Shortcut: The Brownout Murders
Australian True Crime
Meshel Laurie
4.6 • 979 Ratings
🗓️ 9 June 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.
During World War II, Melbourne hosted American soldiers as part of the Allied effort, and the city enforced "brownouts"—partial blackouts to obscure urban areas from potential air raids.
Among the soldiers was Edward Leonski, whose self-confessed fixation on women's voices led to a series of tragic murders.
Joining us is Luke C. Jackson, one of the creators of The Brownout Murders, a graphic novel that examines the fear, fortitude and social change sparked by this dark chapter in Melbourne’s history.
Links:
For Support:
Lifeline on 13 11 14
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Blue Knot Helpline: 1300 657 380
CREDITS:
Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on instagram here.
Guest: Luke C. Jackson
Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I firmly believe that the more things change, the more they stay the same. |
| 0:09.4 | And that's the theme of a new graphic novel called The Brownout Murders. |
| 0:14.5 | Melbourne in 1942 was undergoing a period of massive social upheaval brought about by World War II. |
| 0:21.9 | In the midst of this, a killer stalked the streets. |
| 0:26.1 | Author Luke C. Jackson joins us on Australian True Crime to talk about his book, The Brownout |
| 0:31.4 | Murders. |
| 0:32.8 | This is Australian True Crime. |
| 0:34.7 | We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this podcast is |
| 0:38.3 | created, the Wurundri Woi Wurang people of the Koolin Nation. And a warning, this episode of |
| 0:44.8 | the podcast contains graphic descriptions of violence. Hello, I'm Gabby Logan from The Midpoint and my podcast is currently sponsored by My Garden Escape at QVC. |
| 1:01.3 | What does someone look like for you in your garden? |
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| 1:45.7 | Hi is Jessie and Lenny from Table Manners and we're raising a glass to all the incredible father |
| 1:50.3 | figures out there with Cuvassier-Cognac. This Father's Day, whether it's your dad, your mentor or |
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... |
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