In 1987, there was a news event that brought the entire world together. People did not stop watching their TVs for days - the First Lady of the United States even postponed surgery until she knew the outcome. Eighteen-month-old Jessica McClure had fallen down an old well and was wedged almost ten metres underground for 60 hours. Every news channel that existed had cameras in that tiny backyard in Texas, while the world watched - live - and waited in suspense to see if she’d come out alive. 

.

CW: This episode contains a brief mention of suicide. If you need, please contact (Australia):

Lifeline (24 hours: 13 11 14)

13YARN - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Crisis Support (24 hours: 13 92 76)

Blue Knot Helpline (1300 657 380)

.

We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's Breakin' Nooz, JTG After Show AND Bonus eps! You can access them by joining the Gistener Club via the Just The Gist Patreon or Apple Premium Subscriptions.

Watch Just The Gist episodes on Youtube @JustTheGistPodcast

Follow Just The Gist on Instagram and TikTok @JustTheGistPodcast

Follow Rosie in all the places at @RosieWaterland

Want to give us a SuGISTion? Tell Rosie to stop singing so much? Email us at hello@justthegist.com.au 

Just The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Producer and Host: Rosie Waterland | Senior Producer and Editor: James Joseph | Producer: Kate Leaver | Additional production support: Hayley Staveley | Acast Legends: Guy Scott-Wilson and Simon McDermott | Production Assistant: Pocket

Don't forget to follow and give us 5 stars, which means something apparently!

Thank you, as always, for Gistening. Now go say something impressive at a dinner party.

.

‘Baby Jessica on the 30-year anniversary of her rescue from a well: Her life as a wife and mom’ (People Magazine 2017):  https://people.com/human-interest/baby-jessica-on-the-30-year-anniversary-of-her-rescue-from-a-well-her-life-as-a-wife-and-mom/ 

‘Baby Jessica’s Rescue From a Well Capped Off a Terrifying Week in US History’ (Time Magazine 2017): https://time.com/4980689/baby-jessica-30th-anniversary/?amp=true 

1987 archive footage of Jessica McClure being rescued (Film Archives NYC 2012):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afSChsWNcbQ 

‘Baby Jessica rescued from a well as the world watches’ (History 2011, updated 2025): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/October-16/baby-jessica-rescued-from-a-well-as-the-world-watches 

‘Helping to pull little Jessica McClure from a Texas well made firefighter Robert O’Donnell a star. But the limelight soon turned to darkness.’ (Los Angeles Times 1995): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-05-24-mn-5474-story.html 

‘Death on the CNN Curve’ (The New York Times Magazine 1995): https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/23/magazine/death-on-the-cnn-curve.html 

Baby Jessica (Jessica McClure) wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescue_of_Jessica_McClure

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.