The telegram that caught a killer
4/26/202626 min
When he got on the train to London, he thought he got away with it. He thought he got away with murder. But little did he know that something was racing alongside the train, pulsing deep underground, that would change his life forever.
Writer and cultural historian Kassia St Clair tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) how a horrific crime changed the way people living in the 1800s viewed the telegraph machine.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
[instrumental music] ABC Listen. Podcasts, radio, news, music, and more [instrumental music] I'm David Marr, host of Late Night Live on Radio National, where nothing's off limits You know, part of being an adult is dealing with discomfort We gather the sharpest minds around to hash over what's shaping this crazy world Both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party succumbed to big money Late Night Live, four new shows a week on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts [instrumental music] [footsteps] There is a man hurrying down the street, his eyes fixed ahead and his coat swinging as his feet hit the pavement.
Marc Fennell· Host0:47
As a train whistle sounds, [train whistle] steam rises, and in the shadows someone is watching They see him getting onto the, uh, 7:42 train from Slough to London.
Kassia St Clair· Guest1:01
But they're not quite in time to, to prevent him getting on the train, but they see him, and they see which carriage he gets into As he sits down, his heart thumps.
Marc Fennell· Host1:09
He breathes deep because he's made it. He has outrun his past. Except little does he know his past isn't behind him at all. In fact, it's racing alongside him, and will wait for him at the next station, all thanks to a futuristic machine It's kind of playing a role in the capture