like, that's how long they need to figure out a way to do it, even with their big brains. But the engineers at Mission Control managed to do it in just three days. So they're just like, let's figure this out. Let's get a lot of uppers and fucking do this.

• 34:27Karen Kilgariff?

  Get one of those really big chalkboards that almost nobody uses but us.

• 34:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 34:32Karen Kilgariff?

  Get it going.

• 34:33Georgia Hardstark?

  The astronauts follow the procedures as instructed, and they successfully get the command module on and working again. And this allows them to detach the lunar module from it so that they can land in the Pacific Ocean, which is a splashdown landing, a safe distance from the damaged command module, because they can't land near it, they'll fucking crash into it.

• 34:51Karen Kilgariff?

  Right.

• 34:52Georgia Hardstark?

  So even though they managed to get on the right trajectory back to Earth, Lovell, Swigert, and Hayes soon realize that their spacecraft is drifting slightly off course. Mission Control directs them to follow the, like, day/night line, basically? Basically following, like, the sun's light on the Earth's surface to stay on course. I'd be dead. I'd be like, no, can't, can't do that.

• 35:15Karen Kilgariff?

  Basic Boy Scout stuff that I could not do.

• 35:17Georgia Hardstark?

  No, no. They use what fuel they have left to initiate the burns necessary to follow the line, like the little cranking out of the burns. And on April 17, 1970, the Apollo 13 spacecraft splashes down into the Pacific Ocean near Samoa, and they're recovered by the naval ship USS Iwo Jima, weary, but all still alive.

• 35:41Karen Kilgariff?

  God.

• 35:42Georgia Hardstark?

  I know.

• 35:43Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean, we're not even talking about all the things that could have happened splashing down

• 35:46Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 35:46Karen Kilgariff?

  into just the great wide open ocean. Jesus.

• 35:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. Due to lack of food, the three guys lost a total of thirty one and a half pounds combined.

• 35:56Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, my God.

• 35:57Georgia Hardstark?

  In a couple of days, like, that is bad.

• 36:00Karen Kilgariff?

  And also stress. It's like food plus stress. Like, your, your hearts, their hearts were probably racing like they were jogging the whole time.

• 36:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Right. And dehydration and lack of sleep. Level lost the most at a whopping fourteen pounds. And then two days later, on April nineteenth, nineteen seventy, the guys are flown to Hawaii. I mean, give them a fucking vacay, right?

• 36:19Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, Jesus.

• 36:20Georgia Hardstark?

  And President Richard Nixon awards them the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is the highest civilian honor equal to the Congressional Gold Medal. Because, so they're like, good job. Oops.

• 36:31Karen Kilgariff?

  You did it.

• 36:32Georgia Hardstark?

  You did it. An investigative review board immediately looks into the situation after the splashdown, trying to figure out what went wrong. They report their findings on June fifteenth, nineteen seventy, concluding that a short circuit error in one of the oxygen tanks led to the explosion. There was a recent modification to the tank that allowed it to handle a higher electrical voltage. But the engineers failed to update another part within the tank so that it could handle the increased electrical flow as well. This led to an explosion in one oxygen tank that damaged the fuel cells and compromised the other oxygen tank. How many people got fired? None or a lot?

• 37:09Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean, here's the thing. A mistake, like, human beings make mistakes. Whether you're the smartest fucking person on the planet and you work for NASA, or you're down at Burger King flipping burgers. Mistakes are a part of life.

• 37:24Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 37:25Karen Kilgariff?

  And I hope it wasn't like, because I bet you they felt fucking terrible.

• 37:29Georgia Hardstark?

  Sure.

• 37:30Karen Kilgariff?

  Nobody wants to be that guy.

• 37:32Georgia Hardstark?

  I mean, no one died, thank fucking God, but yeah.

• 37:34Karen Kilgariff?

  Thank God.

• 37:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 37:35Karen Kilgariff?

  But yeah, nobody wants to be the guy that's like, oh, that's right. We should have done A, B, C, D, E, F, G, N, A tonight. I mean, like. It's

• 37:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 37:43Karen Kilgariff?

  God.

• 37:44Georgia Hardstark?

  Not good.

• 37:45Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean.

• 37:46Georgia Hardstark?

  Neither Lovell, Hayes, or Swigert ever fly in space again.

• 37:50Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh.

• 37:51Georgia Hardstark?

  Can you believe it?

• 37:52Karen Kilgariff?

  That's crazy. What's their problem?

• 37:54Georgia Hardstark?

  But it's actually not necessarily because, directly because of the mishap aboard the Apollo 13, although you think it's got to factor in pretty fucking hardcore.

• 38:03Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 38:03Georgia Hardstark?

  You know? Lovell reaches a point in his career when he's ready to retire, and he does so just a couple of years later, in 1973. Swigert is slated to fly aboard the joint Soviet-American spaceflight, the Apollo Soyuz Test Project in 1975, but he's removed from the crew after being implicated in the Apollo 15 postal cover scandal of 1972.

• 38:25Karen Kilgariff?

  What? The next thing we're gonna cover on the show.

• 38:28Georgia Hardstark?

  That's exactly right, because I don't totally get it. It's a scheme involving taking unauthorized postal covers into space so that they could be sold at premium back on Earth afterward.

• 38:40Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh.

• 38:40Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, I get it, okay. They're like, this has been to space. Totally. It's totally merch. Oh, my God. He leaves the space program in 1973, gets elected to the House of Representatives in 1982.

• 38:55Karen Kilgariff?

  Sure.

• 38:55Georgia Hardstark?

  Unfortunately, he dies from cancer before he gets a chance to even serve his seat. And then Hayes would have gone on to command the Apollo 19 mission, but he decided to retire before then in 1979. So none of them go back to.

• 39:10Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean, just think about it. You get into that situation, you, by the skin of your teeth, get back out of that situation.

• 39:16Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 39:16Karen Kilgariff?

  And then you're like, sure, I'll do another one. And all you would do is think about all the ways things could go wrong. That's what happens after things go wrong, is then you're like, well, that can happen, so what's gonna happen this time?

• 39:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. Did one guy not check the one other thing that was the other thing that controls the other thing? You'll never fucking know until it's a disaster.

• 39:36Karen Kilgariff?

  And that is the miracle of spaceflight.

• 39:38Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 39:39Karen Kilgariff?

  Is the fact that the other times we did it, none of those things happened.

• 39:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. Totally. Amazing. In 1994, Lovell co-authors his firsthand account of the Apollo 13 mission with journalist Jeffrey Kluger in their book, Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13. And that is the book that is adapted into the beloved Ron Howard-directed movie Apollo 13, which solidified the line, Houston, we have a problem in our memories forever. And also, the movie from 2016, Hidden Figures, starring Taraji P. Henson as Catherine Johnson. So she was a black woman and mathematician who worked at NASA, and her work helped get Apollo 13 back home safe.

• 40:25Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 40:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Her badassery. And the movie is based on the book Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shutterly. So check that out as well for more of this story.

• 40:34Karen Kilgariff?

  That movie is really, really good.

• 40:36Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 40:36Karen Kilgariff?

  Because it's like, you just keep watching it going, this really happened. Like, this really happened. And that idea that like, she was the most brilliant person, separate from her gender, separate from, you know, her skin color or whatever.

• 40:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 40:51Karen Kilgariff?

  And then she's kind of sat in this room where a bunch of dudes are like, you shouldn't be here. And then she's like, watch how much I should be here. I'm gonna fucking help save everybody. It's such a good movie.

• 41:01Georgia Hardstark?

  It's fucking incredible. Incredible.

• 41:04Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, I loved it. Just real quick.

• 41:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 41:06Karen Kilgariff?

  Do you remember when we did CBS Show in New York and Ron Howard was the guest before us and he walked through and said, and looked at us, and I was like, oh my God, it's Ron Howard. And he walked through and we were the next guest.

• 41:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Yes.

• 41:19Karen Kilgariff?

  And looked at us and goes, hey, good luck. Or, have fun. And like, took a moment to like-

• 41:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Hype us.

• 41:26Karen Kilgariff?

  Give us a little thumbs up. Where I was like, you classy bastard.

• 41:30Georgia Hardstark?

  So fucking classy. Totally forgot about that.

• 41:32Karen Kilgariff?

  Rushed right out of here. Like, you are so busy. And instead, it was like, full eye contact and like, with this smile, like, hey, isn't it fun? We all get to be on this show.

• 41:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Just these two girls sitting in the green room going like, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. And he's just like-

• 41:46Karen Kilgariff?

  Wreaking out.

• 41:47Georgia Hardstark?

  Good luck, guys. Have fun. Oh my God. Uncle Ron. Thank you.

• 41:52Karen Kilgariff?

  I love that man. I've always loved that man since my Happy Days days in my childhood. But that was like, God, that was meaningful.

• 42:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. Yeah. So classy. But guess what?

• 42:03Karen Kilgariff?

  What?

• 42:04Georgia Hardstark?

  And that is the story of the Apollo 13 mission.

• 42:08Karen Kilgariff?

  Amazing.

• 42:09Georgia Hardstark?

  I mean, we really went through it on that one. I think I've lost 13 pounds by just sitting here and listening to this

• 42:17Karen Kilgariff?

  shit.

• 42:18Georgia Hardstark?

  I had my first known hot flash.

• 42:22Karen Kilgariff?

  On record.

• 42:23Georgia Hardstark?

  On record. Where I wasn't asleep for it. So it's pretty epic.

• 42:28Karen Kilgariff?

  I think we need to actively start talking about menopause on our show because A, people don't talk about it enough.

• 42:34Georgia Hardstark?

  They don't.

• 42:35Karen Kilgariff?

  And B, it is happening. It is happening.

• 42:38Georgia Hardstark?

  Are we gonna alienate the little gals who are like, what are you talking about? My tits are perky and I don't know what else is there. And I don't sweat randomly for no fucking reason.

• 42:48Karen Kilgariff?

  But here's the thing, they will eventually.

• 42:51Georgia Hardstark?

  They will.

• 42:52Karen Kilgariff?

  And that's the, that's like, no one talks about this shit. And so when you come to it, you're like, I think I'm in a bad mood. I think I'm, I think the heater's on. I think this and I think that. Because there is no hygiene class in high school that talks about it. There's nothing.

• 43:07Georgia Hardstark?

  Let's talk about hormones and just to like calm everyone down. My tits are still very perky.

• 43:13Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, my God, you should see, they're almost above her eyes. It's crazy, very distracting.

• 43:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Hitting myself in the face.

• 43:20Karen Kilgariff?

  That was great. Good job.

• 43:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Thank you.

• 43:22Karen Kilgariff?

  Thank you.

• 43:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Well, thanks for listening to our little quickie episode. We appreciate you guys being here, going to space and back and menopause and all over with us.

• 43:32Karen Kilgariff?

  And all of the places. Thanks for joining us once again on the journey of life. Stay sexy.

• 43:38Georgia Hardstark?

  And don't get murdered.

• 43:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Elvis, do you want a cookie?

• 43:51Georgia Hardstark?

  This has been an Exactly Right production. Our senior producers are Alejandra Keck and Molly Smith. Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo. This episode was mixed by Leona Scolacci. Our researchers are Maren McGlashan and Ally Elkin. Email your hometowns to [email protected]. Follow the show on Instagram at MyFavoriteMurder. Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And now you can watch us on Exactly Right's YouTube page. While you're there, please like and subscribe. Goodbye.

• 44:27Speaker 02

  She's been thinking about this sleepover all week, but I think about her food allergies all the time. Fortunately, her doctor prescribed Zolair, omalizumab. It's proven to significantly reduce allergic reactions if a food allergy accident happens.

• 44:40Speaker 03

  Zolair 150mg is a prescription medication used to treat food allergy in people one year of age and older to reduce allergic reactions due to accidental exposure to one or more foods. While taking Zolair, you should continue to avoid all foods to which you are allergic. Don't use if you are allergic to Zolair. Zolair may cause a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. Tell your doctor if you ever had anaphylaxis. Get help right away if you have trouble breathing or if you have swelling of your throat or tongue. Zolair should not be used for the emergency treatment of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Zolair is for maintenance use to reduce allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, while avoiding food allergens. Serious side effects such as cancer, fever, muscle aches and rash, parasitic infection, or heart and circulation problems have been reported. Please see zolair.com for full prescribing information. Ask an allergist about Zolair. This is an advertisement for Zolair,

• 45:24Speaker 03

  paid for by Genentech and Novartis.

• 45:26Speaker 01

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• 45:57Karen Kilgariff?

  Calling all amateur detectives and podcast obsessives.

• 46:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Virgin Voyages' second True Crime Voyage sets sail March 20, 2027, for a five-night escape to Grand Turk and the Beach Club at Bimini.

• 46:09Karen Kilgariff?

  As part of the On Air at Sea collection, this immersive sailing brings together fan favorite podcasts, including Disgrace Land, Buried Bones, and Wisecrack, for live recordings, behind-the-scenes access, exclusive meet-and-greets, and crime-themed programming that you won't find anywhere else.

• 46:25Georgia Hardstark?

  All aboard our award-winning, kid-free ships.

• 46:28Karen Kilgariff?

  Head over to virginvoyages.com/truecrime to secure your spot. Goodbye.