Today In History with The Retrospectors - Winamp (2024)

When ‘Roots: The Saga of an American Family’ made novelist Alex Haley an international sensation, he revisited Juffure, Gambia - the village where he claimed his 18th-century ancestor Kunta Kinte had been captured into slavery. On 16th April, 1977, he was welcomed ‘home’ as a hero by the villagers.But his hit novel had begun to attract criticism for blurring the line between fiction and non-fiction - a genre Haley came to refer to as ‘faction’ - relying primarily on oral sources that were hard to verify. And the following year, novelist Harold Courlander successfully sued Haley for having plagiarised passages from his 1967 novel, ‘The African’.Further Reading:• ‘Haley Visit Captivates Village Where ‘Roots’ Began’ (The New York Times, 1977): https://www.nytimes.com/1977/04/18/archives/haley-visit-captivates-village-where-roots-began.html• ‘Is Roots a true and authentic story? Why Alex Haley's book about slavery and family history is so controversial’ (Radio Times, 2017): https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/is-roots-a-true-story-why-this-tale-of-slavery-and-family-history-is-so-controversial/• ‘Roots author Alex Haley on the horror of slavery’ (CBC, 1977): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ6WRRwqql4This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/16/2024 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

Tommy Cooper's unexpected death on stage at Her Majesty's Theatre on 15th April, 1984 remains one of the saddest and most surreal moments in UK comedy history. Known for his slapstick humour and botched magic tricks, family favourite Cooper collapsed mid-act due to a massive heart attack. The audience, initially assuming it was part of his act, roared with laughter as he lay on the stage emitting what sounded like snoring. Despite the frantic efforts of production staff and paramedics backstage, Cooper was pronounced dead on arrival at Westminster Hospital. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Cooper’s health concerns had been widely known within the industry before this incident; reveal how a live TV audience of millions got to grips with the news that the comedy icon had died; and take a look back at some of the other star performers who have, quite literally, died on stage… Further Reading:‘Tommy Cooper's last act fooled us all, says Jimmy Tarbuck’ (Wales Online, 2009): https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/tommy-coopers-last-act-fooled-2111280‘The Show Won't Go On: The Most Shocking, Bizarre, and Historic Deaths of Performers Onstage - By Jeff Abraham, Burt Kearns’ (Chicago Review Press, 2019): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Show_Won_t_Go_On/6h-SDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tommy+cooper+her+majesty%27s&printsec=frontcover‘The Shocking Death of Tommy Cooper: Ernie Wise Pays Tribute’ (ITN, 1984): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ectDT3sXBFYLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/15/2024 • 9 minutes, 58 seconds

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin left Kazakhstan for space on 12th April, 1961 - the first human to venture beyond the confines of Earth's atmosphere. As the rocket roared into the sky, Gagarin's now-famous exclamation of "Poyekhali!" ("Let's go!") echoed through the co*ckpit.Despite the anticipation surrounding Gagarin's historic flight, the actual experience was relatively brief, lasting a mere 108 minutes. Within that fleeting window, Gagarin's calm demeanour belied the inherent dangers of space travel, as he navigated weightlessness and unfamiliar conditions. Upon reentry, he faced a harrowing ordeal as technical malfunctions threatened his safe return to Earth. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how Gagarin's status as a national hero propelled him into the spotlight, yet suppressed his subsequent career trajectory; explain why it was not his ability as a pilot, but his diminutive height, which was most prized in the Sputnik programme; and reveal how his diplomatic world tour took him to the United States, yet without setting foot on U.S. soil… Further Reading:• ‘Yuri Gagarin: The first human in space’ (New Scientist): https://www.newscientist.com/people/yuri-gagarin/• ‘"Let's go!" — Remembering Yuri Gagarin, 60 years on’ (Astronomy Magazine, 2021): https://www.astronomy.com/space-exploration/lets-go-remembering-yuri-gagarins-first-spaceflight-60-years-later/• ‘Yuri Gagarin Became The First Human In Space, 57 Years Ago Today’ (NBC News, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkVAqNbX0NwWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/12/2024 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

Rerun: The first holiday camp in Britain, Butlin’s Skegness, opened to the public on 11th April, 1936 - although one member of the public, a certain Freda Monk from Nottingham, was so keen to attend that she arrived a day early. It cost 35 shillings per week to attend. South Africa-born Billy Butlin had created the camp after holidaying in Barry Island and feeling “sorry for the families with young children as they trudged along wet and bedgraggled, and forlornly filled time in amusem*nt arcades until they could return back to the boarding houses.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the entertainments on offer, from rambunctious Redcoats to boxing kangaroos; explain how The Beatles owe a debt to Butlin’s Skegness; and reveal the sad fate of the park’s famous monorail… Further Reading:• ‘'Our True Intent Is All For Your Delight' - Glorious Pictures of the Skegness Butlin's’ (Flashbak, 2019): https://flashbak.com/our-true-intent-is-all-for-your-delight-butlins-at-skegness-17646• ‘The mystery of how an old Butlin's monorail train ended up in this Lincolnshire field’ (Lincolnshire Live, 2021): https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/mystery-how-old-butlins-monorail-5059270• ‘Best of Butlin's’ (British Pathé):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGZoqkZUFtA‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/11/2024 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

Bananas, the world’s favourite fruit, were first displayed in London on 10th April, 1633, in the shop window of botanist Thomas Johnson, editor for Gerard’s Herball.Despite societal taboos surrounding the banana's suggestive shape, its journey from obscurity to ubiquity was later propelled by Minor Cooper Keith, whose entrepreneurial endeavours in Costa Rica transformed the fruit into a global commodity - albeit one entangled in the power struggles and exploitation of Central America, earning the term "Banana Republic."In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why banana-flavoured sweets DO taste like bananas; examine how English horticulturalists forever stamped their mark on this tropical fruit; and consider whether the fruit Eve reached for in the Garden of Eden was actually a banana…Further Reading:• ‘How the Banana Came To Be—And How It Could Disappear’ (Lithub, 2023): https://lithub.com/how-the-banana-came-to-be-and-how-it-could-disappear/• ‘Mystery of the Tudor banana’ (The Guardian, 1999): https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/jun/16/maevkennedy• ‘Who Was The Man Behind The Banana Republics Of Central America?’ (Timeline, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDH9JEuYUNALove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/10/2024 • 10 minutes, 59 seconds

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles broke royal norms by having a modest civil ceremony at Windsor's Guildhall on 9th April, 2005. Against a turbulent backdrop of past scandals and public opinion, the couple's union marked a delicate dance toward Britain’s eventual acceptance of them as King and Queen.Queen Elizabeth did not attend the ceremony, for fear of compromising her position as head of the Church of England, but did turn up with Rowan Atkinson and Phil Collins to the after-party, where she made a notoriously cheeky speech, as guests munched on egg-and-cress sandwiches.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the couple married in the Guildhall, rather than Windsor Castle; consider how ‘the Firm’ iterated Camilla’s public image in the decades following Princess Diana’s untimely death; and trace the couple’s romance back to their first meeting in the Summer of 1970…Further Reading:• ‘Charles and Camilla wed’ (The Guardian, 2005): https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/apr/09/monarchy.markoliver• ‘Inside King Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles' Wedding’ (Harpers Bazaar Australia, 2005): https://harpersbazaar.com.au/charles-camilla-wedding/• ‘The Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles’ (ITN, 2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgeXK5cKatALove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/9/2024 • 11 minutes, 5 seconds

Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler’s bestseller ‘Nudge’ was released on 8th April, 2008, catapulting a new method of behavioural economics into the public psyche - and the hands of policymakers, including David Cameron and Barack Obama.The book challenged the notion of humans as rational decision-makers, and explained how companies, governments and individuals can ‘nudge’ people towards healthier habits, responsible financial decisions, or civic engagement if ‘decisions’ are framed in the right context - a technique they called "libertarian paternalism."In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask just how effective nudge theory really is; explain how the project was inspired by a bowl of cashew nuts; and discover how Thomas Crapper was centuries ahead of his time… Further Reading:• ‘Nudge theory: what 15 years of research tells us about its promises and politics’ (The Conversation, 2023): https://theconversation.com/nudge-theory-what-15-years-of-research-tells-us-about-its-promises-and-politics-210534• ‘The nudge unit – has it worked so far?’ (The Guardian, 2013): https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/may/02/nudge-unit-has-it-worked• ‘Nudge: the final edition’ (LSE, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEkfqQAp6wkLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/8/2024 • 10 minutes, 13 seconds

A frozen Lake Peipus played host to a dramatic fight between 2,000 Catholic Crusaders and 6,000 Orthodox Christians on 5th April, 1242.The invading forces were the Teutonic Knights, armed with spears and swords to ‘Christianize’ what they saw as a Pagan society. Novgorod’s defender, Prince Alexander Nevsky, lured the Germans to the lake, where his troops could take them down one by one, in a battle that went down in Russian lore. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how much of the imagery of the battle was in fact crystallised by a controversial twentieth-century filmmaker; consider why the Knights were so unprepared for this particular confrontation; and ask what actual theological differences separated the warring factions… Further Reading:• ‘Lake Peipus: Battle on the Ice’ (Warfare History Network, 2005): https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/lake-peipus-battle-on-the-ice/• ‘Alexander Nevsky - Prince of Novgorod and Kiev’: https://www.thoughtco.com/alexander-nevsky-profile-p2-1788255• ‘Alexander Nevsky’ (Sergei Eisenstein, 1938): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq4PaJfod4wWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/5/2024 • 10 minutes, 18 seconds

Rerun: MSG, the umami seasoning frequently added to Chinese cuisine, came under fire on 4th April, 1968 - when Dr Robert Ho Man Kwok wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine musing about the possible causes of a ‘syndrome’ he experienced whenever he ate at Chinese restaurants in the US.  “The most prominent symptoms are numbness at the back of the neck, gradually radiating to both arms in the back, general weakness and palpitation”, he wrote, in a letter that soon attracted multiple responses from other clinicians - and spawned an unscientific panic about monosodium glutamate which still persists to this day.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate which foods contain naturally-occurring MSG; ask why 1960s America was especially susceptible to scepticism about chemical additives; and consider the racist undertones to the definitions of the ‘syndrome’ in the modern-day dictionary… Further Reading:• Is MSG as bad as it’s made out to be? (BBC Future, 2015): https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151106-is-msg-as-bad-as-its-made-out-to-be• The Campaign to Redefine ‘Chinese Restaurant Syndrome’ (The New York Times, 2020): https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/dining/msg-chinese-restaurant-syndrome-merriam-webster-dictionary.html• ‘Korean chef talk about MSG myth - Uncle Roger is RIGHT? WRONG?’ (Goodchoi's Kitchen, 2020):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et_ja0X9C4I‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/4/2024 • 10 minutes, 15 seconds

Gottlieb Daimler's patent for his high-speed petrol engine (dubbed the "Grandfather Clock") on 3rd April, 1885, wasn't just a technological breakthrough—it inadvertently birthed the motorbike. Teaming up with Wilhelm Maybach, the duo had crafted a compact engine featuring float-metered carburetors and mushroom intake valves, all powered by hot tube ignition. This engine found its way into their first vehicle prototype, the Petroleum Riding Car, which bore little resemblance to today's motorcycles but represented a pioneering step towards motorised transportation.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how it was not Daimler, but his son, Paul, who became the first-ever motorbiker; consider the steam-powered predecessors that could potentially lay claim to inventing the motorbike; and explain how Daimler took what he’d learned from these experiences to establish Mercedes…Further Reading:• ‘An Overview of the Motorcycle's History’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-motorcycle-1992151• ‘History Channel’ (Motoring World, 2017): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Motoring_World/Pt0xDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Daimler+Reitwagen&pg=PA26&printsec=frontcover• ‘The riding car – a Daimler patent’ (Mercedes-Benz TV, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0Tvuya6otcLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/3/2024 • 10 minutes, 22 seconds

Johnny Weissmuller made his debut as ‘Tarzan The Ape Man’ on April 2nd, 1932, when MGM released the first talkie to feature the jungle hero - spawning a Tarzanmania craze.The blockbuster, loosely based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ 1912 novel, was commissioned in part because the studio held additional footage from their African-set hit from the previous year, ‘Trader Horn’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Weissmuller’s Olympic swimming career had hinged on a forgery; explain how the filmmakers created Tarzan’s famous yell; and investigate why MGM stepped in to fund their big star’s divorce…Further Reading:• ‘Johnny Weissmuller Dies at 79; Movie Tarzan and Olympic Gold Medalist’ (New York Times, 1984): https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0602.html• ‘The 50 MGM Films that Transformed Hollywood - Triumphs, Blockbusters, and Fiascos, By Steven Bingen’ (Lyons Press, 2022): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_50_MGM_Films_that_Transformed_Hollyw/bYh0EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tarzan+ivor+novello&pg=PA50&printsec=frontcover• ‘Trailer: Tarzan the Ape Man’ (MGM, 1932): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIoPPD0NKhAThis episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/2/2024 • 9 minutes, 51 seconds

Edward Lawrence Levy, a bald and bespectacled 40 year old choir-master from Birmingham, became the first ever winner of an international weightlifting contest at Cafe Monaco in London on 28th March, 1891. The event was an attempt to separate the serious sport of dumbbell lifting from the popular performing ‘strongmen’ at sideshows and variety halls, but it did not immediately take hold: the competition was described by the newspaper Sporting Life as “very slow”.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall the career of ‘perfect human specimen’ Eugen Sandow; dig into the movement for muscular Judaism; and work out exactly how Levy would fare in a modern Olympic competition… Further Reading:• ‘The Untold History of the First Weightlifting Competition’ (BarBend, 2019): https://barbend.com/history-first-weightlifting-competition/• ‘This Hebrew School Teacher Was the First World Weightlifting Champ’ (National Library of Israel, 2021): https://blog.nli.org.il/en/lbh-el-levy/• ‘The History of Weightlifting’ (Bodytribe, 2013):: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9moGJHmJygImage: Levy with his 1891 British Amateur Championship trophy. From E. Lawrence Levy and Muscular Judaism, 1851-1932, part of the National Library of Israel collectionWe'll be back on Tuesday!!! (Happy Easter) - Remember you can join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week! (apart from this week)Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/28/2024 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

Julius Caesar intervened to put his lover and ally Cleopatra on the Egyptian throne on 27th March, 47 BC - cementing their position as the world’s premier Power Couple.But Cleo's ascent to power was not just a power play. Rather, it was a desperate bid for survival - as she had been ousted from the throne by her brother's advisors, and feared assassination. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Cleopatra really did woo Caesar by emerging from a ‘carpet’; explain why Ptolemy's attempt to win Caesar's favour was desperately misguided; and probe into the family issues that perhaps inevitably arise when women are made to marry their younger brothers…Further Reading:• ‘Egypt's last pharaoh was the 'love child' of Caesar and Cleopatra’ (National Geographic, 2020): https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2020/10/egypts-last-pharaoh-was-the-love-child-of-caesar-and-cleopatra• ‘Cleopatra, Julius Caesar And Mark Antony: Her Love Affairs Explored’ (HistoryExtra, 2023): https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-egypt/cleopatra-love-affairs-julius-caesar-mark-antony/• ’Ancient Empires: Cleopatra Evolves Into an Ruthless Monarch’ (HISTORY, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpFKwn7YAg0Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/27/2024 • 11 minutes, 17 seconds

‘The Combat of the Thirty’, happened in Brittany on 26th March, 1351. Despite being largely irrelevant in military terms, it was referenced for generations as the pinnacle of chivalric honour in France. The fighting was chaotic, brutal, and lasted for hours, but surprisingly, both sides largely adhered to the agreed-upon rules - even taking a half-time refreshment break…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dig into the various justifications used to rationalise the combat; ask why you’d send a Squire in to do a Knight’s job; and explain how the evolution of longbows banished battles like this to the past…  Further Reading:• ‘The Combat of the Thirty’ (History Today, 2020): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/combat-thirty• ‘1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History - By R. G. Grant’ (2017):https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/1001_Battles_That_Changed_the_Course_of/2ZNADwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=combat+of+the+thirty+1351&pg=PA195&printsec=frontcover‘The Combat of the 30: The Wars of the Breton Succession’ (The History Squad, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiAfs2cCSHcThis episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/26/2024 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

Each Lady Day, the Hampshire village of Tichborne hands out bags of flour to the  locals - a tradition that began on 25th March, 1150 after Lady Marbella Tichborne, on her death-bed, suggested distributing a ‘Tichborne Dole’ to the needy. It’s far from the only quaint charity event still going strong in England. In the Kentish village of Biddenden each Easter Monday, locals indulge in ‘Biddenden cakes’, bearing the effigy of the Biddenden Maids - conjoined twins who also left behind an annual dole for the deserving poor. And in Hallaton, Leicestershire, villagers still participate in a chaotic rugby-like game, but with more ale and definitely more hare pies.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider what such kooky festivities tell us about mediaeval attitudes to women and the poor; recall what happened when ‘vagabonds’ dared to take advantage of these handouts; and stumble upon a new book proposal for Danny Wallace… Further Reading:• ‘The Tichborne Dole’ (Historic UK, 2015): https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-Tichborne-Dole/• ‘The Strange Story of the Biddenden Maids’ (A London Inheritance, 2021): https://alondoninheritance.com/cycling-around-britain/the-strange-story-of-the-biddenden-maids/• ‘Custom of charity of Tichbourne dole - bags of flour given to local people’ (British Pathé, 1928): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jV30X294hAThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/25/2024 • 10 minutes, 44 seconds

There were no orcas or rollercoasters, but there were ‘seamaids’ serving tropical drinks when Sea World San Diego first welcomed guests on 22nd March, 1964. Originally conceived as a themed restaurant with a marine show inside, the founders had pivoted to build a seaquarium instead, drawing thousands of eager visitors, including, bizarrely, Senator Barry Goldwater.It wasn't until the acquisition of the famous killer whale, Shamu, that SeaWorld's identity truly solidified, but the park's success sparked ethical debates about the treatment of animals, from ‘Free Willy’ to ‘Blackfish’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly weigh up the park’s achievements in sealife conservation with the cruelty of keeping orcas in captivity; explain why the city of San Diego was so keen to back this innovative new attraction; and reveal how the Shamu phenomenon can trace its origins to one man’s dream of riding a whale like a waterski…  Further Reading:• ‘The Fantastical Vision for the Original SeaWorld’ (The Atlantic, 2014): https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/03/the-fantastical-vision-for-the-original-seaworld/284561/• ‘Obituary: Milton Shedd, 79, Co-Founder of SeaWorld’ (The New York Times, 2002): https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/28/business/milton-shedd-79-co-founder-of-seaworld.html?searchResultPosition=24• ‘The Complete "One Ocean" Shamu Show at SeaWorld’ (Money Saving Videos, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as93_fvdYykWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/22/2024 • 10 minutes, 44 seconds

Rerun: The world’s most famous high-security jail, Alcatraz, evicted its last prisoner on 21st March, 1963. Met by a huge crowd of reporters who asked him what he thought of ‘the rock’, armed robber Frank Weatherman responded, “Alcatraz was never no good for nobody.”For nearly thirty years the island prison had built a reputation as ‘inescapable’, but in 1962 three men did indeed manage to escape, and were never found, dead or alive. The costs of running the facility sealed its fate: at a cost of $10 per day per prisoner, it cost three times more to run than a typical American prison.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the state-of-the-art security features the prison had when it opened; revisit the 1935 Christmas menu dished up in the mess hall; and review some bad-taste souvenirs offered up in the modern-day gift shop… Further Reading:• ‘Alcatraz closes its doors’ (HISTORY, 2020): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/alcatraz-closes-its-doors• ‘Alcatraz Prison Was Apparently an Excellent Place to Eat’ (Bon Appetit): https://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/article/alcatraz-prison-food• ‘Last prisoners leaving Alcatraz Island’ (Universal International News, 1963): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpP5IJeBshE‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/21/2024 • 9 minutes, 59 seconds

The bubonic plague was blamed on witches, Jews, God’s wrath, and, on 20th March 1345, in a new theory propagated by the King of France, the rare planetary alignment between Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in Aquarius.Of course, the real cause of the Black Death lay in the microscopic world of bacteria, carried by fleas on rats. But mediaeval society, ill-equipped to comprehend the science behind the pandemic, relied on conjecture and superstition to explain the waves of death that swept through Europe.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the plague reshaped populations through persecution and migration; consider the Pope’s intervention to prevent a pogrom; and unearth a surprising origin theory for the plague - in Mongolia…Further Reading:• ‘Black Death is created, allegedly’ (HISTORY, 2020): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/black-death-is-created-allegedly• ‘9 Places Connected to the Black Death’ (HistoryExtra, 2011): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/black-death-is-created-allegedly• ‘Plague 101’ (National Geographic, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYnMXEcHI7ULove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/20/2024 • 10 minutes, 40 seconds

The cornerstone of the Sagrada Familia was laid on March 19, 1882, kicking off a construction project so ambitious that it is still going to this day.Perhaps unexpectedly, however, on the day it began, the cathedral that is now regarded as Antoni Gaudí’s Art Nouveau magnus opus was being overseen by another architect entirely, and had a fairly traditional design. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss how Gaudí planned to incorporate the entire heavens and earth into a single structure; reveal which are the world’s longest ever construction projects; and explain why Gaudí should have followed that classic parental advice to always wear clean underwear in case you are in an accident… Further Reading:‘Barcelona's Sagrada Família: Gaudí's 'cathedral for the poor'’ (The Guardian, 2015): https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jun/03/barcelona-sagrada-familia-gaudi-history-cities-cathedral-poor-church-religion ‘133 Years Later, Gaudí’s Cathedral Nears Completion’ (National Geographic, 2015): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/151105-gaudi-sagrada-familia-barcelona-final-stage-construction ‘The World's Oldest Construction Project | Sagrada Familia’ (Real Engineering, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkNGdzo_3EA  #1800s #Architecture #Religion #Spain This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie PeartCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/19/2024 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Tenji blocks (点字ブロック) - small raised shapes in the pavement to assist visually impaired people in crossing the road - were first installed near the Okayama School for the Blind in Japan on March 18th, 1967. Designed by Seiichi Miyake (三宅精一), the innovation gained traction in urban areas like Tokyo and Osaka, gradually spreading nationwide, particularly in bustling cities where safety for visually impaired individuals was paramount. But Miyake died before witnessing the global implementation of his invention.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why frosted-up number plates play their part in the Tenji design story; consider future enhancements, such as embedding QR codes into pavements; and reveal why retrofitting wasn’t always a straightforward solution… Further Reading:• ‘How Japanese Inventor of Tenji Blocks Changed the Lives of Millions Around the World’ (JAPAN Forward, 2019): https://japan-forward.com/how-japanese-inventor-of-tenji-blocks-changed-the-lives-of-millions-around-the-world/• ‘Seiichi Miyake: His tactile blocks impacted railway platforms and streets’ (CNN, 2019): https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/18/world/seiichi-miyake-tactile-blocks-impact-trnd/index.html• ‘Tactile paving slab | Object in Focus’ (V&A, 2020):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKMm-hccQqc#Design #Japan #Disability #60sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/18/2024 • 10 minutes, 15 seconds

Vincent van Gogh’s genius was finally recognised 11 years after his death, when, on March 15th, 1901, the Bernheim-Jeune Gallery in Paris debuted his first major exhibition. Without the persistence of his sister-in-law, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, it could probably not have happened.Gogh-Bonger had tirelessly promoted Vincent’s work after inheriting it when her husband Theo - Vincent’s brother and benefactor - suddenly died. And there was a lot to contend with: Vincent had painted around 900 works in the decade leading up to his suicide.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Vincent’s use of visible brushstrokes and vibrant colours challenged the conventions of traditional European art, paving the way for modernism; explain how praise from Monet motivated van Gogh despite his debilitatingly poor mental health; and unpick speculation that Gauguin may have been involved in the infamous ear-cutting incident…Further Reading: • ‘van Gogh’ (van Gogh Museum, Netherlands): https://vangogh.staedelmuseum.de/en/• ‘The Woman Who Made Vincent van Gogh’ (The New York Times, 2021): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/14/magazine/jo-van-gogh-bonger.html• Van Gogh's Art in 7 Minutes: From Iconic Paintings to Immersive Experiences (Curious Muse, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kcXgRK0M3w#Netherlands #Art #1900sWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie PeartCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/15/2024 • 10 minutes, 12 seconds

Rerun. Colonel Harland Sanders’ image continues to grace the logo of KFC, who continue to sell the chicken inspired by his ‘11 secret herbs and spices’. But on 14th March, 1978 the Colonel and the chain’s owners were at legal loggerheads over his constant criticism of their food.As KFC franchises were rolled out worldwide, Sanders was highly critical of the innovations made to his recipe - describing the new batter as "a damn fried doughball stuck on some chicken" - and the iteration of his gravy as "God-damned slop".In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the Colonel’s surprising devotion to swearing; explain how his devotion to quality made him the ‘Heston Blumenthal of fried chicken’; and revisit the debacle of ‘Kentucky Roast Beef’… Further Reading:• ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken of Bowling Green, Inc. v. Sanders’ (Supreme Court of Kentucky, 1978):https://law.justia.com/cases/kentucky/supreme-court/1978/563-s-w-2d-8-1.html• ‘8 Things You May Not Know About the Real Colonel Sanders’ (HISTORY, 2019): https://www.history.com/news/8-facts-real-colonel-sanders-kfc• ‘Colonel Sanders: Integrity in What You Do’ (KFC promotional video, 1970s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzPwWu4PKjU‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/14/2024 • 9 minutes, 32 seconds

The Guatemalan island of Flores, once known as Nojpetén, witnessed the final clash between Spanish conquistadors and the last independent Maya kingdom on March 13th, 1697. The Itza warriors, equipped with ornate spears and swords, fought valiantly to defend their homeland; but Spanish firepower ultimately overwhelmed them, leading to heavy casualties and the retreat of many defenders. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the fall of Nojpetén marked the end of an era for the Maya people, but not their actual end; consider how foreign diseases like smallpox and typhoid were imported by the Spanish; and reveal how many languages still spoken today stem from this ancient civilisation… Further Reading:‘Who were the Maya? Decoding the ancient civilization's secrets’ (National Geographic, 2022): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/who-were-the-maya‘Ancient History in depth: The Fall of the Mayan Civilisation’ (BBC History, 2011): https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/cultures/maya_01.shtml‘The Maya People’ (SmithsonianNMAI, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86F10IrvVusLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/13/2024 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

On this day in 1951, by a peculiar quirk of fate, the world got not one, but two Dennis the Menaces. Both Dennises were mischievous rascals with slingshots, dogs, and striped outfits, but their personalities were as different as Yorkshire tea and Americano coffee. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reflect on why Beano eventually gave Walter the Softy a girlfriend; discuss America’s 1950s obsession with permissive parenting; and speculate on why the US Dennis the Menace had to go on the run from the police…Further Reading:‘The Most Unbelievable Comic Ripoff Was a Total Coincidence’ (Screen Rant, 2021): https://screenrant.com/dennis-menace-coincidence-us-uk-ripoff/ ‘Dennis the Menace at 60’ (BBC, 2011): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12770341 ‘An Insane British-American Coincidence’ (Lost in the Pond, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykOZXhefypw This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/12/2024 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

Disgruntled textile workers stormed a factory near Nottingham on March 11th, 1811, kickstarting the political movement famously known as Luddism.Their protest was not anti-technology per se; instead it stemmed from a desire for better work opportunities and wages, amidst economic hardships exacerbated by the Napoleonic Wars. As tensions escalated, the British government deployed troops to safeguard factories and enacted laws making machine destruction a capital offence.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the fictional ‘King Lud’ became the group’s figurehead; consider how the meaning of the word ‘Luddite’ has morphed over centuries; and explain why, despite their proclivity for machine-smashing, luddites were keen WFH-ers… Further Reading:‘What the Luddites Really Fought Against’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2011): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-really-fought-against-264412/‘The Luddites: Your Guide To The Violent Industrial Revolution Movement’ (HistoryExtra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/industrial-revolution/who-were-luddites-facts-what-happened/‘Almanac: The Luddites’ (CBS Sunday Morning, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqUezvo6oRALove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/11/2024 • 10 minutes, 48 seconds

Comedy legends The Marx Brothers made their final on-screen appearance together on March 8th, 1959, in a TV short called "The Incredible Jewel Robbery." However, due to contractual reasons, Groucho's participation was kept a surprise until the end, with his billing simply as "a familiar face equipped with a moustache and leer." The Marx Brothers' transition from vaudeville to film to television showcased their adaptability and versatility. Despite contractual hurdles and changing entertainment landscapes, their brand of humour continued to delight audiences and influence future generations of comedians.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why gambling debts motivated some of their various reunions; discover that a generation of Americans knew Groucho more as a TV quiz host than as a movie star; and reveal why the band Queen paid a visit to his Hollywood mansion…Further Reading:‘Examining the Marx Brothers’ Television Appearances’ (Vulture, 2014): https://www.vulture.com/2014/08/examining-the-marx-brothers-television-appearances.html‘The Marx Brothers Early Career Explored in Fascinating New Book’ (Den of Geek, 2014): https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/the-marx-brothers-early-career-explored-in-fascinating-new-book/‘THE INCREDIBLE JEWEL ROBBERY’ (CBS, 1959): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueRAX-No08EWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/8/2024 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Rerun: Why is Sunday the Christian day of rest? Because Jesus said so? No! It was Roman emperor Constantine The Great who decreed on 7th March, 320 that “on the venerable day of the sun, let the magistrate and the people residing in cities rest and let all workshops be closed”.It was a departure from the tradition of commemorating Sabbath on a Saturday, which had been in line with Jewish teachings - and the word of God as depicted in the Bible itself.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Sumerians and Babylonians also played their part in the seemingly arbitrary division of the week into seven days; ask if Constantine was hedging his bets by merging the Christian calendar with the Roman sun-God’s special day; and reveal how the Emperor tried to cheat his way into Heaven at the very last minute…Further Reading:• ‘Constantine Orders That Sunday Becomes A Day of Rest’ (BBC History Magazine, 2016): https://www.pressreader.com/uk/bbc-history-magazine/20160225/281698319039318• ‘Sol Invictus - Roman Sun God’ (Mythology.net, 2016): https://mythology.net/roman/roman-gods/sol-invictus/• ‘Why Christianity Owes a Lot to the Roman Emperor Constantine’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y7c9vweo8k‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/7/2024 • 9 minutes, 15 seconds

Pioneering music-sharing platform Napster faced a pivotal legal showdown on March 6th, 2001, when - despite the company’s defence that it was merely a tool for innocent purposes - US District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ordered the removal of all copyrighted material from the service.Napster's legal troubles had begun with lawsuits from prominent artists like Metallica and Dr. Dre, but it was the Recording Industry Association of America's $20 billion lawsuit that spelled the endgame for the platform. Yet the swift rise and fall of the peer-to-peer software marked a paradigm shift in how music was consumed, challenging traditional notions of ownership and distribution. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how its youthful inventors Shawn Fanning and Shaun Parker first met; explore how its legacy lives on in the likes of Spotify; and consider how the legal precedent set by Betamax, of all things, became the technology’s downfall…Further Reading:‘Oversharing: how Napster nearly killed the music industry’ (The Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/may/31/napster-twenty-years-music-revolution‘The death spiral of Napster begins’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-spiral-of-napster-begins‘Napster Documentary: Culture of Free’ (The New York Times, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKrdsGdLVQ8Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/6/2024 • 9 minutes, 51 seconds

The famous 'Che' poster, entitled Guerrillero Heroico, taken by Alberto Korda at a mass funeral in Havana on 5th March, 1960. It went on to become one of the most reproduced photographs of all time.Korda snapped only two shots of Che Guevara that day - one portrait, one landscape - because he had actually been dispatched by a newspaper to capture images of Fidel Castro. The photo only came to prominence years later, following the guerilla’s death, when Italian publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli obtained it and brought it back to Europe.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether the specificity of Che’s Cuban politics got lost in the mass-production of the image; explain why the Communist regime never made a penny out of sales of the photo; and reveal the surprising reason Che’s daughter believed her Dad would have enjoyed the attention…Further Reading:• ‘Poster boy’ (The Guardian, 2006): https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2006/jun/03/art.art• ‘The Story Behind Che's Iconic Photo’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2016): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/iconic-photography-che-guevara-alberto-korda-cultural-travel-180960615/• ‘History vs. Che Guevara - Alex Gendler’ (Ted-Ed, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjrvKA4w9-YThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/5/2024 • 10 minutes, 2 seconds

John Lennon's controversial statement that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus was first published in the London Evening Standard on 4th March, 1966. The reporter, Maureen Cleave, documented the eccentricities of Lennon's life and his dissatisfaction with fame and wealth; his musings on religion went almost completely unnoticed.That all changed months later, when American shock jocks unearthed Lennon's comments, sparking widespread outrage, leading to a media frenzy that inspired boycotts, record burnings, and KKK death threats. In Memphis, fear reached its peak when a cherry bomb sparked panic during a Beatles concert - one of the last live gigs they would ever perform.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly expose the cynicism of the DJs who jumped on the Beatles-burning bandwagon; explain how the fallout from Lennon's statement lingered long after the tour, even inspiring Mark David Chapman’s fanaticism; and discover which board-game the Beatles used to unwind with in the evenings…Further Reading:• When John Lennon's 'Jesus' Controversy Turned Ugly (Rolling Stone, 2016): https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/when-john-lennons-more-popular-than-jesus-controversy-turned-ugly-106430/• ‘Beatle bonfires’ (The Pop History Dig, 2017): https://pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/beatle-bonfires/• ‘The Beatles Press Conference’ (Aug 12, 1966): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZaI7m1xpAgLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/4/2024 • 11 minutes, 5 seconds

Mick Jagger, Madonna, and David Bowie were amongst the megastars who participated in the ‘I Want My MTV!’ campaign which debuted on 1st March, 1982; credited for getting music television to a sustainable number of cable providers and thereby kickstarting a whole genre: the music video. Ad guru George Lois had come up with the slogan, inspired by an earlier cereal commercial he’d worked on. The promotion hit such a nerve with Generation X that it even made it into a hit single, when Dire Straits and Sting sang ‘I Want My MTV’ in ‘Money For Nothing’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the music and cable industry both needed persuading of the merits of taking the new channel; consider why adopting the segregated playlists approach of American popular radio was a mis-step for the originators of the network; and reveal why so many British artists played a role in the early days of the playlist…Further Reading:‘How MTV changed pop music and TV forever - but it all began in cramped room above deli’ (Mirror, 2021): https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/how-mtv-changed-pop-music-24659108‘George Lois Dead: Icon of Ads & Magazines Popularized ‘I Want My MTV’’ (The Hollywood Reporter, 2022): https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/george-lois-dead-icon-ads-magazine-i-want-my-mtv-1235266407/#!‘I Want My MTV’ (MTV, 1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGZSWdh17l0We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/1/2024 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

The strange behaviour of two young girls, Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Parris, sparked the  infamous Salem Witch Trials on February 29th, 1692, when a Doctor pronounced that they were possessed by Satan.Accusations of witchcraft snowballed in the Puritan community, leading to a frenzy of trials and hangings. Suspicions fell upon those who deviated from the norm, such as Sarah Goode and Sarah Osborne, viewed as societal outcasts, and Parris slave, Tituba.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how even animals fell victim to the hysteria that ensued; uncover the centuries-long wait to clear the name of the accused women; and reveal how the real cause of the panic might simply have been a Reverend’s embarrassment…Further Reading:• ‘History of the Salem Witch Trials’ (History of Massachusetts Blog, 2011): https://historyofmassachusetts.org/the-salem-witch-trials/• ‘The Mysterious Enslaved Woman Who Sparked Salem’s Witch Hunt’ (HISTORY, 2018): https://www.history.com/news/salem-witch-trials-first-accused-woman-slave• ‘What really happened during the Salem Witch Trials - Brian A. Pavlac’ (Ted-Ed, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVd8kuufBhMLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/29/2024 • 11 minutes, 1 second

Rerun: Webster’s New International Dictionary (Second Edition) was the largest book to be mass produced, but - as was revealed on 28th February, 1939 - it contained an embarrassing error: on page 771, between the entries for Dorcopsis (a type of small kangaroo) and doré (golden in colour), was the word ‘dord’. Which doesn’t exist. The mistake had arisen from a note submitted by the dictionary’s Chemistry Editor, Austin M. Patterson, who had intended to include ‘D or d’ as an abbreviation for ‘density’. It became the most celebrated example of a ‘ghost word’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether the time is right to re-introduce ‘dord’ to the dictionary; reveal how the word ‘ghost’ itself contains a ‘ghost letter’; and explain why the the 1975 edition of the New Columbia Dictionary deliberately included an entry on fictitious photographer Lillian Virginia Mountweazel…Further Reading:•‘The Curious Case of “Dord,” the Dictionary-Defined Word That Doesn’t Exist’ (MindBounce, 2020): https://www.mindbounce.com/446502/the-curious-case-of-dord-the-dictionary-defined-word-that-doesnt-exist/•‘What Are Ghost Words?’ (Grammarly): https://www.grammarly.com/blog/ghost-words/•‘Ask The Editor: Ghost Word’ (Merriam-Webster, 2011):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3sDiH3FhnYThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/28/2024 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

New Orleans witnessed its first modern Mardi Gras procession - kick-started by a group of students eager to revive the traditional masquerade, banned for six decades - on 27th February, 1827. The city’s parades and revelry can trace their origins back to ancient pagan festivals and European traditions, cemented by the arrival of French-Canadian explorer (and MASSIVE ‘Fat Tuesday’ fan) Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville into Louisiana in 1699. In this episode, The Retrospectors Krewe dig into the celebration’s impact on revenue and refuse; consider the discriminatory practices that accompanied the festivities until the late 20th century; and get angry about the British equivalent: Pancake Day… Further Reading:‘Here's a Brief History of Mardi Gras and How It All Started’ (The Manual, 2024): https://www.themanual.com/culture/history-of-madi-gras/‘Unmasking the History of Mardi Gras in New Orleans’ (The Crescent Magazine, 2022): https://tulanemagazine.com/unmasking-the-history-of-mardi-gras-in-new-orleans/‘Mardi Gras New Orleans Louisiana 4K’ (Dan Usher Films, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bv1mFl9SI4Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/27/2024 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

President Woodrow Wilson finally signed into law a bill establishing The Grand Canyon as the USA's 15th National Park on this day in 1919.Although preservation orders had given the Canyon some protection prior to this moment, it had been 37 years since Benjamin Harrison had first attempted to enshrine its special status more specifically. The first white American known to traverse the Colorado River, Joseph C Ives, had proclaimed the Canyon to be ‘valueless’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ponder whether full protection would ever have arrived, were it not for the assassination of President McKinley; explain what tourism to the Canyon entailed in the days before the Railroad; and explain why, since 1979, officially sanctioned souvenir rocks have had greater appeal to visitors… Further Reading:• ‘The Grand Canyon turns 100: rare photos of life and adventure’ (The Guardian, 2019): https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2019/feb/26/the-grand-canyon-turns-100-rare-photos-of-life-and-adventure• ‘The Grand Canyon - By Byron Augustin, Jake Kubena’ (Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2010):https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Grand_Canyon/K8XI63dLTXkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=woodrow+wilson+grand+canyon&pg=PA53&printsec=frontcover• ‘How Was the Grand Canyon Formed?’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6IBg4Srb6EThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/26/2024 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

The Cato Street Conspiracy - a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Lord Liverpool and the entire Cabinet as they attended a private dinner party - was foiled on February 23rd, 1820.  Thwarted by an informant within their ranks, the conspirators were exposed, and either deported or executed.Arthur Thistlewood and his cohorts had planned a ruthless assault, complete with grenades, firearms, and symbolic decapitations. Their ideology fused Marxist principles with revolutionary fervour, aiming to redistribute land and provoke a proletarian uprising. Yet their vision faltered, as their violent ambitions clashed with the realities of British governance.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the turbulent period of British radicalism after the Napoleonic Wars; explain why the Coldstream Guards were considerably less effective at the scene of the crime bust than they might have been; and discover one of Thistlewood’s prior Dick Dastardly-style schemes to destabilise the government…Further Reading: ‘History Matters - The Cato Street Conspiracy, 1820’ (University of Sheffield, 2020): https://historymatters.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/blog-archive/2020/the-cato-street-conspiracy-1820‘The Cato Street Conspiracy - Plotting, Counter-intelligence and the Revolutionary Tradition in Britain and Ireland, eds. Jason McElligott, Martin Conboy’ (Manchester University Press, 2019): https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Cato_Street_Conspiracy.html?id=E7zEDwAAQBAJ‘Cato Street Conspiracy: the rebel and the spy’ (Museum of London, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-apjYCejsacWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/23/2024 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

RERUN: Dolly The Sheep, the first ever successfully cloned mammal, was introduced to the world’s press at the Roslin Institute in Scotland on 22nd February, 1997.Born seven months earlier, with the comparatively unremarkable name ‘Lamb Number 6LL3’, news of her birth had been leaked by The Observer before the scientific paper about her genesis could be published, sparking an international frenzy. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the international media (and Bill Clinton) took the opportunity to drum up panic about human cloning, rather than engage with the remarkable breakthrough she actually represented; reveal why Dolly developed a snack habit; and identify a missed opportunity for Dolly’s Tea Rooms in Roslin…Further Reading:• ‘Dolly the sheep’ (National Museum of Scotland): https://www.nms.ac.uk/dolly• ‘Dolly the Sheep and the human cloning debate - twenty years later’ (The Conversation, 2016): https://theconversation.com/dolly-the-sheep-and-the-human-cloning-debate-twenty-years-later-63712• ‘Retro Report: The Story of Dolly the Cloned Sheep’ (The New York Times, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tELZEPcgKkE‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/22/2024 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Edwin Land unveiled the world's first instant camera to the Optical Society of America on 21st February, 1947.Snapping a quick black-and-white selfie, Land astonished onlookers as the image emerged within 60 seconds. Despite its initial high price and complex development process, Polaroid cameras became a sensation, selling out on their first day of release in 1948. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Land's inspiration came during a family vacation; consider why Steve Jobs and other Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have looked to Land for inspiration ever since; and recall Polaroid’s disastrous pivot into ‘instant movies’, Polavision, in 1977…Further Reading:• ‘Inside the company that gave the world instant photography’ (FT, 2017): https://www.ft.com/content/d76d5f44-5088-11e7-bfb8-997009366969• ‘Instant - The Story of Polaroid, By Christopher Bonanos’ (Princeton Architectural Press, 2012): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Instant/VgyuGmMZ7iIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Instant:+A+Cultural+History+of+Polaroid+by+Christopher+Bonanos&printsec=frontcover• ‘Apple & Polaroid's Intertwined Legacy’ (In An Instant, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOzdMkMMpR0Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/21/2024 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

Departing from Puerto Rico with grand plans to establish a new colony, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León set out on his ill-fated second expedition to Florida on February 15th, 1521. Ponce de León's reputation as a conquistador preceded him, with tales of his brutal conquests in Hispaniola preceding his quest for new lands. Despite being ousted from power by his rival Diego Columbus, Ponce de León received a charter from King Ferdinand to explore and govern distant territories.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why de León named his ‘discovery’ "Florida"; explain why the ‘tree of death’ played a pivotal part in his downfall; and discover where those ‘Fountain of Youth’ rumours came from… Further Reading: ‘Ponce de Leon: Florida & Fountain of Youth’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/juan-ponce-de-leon‘Ponce De Leon Never Searched for the Fountain of Youth’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2013): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ponce-de-leon-never-searched-for-the-fountain-of-youth-72629888/‘Juan Ponce de León: Meet the Spanish explorer who discovered Florida’ (10 Tampa Bay, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-BjLdHerRkLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/20/2024 • 10 minutes, 46 seconds

The frontman of Pulp, Jarvis co*cker, infamously crashed the stage of the Brit Awards while Michael Jackson was performing Earth Song at the 1996 Brit Awards on this day in London. The incident has gone down in history as one of the most controversial musical moments of the 1990s, not least because immediately after he stepped off the stage co*cker was promptly arrested and taken into custody.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the Brit Awards had invented an award, Artist of a Generation Award, just for Michael Jackson; reveal why the Daily Mail declared the evening the “Night Our Dreams Were Pulped”; and discuss why if he had his time over co*cker wouldn’t do it again… Further Reading:• ‘Jarvis co*cker's on-stage mooning of Michael Jackson at the BRITs turns 25’ (The Daily Mirror, 2021): https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/jarvis-co*ckers-stage-mooning-michael-23527875 • ‘Bum rush the show! Jarvis co*cker’s Britpop celebrity moment’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/feb/19/bum-rush-the-show-jarvis-co*ckers-britpop-celebrity-moment • ‘Jarvis co*cker - 1996 Brit Awards Michael Jackson’ (BBC South East, 1996): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymCQyq-9APw This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/19/2024 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

Multi-talented monk Andrew of Longjumeau embarked on a daring journey to the heart of the Mongol Empire on 16th February, 1249. As Ambassador of Louis IX, he led a delegation destined for the court of the Mongol Khan Güyük - who had, awkwardly, died before he got there.Although not the first European envoy to the East, Andrew's mission was part of a broader effort to navigate alliances amidst the Crusades. Undeterred, his later adventures in Constantinople included the retrieval of the relic believed to be Christ’s Crown of Thorns.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pause to admire the succinct literary skills of the Regent Mother, Ogul-Gaimish Khan; explain why Andrew had little choice but to put a positive spin on his unwelcome discoveries; and discover why Louis’s mates David and Mark have a LOT to answer for… #Medieval #Christian #ExplorerFurther Reading:• ‘The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries - by Harry W. Hazard, Kenneth Meyer Setton (University of Wisconsin Press, 1975): https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Fourteenth_and_Fifteenth_Centuries.html?id=J6v9jhUd-r8C• ‘Andrew Of Lonjumel | Diplomatic Negotiator, Treaty Maker & Statesman’ (Britannica): https://www.britannica.com/biography/Andrew-of-Lonjumel• ‘The rise and fall of the Mongol Empire - Anne F. Broadbridge’ (TedEx, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUVvTqvjUaMWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/16/2024 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

RERUN: TV chef Delia Smith built a stellar career on the success spawned from her first book, ‘How To Cheat At Cooking’ in 1971. So, when she published a reboot on 15th February, 2008, it seemed a shoo-in to sell bucketloads (which it did) - but not, perhaps, attract controversy (which it REALLY did).By seemingly encouraging the chattering classes to buy ready-mixed and frozen food, she was accused of having betrayed her audience of foodies. And that was BEFORE she turned up on telly pouring tinned mince into a Shepherd’s Pie…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly test out Delia’s ‘cheat’ Moroccan chicken; unpick whether the backlash was classist in nature; and reveal just how much culinary ‘cheating’ has changed since the first book in the ‘70s… Further Reading:• ‘The demonising of St Delia: How her cheat recipes provoked an extraordinary backlash’ (Mail Online, 2008): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-533565/The-demonising-St-Delia-How-cheat-recipes-provoked-extraordinary-backlash.html• ‘Happy 80th birthday, Delia Smith! 10 lessons she has taught us – from eggs to lemon zesters’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jun/18/happy-80th-birthday-delia-smith-10-lessons-she-has-taught-us-from-eggs-to-lemon-zesters• ‘Delia’s How To Cheat: Shepherd’s Pie’ (BBC, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIoeEJTPpQA‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/15/2024 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

Luella Parsons’s reign as Tinseltown’s top tittle-tattler was severely challenged on 14th February, 1938, following the print debut of rival column, ‘Hedda Hopper's Hollywood’. With her fiery style and incendiary content, Hopper quickly garnered a massive audience of her own. Together, the two writers reached over 75 million readers and radio listeners in Hollywood’s golden age; their networks of informants and sensational stories making or breaking countless careers.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how the rivals derailed Orson Welles' career after the release of ‘Citizen Kane’; reveal how the Chicago railway played a pivotal role in Parsons’s rise to the top; and consider how Hedda changed her first name - to appease her first husband… Further Reading:• ‘The Powerful Rivalry of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons’ (Vanity Fair, 1997): https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/02/rivalry-hedda-hopper-louella-parsons-gossip-columnists• ‘Forgotten Hollywood: Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons’ (Golden Globes, 2021): https://goldenglobes.com/articles/forgotten-hollywood-hedda-hopper-and-louella-parsons-articles-forgotten-hollywood-hedda-hopper-and-louella-parsons/• ‘Publicist Frank Liberman on Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper’ (Television Academy Foundation, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaZNCJriAZ4Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/14/2024 • 10 minutes, 35 seconds

The Winter Olympics kicked off in Calgary on 13th February, 1988 - but the stand-out stars of the event did not qualify for a medal. Rather, the four-man Jamaican Bobsled team - who would later become (unreliably) immortalised in the Disney comedy ‘Cool Runnings’ - became a testament to the intersection of determination, investment, and sporting excellence.The brainchild of Americans George Fitch and William Maloney, the concept was influenced by Jamaica's annual Pushcart Derby, and supported in part by the Tourist Board. Participants, including helicopter pilot Dudley Stokes, were recruited via the pair’s connections to the Jamaican military.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pick out fact from fiction in the Hollywood retelling of the saga; consider the legacy of Jamaica’s first-time involvement with this cold-weather sport; and reveal how reggae music really did help the team make it to the competition… Further Reading:• 'I Was in The Jamaican Bobsled Team That Inspired 'Cool Runnings'' (Newsweek, 2022): https://www.newsweek.com/i-was-jamaican-bobsled-team-that-inspired-cool-runnings-1675732• ‘Jamaican bobsleigh team: Everything you need to know about Cool Runnings, the 1988 Olympic Games, and more’ (Olympics, 2021): https://olympics.com/en/news/jamaican-bobsleigh-team-1988-winter-olympics• ‘Jamaican Bobsleigh Team Debut At Calgary Winter Olympics’ (Olympics, 1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm4DjRcmoPYLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/13/2024 • 10 minutes, 47 seconds

Lady Jane Grey - Queen of England for just nine days - was executed at the Tower of London on 12th February, 1554.Edward VI, who had died aged 15, named the teenager as his successor in his will, even though Henry VIII’s daughters Mary and Elizabeth had a more direct connection to the throne. The protestant Jane fainted upon hearing she had been made monarch, and declared that Mary was the rightful heir. When the privy council changed their mind and declared Mary (despite her Catholicism) to be Queen anyway, Jane was sent to the Tower.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why it was Jane’s own father - not ‘Bloody’ Mary herself - who was ultimately responsible for Jane’s beheading; reveal how even in the last moments of her life Mary conspired to get Jane converted to Catholicism; and discover that it’s *never* a good idea to put on a blindfold before you put your head on the chopping block… Further Reading:• ‘Lady Jane Grey: Tower of London’ (Historic Royal Palaces): https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/lady-jane-grey/#gs.og751i• ‘Lady Jane Grey: Facts About The Nine-Day Queen's Life & Execution’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/who-was-lady-jane-grey-facts-about-nine-day-queen-execution-death/• ‘Lady Jane Grey, The Teenager Who Ruled England For Nine Days’ (Weird History, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaKjBiG0e6EThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/12/2024 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

Before ‘The X Factor’ and ‘The Voice’, there was ‘Pop Idol’, the ITV behemoth that spawned Simon Fuller’s global mega-hit ‘American Idol’. Season One climaxed on 9th February, 2002, when Gareth Gates - a 17-year-old former head chorister - and Will Young - a politely-spoken 23-year-old alumnus of Wellington College - slugged it out for the title of Pop Idol champion.Britain was captivated as the public strove to choose their favourite cover version of an unreleased Westlife album track - with over 15 million people tuning in, and 8.7 million casting their votes via telephone. Will emerged as the winner, but perhaps the real winner was the format - which centred the Judges, particularly ‘Nasty’ Simon Cowell, in a way that would inspire dozens of talent show successors.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall how producer Nigel Lythgoe ramped up the ‘battle’ element of the competition with rosettes and battle buses; consider the hom*ophobic coverage of Young’s sexuality in the mainstream media; and reveal Rebecca’s place in Pop Idol history… Further Reading:• ‘And your new Pop Idol is... Will’ (The Observer, 2002): https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/feb/10/bensummerskill.theobserver• ‘Life after Will Young: how talent shows shaped Britain’ (The Guardian, 2022): https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jan/29/life-after-will-young-how-talent-shows-shaped-britain• ’Pop Idol: The Winner is Revealed’ (ITV, 2002):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKz-TYXdIQIWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/9/2024 • 10 minutes, 50 seconds

Rerun: Diners Club, the world’s first credit card, was used for the first time at Major’s Cabin Grill in New York City on February 8th, 1950. Perhaps at odds with the debonair image the company went on to cultivate, the first iteration was made of cardboard, and required three signatories. Frank X McNamara claimed to have invented the product after previously dining at Major’s and realizing to his horror that he’d left his wallet at home. By the end of their first year in business, Diners Club signed up 42,000 card holders.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the role of Diners Club’s PR man Matty Simmonds in the company’s compelling origin story; commend the savviness of the start-up for targeting wealthy diners at elite restaurants; and explain why, in 1950s America, credit was a man’s game… Photo: The National Museum of American History / Flickr CCFurther Reading:•‘When Were Credit Cards Invented: The History of Credit Cards’ (Forbes Advisor, 2021): https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/history-of-credit-cards/•‘The surprising history of credit cards: How this tech has evolved and where it's headed’ (CNET, 2022): https://www.cnet.com/features/the-history-of-credit-cards/‘How Credit Cards Were Invented’ (NPR Planet Money, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IksSNiEo2g‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/8/2024 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds

The first film to feature Charlie Chaplin’s ‘Tramp’ character was filmed on 7th February, 1914: the Keystone comedy short, ‘Kid Auto Races at Venice’. Remarkably, Chaplin had created the character only three days earlier, on instruction by studio boss Max Sennett to inject more gags into another film, ‘Mabel’s Strange Predicament’. In the costume cupboard, he put together Fatty Arbuckle’s old trousers, a tight coat, a small hat, and large shoes. To age his youthful face, a moustache was added - and a legend was born. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Tramp had roots in Chaplin’s earlier stage career as ‘the inebriate’; marvel at the activities teenage boys were encouraged to do on the streets of Los Angeles in the 2010s; and reveal how a documentary called ‘Olives and their Oil’ may have increased the impact of his Hollywood debut… Further Reading:• Charlie Chaplin, Legendary Movie Comedian (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/charlie-chaplin-4769059• ‘The rise and fall of Chaplinitis: How Charlie Chaplin changed the film industry forever’ (Far Out Magazine, 2020): https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-rise-and-fall-of-chaplinitis-how-charlie-chaplin-changed-the-film-industry-forever/• ‘Kid Auto Races at Venice’ (Keystone, 1914): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI4UtxrQKisLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/7/2024 • 11 minutes, 7 seconds

Grand duch*ess Anastasia of Russia was executed by the Bolsheviks in 1917 - yet, on 6th February, 1928, a mentally troubled Polish factory worker claiming to be her was welcomed to New York by Romanov associates.Anna Anderson’s claim to be the Tsar’s daughter climaxed in a 32-year legal saga, the longest in German history. But posthumous DNA testing debunked her claim, revealing no connection to the Royal family. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover how decades of Soviet misinformation contributed to the conspiracy; reveal how Prince Philip himself became involved in debunking it; and consider a reboot of the animated version of her life… Further Reading:• ‘Did Anastasia Survive The Romanovs Massacre? The Real History Explained’ (HistoryExtra, 2023): https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/did-anastasia-survive-massacre-romanovs-real-history-facts-conspiracy/• ‘How Anna Anderson Became The Grand duch*ess Anastasia of Russia’ (All That’s Interesting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/anna-anderson• ‘Royal Runaway? Ultimate Fate of duch*ess Anastasia REVEALED’ (History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYRMHKC9xMALove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/6/2024 • 11 minutes, 13 seconds

On this day in 1909 Leo Baekeland announced his invention of Bakelite to the American Chemical Society.Having already earned a fortune selling his photographic patent to Kodak, the Belgian-born chemist had opened his own lab in Yonkers, experimenting with formaldehyde and phenol. The resulting material, which he called Bakelite, could be used in everything from toys to automobiles, and was marketed as ‘The Material of 1,000 Uses!’In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the explosive billiard balls of the post-ivory era; explain why plastic was a game-changer for the costume jewelry market; and reveal how the material played a surprising role in one of the great art crimes of the 20th century… Further Reading:• The Story of Bakelite, the First Synthetic Plastic (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/story-of-synthetic-plastic-1991672• ‘How plastic became a victim of its own success’ (BBC, 2017): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41188462• ‘How Bakelite Changed the World’ (How Stuff Works, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnEtfdthmG0&t=13sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/5/2024 • 10 minutes, 41 seconds

Long before Bill Murray turned up, Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney hosted its first ever Groundhog Day on 2nd February, 1887 - as a day for huntsmen to eat the local rodent.Over time, the delightful, yet absurd, theory emerged that a groundhog sighting its shadow could predict six more weeks of winter, or herald an early spring. The concept traces its origins to ancient superstitions around Candlemas Day, brought to Pennsylvania by German settlers. But sadly the stats don’t back up the belief!In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a cheeky newspaper editor first introduced this fun fake news into print; consider the role that booze has always played in this quaint merriment; and reveal just what Punxsutawney Phil gets up to for the rest of the year… Further Reading:• ‘The truth about Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil is 131-year-old fake news’ (The Washington Post, 2018): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/02/02/the-truth-about-groundhog-day-punxsutawney-phil-is-131-year-old-fake-news/• ‘Groundhog Day 2020: Origin and History of How the Rodent Began Predicting the Weather’ (Newsweek, 2020):https://www.newsweek.com/groundhog-day-2020-origin-history-1485155• ‘Punxsutawney Phil makes 2023 Groundhog Day prediction’ (NBC News, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmyTNlnPn_0This sounds familiar...We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/3/2024 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds

Long before Bill Murray turned up, Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney hosted its first ever Groundhog Day on 2nd February, 1887 - as a day for huntsmen to eat the local rodent.Over time, the delightful, yet absurd, theory emerged that a groundhog sighting its shadow could predict six more weeks of winter, or herald an early spring. The concept traces its origins to ancient superstitions around Candlemas Day, brought to Pennsylvania by German settlers. But sadly the stats don’t back up the belief!In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a cheeky newspaper editor first introduced this fun fake news into print; consider the role that booze has always played in this quaint merriment; and reveal just what Punxsutawney Phil gets up to for the rest of the year… Further Reading:• ‘The truth about Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil is 131-year-old fake news’ (The Washington Post, 2018): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/02/02/the-truth-about-groundhog-day-punxsutawney-phil-is-131-year-old-fake-news/• ‘Groundhog Day 2020: Origin and History of How the Rodent Began Predicting the Weather’ (Newsweek, 2020):https://www.newsweek.com/groundhog-day-2020-origin-history-1485155• ‘Punxsutawney Phil makes 2023 Groundhog Day prediction’ (NBC News, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmyTNlnPn_0We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/2/2024 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds

Rerun: Theophile Gautier’s account of ‘green jam’ cannabis consumption at the drug-addled dinner parties of the ‘Club des Hachichins’ - alongside literary figures Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac - was first published in Revue des Deux Mondes on 1st February, 1846.The Club, founded by psychiatrist Dr Jacques Joseph Moreau to establish the psychedelic effects of eating copious amounts of marijuana, met in Arab fancy dress; its members mashing their drugs up with with cinnamon cloves, nutmeg, pistachio, sugar, orange juice - and an aphrodisiac derived from Spanish Fly.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Napoleon inadvertently triggered the French trend for weed that endures to this day; consider the influence of Thomas de Quincey’s ‘Confessions of an English Opium Eater’ on this select group of Romantic literati; and review Charles Baudelaire’s claim that he was merely a spectator and DID NOT INHALE…Further Reading:• ‘Spoonfuls of paradise’ (extract from ‘Cannabis’ by Jonathon Green, 2002): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/oct/12/featuresreviews.guardianreview34• ‘The Hashish Club: How the Poets of Paris Turned on Europe’ (High Times, 1979): https://hightimes.com/culture/the-hashish-club/• ‘Jon Snow takes cannabis’ (Channel 4, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyn0fDFqG3I‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/1/2024 • 9 minutes, 59 seconds

These Are My Children premiered on NBC on 31st January, 1949; the world's first televised soap opera. It lasted only four weeks on air, was broadcast live, and had a tiny budget, but influenced the production of the genre for decades. As dramas primarily created by and for women, soap operas typically attracted sniffy reviews from male critics, yet proved enormously popular with their initial audience of 1950s housewives. Creator Irna Phillips’ own backstory mirrored the dramatic storylines she wrote, and many of the situations she introduced into her productions - illegitimate children, amnesiac medical patients - were TV firsts. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the genre’s clunky transition from radio to TV; explain the difficulties in obtaining quality soap actors; and reveal how Phillips not only pioneered soaps, but also pre-empted the Marvel Cinematic Universe… Further Reading:• ‘The Queen of Soaps Speaks…for Herself’ (Library of Congress, 2022): https://blogs.loc.gov/now-see-hear/2022/03/the-queen-of-soaps-speaks-for-herself/• ‘Women Pioneers in Television - Biographies of Fifteen Industry Leaders, By Cary O'Dell’ (McFarland, 1997): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Women_Pioneers_in_Television/74fnsRmeeZcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=these+are+my+children+first+soap+opera&pg=PA191&printsec=frontcover• ‘Eileen Fulton on Irna Phillips’ (Television Academy, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGyhpn01e9ILove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/31/2024 • 10 minutes, 18 seconds

Revolutionary leader Oliver Cromwell was executed on 30th January, 1661 - despite having been dead for more than two years. His body was exhumed from its tomb in Westminster Abbey on the instruction of King Charles II, who sought retribution for those involved in the trial and execution of his father, Charles I.Along with other Regicides, Cromwell’s corpse was disinterred and subjected to public abuse. On the anniversary of Charles I’s beheading, Cromwell’s head was mounted on a spike and stuck on the roof of Westminster Hall - where it remained for thirty years.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly track the illustrious history of Cromwell’s head from that date forth; consider whether the crowd in attendance at the ‘execution’ really hated their former Lord Protector as much as their jeering suggests; and explain how the intervention of a future Prime Minister prevented Cromwell’s relic being put on public display as recently as the 19th Century… Further Reading:• ‘Oliver Cromwell: Hero or Villain?’ (HistoryExtra, 2014) : https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/oliver-cromwell-hero-or-villain/• ‘The Strange Saga of Oliver Cromwell's Head’ (Mental Floss, 2019): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/585591/oliver-cromwells-head-history• ‘Opening The Coffin Of Oliver Cromwell’ (The Fortress, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR0_DE2zQgULove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/30/2024 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

George W. Bush’s controversial State of the Union address from 29th January, 2002 - saw the introduction of the phrase ‘the Axis of Evil’. Speechwriter David Frum had initially grouped Iraq, Iran and North Korea together as an ‘Axis of Hatred’ - but Bush himself chose to replace the word ‘hatred’ with ‘evil’, a choice viewed by most Americans as striking the right tone, but many international commentators as a stepping-stone to indiscriminately invading Iraq.In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Bush’s pivot to ‘evil’ opened up numerous sticky diplomatic questions for his administration; reveal which countries Republican hawk John Bolton felt were the next-most-evil nations; and explain how Frum took inspiration from FDR’s reaction to Pearl Harbor… Further Reading:• ‘David Frum: The Enduring Lessons of the ‘Axis of Evil’ Speech’ (The Atlantic, 2022): https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/axis-of-evil-speech-frum-bush/621397/• ‘20 years later, the ‘Axis of Evil’ is bigger, bolder — and more evil’ (The Hill, 2022): https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/3754480-20-years-later-the-axis-of-evil-is-bigger-bolder-and-more-evil/• ‘George W. Bush’s State of the Union Address’ (2002): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btkJhAM7hZwThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/29/2024 • 10 minutes, 45 seconds

French artist Yves Klein concluded his artwork "Zone de Sensibilité Picturale Immatérielle" on 26th January 1962 - by throwing half the gold he received for the artwork into the Seine, and burning the ownership receipt. This conceptual performance, forgotten for decades, is now often credited by art critics for presaging the world of NFTs and blockchains.Known for his daring, influential art, Klein's more famous works include orchestrating a monotone silence symphony and copyrighting a colour: International Klein Blue. Despite satirising capitalism, however, he always made sure he was well paid… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Klein's methods aimed for spontaneous, chaotic, and absurd expressions of art; explain how the audience were always a crucial component in his performances; and question whether Farrow and Ball have the edge over his trademark colour… Further Reading:• ‘Money for nothing: receipt for ‘invisible art’ sells for $1.2m’ (The Guardian, 2022): https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/apr/14/receipt-for-invisible-art-auction-yves-klein• ‘Yves Klein: The man who invented a colour’ (BBC Culture, 2014): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20140828-the-man-who-invented-a-colour• What Inspired Yves Klein? (Christie’s, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIi62RLUQQwWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/26/2024 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

Walking down the aisle to Wagner’s ‘Here Comes The Bride’ and departing to Mendelssohn’s ‘The Wedding March’ remains a popular choice at wedding ceremonies - a precedent established by the Princess Royal Victoria and Prince Frederick of Prussia, who married at St James’s Palace on 25th January, 1858.Unfortunately for Mendelssohn, he’d been dead eleven years by the time his tune became a viral hit - but he treasured his patronage by Victoria and Albert, once describing Buckingham Palace as “the only really nice, comfortable house in England.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how ‘The Wedding March’ had its origins not in Church, but Paganism; reveal how Frederick and Victoria’s union influenced American troops in the Second World War; and, with grim inevitability, give yet another airing to Arion’s execrable Queen Victoria impression. Brace yourself…Further Reading:• ‘What Is the Story Behind Mendelssohn’s Wedding March?’ (History Hit, 2017): https://www.historyhit.com/1842-mendelssohns-wedding-march-written/• ‘How 'Here Comes the Bride' Became a Wedding Music Tradition’ (Time, 2018): https://time.com/5115834/wedding-march-here-comes-the-bride/• Felix Mendelssohn - Wedding March: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7_m1om82o4‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/25/2024 • 9 minutes, 48 seconds

Rerun: The California Gold Rush was ignited by James Marshall’s discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill on January 24th, 1848. The news led to a lawless and chaotic surge of wannabe prospectors heading to the State, enduring perilous journeys to do so.Over 300,000 people arrived in just seven years, transforming a region previously inhabited by just 8,000 white settlers. But not everybody struck it rich, and, despite owning the land the gold was found on, the discovery dashed John Sutter’s dreams of establishing a water mill bearing his name.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how ‘the 49ers’ laid the template for California rushes yet to come, in the form of Hollywood and Silicon Valley; reveal how Levi Strauss used the gold rush to grow his burgeoning fashion business; and ask how, exactly, normal people knew how to verify the gold they’d found in a river, in the days before YouTube…  Further Reading:• ‘Gold Rush: California, Date & Sutter’s Mill’ (HISTORY, 2010): https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/gold-rush-of-1849• ‘The Rush - America's Fevered Quest for Fortune, 1848-1853, By Edward Dolnick’ (Little, Brown, 2014): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Rush/xCEaBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=America%E2%80%99s+Fevered+Quest+for+Fortune,+1848-1853&printsec=frontcover• ‘Gold Fever: How The Rush Began’ (Discovery, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKHIYs1KA9o‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/24/2024 • 11 minutes, 18 seconds

Elephants have played a surprisingly important role on the battlefield, even before the birth of Christ; notably in 5th Century BCE India, and during the Punic Wars in Africa. But on 23rd January, 971, the Southern Han division of the Chinese military retired their famous elephant corps forever - after facing a massive aerial assault from crossbowmen from the Song Dynasty, who had defeated them in battle.War elephants were not just formidable attackers, but also served as platforms for archers, vantage points, and even provided cover for advancing troops. Despite their effectiveness, the inherent volatility of the animals - susceptible to spooking and turning on their own side -  led to their eventual decline.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how some elephants continued to serve in the military, even after the development of gunpowder; consider the awesome psychological impact of being attacked by a troupe of elephants; and reveal how the Romans learned to defend themselves from elephants - with the aid of some squealing pigs…Content Warning: animal cruelty.#China #Animals #War #Medieval #BCFurther Reading:‘Elephants, kingship and warfare in Southeast Asia’ (British Library, 2017): https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2017/05/elephants-kingship-and-warfare-in-southeast-asia.html‘In Ancient Rome flaming war pigs were used to counter elephants’ (The Vintage News, 2016: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/09/15/ancient-rome-flaming-war-pigs-used-counter-elephants/‘War Elephants’ (Royal Armouries, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI3-f8ebLlkLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/23/2024 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

When tennis fans learned that their idol, multiple Grand Slam winner Bjorn Borg, might be about to retire from the professional game, at the age of only 26. Why did the Swedish star, whose young female fanbase were sometimes called the ‘Borg*sm’ by the tabloids, rest his racket at the height of his powers? It turns out that a multitude of factors, from burnout to death threats, played a part in Borg’s decision, which he’d been mulling for a couple of years. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover how the ‘Ice Borg’ kept control of his emotions on court; consider whether a rule change at major competitions contributed to him stepping down; and reveal why John McEnroe and Borg continue to have an, um, ‘intimate’ relationship… Further Reading:• ‘Borg Skips Three Events’ (The New York Times, 1983): https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/22/sports/borg-skips-three-events.html• ‘Borg Working Out of His Troubled Retirement’ (Los Angeles Times, 1989):https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-21-sp-186-story.html• ‘1981 Wimbledon Men's Singles Final: Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe’ (Wimbledon, 1981): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykvk6uJkMrYThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/22/2024 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

When Lucille Ball's character gave birth on "I Love Lucy" on 19th January 1953, 44 million people tuned in: an astonishing 72% of TV-owning Americans, surpassing the number who watched President Eisenhower’s inauguration the following day.The episode, ‘Lucy Goes To The Hospital’, almost didn't make it to TV due to the strict morality codes of the 1950s, which frowned upon any explicit content, including pregnancy. Despite network concerns, Ball and real-life husband Desi Arnaz (who played her on-screen husband Ricky), insisted the storyline could be done. Their scripts were vetted by clergymen, and the sponsors, Philip Morris, insisted Lucy was not to be portrayed smoking - even though, at the time, they had not publicly acknowledged any dangers of smoking during pregnancy.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how Arnaz and Ball pioneered a plethora of significant sitcom tropes; explore how the show's blend of reality and fantasy, both on and off-screen, left an indelible mark on American TV; and explain how ‘enceinte’ became the word du jour…Further Reading:• ’How 'I Love Lucy' Changed Motherhood on TV’ (TIME, 2021): https://time.com/6046897/i-love-lucy-little-ricky/• ‘More than 60 years ago, a pregnant Lucille Ball couldn’t call herself “pregnant”’ (AV Club, 2013): https://www.avclub.com/more-than-60-years-ago-a-pregnant-lucille-ball-couldn-1798239435• ‘I Love Lucy - Lucy Goes Into Labor (This is it!)’ (CBS, 1953): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi7lDp7x2lUWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/19/2024 • 10 minutes, 17 seconds

Rerun: ‘The First Fleet’ - the eleven ships carrying around 1400 people from Britain, most of whom were convicted criminals - landed in New South Wales on 18th January, 1788.Australia had been home to indigenous people for at least 50,000 years - but was a barren and shocking destination for 'the poms', who’d endured an epic 252-day voyage to get there; a journey about which Robert Hughes wrote: “before them stretched the awesome lonely void of the Indian and Southern oceans, and beyond that lay nothing they could imagine.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how Captain Arthur Phillip motivated his prisoners to build a new settlement; unpick what Captain Cook got wrong about Botany Bay; and explain why the descendants of convicts in modern-day Oz maintain a certain swagger… Further Reading:• ‘From Captain Cook to the First Fleet: how Botany Bay was chosen over Africa as a new British penal colony’ (The Conversation, 2020): https://theconversation.com/from-captain-cook-to-the-first-fleet-how-botany-bay-was-chosen-over-africa-as-a-new-british-penal-colony-128002• ‘Australian Penal Colonies’ (Simple History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS1072MshS0• ‘Australian Genocide: How It Happened And How It Haunts Us To This Day’ (All That’s Interesting, 2016): https://allthatsinteresting.com/australia-genocide ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/18/2024 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds

Heavily influenced by the Church, Article 43 of the Irish Constitution forbade divorce - a law that stood until 17th January, 1997, when a Judge granted a terminally ill husband the right to divorce the woman from whom he’d already separated so that he could marry his current partner. This followed a contentious referendum in 1995, which had only narrowly favoured the legalisation of divorce. The campaign was heated, with dramatic predictions, divisive billboards, and fears of family breakdowns; but the decision ultimately paved the way for subsequent social reforms in the country, including the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015 and the approval of abortion in 2018.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly contextualise this pivotal moment within the Northern Ireland peace process; revisit some of the ripe language employed in the impassioned referendum debates; and share divorce lawyers’ anecdotes of quirky reasons for divorce filings in the nation…Further Reading:• ‘Ireland grants a divorce for the first time in the country's history’: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ireland-grants-first-divorce-history-catholic-church• ‘Before Date Of New Law, Ireland Grants First Divorce’ (The New York Times, 1997): https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/18/world/before-date-of-new-law-ireland-grants-first-divorce.html• ‘IRELAND: REFERENDUM ON DIVORCE’ (AP, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7L4Z5qTc_kLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/17/2024 • 9 minutes, 58 seconds

It had a budget of just $1 million, a lead actor wearing a toupee, and the baddie in the first draft of the script was a monkey. But the first James Bond film, ‘Dr. No’, which began shooting in Jamaica on 16th January, 1962, kicked off a phenomenally successful franchise that’s still a staple of cinema today.Its star, Sean Connery, had been picked out by producers after his appearance in a Disney production, but was marketed as a former lorry driver with little acting experience. Concerned that Connery lacked the sophistication of Bond’s background, director Terence Young took him on a tour of swish casinos, posh members clubs and his Savile Row tailors.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Connery came to improvise one of the movie’s most iconic moments; explain why Ian Fleming was first dismissive, then delighted by his casting; and trace the origins of the 007 formula that endures through all of Cubby Broccoli’s subsequent productions…Further Reading:• The Bond bunch: the failed contenders for coveted role (The Independent, 2006): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-bond-bunch-the-failed-contenders-for-coveted-role-423454.html• ‘The Making of DR. NO: A 60th Anniversary Retrospective’ (Cinema Scholars, 2022): https://cinemascholars.com/the-making-of-dr-no-a-james-bond-60th-anniversary-retrospective/• ‘Bond, James Bond’ (Eon Productions, 1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b15-P12gIf0Like this? There’s five minutes MORE ‘Dr No’ chat on today’s bonus bit for 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴supporters! https://patreon.com/retrospectorsLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/16/2024 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

Rerun : Wikipedia launched with the cheery words “Hello World!” on 15th January, 2001.The project arrived almost by accident, as the side-project of a more serious effort by tech entrepreneur Jimmy Wales to create an online encyclopedia called Nupedia.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why before Wikipedia came about Wales briefly peddled p*rnography; discuss why 9/11 was unexpectedly beneficial to Wikipedia’s growth; and reveal how many times Olly watched the Hindenburg disaster on Encarta 95… Further Reading:• ‘Fail study: Jimmy Wales and Nupedia’ (Wired, 2011): https://www.wired.co.uk/article/fail-study-jimmy-wales• ‘Wikipedia's 20, but how credible is it?’ (DW.com, 2021): https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-as-wikipedia-turns-20-how-credible-is-it/a-56228222• ‘Wikipedia - Behind the Encyclopedia’ (Company Man, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6TTLZzEQHoThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/15/2024 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

When Berry Gordy, Jr. founded Tamla Records in Detroit on 12th January, 1959, he reshaped popular music forever. With an iconic artist roster that included The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and The Jackson 5, Motown’s ability to identify and nurture talent - inspired by the principles of a car production line - were unprecedented.Gordy's journey, from a professional boxer and owner of a jazz record store to becoming a songwriter and producer, underscored his innate understanding of popular appeal. ‘The Motown Sound’, carefully crafted for crossover appeal, redefined genres for broader audiences.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Gordy’s production philosophy was decades ahead of its time; consider the challenges faced by the label in the 70s and 80s; and reveals how Martha Reeves became a lead vocalist, after starting at Hitsville as a secretary…Further Reading:• ‘From the archive, 1 May 1972: Motown - the sound that changed America’ (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/may/01/motown-detroit-soul-berry-gordy• ‘Motown: The music that changed America’ (BBC Culture, 2019): https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20190109-motown-the-music-that-changed-america• ‘Smokey Robinson & Berry Gordy: "I'll Try Something New", from "Hitsville"’ (Showtime, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbiDLeRzoxQWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/12/2024 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

Rerun: With a top prize of £5,000 and a celebrity backer in the form of Queen Elizabeth I, England embarked on its first ever national lottery draw at St Paul’s Cathedral on 11th January, 1569.The results continued to be announced, day and night, for four months; a particularly prolonged process due to the fact that the prizes had to be divided into twelve, as the organisers had only sold a twelfth as many tickets as had been predicted. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the cost of entry had been set so high (a year’s salary for a working class labourer); reveal the desperate ‘get out of jail free’ tactic to flog more tickets; and ask whether, despite its apparent failure, the event was, at least, proof-of-concept for the state funded lotteries we still know today…Further Reading:•‘It Could Be Ye: England’s first lottery’ (The History Press, 2019): https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/it-could-be-ye-england-s-first-lottery/•‘11 January 1569: England holds its first lottery draw’ (MoneyWeek, 2021): https://moneyweek.com/421338/11-january-1569-england-holds-its-first-lottery-draw•‘January 11 - The first recorded lottery’ (The Anne Boleyn Files and Tudor Society, 2020):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_-XqukRpgk‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/11/2024 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

The Open University began welcoming students on 10th January 1971 - but they did not meet up for Fresher’s Week, due to this innovative institution (brainchild of Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson) having been created to offer mature students the opportunity for tertiary education without stepping foot on campus.Instead, students would study for their courses via a radical combination of correspondence materials sent out in the mail (once the postal strike had subsided…), and early-morning lectures on BBC TV and radio (which they had to watch live, because nobody had a VCR).In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the establishment hostility to the concept, even within Wilson’s administration; reveal how the organisation has been affected by the rise in tutorial fees; and take solace in the week of debauchery that was on offer for those dedicated enough to journey to Milton Keynes…Further Reading:• ‘The formation of the Open University’ (The Observer, 2019): https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/sep/15/from-the-archive-the-foundation-of-the-open-university-1970• ‘The Open University programmes begin’ (History of the BBC): https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/january/open-university• ‘The Periodic Table’ (BBC / Open University, 1971): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvbgYEJ08bQLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/10/2024 • 9 minutes, 52 seconds

Naval commander Horatio Nelson became the first non-Royal to receive a full British state funeral on 9th January, 1806, when tens of thousands of mourners lined the streets of London to pay tribute to their fallen hero - including, surprisingly, his defeated counterpart, French admiral Pierre-Charles de Villeneuve. The anticipation for the burial was fuelled by the nationalistic fervour that developed during the two months it took from news of Nelson’s death at the Battle of Trafalgar to his body arriving back in Britain.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pick apart ‘Kiss Me Hardy’; explain how it was his earlier success at the Battle of the Nile that cemented his reputation as a household name; and pore over his commemorative funeral merch, from Union flags to anchor earrings…Further Reading:• ‘Nelson's funeral’ (Royal Museums Greenwich): https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/nelsons-funeral• ’Horatio Nelson: Britain’s Famous Admiral’ (The Collector, 2021): https://www.thecollector.com/horatio-nelson-britain-famous-admiral/• ‘1805: The Battle That Shattered Napoleon's Invasion Plans’ (Timeline, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-po6WQ-wDd0Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/9/2024 • 10 minutes, 51 seconds

In New York City on 8th January, 2007, an unexplained pervasive egg smell was reported.Baffled authorities scrambled to try to work out whether it had been caused by a gas leak, a chemical spill, a terrorist attack or something else entirely.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly open (and close) their own investigation into the case; consider other major malodorous outbreaks in Manhattan, including the 2005 Maple Syrup Event; and reveal the best and worst smelling cities in the world…Further Reading:• ‘New York’s mystery odor harks to earlier smell’ (NBC News, 2007): https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna15587330• ‘The Smelliest Cities on the Planet’ (GQ, 2012): https://www.gq.com/gallery/smelliest-cities-best-worst-smelling-city-gq• ‘Why Does New York City Smell So Bad? - Cheddar Explains’ (Cheddar, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrSSUGCaVMcThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/8/2024 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic novella ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ was published in the USA on 5th January, 1886. It had been intended for release as a Christmas horror story the previous month - but Stevenson's wife Fanny had been so disturbed by the initial draft that she reportedly asked him to burn it.The book’s core themes, exploring the duality of human nature and the consequences of unchecked scientific experimentation, contributed to the story having an enduring appeal that has far outlasted its critics. It became Stevenson’s first commercial success - despite him having already written ‘Treasure Island’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how Stevenson resisted psycho-sexual interpretations of the book’s metaphors; reveal what the Scottish author did with his new-found riches; and explain how his career came to a premature end thanks to a bowl of mayonnaise… Further Reading:‘Dr Jekyll and a not so wicked Mr Hyde: how a portrait of evil was toned down’ (The Guardian, 2012): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/apr/15/jekyll-hyde-stevenson-explicit-manuscript‘The Real Jekyll & Hyde? The Deacon Brodie story’ (BBC News, 2015): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-31018496‘David Hasselhoff - Confrontation’ (Jekyll & Hyde on Broadway, 2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1Pyjw_ZnD8We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/5/2024 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

Billboard introduced the first-ever pop music chart on 4th January, 1936. Catering to jukebox operators, rather than everyday music fans, the chart was an occasional magazine feature, listing top tracks from each of the major record labels based on sheet music sales, record sales, requests from band leaders, and mail-in requests to radio stations. Big Band numbers dominated the chart, which evolved (as the record industry recovered from the Depression) to eventually recognise black music with the ‘Harlem Hit Parade’, and Country music with the ‘Most Played Juke Box Folk Records’ feature in the 1940s.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the role of music pluggers in manipulating the charts; explain how Natalie Imbruglia’s ‘Torn’ caused compilers a major re-think in the 1990s; and reveal the all-time most popular title for a chart hit… Further Reading:• ‘Billboard Charts History: How the Charts Evolved’ (Billboard, 2019): https://www.billboard.com/pro/billboard-chart-history-evolution-milestones/• ’The Development of National Record Charts – Pay for Play: How the Music Industry Works, Where the Money Goes, and Why’ (University of Oregon): https://opentext.uoregon.edu/payforplay/chapter/chapter-10-the-development-of-national-record-charts/• ‘Tommy Dorsey: I'll Never Smile Again’ (RCA Victor, 1936): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd71pORWNVoLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/4/2024 • 10 minutes, 52 seconds

A dramatic standoff between Metropolitan Police and Latvian anarchists unfolded in the East End of London on 3rd January, 1911 - when two men suspected of murdering policemen in a jewellery heist were surrounded by armed authorities.As tensions escalated, Winston Churchill, then the Home Secretary, mobilised a significant military force to Sidney Street, where the anarchists, armed with powerful weapons, responded with fierce gunfight. The spectacle attracted onlookers, reporters, news cameras, and even Churchill himself.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look back at this flashpoint for anti-immigrant sentiment in Britain; explain how the confrontation became a lightning rod for the debate around traditional policing methods; and reveal why, if you wanted a drink that morning, you needed to get your round in early…Further Reading:‘Sidney St: The siege that shook Britain’ (BBC News, 2011): http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9278000/9278432.stm‘Sidney Street siege resonates even 100 years on’ (The Guardian, 2011): https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/jan/02/sidney-street-siege-100-years‘The Siege of Sidney Street Gunfight’ (British Pathé, 1911): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDPHz4w3zvgLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/3/2024 • 10 minutes, 51 seconds

Former actor and SAG President Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as Governor of California just after midnight on 2nd January, 1967: the end of the beginning of a hugely successful political career that would propel him all the way to the White House.Reagan's used oratory to gain prominence, notably his 1964 speech ‘A Time for Choosing’, supporting Barry Goldwater's Presidential campaign, which established the Reaganite themes of anti-communism, limited government, and individual freedom. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how Reagan’s Governorship led him to Commander In Chief; demonstrate how his political evolution from liberal Democrat to conservative Republican showcased his adaptability and pragmatism; and consider how he used charm and wit (oh, and astrology…) to connect with the public and beat Jimmy Carter at his own game…Further Reading:‘Ronald Reagan nominated for governor of California, June 7, 1966’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/reagan-nominated-for-governor-of-california‘Biography of Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the U.S.’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/ronald-reagan-fast-facts-104885‘"A Time for Choosing" by Ronald Reagan’ (Barry Goldwater Campaign, 1964): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXBswFfh6AYLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/2/2024 • 10 minutes, 46 seconds

Happy New Year! Our first episode of 2024 recalls Today In History in 1842 - the day P.T. Barnum opened his ‘American Museum’ in New York, replete with a flea circus, ‘Siamese’ twins, and a ‘mermaid’ skeleton.The ‘museum’ merged authentic specimens with audacious hoaxes, blurring the line between reality and fiction, exploiting many of its star performers, and bewitching the public. It followed on from the ‘Greatest Showman’s earlier triumph: exhibiting an elderly enslaved woman, Joyce Heth, who claimed to be 161 years old and George Washington's nurse. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Barnum’s dubious morality squared with his desire to pursue respectability; discover what happened to his captive whales when the building caught fire; and reveal which exhibit Barnum brought before Queen Victoria…Further Reading: • ‘Circus sensation: PT Barnum's greatest wheezes’ (History Extra, 2017): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/circus-sensation-pt-barnums-greatest-wheezes/• ‘150 Years Ago, a Fire in P.T. Barnum's Museum Boiled Two Whales Alive’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2015): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pt-barnums-bizarre-museum-burned-ground-1865-180955955/• ‘The Dark Side of P.T. Barnum’ (BuzzFeed, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vnlpj4vIcULove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/1/2024 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds

We’re back with new episodes on New Year’s Day, but, before we finally turn our backs on 2023 for good, here’s Olly’s choice for his favourite episode of the year - our story from 23rd May, the day in 1701 when sea captain William Kidd was executed for piracy and murder. From the gallows, Kidd proclaimed to the large assembled crowd that he was innocent of the crimes, as he was a licensed privateer. The vessel he’d captured, the Quedagh Merchant, was indeed sailing under a ‘French pass’ – though the documents that prove this lay unearthed until the 20th century. His trial was used by the governing Tory party as a political opportunity to embarrass his Whig sponsors, and he was convicted on all counts.In this episode, The Retrospectors explain what happened to his body after his botched hanging; reveal the extraordinary monetary value of his plunder; and explain how, despite his established prowess as a seaman, he became seen as a public enemy…Further Reading:‘Biography of Captain William Kidd, Scottish Pirate’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/captain-william-kidd-2136225‘The sacrifice of Captain Kidd’ (HistoryExtra, 2011): https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/the-sacrifice-of-captain-kidd/‘Accidental Pirate’ (National Geographic, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4aGvWzFoko Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/29/2023 • 13 minutes, 28 seconds

Arion’s favourite episode from 2023 is this romp from May 12th, the day on which, in 1911, Richard the Lionheart finally got hitched. His Bride? Berengaria of Navarre, daughter of King Sancho VI – a key ally in extending his Kingdom across Europe.Sure, he may have already slept with her brother, but hey, that’s less awkward than marrying his original betrothed princess, his father’s mistress. The marriage was indifferent and potentially unconsummated; Berengaria becoming the only English Queen in history never to set foot in England.In this episode, The Retrospectors explain how the happy couple came to be wed in Cyprus in the first place; investigate whether it really is sacrilegious to get married over Lent; and consider historians’ claims that Richard’s proclivity for sharing a bed with the King of France was *purely symbolic*…We’ll be back with new episodes from January 1st. In the meantime, get an ad-free feed of the show and unlock our Sunday episodes one year early by joining 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴at https://patreon.com/Retrospectors.Further Reading:• 8 Surprising Facts About Medieval King Richard the Lionheart (HistoryExtra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/8-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-richard-the-lionheart/• ‘Berengaria of Navarre: Queen Consort to Richard I’ (ThoughtCo, 2020): https://www.thoughtco.com/berengaria-of-navarre-3529619• ‘LGBTQ Kings & Queen of England’ (History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eeJqrJ84Xs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/28/2023 • 12 minutes, 4 seconds

This week we’re revisiting our favourite episodes of 2023, and Rebecca has chosen to replay our episode from 15th February, the day in 1969 when Mary Jane Jones - known professionally as Vickie Jones - was arrested on fraud charges after successfully impersonating soul legend Aretha Franklin during multiple sold-out shows across Florida.When her case ended up before a judge, Jones maintained her innocence, insisting that she had been press-ganged into the deception by conman, kidnapper and semi-professional James Brown impersonator, Lavelle Hardy. In this episode, The Retrospectors look at the surprising similarities between the lives of Jones and Franklin; discuss why audiences in the 1960s couldn’t tell real performers from fake ones; and ponder whether Jones deserves a little more R.E.S.P.E.C.T…  We’ll be back with new episodes from January 1st. In the meantime, to support the show and unlock over 100 bonus bits, join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴at https://patreon.com/Retrospectors.Further Reading:• ‘An Aretha Franklin Impersonator Fooled Fans (Then Became A Star)’ (Cracked, 2022): https://www.cracked.com/article_34398_an-aretha-franklin-impersonator-fooled-fans-then-became-a-star.html• ‘The Counterfeit Queen of Soul’ (Smithsonian magazine, 2018): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/counterfeit-queen-soul-180969340/ ‘Imposter! How Vickie Jones fooled Aretha Franklin fans… until #otd in 1969’ (The Retrospectors, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3hJb8Idy91I Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/27/2023 • 12 minutes, 32 seconds

It’s been a hell of a year at Retrospectors HQ - from Clyde Barrow's first scrape with the law to the installation of Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America. BUT when it comes to retaining trivia, who is the brainiest Retrospector of all? There’s only one way to find out, as Olly challenges Arion and Rebecca to go head-to-head in our legendary annual fact battle…Thanks so much for listening - we’ll be back with all-new episodes from January 1st, 2024.Happy Christmas!Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/acMiyDtnqck Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/22/2023 • 22 minutes, 32 seconds

Rerun: All I Want For Christmas Is You has made Mariah Carey a fortune - but it took an astonishing 25 years for the song to finally reach Number One on the Billboard Hot 100; a feat it achieved on 21st December, 2019, becoming America’s first festive-themed chart-topper since The Chipmunk Song in 1958. When originally released in 1994, neither Carey nor her co-songwriter Walter Afanasieff expected great things. Afanasieff voiced concerns that it sounded ‘like someone singing vocal scales’, and Carey concluded that, at Christmas time, the public would always prefer to hear the standards. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca expose the bizarre corner of the internet that denies Afanasieff co-wrote the song; explore why so many people around the world, of all different faiths, identify with its message; and weigh up Kelly Clarkson and Leona Lewis’s attempts to de-throne the diva…Further Reading:• ‘Mariah Carey is Christmas: The Story of 'All I Want for Christmas is You' (Amazon Music, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Vhz5BiypU• ‘'All I Want for Christmas' Co-Writer Says Success Is 'Bittersweet'’ (Variety, 2019): https://variety.com/2019/music/news/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-co-writer-walter-afanasieff-interview-1203447527/• ‘How Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Dominates Charts’ (TIME, 2019): https://time.com/5708874/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-mariah-carey/‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/21/2023 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Victorian music hall star Dan Leno, creator of Widow Twankey and Mother Goose, was born on 20th December, 1860. A child prodigy of the stage, Leno kicked off his career as "Little George, the Infant Wonder," winning the World Clog Dancing Championship in Leeds.Having become an esteemed character comedian, Leno was poached to play Dame Durden in ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane - a success so immense that he played the role for 15 consecutive years, effectively kickstarting the tradition of the pantomime Dame. Oh Yes He Did!In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the comedic chaos of Christmas shows provided an outlet for upper class audiences to revel in the bawdy antics of working class comics; reveal Leno's later struggles with alcoholism and desire for recognition as a serious actor; and consider whether he really is still treading the boards of London’s West End - as a ghost… #Christmas #Theatre #Victorian #Person Further Reading:‘Dan Leno: the original Pantomime Dame’ (British Library, 2016): https://blogs.bl.uk/english-and-drama/2016/10/dan-leno-the-original-pantomime-dame.html‘Oh, yes she is: panto dames through the decades’ (The Guardian, 2020): https://www.theguardian.com/stage/gallery/2020/dec/19/oh-yes-she-is-panto-dames-through-the-decades-in-pictures‘Dan Leno - the pantomime dame’ (Promenade Promotions, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvKymdNEfx8Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/20/2023 • 11 minutes, 16 seconds

England’s Puritan Parliament attempted to purge Christmas of Catholic influences on 19th December, 1644, by passing The Ordinance for the Better Observation of the Monthly Fast, an attempt in the legislature to solemnise the day and prevent the public from indulging in carnal and sensual delights. Essentially: to ban Christmas.The enforcement of these measures led to numerous conflicts, including the Plum Pudding Riot of 1647, when 10,000 men in Kent signed a petition declaring they would rather see the King back on his throne than forego Christmas celebrations - a message future ‘Merry Monarch’ Charles II certainly noticed…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the complexities of anti-anti-Christmas vandalism; explain why a calendar clash in 1644 persauded the Puritans to legislate; and imagine a world in which ‘Second Tuesday of the Month Day’ were celebrated with the gusto of December 25th…Further Reading:• ‘When Christmas carols were banned’ (BBC Culture, 2014): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20141219-when-christmas-carols-were-banned• ‘Did Oliver Cromwell Really Ban Christmas?’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/no-christmas-under-cromwell-the-puritan-assault-on-christmas-during-the-1640s-and-1650s/?ref=planksip.org• ‘Why Was Christmas Banned?’ (The Guardian, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsFYm796digLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/19/2023 • 9 minutes, 36 seconds

The premiere of Tchaikovsky’s seminal ballet ‘The Nutcracker’, on 18th December, 1892, at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg. It was NOT a hit.The composer, who thought the Alexander Dumas source material was slight and childish, only agreed to write the piece if it was shown in a double-bill with his opera, ‘Iolanta’. He certainly didn’t want to repeat the critical failure of his earlier work: a certain ‘Swan Lake’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a trip to Paris inspired one of ballet’s most famous moments; check out some of the reviews of the day, when body-shaming ballerinas was evidently not discouraged; and explain how Czar Alexander was (literally) catered for in the stage directions… Further Reading:• "The Nutcracker's" disturbing origin story: Why this was once the world's creepiest ballet’ (Salon, 2014): https://www.salon.com/2014/12/24/the_nutcrackers_disturbing_origin_story_why_this_was_once_the_worlds_creepiest_ballet/• ‘Sweet holiday staple 'The Nutcracker' may be darker than you think’ (The Washington Post, 2022): https://www.washingtonpost.com/theater-dance/2022/11/25/nutcracker-history-russian-imperialism/• ‘Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / Nina Kaptsova - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ (2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz_f9B4pPtgThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/18/2023 • 10 minutes, 12 seconds

At the height of the ‘Cool Britannia’ craze, the Spice Girls released their first movie, ‘Spice World’, with a glittering premiere at the Empire Leicester Square, on 15th December, 1997. Geri, Emma, Victoria, Mel B, and Mel C donned pinstripe suits with boosted cleavage; attendees included the Prince of Wales; and their on-screen co-stars included Meat Loaf, Richard E Grant, Roger Moore, and Elton John. The film, made for a budget of just $5m and with a production schedule of just one year, had been written by Kim Fuller, who drew inspiration from The Beatles’ "A Hard Day's Night", infusing the sketches that formed the screenplay with self-knowing British humour.In this episode, Arion (WHO WAS AT THE AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE, WHAT?!), Rebecca and Olly consider whether a movie like ‘Spice World’ could still be made today; explain how the internet came to the rescue when it came to filming at the Albert Hall; and marvel at the eccentric characterisation of its five key protagonists…Further Reading:• ‘‘We ran out of parts for people’: How Spice World became the ‘must be in’ movie of the Nineties’ (The Independent, 2022):https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/spice-girls-spice-world-movie-songs-b2251622.html• ’Inside the Absolutely Impossible, Iconic ‘Spice World’ Bus, 25 Years Later’ (Vanity Fair, 2023): https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/01/inside-spice-world-bus-25-years-later• ‘Spice World: The Movie (U.S. Trailer)’ (Columbia Pictures, 1997): (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmSBtOHzGPM#90s #Film #Music #UKWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/15/2023 • 11 minutes, 15 seconds

Rerun: When George W Bush flew to Baghdad for a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on 14th December, 2008, he had hoped the headlines would reflect his triumphant appraisal of his deployment of American troops. Instead, it became known as the day he got some shoes thrown at him.The man throwing the shoes was Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi, who yelled in Arabic: “This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, dog!”. The president ducked, and Zaidi let his other shoe fly. “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!”. Bush ducked that one too.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the episode inspired a brief moment of Zaidi-Mania in the Arab world, including various offers of marriage; reflect on the torture he endured as a result of his protest; and investigate the copycat attacks around the world… Further Reading:• ‘Raw Video: Iraqi Journalist Throws Shoe at Bush’ (AP, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM3Z_Kskl_U• ‘Why I threw the shoe, by Muntazer al-Zaidi’ (The Guardian, 2009): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/17/why-i-threw-shoe-bush• ‘The Iraqi Journalist Who Threw His Shoes at George W. Bush Has Thoughts About Milkshaking’ (Mother Jones, 2019): https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/06/the-iraqi-journalist-who-threw-his-shoes-at-george-w-bush-has-thoughts-about-milkshaking/‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/14/2023 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

The undisputed viral hit of Christmas 1852 was the country dance ‘Pop Goes The Weasel’, still taught to children today. On 13th December, 1852, the craze was seen at a party in Ipswich, where it was declared “one of the most mirth-inspiring dances which can ever be well imagined”.The song was performed at the Palace and taught to the gentry but, within a few years, had gained a reputation as an irritating earworm beloved by the poor and illiterate. How did this plummet from posh society come about? And to what do its famous lyrics, ‘half a pound of tuppeny rice / half a bag of treacle’ actually refer?In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly attempt to unpick the song’s meaning; discover what Humpty Dumpty was doing atop his famous wall; and reveal how The Eagle on City Road still cashes in on their nursery rhyme celebrity… Further Reading:• ‘London Has A Pub From A Nursery Rhyme’ (Londonist, 2022): https://londonist.com/london/food-and-drink/london-has-a-pub-from-a-nursery-rhyme• ‘Pop Goes the Weasel - The Secret Meanings of Nursery Rhymes, By Albert Jack’ (Penguin, 2010): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Pop_Goes_the_Weasel/BoidGaGcDPwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=pop+goes+the+weasel&printsec=frontcover• ‘Pop! Goes The Weasel | Rhymes in Time’ (The Museum of London, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUbP7d2j6SQLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/13/2023 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

Inspired by a dream, Prince Charles of Provence ordered an excavation that uncovered a sarcophagus believed to contain the remains of Mary Magdalene on 12th December, 1279. The evidence presented included a papyrus note, a sweet rose fragrance filling the air, a wax-covered tablet proclaiming Mary's identity, and even a piece of skin where Jesus supposedly touched her after his resurrection. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate how and why Mary may have ended up in France in the first place; recall the bout of ‘Magdalene mania’ that gripped the mediaeval world; and explain why, for centuries, people said she was a sex worker… Further Reading:• ‘How Early Church Leaders Downplayed Mary Magdalene's Influence’ (HISTORY, 2019): https://www.history.com/news/mary-magdalene-jesus-wife-prostitute-saint• ‘The Skull and Bones of Mary Magdalene’ (Atlas Obscura, 2013): https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/marys-house-in-provence• ‘Relics of St. Mary Magdalene in the Basilica of Saint-Maximin-la-Saint-Baume, France’ (Pierre Repooc Productions, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO8MQzApXvELove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/12/2023 • 10 minutes, 42 seconds

On this day we recall the Police operation to ensnare prolific conman Victor Lustig. The ‘Catch Me If You Can’-style manhunt intensified on 11th December, 1928, when Lustig made the mistake of robbing $16,000 from Massachusetts businessman Thomas Kearns, thereby triggering a chase that eventually saw Lustig sent to Alcatraz.Prior to this, he’d scarcely ever tripped up: scamming everyone from county fair audiences to notorious gangster Al Capone. He gambled, he swindled, he fixed sporting odds. But his most audacious sting was his plan to ‘sell’ the Eiffel Tower. Twice.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look inside Lustig’s ingenious ‘Romanian Box’; explain why his ‘marks’ weren’t just big dolts being duped, but carefully selected victims; and recall how, even when imprisoned, Lustig was ready to outsmart the authorities…Further Reading:• ‘The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower. Twice.’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2016): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/man-who-sold-eiffel-tower-twice-180958370/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CCount%E2%80%9D%20Victor%20Lustig%2C%2046%20years%20old%20at%20the,in%20an%20audacious%20confidence%20game%E2%80%94not%20once%2C%20but%20twice.• ‘Victor Lustig - The Man Who Conned the World, By Christopher Sandford’ (History Press, 2021): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Victor_Lustig/jXEyEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=victor+lustig+eiffel&printsec=frontcover• ‘What Did Count Victor Lustig Do To The Eiffel Tower?’ (QI, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAN-YqM0ZO4This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/11/2023 • 10 minutes, 18 seconds

The Duke of Norfolk suffered a ‘Marie Antoinette Moment’ on 8th November, 1845, when, amidst the Irish Potato Famine, the Whig MP proposed a questionable solution to feed Ireland’s starving workers: curry powder soup.The Duke was met with derision, but the moment highlighted how woefully out-of-touch the English aristocracy were regarding what was about to befall the Irish people. Far worse was the attitude of Charles Trevelyan, whom Prime Minister Robert Peel had tasked with addressing the crisis, who callously attributed the calamity to a divine lesson from God.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the British government’s underwhelming response to the famine, from ‘Soyer’s Soup’ to ‘Peel's Brimstone’; consider the structural anti-Irishness in the ruling class; and revisit the UK government’s eventual apology… from 1997… Further Reading:• ‘British History in depth: The Irish Famine’ (BBC, 2011): https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/famine_01.shtml• ‘Why was the potato so important?’ (RTÉ, 2020): https://www.rte.ie/history/the-great-irish-famine/2020/0715/1153525-why-was-the-potato-so-important/• ‘The Great Famine’ (BBC, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfFdlGcl6o4We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/8/2023 • 10 minutes, 35 seconds

Rerun: Oscar-winning conductor André Previn was an unlikely choice of celebrity guest for the Christmas special of ‘The Morcambe and Wise Show’ recorded on 7th December, 1971 - but the 13-minute sketch they taped together remains one of Britain’s all-time favourites.The music hall-style caper - which revolves around a comically catastrophic interpretation of Grieg’s Piano Concerto - was actually a reversion of a sketch Eric and Ernie had performed at least twice before, but never with a guest performer.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Mia Farrow helped Previn nail his role in this iconic skit; explore whether the duo’s comic schtick was truly as ‘classless’ as is often claimed; and reflect on whether ‘Mr Preview’ really knew what he was letting himself in for…Further Reading:• André Previn on ‘The Morcambe and Wise Show’ (BBC, 1971): https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xds7am• 'Make any fool of me you like, but I won’t have you make fun of the music’ - André Previn at 80 (Classic FM, 2018): https://www.classicfm.com/artists/andre-previn/guides/andre-previn-80/• ‘The Prelude of Mr Preview: How André Previn won over Morecambe & Wise’ (British Comedy Guide, 2020): https://www.comedy.co.uk/features/comedy_chronicles/andre-previn-prelude-preview/‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/7/2023 • 9 minutes, 55 seconds

St Nicholas was a Greek bishop, known for his generosity. But he didn’t have a beard, and he didn’t drive a sleigh - so how did he morph into the Santa Claus the world knows and loves? The supposed date of his death - 3rd December, 343 - may have a lot to do with it…Then there’s the miracles. In the most famous story associated with St Nick, he anonymously leaves some gold coins in the house of a poor family to give the daughters a dowry and swerve them away from sex work, which is how he became the patron saint of pawnbrokers and prostitutes. Ho Ho Ho!In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how this austere-looking bald man from Turkey merged with the European traditions of Father Christmas; consider why the spread of Protestantism curiously helped St Nick stick out from his saintly brethren; and explain why his leaky corpse has a lot to answer for…  Further Reading:• ‘The History of How St. Nicholas Became Santa Claus’ (National Geographic, 2018): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/131219-santa-claus-origin-history-christmas-facts-st-nicholas?loggedin=true&rnd=1699449547934• ‘Saint Nicholas’ (The Guardian, 2004): https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/dec/24/christmas.religion• ‘The Real Saint Nick Is a Far Cry From the Santa We Know’ (NBC Nightly News, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP5K0msxIqgLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/6/2023 • 10 minutes, 53 seconds

Queen Elizabeth II made Britain’s first long-distance automated phone call on 5th November, 1958 - when, from Bristol, she spoke directly to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, 300 miles away, without the need for an Operator. Subscriber Trunk Dialing (STD) transformed the telephone network, but was not without its challenges: automation brought efficiency but also led to job losses, sparking some labour disputes, and the roll-out was not completed for twenty years. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why women were selected over men as telephone operators; track the evolution of phone technology through international calls and push-button phones; and propose a future role for the monarchy in testing out social media DMs… Further Reading:• ‘Caller, putting you through!’ (Daily Express, 2012): https://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/334666/Caller-putting-you-through• ’Queen's first video call echoes Her Majesty's historic trunk call to Edinburgh in 1950s’ (The Scotsman, 2020): https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/retro/queens-first-video-call-echoes-her-majestys-historic-trunk-call-to-edinburgh-in-1950s-2881983‘Queen Dials Edinburgh’ (British Pathé, 1958): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfH0Xr1rIcYLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/5/2023 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

Today we discover the iconic jamming session that birthed ‘The Million Dollar Quartet’ - Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ Perkins - who spent the day making music together at Sun Studios, Memphis on 4th December, 1956.Although the event began as an impromptu get-together, Sun’s Sam Phillips was quick to call a press photographer to document the troupe, which also included Elvis’s then-girlfriend, Marilyn Evans. Luckily, a savvy recording engineer also switched on the mics.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why this rock n’ roll quartet quickly reverted to gospel, bluegrass, blues, and country; unpick Johnny Cash’s claim that he can’t be heard on-mic because he was matching Presley’s higher register; and marvel at Elvis’s impression of Jackie Wilson…Further Reading:• ‘Million Dollar Quartet - Dec. 4 1956’ (Sun Records, 2008): https://sunrecords.com/million-dollar-quartet-dec-4-1956/• ‘Johnny Cash Elvis Presley: The story behind their epic recording session’ (Daily Express, 2021): https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1424775/Johnny-Cash-Elvis-Presley-story-behind-recording-session-the-million-dollar-quartet-evg• ‘The Million Dollar Quartet’ (Sun Records, 1956): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOorJPVc6_MThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/4/2023 • 10 minutes, 16 seconds

Lampy, Britain’s oldest surviving garden gnome, was insured for £1 million on 28th November, 1997.Imported from Germany, his human dad was Sir Charles Isham, an eccentric aristocrat who adorned his rockery in Northampton with a selection of gnomes, the rest of whom were later destroyed by his daughters.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace how gnomes have experienced moments of fashion and disdain throughout their history; explain how World War II disrupted the British gnome industry; and consider how the phenomenon of "gnoming"—photographing gnomes at various landmarks - hit its peak (literally) in the 1970s… Further Reading:• ‘Gnome expense spared’ (BBC News, 1997): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/36143.stm• ‘The home in 50 objects from around the world #36: the Lamport Gnome’ (Financial Times, 2022): https://www.ft.com/content/7ba9f444-72fd-44bd-ad91-877775e8b4c2• ‘UK: DEVON: WOMAN WHO COLLECTS GARDEN GNOMES’ (AP, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MolgvutenJMWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/1/2023 • 10 minutes, 6 seconds

England played Scotland in a publicly-advertised game for the first time on 30th November, 1872 - kickstarting international football as we know it today. The English team included players drafted in from Oxford University. The Scottish team was entirely made up of teammates from Queen’s Park. The score was 0-0.Much of the game was yet to be codified - for example, that you couldn’t catch a ball with your hands. Readers of the match-report in The Guardian had to have it explained to them that half-time was 45 minutes. But the game was an indisputable hit.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why Scotland still wear dark blue in international competitions; consider the role of cricket stadiums in the continuing confusion over pitch sizes; and question the wisdom of the photographer booked to document the occasion - who decided not to turn up…Further Reading:• ‘Scotland v England 1872’ (scottishsporthistory.com): https://www.scottishsporthistory.com/scotland-v-england-1872.html• ‘The first official fixture between England and Scotland’ (The Guardian, 1872): https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/nov/11/england-scotland-first-football-fixture-1872• ‘EXCLUSIVE! First ever International Highlights’ (Queen’s Park YouTube Channel, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OJD1nXlnuA‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/30/2023 • 9 minutes, 27 seconds

The first American mass marriage ceremony of the Unification Church - for 28,000 couples in matching garb, led by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon - took place at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C. on 29th November, 1997.Newleyweds had to confirm their virginity and abstain from sexual relations for 40 days afterwards, but many participants were already legally married, and the event was a blend of existing unions and Moonie recruits. Whitney Houston was slated to perform at the post-marriage party, but her last-minute cancellation led to disappointment among attendees, who had paid varying ticket prices, starting at $35.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain the appeal and recruiting practices of this cult / church; trace back Moon's claims to continue Jesus' interrupted work on Earth; and reveal how the Moonies became an accepted part of Korean cultural representation in the United States…Further Reading:• ‘Followers begin to see the dark side of the Moonies’ (The Irish Times, 1997): https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/followers-begin-to-see-the-dark-side-of-the-moonies-1.131871• ‘Church or cult? Inside the Moonies’ ‘world of delusion’’ (Financial Times, 2022): https://www.ft.com/content/2bf8dd43-78ca-4d2f-935e-70c9d34e1a5d• ‘USA: THOUSANDS OF COUPLES TAKE PART IN MASS WEDDING CEREMONY’ (AP, 1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyPFEaI6_U0Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/29/2023 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

In the annals of automotive innovation, November 28th, 2018 marked a peculiar milestone: the birth of the Lincoln Chimes. The brainchild of Jennifer Prescott, overseer of "Vehicle Harmony" at the motor company, this warning system replaced the synthetic sound of in-car emergency alerts with a blend of violin, viola, and marimba played by The Detroit Symphony Orchestra.Lincoln's endeavour followed in the wake of Bentley revamping its alert and indicator sounds, drawing inspiration from the gentle ticking of a grandfather clock - but cars are not the only luxury products to dabble in ‘sonic branding’. From computer startup chimes to the noise accompanying credit card transactions, there’s a soundscape of jingles which have become an integral part of our conditioned understanding of products and experiences.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how NBC were the first company to trademark  a sound; check out MasterCard’s deviation into recorded music; and reveal just how many drafts Brian Eno went through before settling on his final start-up sound for Windows95…Further Reading:• ‘Why Big Brands Are Using Sonic Signatures To Reach Consumers’ (Forbes, 2018): https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2019/05/08/why-big-brands-are-using-sonic-signatures-to-reach-consumers/?sh=35f5b651d39c• ‘Inside Mastercard’s ‘10-layer’ sonic branding plan’ (Marketing Brew, 2022):https://www.marketingbrew.com/stories/2022/10/17/inside-mastercard-s-10-layer-sonic-branding-plan• ‘2019 Lincoln Aviator chimes recorded by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’ (Wheel Network, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7uZ27UzgskLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/28/2023 • 10 minutes, 12 seconds

We reveal how, on 27th November, 1809, a respectable house on the well-to-do Berners Street in London became ground zero for one of the most disruptive practical jokes in history: the Berners Street Hoax.First a chimney sweep turned up at the address, then another and another, then cake makers, surgeons, lawyers, physicians, obstetricians, butchers, priests and more. The archbishop of Canterbury also showed his face, as did the Governor of the Bank of England, the chairman of the East India Company, and even the Duke of York.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the practical joke that brought London to a standstill; discuss why exactly 54 Berners Street was the chosen address for the prank; and debate whether it was funny or just incredibly tiresome…Further Reading:• ‘Lippincott's Monthly Magazine: Volume 42’ (J.B. Lippincott Company, 1888): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Lippincott_s_Monthly_Magazine/JbURAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=berners+street+hoax&pg=PA415&printsec=frontcover• ‘The Berners Street Hoax, History's Most Audacious Prank’ (Curious Historian, 2020): https://curioushistorian.com/the-berners-street-hoax-historys-most-audacious-prank• ‘On Punning by Theodore Hook’ (LibriVox Audiobooks, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p44rcxOlp78This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/27/2023 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

The ‘Windsor Shower Companion’ ($11.49) was the first product sold on home shopping network QVC, which made its debut on 24th November, 1986, quickly becoming a cable TV phenomenon.Joe Segel, the channel’s founder, focussed on a ‘soft sell’ approach that emphasised authenticity and a friendly, neighbourly connection. The channel's anonymity factor allowed customers to indulge in, um, unusual purchases without fear of judgement, contributing to its ongoing appeal.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the rigorous selection process for QVC presenters; explain why some products’ failure on the network can be ruinous for the companies who made them; and uncover Marlon Brando's extraordinary QVC near-miss… Further Reading:• ‘15 Things You Might Not Know About QVC’ (Mental Floss, 2015): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/67266/14-things-you-might-not-know-about-qvc• ‘Joseph Segel, founder of the Franklin Mint and QVC shopping network, dies at 88’ (The Washington , 2019): https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/joseph-segel-founder-of-the-franklin-mint-and-qvc-shopping-network-dies-at-88/2019/12/24/40d98a34-2679-11ea-b2ca-2e72667c1741_story.html• ‘QVC's First Broadcast’ (QVC, 1986): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKaIMdX6K7gWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/24/2023 • 9 minutes, 41 seconds

With cutesy graphics and a female-focussed origin story, Tamagotchi was positioned as a ‘nurturing toy’ for Japanese girls when Bandai launched the brand on 23rd November, 1996. But the gadget's massive popularity soon transcended gender and nationality - shifting 40 million units globally in just three years.Users had to check in regularly with their virtual pets, which buzzed when they were hungry or needed attention. Otherwise, neglectful owners would witness their Tamagotchi transition into virtual TOMBSTONES.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how a stay-at-home tortoise inspired the concept; explain how the U.S. release of the toy was less brutal than its Japanese precursor; and wonder if now, with our pathetic attachments to Alexa and Siri, we are finally experiencing what 90s psychologists termed ‘The Tamagotchi Effect’...Further Reading:• ‘A Brief History of the Tamagotchi’ (Mental Floss, 2021): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/642373/tamagotchi-history• ‘The Tamagotchi Effect: How Digital Pets Shaped The Way We Use Technology’ (Digital Trends, 2019): https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/how-tamagotchi-shaped-tech/• Tamagotchi TV commercial from the 1990s (United States): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAahOV63_wAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/23/2023 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

Pope Clement V ordered the arrest of all Knights Templar and seizure of their properties on 22nd November, 1307: a day that sealed the fate of the once-celebrated Christian military order. They had attracted the ire of Philip IV of France, who began an international conspiracy to smear their name.Founded in 1118, the Knights Templar initially served as protectors for pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land. Over time, they became wealthy and influential, with a system of castles, churches, and even banks across Western Europe. Many aristocrats, drawn by the prospect of being both monks and knights, joined and supported the order, contributing to its extensive holdings.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine the bizarre charges chucked at the Templars; explain how Philip’s crusade against them solidified the concept of Friday the 13th being unlucky; and consider how the knights *may* have taken their revenge, via the ‘Templar’s Curse’... Further Reading:• ‘Whatever happened to the Knights Templar?’ (The Guardian, 2011): https://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2011/jun/27/whatever-happened-to-the-knights-templar• ‘Why Friday the 13th Spelled Doom for the Knights Templar’ (HISTORY, 2017): https://www.history.com/news/why-friday-the-13th-spelled-doom-for-the-knights-templar• ‘Why the Templar Secret Rituals Were So Controversial’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlMwvp-0m7cLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/22/2023 • 9 minutes, 24 seconds

When the Maccabees celebrated the recapture of Jerusalem from the Macedonian emperor Antiochus IV, they lit a menorah in the city's holy temple. The date, in the ancient Hebrew calendar, was the twenty-fifth day of the third month of Kislev 3597… the first Hanukkah. Hanukkah's significance waned in some early Jewish texts due to the favourable portrayal of Romans in the Book of Maccabees, but gained prominence in the Diaspora during the late 19th century, as it offered a distinct celebration for Jews in Western societies during the festive season. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether the Maccabees were freedom fighters or religious fundamentalists; explain why donuts may have played a crucial role in the widespread adoption of Hanukkah; and recall Adam Sandler’s totemic contribution to Hanukkah lore…Further Reading:‘The story of Hanukkah: how a minor Jewish holiday was remade in the image of Christmas’ (The Conversation, 2019): https://theconversation.com/the-story-of-hanukkah-how-a-minor-jewish-holiday-was-remade-in-the-image-of-christmas-127620‘Hanukkah: 20 Facts You Probably Didn't Know’ (Entertainment Tonight, 2021): https://www.etonline.com/20-facts-you-probably-didnt-know-about-hanukkah-137874‘Saturday Night Live: Adam Sandler on Hanukkah’ (NBC, 1994): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX5Z-HpHH9gLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/21/2023 • 10 minutes, 17 seconds

The ill-fated whale-ship The Essex, was rammed by an 85-foot sperm whale on 20th November, 1820. The incident inspired Herman Melville’s sea-faring novel, Moby Dick.Left to fend for themselves in tiny whaling boats, the young crew had to make terrible choices in order to preserve their own survival - including how and when to eat each other.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why it was not only whales, but also tortoises and mockingbirds that had to fear the crews from Nantucket; consider Captain Pollard’s position as a ‘Jonah’ on his return to New England; and reveal how family ties played their part in the crew’s grizzly dilemma…CONTENT WARNING: description of cannibalism, animal cruelty.Further Reading:• ‘The Essex Disaster’ (American Heritage, 1983): https://www.americanheritage.com/essex-disaster#2• ‘The Whaleship Essex Disaster And The True Story Behind 'Moby Dick'’ (All Thats Interesting, 2020): https://allthatsinteresting.com/essex-shipThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.• ‘Shipwreck of the Whale-ship Essex (Audiobook)’ (Owen Chase, 1821): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8t_jf8JlEo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/20/2023 • 10 minutes, 41 seconds

Rupert Murdoch, controversial owner of The Sun, launched "The Birthday Suit Girl", a topless photo feature, on 17th November, 1970. Within a year, the paper’s circulation had nearly doubled to 2.5 million.Editor Larry Lamb intended his ‘Page 3 girls’ to be wholesome and clean, skating on the edge of what was acceptable in a family newspaper. But by the 80s, Editor Kelvin Mackenzie had introduced raunchier shots, to compete with a resurgent Daily Star.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall how the long-running feature eventually fizzled out; reveal how little money massive stars like Samantha Fox, Melinda Messenger and Jordan were paid for their appearances; and examine how the Editorial team got their knickers in a twist over News in Briefs…Further Reading:• ‘What 80s glamour models did next - from selling 30m records to dating Eric Clapton & jail time for money laundering’ (The Sun, 2021): https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/17129778/glamour-models-page-3-linda-lusardi-sam-fox/• ‘No More Page 3: how a feminist collective took on a media behemoth to challenge everyday sexism’ (The Conversation, 2021): https://theconversation.com/no-more-page-3-how-a-feminist-collective-took-on-a-media-behemoth-to-challenge-everyday-sexism-156478• ‘Did Page 3 make the world a better place?’ (Southbank Centre, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxkI955FiK8#Publishing #70s #Sexism #UKWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie PeartCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/17/2023 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

Rerun. Disneyland Paris, now Europe’s most popular theme park, initially haemorrhaged money - at a rate of around $1 million per day. But, after three hard years, it returned its first annual profit on 16th November, 1995. This change in the park’s fortunes can be attributed to the popularity of two trains: the opening of the Eurostar direct line from London, and the building of the world’s most expensive roller coaster, Space Mountain, which first launched from Discoveryland on 1st June.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick how the Disney Corporation consistently underestimated the French traditions of wine with lunch, surly customer service and a unionised workforce; reveal how Spain and Britain had competed for the opportunity to be considered as alternative sites for the park’s development; and recall the French antipathy for Americana that led to one critic to label the attraction ‘a cultural Chernobyl’... Further Reading:• ‘INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS; Euro Disney Reports Profit for '95, but the Future Remains Cloudy’ (The New York Times, 1995): https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/16/business/international-business-euro-disney-reports-profit-for-95-but-future-remains.html• ‘Why Was Euro Disney Considered a Failure?’ (The First Drop, 2021): https://thefirstdrop.net/disneyland-paris-resort/why-was-euro-disney-considered-a-failure/• ‘Your destination: outer space. Your speed: astronomical.’ (Space Mountain advert, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlKKTSVETt0‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/16/2023 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

Sir Anthony Blunt, esteemed art historian and a favourite of the Royal family, was publicly revealed as a Soviet spy on 15th November, 1979, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher confirmed he had been part of the "Cambridge Five", a group of double agents who secretly passed sensitive information to the Soviet Union.Despite his confession to MI5 in 1964, Blunt continued his association with the royal household, working as a surveyor of the Queen's pictures until his retirement in 1972. The response in Parliament included disbelief and accusations of deliberate cover-ups to protect Blunt, leading, eventually, to his knighthood being rescinded.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Blunt's privilege facilitated his double-dealing at the very highest levels of British society; ask whether his hom*osexuality influenced his relationship with Guy Burgess and his willingness to betray the British establishment; and explain how a fictional work - and some trigger-happy lawyers - led to his downfall…Further Reading:• ‘Art historian who spied for the Soviet Union’ (The Guardian, 1979): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/17/anthony-blunt-spy-sentenced-1979• ‘Anthony Blunt: confessions of spy who passed secrets to Russia during the war’ (The Telegraph, 2009): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5889879/Anthony-Blunt-confessions-of-spy-who-passed-secrets-to-Russia-during-the-war.html• ‘Art historian, professor, writer, spy – the extraordinary story of Anthony Blunt’ (The British Academy, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0Z4lucQar0Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/15/2023 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

Workers involved in tomb construction in the Valley of the Kings staged the earliest recorded strike in history on 14th November, 1157 B.C. Having not been paid their ration of food for 18 days, they set about disrupting temple life and rituals, to the shock of Pharaoh Ramses III’s administration.The workers' struggle wasn't solely about wages; it reflected broader discontent, too, as they voiced concerns about alleged corruption, such as barley being replaced with dirt in payments. And the strike indicated a shift in the workers' perceptions, as they realised they couldn't rely solely on the divine authority of the Pharaoh to meet their basic needs.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Ancient Egypt was financially decimated by the suppression of the ‘Sea Peoples’; explain how an offer of cake was (unsurprisingly) not enough to pacify the protests; and consider whether the workers’ picket-line slogans needed a little workshopping… Further Reading:• ‘When Was The First Strike In History?’ (HistoryExtra, 2016): https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-egypt/when-first-strike-history/• ‘Red Traces, Part 4: Strikers and Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt’ (Counterfire, 2023): https://www.counterfire.org/article/red-traces-part-4-strikers-and-pharaohs-in-ancient-egypt/• ’Rameses III Describes Invasion Of Sea Peoples’ (Voices of the Past, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01eyTLfFJqQLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/14/2023 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

In this episode we uncover the incredible story of Scottish surgeon James Braid, who entered the Manchester Athenaeum on 13th November, 1841 as a skeptic of what was then known as ‘mesmerism’, or ‘animal magnetism’ - and left as perhaps the most enthusiastic proponent in Britain of what he came to call ‘hypnosis’.The performance he saw, however, was not especially scientific: it consisted of Swiss mesmerist Charles Lafontaine putting participants into a trance via a dubious magnetic field; and then shocking them with live batteries, burning them with candles, and making them breathe ammonia. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Braid invented, and then regretted, the term ‘hypnosis’; review the bookings policy of the Manchester Athenaeum; and consider if the sideshow origins of stage hypnotism hampered the widespread adoption of hypnotherapy for decades…  Further Reading:• ‘Mind Over Matter: The Fascinating Tale of How James Braid Discovered Hypnotism’ (Scottish Field, 2016): https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-field/20161001/281573765123644• ‘Mesmerising Science: The Franklin Commission and the Modern Clinical Trial’ (The Public Domain Review, 2018): https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/mesmerising-science-the-franklin-commission-and-the-modern-clinical-trial• ‘Hypnosis in History’ (Hypnosis TV, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUzZOGTkOtMThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/13/2023 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

The French government introduced a new State religion on 10th November, 1793: the ‘Cult of Reason’, which attempted to reflect the anti-clerical attitudes of the French Revolution. But - as with the new secular calendar that reset the year to zero and gave democratic names to the months - the general public did not take to their local Church becoming a ‘Temple of Reason’, and most of the men involved in propagating the idea were ultimately executed.The worship of reason was personified by living women in Roman dresses, who were met with ridicule, and a mishmash of Greek and Roman-inspired ceremonies that struggled to define their purpose, often resembling confused and peculiar public exhibitions rather than a cohesive religious doctrine. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Robespierre's replacement religion, the "Cult of the Supreme Being"; explain how Napoleon's rise marked the end of both cults; and reveal how the Temples of Reason provided one truly enduring legacy: cremation…Further Reading:‘The Cult of Reason’ (BBC History Magazine, 2015): https://www.pressreader.com/uk/bbc-history-magazine/20151008/281698318658789‘The Notre Dame Cathedral Was Nearly Destroyed By French Revolutionary Mobs’ (HISTORY, 2019): https://www.history.com/news/notre-dame-fire-french-revolution‘When Atheists Persecuted Christians - The Cult of Reason’ (Theopedia, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWOUmO7Lpd4We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/10/2023 • 11 minutes, 21 seconds

Presidential diplomacy now routinely involves hundreds of trips on Air Force One - but, until Theodore Roosevelt travelled to inspect the Panama Canal on 9th November, 1906, no serving US President had ever ventured abroad.It was the biggest infrastructure project a President had ever undertaken, costing hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives. To reassure Americans he was at the helm, Roosevelt was photographed sitting atop a steam shovel, wearing a pristine white suit.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the most recent President to remain ‘at home’ throughout his Presidency; consider whether Roosevelt had ADHD; and explain why one of George H W Bush’s foreign trips inadvertently inspired the Japanese to create a new word for vomiting. Further Reading:• ‘7 Little-Known Legacies of Teddy Roosevelt’ (HISTORY, 2020): https://www.history.com/news/teddy-roosevelt-legacies• ‘The Panama Canal’s Forgotten Casualties’ (The Conversation, 2018): https://theconversation.com/the-panama-canals-forgotten-casualties-93536• ‘George H.W. Bush Vomits’ (January 8, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_KVL-wtpggFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/9/2023 • 9 minutes, 19 seconds

Bruce Miller appeared to be the victim of a violent robbery at his salvage yard when his body was discovered on 8th November, 1999 - but he had actually been killed as part of a disturbing love triangle; one that led to his wife, Sharee Miller, being imprisoned for second degree homicide in a case frequently labelled ‘the internet’s first murder’.Sharee, 20 years Bruce’s junior, had been flirting in AOL chatrooms with Jerry Cassaday, a 39-year-old former homicide detective, whom she convinced that her husband was abusive. She told Cassaday she was pregnant with his child, and presented fabricated evidence to support her story, along with instructions of how to kill her husband.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Sharee meticulously plotted the murder from afar; explain how the prosecution used computer forensics for the first time in a murder case; and discover how Sharee initially tried to frame another man, but ultimately confessed from prison… CONTENT WARNING: murder, abuse, suicide.Further Reading:• ’Sharee Miller: An internet black widow’s deadly deception’ (KTVI-TV St. Louis, 2023): https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/sharee-miller-an-internet-black-widow-s-deadly-deception/ar-AA1j3nzI• ‘Who is Sharee Miller and where is she now?’ (The US Sun, 2022): https://www.the-sun.com/news/4659758/who-sharee-miller-where-now/• ‘Cross-Examination of Sharee Miller - Sex, Lies And Murder’ (CourtTV, 2001): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3egdyOPk7ELove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/8/2023 • 11 minutes, 5 seconds

The first meteorite to crash land into Earth - and have its date recorded - impacted the hamlet of Ensisheim (in modern-day France, then Austria) on 7th November, 1492. The stone's descent created a crater in a wheat field, captivating villagers who believed such occurrences were cosmic signs.A striking deafening noise accompanied the meteor's descent; the bright trail it left was blinding. A young boy witnessed the fall and alerted the townsfolk, leading to a frenzy of villagers rushing to collect souvenirs and good luck charms from the impact site. The local magistrate intervened, preserving the meteorite by having it relocated to the church for safekeeping. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reflect on how the villagers reacted to the coming of what they called the Thunderstone, or Firestone; explain how the event was widely interpreted as a divine warning mainly thanks to the invention of the printing press; and reveal why the meteorite was affixed to the wall using iron crampons… Further Reading:• ‘This Famous 1492 Meteorite Impact Was Interpreted as an Omen from God’ (VICE, 2016): https://www.vice.com/en/article/jpgk47/this-famous-1492-meteorite-impact-was-interpreted-as-an-omen-from-god• ‘The Meteorite of Ensisheim: 1492 to 1992’ (Harvard, 1991):https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1992Metic..27...28M&db_key=AST&page_ind=0&data_type=GIF&type=SCREEN_VIEW&classic=YES• ‘World’s Largest Meteorite Weights Over 100K Pounds But No One Knows Where It Came From’ (Did You Know?, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lJwXquFpHwLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/7/2023 • 9 minutes, 46 seconds

This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!In today's episode we explore the incredible history of the at-home pregnancy test, first made available to British women on 6th November, 1971. Although not at Boot’s.Created by Margaret Crane, a graphic designer for New Jersey pharmaceutical company Organon, the test revolutionised the process of pregnancy detection, which had previously required a clinician to send samples to a laboratory - an exercise that could take up to a fortnight.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn how the ancient Egyptians were years ahead when it came to urine samples; explain why ‘the rabbit died’ had become the accepted euphemism for being up the duff; and watch old episodes of ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’ and ‘Hill St Blues’ for their research (well, ok, that’s just Rebecca)... Further Reading:• ‘History of the Home Pregnancy Test’ (The Atlantic, 2015): https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/06/history-home-pregnancy-test/396077/• ‘The Unknown Designer of the First Home Pregnancy Test Is Finally Getting Her Due’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2015): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/unknown-designer-first-home-pregnancy-test-getting-her-due-180956684/• ‘"Get dressed.... Dad" - Home Response TV Commercial’ (1987): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWLZC0q3iskWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/6/2023 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

In a quirky blend of sports, public health, and self-promotion, boxing legend Muhammad Ali took on an unusual opponent at the Washington Monument on 3rd November, 1979: ‘Mr. Tooth Decay’.The demonstration, promoted by Don King, culminated with Ali knocking down Decay in the sixth round, prompting the crowd of children to celebrate by tossing toothbrushes. It was part of an extended dental health campaign that included Ali’s bizarre LP, "Muhammad Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay," featuring Frank Sinatra and released in 1976. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca, and Olly dare each other to listen to the album in full; consider how Ali transitioned his public personality away from his stand against the Vietnam War and embrace of Islam; and seek out the even lesser-known sequel, "Dope! The Dope King's Last Stand", featuring a guest appearance from no less than President Jimmy Carter…Further Reading:• ‘Ali Still The Most in 6 Rounds With Tooth Decay’ (The Washington Post, 1979): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1979/11/04/ali-still-the-most-in-6-rounds-with-tooth-decay/9700895a-6014-4a38-b2f4-5dfe2ff1cf3f/• ‘Remembering Muhammad Ali’s Trippy, Anti-Cavity Kids’ Record’ (Rolling Stone, 2016): https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/remembering-muhammad-alis-trippy-anti-cavity-kids-record-64027/• ‘Ali and His Gang Fight Mr. Tooth Decay’ (St. John's Fruit And Vegetable Co, 1976): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtiNbm9o8zUFri:We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/3/2023 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

Johnny Campbell, a medical student from the University Of Minnesota, spurred on his alma mater’s struggling football team by leading spectators in a rousing cheer on 2nd November, 1898 - and, in so doing, became the world’s first recognised cheerleader. Even though the sport now features predominantly female participants these days, the first women cheerleaders weren't recorded until 1923. Indeed, four men who would later become U.S. President cheered on their teams at College: Dwight D Eisenhower, Franklin D Roosevelt, George W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the ‘grandfather of cheerleading’, who patented pom-poms; explain how the Dallas Cowboys played a pivotal role in the perception of modern cheerleading; and consider the most comical cheerleading names in the canon… Further Reading:• ‘Almanac: The 1st cheerleader’ (CBS News, 2014): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/almanac-the-1st-cheerleader/• A Not-So-Brief and Extremely Sordid History of Cheerleading – Mother Jones (Mother Jones, 2014): https://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/12/cheerleader-history-timeline/• ‘Top 10 Most Watched Cheerleading Routines EVER on YouTube’ (The Cheer Buzz, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgH-Esw6GpI ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/2/2023 • 10 minutes, 5 seconds

Dropping bombs from planes was unheard of until 1st November 1911, when Italian Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti embarked on an aerial mission over Libya. With a handful of lightweight grenades resting in his lap, he headed to Ain Zara, a village near Tripoli, and chucked them overboard.This audacious act occurred only eight years after the Wright brothers' initial flight. Early planes were difficult to manoeuvre, and unable to handle significant weight due to their construction from lightweight wood and paper. Nonetheless, the haphazard nature of the bombing attempt, involving improvised techniques and a lack of sophistication, was a bold step in the evolution of military aviation. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Gavotti’s act laid the groundwork for aerial warfare, sparking discussions about the morality and strategic implications of bombing civilian sites; consider how the Italian press celebrated the achievement as ‘the art of winged death’; and reveal why Gavotti was not called a ‘bomber’, but ‘a Flying Artillerman’...Further Reading:• ‘Libya 1911: How an Italian pilot began the air war era’ (BBC News, 2011): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13294524• ‘The World’s First Bombing Attack From The Air - Giulio Gavotti’ (Century Of Flight, 2019): https://www.century-of-flight.net/the-worlds-first-bombing-attack/• ‘Douhet and Command of the Air’ (The Dole Institute of Politics, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvmVyE4XfSILove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/1/2023 • 9 minutes, 55 seconds

‘Ghostwatch’, a Halloween drama in the style of a documentary, reached 11 million viewers on its first and only UK broadcast on BBC 1, on 31st October, 1992. It starred Sarah Greene, Craig Charles, Mike Smith, and - in a stroke of genius - trusted veteran broadcaster Michael Parkinson, who became possessed by the voice of ‘Pipes’ as the programme reached its terrifying climax. The show caused outrage for its disturbing content and the way it blurred the line between fact and fiction. Most of the 30,000 complainants didn’t believe the events portrayed were real; they were simply distressed that the BBC would make a horror drama that borrowed the visual language of current affairs television.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the entire cast and crew were holed up in a Chiswick sailing club during the transmission; consider how the show’s pioneering style influenced the likes of Derek Acorah and ‘Most Haunted’; and document the astonishing effect the show allegedly had on young viewers… Further Reading:• ‘Ghostwatch is 30: "It got a reputation as something subversive"’ (Radio Times, 2022): https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/fantasy/ghostwatch-oral-history-rt-rewind/• ‘30 years on, Ghostwatch is still as haunting as ever’ (Little White Lies, 2022): https://lwlies.com/articles/30-years-on-ghostwatch-is-still-a-haunting-watch/• ‘Ghostwatch’ (BBC, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JkEbGMEXVsLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/31/2023 • 9 minutes, 48 seconds

On 30 October, 1990, with little fanfare and without any cameras present, the first connection was made between the French half and the British half of the Channel Tunnel, when a two-inch metal probe broke through to link Great Britain with the European mainland for the first time in more than 8,000 years. In the words of the British team, the hole was just big enough to give them “a whiff of garlic”. Final construction took another four more years, with the “Chunnel” officially opening for passenger service in May, 1994.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why not all Brits were enthusiastic about the project; describe the gifts the British and French sides presented one another with when the connection was made; and discuss why the original scheme to link the two countries included an artificial island in the middle where you would change horses...Further Reading:• 'The Channel Tunnel or 'Chunnel'' (The Train Line, 2022): https://www.thetrainline.com/trains/europe/channel-tunnel#:~:text=On%2030th%20October%201990%2C%20the%20Channel%20Tunnel%E2%80%99s%20advancing,alignment%20was%20just%20358mm%20horizontally%20and%2058mm%20vertically%21 • 'Channel Tunnel 1880 Attempt' (Subterranea Britannica, 1988): https://www.subbrit.org.uk/sites/channel-tunnel-1880-attempt/ • 'How the world's longest underwater tunnel was built’ (TED-Ed, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNS2jj2w-GI This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/30/2023 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

Nicholas Ray’s ‘troubled teen’ picture, ‘Rebel Without A Cause’ opened in the US on 27th October, 1955. The film was eagerly anticipated, partly due to the recent death of its star, James Dean, in a car accident.Although the movie’s title can be traced back to a book by Dr. Robert Lindner that explored the mind of a teenage criminal, the script underwent multiple revisions - in part so that Dean and the young cast, including Natalie Wood and Dennis Hooper, could contribute improvisation. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine the film’s radical sexuality, yet latent conservatism; explain why it received an X rating in the UK; and reveal why it was released in colour, yet initially filmed in black and white… Further Reading:• ‘Rebel Without a Cause: Review’ (Time, 1955): https://time.com/4079963/review-rebel-without-a-cause/• ‘Behind the scenes: Rebel without a Cause’ (BFI, 2014): https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/behind-scenes-rebel-without-cause• ‘Screen Tests - Rebel Without a Cause’ (Warner Bros., 1955): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj-qDUVJ1vIWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/27/2023 • 11 minutes, 13 seconds

When Queen and David Bowie met in Switzerland to record their iconic collaboration ‘Under Pressure’ on 26th October, 1981, *quite a lot* of drugs and wine were taken - to the extent that nobody can recall exactly how the iconic pop song came to be formed.What we do know is that Freddie Mercury never performed the monster hit live with Bowie, nor turned up to appear in the video, and that the precise authorship of the instantly recognisable bassline remains hard to establish.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly probe into Bowie’s tax affairs; relate Brian May’s account of Mercury’s vocal-booth improv; and ask why Jedward and Vanilla Ice appear to have stolen a march on this seminal track…Further Reading:• ‘Feel Like’ (1981), the demo Queen recorded before Bowie turned up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-hKRR5FZ78• ‘Under Pressure’ (1981) - David Bowie and Queen, Official Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a01QQZyl-_I• ‘Inside David Bowie and Queen’s 'Tense' Recording Session for "Under Pressure"’ (Biography, 2020): https://www.biography.com/news/david-bowie-queen-under-pressure-recording-session‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/26/2023 • 10 minutes, 20 seconds

Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. became the first African-American general in the US Army on 25th October, 1940 - despite facing opposition from those who saw his appointment as political opportunism, whilst Roosevelt wooed the ‘negro vote’.Despite facing racial discrimination throughout his career, Davis had a deep connection to the military, serving in various roles and campaigns, including the Spanish American War, and had been mentored by Lieutenant Charles Young, the only other black officer at the time. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Davis’s date of birth is a question of debate; explain how Davis’s son went on to have a military career that echoed the discrimination and successes of his father’s; and trace the history of black soldiers’ involvement in the US Army since the country’s foundation… Further Reading:• ‘Benjamin O. Davis Sr. (1877-1970)’ (Blackpast, 2017): https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/davis-sr-benjamin-o-1877-1970-2/• ‘Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr’ (U.S. Army Center of Military History, 2021):  https://history.army.mil/html/topics/afam/davis.html• ‘Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. - First African American to command a Brigade’ (Pritzker Military Museum & Library, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9FuPcYctBoLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/25/2023 • 10 minutes, 20 seconds

King Henry VIII’s third wife, Queen Consort Jane Seymour, died aged just 29 on 24th October, 1537 - 12 days after giving birth to their son, future King Edward VI. Her death was attributed to complications following a prolonged and challenging labour, though recently it has been speculated it was in fact a pulmonary embolism. Despite her limited education, Jane's gentle nature and domestic skills appealed to Henry, who was, perhaps, looking for a more ‘girl next door’-type following his disastrous marriage to Anne Boleyn, whom he had beheaded just ten days before marrying Jane. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca weigh up Jane's plain reputation with her latent plucky side and glitzy jewellery; consider Jane’s role in reconciling Henry with his daughter Mary, who had been declared a bastard; and delight in the discovery of black wax in Henry’s mourning court…Further Reading:• ‘Jane Seymour | Hampton Court Palace’ (Historic Royal Palaces): https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and-stories/jane-seymour/#gs.71s7lp• ‘Jane Seymour | Queen, Henry VIII's Third Wife, Facts & Death’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/kings-and-queens-in-profile-jane-seymour/• ‘The HORRIFIC Death Of Jane Seymour - Henry VIII's Third Wife’ (Her Remarkable History, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3wckPOvxVYLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/24/2023 • 11 minutes, 23 seconds

According to the 17th-century Archbishop James Ussher, the world began on 23rd October, 4004 BC at precisely midday.Today, it is easy to ridicule Ussher’s date – and plenty of people do – but his methodology was scrupulous and his calculations were in line with most of the best estimates of his age.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss what was behind the 17th Century fascination with the age of the Earth; investigate how the Gideon Society made Ussher a household name; and ask whether Ussher was the original superfan (with the caveat that his area of nerdy obsession happened to be Biblical chronology)...Further Reading:• ‘Chronologies: The date of the world’s beginning’ (University of Cambridge, 2022): https://exhibitions.lib.cam.ac.uk/reformation/artifacts/the-date-of-the-worlds-beginning/ • ‘How an archbishop calculated the Creation’ (The Irish Times, 2003): https://www.irishtimes.com/news/how-an-archbishop-calculated-the-creation-1.378556 • 'The Annals of the World by James Ussher' (BBC, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/wMDRZOpFQCCJwqJGg-qwCQ • 'The man who dated Creation at Oct. 23, 4004 BC' (The Globe and Mail, 2010): https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/the-man-who-dated-creation-at-oct-23-4004-bc/article4084451/ • 'Theologians in Conversation; James Ussher: Creation of Reputation' (University of Nottingham, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq-8TJRpYjA This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/23/2023 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds

The Sydney Opera House was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20th October, 1973, marking the start of a two-week festival of events in celebration of the audacious new building. “I understand that its construction has not been totally without problems,” Her Majesty commented with some understatement, adding “but the human spirit must sometimes take wings or sails, and create something that is not just utilitarian or commonplace”.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why the construction of the Opera House ran ten years late and 1,357% over budget; examine what prompted visionary architect Jørn Utzon to walk away from his magnum opus mid-project; and reveal why finding a home for the pie shop has long bedevilled the landmark's designers…Further Reading:• ‘Sydney Opera House - 50 years of extraordinary moments’ (Sydney Opera House, 2023): https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/our-story/50-years-extraordinary-moments • ‘The Surprising Story of the Sydney Opera House's Construction’ (Google Arts & Culture, 2020): https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-surprising-story-of-the-sydney-opera-house-39-s-construction/CAVhiDXG4On-xA?hl=en • ‘The Sydney Opera House (construction story) 1958 - 1973’ (BBC, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81-EDxHdmlI We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/20/2023 • 9 minutes, 18 seconds

Ten thousand spectators gathered by the side of the Thames on 19th October, 2003 to watch street magician/illusionist David Blaine come back down to Earth, having spent 44 days suspended in a perspex box in a stunt called ‘Above The Below’.It was an accomplishment almost sabotaged by the British tabloid media and general public, who had heckled him, tried to dismantle his crane, and even flown up a hamburger on a drone to taunt him.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why Londoners were so hostile to this performance art unfolding in their midsts; explain what Dizzee Rascal had to do with it all; and reveal exactly how Blaine did a wee, whilst suspended in mid-air…Further Reading:• ‘Above the Below’ - David Blaine’s Official Website: https://davidblaine.com/above-the-below/• ‘Remembering David Blaine's 44 days in a glass box, which frustrated the British public like no other act of performance art’ (The Independent, 2018): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/david-blaine-london-glass-box-stunt-reaction-starvation-above-below-a8523606.html• ‘David Blaine - Above the Below’ (Harmony Korine, 2003): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki5fRls2uv4‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/19/2023 • 8 minutes, 53 seconds

The traditional music for the circus, "Entrance of the Gladiators", wasn’t actually written for the circus at all, instead when it was composed on 17th October, 1899, it was in fact intended to be a military march.  Julius Fučík composed it, in part, to showcase the cutting-edge capabilities of the era's brass instruments, which had become quicker and more precise than ever before. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate how a sober military march ended up being associated with clowns and trapeze artists; explain what circus music would have sounded like before big bands took over; and reveal which song you should listen out for that traditionally tells circus performers if there is a fire or an escaped wild animal…  Further Reading:• ‘Julius Fučík ‘Entrance of the Gladiators’: Roll Up Roll Up!’ (Clasicalexburns, 2020): https://classicalexburns.com/2021/10/15/julius-fucik-entrance-of-the-gladiators-roll-up-roll-up/ • ‘Circus Music History and Facts’ (History of Circus, 2020): https://www.historyofcircus.com/circus-facts/circus-music-history-facts/ • ‘Julius Fucik - Entry of the Gladiators’ (The Wicked North, 2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B0CyOAO8y0 Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/18/2023 • 10 minutes, 16 seconds

The traditional music for the circus, "Entrance of the Gladiators", wasn’t actually written for the circus at all, instead when it was composed on 17th October, 1899, it was in fact intended to be a military march.  Julius Fučík composed it, in part, to showcase the cutting-edge capabilities of the era's brass instruments, which had become quicker and more precise than ever before. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate how a sober military march ended up being associated with clowns and trapeze artists; explain what circus music would have sounded like before big bands took over; and reveal which song you should listen out for that traditionally tells circus performers if there is a fire or an escaped wild animal…  Further Reading:• ‘Julius Fučík ‘Entrance of the Gladiators’: Roll Up Roll Up!’ (Clasicalexburns, 2020): https://classicalexburns.com/2021/10/15/julius-fucik-entrance-of-the-gladiators-roll-up-roll-up/ • ‘Circus Music History and Facts’ (History of Circus, 2020): https://www.historyofcircus.com/circus-facts/circus-music-history-facts/ • ‘Julius Fucik - Entry of the Gladiators’ (The Wicked North, 2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B0CyOAO8y0 Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/17/2023 • 10 minutes, 41 seconds

ack The Ripper’s ‘letters’ can mostly be dismissed as hoaxes. The possible exception is the letter sent to George Lusk, the President of Mile End Vigilance Committee, on 16th October, 1688. It was marked, “From Hell”. And it had half a human kidney attached to it. “Sor I send you half the Kidne I took from one women”, it began. “prasarved it for you tother piece I fried and ate it was very nise. I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer. Catch me when you can Mishter Lusk”.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the motivation of the fraudulent letter-writers; examine whether the kidney sent with this letter could have been that of victim Catherine Eddowes; and interrogate Rebecca’s dalliance with Ripperology on an East London walking tour… Further Reading:• ‘Inside The 'From Hell' Letter Written By Jack The Ripper’ (All Thats Interesting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/from-hell-letter• ‘Your guide to Jack the Ripper’ (HistoryExtra, 2018): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/your-guide-to-jack-the-ripper/• ‘George Lusk And The Letter From Hell’ (Jack The Ripper Tour, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGP0aX8ENd4This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/16/2023 • 35 seconds

On October 13th, 1881, the linguist and grammarian Eliezer Ben-Yehuda held what is thought to have been the first modern conversation in Hebrew with two friends at a Paris café.The conversation would have had some serious stumbling blocks, given that the language was still missing numerous modern words including bicycle, towel, and – crucially for being in a cafe – a word for coffee.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss the connection between Hebrew's revival and growing Jewish nationalism; look at the personal lengths Ben-Yehuda was willing to go to make the language take off, including speaking to his son exclusively in Hebrew; and explain why, in the early days, conversing in an ancient language must have been like speaking exclusively in David Bowie song lyrics…Further Reading:• ‘Revival of the Hebrew language’ (The Jerusalem Post, 2010): https://www.jpost.com/jewish-world/jewish-news/this-week-in-history-revival-of-the-hebrew-language • ‘How to revive an ancient language, according to 19th-century Hebrew and Persian revivalists’ (University of Washington, 2018): https://jewishstudies.washington.edu/israel-hebrew/reviving-hebrew-persian-ancient-languages-eliezer-ben-yehuda-manekji-limji-hataria/ • ‘Hebrew wasn’t spoken for 2,000 years. Here’s how it was revived’ (National Geographic, 2023): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/hebrew-wasnt-spoken-for-2000-years-heres-how-it-was-revived • ‘The History & Revival of the Hebrew Language’ (Unpacked, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBiiad9fO-g We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/13/2023 • 10 minutes, 5 seconds

The world’s most famous adult magazine went ‘SFW’ on 12th October, 2015 - when Scott Flanders, then Playboy’s chief executive, announced that future editions would no longer contain full nudity.The change lasted for only one year.‘Reading it for the articles’ had, at one time, been a plausible option - the magazine had published stories by Margaret Atwood and interviews with Malcolm X, Vladimir Nabokov, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jimmy Carter. But, in the internet era, Playboy had become more lucrative as a clothing brand than as a credible print title, finally ceasing publication in 2020.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the first issue, from 1953; dig into Hugh Hefner’s burial plot; and visit Playboy’s website, FOR RESEARCH…Further Reading:•‘Playboy to remove nudity from magazine’ (Channel 4 News, 2015): https://www.channel4.com/news/playboy-to-remove-nudity-from-magazine•‘Playboy's Postfeminism Problem’ (Diggit, 2018): https://www.diggitmagazine.com/column/playboys-postfeminism-problem‘Playboy Is Bringing Nudity Back’ (ThinkTank, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiJzqwM4ibA‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/12/2023 • 10 minutes, 13 seconds

Triggering a national and international outcry, the San Francisco school board issued an order on October 11th, 1906, requiring all Japanese and Korean children to attend a separate “Oriental School” where Chinese pupils were already segregated. The move came as a huge embarrassment to President Theodore Roosevelt, who was trying to build relations with Japan, prompting him to describe the school board’s action as a “wicked absurdity” in his annual message to Congress.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why an earthquake prompted San Francisco to act; explain why anti-Chinese sentiment came to be transferred to Japanese immigrants; and look into how laws overtly banning Asians from entering the country remained on the books in the US until 1965… Further Reading:• ‘Segregation of Japanese School Kids in San Francisco Sparks An International Incident’ (California State Library, 2019): https://cal170.library.ca.gov/japanese-segregation/ • ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement’ (History.com, 2009): https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/gentlemens-agreement • ‘The dark history of the Chinese Exclusion Act’ (TED, 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K88pWCimZg Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/11/2023 • 11 minutes, 39 seconds

On 10th October, 1967 a treaty went into force that has gone on to become the backbone for all international space law – a United Nations-approved agreement known as the The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, but better known today as the Outer Space Treaty.It’s a relatively succinct document of just 17 articles, some as short as a single sentence, but it represented a lot of fundamentally very challenging cooperation at the time. Not least because it came about when the Cold War was in full swing, and both the United States and the Soviet Union wanted to prevent the expansion of the nuclear arms race into space. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the principles of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 turned out to be a good fit for rules on what can and can't be done in outer space; revisit everyone's favourite topic of property law in the 13th century; and discuss whether Elon Musk will, according to the law, own other planets if he lands on them.Further Reading:• ‘Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies’ (US Department of State, 2009): https://2009-2017.state.gov/t/isn/5181.htm • ‘How an international treaty signed 50 years ago became the backbone for space law’ (The Verge, 2017): https://www.theverge.com/2017/1/27/14398492/outer-space-treaty-50-anniversary-exploration-guidelines • ‘Who Owns The Moon?’ (Vsauce, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks8WH3xUo_E Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/10/2023 • 11 minutes, 32 seconds

Scandal beset baseball’s biggest contest on 9th October, 1919, when members of the Chicago White Sox conspired to lose the World Series to underdogs the Cincinnati Reds, in return for a slice of gambling profits.There had been numerous attempts to fix high-profile games before, but the ‘Black Sox’ affair was the first time America at large became aware of dodgy dealings behind-the-scenes - and the outrage rocked the country.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the role of notorious gangster Arnold Rothstein; question whether White Sox players were in fact underpaid in the era; and explain why the lines between truth and fiction were deliberately blurred in ‘Eight Men Out’, Eliot Asinof's 1963 book about the case... Further Reading:• ‘The 1919 Black Sox Baseball Scandal Was Just One of Many’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1919-black-sox-baseball-scandal-wasnt-first-180964673/• ‘Arnold Rothstein: The Drug Kingpin Who Fixed The 1919 World Series’ (All Thats Interesting, 2022): https://allthatsinteresting.com/arnold-rothstein• ‘Eight Men Out: Banned From Baseball’ (Orion Pictures, 1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7ME7WkPyC8This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/9/2023 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

The world’s most famous cabaret, the Moulin Rouge, opened its doors in Paris on 6th October, 1889. Founded by Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler, the club was originally called the Jardin de Paris and featured everything from art galleries to operettas, live tableau and an opium den.In the era of the Belle Epoque, however, the venue became most associated with the scandalous can-can dance, which actually originated in London but found its home in Montmartre.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a giant stucco elephant became part of the opening attractions; recall what happened when the Prince of Wales, future Edward VII, went to check out the entertainment on offer; and unpick the notorious novelty act ‘Le Pétomane’ (Joseph Pujol), and his, um, unique control over airflow…Further Reading:• ’The original Moulin Rouge the year before it burned down and other historical images, 1890-1930’ (Rare Historical Photos): https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/original-moulin-rouge-1914/• ‘Fart history? Joseph Pujol trumps them all’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/aug/20/fart-history-joseph-pujol-trumps-them-all• ‘Moulin Rouge Paris’ (Explore France, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK7qVv-tNosWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/6/2023 • 10 minutes, 13 seconds

The ‘Women’s March’ of 1789 began spontaneously, when a market trader banged a drum in a Parisian square on 5th October - launching a chain of events which would eventually end a century of Versailles rule and lead to the execution of Louis XVI.Initially a reaction to the grain shortage that had left Parisians hungry as the aristocracy indulged in luxuries, the protest soon morphed into an angry mob demanding everything from the relocation of the monarchy to the murder of Marie Antoinette.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the protestors reportedly fainted at the King’s feet once granted an audience with him; review some of the bizarre weaponry mobilised by the mob; and learn that the French Revolution happened a lot more slowly than you probably think it did… Further Reading:• ‘A History of the Women’s March on Versailles’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/womens-march-on-versailles-3529107• ‘How Bread Shortages Helped Ignite The French Revolution’ (HISTORY): https://www.history.com/news/bread-french-revolution-marie-antoinette#:~:text=The%20Bread%20Famine%20in%2018th%2Dcentury%20France.&text=It%20didn't%20work.,a%20little%20over%20three%20weeks• ‘What It Was Like To Live At Versailles’ (Weird History, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrKysG9aiic‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/5/2023 • 10 minutes, 12 seconds

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum began chiseling the rockface of Mount Rushmore on 4th October, 1927 - the start of a 14 year project to carve Presidents Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Roosevelt into the South Dakotan summit.A team of up to 400 workers used dynamite, jackhammers, and chisels to shape the mountain into the iconic presidential faces, and to access the summit, built a staircase and ropes for support, working at dizzying heights of 500 feet above the ground. Remarkably, despite the dangers, not a single fatality occurred during the construction.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Borglum hotfooted it to the project from a even more controversial one in Georgia; unpick the Lakota Sioux people’s legal disputes with the U.S. government over the land rights; and reveal why George Washington's nose was even larger-than-life than the rest of him… Further Reading:• ‘Sculptor Gutzon Borglum - Mount Rushmore National Memorial’ (U.S. National Park Service, 2023): https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/gutzon-borglum.htm• ‘The Making of Mount Rushmore’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2011): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-making-of-mount-rushmore-121886182/• ‘The dark history of Mount Rushmore - Ned Blackhawk and Jeffrey D. Means’ (Ted-Ed, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX4IvoP1HTkLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/4/2023 • 11 minutes, 24 seconds

Irish popstar Sinéad O’Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II during her performance of Bob Marley’s ‘War’ on NBC’s TV show ‘Saturday Night Live’ on 3rd October, 1992. The unexpected act was meticulously planned by O'Connor; a protest against child abuse within the Catholic Church. The performance left the audience almost silent, and, although she faced significant backlash, O'Connor remained unapologetic, writing in her memoirs that it was one of her proudest achievements.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a Top of the Pops performance by Bob Geldof first inspired the stunt; reveal where precisely O’Connor got the photo of the Pope from; and ask if, when it comes to this divisive moment, SNL have fallen on the right side of history…Further Reading:• ‘The day Sinead O’Connor tore up a photo of the Pope on Saturday Night Live’ (The Independent, 2022): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/sinead-oconnor-snl-pope-photo-b2191296.html• ‘Sinead O’Connor’s Legacy With Sex Abuse Survivors in Catholic Church’ (Rolling Stone, 2023): https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/sinead-oconnor-catholic-church-abuse-legacy-1234797102/• ‘Sinéad O'Connor rips up picture of Pope John Paul II’ (NBC, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGFj1WClin4#90s #Religion #Protest #TV #Irish #CatholicCONTENT WARNING: child abuseLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/3/2023 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published on October 2nd, 1902. The book was an instant sensation, needing reprints almost immediately, and ultimately went on to sell an extraordinary 40 million copies worldwide.Potter had initially written it in 1893 as a letter to cheer up Noel Moore, the five-year-old son of her former governess. Noel was ill, and Potter wrote the story simply to help him pass the time. Seeing Peter Rabbit’s potential, however, her friends encouraged her to publish.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why The Tale of Peter Rabbit was rejected by six publishers; look into how Potter first met the “real” Peter Rabbit; and discuss how the gentle book was given a high-octane update when it transferred to TV…  Further Reading:• ‘Peter Rabbit: the tale of “The Tale”’ (V&A Museum, 2021): https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/peter-rabbit-the-tale-of-the-tale • ‘Peter Rabbit and Other Stories’ (Lit2Go, 1902): https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/148/peter-rabbit-and-other-stories/4923/the-tale-of-peter-rabbit/ • ‘Peter Rabbit - Official Trailer’ (Sony Pictures, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pa_Weidt08 This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/2/2023 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Henry Robinson opened the Office of Addresses and Encounters on Threadneedle Street, London on 29th September, 1650. The centre provided a forward-looking, unusual mix of services ranging from job placements, money lending, and property dealings… to (shhh) match-making.Robinson's inspiration came from a broader philosophical concept of creating a place where people of all classes could access information, regardless of their status in society. He accordingly charged a minimal fee for answers to queries, and offered an array of services, from buying and selling land to language tuition and finding ‘travel companions’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why euphemistic wording was so often used in these very first ‘classifieds’; reveal the first documented example of a ‘Lonely Hearts’ advertisem*nt; and consider what Robinson’s upselling model had in common with Costco…Further Reading:• ‘Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout: They Found Answers at the Office of Addresses and Encounters’ (Patrick Murfin, 2016): https://patrickmurfin.blogspot.com/2016/09/they-found-answers-at-office-of.html• ‘The Secret History of Domesticity - Public, Private, and the Division of Knowledge -By Michael McKeon’ (John Hopkins University Press, 2006): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Secret_History_of_Domesticity/8VrwIKiAefkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=henry+robinson+office+of+encounters&pg=PA28&printsec=frontcover• ‘HISTORY OF IDEAS - Dating’ (The School of Life, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob14PcHtazQ#1600s #UK #Romantic #BusinessLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve StonholdTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/29/2023 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

Rerun. Feet, inches, palms, cubits, rods… all were SWEPT ASIDE on 28th September, 1889, when the first General Conference of the Weights and Measures Commission met in Sèvres, France to refine a definition for the NEW universal measurement of distance: the metre.The calculation was painstakingly made by measuring a quarter of the meridian of the Earth - running from the North Pole to the Equator - and then dividing it into 10 million parts. Metal bars measuring exactly one metre were then distributed to attendees of the Conference.In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether this scientific method of calculating distance was *really* any better than barleycorns and man-size hugs; ask why the USA still hasn’t got on-board with the metric system; and explain why Napoleon might not have been as short as we think he was…Further Reading:• ‘Galileo, Krypton, and How the Metric Standard Came to Be’ (WIRED, 2018): https://www.wired.com/story/book-excerpt-the-perfectionists-history-meter/• ‘How France created the metric system’ (BBC Travel, 2018): https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180923-how-france-created-the-metric-system• ‘Who Invented the Meter?’ (It’s Okay To Be Smart, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3eHHwcMVcA‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors  Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve StonholdTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/28/2023 • 10 minutes, 11 seconds

George Stephenson drove Britain’s first-ever steam-powered passenger train, the Locomotion Number One, on 27th September, 1825, from Darlington to Stockton on Tees.The Cambridge Chronicle and Journal reported, with breathless excitement: “in the presence of great crowds of spectators, including many scientific gentlemen… 60 waggons were attached, containing one thousand persons, who were visibly delighted, as were the thousands of spectators. The cavalcade moved by signals, and the whole of this immense mass could be stopped at any prescribed place and moment. On one part of the line, the speed was 12 miles an hour.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how this pivotal event lead to the development of the commuter class, larger-scale corporations, and trades unions with newfound power; explain how amenities including corridors, toilets, and proper ticketing systems were still decades away; and reveal how Wordsworth campaigned against the steam railway - in verse, of course… Further Reading:• ‘George Stephenson and the Invention of the Steam Locomotive Engine’ (ThoughtCo, 2017): https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-railroad-1992457• ‘George Stephenson - The Father of Railways’ (Stockton Heritage): https://heritage.stockton.gov.uk/articles/people/george-stephenson-the-father-of-railways/• ‘The Stockton and Darlington Railway’ (BBC Teach, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6a4zDjLAlY#1800s #Science #UK #TechnologyLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve StonholdTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/27/2023 • 11 minutes, 30 seconds

Pushing the boundaries of human flight to hitherto unknown extremes, Swiss aviator Yves Rossy entered the record books on 26th September, 2008, becoming the first person ever to cross the English channel using a jet-propelled wing strapped to his back, equipped with four kerosene-fueled turbine engines. To embark on his flight, Rossy first ascended to 2,500 feet over Calais in a support plane. From there, he tumbled out, and, after free-falling and stabilizing, jetpacked over the White Cliffs of Dover in under ten minutes: the result of years of work and multiple prior attempts.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, despite being a popular movie trope, jet-packs have yet to catch on; consider whether Rossy’s crash-landing ruined the aesthetics of his bird-like descent; and reminisce about Michael Jackson’s rocket-powered exit from the Dangerous world tour…Further Reading:• ’Jet Man flies across Channel on a wing’ (The Guardian, 2008): https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/sep/26/aeronautics• ‘The Great American Jet Pack - The Quest for the Ultimate Individual Lift Device, By Steve Lehto’ (Chicago Review Press, 2013): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Great_American_Jet_Pack/ycr1HSRzRuIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=yves+rossy&pg=PA169&printsec=frontcover‘Fly with the Jetman’ (TED, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2sT9KoII_M#00s #Switzerland #Inventions #StrangeLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow!: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve StonholdTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/26/2023 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

The world did NOT wake up to the dangers of smoking on September 25th, 1878, despite the efforts of Dr. Charles R. Drysdale, who had a letter published in The Times warning that smoking is a practice “deleterious to health and vitality,” noting that a contemporaneous experiment on dogs had led to “palsy of the hind leg, blindness, deafness, and death.” But early anti-smoking campaigners like Drysdale were fighting a losing battle anyway because they were up against a formidable enemy: technology itself, which every day was making cigarettes cheaper and cheaper to mass produce. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look into why Nazi Germany was at the forefront of anti-smoking efforts; explain how Hollywood helped make smoking sexy; and reveal why if any of us did smoke, we would definitely choose Marlboro Lights…   Further Reading:• ‘Tobacco and the diseases it produces by Charles R. Drysdale’ (Today in Science History, 2001): https://todayinsci.com/D/Drysdale_Charles/DrysdaleCharles-TobaccoLetter%281878%29.htm • ‘Sept. 25, 1878: Yes, Smoking Is a Health Hazard’ (Wired, 2008): https://www.wired.com/2008/09/sept-25-1878-yes-smoking-is-a-health-hazard/ • ‘The UK's first anti-smoking films’ (BFI, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYSNq3Kf074  This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/25/2023 • 10 minutes, 20 seconds

Robert Walpole, first Lord of the Treasury, moved into 10 Downing Street on 22nd September, 1735, after three years of renovations. Although initially given to him as a personal gift from the King, the house became the official residence for all future Prime Ministers.Despite its central location in London, Downing Street wasn't fashionable at the time, and the house already had a long history of structural issues due to soft ground, leading to constant repairs. Over time, the original yellow bricks designed by Sir Christopher Wren turned black because of pollution from smog and smut.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the negative opinions of generations of PMs towards the nation’s primary grace and favour apartment; explain why Ramsay MacDonald dispatched his daughter down to the January sales; and reveal how Margaret Thatcher's very 80s aesthetic choices resonate with international visitors to this day...Further Reading:‘The Surprising History of 10 Downing Street’ (HISTORY, 2016): https://www.history.com/news/the-surprising-history-of-10-downing-street‘Sir Robert Walpole moved into Downing Street today in 1735’ (The Oldie, 2021): https://www.theoldie.co.uk/blog/sir-robert-walpole-became-the-first-pm-300-years-ago-today-david-horspool‘Inside Downing Street: A brief history of No.10’ (The Times Red Box, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwfHqQqImcc#1700s #UK #Politics #ArchitectureLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve StonholdTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/22/2023 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds

Rerun. ‘The Fish Feud!’ - as the tabloids originally termed the standoff between Britain and Iceland over fishing rights - had escalated into a fully-fledged ‘Cod War’ by 21st September, 1958, when the destroyer H.M.S. Diana requested medical assistance for a Marine suffering appendicitis.The dispute arose when Iceland had unilaterally extended its fishing zone from 4 to 12 nautical miles. For centuries prior to this, boundaries were calculated via the ‘canon shot rule’ - i.e. the distance a canon could be fired from the shore.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Iceland was having a jingoistic moment; reveal how the Soviets intervened to disrupt Britain’s defense strategy; and explain how the humble battered sausage came to the rescue for the UK’s chip shops…Further Reading:• ‘Iceland v Britain: the cod wars begin’ (The Guardian, 1958): https://www.theguardian.com/business/from-the-archive-blog/2018/sep/07/first-cod-war-iceland-britain-fish-1958• ‘How Iceland Beat the British in the Four Cod Wars’ (Atlas Obscura, 2018): https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-were-cod-wars• ‘Storyville: Cod Wars’ (BBC, 2002): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsOytZMRXo0Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/21/2023 • 10 minutes, 16 seconds

Robert of Geneva was elected Pope Clement VII on 20th September, 1378. Inconveniently, there was already a pope: Urban VI. Cue three decades of confusion and division, as citizens and nations had to choose which pope to support - the one in Rome, or the one Avignon - the situation becoming more inflamed as both popes engaged in aggressive rhetoric against each other.Unbelievably, efforts to resolve the schism resulted in the election of a THIRD pope, John XXIII, in Pisa, further complicating matters. It took four years and the Council of Constance to finally bring an end to the crisis by demanding the abdication of all three popes, and a FOURTH pope, Martin V, was then elected.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the problems the schism caused for a generation of Catholics; marvel at the unGodlike behaviour of this era of popes; and consider whether Pope Francis is, himself, an antipope… #Medieval #Catholic #Religion #StrangeFurther Reading:‘The Crazy Truth About The Time When There Were Three Popes’ (Grunge, 2023): https://www.grunge.com/249934/the-crazy-truth-about-the-time-when-there-were-three-popes/‘Pope Urban VI and the Anti-Pope Clement VII - Master of the Getty Froissart’ (Google Arts & Culture): https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/pope-urban-vi-and-the-anti-pope-clement-vii/sQFL-DyiiICnLw‘Why were there three popes at the same time? - Joëlle Rollo-Koster’ (TedEx, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i2bd5F1BXM#pope #popes ...Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/20/2023 • 10 minutes, 49 seconds

When German hikers Erika and Helmut Simon stumbled upon a dead body in the Oertzel Alps on 19th September, 1991, they believed it to be a recently fallen mountaineer, whose cadaver had been preserved in the ice. In fact, the specimen turned out to be 5,300 years old - older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids.The man, nicknamed ‘Ötzi’ by the press, had been struck down in mid-stride, and was discovered surrounded by his possessions, which included a copper axe. His remains are now on permanent display in Italy.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly probe into the various theories about how ‘the Iceman’ died; reveal what the post-mortem told us were the contents of his last meal; and consider the ‘Curse of the Frozen Mummy’...Further Reading:• ’The Discovery of Otzi the Iceman and Its Significance’ (ThoughtCo, 2020): https://www.thoughtco.com/otzi-the-iceman-1779439• ‘Who killed Oetzi the Iceman? Italy reopens coldest of cases’ (BBC News, 2017): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40104139• ‘Was Otzi the Iceman a Victim of Human Sacrifice?’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUVtJ8oqRWA#Discoveries #Italy #Switzerland #BCLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/19/2023 • 10 minutes, 49 seconds

Tiffany, now a $16 billion jewelry empire, opened their first store at 259 Broadway, New York, on 18th September, 1837. Their first day’s sales total was $4.98.Co-founded by 25 year-old Charles Lewis Tiffany (thanks to a $1,000 loan from his father), the ‘fancy goods emporium’ initially sold disparate luxury items including perfumes, dinner sets, and, er, dog whips - but eventually settled upon gems as their core offering, expanding the brand through collaborations with P. T. Barnum and ‘The Blue Book’, America’s first mail-order catalogue. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how, despite his business nous, Tiffany fell victim to the Great Diamond Hoax of 1872; explore how his design influence extends to the $1 bill and the New York Yankees' logo; and reveal how ‘robin egg’ blue became so synonymous with the company....Further Reading:• ‘Jewelry House Histories: Tiffany’ (Invaluable, 2022): https://www.invaluable.com/blog/jewelry-house-histories-tiffany/• ‘Tiffany Is More Than a Store’ (The New York Times, 2019): https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/28/business/tiffany-history.html?searchResultPosition=4• ‘Deconstructing The Tiffany Setting’ (Forbes, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2RVMgMAaPw#1800s #NewYork #Fashion #Business Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! : podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/18/2023 • 10 minutes

As a symbol over 7,000 years old, the swastika had a long, diverse history before becoming the official flag of Nazi Germany on 15th September, 1935. It had been considered a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Odinism - and appeared on artifacts from pre-Christian European cultures. It had even featured as part of U.S. Girl Scout iconography in the early 20th century. But when Adolf Hitler made it the symbol of the Nazi Party in 1920, its resonance altered forever. No longer an image of good luck and auspiciousness, it became synonymous with Nazi atrocities.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Hitler came to design this striking visual logo; reveal the surprising places the symbol pops up in, from the Carlsberg factory to Chelmsford Town Hall; and consider the wisdom of one man’s 21st century ‘Learn To Love The Swastika’ campaign… Further Reading:• ‘The Man Who Brought the Swastika to Germany, and How the Nazis Stole It’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/man-who-brought-swastika-germany-and-how-nazis-stole-it-180962812/• ‘How the world loved the swastika - until Hitler stole it’ (BBC News, 2014): https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29644591• ‘History of the Swastika’ (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEkWXG_XTeg#Nazis #WW2 #Design #RacismWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/15/2023 • 11 minutes, 36 seconds

Rerun. ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is now well-known as the USA’s national anthem - but when Francis Scott Key wrote the words on 14th September, 1814, it was merely the latest in a series of patriotic poems he’d penned; this one concerning the British assault on the coastal fortification of Fort McHenry.It was only when - bizarrely - it was set to the tune of an old English drinking song, ‘To Anacreon in Heaven’, that it began to gain traction - and another 119 years before it became the nation’s official ‘choon.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn what a ‘contrafactum’ is; explore why the US national anthem is so notoriously tricky to sing; and question what meaning ‘the land of the free’ held for Baltimore’s enslaved Africans…Further Reading:• ‘Francis Scott Key - National Anthem, War of 1812 & Facts’ (Biography, 2021): https://www.biography.com/writer/francis-scott-key• ‘To Anacreon In Heaven’ (Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine):https://www.nps.gov/fomc/learn/historyculture/to-anacreon-in-heaven.htm• ‘Top 10 American National Anthem Performance Fails’ (Watch Mojo, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XffxvV1PAEI‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/14/2023 • 9 minutes, 51 seconds

The ‘High Priest of LSD’, Timothy Leary, made a daring escape from the California Men's Colony on September 13th, 1970. A prominent counterculture figure and advocate for psychedelic substances, Leary had been incarcerated for possession of marijuana - and was labeled ‘The Most Dangerous Man in America’ by Richard Nixon.His escape was orchestrated by the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, a drug trafficking organization, and the Weather Underground, a far-left Marxist militant group. They provided Leary with a cable to scale the prison wall, a getaway car, new clothing, and false ID papers; then bungled him off to Algeria in the care of the Black Panthers.In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca consider Leary’s famous slogan, ‘Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out’; explain how his controversial LSD experiments at Harvard were legitimately concerning to the academic system that initially supported him; and reveal what Susan Sarandon did with his remains at Burning Man…Further Reading:• ‘Will Timothy Leary's papers turn us on to LSD?’ (The Guardian, 2011): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/18/timothy-leary-papers-sale-lsd• ‘Nixon's Manhunt For The High Priest Of LSD In 'The Most Dangerous Man In America'’ (NPR, 2018): https://www.npr.org/2018/01/05/575392333/nixons-manhunt-for-the-high-priest-of-lsd-in-the-most-dangerous-man-in-america• ‘Dr Timothy Leary’s Ranch’ (ABC News, 1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSLRA1Ub9mA#60s #Crime #Protest #CelebrityLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/13/2023 • 12 minutes, 8 seconds

The secret wedding of poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning on September 12th, 1846, was witnessed by just two people. Elizabeth was so nervous about the ceremony, held at Marylebone Parish Church, that she needed smelling salts to calm her. Barrett was already an acclaimed poet, while Browning was relatively unknown at the time. But their correspondence, comprising almost 600 letters exchanged over less than two years, is considered one of literature’s great romances. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Brownings’ marriage inspired their greatest works; probe into Browning’s pet name for Barrett, ‘the Portuguese'; and consider whether, contrary to all appearances, Browning may have had sinister intentions for his new wife… Further Reading:• ‘Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Life, Poetry, Relationship & ‘How Do I Love Thee?’’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/elizabeth-barrett-browning-who-life-love-poetry-relationship-robert/• ‘What we can learn from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's years in lockdown’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/15/what-we-can-learn-from-elizabeth-barrett-brownings-years-in-lockdown•’The life and work of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’ (The British Academy, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkSWGqMDBEY#Literature #Victorian #Romantic #Wedding #UKLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/12/2023 • 12 minutes, 46 seconds

Construction of the Virginia headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense began on September 11th, 1941 - spookily, the same date it was attacked by al-Qaeda six decades later. The massive five-sided building, a potent symbol of America’s military strength, became known as the Pentagon.Featuring 4 million square feet of office space, the building was designed by George Bergstrom under the supervision of Leslie R. Groves, who was later chosen to head the Manhattan Project and build the atomic bomb.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca, and Olly explain why the building’s racially segregated bathrooms were installed, but never used; reveal why, for a while, a ‘Pentagon project’ became a by-word for a white elephant; and consider whether a hot dog stand in the complex foxed the Soviets… Further Reading:‘10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Pentagon’ (U.S. Department of Defense, 2019): https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/1650913/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-pentagon/‘Pentagon Hot Dog Stand – Arlington, Virginia’ (Atlas Obscura, 2017): https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pentagon-hot-dog-stand• ‘FOX Business reveals 'stunning' new details about Pentagon's construction’ (FOX Business, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tK6gIsMAgc#US #WW2 #Architecture Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/11/2023 • 9 minutes, 42 seconds

The last known Tasmanian tiger to be held in captivity was found dead at Hobart’s Beaumaris zoo on 8th September, 1936.The critically endangered marsupial was accidentally locked out of its shelter overnight and succumbed to the frigid temperatures. With the animal’s death, a species that had once roamed across Australia for thousands of years went out with a whisper.   In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why 19th- and 20th-century Australians hunted Tasmanian tigers with such enthusiasm; explain why Thylacines had been in decline for about 3,500 years anyway; and look into how close scientists now are to bringing the “dog-headed pouched one” back from extinction… Further Reading:‘The history of the Thylacine’ (The Zoological Society London, 2016): https://www.zsl.org/news-and-events/feature/history-of-the-thylacine ‘Tasmanian tiger: Remains of last thylacine found in cupboard after 85 years’ (BBC, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-63855426 ‘Last of their kind: Caring for the Tasmanian Tiger collection’ (Museums Victoria; 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykb66UCOMOY&t=9s ‘Tasmanian Tiger in Colour’ (NFSA Films, 2022) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gt0X-27GXM #1930s #Nature #Australia #Sad We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/8/2023 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

Rerun. Bulgarian writer Georgi Markov was shot by a poisoned pellet whilst walking on Waterloo Bridge on 7th September, 1978. Four days later, he was dead.He thought the bullet – believed to be filled with ricin – had emanated from the umbrella of a Soviet secret agent, and the British press labelled his assassination the ‘Poison Brolly Riddle’.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how Markov was initially disbelieved by doctors; reveal the mysterious involvement of a pig in the Porton Down investigation; and ask whether poisoning is really as efficient a method of murder as it seems…Further Viewing:Umbrella fired fatal ricin dart (CNN 2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZO5Lf8wD_c&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Ftheretrospectors.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/7/2023 • 9 minutes, 19 seconds

The Nao Victoria, the first ship to circumnavigate the globe, arrived back to its starting point in Spain on 6th September, 1522, with one person notably missing: Ferdinand Magellan, the man who had initiated the audacious voyage.Through a mixture of hubris and misfortune Magellan had come to a rather sticky end just before reaching his intended destination of the Moluccas, otherwise known as the Indonesian Spice Islands. But even though the expedition – which Magellan had hoped would open a western route to Asia – was unsuccessful, its contribution to Europeans’ understanding of the globe was immeasurable.   In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look at the countless disasters, mutinies and impediments Magellan faced during his journey; discuss why the Spice Islands were so important to Europeans in the 16th century; and explain why you can never pack too much wine and hardtack when attempting to circumnavigate the globe… Further Reading:‘A voyage from hell: how Magellan’s circumnavigation of the world changed history’ (History Extra, 2019): https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/how-magellan-circumnavigation-world-changed-history-what-was-voyage-like/ ‘Ferdinand Magellan’ (History.com, 2023): https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/ferdinand-magellan ‘The greatest expeditions of mankind - Magellan and the space race’ (DW Documentary; 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5TP1k9z4ak #Europe #1900s #explorer #person #Spain #Portugal Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/6/2023 • 11 minutes, 34 seconds

Today, the small town of Leavenworth in Washington is known for its Bavarian-themed hotels, restaurants, shops and festivals, but when it was incorporated on 5th September, 1906, its main claim to fame was that it had a train line and a fledgling logging industry.After the train hub that had put it on the map in the first place was moved, Leavenworth went into near terminal decline, until some savvy townspeople got together in the 1960s to give it a themed makeover. “Bavarian” was the chosen theme, and the rest was history.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look at the other themes that had been considered before Leavenworth settled on Bavarian; explain why Leavenworth guarantees incredibly Instagrammable backdrops regardless of what time of year you visit; and lament that Kinderfest decorations seem to be going up earlier and earlier with each passing year… Further Reading:‘All Over the Map: How Leavenworth became the PNW’s own slice of Bavaria’ (My North West, 2019): https://mynorthwest.com/1488483/all-over-the-map-leavenworth-history/ ‘America’s Best 'European Villages'?’ (National Geographic, 2012): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/where-are-americas-best-european-villages ‘Leavenworth: Your Winter Wonderland’ (Visit Leavenworth; 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTyVydTNRqI #US #1900s #architecture Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/5/2023 • 10 minutes, 50 seconds

On 4th September, 1998, the debut episode of the world-conquering game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? aired in the UK. Initially titled Cash Mountain, the show format had been offered to nearly all the major UK networks with no success, but eventually it found its home on ITV after a legendary pitch that has gone down in television history.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the excitement in the crowd during the recording of the very first episode; discuss how the show went from being a local TV success story to a worldwide phenomenon; and explain why hosts of the show the world over were required to wear Armani suits…Further Reading:‘Three wise men, a star and a miracle’ (The Independent, 1999): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/three-wise-men-a-star-and-a-miracle-743157.html ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire past winners: When was £1million last won?’ (The Sun, 2022): https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/11604768/who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-winners/ ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? First Episode’ (ITV; 1998): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtxh2wb38FM #UK #1990s #TV Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow!: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/4/2023 • 10 minutes, 58 seconds

On 1st September 1997, as Britain was still reeling from Diana Princess of Wales’ untimely death, Elton John’s Candle in the Wind 1997 turned up on a shortlist of potential music to be performed at her funeral.The song, which had been reworked and rerecorded in just a few days, had originally been written about Marilyn Monroe. The original had been a moderate success, charting at Number 5 in the UK charts and 6 in the US. The 1997 update, meanwhile, which was released the day after the princess’s funeral stormed straight to the top of the UK and US singles charts – and did the same in countless countries around the world.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why people’s feelings about the song soured so swiftly; discuss which other song was being considered for funeral; and explain which lyrics from the original were thought to be too spicy to be included in the 1997 version…Further Reading:‘Slow Burn: How Elton John's "Candle in the Wind '97"—the Best-Selling Single in Music History—Became a Royal Relic’ (Mental Floss, 2022): https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/elton-john-candle-in-the-wind-97-princess-diana-tribute-song-history ‘Princess Diana: Palace did not want Sir Elton John to sing at her funeral, newly released papers show’ (Sky News, 2021): https://news.sky.com/story/princess-diana-palace-did-not-want-sir-elton-john-to-sing-at-her-funeral-newly-released-papers-show-12506086‘How Elton John’s Candle in the Wind became the soundtrack of a nation’s grief’ (The Times, 2022) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/princess-diana-funeral-music-25-year-anniversary-fkf7380ph ‘Elton John - Candle in the Wind/Goodbye England's Rose (Live at Princess Diana's Funeral - 1997)’ (BBC; 1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o9rLDCfO6o #UK #1990s #Royals #Arts #MusicWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/1/2023 • 11 minutes, 57 seconds

Rerun. A giant chicken with the mannerisms of a wise-crackin’ Southern gentleman, Foghorn Leghorn first appeared in the Looney Tunes short ‘Walky Talky Hawky’ on 31st August, 1946.Directed by Robert McKimson and voiced by Mel Blanc, the character – who was inspired in part by popular radio character ‘Senator Claghorn’ from The Fred Allen Show – proved an instant audience favourite.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Foghorn’s Antebellum expressions put him on the soon-to-be-’cancelled’ list; explain the origin of Warner’s other animated franchise, ‘Merrie Melodies’; and marvel at Blanc’s bed-bound professionalism…Further Reading:• ‘Walky Talky Hawky’ (Warner Bros, 1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ9lyubmGys• ‘The Censored Eleven – Banned Cartoons’ (The Museum Of UnCut Funk): https://museumofuncutfunk.com/2011/10/05/the-censored-eleven/• ‘How Bugs Bunny Saved Mel Blanc From A Coma In 1961’ (doyouremember, 2021): https://doyouremember.com/141804/bugs-bunny-saved-mel-blanc-coma‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/31/2023 • 10 minutes, 11 seconds

Lord Walsingham shot 1,070 grouse on 30th August, 1888 – a number that remains a world record, and, one feels, is unlikely to ever be bettered.To achieve this astonishing figure Walsingham started shooting at 5:12 AM and kept going until just before 7:00 PM. And just for good measure he shot another 14 birds on his walk home. At this pace, he would have been shooting one grouse every 13 seconds.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether driven shoots are fundamentally unsporting; discuss the ethics of shooting at hot air balloons; and explain the connection between shooting and the establishment of the Guinness Book of World Records…  Further Reading:‘Lord Walsingham Shot 1,070 Grouse (1888)’ (Today in Conservation, 2018): https://todayinconservation.com/2018/07/august-30-lord-walsingham-shot-1070-grouse-1888/ ‘Grouse shooting: 12 facts about The Glorious 12th ’ (The Telegraph, 2018): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/grouse-shooting-12-facts-about-the-glorious-12th/ ‘Grouse shooting season begins on the “Glorious Twelfth”’ (Daily Mail; 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bJw2kK5lZw #UK #1800s #NatureLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/30/2023 • 11 minutes, 13 seconds

Ishi, a native American man who was widely acclaimed as the “last wild Indian” emerged from the wilderness on 29th August, 1911.His arrival came as a huge surprise to the people of Oroville, California, who had thought that his entire tribe had become extinct a good 40 years earlier. He was immediately taken to a jail cell and locked up, not because he had committed a crime but because authorities simply had no idea what to do with him.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore the relationship between Ishi and the anthropologists that took him in; discuss why he preferred to be photographed in a suit and tie rather than Native American dress; and speculate on what Ishi must have made of the vaudeville shows his handlers took him to see…  Further Reading:‘The Story Of Ishi, The ‘Last’ Native American’ (All That's Interesting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/ishi-last-native-american ‘America honours its debt to Ishi, last of the Yahis’ (The Guardian, 2000): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/aug/10/duncancampbell ‘A Man Called Ishi’ (Advanced Laboratory for Visual Anthropology at CSU, Chico, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEmqOCta3NU #US #1910s #IndigenousLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/29/2023 • 10 minutes, 18 seconds

Nissin Chikin Ramen (日清チキンラーメン), the first marketed brand of instant noodles, launched in Japan on 25th August, 1958.The product was created by Momof*cku Ando, who developed the production method of flash frying noodles after they had been made, thereby drying them and extending their shelf life. His inspiration sprung from the food scarcity in Japan after the Second World War, and the Ministry of Health’s attempts to distribute unpopular U.S.-supplied bread.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how Ando’s invention became the world’s emergency supply, student essential, and even prison currency…Further Reading:‘How Momof*cku Ando invented instant ramen — and transformed Japanese cuisine’ (Vox, 2015): https://www.vox.com/2015/3/5/8150929/momof*cku-ando-ramen-instant-noodles‘Momof*cku Ando & The Rise Of Ramen In Post-War Japan’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/momof*cko-ando-noodles-ramen-history-postwar-japan/‘How Instant Ramen Became An Instant Success’ (Insider Business, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASlx70G2x-c#Food #Japan #50s #InventionsWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/25/2023 • 10 minutes, 33 seconds

Rerun. Bandit, Admiral, wizard, pirate... ‘Eustace The Monk’ did it all - and was decapitated for his troubles, at the Battle of Sandwich on 24th August, 1217.Previously a licensed criminal for the court of King John, he became an enemy of England by switching sides and battling on behalf of the French - an extraordinary end to a remarkable career which took in black magic, robbery, and farting in a Benedictine monastery.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why Eustace’s story has yet to receive the Hollywood treatment; explain how to deploy lime effectively; and swot up on their Middle English verse…Further Reading:‘The Pirate Monk, by Julie Estep’ (History of Yesterday, 2020): https://historyofyesterday.com/the-pirate-monk-da2bc7340dfb‘Eustace The Monk: One Of Medieval Europe's Unholiest Holy Men’ (HistoryExtra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/eustace-monk-holy-man-king-john-french-invasion-england/‘Medieval Outlaws: Eustace the Monk’ (Channel Legendarium, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDZOvGYKSs4‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/24/2023 • 10 minutes, 16 seconds

A colossal human chain, stretching 430 miles, spanned across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on 23rd August, 1989 - the anniversary of the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact that covertly carved up the region fifty years earlier.Around two million people held hands for 15 minutes, synchronised at 7pm and photographed from helicopters above. Organised by Rahvarinne of Estonia, the Tautas fronte of Latvia, and Sąjūdis of Lithuania, the event drew global attention to the three nations’ desire for independence. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the Soviet authorities’ response to this pacifist protest; explain how the participants were placed across the route; and reveal just how to make your own miracle in Vilnius' Cathedral Square Plaza…Further Reading:• ‘30 Years Ago: How A Photographer Captured The 'Baltic Chain' From Above’ (Radio Free Europe, 2019): https://www.rferl.org/a/how-a-photographer-captured-the-1989-baltic-way-protest-from-above/30119472.html• ‘BALTIC STATES LINK IN PROTEST 'SO OUR CHILDREN CAN BE FREE'’ (The Washington Post, 1989): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/08/24/baltic-states-link-in-protest-so-our-children-can-be-free/5a016f3d-35d0-4a7e-ab75-916c8c05eb0d/• ‘Baltic Way: 30 years since the 600-km human chain that helped trigger the collapse of communism’ (EuroNews, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVg6S6KEHDE#80s #Protest #Russia #Politics #WW2Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/23/2023 • 10 minutes, 45 seconds

Established in 1852, Devil’s Island, one of six penal colonies in French Guiana, was finally closed on 22nd August, 1953. Nicknamed the ‘Green Hell’ and the ‘Dry Guillotine’, it earned a reputation as ‘The Alcatraz of South America’: the world’s most brutal prison.Established by Emperor Napoleon III to remove political opponents and jumpstart France’s programme of colonisation, the horrors of the islands became more understood in France following the publication of memoirs by René Belbenoît and Henri ‘Papillon’ Charrière.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why a spell on Devil’s Island was potentially preferable to elsewhere in Guiana; reveal what the guards did with rebellious prisoners and their cadavers; and check out some contemporary perspectives - on TripAdvisor…Further Reading:• Why Devil's Island Was The World's Most Feared Prison (All Thats Interesting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/devils-island• ‘Notorious French Prison Turns Into a No-Man's Land’ (LA Times, 2002): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-15-adfg-devilisle15-story.html• ‘Devil's Island Prison Colony’ (British Pathé, 1947): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_xCHbpkDss#Crime #France #Macabre #50sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/22/2023 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds

CCTV footage captured middle-aged bank worker Mary Bale dropping friendly tabby cat Lola into a Coventry wheelie bin on 21st August, 2010. The video went viral, and Bale was disgraced on the front page of The Sun. Despite her initially nonchalant response, Bale faced the full force of internet mob mentality, not to mention a court trial for animal cruelty. One tantalising, unanswered question remained: WHY DID SHE PUT THE CAT IN THE BIN?In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Bale’s behaviour was actually quietly condoned by millions of her contemporaries; uncover the classist dog whistles in the reporting of the event; and explain how ‘Cat Bin Lady’ became a rapid international sensation…Further Reading:• ‘Is Mary Bale the most evil woman in Britain?’ (The Independent, 2010): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/is-mary-bale-the-most-evil-woman-in-britain-2064733.html• ‘The trial of Mary Bale’ (Financial Times, 2011): https://www.ft.com/content/36396618-54ef-11e0-96f3-00144feab49a• ‘Woman throws cat in wheelie bin’ (Daryl Mann, YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbMt82yVj24#Internet #Strange #2010s #UK #AnimalsLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/21/2023 • 11 minutes, 17 seconds

French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen became the first person to observe helium, an element never before seen on Earth, on August 18th, 1868. Janssen had been observing a total solar eclipse in Guntur, India when he noticed a bright yellow line with a wavelength of 587.49 nanometers in the spectrum of the chromosphere of the Sun. He initially assumed the line to be sodium, but, upon further investigating his hunch that it might be a new element, concluded he had stumbled upon something hitherto unknown.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly try their damndest to explain how Spectroscopy works; reveal which scientist first detected the presence of helium on Earth; and query the French Academy of Sciences’ impartiality when it came to attributing the discovery…Further Reading:‘How Scientists Discovered Helium, the First Alien Element, 150 Years Ago’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018): ​​https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-scientists-discovered-helium-first-alien-element-1868-180970057/‘The High-Flying, Death-Defying Discovery of Helium’ (Science History Institute, 2021): https://sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-high-flying-death-defying-discovery-of-helium/‘Helium 101’ (National Geographic, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLUcO26Q7wE#Science #Discoveries #France #India #1800sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/18/2023 • 9 minutes, 35 seconds

Rerun. When two month-old Azaria Chamberlain was taken from her tent by a dingo on the night of August 17th, 1980, the majority of the Australian public believed that her mother, Lindy Chamerlain, had done the deed herself.Prosecuting authorities charged her with murder. She was imprisoned, but in 2012, a coroner found Azaria’s death was “the result of being attacked and taken by a dingo”.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the Australian public were so inclined to disbelieve Lindy’s version of events; revisit the injustices perpetrated against the Chamberlains; and consider how on Earth the phrase ‘A Dingo’s Got My Baby!’ became a comedy meme… Content Warning: Includes detailed description of true crime and harm against childrenFurther Reading:• ‘Horrifying story of Lindy Chamberlain – jailed for murder after her baby daughter was ‘eaten by a dingo’ on camping trip’ (The Sun, 2020): https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/13418625/lindy-chamberlain-jailed-murder-baby-dingo/• ‘The Messed Up True Story Of “A Dingo Got My Baby”’ (Grunge, 2020): https://www.grunge.com/291293/the-messed-up-true-story-of-a-dingo-got-my-baby/• ‘Lindy Chamberlain Reflects On The Horror Of Losing Baby Azaria’ (The Project, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2PV4kD5-dg&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Ftheretrospectors.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_titleLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/17/2023 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

Angry protestors gathered outside The White House on 16th August, 1841, burning an effigy of President John Tyler, the first Vice-President to assume the Presidency (following the death of William Henry Harrison, just 31 days into his term). The mob, largely consisting of Tyler’s fellow Whigs, opposed his veto of a national banking bill. Although no serious scuffles or bloodshed occurred, the incident highlighted the vulnerability of the White House and the lack of a proper security detail during that era. Tyler and his family were at home during the protest, underscoring the absence of a secret service or presidential bodyguard. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca, and Oly explain why Tyler became so unpopular within his own party, and was eventually expelled from it; consider why Tyler hadn’t been the main name on the election ticket in the first place; and reveal an astonishing fact about the President’s family in the 21st century… Further Reading:• ‘Looking back: One of the ugliest protests in White House history’ (Constitution Center, 2019): https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/looking-back-the-ugliest-protest-in-white-house-history• ‘The Tyler Precedent: How John Tyler became president after William Henry Harrison in 1841’ (The Washington Post, 2019): https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/03/23/his-accidency-first-president-die-office-constitutional-crisis-that-followed/John Tyler - Top 10 Forgettable Presidents - TIME: https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1879648_1879646_1879658,00.htmlLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/16/2023 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

Immortalised by Shakespeare, Scottish king Macbeth was killed in battle near Lumphanan, Aberdeenshire on 15th August 1057; a demise that brought significant changes to Scotland's monarchy.But the real Macbeth, contrary to his portrayal in the play, ruled for 17 relatively peaceful years and displayed generosity toward the church. That said, his relationship with the real Lady Macbeth - Gruogh, widow of Gilear, the previous king - was, let’s agree, rather complicated. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why witches were included in the script to satisfy King James I; offer a pragmatic explanation for the superstition that actors must never speak the name "Macbeth" in a theatre; and reveal the, er, creative way the Danish minister for finance once escaped responsibility for a nasty shipwreck…Further Reading:‘The Real Macbeth: King of Scots, 1040-1054’ (History Today, 1957): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/real-macbeth-king-scots-1040-1054‘Macbeth (r. 1040-1057)’ (The Royal Family): https://www.royal.uk/macbeth-r-1040-1057‘Who Was The Real King MacBeth?’ (Timeline, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq75Cl_osxk#Scotland #Royals #Theatre #MedievalLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/15/2023 • 11 minutes, 7 seconds

A decades-long manhunt closed in on international terrorist Illich Ramirez Sanchez, aka Carlos the Jackal, on 14th August, 1994 - when he was sedated and kidnapped by French intelligence agents in Khartoum, Sudan, following a tip-off by the CIA.Affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Organization for Armed Arab Struggle, and the Japanese Red Army, the Venezuelan militant had been responsible for a slew of major terrorist attacks in the 1970s and 80s, notably the storming of an OPEC meeting in 1975, during which he took hostages and demanded ransoms, and was widely considered the world’s most-wanted man. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how ‘Carlos’ came to acquire not just one, but two nicknames; consider how the politics of the day enabled both his terrorism and his womanising; and reveal why his sperm count ultimately cost him his freedom…Further Reading:‘SUDAN SEIZES TERRORIST 'CARLOS THE JACKAL'’ (The Washington Post, 1994): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/08/16/sudan-seizes-terrorist-carlos-the-jackal/4e8d3daa-b064-4ca7-ba16-e6f0d68744aa/?itid=sr_2‘Carlos the Jackal: The Extraordinary Life of the Most Notorious Terrorist Before Bin Laden’ (Vice, 2022): https://www.vice.com/en/article/4awdbq/carlos-the-jackal-communist-terrorist‘'Carlos the Jackal' convicted in France’ (AlJazeera English, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2sUuxYcdro #Crime #France #PersonLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/14/2023 • 11 minutes, 13 seconds

The Mall of America, in Bloomington, Minnesota, opened on 11th August, 1992, with more than 10,000 employees, 330 stores, and a Camp Snoopy theme park.With a gross area of 4.8 million square feet, the mall remains the largest in the United States; its roughly 40 million annual visitors equal to around eight times the population of the state of Minnesota.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the mall is heated, despite having no central heating system; explain how the modern American shopping mall was, bizarrely, derived from Victor Gruen’s socialist utopia; and consider how it overcame the ‘Megadeath’ label to become one of America’s top tourist attractions… Further Reading:• ‘Why You Should Visit Mall of America for Its Experiences Over Shopping’ (Business Insider, 2022): https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-mall-of-america-experiences-better-than-shopping-minneapolis-2022-4?r=US&IR=T#away-from-the-big-attractions-that-make-it-unique-mall-of-america-just-felt-like-any-upscale-mall-35• ‘The Unofficial Guide to Mall of America - By Beth Blair’ (Unofficial Guides, 2016): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Unofficial_Guide_to_Mall_of_America/U4wWDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=mall+of+america&pg=PA12&printsec=frontcover• ‘Mall of America Preview’ (WCCO 4 News, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PZcP4A5CkQ#80s #US #Business #Fashion #ArchitectureLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/11/2023 • 9 minutes, 51 seconds

Rerun. Whilst visiting traumatised U.S. soldiers in an evacuation hospital on 10th August, 1943, General George S. Patton encountered a man he believed to be a coward. So he slapped him in the face with his gloves, and waved a pistol in his face.On Eisenhower’s insistence, Patton apologised to the soldier, but never exhibited genuine remorse for his actions. He wrote in his diary, ‘It is rather a commentary on justice when an Army commander has to soft-soap a skulker to placate the timidity of those above’.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion question the motives of ‘Old Blood and Guts’; reveal Patton’s attitude to Jews after the Holocaust; and play a round of ‘Patton Quote Bingo’…Further Reading:• ‘I Won't Have Cowards in My Army’ (‘Patton’, 1970): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrtS2_TfbeY• General Patton’s speech in Boston, Massachusetts (Critical Past, 1945): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9DpKDwCJcM• ‘10 Things You May Not Know About George Patton’ (HISTORY, 2014): https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-george-patton‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow!Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/10/2023 • 9 minutes, 56 seconds

Quilon, in present-day Kerala, became India’s first diocese on 9th August, 1329. In response to Marco Polo's accounts about an extant Christian community there, Pope John XXII had dispatched missionary Jordan Catalani to oversee the region. According to local legend, St. Thomas the apostle reached India around A.D. 50, where he established several churches. The story is not implausible, since the area enjoyed a long history of Middle Eastern migrations, due to its ideal conditions for spice trading.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why Westerners were perplexed by the disparate practices of the Quilons; discover what NOT to say when you’re deposed by a medieval Muslim ruler; and uncover ‘the Goa Inquisition’...Further Reading:‘The Surprisingly Early History of Christianity in India’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2016): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-christianity-came-to-india-kerala-180958117/‘Tried and True Traditions of Kerala’s Christians’ (CNEWA): https://cnewa.org/magazine/tried-and-true-traditions-of-keralas-christians-30926/‘When did Christianity come to India?’ (Storytrails, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9M0wx5N24k#India #Medieval #Christian #Religion #JewishLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/9/2023 • 10 minutes, 54 seconds

The dollar emerged as the official currency of the United States at a meeting of the Continental Congress on 8th August, 1786. During the American Revolution, various international coins had remained in circulation - alongside commodities like tobacco and cod.The transition to paper money faced challenges due to counterfeiting concerns, which persisted until the Civil War. The green colour was chosen to prevent easy replication using black and white photography. The value of the dollar was linked to gold until as recently as 1971.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly applaud Benjamin Franklin’s far-sighted interest in creating a new currency; marvel at the extraordinary success the dollar has achieved as the world’s reserve; and reveal the country’s first experiments with a decimal system: Nova Constellatio coins…Further Reading:• ‘History of U.S. Currency’ (U.S. Currency Education Program): https://www.uscurrency.gov/history• ‘Why Is the U.S. Dollar the World's Currency?’ (HowStuffWorks): https://money.howstuffworks.com/us-dollar-worlds-currency.htm• ‘The Continental Dollar: How the American Revolution Was Financed with Paper Money’ (US National Archives, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05mhUlofB_8#Economics #US #Empire #1700sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/8/2023 • 9 minutes, 28 seconds

The Kon-Tiki expedition, led by Norwegian explorer and ethnologist Thor Heyerdahl, reached Raroia in the Tuamotu Archipelag near Tahiti, on 7th August, 1947. The 45-foot-long balsa wood raft, with a five-man crew, had completed a 4,300-mile, 101-day journey from Peru. Heyerdahl wanted to prove his (now discredited) theory that prehistoric South Americans could have colonized the Polynesian islands by drifting on ocean currents. The Kon-Tiki was made of indigenous materials and designed to resemble rafts of early South American Indians, although the expedition carried some modern equipment, such as a radio, watches, charts, sextant, and metal knives. While crossing the Pacific, the sailors encountered storms, sharks and whales.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Heyerdahl’s hypothesis of a South American origin of the Polynesian peoples is rejected today; marvel at his bold use of eye-catching graphic design; and expose how the crew’s food rations weren’t all that they seemed…Further Reading:• ‘New proof for Kon-Tiki theory’ (The Guardian, 1953): https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/may/18/new-kon-tiki-proof-expedition-archive-1953• ‘How the Voyage of the Kon-Tiki Misled the World About Navigating the Pacific’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2014): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-voyage-kon-tiki-misled-world-about-navigating-pacific-180952478/• ‘KonTiki (short)’ (The Kon-Tiki Museum, 1951):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFcW-dCvO2A#40s #Strange #Explorer #Norway #Peru #RacismLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/7/2023 • 10 minutes, 56 seconds

The public stocks in St Clement’s Dane’s parish (now Portugal Street in London’s Strand) were finally dismantled on 4th August, 1826. They had originally been mandated in 1351, to subjugate labourers demanding higher wages. Not to be confused for pillories (which restrain both head and hands), stocks (which restrain only the feet) were used for lesser ‘crimes’, such as hom*osexuality, heresy, and drunkenness. The treatment of prisoners was essentially at the crowd’s discretion: at the minor end of the scale, humiliation, but, if rocks or bricks were thrown, sometimes fatality. In this episode, Arion, Rebeca and Olly uncover celebrities-in-the-stocks Cardinal Wolsey and Daniel Defoe; explain why this medieval punishment was never formally abolished in Britain; and reveal the ecclesiastical purpose of ‘the finger stocks’... Further Reading:• ‘Haydn's Dictionary of Dates Relating to All Ages and Nations’ (E. Moxon and Company, 1866): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Haydn_s_Dictionary_of_Dates_Relating_to/Aq9CAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=1826+stocks+removed+from+st+clement+danes&pg=PA690&printsec=frontcover• ‘The use of public corporal punishment up to the 19th century - Methods of punishment’ (BBC Bitesize): https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z938v9q/revision/3• ‘What It Was Like to Be In the Stocks’ (Weird History, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6sUhH3SYrU#London #Crime #Medieval #Victorian #StrangeLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/4/2023 • 10 minutes, 33 seconds

Rerun. Eyebrows were raised when Dave Manning - a previously unknown film critic - was suddenly receiving star billing on Hollywood movie posters. He turned out to be fictional. This climaxed with a lawsuit, settled by Sony on 3rd August, 2005.Manning had been created by Columbia Pictures executive Matthew Kramer, who’d co-opted the name David Manning from a friend in his hometown of Ridgefield, Connecticut. The public were entitled to a $5 refund if they’d attended a movie as a result of the fraudulent posters.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion reveal what the ‘real’ Dave Manning REALLY thought of ‘The Animal’; explain how press junkets seduce otherwise unimpeachable journalists who just want a free sandwich; and sharpen their editing scissors for some selective quotation...Further Reading:• ‘Remembering David Manning, Sony's Fake Film Critic’ (Mental Floss, 2021): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/645297/david-manning-sony-fake-film-critic• ‘Inquiry into fake film critic’ (BBC News, 2005): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1374866.stm• How To Design A Movie Poster’ (IGN, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhs2MEPCmjw#2000s #Person #Crime #Film #Strange #USLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/3/2023 • 9 minutes, 19 seconds

It's rare to find a politician behaving as heroically as John F. Kennedy did on 2nd August, 1943. After his torpedo boat was exploded by a Japanese destroyer in the South Pacific, he swam more than three miles to the nearest island, towing along with him all the way an injured crew member - using just his teeth.When asked to explain how he had come to be a hero, Kennedy replied laconically, "It was involuntary. They sank my boat." His actions during this ordeal helped ensure the survival of his men and earned him a Navy and Marine Corps Medal and a Purple Heart.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider if the story of the coconut shell Kennedy used to transmit their position has become romanticised; reveal how the injuries he sustained as a Navy lieutenant still impacted his health as President; and explain why British colonial racism spoiled the guestlist for his inauguration… Further Reading:• ‘Why JFK Kept a Coconut Shell in the Oval Office’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-jfk-kept-coconut-shell-white-house-desk-180964263/• ‘The Navy Disaster That Earned JFK Two Medals for Heroism’ (HISTORY, 2018): https://www.history.com/news/jfk-wwii-purple-heart-torpedo-boat• ‘JFK's Survival Story: Shipwrecked War Hero to President | PT 109’ (HarperCollins, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECsuVWwbHdg#WW2 #US #Politics #RacismLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow!: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/2/2023 • 12 minutes

Andre and Edouard Michelin published their first Guide on 1st August, 1900. Now recognised as  the gold standard in luxury restaurant reviews, the original guide was primarily created to encourage demand for automobiles - and, therefore, Michelin tyres. At the time, there were fewer than 3,000 cars on French roads.Nearly 35,000 copies of this first, free edition of the guide were distributed, providing information to motorists including maps, tyre repair and replacement instructions, car mechanics listings, hotels, and petrol stations throughout France.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the Michelin mascot, Bibendum, is white; reveal the levels of secrecy expected of Michelin’s restaurant inspectors; and consider why Japan ranks second to France in its star ratings… Further Reading:• ‘The ingenious story behind Michelin stars’ (BBC Travel, 2018): https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20181024-the-ingenious-story-behind-michelin-stars• ‘What’s wrong with the Michelin guide?’ (Financial Times, 2021): https://www.ft.com/content/e622ec53-ea9f-487a-a434-747f13f5ffa0•’How the Michelin Guide rates restaurants’ (CBS Sunday Morning, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tceSuaTbcU8#France #Food #1900s #BooksLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/1/2023 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

The Royal Navy were issued with their final daily ration of rum - ending a tradition of more than 300 years - on July 31, 1970. The day became known as ‘Black Tot Day’.The demise of the long-standing tradition was mainly due to safety concerns, following fears surrounding the more complex technology now in operation across the Navy. To show their disappointment, some sailors wore black armbands.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace back the origins of this quaint custom; explain why spirits had taken the place of beer on boats; and marvel at footage of sailors who were clearly ‘pissed, in both senses of the word’... Further Reading:• ‘Black Tot Day: rum rations for sailors abolished 45 years ago today’ (Daily Telegraph, 2015): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10210966/What-became-of-the-drunken-sailor.html• ‘Black Tot Day: The end of the rum ration’ (Forces Net, 2022): https://www.forces.net/services/navy/black-tot-day-end-rum-ration• ‘Black Tot Day (End of the Royal Navy Rum Ration)’ (ITN, 1970): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gh5PCghfbs#70s #War #Strange #Food Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/31/2023 • 11 minutes, 4 seconds

Independent horror film ‘White Zombie’, starring Bela Lugosi, premiered in New York City’s Rivoli Theatre on July 28th, 1932. It marked the first time that zombies had featured in a Hollywood picture - albeit as the result of an evil voodoo master in Haiti rather than a condition passed on through bites, as in later zombie screenplays.Large portions of the film were shot on the Universal Studios lot, borrowing props and scenery from other horror films of the era, with an ultra-low budget of just $50,000.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Lugosi went from Hungarian Shakespeare star to Tinseltown villain; unpick the racism at the heart of the story; and consider why zombies have proven to be such a resilient horror movie staple…. Further Reading:• ‘Hollywood Flashback: Bela Lugosi Introduced the World to Zombies in 1932’ (The Hollywood Reporter, 2021): https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/bela-lugosi-white-zombies-1234954832/• ‘White Zombie - Anatomy of a Horror Film, By Gary D. Rhodes’ (McFarland, 2001): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/White_Zombie/oHApAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=white+zombie+lugosi&printsec=frontcover• ‘White Zombie’ (dir. Victor Halperin, 1932): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV3B2z0HkKA#Film #30s #Hollywood #Macabre #RacismWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/28/2023 • 10 minutes, 55 seconds

Rerun. Sir Walter Raleigh brought tobacco back to Britain from Virginia on 27th July 1586 - and, in so doing, triggered a craze for smoking, which at the time was considered a tonic for halitosis, and even a cure for cancer.Despite Queen Elizabeth I being an advocate for the new drug, it didn’t take long for the anti-tobacco movement to kick into gear - with King James I writing a treatise against smoking by 1604.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion revisit the phenomenon of ‘Dry Drunkenness’; explain why Eton’s schoolboys were prescribed tobacco with their breakfast; and reveal what happened to Raleigh’s head after he was executed…Further Reading:• Bob Newhart’s Walter Raleigh sketch (1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XDxAzVEbN4• ‘“This vile custome”: a history of tobacco's medical interpretations’ (Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh): https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/vile-custome-history-tobaccos-medical-interpretations• ‘Discovery of velvet bag may solve gory mystery of Walter Raleigh’s missing head’ (The Guardian, 2018): https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/oct/28/walter-raleigh-bag-severed-head-gory-mystery‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/27/2023 • 9 minutes, 34 seconds

Following a successful early career, Rembrandt van Rijn filed for ‘cessie van goede’ (insolvency) on July 26th, 1656. The poor management of his finances magnified other difficulties that he had with family, friends, neighbours, and patrons. Although Rembrandt’s bankruptcy was part of a scheme that purported to shield his house from his creditors, and pass it on to his family, he leant uncomfortably on his son Titus, insisting that once he turned 14 he was named in his will as his sole heir, shutting out his mother’s family.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dig into the great artist’s Cabinet Of Curiosities; consider whether his lavish lifestyle was a necessity, given his high-class client base; and reveal how 17th Century Holland was a particularly brutal place to be buried…Further Reading:• ‘The misery that made Rembrandt a master: Bankruptcy, the loss of his family, a scheming mistress, the artist's messy later years produced the best work of his life’ (Mail Online, 2014): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2797031/the-misery-rembrandt-master-bankruptcy-loss-family-scheming-mistress-artist-s-messy-later-years-produced-best-work-life.html• ‘Rembrandt at The Wallace Collection: 'Titus, the Artist's Son'’ (Art UK, 2019): https://artuk.org/discover/stories/rembrandt-at-the-wallace-collection-titus-the-artists-son• ‘The Tragic Real Life Story of Rembrandt’ (The School of Life, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs4uHfZh3S4#arts #Netherlands #1600s Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/26/2023 • 11 minutes, 20 seconds

The Hovercraft SR-N1, piloted by Captain Peter Lamb, sailed from Calais to Dover on 25th July 1959, fifty years to the day after Louis Blériot made the first crossing of the English Channel. It took 2 hours, 3 minutes. The brainchild of British engineer and inventor Christopher co*ckerell, Hovercraft was described as a cross between an aircraft, a boat and a land vehicle, hovering just above the water on a cushion of air. Ultimately over 80 million people and 12 million cars crossed the Channel using Hovercraft. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how co*ckerell eventually got the UK Government on-side; consider the role of Duty Free regulations in its popularity and demise; and attempt to settle for good whether this iconic craft is *really* a boat, or a plane… Further Reading:• Cross-Channel Aviation Pioneers: Blanchard and Bleriot, Vikings and Viscounts - By Bruce Hales-Dutton’ (Pen and Sword, 2021): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Cross_Channel_Aviation_Pioneers/S90SEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Captain+Peter+Lamb,+John+Chaplin+,+Christopher+co*ckerell&pg=PA171&printsec=frontcover• ‘Back to the future — amphibious travel gets a fresh lease of life’ (FT, 2016): https://www.ft.com/content/c986c712-3dd3-11e6-8716-a4a71e8140b0• ‘What Happened To Giant Hovercraft?’ (Mustard, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnJLT8wFyhY#50s #UK #Inventions #TechnologyLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/25/2023 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

The ‘Quietly Confident Quartet’ of Mark Tonelli (backstroke), Peter Evans (breaststroke), Mark Kerry (butterfly), and Neil Brooks (freestyle) won Gold in the 4 × 100 metres medley relay at the Summer Olympics in Moscow on 24th July, 1980: the only time the United States had not won the event.It was Australia’s first Gold medal for eight years, but reaction back home to the swimmers’ astonishing victory was mixed, because some of their countrymen - including the Australian government - believed the team, like the USA, should have boycotted the games due to Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly debate whether their triumph was one of determination or youthful confidence; explain why the Seamen’s Union Of Australia played a pivotal role in getting them to Moscow; and investigate the Soviets’ claims to have run ‘the cleanest Games on record’…Further Reading:• Mark Tonelli Relives Legendary Commentator Norman May's famous Moscow call: “Gold…Gold to Australia…Gold.!!” (Swimming World, 2020): https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/mark-tonelli-relives-legendary-commentator-norman-mays-famous-moscow-call-goldgold-to-australiagold/• ‘The 1980 Olympics Are The 'Cleanest' In History. Athletes Recall How Moscow Cheated The System’ (Radio Free Europe, 2020): https://www.rferl.org/a/the-1980-moscow-olympics-rank-as-the-cleanest-in-history-athletes-recall-how-the-u-s-s-r-cheated-the-system-/30741567.html• ‘Norman May - GOLD, GOLD, GOLD!’ (Olympics, 1980): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8sguWatsAU#Australia #Sport #Russia #80sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/24/2023 • 11 minutes, 46 seconds

The fire that destroyed the second Temple of Artemis - one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world - was supposedly set on the day Alexander the Great was born: 21st July, 356 BC. The story goes that the arsonist, Herosratus, was simply seeking notoriety.Herostratus was captured and tortured on the rack, where he confessed to having committed the arson in an attempt to immortalize his name. To dissuade those of similar intentions, the Ephesian authorities not only executed Herostratus, but attempted to condemn him to a legacy of obscurity by forbidding mention of his name under penalty of death.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider herostratic fame as a live issue when it comes to school shooters and terrorists; take a peek round the ancient Temple to see if it would have been worth a trip; and consider whether its successors deserved their places in the subsequent ‘Seven Wonders’ lists… Further Reading:• ‘21 July: On this day in history’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/on-this-day/21-july-on-this-day-in-history/• ‘Monumental Fury - The History of Iconoclasm and the Future of Our Past - By Matthew Fraser’ (Prometheus, 2022): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Monumental_Fury/FVV-EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=herostratus&pg=PA35&printsec=frontcover• ‘The Temple of Artemis and Herostratus | Legendary Wonder of the Ancient World Destroyed!’ (Because It’s Interesting, 2019):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pnGjfPvN58#Turkey #Greece #Crime #Person #BC #StrangeWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/21/2023 • 9 minutes, 35 seconds

Rerun. France’s Jewish population mostly had no family surnames – until 20th July, 1808, when Napoleon issued a decree insisting they adopted one. They were not permitted to choose place names, and allusions to the Old Testament were forbidden.Rumours persist that some families were charged higher fees to adopt prettier names, but in a Europe rife with antisemitism, Napoleon’s creations of Jewish consistoires (regulatory bodies) is still seen by some as a relatively tolerant policy.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal the genesis of their names, explain how compound names like Rosenberg and Goldberg came about, and reveal the world’s names most in danger of extinction.Further Reading:• The Imperial Decree, at Napoloeon.org: https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/imperial-decree-of-20-july-1808-concerning-jews-with-no-fixed-first-or-family-names/• ‘What’s in a Surname: The History of Surnames and How They Help in Family History Research’, (MyHeritage, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sxmdkud0P8• Alec Berg’s surname inspires this epiosde of Curb Your Enthusiasm: https://www.hbo.com/curb-your-enthusiasm/season-08/1-the-divorce/synopsis‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/20/2023 • 9 minutes, 45 seconds

The boys who brought surfing to California were Hawaiian princes Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, David Kawānanakoa, and Edward Keliʻiahonui, who took a break from military school on 19th July, 1885, to surf the waves at Santa Cruz. The royal trio fashioned surfboards out of redwood and surfed at the San Lorenzo river mouth, demonstrating the centuries-old Polynesian tradition to stunned and delighted beachgoers.In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca explain why it took the Second World War for boardsports to really take off in the region; consider whether the brothers’ bespoke boards bear comparison with Shakespeare’s Folio; and compare what happened when the Princes brought surfing to Britain…Further Reading:• ’Santa Cruz Surfing Museum – Santa Cruz, California’ (Atlas Obscura, 2017): https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/santa-cruz-surfing-museum?utm_medium=atlas-page&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwAR2FS-I5jYu85oIXt35MRIRcxJ7hCJeGmr-AkBsnp5PRGylEp7ZOcGIbMp8• ‘LEGENDARY SURFERS Volume 3 - The 1930s - By Malcolm Gault-Williams’ (Lulu, 2012): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/LEGENDARY_SURFERS_Volume_3_The_1930s/r84MBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jonah+K%C5%ABhi%C5%8D+Kalaniana%CA%BBole+%2B+surfing&pg=PA255&printsec=frontcover• ‘Celebrating the life and memory of Prince Kūhiō’ (KHON2  News, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh5xL2dILa8#Hawaii #1800s #Sport #Royals #Discoveries Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/19/2023 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds

Tim Berners-Lee uploaded a photo of parody doo-wop group Les Horrible Cernettes on 18th July 1992 - the first image to be shared online.The photograph was taken at the CERN Hardronic Festival by Silvano de Gennaro, an analyst in the Computer Science department. The girlband were striking a pose for their forthcoming CD cover, little realising their comedy love songs about colliders, quarks, liquid nitrogen, microwaves, and antimatter would soon go down in internet history.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the spooky social media resonance of this earliest online picture; explain how Berners-Lee used ‘sex’ to ‘sell’ the world wide web; and check out the Cernette’s biggest banger, ‘Collider’...Further Reading:• ‘The true story behind the 'first picture on the internet' myth’ (Metro, 2022): https://metro.co.uk/2022/07/18/the-true-story-behind-the-first-picture-on-the-internet-myth-16945088/?ito=article.mweb.share.top.link&fbclid=IwAR1BGGcwPK2HYL1f3-KBtCfQBILTtCtKOlq4aYIcZRfBzUJ8ssN0RwjPwi8• ‘Was this the 1st photo on the web? 25 years on, Quebec woman tells how she came to be in it’ (CBC News, 2017): https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/first-internet-photo-features-sherbrooke-woman-1.4206913• ‘LHC - Collider’ (Cernettes, 2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1L2xODZSI4#Internet #Music #90s #SwitzerlandLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/18/2023 • 9 minutes, 20 seconds

Windsor became the official surname of the British Royal family on 17th July 1917, when King George V issued a proclamation declaring that “The Name of Windsor is to be borne by His Royal House and Family and Relinquishing the Use of All German Titles and Dignities.”The decision to change the family name came amid strong anti-German feeling following air raids over London, and in particular the bombing of a school in the East End by Gotha bombers - by coincidence, the same name as the royal family.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover who was responsible for picking ‘Windsor’ as the family’s new name; uncover the Royal Albert Hall’s flawed response to the onset of World War One; and reveal the REAL Royal surname…Further Reading:• ‘British royal family change their name to Windsor’ (The Guardian, 1917): https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/from-the-archive-blog/2017/jul/17/british-royal-family-windsor-name-change-1917• ‘Jeremy Paxman: A hundred years of Windsors but still the Queen is partly German (FT, 2017): https://www.ft.com/content/b80a9dde-f1f0-11e6-95ee-f14e55513608• ‘’The British Royal Family Needed to Seem Less German During WWI’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZaOlJajows#Royals #WW1 #Germany Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow!: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/17/2023 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Dynamite was invented by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, who demonstrated it in Britain for the first time on 14th July, 1867. He had discovered that when nitroglycerin, an explosive liquid, was absorbed by kieselguhr, a porous siliceous earth, it produced a solid that was resistant to shock but readily detonable by heat or percussion, making it safer to handle.Nobel named his invention “dynamite” after the Greek word “dynamis,” meaning "power". His invention revolutionized the construction industry and made possible many engineering feats such as the construction of canals, tunnels, and roads, and also had a significant impact on mining, quarrying, and demolition operations.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore the ‘obituary’ legend that supposedly explained Nobel’s creation of the Nobel Prizes; uncover the extraordinary approach the Swede took to health and safety in his factories; and reveal how staggeringly little it cost to buy a stick of dynamite in New York City in 1910… Further Reading:‘How Dynamite Spawned the Nobel Prizes’ (McGill University, 2021): https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/history/how-dynamite-spawned-nobel-prizes‘This week in science history - The first demonstration of dynamite’ (The Naked Scientists, 2009): https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/week-science-history-first-demonstration-dynamite‘Alfred Nobel: From Dynamite to the Nobel Peace Prize’ (Nobel Peace Center, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diaUxeVsg-4#Science #Discoveries #Sweden #1800sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/14/2023 • 11 minutes, 35 seconds

Rerun. Queen Victoria moved from her birthplace, Kensington Palace, and decreed Buckingham Palace her official residence on 13th July, 1837. She was 18, newly-crowned – and until then had shared a bedroom with her mother.Built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham, the Palace had never previously permanently housed anyone, and was reportedly drafty, dirty, and staffed by ‘slovenly’ servants. But, you know, she made do.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine the escapades of ‘the boy Jones’ – a teenage stalker of the young Victoria; pore through the pages of the young monarch’s diaries; and reveal which celebrities claim to have got down and dirty in the Queen’s official residence…Further Reading:• Profile of Queen Victoria from Historic Royal Palaces: https://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/history-and-stories/queen-victoria/#gs.59mhsd• Buckingham Palace page at the Royal Collection Trust: https://www.rct.uk/visit/buckingham-palace/who-built-buckingham-palace#/• ‘Victoria’s Palace’ documentary (ITV, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUn63ZIELxU&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Ftheretrospectors.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_titleLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/13/2023 • 9 minutes, 51 seconds

A deputized posse illegally kidnapped and deported over a thousand striking mine workers from Bisbee, Arizona on July 12, 1917, and dumped them in New Mexico: an event that became known as The Bisbee Deportation. The action was orchestrated by Phelps Dodge, the major mining company in the area, which provided lists of workers and others who were to be arrested to the Cochise County sheriff, Harry C. Wheeler. Those arrested were taken to a local baseball park before being loaded onto cattle cars and deported 200 miles to Tres Hermanas; a 16-hour journey through desert without food and with little water.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the IWW Union became both popular and feared in Bisbee; consider how the American involvement in World War One changed the context for the workers on the Mexican border; and examine the intentions of the ‘Citizens Protective League’... Further Reading:‘Warren Ballpark - by Mike Andersen’ (Arcadia Publishing, 2013): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Warren_Ballpark/JfLzAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bisbee+deportation&printsec=frontcover‘Remembering the Bisbee Deportation, 100 years later’ (KJZZ, 2017): https://kjzz.org/content/503494/remembering-bisbee-deportation-100-years-later‘Bisbee Arizona: a historic town that many say has a dark side’ (LiveNOW from Fox, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUB7NQEpUYs#US #1910s #ProtestLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/12/2023 • 12 minutes, 8 seconds

Mary Whitehouse successfully sued Gay News and publisher Denis Lemon at the Old Bailey in a trial that began on 11th July, 1977 - Britain’s last conviction for blasphemy.What had ired the notorious Christian campaigner was the magazine’s publication of “The Love That Dares to Speak Its Name”, a poem by James Kirkup written from the perspective of a Roman centurion who graphically describes having sex with Jesus after his crucifixion.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the poem literally could not be defended on its artistic merit; reveal how it came to Whitehouse’s attention in the first place; and consider the literary potency of ‘Foxy Judas’... Content Warning: explicit poetry, necrophilia, material likely to offend Christians.Further Reading:• ‘The gay poem that broke blasphemy laws’ (Pink News, 2008): https://www.thepinknews.com/2008/01/10/the-gay-poem-that-broke-blasphemy-laws/• ‘Blasphemy in the Christian World - A History, By David Nash’ (OUP, 2010): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Blasphemy_in_the_Christian_World/BPYkhnY-3_cC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=robertson+whitehouse+lemon&pg=PA98&printsec=frontcover• ‘The Love That Dares To Speak Its Name, by James Kirkup’ (Stand Up Jesus, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iiIORJTOqY#Religion #LGBT #1970s #UKLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/11/2023 • 10 minutes, 49 seconds

The ‘Abernathy Boys’, Temple and Louis, were aged just 5 and 8 respectively when they departed Guthrie, Oklahoma for a 1,300-mile horseback trip to Roswell, New Mexico on July 10th, 1909. Alone.Sons of widower John Abernathy, himself the youngest-ever U.S. Marshal, the boys encountered wolves, outlaws and vast stretches of untamed plains on their journey - but survived the trip and became national celebrities and friends with Teddy Roosevelt.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how, in another adventure, the brothers ended up commandeering a motor car back from New York City; consider the extent to which the boys were being exploited to provide their Dad with publicity; and reveal John’s arresting technique for capturing wild wolves…Further Reading:• ‘Free-range kids: Louis and Temple Abernathy rode horses from Oklahoma to New York to meet Teddy Roosevelt’ (The Washington Post, 2019): https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/10/19/ultimate-free-range-kids-two-boys-rode-horses-new-york-oklahoma/• ‘How The Abernathy Boys Became The Most Adventurous Kids In History’ (Fatherly, 2016): https://www.fatherly.com/love-money/abernathy-boys-solo-cross-country-1909• ‘America On Their Own: The True Adventures and Explorations of the Abernathy Boys’ (Holly Culver, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01szRIfFjiQ#US #Strange #Child #1900sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/10/2023 • 10 minutes, 59 seconds

Pinocchio, ‘The Story of a Puppet’, debuted in Giornale per i bambini, an Italian weekly magazine for children, on 7th July, 1881. Its author, Carlo Lorenzini - going by the pseudonym C. Collodi - intended the tale to end with the hanging of Pinocchio, but popular demand led to the character having further, more optimistic adventures.As a young man, Collodi joined the seminary but left to support the Italian national unification movement through journalism. His children’s writings are cut through with satire and moral lessons specific to Italy in the 1800s, yet resonated internationally almost immediately, having been translated into as many as 260 languages. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Collodi in the context of other serialised literature of the time, such as Dickens; uncover the darkest moments in the story which Disney sensibly swerved; and explain what that whole weird donkey metaphor is all about…Further Reading:• ‘The Real Story of Pinocchio Tells No Lies’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2022): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-real-pinocchio-180980027/• ‘Pinocchio: The scariest children's story ever written’ (BBC Culture, 2022): https://www.bbThe Real Story of Pinocchio Tells No Lies | Travel | Smithsonian Magazinec.com/culture/article/20221207-pinocchio-the-scariest-childrens-story-ever-written• ‘The birthplace of Pinocchio’ (CBS, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAkdYYaTzcI&t=9s#1800s #Italy #BooksLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/7/2023 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

Rerun. The AK-47 assault rifle, the 20th century’s deadliest weapon, went into production on 6th July, 1947. Designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov, then a 22 year-old tank sergeant, the 600rpm gun was the winning entry in a national competition to find the next generation of Soviet weapons. It went on to be used in conflicts as diverse as Vietnam, Cuba and Iraq.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Kalashnikov researched and developed his killing machine; consider the ironic popularity of his weapon in the United States; and recall the end-of-life torment his invention ultimately brought him…Further Reading:• ‘July 6, 1947: The AK-47, an All-Purpose Killer’ (WIRED, 2009): https://www.wired.com/2009/07/dayintech-0706/• ‘Kalashnikov inventor haunted by unbearable pain of dead millions’ (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/13/kalashnikov-weapon-inventor-spiritual-pain-dead-millions• ‘Evolution of AK-47 Rifle’ (The Infographics Show, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meTEcIWzyWILove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/6/2023 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Rerun. Amazon, created in the Seattle garage of Jeff Bezos, was incorporated on 5th July, 1994. Before Bezos had settled on the site’s name as a way of conveying the size and scope of the e-commerce platform he intended to build, his working titles had included Cadabra, Relentless, Awake, Browse and Bookmall.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Washington was chosen as the launch location for the company; reveal how Bezos was able to resell individual books from wholesalers without breaching any Ts & Cs; and compare notes on their first-ever Amazon purchases… Further Reading:• ‘Amazon Was Founded 25 Years Ago This Friday. Here’s What the World Was Like When Jeff Bezos Incorporated the Company in 1994’ (Inc, 2019): https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/amazon-cadabra-jeff-bezos-25-year-anniversary-1994.html• ‘Olly Mann on “My Mate Bought a Toaster”’ (Tom Price, 2020): https://podfollow.com/1462168683/episode/50c5e6d3a7471bb569f375a2d8d65d0bdd39e6e4/view• ‘60 Minutes: Amazon’ (CBS, 1999): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv8MrBBuRqILove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/5/2023 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

Fourteen years of food rationing came to an end in Britain on 4th July, 1954, when restrictions on the sale and purchase of meat and bacon were lifted. Members of the London Housewives’ Association held a special ceremony in London’s Trafalgar Square to mark Derationing Day. Meanwhile, The Minister of Fuel and Power, Geoffrey Lloyd, burned a large replica of a ration book.Rationing had been introduced due to difficulties importing food to Britain by boat during the war, but also affected the supply of clothes, furniture and fuel. During the war, the Ministry of Food urged the British people to grow their own veg to play their part in defeating the Germans.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the merits of a ‘mock’ fish and chips recipe; examine how the Conservatives used this ‘Victory Day for Housewives’ to score a political point of the previous Labour government; and reveal how to avoid ‘Humble Pie with Hitler’... Further Reading:• ‘Food Rationing In WW2: When Did It Begin & End, & How Did People Cook?’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/when-food-rationing-begin-end-ww2/• ‘The wartime recipes that kept Britain going in the Second World War’ (Country Life, 2017): https://www.countrylife.co.uk/food-drink/victory-in-the-kitchen-easy-wartime-recipes-to-try-149921• ‘Rationing Recipes from the Second World War - Potato Wrapped Sardines’ (Imperial War Museums, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNWCrYqGVkE&t#WW2 #Food #UK #50sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/4/2023 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

David Bowie retired his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust live on stage at London’s Hammersmith Odeon on 3rd July, 1973. To the surprise of most of his band, the Spiders From Mars, he announced to a devastated crowd that the gig was “the last show we’ll ever do.” Bowie’s management company had plans to take Ziggy on an international tour, but being Ziggy Stardust had taken a mental and physical toll on the singer. “I really did want it all to come to an end,” he wrote in Moonage Daydream. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a ‘fake’ Lou Reed influenced Bowie to create the character of Ziggy; discover how, for a while, his fans were called ‘the Uglies’ and his genre ‘freakrock’; and reveal how this iconic rockstar felt ‘hopelessly lost’ in his own fantasy…Further Reading:• ‘Looking back on David Bowie's most legendary gig: The death of Ziggy Stardust’ (London Evening Standard, 2019): https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/david-bowie-death-ziggy-stardust-hammersmith-odeon-a4034746.html• ‘How David Bowie killed off Ziggy Stardust’ (Far Out Magazine, 2021): https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/how-david-bowie-killed-ziggy-stardust/• ‘David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust’ (Live, 1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq8gG3pzMrU&list=PLNJirx02I6P72KTv5oJPSF-kkagLgfJWr&index=3#Music #70s #UK #LGBTLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/3/2023 • 10 minutes, 39 seconds

Thomas Huxley and Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford, were among the prominent figures discussing Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution at the Oxford University Museum on 30th June 1860; an encounter sometimes referred to as ‘The Great Debate’. The confrontation is best remembered for a heated exchange in which Wilberforce supposedly asked Huxley whether it was through his grandfather or his grandmother that he claimed his descent from a monkey. Huxley is said to have replied that he would not be ashamed to have a monkey for his ancestor, but he would be ashamed to be connected with a man who used his great gifts to obscure the truth.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how both men came to believe they had ‘won’ the ‘debate’; trace back the origins of the men’s nicknames ‘Darwin’s Bulldog’ and ‘Soapy Sam’; and consider whether Darwin himself was keen on causing such controversy…Further Reading:• ‘The Great Debate’ (Oxford University Museum of Natural History): https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/great-debate• ‘Did Huxley really mop the floor with Wilberforce?’ (National Geographic, 2008): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/repost-did-huxley-really-mop-the-floor-with-wilberforce• ‘Darwin’s Dangerous Idea’ (PBS, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=povYofKYqJM #Science #Victorian #UKWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/30/2023 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Rerun. Marshall Mathers III, aka Eminem, was sued for defamation by his own mother, Debbie, on 29th June, 2000. The suit was primarily in response to a lyric, “My Mom does more dope than I do”, from his hit song ‘My Name Is’.However, the case never made it to court. Eminem settled for $25,000 - almost of all of which went to Debbie’s lawyer, who then commented that the cash was not enough to compensate for having to deal with his client...In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider Eminem’s use of the Slim Shady ‘character’ in his lyrics, explain how tough it is to prove a defamation lawsuit against a piece of art; and revisit the work of Australian drag artiste ‘Pauline Pantsdown’.Further Reading:‘Eminem's Mom Makes Music’ (People, 1998): https://people.com/celebrity/eminems-mom-makes-music/‘The Mother Who Sued Her Own Son’, (Mel Magazine, 2019): https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/eminem-mom-debbie-mathers‘I’m A Backdoor Man’ by Pauline Pantsdown (1997): https://soundcloud.com/pauline-pantsdown/im-a-back-door-man-1997#2000s #Art #Music #Person #Politics #White #US‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/29/2023 • 9 minutes, 52 seconds

America’s first programme to feature an all-black cast, Amos 'n' Andy premiered on CBS on June 28th, 1951. Despite being based on one of the most popular radio shows of all time, the series lasted only two years, following a barrage of criticism.Although popular with many African-Americans, the show traded on ethnic caricatures, and the prejudices of its white creators. The NAACP mounted a formal protest almost immediately, describing the sitcom as “a gross libel of the Negro and distortion of the truth”, and, eventually, the Blatz Brewing Company withdrew its sponsorship, sounding the death knell for the production.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the radio incarnation itself faced the ire of African-American protestors; uncover President Truman’s involvement in casting decisions; and explain why it really should have been called ‘The Kingfish Show’...  Content Warning: Blackface minstrelsy, racist language.Further Reading:• ‘Amos 'n' Andy' in Video Debut’ (The New York Times, 1951): https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/07/01/89445865.html• ‘Reflections on Black Image in Amos ‘n’ Andy’ (Abernathy Magazine): https://abernathymagazine.com/reflections-on-black-image-in-amos-n-andy/• ‘Amos ‘n’ Andy: Amos Helps Out, colorized’ (CBS, 1951): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYuWeBCD4VQ&list=PLuJ-ZI9pevL1H0NAP1WZkN14I4Az51tQk#50s #TV #Black #RacismLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/28/2023 • 11 minutes, 21 seconds

The deadly fight between Patrick Farrell and James Donnelly on 27th June 1857 kickstarted one of the longest-lasting and most violent feuds in Canadian history.The property the Donnellys had been squatting on had been previously leased by Farrell. A judge had ruled that the lot be split 50/50, but, at a barn raising bee, Donnelly chucked a handspike at Farrell, who died two days later. Decades later, the Donnelly family’s homestead was attacked by a vigilante mob, leaving five of their family dead.In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why nobody was convicted of the murders, despite two trials and a reliable eyewitness; reveal why the Donnelleys became known locally as the ‘black’ Donnelleys, a nickname which persists to this day; and unearth, amongst one of their number, a surprising predilection for poetry…Further Reading:• ‘History | Lucan Museum’ (donnellymuseum.com): https://www.donnellymuseum.com/history• ‘Black Donnellys - The Outrageous Tale of Canada's Deadliest Feud, By Nate Hendley’ (Formac Publishing Company Limited, 2018): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Black_Donnellys/sK5jDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0• ‘The Doomed Donnellys of Ontario’ (TVO Today, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqqfg3PND7o#Canada #Irish #Crime #1800sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/27/2023 • 11 minutes, 19 seconds

At a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio, a packet of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum became the first ever product to have its barcode scanned - at 8:01 a.m. on June 26th, 1974.Inspired by the morse code training of his Boy Scout days, Norman Joseph Woodland first sketched out a barcode on a Florida beach in 1948, drawing dots and dashes in the sand. Together with fellow Drexel Institute graduate student Bernard Silver, he received a U.S. Patent in 1952 - but it would be another 20 years before IBM produced the technology that could be rolled out to grocery stores.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the invention accelerated the growth of the largest retailers; consider Woodland’s original ‘bullseye’ barcode design; and reveal why conspiracy theorists think barcodes are the DEVIL’s work… Further Reading:• ‘How the barcode changed retailing and manufacturing’ (BBC News, 2017): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38498700• ‘N Joseph Woodland obituary’ (The Guardian, 2012): https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/dec/16/n-joseph-woodland• ‘How Do Barcodes Work?’ (sciBRIGHT, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfeVckbQxdQ#Science #Business #70s #USLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/26/2023 • 11 minutes, 11 seconds

Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis with a kitchen knife while he was asleep in their apartment in Manassas, Virginia on 23rd June, 1993. After a nine-hour surgery, Bobbitt’s penis was successfully reattached - and the case became an international news sensation.The 24 year-old manicurist was charged with malicious wounding and faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted. But in court she showed that her then-husband had repeatedly sexually and physically abused her and was found Not Guilty, on the basis of temporary insanity.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how John’s penis was discovered and transported after amputation; explain why Virginia’s marital abuse laws were insufficient to cover the scope of the Bobbitt’s relationship; and consider one of the weirdest offers to ever come from Playboy…  CONTENT WARNING: rape, domestic violence, gore.Further Reading:• ‘Lorena Bobbitt: SEX, LIES, AND AN 8-INCH CARVING KNIFE’ (Vanity Fair, 1993): https://www.vanityfair.com/style/1993/11/lorena-bobbitt-interview-sex-lies-carving-knife• ‘You Know the Lorena Bobbitt Story. But Not All of It’ (The New York Times, 2019): https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/arts/television/lorena-bobbitt-documentary-jordan-peele.html?searchResultPosition=4• ‘The night Lorena Bobbitt sliced off her husband John's penis’ (ABC 20/20, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmSWTavWC_A#90s #US #Crime #StrangeWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/23/2023 • 12 minutes, 7 seconds

John McEnroe was once the world’s No.1 tennis player, winning seven major Grand Slams. But he’ll always be remembered for his extraordinary rant against umpire Edward James at Wimbledon on 22nd June, 1981.During his match with Tom Gullikson, James ruled that the New Yorker’s serve went out. McEnroe’s reaction – “You can’t be serious man, you cannot be serious!… You guys are the absolute pits of the world!” – staggered the genteel world of tennis.In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca discover that McEnroe had already established a bad-boy reputation with the UK press, who’d labelled him ‘superbrat’ in 1977; marvel at the reaction of the BBC commentators to the unfolding drama; and consider whether the general public would still actually remember who McEnroe was, if this had never happened…Further Reading:• The rant unfolding (1981), from the ESPN Archives: https://youtu.be/ransFQVzf6c• The Washington Post, pre-rant, record McEnroe’s depiction in Britain as ‘superbrat’ (1979): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1979/06/24/british-aim-fire-at-the-superbrat/7115ab3c-154a-4f5a-b99e-2632fbd2bc5f/• John McEnroe on ‘Desert Island Discs’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08xxfz3‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. We'll have something new for you tomorrow!: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/22/2023 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

The Boxer Rebellion was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, anti-Christian uprising in China, reaching  Peking on 21st June, 1900, when Empress Dowager Cixi declared war on all foreign powers and demanded that they depart the country at once. The rebels were known as the “Boxers” in English, because many of its members practiced Chinese martial arts; in their native language they went by the more evocative title of “the [secret] Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists” (Yìhéquán). In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover some of the Boxer’s magical beliefs; consider why Christian converts became so hated in the North of China in particular; and explain how the Emperor himself was forced to take a back seat in this moment of national crisis… Further Reading:• Boxer Rebellion in China | Boxer Rebels (ThoughtCo, 2018): https://www.thoughtco.com/chinas-boxer-rebellion-in-photos-195618• ‘Boxer Rebellion: China, Definition & Cause’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/topics/asian-history/boxer-rebellion• ‘Why did so many countries get involved in the Boxer Rebellion?’ (History Matters, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSe8FmYlYdk#China #1900s #WarLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/21/2023 • 9 minutes, 52 seconds

When the East India Company surrendered Fort William (in modern-day Kolkata) to the Nawab of Bengal on 20th June, 1756, dozens of British captives were imprisoned in a cell measuring only 18ft long and 14ft wide, with just two tiny windows - ‘the Black Hole of Calcutta’.Among the prisoners was John Zephaniah Holwell, whose pamphlet describing the terrors of the airless room caused a sensation back in Britain and became a cause célèbre in the idealization of imperialism in India. Holwell claimed 123 men lost their lives in the cell, although it is now thought the number of deaths was exaggerated.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover Holwell’s mixed feelings around colonialism; consider how ‘the black hole of Calcutta’ became an enduring term of phrase; and reveal what connected Kolkata with Olly’s home village in Hertfordshire…Further Reading:• ‘A Genuine Narrative of the Deplorable Deaths of the English Gentlemen, and Others, who Were Suffocated in the Black-Hole in Fort-William, at Calcutta, in the Kingdom of Bengal, in the Night Succeeding the 20th Day of June, 1756, in a Letter to a Friend - By John Zephaniah Holwell’ (A. Millar, 1758): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_Genuine_Narrative_of_the_Deplorable_De/xGg0Cg9WVNcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Holwell+%2B+Calcutta&printsec=frontcover• ‘The Black Hole of Calcutta – Kolkata, India’ (Atlas Obscura): https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-black-hole-of-calcutta• ‘The Story of The Black Hole Of Calcutta - Britain's Secret Homes’ (ITV Daytime, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbjFxITtXwU#1700s #India #Empire #MacabreLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/20/2023 • 10 minutes, 54 seconds

The Grand Knockout Tournament (also known as It’s a Royal Knockout) was a one-off charity event first shown on BBC1 on 19th June 1987, to an audience of 18 million gobsmacked viewers. The brainchild of the then 23 year old Prince Edward, the slapstick spectacle featured the Princess Royal and the Duke and duch*ess of York captaining rival teams in a series of preposterous rounds involving celebrities including Rowan Atkinson, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, John Travolta and Les Dawson.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall Fergie’s feelings of shame, blame and betrayal; discover the extraordinary cast of characters gathered at this bizarre occasion; and explain why Meat Loaf and Prince Andrew did not see eye-to-eye…Further Reading:‘Remembering The TV Disaster That Was It’s A Royal Knockout’ (Grazia, 2020): https://graziadaily.co.uk/celebrity/news/royal-knockout-anne-edward-andrew/‘It's a royal co*ck-up’ (The Guardian, 2002): https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/mar/05/themonarchy.broadcasting‘The Grand Knockout Tournament’ (BBC, 1987): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwkv0-QlbZY#Royals #80s #TV #UKLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/19/2023 • 11 minutes, 55 seconds

The world’s first animal charity, the RSPCA, was set up on June 16th, 1824, by a small group of men who met in Old Slaughter’s Coffee House in St. Martin’s Lane, London.They had been brought together by Arthur Broome, a vicar and animal-welfare campaigner, but the main member of the group was Irish MP Richard Martin, widely known as “Humanity Dick” who had recently passed the first legislation of its kind against the mistreatment of horses and cattle.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look into why in the 19th century people who were interested in animal rights were seen as faintly ludicrous cranks; explain how one of the driving forces behind the RSPCA ended up in an unmarked grave; and discuss why cloven animals need to have duels fought on their behalf…Further Reading:• ‘16 June 1824: The world's oldest animal charity, the RSPCA, is founded’ (Money Week, 2015): https://moneyweek.com/396015/16-june-1824-the-worlds-oldest-animal-charity-the-rspca-is-founded • ‘The History of the RSPCA’ (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2017): https://www.animallaw.info/article/history-rspca • ‘Draw my life - History of the RSPCA’ (RSPCA, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7yhxxKuSUM #1800s #Victorian #Animals #UK Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/16/2023 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Rerun. Rowan Atkinson headed up the cast and writing team, yet the first series of ‘The Black Adder’ drew a decidedly mixed reaction from audiences and critics when it debuted on BBC TV on 15th June, 1983.Set in 1484, and filmed in castles across England, the series led some wags to quip that it ‘looks a million dollars, but cost a million quid’. It was only later, when Ben Elton joined Richard Curtis to write subsequent series, that its iconic comedy characters truly took shape.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider the role of Oxbridge privilege in the genesis of the series, ask whether it was ever really an ‘alternative comedy’, and quote some funny lines at each other – because this is a discussion about Blackadder, after all…Further Reading:• The show’s profile on the BBC Comedy site (2014): https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theblackadder/• ‘Blackadder at 35: why the writers completely reinvented him after one series’ (The i, 2018): https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/blackadder-reinvented-after-one-series-164228• CLIP: ‘The Blackadder is Born’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na4v8CeKnxM‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/15/2023 • 10 minutes, 2 seconds

The most expensive musical of all time, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, finally opened on June 14th, 2011, after completing a record-breaking run of 183 preview performances.The show had been plagued by disaster even from its very beginnings when Tony Adams, the theatre producer who had approached Marvel to buy the stage rights to Spider-Man, died of a stroke just as the team was about to sign the contracts.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look at how the original plot attempted to fuse together a 20th century comic book hero with an Ancient Greek myth; discuss where U2’s Bono and The Edge got their unlikely musical inspiration from; and explain why Saturday Night Live ended up running a sketch about a law firm specialising in Spider-Man related workplace injuries…Further Reading:• ‘How a Spider-Man musical became a theatrical disaster’ (BBC Culture, 2020): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201125-how-a-spider-man-musical-became-a-theatrical-disaster• ‘Inside Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the Broadway bomb that almost killed its cast’ (The Daily Telegraph, 2021): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/inside-spider-man-turn-dark-broadway-bomb-almost-killed-cast/ • ‘Highlights From “Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark”’ (Playbill, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajg78Xez-OU #2010s #Comics #Music #Theatre #USLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! Tomorrow!: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/14/2023 • 11 minutes, 3 seconds

The famous US police warning to suspects that begins “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law” dates back to a landmark ruling by the US Supreme Court on June 13th, 1966.Known as the Miranda rights, or Miranda warnings, the case of Ernesto Miranda, who was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and rape, reached the highest court in the land because of his lawyers’ contention that he had not been properly made aware of his rights.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss how a relatively unremarkable (though very serious) case came to have huge nationwide implications; detail the strange way Miranda made money after he got out of prison; and examine the bitter irony of Miranda’s own death at the hands of a fellow prison inmate…Further Reading:• ‘Miranda Rights: Your Rights of Silence’ (ThoughtCo, 2022): https://www.thoughtco.com/miranda-rights-your-rights-of-silence-3320117• ‘The Miranda rights are established’ (History.com, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-miranda-rights-are-established • ‘Do You Know Your Miranda Rights? | Debunker’ (NBC, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXXjUcI2kcc #60s #US #CrimeLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/13/2023 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

Until the mid-20th century, putting nappies on babies involved folding and pinning cloth towelling, then pulling a pair of rubber pants over the top. That all began to change on June 12th, 1951, when the US inventor Marion Donovan patented a new kind of nappy, with an envelope-like plastic cover and an absorbent insert.Her invention ultimately netted her a million dollars (nearly $10 million in today’s money) and paved the way for the development of disposable nappies which have become ubiquitous in many parts of the world today. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss how Donovan became one of the most prolific female inventors of her time; reveal that when she attempted to sell her invention, she was laughed out of boardrooms by male executives; and explain why one of her inventions, the “Zippity-Do”, could potentially be the undoing of Olly’s relationship with his wife…Further Reading:• ‘The Woman Who Invented Disposable Diapers’ (The Atlantic, 2014): https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/10/the-woman-who-invented-disposable-diapers/381310/ • ‘Marion Donovan: Waterproof Diaper Cover Inventor’ (National Inventors’ Hall of Fame, 2023): https://www.invent.org/inductees/marion-donovan • ‘Inventors on "Not for Women Only" from 1975’ (Lemelson Center, 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-YtYOKt6T0 #50s #US #Inventions #SexismLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/12/2023 • 11 minutes, 22 seconds

Nero, the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, killed himself on 9th June AD 68. Having fled Rome to a suburban villa after being declared a ‘public enemy’ by the Senate, he stabbed himself through the throat. Probably.Within months of his death, rumours began that Nero still lived and would return in glory to reclaim his empire. Instead, the historians of the era - albeit never averse to embellishment to make an artistic point - documented the horrors of his reign, including his forced marriage to a  slave boy and turning Christians into wax candles.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look back on the more enlightened early days of Nero’s emperorship; consider his incestuous rise to the throne; and explain why his story, perhaps more than anything, is a warning about working with a frustrated actor… Content Warning: suicide, incest, torture, religious persecution.Further Reading:• ‘Emperor Nero: Facts, Life and Biography’ (History Extra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/emperor-nero-facts-biography-tyrant-crimes-accomplishments/• ‘On this day in AD 68: The death of the tyrannical Emperor Nero’ (Telegraph, 2017): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/09/day-ad-68-death-tyrannical-emperor-nero/• ‘The Downfall of Nero's Scandalous Reign’ (Smithsonian, 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJvQa_cnr5QWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/9/2023 • 11 minutes, 2 seconds

Sam Panopoulos, creator of the Hawaiian pizza, died on 8th June, 2017 at the age of 83. Originally Greek, he moved to Ontario, Canada at the age of 20 and opened a restaurant where he experimented with toppings far beyond the typical ‘60s triumvirate of mushroom/bacon/pepperoni.Alongside a Chinese-American chef, he kick-started an international appetite for ham and pineapple that grows to this day - the Hawaiian becoming America’s favourite delivery pizza topping in 2021.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the merits of ‘Irish pizza’ (corn beef, cabbage and potato...); reveal that the ‘super-boring’ Napolitana was itself only ‘invented’ in 1889; and attempt to establish if the Hawaiian pizza is actually popular in Hawaii… Further Reading:• Sam Panopoulos’s obituary on CBC News’ ‘The National’ (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DccNpObmrjk• The Guardian’s obituary to Panopoulos (2017): https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jun/10/sam-panapoulos-inventor-of-hawaiian-pizza-dies-aged-83• An alternative history? The menu to ‘Francine’s Pizza Jungle’ - uncovered in The Oregonian’s archives: https://twitter.com/mrgan/status/1303461195005833216Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/8/2023 • 9 minutes, 31 seconds

When Prince announced he would no longer go by his birth name on June 7th, 1993, it took the public and his record label, Warner Brothers, by surprise. Henceforth he wanted to be known, he explained, as an unpronounceable ‘Love Symbol’; a bespoke mash-up of the Mars and Venus gender signs which wasn’t even available in font libraries.The dispute centred on the fact that ‘The Artist’ had 500 unreleased songs in his studio vault at Paisley Park, but Warner believed to put them out too quickly would saturate the market with Prince albums and devalue their star signing. Prince began performing with the word “SLAVE” on his cheek, regarding his own name as a part of his contractual entrapment. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, long before Warner’s got involved, Prince’s name had always been a Freudian nightmare; consider the purple one’s claims to be a ‘slave’ in the context of other African-American figures; and reveal the none-too-subtle pseudonyms he deployed when out on the town…Ƭ̵̬̊Further Reading:• The Artist, formerly known as Prince (Entertainment Weekly, 1999): https://ew.com/article/1999/06/04/artist-formerly-known-prince-2/• ‘A Prince by Any Other Name’ (Vanity Fair, 2011): https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2011/10/prince-bio-201110• ‘Larry King Live: Prince’ (CNN, 1999): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8mg7CxAYUM#Music #Black #US #90s Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreonpodfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/7/2023 • 11 minutes, 2 seconds

Notorious Nazi doctor, ‘Angel of Death’ Josef Mengele, spent the last twenty years of his life on the run. His remains were recovered in São Paulo on 6th June, 1985, when Brazilian Police dug up the grave of a man named “Wolfgang Gerhard” - later proven to be Mengele, who’d drowned at a beach resort at the age of 68.Mengele, responsible for sending up to 400,000 Jews to their deaths at Auschwitz, was able to escape to Argentina via Italy after the War, even living freely under his real name for a period, before Mossad and ‘Nazi Hunter’ Simon Wiesenthal began hunting him down more assiduously.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how frustratingly close Israel’s secret services came to capturing him in his lifetime; explain how he was able to live under cover in South America for decades; and consider the irony of what finally happened to his skeleton…Content Warning: depictions of Auschwitz, Holocaust torture techniquesFurther Reading:• ‘Son Says Mengele's Dead, Tells Why He Kept Silent : Learned of Death in 1979’ (Los Angeles Times, 1985): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-06-11-mn-10339-story.html• ‘How did the infamous Josef Mengele escape punishment?’ (The Spectator, 2020): https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-did-the-infamous-josef-mengele-escape-punishment/• ‘Confirming the remains of Josef Mengele’ (NBC, 1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m46WUDwxxpA#Nazis #Racism #Jewish #WW2 #Brazil #80sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/6/2023 • 11 minutes, 14 seconds

Lizzie Borden’s murder trial began on June 5, 1893 in New Bedford Courthouse, Massachusetts. The 32 year-old was accused of killing her father, wealthy magnate Andrew Borden, and his wife Abby, her stepmother, who had been crushed by the blows of a hatchet - 11 and 19 times, respectively.In attendance were three judges, Borden’s high-powered defense team (paid for from her late father’s estate), and reporters and onlookers keen to parse the lurid details of the shocking deaths in the Borden homestead. But, despite there being no other suspects, Borden was acquitted.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Lizzie just *may* have innocently been purchasing poison; consider whether this was the case that first ignited the female interest in ‘true crime’ stories in America; and reveal what’s happened to the ‘Borden Murder House’ in the 21st century …Content Warning: domestic violence, description of brutal murder scene.Further Reading:• ‘Why 19th-Century Axe Murderer Lizzie Borden Was Found Not Guilty’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2019): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-19th-century-axe-murderer-lizzie-borden-was-found-not-guilty-180972707/• ‘Lizzie Borden case: Images from one of the most notorious crime scenes in history’ (CBS, 2021): https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/lizzie-borden-case-images-crime-scene/• ‘48 Hours: Lizzie Borden Took an Axe’ (CBS, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYDiEcyDUBU#Crime #1800s #US #MacabreLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/5/2023 • 11 minutes, 7 seconds

Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson made an important discovery, by accident, on June 2, 1875. While working on their ‘harmonic telegraph’. Watson inadvertently plucked a reed that had been tightly wound around the pole of its electromagnet, producing a twang that Bell heard on a second device next door.Meanwhile, Elisha Gray, co-founder of Western Electric Company, was working on, as his patent put it, “Transmitting Vocal Sounds Telegraphically.” Gray had been using liquid transmitters in his telephone experiments for more than two years; an innovation which mysteriously turned up in Bell’s technology after Gray filed his patent...In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover how Bell’s deaf wife and mother inspired his interest in the human voice; reveal Queen Victoria’s thoughts on being presented with the new technology; and declare which of the two men was the ‘Tesla’ of the race to invent the telephone…Further Reading:• ‘Ahoy! Alexander Graham Bell and the first telephone call’ (Science Museum): https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/ahoy-alexander-graham-bell-and-first-telephone-call• The Invention and Evolution of the Telephone (ThoughtCo, 2021): https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-telephone-alexander-graham-bell-1991380• ‘The life and work of Alexander Graham Bell (dramatisation)’ (BBC Teach, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n_5jG_9fAE#Victorian #Inventions #TechnologyWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/2/2023 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

‘Cafe coronaries’ were a fact of life until The Journal of Emergency Medicine published details of The Heimlich Manoeuvre on June 1, 1974.In so doing, they made a household name of thoracic surgeon Henry Heimlich, and saved countless diners from choking in restaurants.In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca examine whether Heimlich’s notoriety was truly deserved; explain how his Hollywood connections helped him spread the word of his achievements; and revisit his misguided pursuit of malariotherapy as a treatment for HIV...Further Reading:• Henry Heimlich administers his manoeuvre on Johnny Carson and Angie Dickinson - ‘The Tonight Show’ (1979): https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1850117411675283• Peter Heimlich’s critical blog about his father’s legacy: https://www.medfraud.info/• Dr Henry’s Emergency Lessons For People (1980): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmHm8OOz8P8#70s #Science #Inventions #Food #White #US‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/1/2023 • 10 minutes, 14 seconds

Viral megahit ‘Gangnam Style’, by South Korean pop star Psy, became the first video to reach 2 billion plays on YouTube, on May 31st, 2014.The EDM/K-Pop banger, released in 2012 as the lead single from Psy’s sixth studio album, parodied the nouveau riche lifestyles associated with the Gangnam region of Seoul. But it was the video, with its iconic horse dance, that became a cultural phenomenon, with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailing it as a force for world peace.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the song literally smashed YouTube’s views counter; reveal the health risks inherent in imitating its choreography; and reveal what Psy and Peter Kay have in common…Further Reading:‘PSY’s “Gangnam Style” Changed Pop Music, Whether You Like It Or Not’ (Pitchfork, 2017): https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/psys-gangnam-style-changed-pop-music-whether-you-like-it-or-not/‘Psy’s 'Gangnam Style': Celebrating 10 Years of YouTube’s Billion Views Club’ (YouTube, 2022): https://blog.youtube/creator-and-artist-stories/10-years-of-youtubes-billion-views-club-psy-gangnam-style• ‘PSY - GANGNAM STYLE(강남스타일)’ (YG Entertainment, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0#2010s #Internet #Music #KoreaLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/31/2023 • 10 minutes, 51 seconds

The most significant rebellion of the Medieval era, the so-called Peasant’s Revolt, kicked off in Brentwood, Essex on 30th May, 1381, when tax collector John Bampton attempted to collect unpaid poll tax.The protest triggered a violent confrontation, rapidly spreading across the south-east of the country. Within a month, the rebels were marching towards London, massacring merchants and razing the palace of the king’s uncle, John of Gaunt.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether the protestors really were ‘peasants’ at all; appraise 14 year-old king Richard II’s handling of their appeasem*nt; and explain how, despite the horrific hardship of the Black Death, the working classes had, for once, something of an advantage…Further Reading:‘The Peasants' Revolt Of 1381: A Guide’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/your-guide-peasants-revolt-facts-timeline/‘Peasants' Revolt’ (British Library): https://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item132518.html‘The Untold Story Of The 1381 Peasants Revolt’ (Timeline, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kq9sbtFCR8&t=2s#Medieval #Politics #Protest #UKLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/30/2023 • 11 minutes, 40 seconds

A coalition of Australian community groups came together on May 26th, 1998 for the country’s first “National Sorry Day”, an annual day of atonement for the social-engineering policy that ripped an estimated 50,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families between 1910 and the 1970s.The first Sorry Day was marked with 300 events around the nation, and more than 1,000 people attended a ceremony in Parliament House, Canberra, but it took Australia’s government another decade to utter an official apology.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how in the Year 2000, skywriters turned the heavens into the biggest billboard of apology ever; speculate on whether Australia Day will be abolished due to its colonial associations; and discover that there is in fact one word that is harder to say than “sorry”… Content warning: This episode contains discussion of the Stolen Generations, which may be distressing to some listeners. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that the episode also contains mentions of deceased people.Further Reading:• ‘From the Archives, 1998: Thousands say sorry, but not PM’ (The Age, 1998): https://www.theage.com.au/national/from-the-archives-1998-thousands-say-sorry-but-not-pm-20210521-p57tyr.html • ‘Peter Dutton says it was a 'mistake' walking out on the apology to the Stolen Generations’ (The Daily Mail, 2022): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10866871/Peter-Dutton-admits-mistake-boycotted-national-apology-Stolen-Generations.html • ‘This Is Why Australia Has “National Sorry Day”’ (Time, 2015): https://time.com/3890518/national-sorry-day/ • ‘Australia's first “Sorry Day” (1998)’ (ABC Australia, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OKsoqqXttE #1990s #Australia #IndigenousWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/26/2023 • 10 minutes, 57 seconds

Rerun. Chinese citizens were once again able to read and perform the works of William Shakespeare on 25th May, 1977.Chiang Ching, Chairman Mao’s wife, had instituted the ban eleven years earlier - amidst concerns that the Bard’s works could be reinterpreted to undermine the Party’s rule and ideology.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion ask why British Literature has enjoyed a reversal of fortune under President Xi; reveal how Shakespeare’s childhood home is connected to The Venetian, Las Vegas; and recall a surprising fact about One True Voice’s forgotten hit, ‘If I Had Shakespeare’s Way With Words’...Further Reading:• An article on the ban from History: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chinese-government-removes-ban-on-shakespeare• One True Voice. You have been warned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zptNzFv4uIU#70s #Arts #Asian #Theatre #Politics #China‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/25/2023 • 10 minutes, 13 seconds

The biggest hit of 1969, bubblegum pop song “Sugar, Sugar” was released on 24th May. The songwriters, Jeff Barry and Andy Kim, had a strong pedigree in penning 60s anthems. But the band itself was fictional - simply studio musicians providing a soundtrack to the Saturday morning TV cartoon ‘The Archie Show’, inspired by the Archie Comics.The brainchild of promoter Don Kirshner, creator of the Monkees, the concept of establishing a band based on cartoon characters meant he could better control his performers. But it did present problems when they were called upon to perform live! In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why this classic earworm is so naggingly addictive; explain why DJs were initially loathe to play it; and uncover The Archies’ more ‘adult’ follow-on album…Further Reading:‘The Surprising Origins of the Archies' 'Sugar Sugar'’ (CBR, 2018): https://www.cbr.com/archies-sugar-sugar-origins/‘Were the Archies Decades Ahead of Their Time?’ (Rolling Stone, 2021): https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/were-the-archies-review-1272309/‘The Archies - Sugar, Sugar’ (Calendar RCA Records, 1969): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX28cgKHHyc#60s #music #comics #TVLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/24/2023 • 9 minutes, 47 seconds

Hanged for piracy and murder, sea captain William Kidd was executed in Wapping on 23rd May, 1701. From the gallows he proclaimed to the large assembled crowd that he was innocent of the crimes, as he was a licensed privateer. The vessel he’d captured, the Quedagh Merchant, was indeed sailing under a ‘French pass’ - though the documents that prove this lay unearthed until the 20th century. His trial was used by the governing Tory party as a political opportunity to embarrass his Whig sponsors, and he was convicted on all counts.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain what happened to his body after his botched hanging; reveal the extraordinary monetary value of his plunder; and explain how, despite his established prowess as a seaman, he became seen as a public enemy…Further Reading:‘Biography of Captain William Kidd, Scottish Pirate’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/captain-william-kidd-2136225‘The sacrifice of Captain Kidd’ (HistoryExtra, 2011): https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/the-sacrifice-of-captain-kidd/‘Accidental Pirate’ (National Geographic, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4aGvWzFoko#Pirates #1700s #MacabreLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/23/2023 • 10 minutes, 35 seconds

Namco’s ground-breaking arcade game Pac-Man had its first focus test in a Tokyo cinema foyer on May 22nd, 1980. Created by 24 year-old Toru Iwatani, it was originally called ‘Puck-Man’ and designed to appeal to women as well as men.Each of the ghosts - Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde - was programmed to have its own personality using AI routines, creating a sense of ‘character’ despite the pixelated rendering. Atari declined the opportunity to distribute the game in the U.S. - where, in just a year, it generated $1billion of revenue - in quarters…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the gameplay wipes out after 256 levels; explore the craze that saw a Pac-man strategy textbook shift one million copies; and consider why the game’s name was changed to avoid some unfortunate graffiti… Further Reading:• ‘The game that ate the world: 40 facts on Pac-Man's 40th birthday’ (The Guardian, 2020): https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/may/22/pac-man-video-game-40-years-old• ‘Why Players Around the World Gobbled Up Pac-Man’ (Smithsonian Magazine): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-players-around-world-gobbled-up-pac-man-180974902/• ‘Pac-Man Level 256 - the last level in the game’ (The Glitch Gamer, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcI42czB2q4#Gaming #Japan #80sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon.podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/22/2023 • 10 minutes, 39 seconds

It’s our birthday 🥳! Our show is now TWO years old, with over 600 episodes in the bank - but we want to keep making even more. And we need your help to do that.If you enjoy our daily, independent podcast, please please support the show and help us keep the lights on! For as little as £1 per week, you can sustain our showbiz careers, skip the ads AND nab yourself some tasty exclusives.Just join our fanclub, 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴, on Patreon or Apple Podcasts, and you can access:•An exclusive SUNDAY episode, each and every week!•An ad-free feed, wherever you listen! •Weekly Bonus material!•Our archive of over 100 bonus bits, outtakes and behind-the-scenes content!You can cancel whenever you like. So, what are you waiting for? Join the Club!APPLE PODCASTS: https://apple.co/3xCWWQXPATREON: https://patreon.com/Retrospectors… and, if you do, we’ll see you with your weekly Sunday Episode tomorrow.x Arion, Rebecca, and Olly - The Retrospectors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/20/2023 • 4 minutes, 52 seconds

Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s musical comedy-drama ‘Glee’ was first screened on Fox on May 19th, 2009. In a strategy to whip up excitement before the season premiere in the Autumn, the network showed the pilot in a plum post-‘American Idol’ slot, and then besieged websites and social networks with advertisem*nts over the Summer.The strategy worked - justifying ‘Glee’s enormous budget, relatively unknown cast, and complex musical rights negotiations - and by the end of 2009 the show had generated 25 Billboard Hot 100 hits from its soundtrack.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how this tightly-structured pilot cunningly conceals its Broadway roots whilst introducing its cast of characters; consider how the success of the series launched Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ onto an unsuspecting UK; and consider whether the show’s happy vibes had the good fortune to launch in the midst of the financial crisis…Further Reading:• ‘Glee Pilot Oral History, Part 4: The Premiere’ (Out Magazine, 2015): https://www.out.com/television/2015/3/19/glee-pilot-oral-history-part-4-premiere• ‘How Ryan Murphy Became the Most Powerful Man in TV’ (The New Yorker, 2018): https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/14/how-ryan-murphy-became-the-most-powerful-man-in-tv• ‘Glee Pilot Promo - May 19th, 2009’ (Fox, 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5O28G7TgOw#TV #LGBT #Music #2000sWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/19/2023 • 10 minutes, 41 seconds

Bram Stoker’s Dracula was first introduced to the world NOT via his canonical novel, but rather in the pages of a seldom-performed - and by all accounts appalling - play-reading at London's Lyceum Theatre on 18th May, 1897.The stage version was not intended to reach a mass audience; but was rather a clever wheeze of Stoker’s to ensure he was recognised as the creator of his iconic characters - as the script needed to be rubber-stamped by the Lord Chamberlain's office prior to performance.In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the copyright battle Stoker’s widow nonetheless endured with the makers of ‘Romanian knock-off’ ‘Nosferatu’, consider the benefits of Stoker’s ‘found footage’ approach to authorship, and reveal how an incident in Rhode Island, of all places, may have inspired Stoker to write his play... Further Reading:• Some pages from Stoker’s manuscript at the British Library: https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/bram-stokers-stage-adaptation-of-dracula#• Watch ‘Nosferatu’, on Timeless Classic Movies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC6jFoYm3xs• Stoker’s life at the Lyceum in ‘Henry Irving & Bram Stoker: A Working Relationship’ from The Irving Society: https://www.theirvingsociety.org.uk/henry-irving-bram-stoker-a-working-relationship/‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAYJoin now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/18/2023 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds

The supposedly p*rnographic lyrics of garageband classic “Louie Louie” by the Kingsmen were, improbably, thoroughly investigated by the FBI, who reached a conclusion on May 17th, 1965, when the FBI Laboratory declared the lyrics to be “officially unintelligible”. The FBI had spent two years analyzing the song, consulting outraged parents, and playing it at different speeds to uncover hidden obscenities.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the controversy helped cement the reputation of this punk pop classic; explain how ‘Louie Louie marathons’ also played a part in the song’s virality; and reveal that there actually IS a hidden obscenity on the track…Further Reading:‘The FBI Investigated the Song ‘Louie Louie’ for Two Years’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2013): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-fbi-investigated-the-song-louie-louie-for-two-years-78752777/‘‘Louie, Louie’, the most misunderstood song in history’ (Far Out Magazine, 2021): https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-kingsmen-louie-louie-fbi-investigation/‘The Kingsmen - Louie Louie’ (Wand Records, 1963): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EqzTiDc-1k#60s #US #Strange #MusicLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/17/2023 • 10 minutes, 43 seconds

Socialite, wit and fashion influencer Beau Brummell fled to France on 16th May, 1816, in order to escape his creditors, from whom he had racked up around £600,000 of gambling debts.Staying at Dessin’s Hotel, he entertained in his apartments while learning French and writing his memoirs, biding his time until his bestie George IV appointed him to the British consul in nearby Caen. But the position lasted only two years, and eventually he was jailed for his mounting debts in France.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly track the highs and lows of this iconic dandy’s relationship with the Palace; consider how his career in the consulate came to such a rapid end; and explore his influence on gentleman’s fashion ever since… Further Reading:• ‘Beau Brummell - The Ultimate Man of Style, By Ian Kelly’ (Atria Books, 2013):  https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Beau_Brummell/z0bihH_cbTgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Beau+Brummell&printsec=frontcover• ‘Regency London: Where did the Ton spend their time?’ (Britain Magazine, 2023): https://www.britain-magazine.com/featured/regency-london-where-did-the-ton-spend-their-time/• ‘Beau Brummell: The First Menswear Influencer?’ (Gentleman’s Gazette, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBgVvvGHFiMLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/16/2023 • 11 minutes, 30 seconds

Ellen Church became the first ever airline stewardess on May 15th, 1930 - when she took to the skies with a Boeing Air Transport flight from Oakland, California to Chicago. A licensed airplane pilot, she’d approached the airline to inquire about flying planes, but, when she was told that in fact they didn’t employ women at all, she suggested that they put registered nurses like herself aboard to care for the passengers - and was hired to recruit and train seven additional women for the role. Candidates needed to be no taller than 5 feet, 4 inches; not more than 25 years old… and single. Their salary was $125.00 per month.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the seemingly never-ending list of safety responsibilities given to this first generation of ‘Sky Girls’; unpick the sexist recruitment policies underpinning their employment; and discover some of the most sexualised ad-campaigns of all time…Further Reading:• ‘Flight Attendants of History: How the First Stewardess Got Her Job’ (Time, 2015): https://time.com/3847732/first-stewardess-ellen-church/• ‘Shaking up a co*cktail, tucking passengers into bed and calming nervous flyers: Fascinating vintage photos reveal life in the sky for the first air hostesses of the 1930's’ (Mail Online, 2015): https://rb.gy/h01wa• ‘Southwest Airlines’ - commercial circa 1972: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR7JApjgIGwLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. We'll be back tomorrow!: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/15/2023 • 10 minutes, 45 seconds

Richard the Lionheart was a bachelor into his thirties, but finally got hitched on May 12th, 1191, at the Chapel of St. George at Limassol, Cyprus. His Bride? Berengaria of Navarre, daughter of King Sancho VI - a key ally in extending his Kingdom across Europe. Sure, he may have already slept with her brother, but hey, that’s less awkward than marrying his original betrothed princess, his father’s mistress. The marriage was indifferent and potentially unconsummated; Berengaria becoming the only English Queen in history never to set foot in England.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the happy couple came to be wed in Cyprus in the first place; investigate whether it really is sacrilegious to get married over Lent; and consider historians’ claims that Richard’s proclivity for sharing a bed with the King of France was *purely symbolic*...Further Reading:• 8 Surprising Facts About Medieval King Richard the Lionheart (HistoryExtra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/8-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-richard-the-lionheart/• ‘Berengaria of Navarre: Queen Consort to Richard I’ (ThoughtCo, 2020): https://www.thoughtco.com/berengaria-of-navarre-3529619• ‘LGBTQ Kings & Queen of England’ (History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eeJqrJ84Xs#Royals #1100s #Cyprus #LGBTWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/12/2023 • 9 minutes, 38 seconds

Rerun.At a cost of £2m, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical ‘Cats’ premiered at the New London Theatre on 11th May, 1981 – and the world had never seen anything like it. With a cast including Brian Blessed and Elaine Paige, the original production was innovative, sexy, creepy, bizarre – and an enormous gamble for the impresarios who backed it.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion look back at the original reviews for the show, consider whether John Napier’s award-winning costume design was actually incredibly lazy, and reveal how the show’s signature song, ‘Memory’, nearly didn’t happen at all…Further reading:• Elaine Paige performs ‘Memory’ in the original production:• Sue MacGregor interviews the cast and crew for Radio 4’s ‘The Reunion’:https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008jyn• ‘Cats’ – a timeline from London’s Evening Standard:https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/cats-musical-history-a4439316.html‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/11/2023 • 10 minutes, 59 seconds

Evan ‘The Strangler’ Lewis took on English wrestling champion Jack Wannop on May 10th, 1888 at Chicago’s Battery D Armoury: the first, and much-anticipated, wrestling ‘Championship of the World’.Lewis was banned from performing his signature move - similar to a rear naked choke as seen in mixed martial arts now - but nonetheless secured a decisive victory over Wannop, who was “nearly killed”, according to The Sporting Life.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the Royal family’s interest in the burgeoning sport had to be kept on the down-low; consider whether Wannop deliberately threw the match because he was bribed by gangsters; and reveal how, decades later, he was still re-living his glory days - but this time on the London stage…Further Reading:• ‘For Blood and Money: Jack Wannop V Evan ‘The Strangler’ Lewis’ (Grappling With History, 2019): https://grapplingwithhistory.com/2019/06/13/for-blood-and-money/• ‘Bare-knuckle boys: The history of Victorian boxing and wrestling’ (Who Do You Think You Are Magazine, 2023): https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/feature/victorian-boxing/• ‘Standing Rear Naked Choke Finishes in UFC History’ (UFC, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OO5CWZLbxI#1800s #US #SportLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/10/2023 • 10 minutes, 38 seconds

Punch and Judy shows, a staple of the British seaside, evolved from the ‘Pulcinella’ marionette shows performed by Italian puppet showman Pietro Gimonde, first spotted by diarist Samuel Pepys in Covent Garden on May 9th, 1662. The show was so popular that Gimonde was summoned to give a Royal Command Performance for the King.Traveling puppeteers took the trend to fairs and markets, and the cast of characters grew to include a baby, a policeman, a crocodile, and a string of sausages. The spectacle was known for its slapstick humor and Punch’s catchphrase “That’s the way to do it!”.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why Punch’s wife ‘Joan’ was dumped in favour of ‘Judy’; discover that the pearl-clutching concerns of exposing children to Mr Punch’s ultra-violence are nothing new; and consider the risks of using a ‘swazzle’...  Further Reading:• ‘That's the Way to Do it! A History of Punch and Judy’ (Victoria and Albert Museum): http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/thats-the-way-to-do-it%21-a-history-of-punch-and-judy/• ‘Mr Punch celebrates 350 years of puppet anarchy’ (BBC News, 2012): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17895716• ‘Interviewing Mr Punch’ (Anglia TV): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v_5POyoVl8#Theatre #1600s #Italy #London Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/9/2023 • 10 minutes, 3 seconds

Trainspotter Keron Thomas was just 16 when he impersonated a subway motorman and took control of an A train in New York City on May 8th, 1993. His actions went unnoticed by his passengers, who were safely picked up and discharged at 85 stops along the route - until he slightly exceeded the speed limit, triggering the automatic brake.Thomas, originally from Trinidad, had been fascinated with trains since childhood and had studied the subway system extensively; even obtaining an official rule book and motorman’s uniform. Despite being arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and criminal impersonation, his ‘joyride’ was widely applauded and he became something of a folk hero.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Thomas very nearly got away with his japes; consider how his treatment by the NYPD might have differed in post-911 New York; and reveal the school nickname he adopted after his adventures…Further Reading:‘MOTORMAN TAKES CITY FOR A RIDE’ (The Washington Post, 1993): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/05/12/motorman-takes-city-for-a-ride/b5a1f7b0-61e4-4aeb-bbe1-1305fea61f64/‘Can I See Your I.D.? True Stories of False Identities - By Chris Barton’ (Penguin Young Readers Group, 2011): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Can_I_See_Your_I_D_True_Stories_of_False/dTu03PnnakYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=keron+thomas+subway&pg=PT5&printsec=frontcover‘Brooklyn boy takes A train for joyride’ (PIX11 News, 1993): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ql9NW0qqP0#NewYork #90s #Black #PersonLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/8/2023 • 10 minutes, 48 seconds

The Magna Carta would not have become law unless a group of Barons had first renounced their allegiance to King John on 5th May, 1215. Primarily protecting their own interests, they were keen to prevent John burdening them with ever-higher taxes to fund his seemingly endless Wars. Even once agreed, the now-revered document contained some surprising clauses: for example a law preventing members of a particular family ever serving as a Royal officer; and another stating that, ‘no one should be arrested or imprisoned on the appeal of a woman, for the death of any person except her husband.’In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the legal loopholes John had previously exploited to enforce his tax hikes; consider the tricky business of trying to get a rapid response from the Pope; and reveal the Magna Carta’s original title… Further Reading:• ‘King John and the Magna Carta - The Magna Carta’ (BBC Bitesize): https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zcyx2v4/articles/zcg66g8• ‘Magna Carta - The True Story Behind the Charter - By David Starkey’ (Hodder & Stoughton, 2015): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Magna_Carta/JtCVBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=article+of+the+barons&printsec=frontcover• ‘Horrible Histories Song - Magna Carta 800 Years’ (CBBC, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTWQzF1027I#1200s #Royals #UKWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/5/2023 • 10 minutes, 6 seconds

Rerun.As British literacy rates surged to a new high of 97%, the time was right to launch a simpler, shorter, more readable newspaper - and Alfred Harmsworth’s Daily Mail caught the zeitgeist when it hit the news-stands (at the eye-catching price of just half a penny) on 4th May, 1896.The new paper attracted half a million daily readers by the end of the century, drawn in by its American-inspired mix of provocative political commentary, human interest and sentiment.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Mail innovated faster national and international distribution; chart Harmsworth (later Lord Northcliffe)’s progress to becoming the Rupert Murdoch of his day; and explain how, by the 1930s, this very British institution was championing Hitler…Further Reading:• The Daily Mail - First Edition (Associated Newspapers, 1896):https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oYc4qln-cac/Tz_TRp8hfFI/AAAAAAAAAhM/iM-U3hiquB4/s1600/P1000838.JPG• ‘Lord Northcliffe – The Press baron at the heart of World War One’ (Cardiff University, 2016): https://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/musicresearch/lord-northcliffe-the-press-baron-at-the-heart-of-world-war-one/• ‘Prime Ministers and Press Barons: Lord Northcliffe’ (BBC, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHmImZhYK4w‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/4/2023 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

In a full-page ad published in the Hollywood Reporter on 3rd May 1938, the Independent Theater Owners Association blamed declining ticket sales on some of the era’s biggest names in cinema, including Mae West, Greta Garbo and Katharine Hepburn – all of whom were labelled “box office poison.” The attention-grabbing tagline quickly took on a life of its own and within just four days, more than thirty newspapers across the US had reported on the story.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why movie ticket sales were actually dropping off towards the end of the 1930s; revisit how the stars who were named in the ad attempted to laugh the accusation off; and debate who is the box office poison of today…Further Reading:• ‘Why The Legendary Katharine Hepburn Was Declared “Box Office Poison”’ (Slashfilm, 2023): https://www.slashfilm.com/921488/why-the-legendary-katherine-hepburn-was-declared-box-office-poison/ • ‘Poison at the box office’ (Vienna’s Classic Hollywood, 2020): https://viennasclassichollywood.com/2020/06/01/poison-at-the-box-office/ • ‘Box Office Poison - Celebrities Canceled in the Golden Age of Hollywood’ (Classic Kelly, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Hx6_7mlb4 Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/3/2023 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

Scientists from around the world gathered in Rome on 2nd May 1922 to agree on a definitive list of 88 constellations, which up until then had been an astronomical free-for-all.The collection of eminent astronomers eventually settled on 42 animals, 29 inanimate objects and 17 humans or mythological characters, which, taken together, offered a complete map of the skies for the very first time.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how different ancient civilisations around the world understood the heavens differently; marvel at the immense contribution of Ancient Greeks to contemporary astronomy; and discuss why Antinous, the boy lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian, is the greatest constellation no longer in use… Further Reading:• ‘10 Constellations that Never Caught On’ (Mental Floss, 2010): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/49454/10-constellations-never-caught • ‘The Constellations’ (IAU, 2001): https://www.iau.org/public/themes/constellations/ • ‘Pictures in the sky: the origin and history of the constellations’ (The Royal Society, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZm-QaKqS-Y&t=271s #1920s #Space #Europe #ScienceLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/2/2023 • 9 minutes, 42 seconds

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown dealt his party’s reelection campaign a massive blow on 28th April 2010, when during a meet-and-greet in the marginal constituency of Rochdale, he was caught on microphone calling one of his own supporters, Gillian Duffy, a bigot.Duffy had engaged the PM in a long conversation about many things, including local concerns about the influx of migrants to the area and the strain that the increased population was having on the local economy. After he finished speaking with her, Brown was ushered into his car where a microphone picked up his now immortal quote: “That was a disaster... should never have put me with that woman. She was just a sort of bigoted woman who said she used to be Labour.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Brown probably wasn’t going to win the 2010 election anyway; speculate on why a relatively harmless exchange got under the PM’s skin; and recall another spectacularly cringeworthy moment when Brown was unable to name any songs by his favourite band… Further Reading:• ‘Bigotgate’ 10 years on: The full exchange between Gordon Brown and Gillian Duffy’ (The Independent, 2020): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/bigotgate-gordon-brown-anniversary-gillian-duffy-transcript-full-read-1957274.html • ‘Gordon Brown still hasn’t learned his lesson from Bigotgate’ (The Spectator, 2017): https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/gordon-brown-still-hasn-t-learned-his-lesson-from-bigotgate/ • ‘Gordon Brown calls Labour supporter a "bigoted woman"’ (Sky News, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEReCN9gO14 #2010s #UK #politicsWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/28/2023 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

Rerun.King Henri III of France had a favourite group of young courtiers – his ‘mignons’ (or ‘cuties’, ‘sweeties’, or ‘‘darlings’) – known for dressing in an effeminate and eye-catching style. On 27th April, 1578, they engaged in a bloody duel with a rival gang in a battle that came to be known as ‘The Duel of the Mignons’.Was it a ‘beautiful’ battle, a classical allusion to Roman combat, as some scribes argued? Or, as the King himself concluded, a pointless – and rather farcical – loss of life?In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore Henri’s ‘mummy’s boy’ reputation; reveal how many Frenchmen slaughtered each other in this fashion during the five bloody decades from 1575; and explain why, when turning up at a sunrise duel, it’s always best to remember your dagger…Further Reading:• ‘King Henri III and His Mignons’ (The Gay & Lesbian Review, 2020): https://glreview.org/article/king-henri-iii-and-his-mignons/• ‘On this day in history: Duel of the Mignons, 1578’ (The Modern Historian, 2012): http://modernhistorian.blogspot.com/2012/04/on-this-day-in-history-duel-of-mignons.html• ‘The King’s darlings – The Mignons’ (Whitehall Moll History Clips): https://youtu.be/EBfrDLUkmEY‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/27/2023 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

On 26th April 1859 Congressman Daniel Sickles’ claimed the dubious honour of becoming the first person in US history to successfully escape a murder charge using the insanity defence, even though pretty much nobody thought he was insane.Sickles freely admitted that he had shot and killed US District Attorney Philip Barton Key near Lafayette Park in Washington D.C. following his wife’s confession the previous day of her protracted affair with Key. But as it turned out, Sickles’ enormous popularity proved a great asset in court, and the jury needed only 70 minutes to deliberate before returning their verdict that Sickles was not guilty on the grounds of temporary insanity.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Sickles’ crack team of lawyers brought up Shakespeare's Othello in court; marvel at how an enterprising theatre managed to stage a play depicting Sickles’ trial just a week after the case finished; and discuss why every Civil War general except Sickles was commemorated with a statue at Gettysburg…Further Reading:• ‘Temporarily insane’: A congressman, a sensational killing and a new legal defense’ (The Washington Post, 2018): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/03/02/temporarily-insane-a-congressman-a-sensational-killing-and-a-new-legal-defense/ • ‘How Congressman Daniel Sickles Admitted To Killing His Wife’s Lover And Got Away With It’ (All That’s Interesting, 2020): https://allthatsinteresting.com/dan-sickles • ‘Daniel Sickles' Temporary Insanity’ (The History Guy, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVQkpTxGtwA #1800s #US #CrimeLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/26/2023 • 10 minutes, 39 seconds

The German poet and journalist Heinrich Heine coined the term “Lisztomania” on 25th April 1844 to describe the phenomenon of frenzied fandom in Europe where women would physically assault Franz Liszt by tearing his clothes, fighting over broken piano strings and locks of his shoulder-length hair.Heine said there was something about Liszt’s performances that “raised the mood of audiences to a level of mystical ecstasy” – which seemed to be a result of the combination of his good looks, his charisma and his stage presence.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Liszt created an almost parasocial relationship with his fan base; investigate why critics are still reproving of expressive concert pianists to this day; and discuss whether the Heine was trying to extort money from performers like Liszt in exchange for better reviews… Further Reading:• ‘The Virtuoso Liszt’ (Cambridge University Press, 2002): The Virtuoso Liszt - Google Books: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Virtuoso_Liszt/koSQAjlxeOIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=lisztomania&pg=PA203&printsec=frontcover• ‘Forget the Beatles – Liszt was music's first “superstar”’ (BBC Culture, 2016): https://shorturl.at/eipIP• ‘Lisztomania: the 19th-century pop phenomenon that made Beatlemania look tame’ (The Telegraph, 2019): https://shorturl.at/lwNOP• ‘Before Beatlemania, There Was Lisztomania’ (Great Big Story, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sjCA8OPobw Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/24/2023 • 10 minutes, 39 seconds

On 24th April 1644, the Chongzhen Emperor walked to Meishan, a small hill in present-day Jingshan Park and hanged himself on a tree, bringing a sudden end to the Ming dynasty.The writing had been on the wall for him for some time. By 1640, the unfortunate emperor faced multiple pandemics, an invasion, two internal rebellions, persistent drought, widespread famine, and an economic collapse.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the fifth son of a low ranking concubine ultimately became emperor; reveal wythe Chongzhen Emperor used to sleep clutching a sword at night; and reveal why in medieval China, the gods could grant a monarch a mandate to rule, but they could also take it away if they felt like it… Further Reading:• ‘A death on Coal Hill’ (The China Project, 2022): https://thechinaproject.com/2022/04/20/a-death-on-coal-hill/ • ‘The Fall of the Ming Dynasty in China in 1644’ (Thought Co., 2018): https://www.thoughtco.com/the-fall-of-the-ming-dynasty-3956385 • ‘Why did Ming explode into chaos? (Animated History)’ (Laith - The Social Streamers, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTBQJFOA-Tk CONTENT WARNING: suicide, mass suicide#1400s #ChinaLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/24/2023 • 10 minutes, 41 seconds

Germany’s most famous fighter pilot, Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (aka ‘The Red Baron’) was shot down near the Somme River on the Western Front, on 21st April 1918. He had been credited with an incredible 80 air combat victories during World War I. Originally a cavalryman, Richthofen transferred to the Imperial Air Service and downed 15 enemy planes by the end of 1916. He then headed up his own regiment, using a Fokker triplane painted entirely red; his unit becoming known as the ‘Flying Circus’ because of their brightly-coloured planes.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why even the Allies liked Richthofen; reveal why the Baron stopped printing up souvenir silverware for each of his kills; and consider the fate of the Broadway musical inspired by his heroism… Further Reading:• ‘History of Government: They seek him here… the life and death of the Red Baron’ (UK Government blog, 2018): https://history.blog.gov.uk/2018/04/20/they-seek-him-here-the-life-and-death-of-the-red-baron/• ‘Ace for the Ages: World War I Fighter Pilot Manfred von Richthofen’ (HistoryNet, 2006): https://www.historynet.com/red-baron-world-war-i-ace-fighter-pilot-manfred-von-richthofen/?f• ‘The Red Baron & The Flying Circus in full HD at 1080p’ (Historical Aviation Film Unit, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4lDB7lXFOg#Germany #War #1910sWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/21/2023 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

No European had returned alive from Timbuktu until French adventurer René Caillie, who arrived in the ‘City of Gold’ on 20th April, 1828 after an arduous year-long journey. He was fêted by the Société de Géographie in Paris, who awarded him 10,000 francs in recognition of his daring voyage - and his place in the history books was assured.But Caillie was disappointed by what he had found. “The city presented, at first view, nothing but a mass of ill-looking houses, built of earth,” he wrote. “Nothing was to be seen in all directions but immense plains of quicksand of a yellowish white colour ... all nature wore a dreary aspect."In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why a myth had grown up around the Malian city; reveal how Caillie got away with pretending to be Muslim; and dig up the Société’s impressively exhaustive list of evidence required to prove he had been there…Further Reading:• Who, What, Why: Why do we know Timbuktu?’ (BBC News, 2012): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17583772• ‘Foreign Policy: Timbuktu, Lost City’ (NPR, 2012): https://www.npr.org/2012/07/11/156602241/foreign-policy-timbuktu-lost-city• ‘Timbuktu’ (UNESCO, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4V-QAzKQ3A‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/20/2023 • 10 minutes, 6 seconds

Thirty million viewers watched Hollywood star Grace Kelly marry Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, on April 19th, 1956. The Royal wedding, at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Monte Carlo, was filmed by MGM as a condition of releasing Kelly from her studio contract. The couple had met after being put together for a magazine photoshoot at the Cannes Film Festival and were engaged within a few weeks of courting - despite the fact Kelly was already engaged to somebody else.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick Kelly’s iconic gown, made of 274m of lace and 91m of silk; reveal why she had been forced to have a medical examination before the big day; and consider the co*cktail menu that would have had the wedding guests feeling especially woozy… Further Reading:• ‘Grace Kelly’s Forever Look’ (Vanity Fair, 2010): https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2010/05/grace-kelly-201005• ‘Why Grace Kelly, Hollywood icon, had to pay to become a princess’ (NY Post, 2021): https://nypost.com/2021/04/08/why-grace-kelly-hollywood-icon-had-to-pay-to-become-a-princess/• ‘Grace Kelly Marries Prince Rainer III’ (MGM, 1956): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiOKFzRHm14#France #Hollywood #50s #Royals #FashionLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/19/2023 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

Action Comics #1, published on April 18th, 1938, featured the first ever appearance of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s iconic superhero, Superman. The character already boasted invincibility, had a hopeless crush on Lois Lane, and an inexplicable penchant for wearing bright red underpants on the outside of his costume. But, as yet, he could not fly, did not live in Kansas, and did not work at the Daily Planet.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Siegel and Shuster came to sell the rights to their creation for a paltry $130; reveal the Jewish subtexts of Krypton and Batman; and consider whether Superman’s liberal politics prevented DC from fully embracing the character they’d unleashed… Further Reading:• ‘Action Comics #1: Superman’ (DC, 1938): https://archive.org/details/superman-1938-issue-1/mode/2up• ‘Superman at 80: The Jewish origins of the Man of Steel and the 'curse' that haunts the actors who play him’ (The Independent, 2018): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/superman-jewish-origins-film-adaptations-curse-jerry-siegel-christopher-reeve-henry-cavill-a8344461.html• ‘Superman’ (Columbia, 1948): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7soDPQUxpOk#30s #Publishing #Jewish #ComicsLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/18/2023 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

Oil tycoon Robert P. McCulloch purchased London Bridge for $2,460,000 on 17th April, 1968. The Victorian structure, which had been sinking into the River Thames at a rate of one inch every eight years, was then dismantled stone by stone and shipped to the USA, where it now bestrides Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The wheeze was the work of advertising executive-turned-London councilor Ivan Luckin, who convinced his colleagues that it might be possible to sell the bridge to pay for the costs of building a new one, and set about a marketing blitz including a press conference in New York in which he invoked the crossing’s illustrious Roman history.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the gaudy launch ceremony; debunk the myth that McCulloch thought he was buying Tower Bridge instead; and reveal that buying the bridge wasn’t even this eccentric entrepreneur’s wackiest idea…Further Reading:• ‘How London Bridge Ended Up In Arizona’ (HISTORY, 2016): https://www.history.com/news/how-london-bridge-ended-up-in-arizona• Inside Arizona's London Bridge (BBC, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnHy4_P8SCE• ‘London Bridge in America - The Tall Story of a Transatlantic Crossing, By Travis Elborough’ (Jonathan Cape, 2013): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/London_Bridge_in_America/n96uDvKN3ioC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ivan+Luckin&pg=PA271&printsec=frontcoverLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/17/2023 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Jamie Oliver blasted on to British screens when his first TV series, ‘The Naked Chef’ premiered on BBC Two on 14th April, 1999. Created by Pat Llewellyn for Optomen, the show was revolutionary for its use of jumpy, close-up camera work, and the presenter’s relaxed style and laddishness. The series and subsequent cookbook was credited with inspiring men to take to the kitchen, due to Oliver’s “blokey” approach and relatability - but also inspired a backlash against his ‘mockney’ delivery.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how fact met fiction when the TV set became Oliver’s real-life pad; reveal how the young chef was spotted in the background of another documentary entirely; and explore whether this phenomenon could have happened in any era other than Britpop Britain…  Further Reading:• ‘The Oral History of Jamie Oliver's 'The Naked Chef'’ (VICE, 2019): https://www.vice.com/en/article/7xgpyb/the-oral-history-of-jamie-olivers-the-naked-chef• ‘Jamie Oliver remembers incredibly special milestone with fans’ (HELLO!, 2019): https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/2019071875453/jamie-oliver-naked-chef-throwback-20th-anniversary/• ‘The Naked Chef - Season 1, Episode 1 - Chefs' Night Off’ (BBC/Optomen, 1999): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_gXQvmHL3I#UK #90s #TV #FoodWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/14/2023 • 10 minutes, 35 seconds

Joanna of Castile, was, as a young lady, remarked upon for her intellect and good companionship, and married off to prize catch Philip the Handsome - but by the time she died on 13th April, 1555 she was known colloquially by the name that’s stuck ever since: ‘Joanna The Mad’.She had, by then, spent 45 years in prison at the hands of her own family, who had a political advantage in exaggerating her moments of instability to keep control of her territories.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether Joanna’s problems can be traced back to her troubling childhood; reveal her disturbing behaviour whilst she grieved for her philandering husband; and consider her legacy as a prototype for the ‘mad woman in the attic’ seen in so much Western literature…Further Reading:‘The Intriguing Life of Joana of Castile, Who Slept With Her Husband's Corpse’ (Esquire, 2018): https://www.esquiremag.ph/the-good-life/pursuits/joanna-of-castile-history-a00208-20180428-lfrm‘Who Was Catherine of Aragon's Sister Juana la Loca in The Spanish Princess?’ (Town and Country, 2019): https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a27786471/catherine-of-aragon-sister-juana-la-loca-spanish-princess/‘Juana la Loca, Rap Histórico’ (Academia Play, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddlYsTO8bcM‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/13/2023 • 10 minutes, 42 seconds

Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake in Apple to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak on 12th April, 1976 - having been a co-founder of the company just 11 days earlier. He received back his initial investment of $800, which would now be worth over $1 billion.However, despite this often being cited as one of the worst business decisions in history, Wayne maintains that he made the right decision - because, as the ‘adult in the room’, his personal assets had been on the line had the burgeoning computer company gone into administration. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore Wayne’s suggestion that he would have become the ‘richest man in the cemetery’ had he stayed on-board; check out his original logo - which looks more like a woodcut than an iconic brand design; and reveal a further disastrous financial calculation he made after Apple became a household name…Further Reading:• ‘Apple at 40: The forgotten founder who gave it all away’ (BBC News, 2016): https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35940300• ‘Apple’s lost founder: Jobs, Woz and Wayne’ (The Mercury News, 2010):https://www.mercurynews.com/2010/06/02/apples-lost-founder-jobs-woz-and-wayne/• ‘Meet Ronald Wayne, The Forgotten Third Co-Founder Of Apple’ (Inside Tech, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWuCPsnWWigLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/12/2023 • 9 minutes, 39 seconds

The Stone of Scone, an oblong block of red sandstone used for centuries in the coronation of British monarchs, was recovered by Police on April 11th, 1951; three and a half months after its removal from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day.Four Scottish students from the University of Glasgow (Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon, Kay Matheson and Alan Stuart) stole the stone in the hope it could boost interest in Scottish nationalism. Instead, it seemed to provoke a national discussion about where the stone - which they’d accidentally split in two before bungling it into their Ford Anglia - should now reside.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly decode the religious myths surrounding this ‘stone of destiny’; explain why Charles III *will* want it to ‘groan’ when he sits on it; and reveal the ingenious way the authorities tracked the stone up to Arbroath… Further Reading:• ‘Theft of the Stone of Scone’ (The Guardian, 2007): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/dec/29/featuresreviews.guardianreview• ‘The students who stole the Stone of Destiny’ (BBC News): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-63130942• ‘Coronation Stone of Scone discovered in Scotland’ (Gaumont, 1951): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-ni0XrAmtALove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/11/2023 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

George Eastman filed a patent for the first ever celluloid roll film on 6th April, 1889 – an incremental development following the release of the first Kodak handheld camera, released in 1888, but a truly significant one.Eastman’s original products came preloaded with film, and were marketed as “convenient as a field-glass”. For $10, customers could take 100 shots which were then developed by Kodak at their factory in Rochester, New York.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover why Eastman’s advertising nous was years ahead of its time; explain how Kodak soon became the world’s leading supplier of film stock; and reveal that his company wasn’t as tardy about the coming digital photographic revolution as you might imagine… Content Warning: SuicideFurther Reading:• ‘George Eastman and the Kodak Camera’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/george-eastman-history-of-kodak-1991619• ‘Kodak inventor George Eastman’s perfectly planned death’ (news.com.au, 2019): https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/the-perfectly-planned-death-of-kodak-inventor-george-eastman/news-story/8af9b9f21050cc95d4a306b21d198c08• ‘American Experience: The Wizard of Photography’ (PBS, 2000):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v0cUEBZSC4‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/6/2023 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Celebrity perfumes went mainstream on April 5th, 1991, when Elizabeth Taylor launched her most popular fragrance, White Diamonds, in a publicity blitz that included the Hollywood legend touring department stores across the US.The top notes are aldehydes, bergamot, neroli, orange and lily - but perhaps the fragrance most appealed because of the public perception of Taylor’s fierce endurance, overcoming setbacks in her career and dependency to drugs.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal Mae West’s buxom role in forwarding the development of Hollywood scents; recall how dubious celebrities from Peter Andre to Kermit The Frog subsequently took the path Taylor had blazed; and reveal just how much money the one-time Silver Screen legend made from her bottles of squizz…Further Reading:• ‘The 15 best (and worst) perfumes and fragrances by celebrities’ (Stuff NZ, 2021): https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/beauty/300382622/the-15-best-and-worst-perfumes-and-fragrances-by-celebrities• ‘Obsessions: Elizabeth Taylor, queen of cologne’ (CNN, 2011): http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/celebrity.news.gossip/03/25/taylor.celebrity.scents/index.html• ‘White Diamonds Starring Elizabeth Taylor’ (Estee Lauder, 1991): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjVfu8-Wp6s#90s #Hollywood #BusinessLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/5/2023 • 10 minutes, 11 seconds

Gerald Holtom’s CND symbol, known internationally as the ‘peace’ symbol, made its debut at a protest march by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament on 4th April, 1958. The march went from London to Aldermaston, where Britain’s nuclear weapons were and still are manufactured. Five hundred cardboard ‘lollipop sticks’ displaying the logo were produced - and it’s since scarcely been out of circulation as an anti-establishment plea for peace around the world.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly question whether Goya helped influence Holton’s iconic design; reveal how author J.B. Priestley had fermented the protests on this day; and consider the International Shoe Corporation’s dubious claim to the patent … Further Reading:• ‘The Peace Symbol: Beginnings and Evolution’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/the-peace-symbol-1779351#• ‘He gave his unforgettable work for nothing. Shouldn't the designer of the peace symbol be commemorated?’ (The Guardian, 2015): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/28/shouldnt-british-designer-gerard-holtom-of-peace-symbol-be-commemorated-paris-attacks• ‘Walter Wolfgang: 'why I marched to Aldermaston in 1958' (CND, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLqBUws7R8E#50s #UK #War #DesignLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/4/2023 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

Before the transcontinental telegraph, sending a message coast-to-coast in the United States could take up to a month via stagecoach. Until, that is, the opening of the Pony Express, on April 3, 1860.Its founders, William H. Russell, William Bradford Waddell and Alexander Majors, set up over 150 relay stations along a pioneer trail, recruiting wiry teenage lone riders (‘orphans preferred’) to make the precarious trek in a record-breaking ten days. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the employment clauses insisted upon by these entrepreneurs; consider how Buffalo Bill Cody enshrined the concept in the American frontier myth for generations; and explain why, if you thought a job as a mailman sounded risky, you *really* wouldn’t want to be posted at the relay stations…Further Reading:• ‘The Pony Express Was Short-Lived And Costly’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2015): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pony-express-was-short-lived-and-costly-180954986/• ‘Pony Express Debuts’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pony-express-debuts• ‘Trailer: The Pony Express’ (Paramount, 1953): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5va9JXedVo#1800s #US #AnimalsLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/3/2023 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

It became known as the ‘Skandalkonzert’: an evening of expressionist, experimental pieces at Vienna’s Great Hall of the Musikverein on March 31, 1913, which so disturbed the audience that rioting and slapping ensued, followed by a lawsuit. In time, it established the reputations of The Second Viennese School - a group of composers like Shoenberg and Weber, who sought to break away from the traditional tonal system and create a new form of classical music.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether it was simply the running order, not the artistic demands of the pieces, that truly upset the apple cart; reveal the extraordinary precautions Shoenberg put in place to prevent such an event recurring; and turn to Strauss for a zinger of a put-down…Further Reading:• ‘The Second Viennese School: Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern | The British Library’ (British Library): https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-music/articles/the-second-viennese-school• ‘Skandalkonzert’ (ASAP History, 2020): https://asaphistory.com/2020/03/31/03-31-skandalkonzert/• ‘Schoenberg explained in 10 Minutes’ (Samuel Andreyev, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjV3PBIWO2I#Music #1900s #Austria #JewishWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/31/2023 • 9 minutes, 55 seconds

Pain-free surgery eluded physicians for centuries, but 26-year-old Crawford Williamson Long successfully removed a tumour from the neck of patient James Venable on 30th March, 1842 - whilst Venable was anaesthetised with ether.Dr Long had come to appreciate the ‘exhilarating effects’ of ether as a result of attending drug-fuelled parties at medical school - known in his coterie as ‘ether frolics’ - and identifying that, whilst high on ether, he had bruised his body, yet not felt the impact.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Dr Long experimented on his friends, families and unwitting local youths before applying ether surgically; reveal how Queen Victoria caused chloroform to eclipse ether as the anaesthetic of choice for childbirth; and revisit the religious controversies that arose when doctors started ‘playing God’...Further Reading:• ‘The surprising (and Long) story of the first use of ether in surgery’ (The Conversation, 2019): https://theconversation.com/the-surprising-and-long-story-of-the-first-use-of-ether-in-surgery-113340• ‘March 30, 1842: It's Lights Out, Thanks to Ether’ (WIRED, 2007): https://www.wired.com/2007/03/march-30-1842-its-lights-out-thanks-to-ether/• ‘Georgia Stories: What Would Surgery Be Like Without Anaesthesia?’ (GPB, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG29p8iiZiE‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/30/2023 • 9 minutes, 52 seconds

A group of farmers digging a well in Xi’an, China, stumbled upon a life-sized human head made of clay on 29th March, 1974. It was the first indication that beneath the ground - close to the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor - was the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century: the Terracotta Army. The ‘army’ consists of more than 8,000 life-size soldiers, horses, and chariots, and was created to protect the emperor in the afterlife. The site has since become a popular tourist attraction and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the farmers were initially reluctant to go public with their findings; reveal how a finger of one of the figures ended up in a desk drawer in Philadelphia; and consider what this world-famous artefact has in common with the Cabbage Patch Dolls…Further Reading:• ‘Terra Cotta Soldiers on the March’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2009): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/terra-cotta-soldiers-on-the-march-30942673/• ’Uncovering China's Terracotta Army’ (History Extra, 2018): https://www.historyextra.com/period/uncovering-china-terracotta-army/• ‘Terracotta Army: The greatest archaeological find of the 20th century’ (BBC News, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c_ADqshdSA#China #Discoveries #ArtLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/29/2023 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

After a 23 year run that included introducing American audiences to The Beatles, Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones, the last original episode of ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ aired on CBS on March 28, 1971.The variety programme, which cost $8 million per year, fell victim to ‘the rural purge’, via which several iconic shows that appealed mainly to poorer and older demographics were axed in favour of screening old movies.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Sullivan was able to become a TV superstar, despite having no discernible talent for presentation; explain how the host’s advancing senility gave an early advantage to comedian Joan Rivers; and reveal whom this famously polite father figure deigned to call ‘bitch’…Further Reading:• ‘Right Here on Our Stage Tonight! - Ed Sullivan's America, By Gerald Nachman’ (University of California Press, 2009): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Right_Here_on_Our_Stage_Tonight/v7owDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ed+sullivan+show+28th+march+1971&pg=PA384&printsec=frontcover• ‘Ed Sullivan, Variety Show Host Influenced American Culture’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/ed-sullivan-4589827• ‘Elvis Presley performs "Hound Dog" on The Ed Sullivan Show’ (CBS, 1956): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNYWl13IWhY&list=PLQWND5qZhbj0nqnmye5U2g3Z-ai8wos4pLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/28/2023 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

When Marlon Brando won Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his role in The Godfather on March 27, 1973, he sent Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather in his place. Dressed in traditional Apache garb, she declined the award on Brando’s behalf, “And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry."Littlefeather’s appearance was met with a mix of boos and applause from the audience. But, before her death in 2022, the Academy honoured Littlefeather for her protest, calling it "a powerful statement on behalf of human dignity and against the marginalization of Indigenous people."In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca consider the lasting impact of this stark political moment; revisit Littlefeather’s earlier work for Playboy; and explain why, as a rumoured ‘Pretendian’, her ethnic identity continues to make headlines…Further Reading:• ‘A shocking moment in Oscars history, 50 years on’ (BBC Culture, 2023): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230302-the-most-shocking-moment-in-oscars-history-50-years-on• ‘Sacheen Littlefeather was a Native icon. Her sisters say she was an ethnic fraud’ (San Francisco Chronicle, 2022): https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Sacheen-Littlefeather-oscar-Native-pretendian-17520648.php• ’Marlon Brando's Best Actor Oscar win for "The Godfather"’ (Academy Awards, 1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QUacU0I4yU#Hollywood #70s #Native #RacismLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/27/2023 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

The first international women’s sports event, The Women’s Olympiad, kicked off in Monte Carlo on 24th March, 1921. A hundred athletes from five nations competed in track and field events, defying the male-dominated Olympic movement that excluded women from all sports except tennis, golf, sailing and croquet.Created by campaigner Alice Milliat, the event showcased the skills of pioneering athletes Mary Lines, Violette Morris and Lucie Bréard - but was primarily intended to put pressure on the ‘proper’ Olympics to finally admit women into all sports - something not fully achieved for another forty years. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how rumours of ‘fainting’ women put the feminists’ cause back by decades; consider whether the IOC’s concerns regarding ‘ladylike’ pursuits were straightforward sexism; and reveal how a Paris2024 tribute to Milliat’s victory was usurped by corporate sponsorship…Further Reading:‘Throwback Thursday: How a French Feminist Staged Her Own Games and Forced the Olympics to Include Women’ (Vice, 2016): https://www.vice.com/en/article/xybw9k/throwback-thursday-how-a-french-feminist-staged-her-own-games-and-forced-the-olympics-to-include-women‘Women and the Olympic Dream - The Continuing Struggle for Equality, 1896-2021 - By Maria Kaj’ (McFarland, 2022): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Women_and_the_Olympic_Dream/MBx9EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=alice+milliat&pg=PA39&printsec=frontcover‘Women's Olympic Games at Monte Carlo’ (Topical Budget, 1923): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq1BV2pcXd0#Sport #Sexism #FranceWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/24/2023 • 9 minutes, 55 seconds

Hallelujah! Handel’s ‘Messiah’ is one of the cornerstones of Western classical music. But when it had its London premiere at Covent Garden on 23rd March 1743, it was billed as “a new sacred oratorio”, lest the real title of the show seem blasphemous.To further mitigate the problem of performing religious work in a secular playhouse, librettist Charles Jennens ensured that no one singer could be said to be ‘playing’ the role of Christ, and profits from the show were donated to charity.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how fashionable Italian singers were liable to attract as much laughter as praise; reveal what Mozart and Beethoven made of Handel’s masterpiece; and explain how the production at Crystal Palace in 1850 blew the original out of the water… Further Reading:• ‘The Glorious History of Handel's Messiah’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2009): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-glorious-history-of-handels-messiah-148168540/• ‘Charles Jennens: The unsung hero of Handel’s Messiah’ (The Globe and Mail, 2016): https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/charles-jennens-the-unsung-hero-of-handels-messiah/article33389290/• ‘'Hallelujah Chorus' from Handel's Messiah’ (Royal Choral Society, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUZEtVbJT5c‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. We'll have something new for you tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon.  The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/23/2023 • 9 minutes, 55 seconds

Jumbo, one of the largest elephants ever seen, departed London Zoo for Barnum & Bailey’s Circus in New York on March 9th, 1882. Nationally beloved as the ‘pet’ to Queen Victoria’s children, for 16 years he’d given thousands of rides around Regent’s Park, but was sold off for $10,000 once he started exhibiting trauma - and getting erections.P.T. Barnum then embarked upon a promotional blitz, leveraging the controversy caused by his latest acquisition, and selling Jumbo’s image to numerous commercial partners. But tragedy struck in 1885 when Jumbo was involved in a railway accident in Canada. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Jumbo became an alcoholic; indulge in the music hall singalong, ‘Why Part with Jumbo, Pet of the Zoo?’; and consider how Barnum’s marketing genius continued to exploit Jumbo’s legacy, despite him being responsible for the negligence that led to his untimely death… Further Reading:• ‘Tragic true story of Jumbo, the real life alcoholic circus elephant that inspired Disney's Dumbo’  (Mail Online, 2019): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6864855/Tragic-true-story-Jumbo-real-life-alcoholic-circus-elephant-inspired-Disneys-Dumbo.html• ‘My Poor Old Jumbo, Your Alice Weeps for You’ (The New York Times, 1886): https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/insider/1886-my-poor-old-jumbo-your-alice-weeps-for-you.html?searchResultPosition=6• ‘P.T. Barnum and Jumbo: The Elephant Story’ (Barnum Museum, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eawirRHsrMULove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon.podfollow.com/Retrospectors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/22/2023 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

Medieval power couple King Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine, seemingly unable to produce a male heir, had a messy breakup. Their annulment on 21st March 1152 was granted by the Pope on the grounds of consanguinity - meaning they were too closely related by blood. And yet both parties went on to marry people to whom they were even more closely related.Henry of Anjou was Eleanor’s next husband - a move which made her the only woman in history to have been both Queen of France AND Queen of England. Meanwhile, Louis lost half his Kingdom - and had to sit and watch as Eleanor popped out male heir after male heir with her new hubby.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Arion explain why going on a Holy War is not great marriage therapy; get between the sheets with the Royal couple; and consider how an attempted kidnapping might have made for an awkward family atmosphere at Eleanor and Henry’s wedding reception… Further Reading:• ‘Eleanor of Aquitaine - Queen of France, Queen of England, By Ralph V. Turner’ (Yale University Press, 2009): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine/dVcslrfl1V4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Eleanor+of+Aquitaine+annulment&printsec=frontcover• ‘Eleanor Of Aquitaine: The Medieval Queen Who Took On Europe's Men’ (HistoryExtra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/eleanor-of-aquitaine-the-medieval-queen-who-took-on-europes-most-powerful-men/• ‘The Court of Love - Eleanor of Aquitaine #2’ (Extra History, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_KgUiDUPs0Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/21/2023 • 10 minutes, 15 seconds

The Jules Rimet, trophy of the FIFA World Cup, was stolen from a stamp exhibition in Westminster Central Hall on March 20th, 1966 - the year England was hosting (and went on to win) the tournament. The theft sparked a massive Police investigation and multiple offers of rewards for its recovery.Astonishingly, the trophy had not been heavily guarded or alarmed, so the thieves stole it with bolt cutters. In a twist straight out of Enid Blyton, the cup was eventually discovered not by the boys in blue - but by a pet dog called Pickles, who was then lauded as a national hero.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the identities of the London gangsters who poached the Cup; explain what music hall star Tommy Trinder had to do with it; and discover how, in Brazil, the Cup was to go AWOL again… Further Reading:‘The Theft of the Jules Rimet Trophy - The Hidden History of the 1966 World Cup, By Martin Atherton (Meyer & Meyer, 2008): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Theft_of_the_Jules_Rimet_Trophy/m7SbwNM4Y0sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=theft+of+the+world+cup+1966&pg=PA45&printsec=frontcover‘The World Cup is stolen’ (The Guardian, 1966): https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/mar/21/world-cup-stolen-football-archive-1966‘Pickles - The dog who saved the 1966 World Cup’ (The Sun, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQjZagahHKULove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/20/2023 • 10 minutes, 35 seconds

The first ever St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Ireland, as many people might expect, but in Spanish Florida, on March 17, 1601. It wasn’t until about 100 years later that the world famous parades got going in Boston and New York City.Historian J. Michael Francis made the discovery of this unexpectedly early celebration of Ireland’s patron saint while investigating the Spanish imperial history of the Floridian city of St. Augustine. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why for around 50 years up until the 1970s all pubs in Ireland were closed on St. Patrick’s Day; discuss what gunpowder had to do with the first St. Patrick’s Day parade; and reveal where corned beef and cabbage really come from…  Further Reading:‘Where the first St. Patrick's Day parade REALLY took place’ (Daily Mail, 2018): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5511205/First-St-Paddys-parade-took-place-FLORIDA-century-NYs.html ‘First St. Patrick’s Day parade’ (History.com, 2010): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-st-patricks-day-parade ‘A Brief History of St. Patrick's Day’ (ABC News, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40BlVzjxu-I #1600s #US #StrangeWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/17/2023 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds

Gustav III was shot, in the back and at close range, at Stockholm’s Royal Opera House on 16th March, 1792. But he didn’t die for another two weeks. Which made things rather difficult for the conspirators who had assassinated him.During his two decades on the throne, Sweden’s ‘Culture King’ had increased religious freedom, widened opportunities for ordinary citizens and built the very opera house in which he was attacked. But his popularity with the people did not spare him the wrath of the nobility - quite the reverse.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how, at a masked ball, the King was still so readily identifiable; ask whether his war with Russia was a clever or foolish piece of military strategy; and reveal the ugly fate that befell his assailant…Further Reading:• ‘That Fatal Shot — by the Royal Armoury, Sweden’ (Google Arts & Culture): https://artsandculture.google.com/story/that-fatal-shot-the-royal-armoury-sweden/MQURevye_fzGJQ?hl=en• ‘Gustav III of Sweden: The Forgotten Despot of the Age of Enlightenment’ (History Today, 2003): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/gustav-iii-sweden-forgotten-despot-age-enlightenment• ‘The Ambitious Building Projects of Gustav III’ (Kings And Things, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5MbLbv2gSU#1800s #Sweden #Crime #Royals‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday', running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon.podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/16/2023 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

The world's first blood bank opened on March 15, 1937 at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, revolutionising the way blood transfusions were performed. Dr. Bernard Fantus, the man behind the blood bank, had originally wanted to call his innovation the Blood Preservation Laboratory – but then his daughter came up with a rather less ghoulish name.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the discovery of blood typing was a crucial step towards the creation of blood banks; reveal why Dr. Fantus was inspired to invent sweet medicines for children; and demystify an urban legend about a pope draining boys’ blood…Further Reading:‘The First-Ever Blood Bank Opened 80 Years Ago Today’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/first-ever-blood-bank-opened-80-years-ago-today-180962486/ ‘How Science Students Helped End Segregated Blood Banks’ (National Center for Science Education, 2015): https://ncse.ngo/how-science-students-helped-end-segregated-blood-banks ‘A History of Surgery at Cook County Hospital’ (Amika Press, 2015): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_History_of_Surgery_at_Cook_County_Hosp/IQJbCAAAQBAJ ‘History of Blood Transfusion’ (One Blood Videos, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV68EzS0jsI #30s #Inventions #US Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow!:podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/15/2023 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

The Mikado opened on March 14, 1885 to immediate acclaim, and went on to become W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s most famous and best-loved operetta, despite its tortured genesis. Due to growing creative tensions and their previous show flopping, Gilbert and Sullivan’s partnership was on the rocks, so The Mikado’s success took both completely by surprise. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look at why the setting of The Mikado is really Japan in name only; discuss how Gilbert found inspiration in a sword hanging on his wall; and explain why Gilbert and Sullivan almost parted ways because of a magical love lozenge… Further Reading:‘A big day in history: Gilbert and Sullivan unveil 'The Mikado'’ (History Extra, 2012): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/a-big-day-in-history-gilbert-and-sullivan-unveil-the-mikado/ ‘Arthur Sullivan - A Victorian Musician’ (Taylor & Francis, 2018): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Arthur_Sullivan_A_Victorian_Musician/VXt_DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 ‘The Mikado’ (BBC, 1987): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SkOWxcbzn0&t=561s #Victorian #Theatre #MusicLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/14/2023 • 10 minutes, 1 second

Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod, better known to the world as Mata Hari, set the Paris stage ablaze on March 13, 1905, with a scandalous dance routine that turned her into an overnight success. Sporting a gold jeweled breastplate and bracelets, Mata Hari’s performance was a striptease that left little to the imagination. But even the wildest imagination couldn’t envisage what lay ahead for the exotic dancer, courtesan, traitor and spy whose name became synonymous with the femme fatale.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca, and Olly discuss how she played both sides of the First World War for fools; uncover how she met her husband through a newspaper ad; and explain why she always wore a breastplate during sex…Further Reading:‘Mata Hari: exotic dancer, femme fatale, traitor and spy’ (History Extra, 2019): https://www.historyextra.com/period/first-world-war/mata-hari-exotic-dancer-femme-fatale-traitor-wwi-spy/ ‘“I am ready”: Mata Hari faced a firing squad for spying — and refused a blindfold.’ (The Washington Post, 2017): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/10/15/i-am-ready-mata-hari-faced-a-firing-squad-for-spying-and-refused-a-blindfold/ ‘Buckwild Facts About Mata Hari, The Exotic Dancer Who Became A WWI Spy’ (Weird History, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sh-fB_qMUg Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon.We'll be back tomorrow!: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/13/2023 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

The infamous French Foreign Legion was formed by King Louis Philippe on March 10, 1831, to help the French control Algeria using mercenaries who were more expendable than native young Frenchmen.To this day a magnet for men who want a clean break from their past, the Legion famously did not ask many questions about where their recruits came from - or if they had a criminal record. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover if they could meet the tests to join this notorious fighting force; expose the bloody history of the legion’s ill-fated battles in Mexico; and reveal the deadly games Russian Legionnaires played in their downtime…Further Reading: ‘Why young men queue up to die in the French Foreign Legion’ (Aeon): https://aeon.co/essays/why-young-men-queue-up-to-die-in-the-french-foreign-legion‘The Expendables’ (Vanity Fair, 2012): https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/12/french-foreign-legion-expendables ‘French Foreign Legion: A Soldier’s Story’ (POVCAST, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC2EYK2qbnk  We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/10/2023 • 10 minutes, 12 seconds

India’s Hijra community – who for centuries held a significant cultural, political and spiritual role in Indian society – were officially recognised on 9th March, 2005, when a new option appeared on passport forms, allowing applicants to select M for Male, F for Female, or ‘write E for Eunuch’.Although being labelled as a ‘third sex’ was considered by some to be stigmatising, it also reflected an understanding of the Hijra (a group including trans women, intersex people and castrates) as ‘eunuchs’, a depiction with its roots in both Hindu mythology and British colonialism.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the Hijra are believed to bring blessings to ceremonial occasions; dig into the polarised attitude that defines how Indians still see this marginalised community; and explain how a combination of transphobia, desperation and entrepreneurship has lead to many of them finding employment as ‘human Howlers’…Further Reading:• ‘Third sex in passports’ (Telegraph India, 2005): https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/third-sex-in-passports/cid/670187• ‘India’s third gender – in pictures’ (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/society/gallery/2014/apr/16/india-third-gender-in-pictures• ‘India’s Transgender Community: The Hijra’ (Refinery29, 2014): https://youtu.be/mgw7M-JABMg‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/9/2023 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Copycat murderer Heriberto Seda began his spree of violence in New York City on March 8, 1990, when he attempted to kill a middle-aged man with a homemade gun. He claimed he was the famous ‘Zodiac’ killer, who had terrorized the West Coast in the 1960s. The NYPD began to take his crimes seriously when he shot two more people, killing one - and leaving behind a note marked with a circle with a cross through it, and the Zodiac signs of each of his previous victims. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly expose how a deadly shootout lead to Seda’s capture; compare the copycat’s cyphers to that of the Zodiac’s original missives; and reveal how the killer slipped through the police’s fingers for so long…Further Reading:‘Brooklyn Man is Guilty in Three Zodiac Killings’ (New York Times, 1998): https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/25/nyregion/brooklyn-man-is-guilty-in-three-zodiac-killings.html ‘The Zodiac Killer: A Timeline’ (History, 2017): https://www.history.com/news/the-zodiac-killer-a-timeline ‘The Copycat Zodiac Killer in New York City Part 2’ (Buzzfeed Unsolved Network, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urgf4RA0ZQo The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/8/2023 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

Kidnapped from her prestigious Liverpool boarding school on March 7, 1827, 15-year-old Ellen Turner was led to believe her family would be financially ruined if she didn’t marry her 30 year-old abductor, Edward Gibbon Wakefield.Before she was able to deduce that his story was a sham, Turner was whisked off to Gretna Green and inadvertently passed over the keys to her father’s estate, Shrigley, to her assailant - until an intervention from the House of Lords, and a trial that captured Britain’s imagination. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly divulge the loopholes to England’s marital age limits; explain how ‘impure’ marriages were a get-rich-quick habit for Wakefield; and reveal the extraordinary next chapter for this conniving scamster …  Further Reading:‘10 of History’s Worst Marriages’ (History Collection, 2018): https://historycollection.com/10-of-historys-worst-marriages/5/ ‘Gretna Green: The bit of Scotland where English people go to get married’ (BBC, 2014): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28679430 ‘Wakefield & the NZ Company’ (CBHS History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We-VfjxHbRA Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. We'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/7/2023 • 9 minutes, 46 seconds

Birdseye Frosted Foods launched its first range of flash-frozen foods at a ‘test kitchen’ in Springfield, Massachusetts on 6th March, 1930 - and at the helm was Clarence ‘Bob’ Birdseye, an American entrepreneur of great ambition and insight.Like Captain Birdseye, the bearded, fictional mascot of the brand dreamt up for the British market, Bob had scoured the seven seas looking for innovative approaches to food preservation - a search that led him to the Inuit people of Labrador, Canada and their methods of fast-freezing fresh fish. This discovery led to a patent which eventually netted Birdseye a cool $22million.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace Birdseye’s entrepreneurial endeavours back through his childhood; discover the extraordinary list of animal species he attempted to eat; and consider the surprising role of the humble spinach in the incredible success of frozen processed food… Further Reading:• ‘Meet Clarence Birdseye: American who cooked up frozen foods’ (New York Post, 2022): https://nypost.com/2022/09/30/meet-clarence-birdseye-american-who-cooked-up-frozen-foods/• ‘Clarence Birdseye, The Man Behind Modern Frozen Food’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2012): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/clarence-birdseye-the-man-behind-modern-frozen-food-95808503/• ‘Birds Eye Fish Fingers - Fresh From The Captains Table’ (Birds Eye, 1980s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haCuu1AhZYQLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Join now via Apple Podcasts or PatreonWe'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/6/2023 • 10 minutes, 39 seconds

Sending rude mail was dealt a devastating blow on 3rd March, 1873, when the campaign against p*rnography, reproductive health, birth control, and abortion led by self-appointed ‘Special Agent’ of the US Postal Service Anthony Comstock went all the way to Washington. After the ‘Comstock Act’ became law, books were banned, ‘obscene’ pamphlets were destroyed, and, in Comstock’s home state of Connecticut, birth control was banned - even within a marriage.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover what Comstock thought of the women he met at the White House; reveal his earliest crackdowns on licentiousness; and uncover George Bernard Shaw’s trolling of ‘Comstockery’ in the New York press…#1800s #Politics #PublishingFurther Reading:• ‘How an Anti-Obscenity Crusader Policed America's Mail for Decades’ (HISTORY, 2022): https://www.history.com/news/comstock-act-1873-obscenity-contraception-mail• ‘Anthony Comstock's "Chastity" Laws’ (PBS American Experience): https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-anthony-comstocks-chastity-laws/#:~:text=In%20the%20late%201860s%2C%20Comstock%20began%20supplying%20the,the%20contraceptive%20industry%20as%20one%20of%20his%20targets.• ‘The Man Who Hated Women: Sex, Censorship, and Civil Liberties in the Gilded Age’ (National Archives, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9IS0S-B5HUWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/3/2023 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

The Victory of Adwa on 2nd March, 1896 marked a milestone in the so-called ‘Scramble for Africa’ - because, whilst so much of the continent had been colonised by European nations, Abysinnia successfully defended their country from the invading Italians.Rome had underestimated the Ethiopians’ weaponry, motivation and strategy, and turned up with bad maps, demoralized troops - and orders to march on.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a tricksy treaty was used to justify the incursion; consider the fates of the Eritreans who fought alongside the Europeans; and question the wisdom of getting your troops to march for nine hours straight before engaging in combat… Further Reading:‘First Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Adwa’ (ThoughtCo, 2018): https://www.thoughtco.com/italo-ethiopian-war-battle-of-adwa-2360814‘The History of The Battle and Victory of Adwa (African History month): https://ahm.africa/the-history-of-the-battle-and-victory-of-adwa-125th/‘How did Italy Lose to Ethiopia?’ (Animated History, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hln0GjuUQk&t=4s‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon.  The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/2/2023 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Aviator Charles Lindbergh (‘The Lone Eagle’) was a household name when his 20 month-old son, Charlie Jr (dubbed ‘The Eaglet’) vanished from his nursery on 1st March, 1932, sparking a nationwide media frenzy.The kidnappers left a ransom note demanding $50,000. After a further 12 exchanges of correspondence, the Lindberghs were told their son was onboard a boat called Nellie: a boat which was never found. At his sensational trial, immigrant Bruno Richard Hauptmann pleaded not guilty, but was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to the electric chair.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Police matched Hauptmann to the abduction; reveal how Al Capone got caught up in the crisis; and ask where all the forensic botanists have gone… Further Reading:• ‘The Tragic Story Of The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping’ (All Thats Interesting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/lindbergh-baby-kidnapping• ‘60 Years Later, Doubt Clings to Lindbergh Baby Kidnaping Case’ (Los Angeles Times, 1992): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-02-09-mn-3355-story.html• ‘How They Caught the Lindbergh Baby's Kidnapper’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpwduHFPqHk#30s #Crime #MysteryLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/1/2023 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds

Deciphering the structure of DNA was as complex as the double helix itself. On 28th February, 1953, Dr. James Watson and Dr. Francis Crick rushed to the pub and announced to their fellow drinkers in The Eagle, Cambridge that they had just found “the secret of life”. But their work would not have been possible without the uncredited contribution of Dr. Rosalind Franklin - whose photographs of the X-ray diffraction pattern of DNA were the first to reveal its three-dimensional structure. And it was her colleague, Dr Maurice Wilkins, who first brought Franklin’s work to the attention of Watson and Crick.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how it came to be that Crick’s wife, Odile; drew the iconic depiction of the structure published in Nature; explain why *technically* Dr Franklin didn’t even have a degree; and recall how James Watson’s legacy was tainted by his bitter and snide memoir, ‘The Double Helix’... Further Reading:• ‘Double-Helix Structure of DNA’ (ThoughtCo, 2020): https://www.thoughtco.com/double-helix-373302• ‘The Geek Atlas - 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive, By John Graham-Cumming’ (O'Reilly Media, 2009):https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Geek_Atlas/rXH0AQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=crick+watson+eagle+1953&pg=PA267&printsec=frontcover• ‘Rosalind Franklin: DNA's unsung hero - Cláudio L. Guerra’ (Ted-Ed, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIP0lYrdirIJoin 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!At Apple Podcasts or Patreon.podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/28/2023 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

The first Pokémon videogames, ‘Red’ and ‘Green’ were launched in Japan on 27th February, 1996. The franchise went on to be the most successful ever video game to TV adaptation, and the highest selling trading card game in history of cards. Created by Satoshi Tajiri, the gameplay recalled his childhood obsession for bug-hunting, and made use of Nintendo’s new GameBoy connection cable to enable players to swap and collect monsters. But it wasn’t until the card-trading game went viral in playgrounds that his company, Game Freak, was accused of encouraging gambling.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the series was re-named for the American market; reveal just how many epileptic seizures were caused by the anime adaptation in one ill-fated broadcast; and explain what the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia had in common with a group of Long Island moms…Further Reading:• ‘The Year in Ideas; Pokémon Hegemon’ (The New York Times, 2002): https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/15/magazine/the-year-in-ideas-pokemon-hegemon.html?searchResultPosition=21• ‘Pokémon: The Japanese game that went viral’ (BBC Culture, 2020): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200811-pokemon-the-japanese-game-that-went-viral• ‘Gameplay: Pokemon Red’ (GameFreak, 1996):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C034iux-EJ8Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon.We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/27/2023 • 10 minutes, 41 seconds

Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone - now better known as St Francis of Assisi - attended Mass on 24th February, 1208, and heard the Gospel According to Matthew. From that day on, the former soldier and playboy removed his shoes, put on a rough tunic, and embarked fully into a monastic lifestyle.The process would lead him to meet the Pope and become officially recognised by the Church - but alienate him from his wealthy father, who had shelled out ransom money to return him from a battlefield prison.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall how Francis’s father attempted to wangle him out of his inheritance; explore the really rather literal fashion in which Francesco interpreted his various visions; and explain why, at one point, Francis prayed for his miracles to STOP… Further Reading:• ‘Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi - By Donald Spoto’ (Penguin, 2003):https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Reluctant_Saint/K6qy9JMXuGUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=assisi&printsec=frontcover• ‘Francis of Assisi, nature’s mystic’ (The Washington Post, 2013): https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/francis-of-assisi-natures-mystic/2013/03/20/82619910-9166-11e2-bdea-e32ad90da239_story.html• ‘Francis: The Saint and the Pope’ (Catholic News Service, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcOU3bYmMOA#Medieval #Catholic #ItalyWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/24/2023 • 10 minutes, 20 seconds

When Jennifer Lopez turned up on the Grammys’ red carpet wearing a green Versace dress on February 23rd, 2000, there was such a rush from the public to see the image that it became the most searched-for term in Google’s history. As a result - Eric Schmidt later confessed - Google Images was developed and launched, and a whole new way of searching the web was created.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover where the iconic dress is now; explain how Geri Halliwell missed out on the chance of (increased) internet infamy; and reveal just how many dresses J-Lo tried on before settling on ‘the one’...   Further Reading:‘How Jennifer Lopez’s Versace Dress Created Google Images’ (GQ, 2019): https://www.gq.com/story/jennifer-lopez-versace-google-imagesGeri Halliwell actually wore Jennifer Lopez's iconic Grammy dress first (yahoo.com): https://uk.style.yahoo.com/blogs/shine-on/geri-halliwell-actually-wore-jennifer-lopezs-175622959.html‘Jennifer Lopez Tells the Story of the Green Versace Dress’ (Vogue, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTyBFcEgc-A‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. We'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/23/2023 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

Sorcerer and fortune-teller Catherine "La Voisin" Monvoisin was sentenced to death on 22nd February, 1680. She had supplied poisons and potions to clients including Madame de Montespan, official mistress to King Louis XIV.Monvoisin’s punishment was the climax of the witchcraft hysteria that rocked the Parisian court, triggered by the confessions of Madame de Brinvilliers, who’d been executed for conspiring to poison her father. The scandal became known as ‘The Affair of the Poisons’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a ‘black mass’ actually worked; ponder how it was such a seemingly small jump from chiromancy to murder in Voisin’s backstreet clinics; and consider what La Voisin’s career would look like if she was around these days… Further Reading:• ‘La Voisin and the Scandalous Affair of the Poisons’ (SciHi, 2019): http://scihi.org/affair-poisons-voisin/• ‘The Bizarre Life Of The Murderous French Fortuneteller La Voisin’ (Grunge, 2020): https://www.grunge.com/246131/the-bizarre-life-of-the-murderous-french-fortuneteller-la-voisin/• ‘The Terror of History: The Witch Hunt in Early Modern Europe’ (UCLA, 2007): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOQND4fVF_w#1600s #Witchcraft #France #MacabreLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/22/2023 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

Entrepreneur Edwin Holmes installed the very first electric burglar alarm in Boston on 21 February, 1858, which deployed an electrical circuit that would trip when the connection was broken by opening a door or window, which would sound a bell. Unfortunately for Holmes, there wasn’t much burglary going on in Boston at the time, so to get his fledgling business off the ground, he packed his bags and brought his family to New York, where he believed “all the country’s burglars” made their home.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look at how Holmes got around people’s early fears about the dangers of electricity; reveal how he deployed the celebrities and influencers of his day to sell his product; and explain why bear traps were the burglar-deterrent of choice for many people in the pre-industrial era.   Further Reading:• ‘A Brief History of the Invention of the Home Security Alarm’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2021): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/history-home-security-alarm-180977002/ • ‘Our Father’s Beginning’ (John Fischer, DGA Security Systems, 2008): https://web.archive.org/web/20120331144457/http://www.csaaul.org/EdwinHolmes1.html • ‘The Invention That Changed New York Safety Forever’ (Smothsonian channel, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqf8YmwqqHA #1800s #Inventions #Crime #USLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/21/2023 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

On 20 February, 1472, Orkney and Shetland officially became part of Scotland having been offered up as security for the dowry of the daughter of King Christian of Norway and Denmark.The marriage was aimed at quelling a long-standing tax-related feud between the two powers. But as time wore on, it began to feel as though the Scandinavians just didn’t really want Orkney and Shetland all that much.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look at how Vikings had come to control the islands in the first place; reveal why the citizens of Shetland have never stopped loving their Scandi past; and explain why if you want to properly describe the pattern variations of certain breeds of sheep you might need to learn a dead language… Further Reading:• ‘On this day 1472: Orkney and Shetland join Scotland’ (The Scotsman, 2015): https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/day-1472-orkney-and-shetland-join-scotland-1512113 • ‘The islands of Orkney and Shetland passed into Scottish ownership’ (History Scotland, 2022): https://www.historyscotland.com/history/the-islands-of-orkney-and-shetland-passed-into-scottish-ownership-on/ • ‘20th February 1472: Orkney and Shetland Isles given to Scotland by Norway as a wedding dowry’ (HistoryPod, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COI05mwNda4 #1400s #Royals #Scotland #Scandinavia Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/20/2023 • 10 minutes, 14 seconds

Between 1908 and 1927, the Ford Motor Company sold 15,007,033 Model Ts, making the car the best-selling automobile the world had ever seen. That record came to an end on the 17th February, 1972 when the 15,007,034th Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the production line.The car was the brainchild of Adolf Hitler who commissioned it almost immediately after her became chancellor of Germany in 1933. His plan was that the German public, irrespective of whether they were a doctor or a factory worker could buy a car for just 1,000 Reichsmarks which would have been around 31 weeks’ pay for the average worker.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether the Beetle is more a triumph of engineering or advertising; discuss why Ford turned down the Volkswagen factory at Wolfsburg, which they could have had for free; and look at how the Führer’s car came to be loved by 1960s American hippies and flower children…  Further Reading:• ‘The VW Beetle: How Hitler’s idea became a design icon’ (BBC, 2014): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20130830-the-nazi-car-we-came-to-love • ‘The world’s best-selling cars’ (Auto Express, 2022): https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars-vans/33872/worlds-best-selling-cars • ‘The History of Volkswagen, 'The People's Car’ (Wall Street Journal, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhH-oWHzzvQ #70s #Inventions #USWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/17/2023 • 10 minutes, 22 seconds

Why do we say ‘God Bless You’ when we sneeze? Some historians trace it back to 16th February, 600 - and a decree supposedly issued by the pun-loving, God-fearing Pope Gregory to ward off the effects of the plague that had killed his predecessor.(Sadly, Gregory’s other idea to fight off the disease wasn’t quite so successful - he organized a parade through Rome, and 80 people in the crowd spread the symptoms to each other, subsequently dying.)In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how locals respond to sneezes in Serbia, China, Russia and Tanzania; consider whether commenting on someone else’s bodily functions is unwelcome, or a ‘micro-affection’; and imagine a world with a more upbeat style of Gregorian chanting…Further Reading:• ‘This is the REAL reason we say ‘bless you’ when someone sneezes… and it’s not because of the Plague’ – (The Sun, 2016): https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1158748/this-is-the-real-reason-we-say-bless-you-when-someone-sneezes-and-its-not-because-of-the-plague-2/• ‘Why do we say 'bless you' or 'gesundheit' when people sneeze?’ (HowStuffWorks, 2021): https://people.howstuffworks.com/sneezing.htm• ‘Should People Say 'Bless You'?’ (The Real Daytime, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP6BzhCDccU‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/16/2023 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

Mary Jane Jones, known professionally as Vickie Jones, was arrested on fraud charges on 15th February, 1969 after successfully impersonating soul legend Aretha Franklin during multiple sold-out shows across Florida.When her case ended up before a judge, Jones maintained her innocence, insisting that she had been press-ganged into the deception by conman, kidnapper and semi-professional James Brown impersonator, Lavelle Hardy. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look at the surprising similarities between the lives of Jones and Franklin; discuss why audiences in the 1960s couldn’t tell real performers from fake ones; and ponder whether Jones deserves a little more R.E.S.P.E.C.T…  Further Reading:• ‘An Aretha Franklin Impersonator Fooled Fans (Then Became A Star)’ (Cracked, 2022): https://www.cracked.com/article_34398_an-aretha-franklin-impersonator-fooled-fans-then-became-a-star.html • ‘The Counterfeit Queen of Soul’ (Smithsonian magazine, 2018): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/counterfeit-queen-soul-180969340/ • ‘The Bizarre Story of the Imitation Queen of Soul’ (Today I Found Out, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mqmEN9RcdU #60s #Person #Music #Strange #USLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/15/2023 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

Although the Roman Catholic Church continues to recognise St. Valentine as a saint of the church, there is some uncertainty about who exactly he was. One thing that is agreed is that someone called Valentine was killed on or around February 14th, 270, which some believe is why we celebrate Valentine’s Day every February 14th to this day.   What is less clear is why St. Valentine was executed, what he did in his life, and what exactly he had to do with romantic love. Fortunately, there is no shortage of stories that have been offered up throughout the ages, each more fanciful than the last. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss the role of Shakespeare and Chaucer in popularising the connection between St. Valentine and love; speculate on whether soldiers fight better if they haven’t had sex recently; and consider whether St. Valentine was one person or three. You know, like God…  Further Reading:• ‘Who was Saint Valentine? A history of the figure's origins’ (History Extra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/valentine-day-history-saint-who-real-story-cured/ • ‘St. Valentine beheaded’ (History.com, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/st-valentine-beheaded • ‘Saint Valentine's Day Animated History’ (Fiveminded, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdKZepHMFWE #Person #Classical #Christian #ItalyLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/14/2023 • 10 minutes, 15 seconds

The Coso Artifact - a man-made, cylindrical object apparently encased in a geode - was discovered by Wallace Lane, Virginia Maxey and Mike Mikesell while prospecting for gems in Olancha, California on February 13th, 1961.The OOPArt (or ‘out-of-place artifact’) caused a sensation amongst Creationists, Forteans and conspiracists, who believed it might be up to half a million years old - but has since been identified as a 1920s-era Champion spark plug.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether the ‘Rock Hounds’ were deliberately defrauding people, or were just open-minded enthusiasts; ask why their find had such resonance with Creationists, when its existence cannot be consistent with the world being merely thousands of years old; and reveal how the ‘mystery’ was conclusively debunked… Further Reading:• ‘When Some 1920s Garbage Was Mistaken for an Ancient Artifact’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1920s-garbage-or-ancient-artifact-probably-1920s-garbage-180962081/• ‘Hidden History - Lost Civilizations, Secret Knowledge, and Ancient Mysteries, By Brian Haughton’ (Red Wheel/Weiser, 2007): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Hidden_History/295EDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=coso+artifact&pg=PT173&printsec=frontcover• ‘Coso Artifact: Science Triumphs Over Theorists’ (Science For Everyone, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GawHMQpIGrU#Discoveries #60s #California #StrangeLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/13/2023 • 10 minutes, 45 seconds

When did humans first start to farm? What was the first murder solved by forensic science? Who invented the battery?The answer to all these questions can be found on the podcast Patented: The History of Inventions, which we're recommending today.It’s hosted by Dallas Campbell, who has presented hit science shows like the Gadget Show and Bang Goes the Theory. Now he’s asking who we have to thank for the inventions that surround us everyday.Today we’re playing an episode where Dallas discovers the inventor of the humble contact lens. It’s an unsung hero called Otto Wichterle, who lived and worked behind the Iron Curtain and who created the world’s first contact lens on Christmas Eve 1961 at his kitchen table, using a gramophone player and bits of his son’s meccano set. Dallas’s guest in this episode is Riika Palonkorpi.If you enjoy it and want to hear more then go check out Patented, a podcast from History Hit, with new episodes every Wednesday and Sunday.Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/11/2023 • 28 minutes, 51 seconds

Hanna-Barbera’s classic cat-and-mouse cartoon series Tom and Jerry kicked off when their debut short, ‘Puss Gets The Boot’, was released by MGM on 10th February, 1940. But, at that time, the stars of the film were known as ‘Jasper and Jinx’. And studio bosses very nearly canned the whole concept - until the audience feedback, and awards nominations, started rolling in…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the chase-based slapstick of this hilariously violent double act empowered MGM to rival the might of Disney and Warner Bros; reveal how Tom and Jerry got their names; and explain how the racist depiction of ‘Mammy Two Shoes’ evolved from an African-American caricature into an Irish one… Further Reading:• ‘The 50 MGM Films that Transformed Hollywood - Triumphs, Blockbusters, and Fiascos, By Steven Bingen’ (Lyons Press, 2022):https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_50_MGM_Films_that_Transformed_Hollyw/bYh0EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Puss+Gets+the+Boot&pg=PA87&printsec=frontcover• ‘The Untold Truth Of Tom And Jerry’ (Looper, 2020): https://www.looper.com/196800/the-untold-truth-of-tom-and-jerry/• ‘Puss Gets the Boot’ (MGM, 1940): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiHulAQmdqI#40s #Hollywood #Animation #racismLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/10/2023 • 10 minutes, 33 seconds

Rerun. Chester Racecourse hosted Britain’s first ever recorded horse-racing meet on 9th February, 1539. The winner received a set of silver bells to hang from their bridal.Mayor Henry Gee had come up with the idea as a replacement for the traditional Shrove Tuesday football match - which he’d banned for being too riotous and violent.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly debate the folk etymology of ‘Gee Gees’; explain why the Royals were responsible for robbing the North of its equestrian edge; and reveal why Oliver Cromwell took objection to a day at the races… Further Reading:• ‘History - Chester Racecourse’ (chester-races.com): https://www.chester-races.com/about/history/• ‘Shrove Tuesday football: “No quarter asked nor given”' (BBC News, 2020): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-51445310• ‘Horrible Histories, HHTV Tudor Horse Racing’ (CBBC, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S53q_Cij3XY‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/9/2023 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Right Said Fred’s novelty single ‘I’m Too Sexy’ reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 8th February, 1992. The playful earworm, which had been rejected by all major record labels, topped the charts in 32 countries.The success of the song propelled Richard and Fred Fairbrass, two bald brothers from East Grinstead who had worked as session musicians for a number of years, into the limelight - along with their bulging muscles and string vests.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the lyrics anticipated George Michael’s ‘Too Funky’ and have been sampled by Beyonce and Drake; reveal how the trio had a close shave with the estate of Jimi Hendrix; and consider whether the camp appeal of the video was a parody of gay culture, or an anthemic celebration of it… Further Reading:• ‘‘I’m Too Sexy’: Oral History of Right Said Fred’s Hit Song’ (Rolling Stone, 2017): https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/im-too-sexy-the-oral-history-of-right-said-freds-snarky-dance-pop-smash-122921/‘How we made Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy’ (The Guardian, 2017): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/apr/04/how-we-made-right-said-fred-im-too-sexy-interview• ’Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy’ (Gut Records, 1991): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5mtclwloEQ#90s #music #LGBT #funnyLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/8/2023 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Controversial friar Girolamo Savonarola supervised the mass destruction of Renaissance art, literature and other priceless items he deemed as ‘fripperies’ on 7th February, 1497 - an event that became known as ‘The Bonfire of the Vanities’.The Dominican cleric - eventually ex-communicated by the Pope for calling the Catholic Church ‘a whor*’ - commandeered a large following of adolescents, who went door-to-door in Florence demanding items to be chucked on to the pyre. Ironically, Savonarola was ultimately executed the following year… by being chucked into a fire.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether Savonarola’s objections to Renaissance-era portraiture had any legitimacy; explain how he leveraged his ‘prophecies’ to give him greater control of the City; and consider why he selected Shrove Tuesday, of all days, to build his famous bonfire… Further Reading:‘A big day in history: Florence's bonfire of the vanities’ (HistoryExtra, 2012): https://www.historyextra.com/period/renaissance/a-big-day-in-history-florences-bonfire-of-the-vanities/• ‘The friar who ignited the first bonfire of vanities in Florence’ (The Washington Post, 2006): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/2006/04/02/the-friar-who-ignited-the-first-bonfire-of-vanities-in-florence-span-classbankheadthe-friar-who-ignited-the-first-bonfire-of-vanities-in-florence-span/f2de7781-44e6-4a86-a076-6d7f5b2e9854/• ‘Who was Savonarola?’ (Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMS_JEQgSrY#1400s #Arts #Religion #ItalyLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/7/2023 • 9 minutes, 50 seconds

Blackface performers The Virginia Minstrels - replete with white clown mouths, oversized tailcoats, and bookended by tambourine and bones players - first appeared on 6th February, 1843, at the New York Bowery Amphitheatre. They were an instant hit, but it wasn’t the first time a blackface act had been making (white) crowds laugh.American minstrelsy originated some 12 years earlier, when white performer Thomas ‘Daddy’ Rice first appeared as ‘Jim Crow’ - a comic parody of an elderly, disabled, enslaved African-American. His act proved so wildly popular the Boston Post reported that only Queen Victoria was a more crowd-pleasing character.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why it wasn’t only white performers who performed in blackface; examine how Hollywood kept this racist tradition alive long after it had fallen from favour in theatres; and discover that, over the decades, blackface became such an established and celebrated entertainment that it was performed at The White House…CONTENT WARNING: historical racist language, discussion of racially offensive tropesFurther Reading:• ‘Blackface: The Birth of An American Stereotype’ (National Museum of African American History and Culture): https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/blackface-birth-american-stereotype• ‘Burnt Cork: Traditions and Legacies of Blackface Minstrelsy - Ed. Stephen Burge Johnson’ (University of Massachusetts Press, 2012): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Burnt_Cork/yxupgt6nNFMC?hl=en&gbpv=0• ‘Blackface: A cultural history of a racist art form’ (CBS Sunday Morning, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqlD-eZm1ck#Racism #Theatre Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/6/2023 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst was kidnapped by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army. In this episode from our friends at History Daily, host Lindsay Graham (American Scandal, American History Tellers) reveals what happened next.History Daily is a brilliant companion to our own show, taking you back in time to explore a momentous event that happened ‘on this day’ in history. Whether it’s to remember the tragedy of December 7th, 1941, the day “that will live in infamy,” or to celebrate that 20th day in July, 1969, when mankind reached the moon, History Daily is there to tell you the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world—one day at a time.Hear more episodes every weekday at podfollow.com/history-daily Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/4/2023 • 20 minutes, 42 seconds

With a cast of over 800, and a budget equivalent to £3 million, James Shirley’s extravagant masque ‘The Triumph of Peace’ was performed on 3rd February, 1634. Unusually, it was such a popular show that, despite the enormous cost of staging it, King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria requested that it be repeated.Though replete with all the arse-kissing allegorical tableaux that typified these celebrations of the monarchy - and requisite set designs by Inigo Jones - this spectacular was also markedly different from its predecessors in that it was especially designed to appease Henrietta, who had been slurred by polemicist William Prynne.   In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly come to terms with the ‘17th century immersive theatre’ experience; explain why legendary playwright Ben Jonson WASN’T involved in this one; and reveal how a masque was once responsible for the destruction of Shakespeare’s Globe… Further Reading:• ‘Masque and music at the Stuart court’ (Royal Museums Greenwich): https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/masque-music-stuart-court• ‘Inigo Jones designs for masque costumes’ (The British Library): https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/inigo-jones-designs-for-masque-costumes•  ‘The History of the British Masque’ (Heidi Kobara, 2013):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G22UED2yJ_Q#1600s #Theatre #RoyalsWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/3/2023 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

Rerun. TMZ posted leaked footage of Christian Bale’s infamous meltdown on the set of ‘Terminator Salvation’ on 2nd February, 2009.Triggered by the film's Director Of Photography, Shane Hurlbut, repeatedly walking past his eyeline, Bale launched into an expletive-laden tirade that lasted more than three minutes, during which he threatened to smash up the lights, and have Hurlbut fired from the set.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dissect how Bale’s star power immunized him against reasonable pushback; compare his defense with Prince Andrew’s declarations of honour; and rank the rant against other notorious on-set ‘freakouts’ from the likes of Tom Cruise and David O. Russell…Further Reading:‘Christian Bale apologises 'unreservedly' for Terminator set rant’ (The Guardian, 2009):https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/feb/09/christian-bale-apologises-for-onset-rant‘Film stars' most shocking on-set meltdowns - from Tom Cruise's Covid rant to Christian Bale’s foul-mouthed outburst’ (The Sun, 2020): https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/13492481/film-star-meltdown-tom-cruise-christian-bale/‘Christian Bale Freaks Out on Set w/ SUBTITLES OF CREW in background’ (jenndouglas1, 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0auwpvAU2YA… AND there is over seven minutes of extra content from Arion, Rebecca and Olly on this subject available to our show supporters! In our bonus episode, ‘Loose Lips Sink Starships’ our trio investigate how Hollywood reacted to the leaking of the tape, and inspired smartphone restrictions on the 'Star Wars' set, embarrassing moments on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live', and even the #MeToo movement that killed so many careers. To hear it - and a bonus bit of content every single week - support our show on Patreon (patreon.com/Retrospectors) or click ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts.‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/2/2023 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

The only Portuguese monarch to be assassinated, King Carlos I, was shot through the neck by Republican activists on 1st February, 1908, as his open carriage rode through Lisbon. His elder son Luis Filipe was also killed, leaving 18 year-old Manuel to become the last King of Portugal.The murder followed Portugal’s former colony Brazil deposing its emperor; a politically disastrous agreement with the British over African expansion; and the appointment of the dictatorial João Franco as Portuguese Prime Minister.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pore over the gossip about Carlos’s lavish lifestyle and Parisian mistress; explain how the event was foreshadowed by the famous ‘Elevator Coup’; and reveal how Carlos’s sea-faring knowledge made for an ill-advised epithet… Further Reading:• ‘Historical Dictionary of Portugal - By Douglas L. Wheeler & Walter C. Opello’ (Scarecrow Press, 2010): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Historical_Dictionary_of_Portugal/e-3kxBySncsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=king+carlos+i+february+1908&pg=PA71&printsec=frontcover• ‘The Portuguese: A Portrait of a People - By Barry Hatton (Signal Books, 2016): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Portuguese/kL6_BAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=king+carlos+portugal+assassination&pg=PT118&printsec=frontcover• ‘O Regicídio’ (Dir. Fernando Vendrell, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gYphMUSvG4#Portugal #Royals #CrimeLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/1/2023 • 10 minutes, 38 seconds

Before Yuri Gagarin, before Alan Shepard… a chimp called Ham was blasted into space for six-and-a-half minutes of weightlessness on 31st January, 1961. He successfully returned to Earth without serious physical injury, albeit over 100 miles away from NASA’s intended splashdown location.Travelling at 5,857 m.p.h, Ham was seated in a special chair called a ‘biopack’, which administered electric shocks to the soles of his feet if he failed to complete basic tasks in orbit.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Ham’s schooling had striking parallels with the training undertaken by human astronauts; reveal just how much of him is actually ‘buried’ at the International Space Hall of Fame; and explain the fate of the SECOND chimp in space, Enos, who wasn’t quite so lucky… CONTENT WARNING: animal cruelty, animal experimentation and dissectionFurther Reading:• Meet Ham The Chimp, The Animal Astronaut Who Changed History (All That’s Interesting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/ham-the-chimp• ‘Ham the astrochimp: hero or victim?’ (The Guardian, 2013): https://www.theguardian.com/science/animal-magic/2013/dec/16/ham-chimpanzee-hero-or-victim• ‘NASA's First Chimp in Space’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wdbV4SBGYo#60s #space #scienceLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/31/2023 • 10 minutes, 40 seconds

Running a remote Yorkshire farm, with no flushing toilet and no electricity is an unlikely route to TV stardom, but 46 year-old spinster Hannah Hauxwell managed it on 30th January, 1973, when ITV aired the landmark documentary ‘Too Long A Winter’.Speaking lyrically about her singlehood, how she braved the bitter Winter, and how she survived on a grocery budget of just £5 per month, Hauxwell’s story inspired thousands of viewers to send her food parcels and arrange for her homestead to be modernised. In a series of follow-up films, Hauxwell travelled to America, met the Pope and Queen Mother, and became arguably the UK’s first ‘reality TV star’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Hauxwell came to be featured on the programme that made her name; revel in an era where it was possible to be a TV personality without ever having even seen a television; and wonder if such a career trajectory would be possible today… Further Reading:• ‘Hannah Hauxwell: the lasting legacy of the daughter of the Yorkshire Dales’ (Yorkshire Post): https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/interactive/hannah-hauxwell-yorkshire-dales-legacy• ‘Hannah Hauxwell: 'She didn't ask to be filmed, but her natural personality made her a star' (The Northern Echo, 2018): https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/15913703.hannah-hauxwell-she-didnt-ask-filmed-natural-personality-made-star/• ‘Too Long A Winter’ (Yorkshire TV, 1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC5WeuLHUdU#70s #TV #CelebrityThere’s an extra FIVE MINUTES of Hauxwell chat exclusively for  🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴members today - and more than 80 bonus bits to unlock when you sign up to support our show! Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/30/2023 • 10 minutes, 3 seconds

The corpse of Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union, was placed on display in Moscow's Red Square on 27th January, 1924 - where, astonishingly, he remains viewable to this day. He’d wanted to be buried next to his mother in Saint Petersburg, but after he suffered a series of strokes, the Soviet government instead secretly planned to build a mausoleum for his body, in part to deify him as a quasi-religious figure.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how pioneering embalming techniques were created by ‘The Lenin Lab’ to look after the cadaver; ponder how mausoleum architect Alexey Shchusev contented with the January freeze; and consider whether an embalmed Queen Victoria would be just as popular a tourist attraction…Further Reading:• ‘Death of Lenin’ (The Guardian, 1924): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/23/death-of-lenin-archive-1924• ‘Lenin's Body Improves with Age’ (Scientific American, 2015): https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lenin-s-body-improves-with-age1/• ‘Russia: 100 Years on from Revolution’ (BBC News, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPmlX4kWgjs#Macabre #Russia #RevolutionWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/27/2023 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

Rerun. Sometimes termed ‘The Diaper Run’ due to the large number of babies on-board, the S.S. Argentina set sail from Southampton to New York City on 26th January, 1946 – transporting 456 ‘War Brides’ and their 170 children from Britain to the USA.Each was permitted to bring 200lb of luggage, and faced an uncertain future on arrival in the States – some reuniting with their one true love; others finding themselves shacked up with in-laws who resented their existence.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how this historic crossing triggered a change in U.S. immigration policy; examine the appeal of clean-cut American servicemen to working-class British women; and recall the much-forgotten additional passenger – ‘the War Groom’…Further Reading:G.I. Brides Sail (Pathe 1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wiUotiD9HI‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/26/2023 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Pioneering journalist Nellie Bly returned from her 72-day trip around the world on 25th January, 1890. The final leg of the journey was upon a chartered train to New Jersey, nicknamed ‘the Nellie Bly Express’, and Bly was greeted by adoring fans as she traversed the country.Inspired by Jules Verne’s novel, Bly had a year earlier pitched to her editors at The World that she should be given the opportunity to try and travel the globe in under 80 days - but they’d felt it was a journey only a man could undertake.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how - unbeknownst to Bly - the challenge had actually become a RACE against Cosmopolitan writer Elizabeth Bisland; trace the origins of Bly’s inspirational ‘stunt girl’ reporting; and pry into the contents of Bly’s well-traveled suitcase… Further Reading:• ‘Nellie Bly's Record-Breaking Trip Around the World Was, to Her Surprise, A Race’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2016): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nellie-blys-record-breaking-trip-around-world-was-to-her-surprise-race-180957910/• ‘Around the World in Seventy-Two Days, by Nellie Bly’ (THE PICTORIAL WEEKLIES COMPANY, 1890): http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/world/world.html• ‘Journalist Nellie Bly begins her trip around the world in 80 days’ (WUSA9news, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndm38_0ZCSc#Person #Explorer #1800sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/25/2023 • 10 minutes, 41 seconds

Japanese ‘holdout’ Shoichi Yokoi had been hiding out in the jungles of Guam since the Second World War when he was discovered by hunters on 24th January, 1972, dressed in clothes woven from tree fibre.The 57 year-old soldier had endured 27 years living in an underground shelter he dug himself, eating toads, river eels and rats. Although he had heard the War was over, he believed it would be a disgrace to surrender to the Americans.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Yokoi survived so much longer than his comrades; consider what life was like for him when returned home and saw his own gravestone; and reveal that, despite him becoming a household name in Japan, he wasn’t in fact the last holdout to be discovered… Further Reading:• ‘Shoichi Yokoi, the Japanese soldier who held out in Guam’ (BBC News Magazine, 2012): https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16681636• ‘Shoichi Yokoi Was the Last Japanese World War II Soldier to Surrender’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2022): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-japanese-wwii-soldier-who-refused-to-surrender-for-27-years-180979431/• ’SOLDIER RETURNS HOME TO JAPAN AFTER 28 YEARS IN HIDING’ (Associated Press, 1972): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcUcBbf6PRg#WW2 #Japan #MysteryLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/24/2023 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame welcomed its first inductees in a star-studded event at the Waldorf Astoria, New York on 23rd January, 1986. But the ceremony was not the glamorous HBO spectacular we have come to expect today: the audience was mostly music executives, and it was not filmed for television.Conceived by Atlantic Records chairman Ahmet Ertegun, the nonprofit foundation initially had lofty ambitions of recognising unsung heroes of the genre, and redressing racial injustice.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Rock Hall came to be located in Cleveland, of all places; investigate the claims of sexism that have plagued the institution; and recall the phenomenal rejection issued by Axl Rose following an invitation to perform… Further Reading:• ‘The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: From An Idea, To  A Labor Of Love, To A Spectacular Event’ (Billboard, 2004): https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0A8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA17&dq=ertegun+rock+and+roll+hall+of+fame&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi3os-Fr7r8AhWQaMAKHZc8AzoQ6AF6BAgEEAI#v=onepage&q=ertegun%20rock%20and%20roll%20hall%20of%20fame&f=false• ‘Why the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame should be put out of its misery’ (The Guardian, 2016): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/04/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-should-be-destroyed• ‘Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Jerry Lee Lewis, Neil Young – "Roll Over Beethoven"’ (Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, 1986): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM_1eDzWYzI&list=PLuYH1Vrzl1TMtAjBPm80j0EGOT0FL8Uc4&index=2#80s #Music #NewYorkBut wait! There’s more: discover SIX MINUTES+ of bonus content, cut-for-time from today's episode, when you Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/23/2023 • 10 minutes, 40 seconds

According to Finnish legend, a peasant farmer named Lalli murdered the Christian missionary Bishop Henry on the ice of lake Köyliönjärvi on January 20, 1156, dispatching him with an axe blow to the head.It is fair to say things didn’t go terribly well for Lalli after that. He met a gruesome fate that takes various forms depending on the tale you read, but in general Lalli takes the bishop's mitre to wear and when he tries to remove it, it tears his scalp off. The bishop, meanwhile, fared rather better posthumously, going on to become Saint Henry.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss which bits of the tale are true; explain why the real villain of the story is Lalli’s wife; and discover that the 11th greatest Finn was a four-time Olympic gold medalist, who is also known for his later ill-advised careers as a singer and stripper.  Further Reading:• ‘The axe of Lalli and the cap of St. Henry – a view from Finland’ (Routledge, 2020): https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429053726-3_26/axe-lalli-cap-st-henry-view-finland-miikka-tamminen• ‘The Murder of Saint Henry, Crusader Bishop of Finland’ (Éditions de la Sorbonne, 2016): https://books.openedition.org/psorbonne/33154?lang=en#:~:text=The%20so%2Dcalled%20'First%20Finnish,and%20its%20motive%20was%20revenge• ‘Murdering Bishop Henry – Finland's First Martyr’ (Finnish Mythology with Antti Palosaari, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDJrsEvwmHI#Medieval #Strange #Finland  We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/20/2023 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

Rerun. Research In Motion were once the world’s most popular maker of smartphones, but when they launched the BlackBerry 850 on 19th January, 1999, the device had no phone functionality: it was marketed as a two-way pager.However, the gadget’s ability to bounce emails from a desktop server to its users on the move, and its bespoke instant messaging service, BBM, ensured it soon became an essential tool in the executive businessperson’s arsenal. Until the iPhone came along, anyway…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the ‘CrackBerry’ phenomenon; unpick the role of Al Gore and Barack Obama as ultimate celebrity influencers for the brand; and wonder whether anyone will still be using one, after the company’s recent announcement that their handsets will no longer be supported…Further Reading:• ‘The one reason why I’ll always miss the BlackBerry’ (Slate, 2013): https://slate.com/technology/2013/10/the-one-reason-why-ill-always-miss-the-blackberry.html• ‘The rise and fall of the BlackBerry in popular culture’ (BBC Newsbeat, 2016): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-37500230• ‘Classic BlackBerry Devices To Officially Stop Working After Decades Of Popularity’ (NBC Today, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWhuVEfDPv8‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/19/2023 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

One of earliest recorded UFO sightings in America happened on 18th January, 1644 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony when lights rose out of the water near Boston, zoomed across the sky and vanished over the horizon.The events, as documented by the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony John Winthrop in his journal, took place a good 300 years before Roswell, contradicting the idea that UFO sightings in the US are an exclusively 20th Century phenomenon.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain that the most common explanation for what was witnessed was an “ignis fatuus” (a type of gas combustion); investigate what other UFO sightings took place between 1644 and today; and speculate why aliens didn’t seem to have any interest in abducting humans until the 1960s.Further Reading:• ‘America’s First UFO Sighting’ (History.com, 2016): https://www.history.com/news/americas-first-ufo-sighting• ‘A pilgrim UFO sighting came long before Roswell’ (Ripleys, 2018): https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/pilgrim-ufo/• ‘Top 5 shocking UFO sightings in the USA’ (History, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR4mDKwagAA#Strange #1600s #US   Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/18/2023 • 10 minutes, 35 seconds

On January 17, 1893, Hawaii’s monarchy was overthrown when a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate, the first step towards the islands’ annexation as a US territory and eventual admission as the 50th state in the union.Interest in Hawaii began in America as early as the 1820s, when New England missionaries tried in earnest to spread their faith there, but only really became serious in 1880s when Queen Liliuokalani began trying to return power to the indigenous Hawaiian people. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss the contemporary US efforts to make amends for the past; look at Queen Liliuokalani’s many talents, including composition; and speculate that Parents’ Day at the Hawaiian Chief’s Children’s School must have been an awkward affair…Further Reading:• ‘Five Things To Know About Liliʻuokalani, the Last Queen of Hawaiʻi’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/five-things-know-about-liliuokalani-last-queen-hawaii-180967155/• ‘Queen Lili‘uokalani - The First and Last Queen of Hawai‘i’ (PBS, 2020): https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/queen-liliuokalani-the-first-and-last-queen-of-hawaii-kx2oc7/15032/• ‘Aloha Dying - A Hawaii Documentary’ (Cody Brooks, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhMa-NHZRCA&t=2115s #US #Black #PersonLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/17/2023 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

Prior to the release of his book Don Quixote on 16th January, 1605, Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes had previously been a soldier, a royal messenger, a tax collector and – for a spell – a slave.But perseverance paid off for the aspiring author who, at the age of 57, produced a book that has been called “the greatest piece of literature ever written”.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why Cervantes’ poetry and plays weren’t as successful as his first novel; reveal how his characters became embedded in the English language; and explain why Don Quixote is really just Shrek but 400 years earlier.  Further Reading:• ‘Disney’s many failed attempts to bring Don Quixote to the screen’ (Polygon, 2020): https://www.polygon.com/entertainment/2020/9/15/21436961/disneys-failed-attempts-to-bring-don-quixote-to-the-screen• ‘No Ordinary Man - The Life and Times of Miguel de Cervantes’ (Dover Publishing, 2006): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/No_Ordinary_Man/CBHLqNlLuEMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Miguel+de+Cervantes&printsec=frontcover• ‘Why should you read "Don Quixote"?’ (TED-Ed, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDUPu6tMWHY #1600s #Books #SpainLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/16/2023 • 10 minutes, 39 seconds

It was today in history in 1404 that Henry IV issued the Act Against Multipliers, a ban on the mysterious art of creating or duplicating gold, more commonly known as alchemy.It came at an odd time for European science because the widespread efforts to transform so-called base metals, such as lead or copper, into noble metals, such as silver or gold, while futile, actually aided the discovery of things like combustion and gunpowder.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss the connection between the science of multiplying metals and religion; explain why the Ancient Greek notion of the four elements – fire, earth, air, and water – was so resilient; and reveal why plenty of people before Harry Potter were interested in the Philosopher’s Stone…Further Reading:• ‘When Chemistry Was Outlawed’ (Vice, 2015): https://www.vice.com/en/article/3dk7mj/when-chemistry-was-outlawed• ‘The Day England Outlawed Alchemy’ (Forbes, 2018): https://www.forbes.com/sites/kionasmith/2018/01/13/the-day-england-outlawed-alchemy/?sh=11c1170539bd• ‘How Alchemy Led to Modern-Day Chemistry & Medicine’ (SciShow, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maQ_Gd7TapI#1400s #UK #ScienceWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/13/2023 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Rerun. Dr James Bedford became the first dead body to be cryogenically frozen on 12th January, 1967 – a day still commemorated in the ‘suspended animation’ community as Bedford Day.But in this burgeoning (pseudo)science, there were plenty of preparations yet to be made. Which meant that the freezing team – lead not by scientists but enthusiasts – ran out of ice, and forgot to drain his blood. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dive into the legal cases that sprang from this early period of cryogenic freezing; consider the psychological implications of being awoken from death, generations after your grandchildren have died; and propose a controversial solution for minimising future errors in the process…CONTENT WARNING: description of decompositionFurther Reading:‘Cool dude James Bedford has been cryonically frozen for 50 years’ (CNET, 2017): https://www.cnet.com/news/cool-dude-james-bedford-has-been-cryonically-frozen-for-50-years/Cryonics: Will These Bodies Come Back From Death? (The Atlantic) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YjrQVVSSbIPhoto credit: Alcor‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/12/2023 • 10 minutes, 41 seconds

British Airways paid out one of the largest libel settlements in UK history on 11th January, 1993, for engaging in disreputable business practices, including shredding documents, poaching passages, and circulating hostile and discreditable stories about their upstart rival Virgin Airlines.The so-called Dirty Tricks revealed that British Airways had created a secret unit within a secure office in Gatwick dedicated to destroying Richard Branson’s new airline through a range of nefarious strategies. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss the sneaky activities that British Airways’ Helpline team were tasked with carrying out; explain how the murky story ended up in court; and reveal Richard Branson’s fool-proof single piece of advice for anyone who wants to become a millionaire… Further Reading:• ‘British Air to pay for “Dirty Tricks”’ (The Chicago Tribune, 1993): https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-01-12-9303161067-story.html• ‘British Airways Virgin Atlantic Dirty Tricks (1993)’ (Granada TV, 1993): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm54xVyqBLI&t=7s#90s #Business #UKLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/11/2023 • 10 minutes, 43 seconds

On 10th January, 1870 John D. Rockefeller took his first steps towards becoming the world’s richest ever person by forming his company, Standard Oil.He had arrived in the oil industry at a time of wild instability when oil refining was almost a cottage industry. Rockefeller quickly realised that if he had control over not just the refineries but also the output and distribution of refined oil he could keep prices as high as he liked – a mode of thinking that his critics and rivals declared monopolistic. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss what Rockerfeller was imagining oil might be useful for given cars hadn’t been invented yet; reveal how he bankrupted his competitors; and explain why Winston Churchill turned down an invitation to write Rockerfeller’s biography… Further Reading:• ‘Biography of John D. Rockefeller, America's First Billionaire’ (Thought Co, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/john-d-rockefeller-p2-1779821 • ‘John D. Rockefeller Was the Richest Person To Ever Live. Period’ (TSmithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/john-d-rockefeller-richest-person-ever-live-period-180961705/• ‘William Hague on William Pitt’ (Cambridge University, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0tHmYEaqok#1800s #US #BusinessLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/10/2023 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”, the American statesman Benjamin Franklin once said, but until 9 January, 1799, taxation looked very different to the way it does today, because this was the day the world was first introduced to income tax.Its introduction by British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger was not one of his most popular innovations, but he had good reason to be wanting to bring more money into the government’s coffers, given the national debt had doubled during the American War of Independence and now stood at £243 million.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why there was a bonfire outside Westminster the day income tax was eventually repealed; marvel that taxation used to target the wealthy rather than the poor; and reveal why taxing farts is more sensible than it sounds… Further Reading:• ‘9 January 1799: income tax introduced to Britain’ (Money Week, 2021): https://moneyweek.com/372129/9-january-1799-income-tax-introduced-to-britain • ‘A short history of income tax’ (The Independent, 1995): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/a-short-history-of-income-tax-1577708.html• ‘William Hague on William Pitt’ (Cambridge University, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0tHmYEaqok#1700s #UK #Politics #EconomicsLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/9/2023 • 10 minutes, 44 seconds

Roller skates, most readily associated with the 1970s, were actually first patented in the US on 6th January, 1863, by New York furniture salesman James Plimpton.Plimpton developed the shoes after being advised by his doctor to take up ice skating, yet finding himself with nowhere to skate in the Spring and Summer months. He guarded his innovation zealously, and created a leasing model for the novelty boots in specially sanctioned roller parks. America’s first ‘rinking’ craze - dubbed by the press “Rink-O-Mania!” - was born.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn about an earlier skate-maker, who literally ‘crashed the party’ in 1760s London; explain why roller-skating found a market in the prudish Victorian dating scene; and recall how the first ‘Roller Derbies’ would test their participants to grim exhaustion… Further Reading:• ‘Wonderful Things: Roller Skates, 1880’ (Science Museum, 2015): https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/wonderful-things-roller-skates-1880/• ‘Roller Skating in the 1900s - Hilarious Photos of Humanity on Wheels’ (The Vintage News, 2018): https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/10/03/photos-of-roller-skating-1900s/?edg-c=1• ‘Charlie Chaplin in “The Rink”’ (Mutual Film Corporation, 1916): https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx9i4KwCz0Sz1pmewu_KA5fA8YdPEmoM4O#1800s #inventionsWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/6/2023 • 10 minutes, 6 seconds

America's most notorious outlaws, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, first bonded over a cup of condensed milk hot chocolate on 5th January, 1930.The couple went on to traverse the States on a shooting spree, committing up to thirteen murders, before being ambushed and gunned down in Louisiana four years into their relationship.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Barrow’s descent into criminality began with the most unlikely of offences; explain how the pair’s devotion to their families in Texas proved part of their undoing; and recall how their stolen Ford V8, ‘The Death Car’, spent 40 years as a travelling tourist attraction… Further Reading:• ‘Biography of Bonnie and Clyde, Depression-Era Outlaws’ (ThoughtCo, 2020): https://www.thoughtco.com/bonnie-and-clyde-1779278• ‘Oddball Texas - A Guide to Some Really Strange Places,By Jerome Pohlen’ (Chicago Review Press, 2006): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Oddball_Texas/EPJ_0i9zNS8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=5th+january+1930+bonnie+clyde&pg=PA77&printsec=frontcover• ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (Warner Bros, 1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhqRFP0535k#30s #Crime #USLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/5/2023 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

The world’s tallest tower - Dubai’s Burj Khalifa - had its grand opening ceremony on 4th January, 2010, heralded with the launch of 10,000 fireworks. Previously known as ‘Dubai Tower’, it was re-named at the last minute in tribute to the Sheik of Abu Dhabi, who’d bailed out the neighbouring Emirate with a $10billion loan.Despite being built on sand, the 160-storey structure is over half a mile tall - but that includes 244 metres of unusable space in the spire. It’s so high up that Ramadan begins two minutes earlier at the bottom than in the mosque at the top!In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the building’s architects avoided the tower being toppled by winds; consider the cost of the 22 million hours of mostly immigrant labour it took to construct; and explain why, despite its state of the art design, it still isn’t connected to Dubai’s wastewater system… Further Reading:‘Economy Is Down, but Dubai Tower Tops All’ (The New York Times, 2010): https://archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/economy-is-down-but-dubai-tower-tops-all/?searchResultPosition=13‘The lost floors of Dubai's Burj Khalifa - why 200m of world's tallest building is empty’ (Daily Star, 2022): https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/lost-floors-dubais-burj-khalifa-26173492‘Richard Hammond: The Physics Behind The Burj Khalifa And Why It Doesn't Fall Over’ (Quest TV, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5i3UsiSoYY#UAE #Dubai #Architecture #2010sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/4/2023 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Nazi propagandist William Joyce, best known to British radio listeners as ‘Lord Haw Haw’, was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint at Wandsworth Prison on 3rd January, 1946.At the peak of his powers, his anti-Allied broadcasts from Hamburg reached up to 50% of the UK listening public, who tuned in to hear the German perspective on the looming confrontations, correspondence from British prisoners of War, and Joyce’s compelling, menacing, yet gossipy delivery of Hitler’s aims and accomplishments. And a bit of Jazz.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how there were not just one, but in fact three ‘Lords Haw Haw’; consider how Joyce leaned into his celebrity status during World War II; and reveal how his fraudulently-obtained British passport helped to seal his fate on the hangman’s noose… Further Reading:‘Treason law reform and the Lord Haw-Haw case 75 years on’ (House of Lords Library, 2020): https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/treason-law-reform-and-the-lord-haw-haw-case-75-years-on/‘Lord Haw-Haw: popularity of wartime Nazi propagandist made the BBC up its game’ (The Conversation, 2021): https://theconversation.com/lord-haw-haw-popularity-of-wartime-nazi-propagandist-made-the-bbc-up-its-game-150787#:~:text=Haw-Haw%2C%20wrote%20Hobson%2C%20had%20increased%20the%20nation%E2%80%99s%20Christmas,made%20an%20impact%20because%20he%20faced%20no%20contradiction.‘Germany Calling: Lord Haw Haw’s Final Broadcast’ (Station Bremen, 1945): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe-THrWu_4I#40s #WW2 #Nazis #GermanyLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/3/2023 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Compilation. Happy New Year, Retrospectors! Before the show returns on January 3rd, Arion, Rebecca and Olly are taking one last look back at their favourite episodes from 2022.In ‘Eva Tanguay, Cyclonic Comedienne’, the team recall the events of 1st March, 1910, when the vaudeville megastar was arrested in Kentucky after stabbing a stagehand three times with a hat pin. Her edgy charisma, style and sexuality gave her a stellar career, coupled with suggestive lyrics and wild gossip calculated to keep her in the public eye.In ‘Captain Blood and the Crown Jewels’, we explain how fugitive Thomas Blood sneaked his way into the Tower of London’s jewel room on 9th May, 1671 – bludgeoning the 77 year-old Keeper of the Jewels, Talbot Edwards, in the process. The audacious and complex heist involved multiple pairs of white gloves, a fake nephew and stuffing an orb down his trousers.Finally, in ‘Finger Lickin’ Lawsuit’, the Retrospectors recount the events of 14th March, 1978, when Colonel Sanders was at legal loggerheads with the owners of KFC over his constant criticism of their food. As franchises were being rolled out worldwide, Sanders described the new batter as "a damn fried doughball stuck on some chicken", and the iteration of his gravy as "God-damned slop"...Further Reading:• ‘Attempt to steal the Crown Jewels’ (The National Archives): https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/significant-events/attempt-to-steal-the-crown-jewels/ • ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken of Bowling Green, Inc. v. Sanders’ (Supreme Court of Kentucky, 1978):https://law.justia.com/cases/kentucky/supreme-court/1978/563-s-w-2d-8-1.html• ‘Eva Tanguay sings ‘I Don't Care’’ (Nordskog, 1922): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zte2sDJ0rysLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/1/2023 • 33 minutes, 13 seconds

Happy Holidays! Arion, Rebecca and Olly will be back with more cracking ‘Today in History’ content from January 3rd 2023… but in the meantime, it’s time to wrap the year with the Pub Quiz that ONLY makes sense if you’ve doggedly revised everything we’ve discussed for the past 51 weeks.It’s Arion vs Rebecca as Olly tests their knowledge on subjects as diverse as Ozzy Osbourne, blade-stropping and Milton Hershey’s middle name. Can Rebecca keep her crown from 2021? Does Arion’s attempt to get his rivals drunk pay dividends? And for which iconic TV show was the pilot episode called ‘Ned’s Bicycle’? The Retrospectors reveal all.Thanks so much for listening to the show this year. If you’ve enjoyed what we’ve done, pretty please leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts - it really helps others discover the show:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/today-in-history-with-the-retrospectors/id1564093130And if you want even more to listen to over the festive period - that’s weekly, full-length Sunday episodes, an ad-free feed, and over 75 bonus bits of content unlocked immediately - join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴for less than £1 per week, and support our independent podcast: join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/23/2022 • 16 minutes, 43 seconds

Rerun. The first string of lights festooned upon a tree dazzled visitors to the New York home of Edward Johnson, Vice President of the Edison Electric Light Company, on 22nd December, 1882.Lit patriotic red, white and blue, the tree also revolved; wowing a reporter from The Detroit Post and Tribune. “At the rear of the beautiful parlors, was a large Christmas tree presenting a most picturesque and uncanny aspect,” he wrote. “It was brilliantly lighted with… eighty lights in all encased in these dainty glass eggs… One can hardly imagine anything prettier.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal what electric lights have in common with potatoes; ask why Americans were frightened of wired bulbs yet quite content to set candles on fire and attach them to flammable resin in their own homes; and untangle how a failed patent application was responsible for the trend finally catching on…Further Reading:‘Untangling the History of Christmas Lights’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2016): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/untangling-history-christmas-lights-180961140/‘Who Invented Christmas Lights?’ (PBS, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qB61a_qbuo‘Thomas Edison planned to invent a machine to talk to the dead’ (weirdhistorian, 2016): https://www.weirdhistorian.com/thomas-edison-talked-to-the-dead/‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/22/2022 • 10 minutes, 17 seconds

Melancholic Elvis pastiche ‘Lonely This Christmas’, by glam rockers Mud, became the UK’s Christmas No. 1 hit on 21st December, 1974, beating off festive competition from top 70s popsters Gilbert O’ Sullivan, The Goodies, and The Wombles. Despite its continuing popularity in Britain, there remains a widespread misconception that the track was actually sung by Elvis Presley, rather than Les Gray doing an impersonation of him. Even though Elvis himself had a song in the Top 10 at the same time.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain Basil Brush’s role in making Mud true contenders; explain why the band appeared on ‘Top Of The Pops’ with a ventriloquist’s dummy; and consider the valuable role of downbeat pop in the Christmas charts… Further Reading:• ‘Lonely This Christmas: Mud’s Fantastic Wallow In Festive Misery’ (Dig!): https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/lonely-this-christmas-mud-song/#:~:text=Lonely%20This%20Christmas%20wasn%E2%80%99t%20just%20iconic%20in%20terms,huge%20amounts%20of%20fake%20snow%20over%20the%20group.• ‘1,000 UK Number One Hits By Jon Kutner & Spencer Leigh’ (Omnibus Press, 2010): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/1_000_UK_Number_One_Hits/BwwLBaH9488C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=les+gray+%2B+lonely+this+christmas+%2B+number+1&pg=PT526&printsec=frontcover• ‘Mud - Lonely This Christmas’ (BBC Top Of The Pops, 1974): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a61sUu5rcu8#Christmas #Music #70s #UKLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/21/2022 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

The ‘Frost Fair’, held on the frozen River Thames, caused a sensation on 20th December, 1683, when all London society, from Charles II down, came out to enjoy a bacchanalian Christmas on the ice. The festivities were a great relief for a nation riddled with smallpox, and enduring what was possibly Britain’s coldest ever Winter.Among the entertainments on offer were fox-hunting, co*ck-fighting, sledding, coach-racing, pop-up barbers, barbecues and public houses, and, um, a lot of sex workers. Plus something called ‘Dutch Whimsy’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the monarch’s attendance at the event was so important to the capital’s watermen; reveal how printed souvenirs came to be THE must-have keepsake from the fair; and explain how the ‘new’ London Bridge ruined all the frost fair fun… Further Reading:• ‘The Great Frost Fair of 1683-4’ (History Today, 1960): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/great-frost-fair-1683-4• ‘A Carnival on the Water: the Frost Fair of 1683’ (British Library, 2017) : https://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2017/05/a-carnival-on-the-water-the-frost-fair-of-1683.html• ‘Frost Fairs: London's Frozen Thames’ (Museum of London, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM923V4G6zs#1600s #London #ChristmasLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/20/2022 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds

Charles Dickens’ novella ‘A Christmas Carol’ was written in just six weeks, and published on 19th December, 1843. The timeless story, which introduced the world to Ebeneezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, was conceived in part to get its author out of a sticky financial situation.Dickens’ other motive was to put into an accessible fable the political ideas that had formed the core of his proposed pamphlet, ‘An Appeal to the People of England on behalf of the Poor Man's Child’. In so doing, he re-focussed the Christmas message around charitable giving and kindness for generations. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Dickens plundered his own back-catalogue to surface some ‘Christmas goblins’; consider whether the book-buying public truly understood the intended message of his work; and reveal why his determination to produce it in an affordable edition hit him in the pocket… Further Reading:• ‘A Christmas Carol: The True History Behind the Dickens Story’ (Time, 2021): https://time.com/4597964/history-charles-dickens-christmas-carol/• ‘How did A Christmas Carol come to be?’ (BBC Culture, 2017): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20171215-how-did-a-christmas-carol-come-to-be• "What day is it?" (George C. Scott - A Christmas Carol - 1984): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO17UOjcovg#Victorian #Books #ChristmasLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/19/2022 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

30 Avenue Montaigne, Christian Dior’s atelier in Paris, opened its doors on 16th December 1946. His staff had just six weeks to get it ready for their first show on February 12th, 1947 - the landmark post-war collection that became known as ‘the New Look’.Bettina Ballard, fashion editor of Vogue, wrote: “Never has there been a moment more climatically right for a Napoleon, an Alexander the Great, a Caesar of the couture. Paris fashion was waiting to be seized and shaken and given direction. There has never been an easier or more complete conquest than that of Christian Dior in 1947." In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick Dior’s business decisions; explain how a connection with the British Royal family was cultivated and exploited to promote his nascent brand; and consider why he became known as ‘the tyrant of hemlines’... Further Reading:• ‘Christian Dior: The New Look’ (The Metrolpolitan Museum of Art): https://artsandculture.google.com/story/kwWhkHJ-Ok8UIg?hl=en• ‘Christian Dior - The Man who Made the World Look New, By Marie France Pochna’ (Arcade Publishing, 1996): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Christian_Dior/ffkK4dy00SoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=30+Avenue+Montaigne&pg=PA113&printsec=frontcover• ‘“Haute-Couture”: The world of Monsieur Dior in his own words’ (Dir. Henri A. Lavorel, 1949): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZESWE3myVLk#40s #Fashion #LGBT #FranceWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/16/2022 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

Rerun. Napoleon was buried in an unmarked grave in St. Helena. But, 19 years later, on 15th December, 1840, he got buried again: this time at Les Invalides, Paris. It was an ornate state occasion, involving multiple caskets, 500 sailors, 14 semi-naked female statues... and a lot of lardy cakes.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal what Napoleon’s cadaver looked like; explain why a previous petition to relocate his remains had failed; and discover an unexpectedly culinary description of the day from The Sunday Times…  Further Reading:• ‘Bring Him Home: How Napoleon Bonaparte’s delayed funeral came to be’ (Lapham’s Quarterly, 2020): https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/bring-him-home• ‘Napoleon’s legacy: ashes, tombs and DNA’ (National Geographic, 2010): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/napoleons-legacy• ‘Secrets of Les Invalides: Home to war veterans and Napoleon’ (France 24, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA4uvmiPVUQ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/15/2022 • 9 minutes, 53 seconds

Lionel Bart’s musical ‘La Strada’, based on the hit Fellini film, suffered the ignominy of closing after its opening night in New York on 14th December, 1969, losing $650,000.Heroin addict Bart never made it over to the States for the previews, during which time his songs were chopped and changed to such an extent that on opening night a Playbill could not be produced, because it would have been full of inaccuracies.In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca reflect on what went wrong; revisit Bart’s earlier flop, Robin Hood musical Twang!!, and check out the opening night reviews that killed La Strada, which, all things considered, aren’t *that* bad… Further Reading:• ‘Broadway’s Top Ten Musical Flops’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2011): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/broadways-top-ten-musical-flops-169390390/• ‘Before Lloyd Webber: how La Strada became one of the biggest flops in theatre history’ (Telegraph, 2017): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/lloyd-webber-la-strada-became-one-biggest-flops-theatre-history/•’Madeline Bell - Belonging’ (from the musical ‘La Strada’, 1969): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8nQYx7C2_k#Broadway #1960s #TheatreLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/14/2022 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

Celestine V rocked the Catholic world on 13th December, 1294, when he stood up, gave a short speech, stripped himself of his Papal insignia and resigned the Pontificate. He was 79 years old, and had been Pope for just 15 weeks. Previously a well-regarded hermit who’d lived a humble life in the mountains, he got the gig after writing a letter to the conclave, urging them to choose a new Pope soon, lest they incur God’s wrath. He had never considered that the Cardinals would respond by offering the job to him.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why medieval Papal elections sometimes took years to conclude; reveal how Charles II of Naples was pulling the strings behind the scenes; and recall how Dante responded to Celestine’s controversial ‘Great Refusal’...  Further Reading:• ‘The Pope Who Quit: A True Medieval Tale of Mystery, Death, and Salvation,By Jon M. Sweeney’ (Crown Publishing Group, 2012):`https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Pope_Who_Quit/dnp-eTkoAmkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=resignation+of+Celestine+V&printsec=frontcover• ‘In the Entire History of the Catholic Church, Only a Handful of Popes Have Resigned’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2013): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-the-entire-history-of-the-catholic-church-only-a-handful-of-popes-have-resigned-14734771/• ‘Pope Celestine V, the last pope to resign before Benedict XVI’ (EWTN, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4RSo6D076s#Catholic #Italy #Medieval #ReligionLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/13/2022 • 10 minutes, 42 seconds

Winona Ryder was arrested for shoplifting from Saks Fifth Avenue, Beverly Hills on 12th December, 2001. Amongst the products she had stuffed into her hat was a Marc Jacobs sweater worth $760, and Frederic Fekkai hair adornments listed at $600.At first, the Oscar nominated actress claimed she had been under the impression that her assistant would pay for the items later. Then, she said she had stolen them as research for a forthcoming role. But in court, the security guards said they’d seen Ryder clipping the tags off some items with scissors. She got 500 hours of Community Service, and her career was derailed for a decade.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Saks leveraged the opportunity for publicity purposes; examine the strange composition of the jury who decided Ryder’s fate; and ask if her appearance in a ‘Free Winona’ t-shirt was indulgent or amusing… Further Reading:• ‘A grass roots campaign to "free" Winona Ryder helps make $15 T-shirt LA's hottest style statement’ (British Vogue, 2002): https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/free-winona• ‘Ryder possessed 8 drugs during arrest, memo says’ (Chicago Tribune, 2002): https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-12-04-0212040374-story.htmlWinona Ryder Convicted of 2 Counts in Shoplifting - The New York Times (nytimes.com)• ‘America’s Dumbest Criminals’ (Channel 5, 2002): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unyKRYb7WPo#Hollywood #Crime #2000sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/12/2022 • 10 minutes, 39 seconds

Coronation Street, the world’s longest-running soap opera, first aired on 9th December, 1960. But only 13 episodes had been commissioned by Granada, following a torturous development process. Boss Sidney Bernstein remained far from convinced that the show would attract either audiences or advertisers for ITV.Created by 24 year-old Tony Warren, the new serial aimed to portray real lives on a suburban street in Salford. In his quest for authenticity, Warren intended to cast only Northern actors, and borrowed names for characters from gravestones he’d spotted in a Mancunian cemetery.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why TV critics from the left-wing papers slated the show; reveal how Warren’s past as a child actor informed the casting of some iconic Corrie characters; and revisit the real street where the iconic opening sequence was initially filmed…Further Reading:• ‘Coronation Street used to depict a world that was already dying in 1960’ (The Independent, 2016): https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/coronation-street-used-to-depict-a-world-that-was-already-dying-in-1960-a6914521.html• ‘Coronation Street at 60: The real story of the Salford neighbourhoods that inspired the famous cobbles’ (Manchester Evening News, 2020): https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/coronation-street-anniversary-itv-history-19325571• ‘Coronation Street, Episode One’ (Granada, 1960): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq-qudJGYPIBut wait, there’s more! 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴members can hear an EXTRA five minutes of chat about this legendary soap, just sign up to unlock this, Sunday episodes, and bonus content every single week 👇#TV #60s #UK #ManchesterWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/9/2022 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

The Pope finally defined the dogma of The Immaculate Conception on 8th December, 1854; confirming that, in the view of the Catholic Church, Christ’s mother Mary had not only been ‘full of grace’, but was completely absent of sin even at her own conception.Even though this had been an unofficial concept for centuries prior, it still proved controversial, with 10% of Bishops believing it should not be adopted as doctrine.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly marvel at just how recently this fundamental principle of Catholicism was established; probe around in James, Brother of Jesus’ Oedipal memoirs; and look at the role of Marian devotion in the Madonna-whor* complex…Further Reading:• ‘Christianity: Immaculate Conception’ (BBC, 2011): https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/beliefs/immaculateconception.shtml• ‘Did Jesus Have Siblings?’ (Franciscan Media): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/ask-a-franciscan/did-jesus-have-siblings• ‘Pope Francis explains the Immaculate Conception’ (Catholic News Service, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCGZRGkTq3UThanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it.The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie KingTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/8/2022 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

The most famous photograph of Earth - the ‘Blue Marble’ shot captured by NASA astronauts on Apollo 17 - was taken on 7th December, 1972. The deep blues of the ocean, the green continent of Africa, the yellow edges of the Arabian Peninsula, and the vast empty blackness all around our planet are memorably captured within it. But what can’t be said with certainty is who actually took it - as all three members of the crew have claimed they snapped the iconic image. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of this moment back to Stewart Brand’s counter-cultural ‘Whole Earth’ movement of the 1960s; explain how Jack Schmidt’s presence in the Apollo crew was scientifically groundbreaking; and reveal why the photo was flipped before it was printed on the front page of newspapers…Further Reading:• ‘The Blue Marble Shot: Our First Complete Photograph of Earth’ (The Atlantic, 2011): https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/the-blue-marble-shot-our-first-complete-photograph-of-earth/237167/• ‘Stewart Brand's Whole Earth Catalog, the book that changed the world’ (The Guardian, 2013): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/may/05/stewart-brand-whole-earth-catalog• ‘Our Blue Marble’ (The Obama White House, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwqLzSiFqlE#70s #Space #PhotographyLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/7/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

The Rolling Stones topped the bill at Altamont Speedway in Livermore, California on 6th December, 1969 - a free festival intended to rival the recent Woodstock in New York. But it was an organisational shambles, and turned deadly when an audience member was murdered. Notorious gang Hell’s Angels had been hired (allegedly in return for free beer) to provide ‘security’ for the event. They sat on a tiny stage, badly positioned in the pit of the racetrack, and attacked the crowds with billiard cues. Jefferson Airplane got pummeled. Mick Jagger was punched in the face.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the movie rights for Gimme Shelter lay behind the ill-judged decision to relocate the festival with just two days’ notice; evaluate the Stones’ limited commentary on the disarray, and 18 year old Meredith Hunter’s death; and consider whether this regrettable event really did represent ‘the end of the 60s’...Further Reading:‘The Altamont Free Concert, A Deadly End To The Hippie Era In America’ (AllThatsInteresting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/altamont-speedway-free-concert‘Remembering Meredith Hunter, the Fan Killed at Altamont’ (Rolling Stone, 2018): https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/remembering-meredith-hunter-the-fan-killed-at-altamont-630260/• ‘Altamont Speedway Free Festival 12/6/1969’ (Concerts Rock, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C28jTm6zRB8#60s #Music Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/6/2022 • 10 minutes, 14 seconds

James Christie held his first auction on 5th December, 1766 - billed as a sale of “genuine household furniture, jewels, plate, firearms, china and a large quantity of madeira and high flavoured claret” belonging to a “Noble Personage (deceased)”.His auction-house, Christie’s, went on to become one of the world’s leading dealers of fine art. But it took Christie many years to exploit this opportunity, which he accomplished partly by leveraging well-connected friends. His milieu included Richard Tattersall, Thomas Chipperfield, Thomas Gainsborough, Horace Walpole, Joshua Reynolds and David Garrick - a ‘Who’s Who’ of 18th century London once known as ‘Christie's Fraternity of Godparents’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Christie innovated public viewings, product placement and sales technique; connect the dots between the French Revolution and Christie’s biggest successes; and reveal how much it costs to buy a two-headed taxidermied lamb… Further Reading:‘James Christie: the eloquent auctioneer’ (Royal Academy of Arts, 2016): https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/james-christie-eloquent-auctioneer‘Mr Christie, before Christie’s… His early days’ (Artprice, 2021): https://www.artprice.com/artmarketinsight/mr-christie-before-christies-his-early-days‘Welcome to Christie’s’ (Christies, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ2kq20kK5U#1800s #Arts #PersonLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/5/2022 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

Sir Christopher Wren was officially appointed architect for the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral on 2nd December, 1697, though in truth he had been advising on it for some years already.Three decades later the celebrated British architect had produced a building that broke radically with the past, even if his original plans had to be adapted to the whims of the king, the clergy and the parliament.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why Wren loved domes so much; reveal the true reason why battering rams are a better demolition tool than dynamite; and explain why the cathedral became the ultimate humble brag…Further Reading:• ‘St Paul's: The new church’ (Cassell, Petter & Galpin, 1878): https://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol1/pp249-262 • ‘A History of St. Paul's Cathedral in 60 Seconds’ (Culture Trip, 2018): https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/st-pauls-cathedral-london/ • ‘Designing St Paul's - The Wren Office Drawings’ (St Paul's Cathedral, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skX-RXJnaWU #1600s #Architecture #UKWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/2/2022 • 10 minutes, 15 seconds

Rerun. Thousands of beer barrels were emptied into the streets across Lancashire on 1st December, 1900 - when it finally dawned on people that the cheap stout they’d been drinking with years was in fact contaminated with arsenic. Over 6,000 victims were poisoned, mostly across Manchester and Salford, thanks to the practice of padding out the barley used in the brew with inexpensive glucose syrup. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the role that the class system played in the initial diagnoses of mass ‘alcoholic multiple neuritis’; reveal the one company in the supply chain who eventually stumped up £136,000 compensation; and explain how general elections were believed to push the general public into the public houses…Further Reading:• ‘The Lancet’ covers the news (1900): https://www.sciencedirect.com/sdfe/pdf/download/eid/1-s2.0-S014067360189036X/first-page-pdf• ‘The 1900 arsenic poisoning epidemic’ (from the Journal of the Brewery History Society): http://www.breweryhistory.com/journal/archive/130/Arsenic.pdf• ‘Arsenic: The Most Popular Poison In Victorian Britain’ (Victorian Pharmacy, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93XYE56KwSk‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/1/2022 • 9 minutes, 27 seconds

On 30th November, 1803 a surgeon called Dr Francisco Javier de Balmis left Spain at the head of the world's first ever international public health expedition. His ship was bound for the New World, supplied with smallpox vaccines. But the vaccines weren't in syringes or in vials, they were inside the 22 orphans who were on the ship with him.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look into how the first smallpox vaccines worked; revisit how Javier de Balmis’s unusual approach helped eradicate the disease; and discuss whether popping pustules is better than inhaling scabs… Further Reading:• ‘Exhibition tells story of Spanish children used as vaccine ‘fridges’ in 1803’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/27/spanish-museum-celebrates-pioneer-who-took-smallpox-vaccine-to-colonies • ‘Balmis Expedition: How Orphans Took The Smallpox Vaccine Around The World’ (Amusing Planet, 2021): https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/12/balmis-expedition-how-orphans-took.html • ‘22 Orphans Gave Up Everything to Distribute the World’s First Vaccine’ (Atlantic, 2021): https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/01/orphans-smallpox-vaccine-distribution/617646/ • ‘What Was A Horrible Way Of Transporting Smallpox Vaccine?’ (QI, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_U7Ms4aKts #1800s #Americas #Medicine #StrangeLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/30/2022 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

Shortly after US president John F. Kennedy was shot dead, the Warren Commission was convened on 29th November, 1963 to answer the question on everybody’s lips: who did this and why?The shooting of America’s young president was a moment of trauma for many Americans, but when the commission returned its findings, most people were happy with their conclusions. However, as the years progressed conspiratorial thinking increasingly began to take hold. By the end of the 1970s, 81% of people surveyed believed that the murder of Kennedy was a result of a conspiracy. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why people stopped believing the official story they had been told; investigate why many people believe the CIA has continually tried to obfuscate the true story; and reveal whether the assassination was the work of mob bosses, Cubans, Soviets, the CIA or all of the above…  Further Reading:• ‘Warren Commission’ (History.com, 2018): https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/warren-commission • ‘Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy’ (GovInfo, 1963): https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GPO-WARRENCOMMISSIONREPORT • ‘Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy’ (LibriVox, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKA4erybBH8 #US #60s #Crime #MysteryLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/29/2022 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

Towards the end of 1983, frenzied parents battled with one another in stores across the US in a desperate bid to buy their children the toy of the moment, the Cabbage Patch Kid.The so-called Cabbage Patch Riots culminated on 28th November 1983 at a Zayre department store in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, when a melee broke out that was so intense a store manager grabbed a baseball bat to protect himself, police dispersed the crowds and four people ended up in hospital.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why Cabbage Patch Kids were in such short supply; look into why the toys had their inventor’s name emblazoned on their bottoms; and reveal the true story of how Cabbage Patch dolls came into being…  Further Reading:• ‘The Not-So-Sweet Truth About Cabbage Patch Kids’ (Good Housekeeping, 2015): https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a32201/cabbage-patch-dolls-history/ • ‘The strange story of the Cabbage Patch Kid Riots of 1983’ (ABC, 2022): https://abc7ny.com/cabbage-patch-dolls-crazy-riot-the-vault/5713681/ • ‘Tales from the Cabbage Patch Riots of 1983’ (Pixel Dan, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpa5IZiAfC0 #US #80s #Strange #ToysPicture: Flickr/Benjamin GrayLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/28/2022 • 10 minutes, 40 seconds

Elián González was just five years old when he was found clinging to an inner tube off the coast of Florida on 25th November, 1999. His mother, step-father, and all the other Cuban migrants who had been attempting to cross to the United States with him were lost at sea.Elián’s future then became a matter of high-stakes diplomacy between the two Cold War countries: should he be granted residency with his extended family in Little Havana, or returned back to actual Havana to the arms of his father?In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the intense 24-hour news cycle that took hold over this seemingly small story; explain why even Gloria Estefan got caught up in the furore; and reveal how Alan Diaz went about taking his Pulitzer prize-winning photo of the FBI raid on Elián’s uncle’s home…  Further Reading:• ‘Elián González: How Cuba and the U.S. fought over a child in an international tug-of-war’ (The Washington Post, 2019): https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/11/25/federal-agents-seized-year-old-elin-gonzlez-gunpoint-custody-battle-raged-months/• ‘Opinion | The Future of Elián González’ (The New York Times, 1999): https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/30/opinion/the-future-of-elian-gonzalez.html?searchResultPosition=4• ‘Elián González Believes He Would Have Been Used To Make Cuba Look Bad’ (CBS, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEgjpOK9t64#US #90s #CubaWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/25/2022 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Rerun. It took over three million years to find her. But palaeontologists Donald Johanson and Tom Gray uncovered the remains of ‘the Lucy Fossil’ - a previously undiscovered species of pre-human - in Hadar, Ethiopia on 24th November, 1974.Despite the find’s massive significance, the event was not greeted with untrammelled joy by all their rival fossil hunters. Some - who had wanted to claim such a discovery for themselves - began publicly disputing that Lucy was indeed a missing link in the evolution of humankind.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Lucy received her rock n’ roll name; explain how her tiny brain but upright walking turned previous scientific thinking on its head; and consider whether, actually, “Captain Caveman was quite accurate”...Further Reading:• ‘Nov. 24, 1974: Humanity, Meet Lucy. She's Your Mom’ (WIRED, 2009): https://www.wired.com/2009/11/1124lucy-discovered/• ‘Lucy and the Leakeys’ (Khan Academy): https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/big-history-project/early-humans/how-ancestors-evolved/a/lucy-and-the-leakeys• ‘Donald Johanson: Discovering the Fossil “Lucy”’ (Freedom From Religion Foundation, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AX4eqqBcIM‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/24/2022 • 10 minutes, 33 seconds

The ‘Nickel In The Slot Player’ - the world’s first jukebox - made its debut at the Palais Royale Saloon bar in San Francisco on 23rd November, 1889.Created by Louis Glass and William S. Arnold, the contraption was an Edison Class M wax cylinder phonograph fitted with a coin mechanism and four stethoscope-like listening tubes, each operated individually and activated when a patron put a nickel in the slot.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the pianola still had the upper hand for decades to come; reveal how this new-fangled gadget paved the way for 1970s game arcades; and consider how, for African-American musicians in particular, the evolution of the jukebox was a game-changer… Further Reading:• ‘Nov. 23, 1889: S.F. Gin Joint Hears World's First Jukebox’ (WIRED, 2010): https://www.wired.com/2010/11/1123first-jukebox/• ‘Jukeboxes: An American Social History - By Kerry Segrave’ (McFarland, 2015):https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Jukeboxes/SC21CgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=jukebox+%2B+palais&pg=PA5&printsec=frontcover• ‘Automation Hits The Orchestra’ (British Pathé, 1958): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i9IyJ3n0cs&t=2s#Inventions #MusicLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/23/2022 • 10 minutes, 22 seconds

History’s most notorious pirate, Edward ‘Blackbeard’ Teach, was killed and decapitated by lieutenant Robert Maynard, who besieged Blackbeard’s boats in Ocraco*ke on 22nd November, 1718. Now recalled as a fearsome and gratuitous murderer, Blackbeard’s demonic character is not documented in contemporary sources. In fact, very little is truly known about Teach (even, indeed, whether that was his real name), apart from the fact he a) had a beard, b) was from Bristol, and c) was very good at pirating. But his formidable reputation of setting his beard on fire and rampaging his way round the high seas was sealed by the swashbuckling tales published after his death.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Daniel Defoe may be linked with the Blackbeard cult; rate the pirate’s expertise at cultivating psychological warfare; and unearth the story of Stede Bonnet, ‘the worst pirate of all time’...  Further Reading:• ‘Here's How Blackbeard the Pirate Really Died 300 Years Ago’ (Time, 2018): https://time.com/5457008/blackbeard-death/• ‘Blackbeard | Edward Teach's Life, Death & Legend’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/blackbeard-edward-teach-real-name-death-burning-beard/• ‘Horrible Histories: The Blackbeard Song’ (CBBC, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2IaNvAmBzU#1700s #Pirates #PersonLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/22/2022 • 10 minutes, 16 seconds

La Ronde, the USA’s first revolving restaurant, opened on 21st November, 1961, at the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. On the menu in the 298ft-tall tower was shrimp co*cktail, mahi-mahi, and ‘the Queen of beefdom’.It had a predecessor, though, in perhaps an unlikely city: post-war Dortmund, Germany. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of rotating restaurants back to Ancient Rome (of course); recall Elvis Presley’s role in furthering the popularity of high-rise revolving dining at the Space Needle; and consider the particular appeal of ‘high attractions in low rise cities’... But wait! There’s more! To unlock another FIVE MINUTES of this episode, join 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴- and get bonus bits each week, plus full-length ad-free Sunday episodes! This week, the Retrospectors discuss who invented the revolving restaurant, and reveal the best place in the world to get a Dirty Martini.Further Reading:• ‘A Moveable Feast: A Brief History of the Revolving Restaurant’ (Duck Pie, 2014): https://duckpie.com/2014/05/02/a-moveable-feast-a-brief-history-of-the-revolving-restaurant/• ‘Revolving Architecture: A History of Buildings That Rotate, Swivel, and Pivot - By Chad Randl’ (Princeton Architectural Press, 2008):https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Revolving_Architecture/H8gAaZj2e-AC?q=sky+view&gbpv=1#f=false• ‘Top of Waikiki Revolving Restaurant View’ (Life Is Amazing, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYOUofNjFU4#1960s #Germany #Strange #Food #WorldsFairLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/21/2022 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

The official trailer for ‘The Phantom Menace’ was uploaded to the Star Wars website on 18th November, 1998 - a reaction to the franchise’s rabid fans leaking their own camcorder footage to the web. It was the first time that an online preview of a movie trailer became a significant event in its own right.The trailer had been released into North American cinemas the day before, ahead of select screenings of ‘Meet Joe Black’, ‘The Heist’ and ‘The Waterboy’. Variety reported a lunch-time showing in L.A. for which as many as two-thirds of the audience attending had bought their ticket purely to view the highly-anticipated Star Wars trailer.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the glitchy, scratchy, pre-YouTube world of online trailer distribution; reveal how LucasFilm partnered with Apple to sprinkle some of their fairy-dust over a QuickTime product launch; and explain why the fan reaction to this iconic trailer remains more enthusiastic than for the actual film concerned…  Further Reading:• ‘Anticipation: The Real Life Story of Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace, By Jonathan L. Bowen’ (iUniverse, 2005):https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Anticipation/S7HqPbh3uI4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=phantom+menace+trailer+%22november+18%22+%22lucasfilm%22+%22bandwidth%22&pg=PA23&printsec=frontcover• ‘How Star Wars and the internet changed movie trailers’ (The Verge, 2015): https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/10/9882404/star-wars-trailers-movie-marketing-youtube-disney• ‘Trailer: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace’ (Lucasfilm, 1998): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD7bpG-zDJQ&t=105s#Film #90s #InternetWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/18/2022 • 10 minutes, 11 seconds

Rerun. Mehmet VI stepped on to a British warship to seek refuge in Malta on 17th November, 1922 - thereby becoming the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, a dynasty stretching back to the 14th Century. He was accompanied by his first Chamberlain, his doctor, two secretaries, a velt, a barber, two eunuchs, and a bandmaster. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dig into the archives to see how the event was portrayed in the triumphant West; consider the fate of the Royals left behind in modern-day Turkey; and ponder what ‘cautiously optimistic exile music’ might sound like... Further Reading:• ‘Great Ottoman Empire in Turkey’ (Go Turkey Tourism):https://www.goturkeytourism.com/about-turkey/great-ottoman-empire-in-turkey.html• ‘CONSTANTINOPLE 1922-1923, WHERE NOTHING HAPPENS AS ONE EXPECTS’, (Major P A J Wright OBE, The Guards Magazine, 2016): http://guardsmagazine.com/features/Autumn2016/16autumn_04Constantinople.html• ‘Ten Minute History - The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Birth of the Balkans’ (History Matters, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96n33WWgE9g‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/17/2022 • 10 minutes, 33 seconds

Why did Ivan The Terrible kill his son, Ivan? Ever since the day he supposedly brought a sceptre crashing down upon his head - 16th November, 1581 - this question has divided people. Did he suspect his son of a plot to overthrow him? Was he sexually assaulting his daughter-in-law? Was the whole tale dreamt up as a Catholic plot?It’s a controversy that remains a live issue in Russia, resulting in Ilya Repin's iconic painting ‘Ivan the Terrible and his Son Ivan’ being vandalized not once, but twice; and a campaign, supported by no less than Vladimir Putin, to restore Ivan’s reputation as, um… ‘Ivan the Not-So Terrible’?In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the various theories surrounding this much-debated event; question if an arthritic quinquagenarian was capable of such physical brutality; and expose Ivan’s lesser-known poetic qualities… CONTENT WARNING: graphic descriptions of murderFurther Reading:• ‘What Was So Terrible About Ivan the Terrible?’ (HowStuffWorks, 2020): https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/ivan-terrible.htm#:~:text=The%20boyars%20were%20clannish%20landowners%2C%20upper-crust%20types%20who,It%20was%20a%20sign%20of%20things%20to%20come.• ‘Russia's first monument to Ivan the Terrible inaugurated’ (The Guardian, 2016): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/14/russias-first-monument-to-ivan-the-terrible-inaugurated• ‘Ivan the Terrible and his Son Ivan’ (The Canvas, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwbWwvHDeb4#Russia #1500s Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/16/2022 • 10 minutes, 40 seconds

King C. Gillette was granted a US patent for a “safety razor” on November 15th, 1904 - kickstarting both the disposable grooming industry, and the notorious ‘razor and blades’ business model.Prior to his invention, men who shaved at home would have to strop their blades on a big leather strap, and occasionally take their razors to a cutler to have them returned to their original sharpness.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Gillette savvily used Army contracts to establish his brand across America; reveal how scientists at MIT told him his product design was simply impossible; and recall how he exploited TV advertising to reframe the conversation around male grooming… Further Reading:• ‘The History of Gillette and Schick Razors’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-razors-and-shaving-4070036• ‘Gillette’s Strange History with the Razor and Blade Strategy’ (HBR, 2010): https://hbr.org/2010/09/gillettes-strange-history-with• ‘Gillette: The Best A Man Can Get’ (Gillette, 1989): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThDBf14qPsc… want even more?In this week’s bonus bit, exclusively for 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴members, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Gillette’s disposable razors came to be stacked within the very walls of houses across America; consider King Gillette’s unexpected flirtation with Communism; and reveal how corporate competition from Wilkinson Sword demeaned Gillette’s green credentials yet further… get this and exclusive Sunday episodes by joining 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 now!#Inventions #1900s We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/15/2022 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

The Royal Wedding between Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips on 14th November, 1973 was a lavish affair at Westminster Abbey, with an anticipated global audience of 500 million - but the 23 year-old daughter of the Queen was clearly awkward about being the centre of attention, and asked to be only filmed from behind.Labelled ‘Princess Sourpuss’ by some of the tabloids, the public had yet to warm to Anne’s devotion to public service, love of horses and reticence to engage with the limelight. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick their favourite ‘facts’ from the exhaustive eight-hour TV coverage of this event; explain why it was bad form to mention sausages at the wedding reception; and revisit Prince Philip’s most quotable line about Anne: “if it doesn’t fart, or eat hay, she isn’t interested”... Further Reading:• ‘Royal Wedding Fever’ (The Observer, 1973): https://www.theguardian.com/news/2014/oct/12/from-the-observer-archive-14-october-1973-royal-wedding-fever• ‘Princess Anne Married Mark Phillips 47 Years Ago’ (People, 2020): https://people.com/royals/on-this-day-in-royal-history-princess-anne-married-mark-phillips/• ‘THE ROYAL WEDDING (COLOUR)’ (Movietone, 1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMsr7xfwoYc&t=3s#Royals #Wedding #70sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/14/2022 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

Britain's first ‘New Town’, built to accommodate 60,000 residents, was Stevenage, Hertfordshire - designated on 11th November, 1946 by Lewis Silkin, Labour’s Minister for Town and Country Planning. Inspired by the rush to accommodate Londoners displaced by the Nazi bombing of the capital, the construction of the concrete metropolis was heavily opposed by the 6,400 residents of ‘Old Stevenage’, the ancient town that was to be superseded.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace Silkin’s vision back to a 1695 essay by Quaker reformer John Bellers; ask whether the concrete-clad aesthetic of the architecture was a terrible mistake; and re-live nostalgic trips to play laser tag in the leisure park…Further Reading: • ‘Stevenage New Town’ (Stevenage Museum, 2022): https://www.stevenage.gov.uk/stevenage-museum/history-of-stevenage/stevenage-through-the-ages/stevenage-new-town• ‘Stevenage: The town that aimed for Utopia’ (BBC News, 2016): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-37826783• ’Mr. Silkin Goes To Stevenage’ (British Pathé, 1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txHbMusO33o#40s #UK #Architecture #Design We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/11/2022 • 10 minutes, 19 seconds

Rerun. In the early days of advertising, tyre company Goodyear sent a giant tyre on a coast-to-coast publicity trip. It was photographed on 42nd Street, New York on 10th November, 1930.Was this the birth of the ‘big things’ phenomenon that has lead us to roadside giant prawns, record-breaking sausages, and Instagrammable statues of Jeff Goldblum? Perhaps. We’ll go with it, anyway.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Goodyear’s publicity nous went beyond photo opportunities and into their very origin story; explain why press agent Harry Reichenbach once brought a lion into a New York hotel room; and discover how Australia’s love affair with the Big Banana, the Big Prawn and the Big Peg came to be… Further Reading:• The photo that inspired this episode - 42nd Street, New York, 1930 (excerpted from ‘Curious Moments’, published by Konemann, 1999): https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FDv1k7TXsAILXh7?format=jpg&name=large• ‘Most Ridiculous Ways Anyone Ever Promoted A Movie’ (Grunge, 2017): https://www.grunge.com/42153/ridiculous-ways-anyone-ever-promoted-movie/• ‘The World: Australia's BIG Things’ (PRX, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=178HL72VnTA‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/10/2022 • 9 minutes, 57 seconds

Prince Tokugawa Yoshinobu (徳川 慶喜) was the 15th and last shōgun of the Tokugawa shōgunate of Japan. On November 9, 1867, Yoshinobu tendered his resignation to the Emperor.This restored traditional rule for the first time in over 250 years, yet also progressively reformed the country; ushering in the Meiji era, under an Emperor who was just 14 years old.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the country’s policy of isolationism had come to be tested - first by Portugese, then Dutch, and then American interlocutors; explain why this tumultuous transition of power split the urban and rural Japanese; and consider why even bloody uprisings look nice in screen-print…Further Reading:• ‘From Meiji to Modernity: How Japan Reinvented Itself Through The 20th Century’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/japan-traditional-reinvention-20th-century/• ‘Meiji Restoration: Edo Period & Tokugawa Shogunate’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/topics/japan/meiji-restoration• ‘Tokugawa Yoshinobu : The Last Shōgun’: (JAPANquickies, 2021):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU6uY042IBI… want even more?In this week’s bonus bit, exclusively for 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴members, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss how the end of the shogunate changed Sumurai hairstyles, evolved the Army so it was able to score victory over Russia, and precipitated the global recognition of Japan as one of the big five powers in the world… get this and exclusive Sunday episodes by joining 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 now.Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it.The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie KingTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/9/2022 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

Guy Fawkes has gone down in history as the most-remembered figure from the thwarted 17th century plot to blow up the House of Lords and kill King James I. But the ringleader of this attempted terror attack was actually Warwickshireman Robert Catesby, who was shot and killed in Staffordshire on 8th November, 1605.This Catholic extremist, who had seen his father imprisoned for practicing his religion and sheltering priests, supposedly died clutching a portrait of the Virgin Mary. He was then decapitated; his head brought back to London to be placed on the side of Parliament House. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dabble in a bit of recusancy; explore the considerable repression that English Catholics were living with during this period; and consider how Catesby used his class and charm to coalesce his group of co-conspirators into the gunpowder plot that very nearly exploded the government… Further Reading:• ‘Robert Catesby, by Marilee Hanson’ (English History, 2022): https://englishhistory.net/stuarts/robert-catesby/• ‘A History of Treason: The bloody history of Britain through the stories of its most notorious traitors’ (The National Archives / John Blake Publishing, 2022): https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=p9SUEAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PT168&dq=8th+november+catesby&hl=en&source=newbks_fb&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false• ‘Gunpowder Plot – Stories from Parliament’ (UK Parliament, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YptNONmnXH0&t=0s#1600s #Catholic #UK #Crime #PoliticsLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/8/2022 • 10 minutes, 42 seconds

Why are the Republican Party represented by an elephant, and the Democrats (unofficially) by a donkey? The answer lies in the work of revered political cartoonist Thomas Nast, whose picture ‘Third Term Panic’ was published in Harper's Weekly on 7th November, 1874 - the day before the mid-terms.His Aesop-style symbolism is rather tricky for modern readers to untangle, but the satiric thrust of this particular cartoon related to news that President Ulysses S. Grant was considering running for an unprecedented third term in office. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why 19th century political cartoonists were so influential;  consider whether Nast’s view of the Irish corresponded with his more enlightened views on African-Americans; and reveal how Andrew Jackson reclaimed his portrayal as a ‘jackass’ and turned it into a political positive… Further Reading:• ‘Thomas Nast: The Father of Modern Political Cartoons by Fiona Deans Halloran’ (University of North Carolina Press, 2012): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Thomas_Nast/HlX6kAxzyRYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=thomas+nast+elephant&printsec=frontcover• ‘Why are an elephant and a donkey the Republican and Democratic party symbols?’ (The Sun, 2020): https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12977208/elephant-republican-donkey-democratic-party-symbols-elections/• ‘Elephant or Donkey? How Animals Became U.S. Political Symbols’ (National Geographic, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5MmEfkli9o#1800s #US #Politics #Publishing Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/7/2022 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first big-screen adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s best-selling book series, had its premiere in London's Leicester Square on November 4th, 2001.Among the glittering guest list were Sting, Cliff Richard, and the duch*ess of York, but Baby Spice spoke for all of us when she told reporters “I don’t know what to expect, but I'm really excited!”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why Warner Bros was so nervous about bringing Harry Potter to the big screen; look into how Steven Spielberg imagined the film when he was briefly attached to the project; and discuss how Daniel Radcliffe was given the title role ahead of 60,000 other boys who had auditioned for it…  Further Reading:• ‘Charmed 'Harry Potter' Is Poised to Set New Records’ (The New York Times, 2001): https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/23/movies/charmed-harry-potter-is-poised-to-set-new-records.html?searchResultPosition=164 • ‘Chris Columbus Interview: Harry Potter 20th Anniversary’ (Screen Rant, 2021): https://screenrant.com/harry-potter-20th-anniversary-chris-columbus-interview/ • ‘From the archives: The Chatterley trial’ (Spectator, 2010): https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/from-the-archives-the-chatterley-trial • ‘The Original Harry Potter ScreenTests that Started it all - Daniel Radcliffe’ (No1 Potterhead, 2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WqhS5o52T4 #2000s #Film #Arts #UKWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/4/2022 • 10 minutes, 35 seconds

Rerun. Attending or producing raves was made illegal in Britain with the passing of the Criminal Justice Act on 3rd November, 1994. The government even legislated against electronic dance music, “wholly or predominantly characterized by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats”These unprecedented restrictions were partly in reaction to the moral panic caused after a 'free party' at Castlemorton Common attracted 30,000-40,000 attendees, and the ire of the tabloid press.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the provenance of ‘revellers’ in the raver’s lexicon; explain why the creation of the M25 lead directly to the Act; and confess just how many illegal parties they’ve (inadvertently) attended… Further Reading:• ‘The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 becomes law’ (The Guardian, 2011): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/15/criminal-justice-public-order-act• Police clash with ravers at Castlemorton (BBC News West, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOySsljl54E• ‘Why did raves become illegal?’ (BBC Newsbeat, 2020): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-53170021#1990s #UK #music #culture‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/3/2022 • 10 minutes, 38 seconds

Publishing House Penguin Books was found unanimously not guilty of obscenity for printing an unexpurgated Lady Chatterley's Lover on November 2nd, 1960.The novel’s author, D.H. Lawrence, had died 30 years earlier, but the court’s landmark ruling had a significant impact on the publishing world, paving the way for greater freedom of the written word.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how the chief prosector Mervyn Griffith-Jones massively misread the social moment; look into how the case inadvertently helped usher in the coming era of sexual liberation; and discuss why the establishment would have been ok with the book if only the gamekeeper had died…  Further Reading:• ‘The trial of Lady Chatterley’s Lover: how the 'obscene' book caused a moral storm’ (History Extra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/the-trial-of-lady-chatterleys-lover-obscenity-trial/ • ‘Lady Chatterley's legal case: how the book changed the meaning of obscene’ (The Guardian, 2019): https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019/aug/01/lady-chatterleys-legal-case-how-the-book-changed-the-meaning-of-obscene • ‘From the archives: The Chatterley trial’ (Spectator, 2010): https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/from-the-archives-the-chatterley-trial • ‘Forbidden Love - Lady Chatterley's Lover’ (BBC, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjGOKzpvMz4 #60s #Books #Arts #Strange #UKLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/2/2022 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

John Adams became the first US president to move into the White House on November 1st, 1800, even though construction work was still underway and most of the building was unfinished.There was a reason for his determination to get in as quickly as possible: he clearly wanted to be the first president to live in the White House and there was an election coming up just a week later – an election that he lost.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why his wife hated the White House; look into why so many presidents finish their presidency in debt; and discuss why there are so many fun rooms in the White House, including a bowling alley, music room and even a cinema…  Further Reading:• ‘How the Declaration of Independence wooed Americans away from Britain’ (National Geographic, 2002): https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/06/how-the-declaration-of-independence-wooed-americans-away-from-britain • ‘Adams moves into the White House, Nov. 1, 1800’ (Politico, 2018): https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/31/president-adams-moves-into-the-white-house-nov-1-1800-949132 • ‘At home in the White House: how different presidents adapted to life in office’ (Prospect, 2017): https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/other/at-home-in-the-white-house-how-different-presidents-adapted-to-life-in-office • ‘The White House: A Journey Through Time!’ (The Time Travel Artist, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsJU0CMibEg #1800s #Architecture #US Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/1/2022 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

One of Giacomo Casanova's most famous deeds was his daring midnight, cross-rooftop escape from the dreaded “The Leads” prison in Venice on the night of October 31st, 1756.Key to his escape plan was a Bible, a large iron bar and an oversized bowl of pasta.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why Casanova wasn’t thrilled about being moved to a new jail cell with a better view; explain why he had a little nap right in the middle of his jailbreak; and  consider the awkwardness of being such an indiscriminate shagger that you eventually accidentally end up in bed with your own daughter…Further Reading:• 'How Casanova’s provocative memoir created a legend' (BBC, 2016): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20161108-how-casanovas-x-rated-memoir-created-a-legend • 'Giacomo Casanova Breaks out of Prison' (Odd Salon, 2016): https://oddsalon.com/jan-5-1757-giacomo-casanova-breaks-out-of-prison/ • 'Fellini's Casanova - The Escape’ (Produzioni Europee Associate, 1976): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccQ3f0agbU4 #person #1700s #Person #Italy #EuropeLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/31/2022 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

The life of Harvard University – the oldest institution of higher learning in the US – officially began on 28th October, 1636 when the Massachusetts Bay Colony appropriated £400 for its construction.It;s fair to say the first few years of Harvard’s existence were not a success, featuring whippings, poisonings, and way too little beef and beer for the students’ liking.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the university got its name; look into why early students had to learn Hebrew if they wanted to graduate; and discuss why Benjamin Franklin thought all Harvard students were “blockheads”...Further Reading:• 'Harvard’s History and Mission' (Harvard University, 2022): https://hds.harvard.edu/about/history-and-mission#:~:text=After%20God%20had%20carried%20us,it%20to%20posterity%3B%20dreading%20to • 'A History of Harvard University' (Best College Reviews, 2022): https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/history-behind-harvard-university/ • 'History of Harvard University’ (American History: 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhK3UG6hsXc We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/28/2022 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Rerun. Soviet naval officer Vasili Arkhipov may not have the name recognition of Castro, Kruschev and Kennedy - but his actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis on 27th October, 1962 almost certainly prevented World War Three from erupting. On-board a sweltering Russian submarine, he talked Captain valentyn Savitsky down from firing a nuclear torpedo at the United States Navy, whom, Savitsky falsely believed, were attacking his boat. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly speculate about what Arkhipov said to Savitsky to stop him from firing his ‘special weapon’; explain why his heroic story stayed untold until the ‘90s; and reveal where Jimmy Carter kept his nuclear codes… Further Reading:• How Vasili Arkhipov Literally Saved The World From Nuclear War (All That’s Interesting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/vasili-arkhipov• ‘9 Times the World Was at the Brink of Nuclear War — and Pulled Back’ (Business Insider, 2018): https://www.businessinsider.com/when-nuclear-war-almost-happened-2018-4?r=US&IR=T#:~:text=The%20Cuban%20Missile%20Crisis%20is%20perhaps%20the%20closest,DEFCON%203%2C%20two%20steps%20away%20from%20nuclear%20war• ‘Arkhipov family awarded Future of Life award’ (University of Cambridge, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziFzn8LN6l0\‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/27/2022 • 9 minutes, 42 seconds

The gunfight at the O.K. Corral – a 30-second shootout between lawmen and outlaws – occurred on October 26, 1881, in the small US mining town of Tombstone. When the smoke cleared, three people lay dead. The gunfight might have remained little more than a minor footnote in the history of the Old West, except that it came to be romanticised, dramatised and exaggerated by countless books and movies over the years to come.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the line between lawman and outlaw was more than a little murky in the Old West; look into why so many people had flooded to the small down of Tombstone in the first place; and discuss how the whole shootout could have been avoided if only someone hadn’t stolen someone else’s mule...Further Reading:• 'What really happened at the gunfight at the O.K. Corral?' (National Geographic, 2020): https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2020/03/what-really-happened-at-the-gunfight-at-the-ok-corral • 'Black-and-white view of O.K. Corral gunfight gets grayer' (The Denver Post, 2011): https://www.denverpost.com/2011/05/21/black-and-white-view-of-o-k-corral-gunfight-gets-grayer/ • ‘My Darling Clementine’ (1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3f3qIXXcEYLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/26/2022 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

On 25th October, 1668, Elizabeth Pepys walked in on her maid and her husband – the inveterate restoration shagger Samuel Pepys – in a position so compromising that Samuel himself could only bear to describe it using a mixture of French and Latin.And even though Pepys charted a period that included the Great Fire of London, wars, plagues and the triumphant return of Charles II, this unfortunate episode is one of the most compelling parts of his famous diary.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss the fallout from the unfortunate clinch; wonder why going to church seemed to be such a turn-on for the celebrated diarist; and detail how Pepys came to kiss the mummified remains of a dead queen...CONTENT WARNING: descriptions of sexual abuse, rapeFurther Reading:• 'Dear Diary, another day, another grope: Pepys and his women' (The Times, 2015): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dear-diary-another-day-another-grope-pepys-and-his-women-qwttz5tch3n • 'The Illustrated Pepys' (University of California Press, 1983): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Illustrated_Pepys/TC7bKxaolDMC?hl=en&gbpv=0 • 'Putting Samuel Pepys on the couch' (Prospect Magazine, 2016): https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/samuel-pepys-on-the-couch-psychoanalysis • ‘The Diary of Samuel Pepys – read by Kenneth Branagh’ (Hodder Headline Limited, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_7qxymcn2A Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/25/2022 • 10 minutes, 39 seconds

Mr Blobby made his anarchic television debut on 24th October, 1992, in a new segment called “Gotcha” on the hugely popular BBC show Noel’s House Party.The googly eyed, perma-grinning, yellow and pink character was an immediate hit, selling masses of merchandise to British kids and adults alike. At the height of Blobbymania, Mr Blobby released a No. 1 UK single and spawned four theme parks around the country.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly defend Mr Blobby against the haters; speculate on how he became an inadvertent victim of his own success; and marvel at what can be achieved with a lot of alcohol and just five minute of doodling...Further Reading:• ‘'A Loveable Anarchist': The Oral History of Mr Blobby’ (Vice, 2021): https://www.vice.com/en/article/qj85mq/mr-blobby-oral-history-television • 'A decade of Crinkley Bottom: Noel’s House Party remembered' (BBC, 1991): https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/november/noels-house-party/ • ‘Noel’s House Party: Season 2, Episode 1’ (BBC, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b53wCwecec Love the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/24/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Frank Lloyd Wright’s extraordinary Guggenheim building finally flung open its doors on 21st October, 1959, after a gestation period of two decades - during which time both Wright, and Solomon Guggenheim himself, had died.The reaction was mixed. Art critics panned the design, likening it to “a washing machine”, an “inverted oatmeal bowl”, and an “oversized and indigestible hot cross bun”. Even those who praised the architecture mostly felt it nonetheless overwhelmed the modern art displayed within it.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the notoriously nature-loving Wright had been persuaded to work on such an quintessentially urban project; reveal what colour Wright had intended the famously off-white exterior to be; and discover the attempt by artists and intellectuals to stop the beloved museum ever being built… Further Reading:• ‘Guggenheim Museum Opens in New York City’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/guggenheim-museum-opens-in-new-york-city• ‘What Wright Hath Wrought’ (The New Yorker, 1959): https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1959/12/05/what-wright-hath-wrought• 'American Built: An architect who broke all the rules' (Fox Business, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9YZ-6ZYLTIWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/21/2022 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

Rerun. William Alnutt tipped arsenic into the family sugar bowl on 20th October, 1847 - and five days later, the 12 year-old’s sweet-toothed grandfather, Samuel Nelme, was dead. It was the second time the deeply troubled Alnutt had attempt to murder to his grandfather, after a failed plot to shoot him with a pistol in their garden. His trial caused a media sensation.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Alnutt’s arrest coincided with the burgeoning concept of juvenile delinquency; study Alnutt’s letters from prison, begging forgiveness from God; and uncover the alarming availability of arsenic in Victorian London…Further Reading:• ‘WILLIAM NEWTON ALLNUTT, for the willful murder of Samuel Nelme’ (Old Bailey transcript, 1847): https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/print.jsp?div=t18471213-290• ‘Headlines from History - October crimes and punishment’ (The British Newspaper Archive Blog, 2017): https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2017/10/03/headlines-from-history-october-crimes-and-punishment/•  ‘Top 10 Most Evil Children In History’ (MindChop, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyBvr4-Cy_4‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/20/2022 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds

Richard Bacon was sacked from Blue Peter after The News of the World revealed he had taken cocaine; an event which was explained to the show’s young viewers by Lorraine Heggessy, then head of Children’s BBC, on 19th October, 1998.The escapade came to light after Bacon’s best friend sold the story via Max Clifford; the tabloid had then waited to publish the news to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the iconic, squeaky-clean TV programme.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the moment Bacon had to ‘hand back his badge’; re-read Miriam Stoppard’s 1998 advice for talking to children about drugs; and consider whether the outcome would be any different if the story had happened in the world of social media… Further Reading:• ‘Blue Peter Goody-Goody is a Cocaine-Snorting Sneak’ (The News of the World, 1998): https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/NINTCHDBPICT000001469236.jpg• ‘A Series of Unrelated Events by Richard Bacon’ (Penguin Random House, 2013): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_Series_of_Unrelated_Events/N3yAK6H-X4MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=richard+bacon+blue+peter&printsec=frontcover• ‘Head of Children’s BBC Lorraine Heggessey Apologies To Viewers of Blue Peter’ (BBC1, 1998): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEyQHA1zdNILove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/19/2022 • 10 minutes, 13 seconds

The East Java Ninja Scare - an outbreak of mass hysteria in East Java, Indonesia that led to hundreds of deaths - reached its peak with a massacre of suspected ‘sorcerers’ on 18th October, 1998.Essentially a witch-hunt in which vulnerable misfits were targeted for slaughter by superstitious vigilante mobs, the violence nonetheless had its roots in the very real murder of some Muslim clerics by unknown assailants, and the disarray following decades of Indonesian dictatorship.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the causes of this bizarre and scary chapter; explain how indigienous and Muslim practices combined in the East Java region to create a unique mix of beliefs; and discover how, despite the killings, the fervour and excitement had created a ‘carnival atmosphere’... Further Reading:• ‘Hunting and killing ninjas in Indonesia’ (New Mandala, 2016): https://www.newmandala.org/hunting-killing-ninjas-indonesia/• ‘Fears of Sorcerers Spur Killings in Java’ (The New York Times, 1998): https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/20/world/fears-of-sorcerers-spur-killings-in-java.html?searchResultPosition=1• ‘The Turning Point’ (Journeyman Pictures, 1998): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI97D4tMj70Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/18/2022 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

The London Beer Flood, which created a 15ft-high wave of booze, and claimed the lives of eight people, began on 17th October, 1814 - when an iron hoop came loose on a giant barrel at Meux’s famous Horse Shoe Brewery.The barrel, in which over a million pints of fermenting porter were brewing, exploded - triggering a chain reaction that effectively blew up the factory and caused bricks to rain down over a nearby slum area.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the only surviving eyewitness account of the tragedy; explain how Daddy issues might have caused Meux to construct such giant barrels of beer in the first place; and weigh up whether anyone made merry with the opportunities offered by a cascading river of ale…  Further Reading:• ‘This 1814 Beer Flood Killed Eight People’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1814-beer-flood-killed-eight-people-180964256/• ‘The Lost Beers & Breweries of Britain by Brian Glover’ (Amberley Publishing, 2012): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Lost_Beers_Breweries_of_Britain/R1GoAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=horseshoe+brewery&pg=PA49-IA44&printsec=frontcover• ‘Strange Stories: The London Beer Flood of 1814’ (Simple History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96OMuA65gooWant more? Discover FOUR MINUTES EXTRA CONTENT about the London Beer Flood when you sign up to 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴.We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/17/2022 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

Henry Blair, the only inventor ever denoted as a ‘colored man’ in the records of US Patent Office, received a patent for his invention of a mechanical corn planter on 14th October, 1834. For decades, it was believed this was the first example of an African-American inventor receiving a US patent.The truth turns out to be more complex, and is touched by the legacy of slavery, legal reform, and black activism… but Thomas Jennings, the inventor of ‘dry scouring’ (an early instance of dry cleaning) registered his patent thirteen years earlier and is, probably, the true holder of the title.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look back over some of the most useful inventions contributed by American people of colour; explain why the rules over enslaved people’s intellectual property were so vague and unreliable; and reveal what it looked like when Thomas Jefferson fobs you off…Content Warning: racism, negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or culturesFurther Reading:• ‘Inventor Henry Blair and His Patents’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/inventor-henry-blair-1991284• ‘Whose Patent is It?: American Patent Law Denies Slave Creativity’ (HistoryNet, 2017): https://www.historynet.com/whose-patent-is-it-american-patent-law-denies-slave-creativity/• ‘Awesome Inventions by African Americans’ (SciShow, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56AwEjXzh-UWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/14/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Rerun. The first ever U.S. officer to be convicted of treason, Army Lieutenant Martin J. Monti Jr., defected from the Air Service to the Nazis on 13th October, 1944.After a stint in radio propaganda, he joined the Waffen-SS, was recaptured by the Americans, and then claimed to be a prisoner of War. His family petitioned his Senator to go lightly on his crimes, the full extent of which only became clear when he sensationally confessed to treason in court.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly attempt to understand Monti’s repeated flip-flopping; uncover the hidden community of German-born Americans who returned to the Motherland to support Hitler; and explain why even Roosevelt was predisposed to believe Monti was just an ‘eager beaver’…  Further Reading:• ‘How a North County boy became the first U.S. military officer ever to be convicted of treason’ (St Louis Magazine, 2020):https://www.stlmag.com/longform/the-first-traitor-north-county-world-war-II/• ‘A Deserter and Confessed Traitor: The Amazing but True Story of Army Lieutenant Martin J. Monti Jr.’ (American Bar Association, 2017): https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/publications/litigation_journal/2017-18/fall/a-deserter-and-confessed-traitor-amazing-true-story-army-lieutenant-martin-j-monti-jr/• ‘The Only U.S. Pilot to Defect to the Waffen-SS during WW2… in October 1944’ (House of History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJd4aa0beQk‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/13/2022 • 9 minutes, 44 seconds

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ opened at New York’s Mark Hellinger Theater on 12th October, 1971. The Guardian summarized the show as “the work of two young Englishmen, from an original story by God.”The production was the first to be mounted in a traditional venue - but was far from being the first live performance of the rock opera, which had been staged in a series of illegal and unathorised concerts across America, following the incredible popularity of the original concept album there.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a failed bid to write a Eurovision entry led to the genesis of this iconic musical; consider why the album performed underwhelmingly in Britain before storming the States; and reveal why Lloyd Webber believed his Broadway debut was ‘one of the worst nights’ of his life…Further Reading:• ‘Look Back at the Original Broadway Production of Jesus Christ Superstar’ (Playbill, 2019): https://www.playbill.com/article/look-back-at-the-original-broadway-production-of-jesus-christ-superstar• ‘Jesus Christ, Superstar: Jews, Christians and Andrew Lloyd Webber hated the show at first’ (Stuff, 2018): https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/stage-and-theatre/102773312/jesus-christ-superstar-jews-christians-and-andrew-lloyd-webber-hated-the-show-at-first• ‘Jesus Christ Superstar: 1971 Broadway Production (Rehearsals, Opening Night)’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg08h-s14yA&t=4sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/12/2022 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

The Second Vatican Council - a conference of senior Catholics that transformed the way Mass is given in Churches around the world - began on 11th October, 1962. The incentive of Pope John XXIII, who had been elected in his late seventies partly under the presumption that he would not do anything particularly radical, the Council split opinion between the Church’s traditionalists and modernists, spawning rancorous division which still echoes today.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit John’s impromptu ‘moonlight speech’ in St Peter’s Square; consider how the Vatican needed to make reparations to Jews after the horrors of the Holocaust; and explain why some British literary figures, including Agatha Christie and Iris Murdoch, signed an open letter asking the new Pope to reverse the Council… Further Reading:• ‘Pope John XXIII opens Vatican II’ (HISTORY, 2010): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pope-opens-vatican-ii• ‘Statement by Scholars, Intellectuals, and Artists Living in England’ (1971): https://web.archive.org/web/20161020002716/http:/www.institute-christ-king.org/uploads/main/pdf/england-statement.pdf• ‘Pope John XXIII’ (British Pathé, 1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB3U3sFG61QLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/11/2022 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

Scent-o-Vision, an in-cinema olfactory experience, was unveiled at the New York World’s Fair on 10th October, 1940.Accompanying a short film ‘My Dream’, its Swiss inventor, Hans Laube, pumped in aromas of rose water, peaches and burning incense for his wowed attendees to sniff. But it would be two decades before the technology was finally put into a feature film - Mike Todd, Jr’s ‘Scent of Mystery’, in 1960 - and never used again.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the 50’s battle of the ‘smellaroo pix’, as Todd’s re-named ‘Smell-o-Vision’ took on the rival ‘Smell-O-Rama’; explore why theme parks ultimately provided the best platform for the theory in practice; and consider what happens when an audience experiences ‘olfactory fatigue’... Image source Carmen LaubeFurther Reading:• ‘Smell-O-Vision: That Movie Really Did Stink!’ (Neatorama, 2015): https://www.neatorama.com/2015/04/27/Smell-O-Vision-That-Movie-Really-Did-Stink/• ‘Rare pictures from the 1939 New York World's Fair’ (Rare Historical Photos, 2021): https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/1939-new-york-world-fair/• ‘Trailer: Scent of Mystery’ (1960): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7jNGsLEn2ULove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/10/2022 • 10 minutes

Léon Gambetta took to the skies above Paris in a hot air balloon on October 7th, 1870, soaring over the enemy German soldiers that surrounded the city on his way to raise new armies to swing the Franco-Prussian war back in France’s favour.Perhaps ill-advisedly, the charismatic statesman shouted “Vive la République!” as he went, thus attracting enemy fire which punctured his balloon, but the escape was successful, ultimately landing in an oak tree in Tours.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how 150 years ago hot air balloons came to be thought of as a convenient emergency evacuation technology; mull why Paris at night is so very beautiful, even during a siege; and explain why in a crisis it is always good to have plenty of seamstresses around…Further Reading:• ‘Franco-Prussian War: the conflict that plunged Europe into a nightmare’ (History Extra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/franco-prussian-war-europe-nightmare-consequences/ • ‘A Balloon Voyage with Gambetta’ (Appletons’ Journal of Literature, Science and Art, 1871): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Appletons_Journal_of_Literature_Science/_BwZAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 • ‘Gambetta’s balloon escape’ (wunderkammerchannel, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eBNlTvpsq0 We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/7/2022 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

Rerun. Agatha Christie’s ‘The Mousetrap’, the world’s longest-running play, opened at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham on 6th October, 1952, with a cast including Richard Attenborough. The producer, Peter Saunders, predicted the production would run for 14 months. More than 28,000 performances later, the show has become an iconic attraction in London’s West End, with a set that still includes the original mantelpiece clock present on stage on opening night nearly 70 years ago. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the unconventional choices Christie made with the copyright of the play; recount Noel Coward’s begrudging correspondence with her when it overtook Blithe Spirit as the West End’s longest-running play; and uncover the tragic backstory that inspired its plot… WITHOUT REVEALING THE TWIST! Further Reading:• History timeline from ‘The Mousetrap’s official website (2021): https://uk.the-mousetrap.co.uk/the-history/• “Less in it than meets the eye” - The Guardian’s original review of the production (1952): https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/nov/27/the-mousetrap-agatha-christie-opens-london-1952• ‘Meet The Cast of The Mousetrap’ (Theatre Cafe, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jKdE_gmen0 ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/6/2022 • 9 minutes, 28 seconds

American Apparel, the company founded by charismatic weirdo Dov Charney, first filed for bankruptcy protection on October 5th, 2015.It amounted to a fall from grace from just three years earlier when Charney had told ABC news that American apparel would live beyond his own lifetime. What he neglected to mention was that its ongoing life would be as an online only store, no longer making clothes in the USA.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how Charney’s high-minded idea of making clothes ethically went so dramatically wrong; discuss how the brand got rich by using gritty lo-fi sexuality to sell everyday basics; and look into how Charney’s cult of personality eventually proved his undoing…Content warning: reference to sex, abuse, p*rnographyFurther Reading:• ‘10 Most Controversial American Apparel Ads’ (Time Magazine, 2014): https://time.com/2901435/charney-american-apparel-ads/ • ‘American Apparel files for bankruptcy’ (The Guardian, 2015): https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/05/american-apparel-files-for-bankruptcy • ‘American Apparel CEO talks about the allegations against him’ (ABC, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iShrIY3GN6s Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/5/2022 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

The first ever Orient Express set off from Paris on October 4th, 1883, immediately becoming a byword for extreme luxury.With its wood panelling, silk sheets and gourmet menus, the train quickly became a favourite of kings, aristocrats, artists and even spies.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why the train neither went to the “Orient” nor was it particular “express”; discuss why a very particular type of heartbreak led Belgian businessman Georges Nagelmackers to come up with the sleeper train; and look into why the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rode the Orient Express…Further Reading:• ‘The True History of the Orient Express’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2014): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-history-of-the-orient-express-149702768/ • ‘The 50 Greatest Train Journeys of the World’ (Anthony Lambert, 2016): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_50_Greatest_Train_Journeys_of_the_Wo/j7YLDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 • ‘The truth behind the legend: The Orient Express’ (The Man in Seat 61, 2009): https://www.seat61.com/history-of-the-orient-express.htm • ‘28hrs on World’s Most Luxurious Train: The Venice Simplon Orient Express’ (Trek Trendy, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh56ESOVYdQ Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/4/2022 • 10 minutes, 40 seconds

The Roy half of Siegfried and Roy was mauled on October 3rd, 2003, by a 380-pound white tiger live on stage in Las Vegas.Roy lived, but was partially paralysed, which spelled the end for the wildly successful double act, which had performed more than 30,000 shows for 50 million people and generated well over $1 billion in ticket sales over nearly half a century.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how opulence, German accents and mullets proved a winning formula for Siegried and Roy; discuss how the pair bonded over a smuggled cheetah; and look into why there was a police investigation into the white tiger’s attack…Further Reading:• ‘Siegfried and Roy: What Happened the Night of the Tiger Attack?’ (Reader’s Digest, 2021): https://www.rd.com/article/siegfried-and-roy-tiger-attack/ • ‘The untold truth of Siegfried and Roy’ (Grunge, 2021): https://www.grunge.com/163908/the-untold-truth-of-siegfried-and-roy/ • ‘Roy Horn Reveals Shocking Info on Tiger Attack from 11 Years Ago’ (Entertainment Tonight, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU_d7O8dWww • ‘Siegfried & Roy Full Show: The Magic & The Mystery at The Mirage Las Vegas (Legends of Magic, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7VCa8yowlA   Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/3/2022 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

The first ever episode of Thunderbirds, the revolutionary British TV show starring puppets, aired on September 30th, 1965. It was instantly a hit in Britain, and elsewhere in the world, but its failure to captivate a US audience led to its untimely demise after just two seasons.The show used a system, coined by its creators as “Supermarionation” which involved pre-recording the voices, which would then be played back during filming. Each marionette’s head contained filters which converted the dialogue into pulses, which in turn travelled to solenoids in the puppet’s lips.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why each marionette needed three heads; look at how the Mercury Seven – the first batch of Nadi astronauts – were honoured by the show; and reveal which of the three of us still has Thunderbirds merch from when they were a kid.Further Reading:• ‘30 September 1965: Thunderbirds Are Go!’ (Money Week, 2020): https://moneyweek.com/409685/30-september-1965-thunderbirds-are-go • ‘Thunderbirds (Series One)’ (Fanderson, 2022): https://fanderson.org.uk/productions/thunderbirds-series-one/ • Thunderbirds - Trapped in the sky (Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, 1965) https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x28x1gu We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. • ‘Trapped in the Sky (Suite) | Soundtrack’ (Barry Gray, 1965): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE_vdb2rt7k Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/30/2022 • 10 minutes, 3 seconds

Rerun. The corpse of John Paul I was discovered by a nun in the early hours of 29th September, 1978. His body was embalmed within 24 hours, heightening suspicions that the cause of death may have been unnatural. He had been Pope for just 33 days.An unconventional Pope – who had refused to wear the papal tiara, use the Royal ‘we’, or sit on a ceremonial throne – he seemed to have had a weird premonition that he wouldn’t be in office for long, famously responding to his elevation to Popehood by telling the Cardinals, ‘May God forgive you for what you have done’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the conspiracies surrounding the Pope’s apparently untimely death; reveal the role of the unfortunately-named Cardinal Sin; and look back on some of his surprising comic journalism…Further Reading:• ‘Pope John Paul I is dead’ (CBS News, 1978):• ‘The Mysterious Death Of Pope John Paul I’ (All Thats Interesting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/pope-john-paul-i• ‘On This Day, 1978: Catholics mourn Pope’s death’ (BBC, 2005): http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/29/newsid_2542000/2542375.stm‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/29/2022 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Gilbert Bourgeaud, better known by his nom de guerre “Bob Denard” was shot in the head at least twice, married seven times and had at least three religious conversions. And on September 28th, 1995, he launched his fourth and final attempt to take control of the Comoros islands with his own private army.In fact, since gaining its independence from France in 1975, the Comoros islands have experienced more than 20 coups or attempted coups and several assassinations of their heads of state. And Denard was involved with a good proportion of them.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look into Denard’s incredible CV, which ranges from selling kitchen appliances to overthrowing countries; explore how the mercenaries of yesterday turned into the military contractors of today; and consider how Denard’s obituaries show just how far we've come as a society considering how many of them described him as “colourful”.Further Reading:• ‘Comoros coup leader surrenders to France’ (The Independent, 1995): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/comoros-coup-leader-surrenders-to-france-1576191.html • ‘Bob Denard obituary’ (The Guardian, 2007): https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/oct/16/guardianobituaries.france • ‘Bob Denard: French Mercenary Who Caused Chaos in Africa’ (African Biographics, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq4lfcJpVGs Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/28/2022 • 10 minutes, 40 seconds

The trend for “Arkeology” was kickstarted on September 27th, 1829, when the German explorer Friedrich Parrot ascended to the top of Mount Ararat in Armenia, which was believed at the time to be the final resting place of Noah’s Ark.This was actually Parrot’s third attempt to climb to the top of Ararat. One of the previous two attempts had been scuppered because the climbing party had attempted to bring a huge and unwieldy cross with them to erect on the summit. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Parrot actually believed Noah’s Ark was up there, or whether he just wanted an excuse to climb a cool mountain; investigate the biblical basis for why Armenia was thought to be the final resting place of the Ark; and ponder why every evangelical Christian expedition to find the Ark is always so successful. Further Reading:• ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (The Sun, 2021): https://www.the-sun.com/news/3725022/noahs-ark-buried-turkish-mountains-experts-3d-scans-prove/ • ‘Scenes of Modern Travel and Adventure’ (Thomas Nelson, 1851): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Scenes_of_Modern_Travel_and_Adventure/lbNWAAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 • ‘Irving Finkel | The Ark Before Noah: A Great Adventure’ (The Oriental Institute, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_fkpZSnz2I Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/27/2022 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

Jean Bernadotte’s dad, a local prosecutor in the southwestern French city of Pau, ​​intended for his son to follow in his footsteps as a lawyer. Instead, Jean became heir to the Swedish Crown on September 26th, 1810, and his descendants still sit on the Swedish throne to this day.Shortly after he moved to Sweden, the new crown prince was joined by his wife, Désirée, and their 11-year-old son, Oscar. But it's fair to say Désirée wasn’t exactly enamoured with the new land her husband was set to rule; she swiftly returned to France and didn’t come back for another 13 years.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look into why Napoleon became an accidental Swedish kingmaker; explore why it is best to do all your conquering just before declaring yourself to be neutral; and ask why no one has yet made any of us the monarch of their country.Further Reading:• ‘Centenary of Sweden’s proud Bernadotte dynasty’ (The New York Times, 1910): https://www.nytimes.com/1910/05/15/archives/centenary-of-swedens-proud-bernadotte-dynasty-founded-one-hundred.html • ‘The French Army Officer Who Became a Scandinavian King’ (Real Scandinavia, 2019): http://realscandinavia.com/jean-bernadotte-the-french-soldier-who-became-king-of-sweden/ • ‘A Royal family keeping up with the times’ (The Swedish Royal Palace, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bTZDGn4SUE Love the show? Join 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/26/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Fancy a brand new, full-length SUNDAY EPISODE of this show, each and every week?Of course you do! Become a member of Club Retrospectors and unlock an additional, ad-free episode each weekend. Join now, for less than £1 per week, via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Here’s what our members can enjoy:Get SUNDAY episodes!Ditch the Ads!Weekly Bonus material!Unlock over 70 bonus bits!Behind-the-scenes contentEarly ticket accessSUPPORT our independent podcastIn this ‘terms and conditions’ episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain the benefits of signing up to our new club - and how to go about doing it. For just £3.99 per month, you could be listening to the show on your own ad-free feed, wherever you get your podcasts already, with immediate access to all the bonus material we’ve ever published. What are you waiting for? Join the Club!AND if you were already a supporter on Apple Podcasts - you don't have to do anything. You've just automatically become a member of Club Retrospectors. Congratulations!Here are those all-important links:APPLE PODCASTS: https://apple.co/3xCWWQXPATREON: https://patreon.com/RetrospectorsThanks! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/24/2022 • 8 minutes, 45 seconds

Nintendo was world-famous by the 1980s but the origins of the company go back a century earlier - to September 23rd, 1889, when Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo Koppai, a maker of brightly-coloured ‘Hanafuda’ cards.The hand-painted playing cards, made of mulberry bark, were produced for decades and were a favourite of Yakuza gangsters for use in illegal gambling. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look into the bizarre businesses with which Nintendo experimented before their pivot into video games; explain how a plastic concertina hand changed the fortunes of the company’s toy division; and reveal how the inventor of the Game Boy, Gunpei Yokoi, was on a quest for love…  Further Reading:• ‘23 September 1889: Nintendo starts making playing cards’ (MoneyWeek, 2020): https://moneyweek.com/349214/23-september-1889-nintendo-starts-making-playing-cards• ‘Nintendo's erotic playing cards’ (CNET, 2012): https://www.cnet.com/culture/nintendos-erotic-playing-cards/• ‘Nintendo Hanafuda Playing Cards Deck Review - Let's open some packs’ (Diggo Decks, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI7u0_sVxTUWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 , where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week! Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/23/2022 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Rerun. Witchcraft and infanticide were the charges levelled against young maidservant Judith Catchpole at the General Provincial Court in Patuxent County, Maryland on September 22nd, 1656. Since the case hinged on whether she had been pregnant, an all-female jury was assembled - the first in colonial America.Seven married women and four single women physically examined her - and found her not guilty of the crimes. Which were pretty obviously B.S.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the first and only instance of men being excluded from a jury in England; consider the views of the New York judge in the 1920s, who warned of fainting fits and emotional outbursts if women were permitted as potential jurors; and ask whether men or women are more likely to be swayed by sexy witnesses...Further Reading:• ‘Judith Catchpole Trial: 1656’ (Encyclopedia.com): https://www.encyclopedia.com/law/law-magazines/judith-catchpole-trial-1656• ‘OUR JURY SYSTEM AGAIN UNDER FIRE; One Judge Calls Verdicts of "Twelve Good Men And True"’ (New York Times, 1927):https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/07/24/95455867.html• ‘What is JURY OF MATRONS?’ (The Audiopedia, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr6wc4ZRXHs&t=30s‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow: follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/22/2022 • 10 minutes, 20 seconds

El Santo, masks, spandex suits... all were yet to be conceived when Salvador Lutteroth González launched Mexico's first ever national pro wrestling promotion, on 21st September 1933.‘Lucha Libre’ - basically translated as ‘freestyle wrestling’ - has its roots in folklore, carnival sideshows and Greco-Roman traditions; but it was only after matches began to be televised in the 1950s that the events truly took flight. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the authenticity of this scripted sport; reveal the surprising source of production finances that enabled the expansion of the promotion; and discuss the luchador who doesn’t even fight, except in union disputes…Further Reading:• ‘The Marvel of Mexican Wrestling: A Brief History’ (The Daily Iowan, 2021): https://dailyiowan.com/2021/07/27/the-marvel-of-mexican-wrestling-a-brief-history/• ‘Lucha libre – an introduction to Mexican wrestling’ (Lonely Planet, 2015): https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/lucha-libre-an-introduction-to-mexican-wrestling• ‘El Santo vs. las Mujeres Vampiro’ (1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bS7VDneMcM&t=60sLove the show? Join 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/21/2022 • 10 minutes, 35 seconds

There was no red carpet, no Palme d’Or, and no Palais des Festivals - but Hollywood nonetheless descended on the French Riviera for the opening of the first Cannes Film Festival on 20th September, 1946. It was actually the second time the event had been attempted - the first, in September 1939, was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the competition was conceived as a rebuke to fascist propaganda scooping top prizes at the world’s first film festival, Venice; reveal why Hitchco*ck’s ‘Notorious’ never stood a chance after its disastrous debut screening; and consider the ‘Raoul!’ meme that has persisted at Cannes festivals for more than fifty years… Further Reading:• ‘Cannes Film Festival: See Vintage Photos of the First-Ever Fest’ (Time, 2015): https://time.com/3843724/first-cannes-history/• ‘The first Cannes Film Festival : September 1946’ (Numero, 2020): https://www.numero.com/en/cinema/cannes-film-festival-second-world-war-september-1946-michelle-morgan-alfred-hitchco*ck-the-battle-of-the-rails• ‘Cannes Film Festival’ (British Movietone, 1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ceQplqpBkgFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/20/2022 • 10 minutes, 12 seconds

Powered by steam engines, and positioned on 60ft poles along the seafront, the Blackpool illuminations were first shown to adoring public on 19th September, 1879.70,000 people came to see eight arc lamps, positioned 320 yards apart. Between them they provided illumination equal to 48,000 candles: an incredible spectacle considering it would still be another year before Thomas Edison patented the modern commercial lightbulb. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall some of the weirder celebrities who have been roped into performing the iconic switching-on ceremony in the Lancashire town; reveal the connection between the Walt Disney Company and this Northern institution; and explain how the resort initially developed its three piers to segregate the middle-classes from the ‘Kiss Me Quick’ day-trippers… Further Reading:• ‘Blackpool Illuminations celebrates its centenary’ (The Guardian, 2012): https://www.theguardian.com/travel/gallery/2012/aug/31/blackpool-illuminations-centenary-100-years-lights• ‘Cities of Light: Two Centuries of Urban Illumination - Eds. Dietrich Neumann, Margaret Maile Petty, Sandy Isenstadt’ (Taylor & Francis, 2014):https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Cities_of_Light/iHLfBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=blackpool+illuminations&pg=PA58&printsec=frontcover• ‘Vintage Blackpool Illuminations’ (AshBlackpoolFan, 2020):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X5wkeF34pQFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/19/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

The ‘broadcasting ban’ on 11 Northern Irish organizations including Sinn Fein was finally lifted by Prime Minister John Major on 16th September, 1994, one fortnight after an IRA ceasefire had been achieved.The regulations, implemented six years earlier by Margaret Thatcher and her Home Secretary Douglas Hurd, prevented British TV networks from broadcasting interviews with Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, lest they drum up sympathy for Republicanist terrorism. So the broadcasters found a workaround: they employed voice actors to dub over the interviews.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly re-examine some of the absurd circ*mstances in which the ban was implemented and avoided; consider the pushback to the policy from the Labour party and miffed BBC staffers; and explain how the ban played into Cuba’s hands… Further Reading:• ‘Northern Ireland, the BBC, and Censorship in Thatcher's Britain By Robert J. Savage’ (Oxford University Press, 2022): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Northern_Ireland_the_BBC_and_Censorship/UJtjEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%27sinn+fein%27+and+%27broadcast+ban%27&printsec=frontcover• ‘The 'broadcast ban' on Sinn Fein’ (BBC News, 2005): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4409447.stm• ‘Sinn Fein Leader Gerry Adams Voiced By An Actor’ (BBC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdf4xOdas1gFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/16/2022 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Rerun. BMW unveiled its redesigned MINI for the first time, on 15th September, 1997; the eve of the Frankfurt Motor Show. Its predecessor had been in production for 41 years.Reborn as a ‘city’ car, rather than a micro compact, and with Union flags painted on its roof, this was the moment the iconic brand became seen as cheeky, sporty and British - but not, actually, especially small. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the MINI has its roots in the Suez Crisis; ask why the similar VW Beetle reboot was discontinued in 2019; and reveal how many people can officially squeeze into a ‘new’ Mini...Further Reading:• ‘ROVER SHOWS NEW MINI; LAUNCH IS 2000’ (Automotive News Europe, 1997): https://europe.autonews.com/article/19970915/ANE/709150811/rover-shows-new-mini-launch-is-2000• ‘The history of the Mini in pictures’ (Daily Telegraph, 2013): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/picturegalleries/10457166/The-history-of-the-Mini-in-pictures.html?frame=2737732• How the BBC covered the launch (1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is-9aI7utFQ&t=112s‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/15/2022 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds

The USSR pulled ahead in the Space Race on 14th September, 1959 - when they became the first nation to successfully crash a man-made object into the Moon.Luna II was carrying a metal sphere bearing Soviet symbols, a replica of which was pettily presented to President Eisenhower by a jubilant Nikita Khrushchev.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Nixon and Kennedy then went on to frame - and win - the ‘Space Race’; examine the ‘love-hate’ relationship British astronomer Bernard Lovell had with the Luna project; and uncover the ultimate punishment the Americans administered to Khrushchev on his Stateside tour… Further Reading:• ‘The sixtieth anniversary of the first human created object to land on the Moon, Luna 2’ (British Library, 2019): https://blogs.bl.uk/science/2019/09/the-sixtieth-anniversary-of-the-first-human-created-object-to-land-on-the-moon-luna-2.html• ‘The Other First Moon Landing’ (Vice, 2016): https://www.vice.com/en/article/pgkq59/the-other-first-moon-landing-luna-two-anniversary]• ‘Luna 2 (USSR)’ (International Astronautical Federation): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osfs3AnH-ZA&t=58sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/14/2022 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Phineas Gage, a foreman on the New England railroads, was pierced through the head with a 13-pound tamping iron on 13th September, 1848. The rod went straight through his skull and landed several yards away.Despite this, Gage was able to present himself at a physician, and anticipated being back at work in a couple of days. In reality, his convalescence was long and difficult, and Dr John Martyn Harlow claimed Gage’s personality had undergone permanent change - an observation which made him perhaps the most notorious case study in neuroscience. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly question Dr Harlow’s account; discuss the surgery that saved Gage’s life; and explain how the 2007 discovery of a photograph portraying him holding a ‘harpoon’ has changed how he is perceived forever… Content Warning: injury, gore.Further Reading:• ‘Phineas Gage and the effect of an iron bar through the head on personality’ (The Guardian, 2010): https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2010/nov/05/phineas-gage-head-personality• ‘Phineas Gage: Neuroscience's Most Famous Patient’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2010): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/phineas-gage-neurosciences-most-famous-patient-11390067/• ‘Lessons Of The Brain: The Phineas Gage Case’ (Harvard University, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXbAMHzYGJ0For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/13/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

NBC premiered ‘Royal Flush’ - the pilot episode of iconic Sixties pop-comedy show The Monkees - on 12th September, 1966. And the Daydream Believers quickly found their way into America’s heart…The Beatles-a-like actors had never met or worked with each other ever before answering an ad seeking ‘four insane boys, aged 18-21’, placed by‘Five Easy Pieces’ producer Bob Rafelson.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why each episode of the sitcom ended with a fourth wall-breaking discussion between the boys; explore how credible songwriters like Carole King and Neil Diamond ended up working on their singles; and discover why, despite the boyband’s enormous success, the series was cancelled in its second season… Further Reading:• ‘The Untold Truth Of The Monkees’ (Grunge, 2019): https://www.grunge.com/146172/the-untold-truth-of-the-monkees/• ‘Why 'The Monkees' Was a Perfect Meld of Television and Music (That Will Never Happen Again)’ (Huffington Post, 2016): https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-the-monkees-was-a-per_b_10368468• ‘The Monkees: Royal Flush’ (NBC, 1966): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JESo3dcRuoFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/12/2022 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

High-speed collisions between locomotives became mainstream entertainment on 9th September, 1896, when Joe Connolly - AKA “Head-On Joe” - staged the first of the 70 deliberate trainwrecks with which he entered the record books.The trend lasted until the 1930s and attracted tens of thousands of spectators to state fairs across the United States. The events were responsible for maiming and even killing some witnesses - but this did nothing to affect their popularity.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pore over the wreck of Texas’s notorious ‘Crash at Crush’; explain how the Depression ultimately killed off the spectacle forever; and tot up Head-On Joe’s Iowan Box Office receipts… Further Reading:• ‘For 40 Years, Crashing Trains Was One of America’s Favorite Pastimes’ (Atlas Obscura, 2019): https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/staged-train-wrecks• ‘Iowa State Fair attractions: Spectacles like train crashes, elephants used to entertain’ (Des Moines Register, 2019):https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/columnists/courtney-crowder/2019/08/16/iowa-state-fair-attractions-train-crashes-elephants-plane-crashes-war-shrapnel-cannonball-spectacle/2019050001/• ‘1932 Iowa State Fair: Roosevelt/Hoover Train Collision’ (Kinolibrary, 1932): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci5l0ljjVBw\For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/9/2022 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

Margaret Gorman, a schoolgirl from Washington DC, was crowned ‘Miss Intercity Beauty’ at the “Fall Frolic” in Atlantic City on 8th September, 1921 - an event that would eventually become known as Miss America, and watched by 75% of American households.She and her fellow competitors took part in an early incarnation of the swimsuit round (complete with woollen leggings), making their grand entrance on a barge, headed up by ‘Neptune’ (played by the octogenarian inventor of smokeless gun powder. Of course.) In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the controversy that saw early favourite Virginia Lee kicked out on day one; consider the appeal of the ‘rolling chair parade’; and address the intrinsic Madonna/whor* complex at the heart of this iconic beauty pageant… Further Reading:• ‘Margaret Gorman won first Miss America pageant amid scandal’ (The Washington Post, 2021): https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/12/16/first-miss-america-margaret-gorman/• ‘Live from Atlantic City: The History of the Miss America Pageant Before, After and in Spite of Television By Armando Riverol’ (Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1992):https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Live_from_Atlantic_City/sf1dR1iEC78C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22miss+america%22&printsec=frontcover• ‘Miss America and Atlantic City Become Forever United [1921-2006]’ (The Spectacular History of the New Jersey Shore): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7VJBnDkkgAEnjoy this? There’s FIVE MINUTES MORE available to our show’s top supporters, in which you can discover what Margaret Gorman did next; how the competition came to be called ‘Miss America’; and what the consolation prizes on offer were for the less-than-beautiful beauties. Unlock it - and a bonus bit like it, every single week - by supporting our show on Apple Podcasts, or at https://patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/8/2022 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

Rerun. Bulgarian writer Georgi Markov was shot by a poisoned pellet whilst walking on Waterloo Bridge on 7th September, 1978. Four days later, he was dead.He believed the bullet - believed to be filled with ricin - had emanated from the umbrella of a Soviet secret agent. The British press labelled his assasination the ‘Poison Brolly Riddle’.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how Markov was initially disbelieved by doctors; reveal the mysterious involvement of a pig in the Porton Down investigation; and ask whether poisoning is really as efficient a method of murder as it seems...Further Reading:‘The poison-tipped umbrella: the death of Georgi Markov in 1978’ (The Guardian, 2020): https://www.theguardian.com/world/from-the-archive-blog/2020/sep/09/georgi-markov-killed-poisoned-umbrella-london-1978‘The umbrella murder mystery’ (The Oldie): https://www.theoldie.co.uk/article/the-umbrella-murder-mysteryUmbrella fired fatal ricin dart (CNN, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZO5Lf8wD_c‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/7/2022 • 9 minutes, 14 seconds

Charles II, the 21 year-old King of Scotland, sought refuge up an oak tree at Boscobel House on 6th September, 1651. Having been chased out of Worcester by Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads, he feared for his life, and was disguised as a working class woodsman.The escape was much re-told upon his restoration to the throne, and highly romanticised; being committed to poetry by Cowley, prose by Peyps - and inspiring hundreds of English pubs to name themselves ‘The Royal Oak’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal that Charles was NOT alone up that tree all day; consider the culinary difference between 17th century posset and British Airways posset; and explore the ways English Heritage have managed to monetise this iconic moment of the English Civil War… Further Reading:• ‘Charles II Hides in the Boscobel Oak’ (History Today, 2001): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/charles-ii-hides-boscobel-oak• Oak grove that saved Charles II is reborn (The Times, 2020): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/oak-grove-that-saved-charles-ii-is-reborn-p00hcl8sm• ‘Tales From English Folklore #4: Charles II and the Oak Tree’ (English Heritage, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxFCZcss8d8For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/6/2022 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

Peter The Great levied a tax on facial hair on 5th September, 1698, requiring every man in Moscow to shave or stump up some cash - although there were exemptions for the Orthodox Church.The hare-brained scheme occurred to the eccentric Peter on his expeditions through Europe, where he came to see clean chins as symbolic of progress and sophistication.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover Peter’s other ‘European rules of comportment’; convert the costs of Peter’s taxes into the highly-relatable metric of ‘sturgeon from North’; and reveal how a similar tax was proposed in New Jersey as recently as 1907… Further Reading:• ‘Russia: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present’ (Mauricio Borrero, 2009):https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Russia/dhm0cGdrTOIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=beard+tax+1698&pg=PA83&printsec=frontcover• ‘10 terrible taxes in history’ (HistoryExtra, 2018): https://www.historyextra.com/period/general-history/10-terrible-taxes/• ‘Ten Minute History - Peter the Great and the Russian Empire’ (History Matters, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tBNr2gjAA0For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/5/2022 • 10 minutes, 18 seconds

Our friends at The Week (where, fun fact, The Retrospectors met) have a great podcast we'd like to share with you for your Saturday listening pleasure.It's called The Overview, and it's the perfect accompaniment to our shows this week on the SOLAR APOCALYPSE and NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY - because it's about the future of nuclear power.As the world races to decarbonise, nuclear power is being touted as an essential energy source. But safety fears remain, along with claims that nuclear reactors are too expensive and too slow to build. So just what would it take to win over the nuclear sceptics?Presented by Julia O'Driscoll, with guests Richard Rhodes, author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, and Douglas Parr, chief scientist and policy director at Greenpeace UK. Thanks to The Week's Kari Wilkin. Music and Sound Design by Rich Jarman. Produced by Rich Jarman for Rethink Audio.Follow The Overview to discover all episodes and get new ones as they drop: https://podfollow.com/the-overview-1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/3/2022 • 23 minutes, 3 seconds

The Carrington Event - the largest solar storm in recorded history - occurred on 2nd September, 1859. Although its effects would later be felt by millions around the world, it had initially only been spotted by one amateur, British astronomer: Richard Carrington.What he’d witnessed was a giant Coronal Mass Ejection - a significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the Sun's corona into the heliosphere. If repeated today, it could bring down satellites and cause city-wide blackouts across the globe.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate the melting of telegraph lines; predict a cataclysmic future caused by CMEs; and pause to look at how beautiful it all is and how insignificant we all are… Further Reading:• ‘A Perfect Solar Superstorm: The 1859 Carrington Event’ (HISTORY, 2012): https://www.history.com/news/a-perfect-solar-superstorm-the-1859-carrington-event• ‘The Sun Kings - The Unexpected Tragedy of Richard Carrington and the Tale of How Modern Astronomy Began’ by Stuart Clark (Princeton University Press, 2009): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Sun_Kings/EhG_DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=carrington+event+end+of+the+world&printsec=frontcover• ‘Solar storms: more dangerous than you think. Can we survive another Carrington Event?’ (The Why Files, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftrbdFGTQO4For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/2/2022 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

Rerun. The Nokia 3310 - featuring Snake II, pop-on/off covers, and a discreetly concealed antenna - was launched on 1st September, 2000 at a boardsports event in Dusseldorf, Germany.Nicknamed ‘the brick’, the handset went on to shift 126 million units— more than 20 times as many as the first-generation iPhone.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion marvel at a time when only 50% of people in the US had a phone in their pockets; rack their brains to recall the OTHER games that were bundled on the handset alongside Snake II; and wonder if the nostalgia for this phone says more about the gadget itself, or the era it represents…Further Reading:• ‘The Indestructible Phone’ (LGR, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xNVmmJ0nZY• Nokia’s press release for the launch (2000). Which doesn’t mention the phone at all: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2000/08/16/1845367/0/en/Don-t-be-bored-Be-totally-board.html• ‘The Nokia 3310 just turned 20 years old – here's what made it special’ (TechRadar, 2020): https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/the-nokia-3310-just-turned-20-years-old-heres-what-made-it-special‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/1/2022 • 9 minutes, 49 seconds

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk re-energised its flagging brand in the UK on 31st August, 2007, when its iconic ‘Gorilla’ ad premiered in the Big Brother final on Channel 4.The 90-second commercial, which featured a gorilla drumming along to Phil Collins’ ‘In The Air Tonight’, was an instant hit on YouTube (a novelty back in 2007), and turned around sales for the chocolate company after a series of PR misfires and a salmonella scare.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the ad’s concept was reverse-engineered into a Cadbury’s marketing brief; reveal how the gorilla suit was recycled from the costume cupboard of a famous Hollywood thriller; and unpick how the spot’s phenomenal success became something of an albatross for the team behind it… Further Reading:• ‘How Cadbury's advertising stepped out of the shadow of Gorilla’ (Contagious, 2020):https://www.contagious.com/news-and-views/how-cadbury-brand-advertising-went-from-gorilla-to-generosity• ‘Why Cadbury’s ‘Gorilla’ ad nearly didn’t get made’ (Marketing Week, 2018): https://www.marketingweek.com/cadbury-gorilla/• ‘Gorilla’ (Fallon campaign for Cadbury’s, 2007): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnzFRV1LwIoBut wait, there’s more! We are the glass-and-a-half podcast of joy and we have an additional SIX MINUTES of chat about Cadbury’s iconic ad available to hear now, exclusively to our supporters. To unlock it - and other bonus bits, every single week - visit https://patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts and support the show. Thanks!For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/31/2022 • 10 minutes, 33 seconds

After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviets and Americans agreed to install a ‘hot line’ between their Presidents. On 30th August, 1963, a 10,000 mile transatlantic Washington-Moscow cable went live from the Pentagon to Red Square.In the public imagination (in part thanks to Kubrik’s ‘Dr Strangelove’), it remains a red telephone - but it is, in fact, a pair of beige teletype machines that each required ten staff to operate.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, prior to this, diplomacy was often being skipped altogether in favour of inflammatory radio broadcasts; consider what the messages the two nations send each other can tell us about their cultural differences; and marvel at just how much geopolitics hinges on whether two particular world leaders like each other… Further Reading:• 'Hot line' between Washington and Moscow to be opened’ (The Guardian, 1963): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/31/hot-line-between-washington-and-moscow-1963-archive• ‘There Never Was Such a Thing as a Red Phone in the White House’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2013):https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/there-never-was-such-a-thing-as-a-red-phone-in-the-white-house-1129598/?no-ist• ‘History Of The Moscow-Washington ‘Red Phone’’ (NBC News, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR5Z8jYRyFoFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/30/2022 • 10 minutes, 33 seconds

When Julius Caesar showed up in the Channel with thousands of men on 26th August 55 BC, he doubtless intended to get a bit further than the coast of Kent. Unfortunately for him, he had moored his ships where they could be pelted from the cliffs, and the Gaulish chief he sent in advance had been imprisoned.Nonetheless, he reported back to Rome that his British adventure had been enormously worthwhile - as he had traveled to the very edges of the known world - and had another, marginally more successful, pop at it just one year later.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dig into Caesar's own confessions of ignorance about the British people and lands; consider how we Brits were already more familiar with Roman culture than vice-versa; and explain how Caesar’s adventures, though ultimately unsuccessful, may well have inspired the later Roman takeovers… Further Reading:• ‘The Roman Invasions of Britain’ (University of Warwick): https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/classics/warwickclassicsnetwork/romancoventry/resources/interactions/invasion/• ‘Julius Caesar's Invasions Of Britain’ (HistoryExtra, 2018):https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/caesars-british-gamble/• ‘Caesar on Britain // Roman Primary Source (58-49 BC)’ (Voices of the Past, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYnLzXK4o7cFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/26/2022 • 10 minutes, 14 seconds

Rerun. John, Paul, George and Ringo travelled to a transcendental meditation workshop in Bangor, Wales on 25th August, 1967 - at the invitation of ‘giggling guru’, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.The event changed everything for The Fab Four - influencing their music, their philosophy, and ultimately contributing to the end of the band.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly question whether the retreat lead them to give up LSD; reveal how Ringo, frankly, never really seemed to be in to it; and uncover the Maharishi’s later plans for a Yogic amusem*nt park...Further Reading:• ‘Lennon was right. The Giggling Guru was a shameless old fraud’ (Daily Mail, 2008): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-512747/Lennon-right-The-Giggling-Guru-shameless-old-fraud.html#:~:text=The%20Giggling%20Guru%20was%20a%20shameless%20old%20fraud,teach%20them%20to%20defy%20gravity%20by%20%22yogic%20flying%22.• Doug Henning’s theme park plans: https://doughenningproject.com/tag/theme-park/• The Beatles in Bangor – silent news footage (1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuyE3bSnfVo&t=6s‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/25/2022 • 9 minutes, 33 seconds

In the temple at Philae, an Egyptian Priest called Nesmeterakhem created the last ever known hieroglyphic inscription on 24th August, 394. Although ostensibly praising the God Mandulis, the scribe spent just as long commemorating his own presence - and the names of his Mum and Dad.For centuries, Western academics assumed his words might be more mysterious and spiritual than the somewhat prosaic reality - because, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799, there was no accurate way to read them.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why hieroglyphs were written for centuries, even as ever-diminishing numbers of people could understand them; reveal ‘how to entertain a bored Pharoah’; and track down the earliest known example of dick graffiti…  Further Reading:• ‘The Great Pyramid Was Not Built by Slave (+ 9 Other Surprising Facts About Ancient Egypt)’ (HistoryExtra, 2016): https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-egypt/facts-ancient-egypt-mummification-cleopatra-pharaohs-tutankhamun-life-death/• ‘2,500-year-old erotic graffiti found in unlikely setting on Aegean island’ (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jul/06/worlds-earliest-erotic-graffiti-astypalaia-classical-greece#start-of-comments • ‘Decoding the Secrets of Egyptian Hieroglyphs’ (Wondrium, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIjREbbFjNEFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/24/2022 • 10 minutes, 41 seconds

Stockholm Syndrome - the condition in which hostages develop a psychological bond with their captors during captivity - was named after a bank robbery that began on 23rd August, 1973. It lasted for five days, with 73% of the Swedish public tuning in to watch it.  The robber was Jan-Erik Olsson, who pulled a loaded submachine gun, fired at the ceiling and, disguising his voice to sound like an American, cried out in English, “The party has just begun!”.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick how Olsson endeared himself to his hostages; consider what criminologists detected that inspired them to create a new ‘syndrome’; and explain how the story ended in a Thai supermarket…Further Reading:‘The Real Bank Robbery That Gave the World Stockholm Syndrome’ (Time, 2020): https://time.com/5874808/stockholm-syndrome-history/‘The Strange Origin Of Stockholm Syndrome’ (Grunge, 2020): https://www.grunge.com/243202/the-strange-origin-of-stockholm-syndrome/‘SWEDISH BANK GUNMAN HOLDING HOSTAGES IN STOCKHOLM’ (Associated Press, 1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9kueGkjva4For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/23/2022 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

The world’s first notable air raid occurred on 22nd August, 1849, when the Austrian Army attacked Venice using a fleet of 200 miniature hot air balloons, each delivering a 33lb pound bomb. Following a disastrous first attempt - when the balloons blew back on to their own men - this time the Austrians equipped each balloon with a long copper wire to trigger the detonation. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly weigh up if the event had a decisive effect on their recapture of the Italian city; consider the psychological impact of attacking from the skies; and reveal why a ‘drone’ is called a drone… Further Reading:• ‘Bombs over Venice’ (History Today, 1958): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/bombs-over-venice• ‘Drones in Society’ by Ron Bartsch, James Coyne and Katherine Gray (Taylor & Francis, 2016) : https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Drones_in_Society/7CglDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=1849+austrian+venice+balloon&pg=PA20&printsec=frontcover• ‘Planehook Stories: The Siege of Venice’ (Droneport Texas): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQQhrd7_32wFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma CorshamCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/22/2022 • 9 minutes, 19 seconds

Court witnesses have promised to tell ‘the whole truth’ since the 13th century; but, on 19th August, 1992, the U.S. Appeals Court permitted Wallace Ward to stand trial under his own oath - pledging not ‘truth’, but ‘fully integrated honesty’.Ward, the president of a Nevada-based mail order company, had coined the phrase himself when he devised Neothink, a cultish belief system structured around charging hundreds of dollars for self-help advice.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly weigh up whether Ward’s bizarre convictions really were equivalent to religious faith; trace back the origins of oath-taking in English-speaking courtrooms; and uncover the surprising history of raising your hand when swearing to tell the truth… Further Reading:• ‘United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Wallace Ward, Defendant-appellant, 973 F.2d 730 (9th Cir. 1992)’ (Justia): https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/973/730/386559/• ‘How the courtroom got its oath’ (Slate, 2004): https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/04/how-the-courtroom-got-its-oath.html• ‘Secret society mailing mysterious invitations’ (Good Morning Maryland, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZvdfabaIOo… And, if you enjoyed this episode, there’s an additional three-and-a-half minutes of material about oath-taking available to our supporters, in which the Retrospectors discuss the strangest books that have been used as a prop, and reveal the times when it wasn't a book at all, but a saucer, a candle, a dog, or a chicken! To unlock this content - and a bonus bit like it each week - subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, or support our Patreon: https://patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/19/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Rerun. A weather map was first broadcast on TV on 18th August, 1926 - but there were no fancy graphics, no on-screen forecaster, and only one intended recipient: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, DC.In the UK, the Met Office had been producing weather forecasts since 1861, but the BBC didn’t bring a ‘weatherman’ to British screens until 1954.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain Charles Darwin’s connection to weather-forecasting; review the first weather forecast on NBC’s Today programme, and reveal exactly how much time the Brits spend discussing the weather… Further Reading:• ‘Weather forecast facts: the first forecast in Britain, the birth of the Met Office and the first TV weatherman’ (HistoryExtra, 2018): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/facts-history-weather-forecast-weatherman-tv/• ‘BBC Television Weather at 60 - A Celebration’ (BBC, 2014): https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/research/television-weather• ‘TODAY's First Weather Forecast: Jan. 14, 1952’ (NBC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiAyWYCcAI0‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/18/2022 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

Louis XIV was among the V.I.P. guests at Nicolas Fouquet’s lavish houseparty on 17th August, 1661 - and was supposedly so consumed with jealousy that he had Fouquet arrested for treason.Although not entirely true, the story adds to the mystique of Vaux-le-Vicomte, the opulent chateau Fouquet created with the design team who later went on to reimagine Versailles.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Molière, d'Artagnan, and even the Man in the Iron Mask became tied up in this iconic event; consider how Fouquet constructed his extraordinary castle in just three years; and reveal the impressive contents of his guests’ Party Bags… Further Reading:• ‘Vaux-le-Vicomte Book: Inside The Lavish Home That Inspired Versailles’ (Bloomberg, 2021): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-10-08/vaux-le-vicomte-book-inside-the-lavish-home-that-inspired-versailles• ‘Party Like It's 1661’ (People Newspapers, 2020): https://www.peoplenewspapers.com/2020/01/09/party-like-its-1661/• ‘Treasures from Vaux-le-Vicomte – Episode One: Fouquet’s Legacy’ (Sotheby’s, 2018):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKGBCxuchLwFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/17/2022 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

Aviation in the 1920s could be a lethal business, as proven on 16th August 1927, when only 2 of the 15 planes that entered The Dole Derby - a $35,000 contest to fly from California to Hawaii - successfully reached their destination. The brainchild of pineapple magnate James D. Dole, the competition inspired the public imagination - and a crowd of 100,000 people - but claimed the lives of TEN participants.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the inefficient and dangerous aeronautics of the time; explain how winning team Woolaroc were able to distinguish themselves ahead of the pack; and reveal how the modern-day Dole company have distanced themselves from such provocative promotions… Further Reading:• ‘Fifteen Planes Enter, Two Planes Leave - The Deadly Dole Air Race’ (Atlas Obscura, 2011): https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/morbid-monday-deadly-dole-air-race• ‘Dole Air Race: The Daring and Pioneering Conquest Across the Pacific’ (STSTW, 2018): https://www.ststworld.com/dole-air-race/• ‘Army Officers Hop Off For Hawaii’ (1927): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW1brsdc_fMImage courtesy of San Diego Air & Space MuseumFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/16/2022 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

Camp Siegfried hosted a ‘Nazi Camp Fete’ for 40,000 attendees on 15th August, 1938. The Summer resort, on Yaphank, Long Island, was the epicentre of the German-American Bund: an organisation devoted to establishing a Nazi stronghold across the United States. Alongside campfire building and swimming lessons, young attendees were taught to emulate the Hitler Youth and host mini Nuremberg-style rallies. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how delegates were trained to anticipate a Nazi coup of the USA; consider why all the key players in the movement escaped serious criminal prosecution, even after the Second World War; and why events such as these were so casually reported, even in the New York Times… Further Reading:• ‘New York's 1930s Nazi Summer Camp’ (Ripley’s, 2016): https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/nazi-summer-camp/• ‘A New York Town in the 1930s Embraced Hitler and Nazi Germany’ (History Collection, 2017): https://historycollection.com/welcome-hitler-street-usa-pending/• ‘Nazis on Long Island: The Story of Camp Siegfried’ (Museum of Jewish Heritage, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGJW1VQo1TsFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/15/2022 • 10 minutes, 35 seconds

When 42 bodies buried near Liverpool Street Station in London were dug up as part of the works on Crossrail on 12th August, 2015, they were thought to be victims of the Great Plague of 1665. The incident shone a light on the cemetery in which they were buried - a pauper’s grave at Bethlem Hospital; the institution more commonly known as ‘Bedlam’.From its establishment in 1247, Bedlam ‘lunatic asylum’ quickly gained a reputation as a place that was pioneering - it was the only mental health facility in Britain - and fearsome, a place of stigma and spectacle. The public could pay to tour the facility and have pisspots thrown at them.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the abuses perpetrated at Bedlam still have echoes in modern-day surgery; look back at the first formal inspection of the premises; and consider why ‘Bedlam’ has become so resonant in literature from Shakespeare to Dickens… CONTENT WARNING: description of unsanitary conditions and patient abuse; reference to out-dated and pejorative language about mental healthFurther Reading:• ‘London Crossrail Dig At Bedlam Reveals 'Great Plague Victims' Were Buried In Thin Wooden Coffins’ (HuffPost UK, 2015): https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/08/12/london-crossrail-excavators-skeletons-great-plague_n_7976488.html• ‘How Bethlem Royal Hospital Became The Notorious Bedlam Asylum’ (All Thats Interesting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/bedlam• ‘Skeletons from Bedlam Hospital site uncovered by Crossrail’ (Daily Mail, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obXO60iOyLMFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/12/2022 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

Rerun. The 7,885 year-long calendar that the Mayan people used to measure long stretches of time, ‘The Long Count’, began on 11th August, 3114 B.C.The combination of a Haabʼ and a Tzolkʼin date identifies a day in a combination which does not occur again for 18,980 days (52 Haabʼ cycles of 365 days equals 73 Tzolkʼin cycles of 260 days, approximately 52 years), a period known as the Calendar Round. ARE YOU KEEPING UP.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover the rules of ‘Mayan Space Jam’; explain why people thought the world might end in 2012; and call into question the whole diary system on which their beloved podcast depends…Further Reading:• ‘Danger on the Court: The Deadly Ancient Mesoamerican Ball Game’ (Ancient Origins, 2020): https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history/ulama-mesoamerican-ball-game-deadly-sport-ancient-americas-003156• ‘9 Interesting Facts About The Mayans’ (yocover, 2021): https://yocover.com/facts-about-the-mayans/• ‘Maya Cosmology & the Real 2012’ (Mary Lou Ridinger, TEDxSanMigueldeAllende, 2013 ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN6E5AFEb9M‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/11/2022 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

Rin Tin Tin, the German Shepherd who starred in more than 27 Hollywood films, died on 10th August, 1932 at the age of 13. Radio stations around the country interrupted programming to announce his death and then broadcast an hour long tribute to him. Discovered in war-torn France by American corporal Lee Duncan, he was taken back to the USA and trained to be a stunt dog, but it was his emotional close-up work which wowed the critics. “Perhaps Rin Tin Tin belongs to that modern school of acting, which expresses everything in the face”, raved the LA Times.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why Rin Tin Tin was named in Duncan’s wife’s divorce filing; explain how he followed in the footsteps of previous canine movie star, Strongheart; and consider the logistics of exactly how he performed in the Rin Tin Tin radio show… Further Reading:• ‘Excerpt: Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlean’ (The New York Times, 2011): https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/books/review/rin-tin-tin.html• ‘The Dogs Who Saved Hollywood: Strongheart and Rin Tin Tin’ (Rutgers University Press, 2014): https://arcade.stanford.edu/content/dogs-who-saved-hollywood-strongheart-and-rin-tin-tin-0• ‘Susan Orlean on the original Rin Tin Tin’ (The New Yorker, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFOA4og8To8But… what’s that, boy? Five minutes more of Rin Tin Tin chat, just for supporters of the show? WOOF! To unlock it, and a bonus bit like it every single week, visit patreon.com/Retrospectors or click Subscribe on Apple Podcasts. WOOF!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/10/2022 • 9 minutes, 58 seconds

Construction began on a white marble bell tower for Pisa’s new Cathedral complex on 9th August, 1173. Little did the engineers working on the project know that their building would become famous all over the world, because of its principal flaw: it wasn’t straight.The Leaning Tower of Pisa is now one of Europe’s biggest tourist attractions, and perhaps the most monitored building in the world. Millions have been spent PRESERVING its famous lean, but for well over a century it was something that Pisans worked hard (and fruitlessly) to straighten.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the warning signs were always there, in the city’s history and other architecture; reveal how Mussolini very nearly ruined one of the world’s most perfectly imperfect landmarks; and ask if it’s really so surprising that the original architect’s name has been lost to history… Further Reading: • ‘Why does the Leaning Tower of Pisa lean?’ (HISTORY, 2015): https://www.history.com/news/why-does-the-leaning-tower-of-pisa-lean• ‘Leaning Tower of Pisa's architect is revealed as Bonanno Pisano’ (Mail Online, 2019): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7809335/Leaning-Tower-Pisas-architect-revealed-Bonanno-Pisano.html• ‘LEANING TOWER OF PISA-Climbing to the Top and Why the Tower Leans’ (Andy’s Awesome Adventures, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNbpbn9E2dcFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/9/2022 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

Abbey Road was a street known only to North Londoners until The Beatles posed on the zebra crossing outside EMI Studios on 8th August, 1969. Photographer Iain MacMillan took just six snaps, one of which graced the front cover of their penultimate album, ‘Abbey Road’.The image became instantly iconic, partly due to the decision not to name the band or the album on the front of LP. It even spurred a conspiracy theory that claimed that Paul McCartney was dead, and being played by a lookalike, attested to his by bare feet and the number plate on the vehicle behind him.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the picture nearly didn’t happen in St John’s Wood at all, but in NEPAL; dive into the ‘Paul Is Dead’ conspiracy; and check out the live feed of hapless tourists approximating the picture… Further Reading:• ‘Obituary: Iain MacMillan’ (The Independent, 2006): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/iain-macmillan-364645.html• ‘Revisiting London's iconic album cover images’ (BBC News, 2008): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-43318498• ‘Beatles fans flock to Abbey Road for 44th anniversary’ (Telegraph, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoVvSW-QqmkThanks so much for supporting the show! We're your Octopus's GardenThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie KingTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/8/2022 • 10 minutes, 1 second

Little Orphan Annie, Harold Gray’s plucky heroine, made her newspaper debut on 5th August, 1924. The iconic comic strip then ran for an astonishing 86 years.Although now most associated with the saccharine musical it inspired, ‘Annie’ was MUCH edgier in comic form - gangsters and Nazis made an appearance, and Daddy Warbucks was so disappointed by the election of FDR that he DIED (briefly. Before being brought back to life).In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how, for millions of readers, comic strips once filled the role of soap operas; reveal how Gray plagiarized a popular poem for the name of his heroine; and tell how Ovaltine had a disproportionate influence on the plot-lines of Annie’s titular radio show… Further Reading:• ‘Little Orphan Annie and Little Orphan Annie in Cosmic City by Harold Gray’ (Chicago Herald Tribune, 1926, 1933): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Little_Orphan_Annie_and_Little_Orphan_An/pUOpAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=little+orphan+annie&printsec=frontcover• ‘The Politics of “Annie”’ (The New Yorker, 2012): https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-politics-of-annie• ‘Why "Little Orphan Annie" is Important in Comics’ (Comic Book Historians, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIYRSlMHUEQIf you enjoyed this episode, there's FIVE MINUTES more from the cutting room floor about how Little Orphan Annie showcased Harold Gray's libertarianism, and ended on an ominous note with the 'Butcher of the Balkans'.To unlock it - and a bonus bit like it every single week - subscribe via Apple Podcasts, or support the show via patreon.com/retrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/5/2022 • 9 minutes, 53 seconds

Rerun. Benedictine monk Dom Perignon is said to have discovered champagne on 4th August, 1693. 200 million bottles are now produced and sold every year.The sparkliness was originally considered a defect - because carbonated wine caused the fragile bottles of the era to burst. Until stronger glass was developed in the mid-19th century, mass-produced champagne was impossible to manufacture, so it gained a reputation as a high society tipple.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine the boredom of wine-tastings; explain how to make fake champagne; and reveal how the bombing of French vineyards, ironically, helped to save the industry...Further Reading:• ‘Dom Pérignon 'Drinks the Stars' (WIRED, 2009): https://www.wired.com/2009/08/dayintech-0804/• ‘6 things you can carbonate with your SodaStream’ (CNet, 2016):https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/things-you-can-carbonate-with-your-sodastream/• ‘How Dom Perignon Became The King Of Champagne’ (Alux, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaUB8bFV0lM‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/4/2022 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

Sir Francis Younghusband’s band of British troops reached Lhasa on 3rd August, 1904. Along the way, they’d massacred thousands of bewildered Tibetans - but justified their incursion with the (false) claim that Russia had been manipulating Tibet to gain ground in British India.Despite the disastrous violence wrought by his men, Younghusband was considered by many back home as an explorer and adventurer - and, later, as a man of peace and friend of Gandhi.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pore through Younghusband’s private letters to his father; try and explain the 18 pairs of boots and shoes he brought to the Himalayas; and consider his conversion to ‘mysticism’ following the flawed invasion he lead…Further Reading:• ‘Sir Francis Younghusband's 1903 Invasion Of Tibet’ (HistoryExtra, 2017):https://www.historyextra.com/period/edwardian/francis-younghusband-1903-invasion-tibet-expedition/• ‘Parshotam Mehra: Beginnings of the Lhasa Expedition: Younghusband's Own Words’ (Cambridge Univesity Press, 2009): http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/bot/pdf/bot_04_03_02.pdf• ‘With the Younghusband Tibet Expedition 1903-4: the diary of Lt Harvey Kelly - Christoph Baumer’ (Royal Society for Asian Affairs, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCi4h1DGh2YFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/3/2022 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

Olivier Clisson III was beheaded for treason on 2nd August, 1343 - an event which triggered his wife Jeanne to violently avenge his death for years: a brutal killing spree that earned her the nickname ‘The Lioness of Brittany’.Despite being a fortysomething mother of two, she fitted out three warships with black paint and red sails, and targeted defenseless French merchant ships with her fearsome ‘Black Fleet’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how to storm a French castle - via the front door; tell how Jeanne changed gear for her last chapter, with an English husband and a chateau; and consider whether taking two young kids to see the beheaded corpse of their father is, um, questionable parenting… Further Reading:• ‘1343: Olivier III de Clisson, husband of the Lioness of Brittany’ (Executed Today, 2008): https://www.executedtoday.com/2008/08/02/1343-olivier-iii-de-clisson-husband-of-the-lioness-of-brittany/• ‘Vengeful Facts About Jeanne De Clisson, "The Lioness Of Brittany"’ (Factinate): https://www.factinate.com/people/34-vengeful-facts-about-jeanne-de-clisson-the-lioness-of-brittany/• ‘These Were The Most Notorious Female Pirates In History’ (Grunge): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t74QGCvM02QFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/2/2022 • 10 minutes, 22 seconds

Chubby Checker's "The Twist", the most popular single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, was released on 1st August, 1960.It was just a cover version of a B-side which had already been released by its writer, Hank Ballard - but after it appeared on The Dick Clark Show, the world slowly became obsessed with the catchy tune and simple lyrics, and the suggestive dance that inspired it.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly tell the bizarre story of how Checker was selected to perform the version that sold millions of copies; revisit other 60’s dance crazes the turkey trot, bunny hug, and the grizzly bear; and explain how the song reached No.1 again two years later, thanks to a completely different audience getting hold of the trend… Further Reading:• ‘The Twist: A Worldwide Dance Craze in the 1960s’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/the-twist-dance-craze-1779369• ‘‘The Twist’ top song of Billboard Hot 100 era’ (NBC Today, 2008): https://www.today.com/popculture/twist-top-song-billboard-hot-100-era-1C9421254• ‘Chubby Checker performs ‘The Twist’ & ‘Let's Twist Again’ on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’’ (CBS, 1961):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDGprGUreOcFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/1/2022 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

Viking King Olaf II Haraldsson was killed on 29th July, 1030, kicking off a campaign, led by an English clergyman, to declare him a Saint.The cult of Olaf continues in Norway still, with festivals, pilgrimages and prayers given in his honour - even though Olaf used extreme violence and suppression to force parts of the country to convert to Christianity.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the inner-workings of the medieval church’s PR machine; explain why ‘extreme violence’ and ‘missionary work’ are ever muttered in the same breath; and consider whether ‘Saint’ Olaf would in fact be best remembered by his contemporary suffices: Olaf ‘the Fat’ or Olaf ‘the law-breaker’... Further Reading:• ‘St. Olaf’ (V&A Museum of Childhood, 2014): https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/sanctus-ignotum/st-olaf• ‘Today is Norway's Day of St. Olaf, celebrated for over 900 years’ (Norway Today, 2021): https://norwaytoday.info/culture/today-is-norways-day-of-st-olaf-celebrated-for-over-900-years/• ‘Olaf Haraldsson: King of Norway 1015-1028’ (History Time, 2018):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XvE1EKxUHcFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma CorshamCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/29/2022 • 10 minutes, 6 seconds

#throwbackthursday William James Herschel, a British colonial magistrate in India, first used fingerprints as a means of identification on 28th July, 1858 - not to catch a criminal, but to implement two-step verification on a contract.In Britain, the technology was first used to solve the theft of some billiard balls in 1902. These days, it’s been largely usurped by DNA, but remains a staple of the policing repertoire.In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider whether ears might be better criminal identifiers than fingers; reveal the history of the mugshot; and explain why koalas are our secret hand doubles... Further Reading:• ‘Press Down Firmly, You're in Our Files Now’ (WIRED, 2011): https://www.wired.com/2011/07/0728india-fingerprint-identification/• ‘The Blackburn child killer and rapist who changed criminal forensics forever’ (LancsLive, 2019): https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/blackburn-child-killer-rapist-who-17118836• The Bertillon System of Criminal Identification in use by the Police in the 1910s (Kinolibrary Archive Film collections): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8Myc8LZSME‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma CorshamCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/28/2022 • 9 minutes, 35 seconds

Famous for steaks, maroon banquettes, schooners of sherry and sexist advertising, family restaurant chain and ‘70s date night favourite Berni Inn first opened its doors at the historic Bristol pub The Rummer on 27th July, 1956. Founded by Frank and Aldo Berni, the American-inspired concept had a staggeringly simple menu, so that customers wouldn’t be intimidated and, more importantly, so that the kitchen could be operated by virtually anyone who could use a grill and a deep-fat fryer.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Berni brothers whipped up excitement for each new restaurant opening; reveal how their much-mocked menu actually introduced millions of patrons to some international staples; and highlight how the modern-day Beefeater pub chain still pays tribute to its Berni beginnings…Further Reading:• ‘Berni Inn Menu, 1973’ (RetroWow, 2022): https://www.retrowow.co.uk/food_and_drink/eating_out/berni_inn_menu.html• ‘Obituary: Frank Berni’ (The Guardian, 2000): https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/aug/01/guardianobituaries1• ‘You’re Better Off At A Berni Inn’ (Advert, 1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVAGsOryJJAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/27/2022 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

Charles E. Boles, otherwise known as ‘Black Bart’, was one of the Wild West’s most unlikely stagecoach robbers; being as he was a spiffy and quietly-spoken former teacher from Norfolk. But on 26th July, 1875 he made his name by robbing his first coach - without a gun.He targeted only Wells Fargo coaches, and never killed a passenger. As his crime career progressed, he made a habit of leaving behind little poems, signed ‘PO8’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the private investigation that led to his downfall; explain why he always *walked* away from the scene of the crime; and reveal why Boles was ‘the Forrest Gump of the 1800s’...Further Reading:• ‘The Poetic Tale of Literary Outlaw Black Bart’ (Smithsonian Magazine): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/poetic-tale-literary-outlaw-black-bart-180965356/• ‘Norfolk origins of US outlaw Black Bart 'revealed'’ (BBC News, 2018):https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-45786271• ‘Stories of the Century - BLACK BART (Republic Pictures, 1954): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMwaX3hjQFUFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/26/2022 • 10 minutes, 33 seconds

Chairman Mao Zedong swam in the Yangtze River on 25th July, 1966. Despite being in his Seventies, the leader was said by party propagandists (and hence every newspaper in China) to have set a world-record pace of nearly 15 km in 65 min. This piece of political theatre showed the world that the public face of the Chinese Communist party was in robust physical shape (despite reports in the West to the contrary), and reset Mao’s image in China after his disastrous ‘Great Leap Forward’ had claimed the lives of millions of people. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the symbolism of this iconic event; explain how Mao leveraged the publicity to reconsolidate his power; and reveal what Mao got VERY wrong about sparrows… Further Reading:• ‘The Chairman's Historic Swim’ (TIME, 1999): http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2054250,00.html• ‘Power of symbolism: The swim that changed Chinese history’ (SupChina, 2021): https://supchina.com/2021/07/14/power-of-symbolism-the-swim-that-changed-chinese-history/• ‘This photo triggered China’s Cultural Revolution’ (Vox, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXByOrRrO7c&feature=emb_tiFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/25/2022 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds

William ‘Braveheart’ Wallace was defeated by fearsome English archers at the Battle of Falkirk on 22nd July, 1298; when Edward I’s army first used longbows against their Scottish adversaries, with devastating effect.Despite Wallace’s men deploying their famous ‘schiltron’ formation - whereby foot soldiers packed together to form a bristly spear-wall - the arrows the English volleyed back rained down at an awesome rate of ten per minute, per bow. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why even the clergy of the era were keen on longbow-training; consider the advantage of bows over guns for hunting purposes; and reveal why, despite this victory, it took 200 years for the English to fall back in love with archery again… Further Reading:• ‘Bowmen of England by Donald Featherstone’ (Pen and Sword Books, 2011): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Bowmen_of_England/y8OIDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=welsh+longbows&printsec=frontcover• ‘The Battle of Falkirk, 1298’ (BBC Bitesize): https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z8g86sg/articles/zjwdbdm• ’How to shoot a medieval longbow’ (The History Squad, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbINsn5EVg4… And there’s FOUR MINUTES MORE of this discussion, cut-for-time from today’s show, exclusively available to our podcast’s supporters. How did William Wallace lose the Battle of Falkirk so spectacularly - was it really all about longbows? Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate further in this week’s extra bit: support the show via Apple Podcasts or Patreon to hear it now.https://patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/22/2022 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

German pop duo Milli Vanilli sold 33 million singles, including three US number ones, but harboured a shameful secret: their vocals were sung by someone else. At a promotional gig in Connecticut on 21st July, 1989, their backing track crashed - and speculation began to mount.“I knew right then and there, it was the beginning of the end for Milli Vanilli,” ‘singer’ Rob Pilatus admitted to the Los Angeles Times in November 1990. “When my voice got stuck in the computer and it just kept repeating and repeating, I panicked. I just ran off the stage.″In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion reveal how impresario Frank Farian created the band from his Boney M template; ask whether the young men fronting the project took a disproportionate amount of the flack from the public; and consider if ‘Girl You Know It’s True’ might just be the most popular pop song ever to have a spoken word intro… Further Reading:• ‘30 Years Ago, Milli Vanilli Returned Their Best New Artist Grammy; Should They Get the Award Back Now?’ (Variety, 2020): https://variety.com/2020/music/news/milli-vanilli-grammy-scandal-fab-morvan-1234865697/• Frank Farian turns 75 (DW, 2016): https://www.dw.com/en/boney-m-producer-frank-farian-turns-75/a-19406061• The moment the record skipped (VH1 Behind The Music): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiB3GTW-j2o‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.We'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/21/2022 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

Shun Fujimoto scored 9.5 on the pommel horse and 9.7 on the rings at the Montreal Olympics on 20th August, 1976 - despite having a badly damaged kneecap, having landed catastrophically during a tumbling run.That should, by rights, have ended his and his team's medal hopes - but he decided not to tell his coach or fellow competitors about the injury, and carried on with his routines. As a result of his endurance and persistence, Japan won Gold.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether Fujimoto’s remarkable resilience had any cultural antecedent in Japanese traditions of self-sacrifice; explain how his regrets may still be influencing contemporary Olympians; and consider whether gymnastic judging criteria should take more account of grimacing… Further Reading:• ‘FUJIMOTO Shun: The price of gold’ (Olympics.com): https://olympics.com/en/news/fujimoto-shun-the-price-of-gold• ‘The Joy of Six: great Olympians’ (The Guardian, 2008): https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/aug/07/olympics20082• ‘The Olympic Show: Shun Fujimoto’ (NBC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq-C5-vIim8For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/20/2022 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

The Paris Metro, engineered by Fulgence Bienvenüe and inaugurated on 19th July, 1900, was far from a world first: London, Budapest and Vienna had all beaten France in the race to create the next generation of subterranean trains. However, this didn’t stop Parisian anxiety about their new subway. Would the electric lines kill innocent travellers? Would being so close to sewers expose commuters to disease? Would the Metropolitan become a ‘Necropolitan’ - a DEATH LINE?In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the rival proposals for aerial rail systems that could have been built instead; explain why it is that you can get phone signal on the Metro, but not the Underground; and explain why classic calligraphy of the station signs was not widely appreciated at the time… Further Reading:• ‘Secrets of The Paris Metro’ (The New York Times, 2000): https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/19/travel/secrets-of-the-paris-metro.html• ‘Trains, Culture, and Mobility By Benjamin Fraser, Steven D. Spalding’ (Lexington Books, 2012): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Trains_Culture_and_Mobility/fUOY8941RjMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=necropolitan+paris+metro&pg=PA122&printsec=frontcover• ‘How Has This Century Old Metro Stood The Test of Time? - Extreme Constructions’ (Spark, 2022):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-gpSw5fVP0For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/19/2022 • 10 minutes, 22 seconds

Before the Ballot Act of 18th July, 1872, the British electorate were expected to declare their preferred candidate publicly at hustings, often under pressure from their employers and landlords, and plied with alcohol supplied by the politicians standing for election, in a process known as ‘soaking’.Over the years, alternatives had been put forward - including Jeremy Bentham’s concept of 1818, which involved a multitude of secret boxes with viewing windows - before the modern idea of private booths and a ballot box came to the fore. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and OIly explain why many voters saw secret ballots as sneaky and cowardly; explain how Australia beat Britain when it came to instituting voting in secret; and discover the teething problems experienced when Pontefract became the first town to test out the new process…Further Reading:• ‘Britain's first secret ballot’ (BBC News, 2015): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-31630588• ‘Rhodri Marsden's Interesting Objects: Pontefract's secret ballot box’ (The Independent, 2015): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rhodri-marsden-s-interesting-objects-pontefract-s-secret-ballot-box-a114506.html• ‘What was the Secret Ballot? | The Ballot Act 1872’ (Royal Holloway University London, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M8Lix4FgUMFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/18/2022 • 10 minutes, 8 seconds

Happy Saturday to you. We have another brilliant show to share with you for some relaxed, longer, weekend listening. It’s another history podcast - it’s called We Didn’t Start The Fire, it’s high concept which we LOVE. And yes it’s based on the Billy Joel song. Billy is the guide through the most original, fascinating and random way to explore the history of the post-war world. Just like us, they jump from subject to subject: one week they’re talking about Eisenhower, the next week it’s the polio vaccine - all explored and explained by eyewitnesses, mega-fans and experts. They’ve even had Billy Joel himself on.And we'll see you on Monday! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/16/2022 • 42 minutes, 28 seconds

Billy Carter, the beer-guzzling brother of President Jimmy Carter, became a serious headache for the White House when he was required to register as a foreign agent on 15th July, 1980, due to his dealings in Libya.Taking two large ‘loans’ from Gadaffi’s regime, viewed by the USA as a terrorist state, was perhaps Billy’s most controversial moment while his brother was in office - but not necessarily the most embarrassing… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate the ‘wit and wisdom’ Billy published for his fanbase; reveal the hard alcoholism that lurked behind much of his behaviour; and recall the appalling advertising campaign with which he attempted to turn around this very bad publicity… Further Reading:• ‘Billy Carter Files as Foreign Agent’ (The Washington Post, 1980): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/07/15/billy-carter-files-as-foreign-agent/3c9afef6-10cc-4832-881a-94117d111533/• ‘Embarrassing Relatives Plague Presidents’ (ABC News, 2003):https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/story?id=90138&page=1w• ‘Mo Rocca on why Jimmy Carter's brother Billy Carter was misunderstood’ (Salon, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzoGPJNRa1EFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/15/2022 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

#throwbackthursday Dr Benjamin Spock’s ‘Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care’ was first published on 14th July, 1946. It was then translated into 40 languages, selling over 50 million copies - second only to the Bible in the USA.Spock’s thesis is perhaps best summarised in its seminal opening sentence: ‘Trust yourself, you know more than you think you do’. This intuitive approach was a shock to the world of parental guidance: just 18 years prior, psychologist John B Watson had recommended that children should be treated as adults. In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly revisit the radically different 1916 tome ‘The Mother and Her Baby’; explain how Spock’s trusting instincts were a mainstay of his  career; and consider whether Gene Rodenberry’s preference for strong-sounding names REALLY explains how ‘Spock’ became a character on Star Trek...Further Reading:• ‘The Pied Piper Of Permissivism’ (The Guardian, 1962): https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jun/23/dr-benjamin-spock-baby-and-child-care-1962• ‘Dr Spock’s Timeless Lessons in Parenting’ (The Conversation, 2019):https://theconversation.com/dr-spocks-timeless-lessons-in-parenting-122377• TV interview with Dr Spock (1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9fSG01h_0w‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/14/2022 • 9 minutes, 44 seconds

The massive blackout across New York City that began at 9:30pm on 13th July, 1977 lasted for a little over a day. Yet, during that time, arsonists set over 1,000 fires and looters ransacked 1,600 stores.It was the climax of a dark chapter for NYC, which at this time had an enormous financial deficit, was regarded as sleazy and dangerous, and had laid off hundreds of public service workers. But it also led to the spread of hip-hop. Perhaps.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall the baseball game that was postponed for four months when the lights went out; investigate the murder that happened during the blackout; and reveal Doris Day’s role in the perception of the crimewave…Further Reading:• ‘THE BLACKOUT: NIGHT OF TERROR’ (TIME, 1977): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,919089,00.html• ‘The 1977 Blackout in New York City Happened Exactly 42 Years Ago’ (The New York Times, 2019): https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/14/nyregion/1977-blackout-photos.html?searchResultPosition=3• ‘NYC Blackout: What It Was Like When the City Lost Power in 1977’ (NBC New York, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyPjGwGg4-sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/13/2022 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Mormons were told to embrace polygamy on 12th July, 1843 - when the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, Joseph Smith, said a revelation had told him he must marry multiple women to continue serving God.It was a controversial change to the faith, meeting resistance not only from Smith’s first wife, but from other patriarchs in the Church. Nevertheless, Smith went on to have at least 40 wives, at least 7 of whom were under the age of 18.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether the ‘sealing’ marriages advocated by Smith were sexual in nature; review the various euphemisms for polygamy in circulation at the time, including ‘spiritual wifery’; and explain why, even though the Church officially ended the policy in 1890, it continues to haunt them to this day… Further Reading:• ‘The Mormon church finally acknowledges founder Joseph Smith’s polygamy’ (The Washington Post, 2014): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2014/11/11/the-mormon-church-finally-acknowledges-founder-joseph-smiths-polygamy/• ‘Timeline: The Early History of the Mormons’ (PBS American Experience): https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mormons-timeline/• ‘Mormon Church Acknowledges Joseph Smith’s Polygamy Practices’ (MSNBC, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zciavoZACXYAs every good polygamist knows, you can never have too much of a good thing - so there’s an bonus bit of the team talking about this day in history exclusively available to our supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon today. Support the show now, and get an extra snipped like this every single week!https://patreon.com/Retrospectors.We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/12/2022 • 10 minutes, 20 seconds

China’s greatest naval explorer, Zheng He, set sail on the first of seven epic voyages on 11th July, 1405. He led a fleet of 255 ships, with an estimated 28,000 people on board.A eunuch, and a Muslim, he had risen through the ranks to become a right-hand man of the Emperor, and his prowess at sea vastly bettered the likes of his European contemporaries Christopher Columbus and Marco Polo. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether reports of his size and stature were nonetheless exaggerated; consider why, for many years prior to this, China had limited exploration by sea; and explain why, despite his incredible success, bureaucrats then tried to purge He’s name from the records…Further Reading:• ‘Biography of Zheng He, Chinese Admiral’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/zheng-he-ming-chinas-great-admiral-195236• ‘China’s greatest naval explorer sailed his treasure fleets as far as East Africa’ (National Geographic): https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2020/05/chinas-greatest-naval-explorer-sailed-his-treasure-fleets-as-far-as-east-africa• ‘Zheng He: World Explorers’ (PBS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGcbIoTyY6sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/11/2022 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

For your weekend listening pleasure, The Retrospectors recommends this week My Time Capsule.This is the show that asks it’s guests to choose five things to put in a Time Capsule. They can choose anything from an item, to a memory, a film or even a country. Four of them are things they want to preserve but one is something they want to bury in the ground and never have to think about again.Their guests have included Stephen Fry, David Mitchell, Caroline Quentin, Ross Noble, Lee Mack, Arabella Weir, Rob Brydon, Dara Ó Briain, Shappi Khorsandi and Barry Cryer.It’s hosted by the actor and comedian, Mike Fenton Stevens from such shows as Nighty Night, Only Fool and Horses, The Crown, Not Going Out and soon to be in the BBC’s Ghosts and Armando Iannucci's Avenue 5 with Hugh Laurie on HBO.My Time Capsule is consistently in the top 15 of the Apple Comedy Interviews chart and was recently The Times podcast of the week.In this episode, Harry Hill chooses 5 items for his time capsule. He’s as brilliantly funny and entertaining as you’d expect but also thoughtful, relaxed and honest in a way you may not have heard before.HEAR MORE and FOLLOW THE SHOW: https://podfollow.com/mytimecapsuleOh and fun fact, John Fenton-Stevens who produces My Time Capsule and wrote the theme tune, also wrote our theme music for The Retrospectors.See you on Monday! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/9/2022 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 37 seconds

Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley drowned off the coast of Tuscany on 8th July, 1822. His wife, Mary Shelley, waited an agonizing ten days to discover news of the dramatic shipwreck.Announcing the news of the atheist’s death, conservative London newspaper The Courier reported, “Shelley, the writer of some infidel poetry, has been drowned. Now he knows whether or not there is a God.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the ‘Shelleybaits’ his contemporaries at Eton would bully him with; reveal the complex love triangle between Shelley, Mary’s sister Claire, and their infamous friend Lord Byron; and explain how, for two centuries now, Shelley’s death has been exaggerated and sentimentalized…Further Reading:• ‘Mysterious Drownings’ (History Today, 2012): https://www.historytoday.com/mysterious-drownings• ‘Death and destiny’ (The Guardian, 2004): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/jan/24/featuresreviews.guardianreview1• ‘Talk: Peter Halstead on the Death of Shelley’ (Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuTHYzfrY04For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/8/2022 • 10 minutes, 8 seconds

When Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti teamed up for their first joint performance on 7th July, 1990 in Rome, it was intended as a one-off collaboration to celebrate the FIFA World Cup. But the concert triggered instant worldwide fame for the trio, who became known as The Three Tenors, and their live recording became the biggest-selling classical album of all time.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how, by mixing showtunes with opera, the Tenors created the ‘classical crossover’ genre that spawned Russell Watson, Il Divo and Katherine Jenkins; explain how Carreras’ recovery from leukemia was the reason for the concert coming together; and reveal how their iconic Nessun Dorma encore was nearly not included at all…Further Reading:• ‘TENORS, ANYONE? THE BIG THREE ARE MAKING A MINT, BUT THAT DOESN'T NECCESSARILY CORRUPT THEIR ART’ (The Washington Post, 1995): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1995/10/29/tenors-anyone-the-big-three-are-making-a-mint-but-that-doesnt-neccessarily-corrupt-their-art/a0ab8ac1-5ea8-4487-85f7-f554681c0d70/• ‘Profile: The Three Tenors’ (The National, 2015): https://www.thenational.scot/news/14852450.profile-the-three-tenors/• ‘The Three Tenors sing "O Sole Mio" at Terme di Caracalla’ (1990): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvLZSgP0QMYFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/7/2022 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

Rerun. Sliced bread had never been automated before Otto Rohwedder unveiled his “power-driven, multi-bladed bread slicer” at Chillicothe Baking Company on July 6, 1928 - after an astonishing SIXTEEN years of self-funded development. The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune ran a front-page story in response - warning that consumers might find sliced bread “startling,” but that “the typical housewife could expect a thrill of pleasure when she first sees a loaf of this bread with each slice the exact counterpart of its fellows.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of this seismic event to the creation of the pop-up toaster in 1921; consider what it means to be ‘an itinerant jeweller’; and reveal the results of a survey of 30,000 housewives on optimum slice-width… Further Reading:• ‘The best thing since sliced bread’ (Jim Glynne, The Madera Tribune, 2018):http://www.maderatribune.com/single-post/2018/07/07/the-best-thing-since-sliced-bread• Chillicothe, Missouri - ‘The Home of Sliced Bread’:http://www.homeofslicedbread.com/• ‘Sliced Bread: Where did it come from?’ on HowStuffWorks’ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q7oMc-L57cFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/6/2022 • 9 minutes, 34 seconds

Amazon, created in the Seattle garage of Jeff Bezos, was incorporated on 5th July, 1994. Before Bezos had settled on the site’s name as a way of conveying the size and scope of the e-commerce platform he intended to build, his working titles had included Cadabra, Relentless, Awake, Browse and Bookmall.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Washington was chosen as the launch location for the company; reveal how Bezos was able to resell individual books from wholesalers without breaching any Ts & Cs; and compare notes on their first-ever Amazon purchases… Further Reading:• ‘Amazon Was Founded 25 Years Ago This Friday. Here's What the World Was Like When Jeff Bezos Incorporated the Company in 1994’ (Inc, 2019): https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/amazon-cadabra-jeff-bezos-25-year-anniversary-1994.html• ‘Olly Mann on “My Mate Bought a Toaster”’ (Tom Price, 2020): https://podfollow.com/1462168683/episode/50c5e6d3a7471bb569f375a2d8d65d0bdd39e6e4/view• ‘60 Minutes: Amazon’ (CBS, 1999): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv8MrBBuRqI… and look, there’s FIVE MINUTES+ MORE of us talking about the origins of Amazon, Bezos’s pitch to investors, and the time they turned down an offer from Howard Schulz at Starbuck’s, available exclusively to our supporters. Sign up now via Apple Subscriptions or Patreon* to hear it - and a bonus bit like it, every single week. Thanks!* https://patreon.com/Retrospectors. Top two tiers only.We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/5/2022 • 10 minutes, 19 seconds

Who invented the hamburger? It’s almost impossible to know, given that mincemeat has been consumed all around the world, and for centuries - but Oscar Bilby, of Tulsa, Oklahoma is a strong contender. On 4th July, 1891, he grilled a beef patty, and - for the first time in documented history -  PUT IT IN A BUN. And a Fourth of July tradition was born.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of the American burger back to 19th century sailors in New York; consider the claim to fame of rival ‘Hamburger Charlie’ (Charlie Nagreen of Seymour, Wisconsin); and recall the short-lived attempt by the American War effort to rid the hamburger of its German heritage…Further Reading:• ‘Where Hamburgers Began—and How They Became an Iconic American Food’ (HISTORY, 2014): https://www.history.com/news/hamburger-helpers-the-history-of-americas-favorite-sandwich• ‘History of Hamburgers’ (What’s Cooking America): https://whatscookingamerica.net/history/hamburgerhistory.htm• ‘An Animated History of the Hamburger’ (New York Magazine, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIjX8OPuf-wFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/4/2022 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

We’re shaking things up today and sharing a preview from Car Show!, a new podcast from our friends at Pushkin Industries. Longtime Car and Driver editor Eddie Alterman tells the stories of the vital cars — the ones that have changed how we drive and live, whose significance lies outside the scope of horsepower or miles per gallon. In this episode, Eddie talks about the military background of the Jeep, a vehicle made for the battlefields of World War II, and its lasting popularity in America decades after the war. You can listen to the full episode and more from Car Show! at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/carshow?sid=retrospectors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/2/2022 • 7 minutes, 38 seconds

The British Empire gained a new colony on 1st July, 1946 - the kingdom of Sarawak. For over 100 years, it had been ruled as the personal fiefdom of a Devonshire family: the ‘White Rajahs’.‘Adventurer’ James Brooke had taken the territory in 1838, and then established a male, hierarchical, absolute monarchy in the country. His (increasingly eccentric) descendants enlarged the size of the country, but often spent more time in the UK than in their own nation.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall the investigation of whether Brooke was excessively brutal towards the native people; consider whether he really was shot in his nethers, as has often been reported; and reveal the curious reason why his son refused to allow his children to eat jam… Further Reading:• ‘The last of the White Rajahs: The extraordinary story of the Victorian adventurer who subjugated a vast swathe of Borneo’ (Mail Online, 2011): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367066/The-White-Rajahs-The-extraordinary-story-Victorian-adventurer-subjugated-vast-swathe-Borneo.html• ‘The Sultan who owes his throne to a gay Englishman - by erinambersmith’ (Medium, ): https://medium.com/@erinambersmith/the-sultan-who-owes-his-throne-to-a-gay-englishman-171c85cad059• ‘Rajah Muda Anthony Brooke of Sarawak’ (interview, circa 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u0Fd0ofr4AFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/1/2022 • 10 minutes, 6 seconds

The world’s first emergency number, 999, was launched in London on 30th June, 1937 - to a great deal of scepticism, and open laughter in the House of Commons. But when five women died in a house fire in 1935 - after a neighbour had attempted to call the fire brigade via the Operator - the public had begun to demand a quick, convenient way to summon the emergency services. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why 999 was chosen as the number to dial, even though 111 would have been easier, on a rotary dial in a smoke-filled room; reveal how humour was used to communicate the nature of the new service to the public at large; and discover which illustrious architect’s wife (supposedly) made the first ever call to the service…Further Reading:• ‘London's Forgotten Disasters: The Tragedy That Sparked The 999 Service’ (Londonist, 2015): https://londonist.com/2015/11/london-s-forgotten-disasters-the-tragedy-that-sparked-the-999-service• ‘999 celebrates its 80th anniversary: From Morse code messages to 13,000 calls daily, Met Police looks back’ (MyLondon, 2017): https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/999-celebrates-80th-anniversary-morse-13267261• ‘999 Has New Home - The Information Room At Scotland Yard’ (British Pathé, 1957): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woY_OULw1Y0For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/30/2022 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

The first purpose-built cruise ship in history, the Prinzessin Victoria Luise, was launched by Albert Ballin’s Hamburg-America Line on 29th June, 1900.Luxuriously appointed, she was kitted out with entirely first-class cabins, a hotel-quality kitchen, and an innovative dark room - at the behest of the Kaiser himself.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly peruse the Menu passengers enjoyed; explain how an incident in Jamaica ended life for this historic ship; and recall how, despite Ballin’s innovations, it took many decades for his cruising concept to truly take root… CONTENT WARNING: suicideFurther Reading:• ‘The History of the World's First Cruise Ship Built Solely for Luxurious Travel’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2021): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-worlds-first-cruise-ship-built-solely-luxurious-travel-180978254/• ‘History of Cruise Ships’ (HowStuffWorks): https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/cruise-ship1.htm• ‘The Evolution of Cruise Ships (1904 - 2021)’ (The Insighters, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AXdn7pr2VAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/29/2022 • 9 minutes, 29 seconds

When Jacobite heir Bonnie Prince Charlie made his escape from the British Army on 28th June, 1746, he did so in bizarre style - disguised in drag as Irish spinning-maid ‘Betty Burke’.With a £30,000 bounty on his head, Charles had to rely on the support of strangers - in this case 24 year-old Flora McDonald, who would later serve time in the Tower of London for having assisted him in the escape, memorably documented in the Skye Boat Song.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Charles picked this moment to attempt to conquer England from the North; consider why he succeeded, in escaping despite the enormous bounty on his head and his very poor disguise; and ask whether Flora and Charlie’s relationship was entirely platonic… Further Reading:• ‘On this day 1746: Young Pretender escapes Benbecula’ (The Scotsman, 2017): https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/day-1746-young-pretender-escapes-benbecula-1446281• ‘Flora MacDonald: The Jacobite Heroine Who Features In Outlander’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/flora-macdonald-who-life-north-carolina/• ‘Skye Boat Song - Outlander Theme Song’ (Choral Scholars of University College Dublin, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycVpXbJCx-M… and there’s even more on this subject for our supporters on the show. As we discover in this week’s bonus bit, the Jacobite line did NOT end with Bonnie Prince Charles - there's STILL a current pretender to the throne. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts or join us on Patreon to hear it! https://patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/28/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

It was the sex scandal of the year: British rom-com star Hugh Grant procuring the services of hitherto unknown L.A. streetwalker Divine Brown on Sunset Boulevard on 27th June, 1995.When their in-car liaison went public the following morning (following their arrest for lewd behaviour), Grant embarked upon what has become seen as a textbook ‘apology tour’, culminating in an appearance on The Tonight Show in which Jay Leno asked him the question on everybody’s lips: “What were you thinking?”.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Brown originally thought Grant was a cop, and certainly not a celebrity; question the racial undertone to the press reaction to the incident; and recall how Grant’s appearance was pivotal in securing The Tonight Show’s place ahead of Letterman’s Late Show in the TV ratings for years to come… Further Reading:• ‘Hugh Grant arrested with sex worker 20 years ago’ (The Guardian, 2015): https://www.theguardian.com/film/from-the-archive-blog/2015/jun/26/hugh-grant-arrest-prostitute-divine-brown-20-1995• ‘“What the hell were you thinking?” - How Hugh Grant’s arrest for ‘lewd conduct’ changed the way celebrities say sorry’ (The Independent, 2020):https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/hugh-grant-arrest-divine-brown-sex-worker-nine-months-elizabeth-hurley-a9584341.html• ‘Hugh Grant on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ (NBC, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqCbgHM5MqUFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/27/2022 • 10 minutes, 33 seconds

With breast meat so chunky it could feed the whole family, and drumsticks so small you could carve straight past the bone, the ‘chicken of tomorrow’ envisaged by U.S. retailer A&P inspired a national competition that reached its culmination on 24th June, 1948 - and changed the way that the world ate chicken forever.Entrants were submitted whilst still in egg form, hatched at specially built facilities, raised in controlled conditions and on a standard diet, tracked and monitored for weight gain, health and appearance. Then, after 12 weeks, the birds were slaughtered, weighed and judged for their edible meat yield. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the success of the competition led to widespread use of antibiotics in poultry-rearing; gasp at the crowning of ‘Miss Chicken of Tomorrow’, Nancy McGee; and explain how the competition ultimately led to the eradication of over a thousand species… Further Reading:• ‘How the 'Chicken of Tomorrow' Contest in 1948 Created the Bird We Eat Today’ (National Geographic, 2018): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/poultry-food-production-agriculture-mckenna• ‘The Chicken of Tomorrow: Mankind's Quest For A Better Hen’ (Flashbak, 2016): https://flashbak.com/the-chicken-of-tomorrow-1948-mankinds-quest-for-a-better-hen-62821/• ‘The Chicken of Tomorrow’ (Prelinger Archives, 1948): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVY68VR_4BgFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/24/2022 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

The Glidden-Sholes prototype for “the writing of ordinary communications with types instead of a pen” was granted a patent on 23rd June, 1868. It wasn’t the first typewriter, but it became the first to be mass-produced, and gave the world a new way to write things down.But it only typed out in uppercase, didn’t yet have a QWERTY keyboard, and users couldn't actually see what they were typing. It also looked like a sewing machine, having been developed in collaboration with sewing machine manufacturer Remington.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how it was not Glidden or Sholes, but actually investor James Densmore, who was most responsible for making it a hit; reveal what a ‘Japanning Finish’ is; and consider the role of Remington’s marketing department in creating the ‘typing pool’ and - therefore - a generation of jobs for women… Further Reading:• ‘Improvement in Type-Writing Machines: Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 79,265’ (United States Patent Office, 1868): https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/f2/f8/c2/77225faf96c627/US79265.pdf• ‘The typewriter: an informal history’ (IBM Archives, 1977): https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/modelb/modelb_informal.html• ‘How QWERTY conquered keyboards’ (VOX, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8f6us-SjloFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/23/2022 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

John Dillinger, infamous 1930s gangster, jail breaker, bank robber and brawler, earned himself a new title on 22nd June, 1934 - when he became the FBI’s first ever ‘Public Enemy Number One’.The authorities were intent on disabusing Americans of their love affair with the ‘Robin Hood’-style gangsters as portrayed in the movies. But the new title didn’t dissuade Dillinger’s admirers from continuing to idolise his illegal pursuits.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace Dillinger’s career from teenage tearaway to the world’s most-hunted fugitive; explain how he used his preposterous ‘wooden gun’ to escape from one of the USA’s most ‘inescapable’ prisons; and reveal how, decades after his death, his relatives are still trying to claim his honour… Further Reading:• John Dillinger - Public Enemy No. 1 (ThoughtCo, 2020): https://www.thoughtco.com/john-dillinger-public-enemy-no-1-104610• ‘Retouching Dillinger's Reputation’ (The New York Times, 2009): https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/03/19/arts/20090319-dlillinger-slideshow_index/s/20090319-dlillinger-slideshow_slide6.html• ‘How John Dillinger Went from Pesky Thief to Public Enemy No. 1’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Boubgkq-6MBut wait - there’s more! How did the FBI manage to find Dillinger, and gun him down? How did his adoring public react to seeing his corpse in the street? And has the successor to the 'Public Enemy' list, the '10 Most Wanted', helped the U.S. authorities capture more fugitives? Find out in our weekly bonus bit - only available to supporters of the show. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, or visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/22/2022 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

Why are spectacles so expensive? The sheer scale of EssilorLuxottica, the world’s biggest maker of eyewear and lenses, might have something to do with it. On 21st September, 2007, they paid $2.1 billion for the last major designer brand they didn’t already own: Oakley.Their empire now includes Dolce and Gabbana, Versace, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany, Persol, Ray-Ban and DKNY. But they don’t just make frames: they also own many opticians, including LensCrafters; a situation critics suggest has resulted in them effectively operating a price-fixing monopoly. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the feud between Luxottica’s billionaire founder Leonardo Del Vecchio and Oakley’s James Jannard; ask if luxury eyewear can be considered an ‘essential’ product; and explain why, the next time you buy a bottle of booze, you might have less choice than you think… Further Reading:• ‘Leonardo Del Vecchio, the Italian billionaire defying old age’ (Financial Times, 2019): https://www.ft.com/content/1fcf395e-eb39-11e9-85f4-d00e5018f061• ‘Meet the Four-Eyed, Eight-Tentacled Monopoly That is Making Your Glasses So Expensive’ (Forbes, 2014):https://www.forbes.com/sites/anaswanson/2014/09/10/meet-the-four-eyed-eight-tentacled-monopoly-that-is-making-your-glasses-so-expensive/?sh=7ec0514c6b66• ‘60 Minutes: Do you know who makes your glasses?’ (CBS, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTWjWVY9VoFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/21/2022 • 10 minutes, 19 seconds

Congo, pet chimp of science writer and TV personality Desmond Morris, was considered a novelty in the art world when his paintings were displayed in the 1950’s. But, on 20th June, 2005, three of his works went under the hammer at prestigious London auction house Bonham’s - and sold for £12,000.Morris - zoologist, surrealist and author of the bestselling science book The Naked Ape - had the perfect experience to support the monkey in his artistic career, and was rewarded when his chimp’s paintings were displayed at the ICA, lauded by Dali, and purchased by Prince Philip. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Congo’s approach to art differentiated him from other primates; question whether Morris really was truly able to determine, as he claimed, that financial reward ruins artistic impulses; and reveal how Congo’s status as the world’s most advanced painting ape might soon be under threat… Further Reading:• ‘Bidders go ape for chimpanzee art’ (BBC News, 2005): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4109664.stm• ‘Congo and the ‘Biology of Art’’ (Zoological Society of London, 2021): https://www.zsl.org/blogs/artefact-of-the-month/congo-and-the-biology-of-art• ‘Meridian Tonight: Desmond Morris and surrealist art ‘ (ITV, 2012)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvzGV3LnWIEFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/20/2022 • 10 minutes, 17 seconds

When Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen abandoned his epic, but failed, attempt to reach the North Pole, he was not expecting to hitch a ride home with a Brit. But, on 17th June, 1896, in the remote wilderness of Franz Joseph Land, he and colleague Hjalmar Johansen - replete with long shaggy beards and frozen mittens - bumped into English explorer Frederick Jackson, who was also in the Arctic thanks to funding from the Daily Mail.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Nansen's ship, the Fram, pioneered pack-ice exploration; reveal the nasty fate of Nansen’s dogs; and marvel at the English understatement of Jackson’s diary detailing their famous encounter… Further Reading:• ‘MET NANSEN BY CHANCE; JACKSON'S STRANGE EXPERIENCE ON AN ICE FLOE’ (The New York Times, 1896): https://www.nytimes.com/1896/08/15/archives/met-nansen-by-chance-jacksons-strange-experience-on-an-ice-floe-the.html• ‘"Aren't you Nansen?" - FG Jackson's Diary’ (ExplorersWeb, 2007): https://explorersweb.com/polar/news.php?id=16309• ‘The Polar Exploration Museum! With our two centrepieces Fram and Gjøa’ (Fram Museum Oslo, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbJ4Cu7nFro&t=32sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/17/2022 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds

Dutch patriots are now regularly spotted sporting orange wigs, orange clothes, orange banners and orange face paint. But, on 16th June, 1784, they were BANNED from wearing anything orange. The intention was to silence supporters of the ‘stadtholders’. And the colour - descending, in the public imagination, from William of Orange - had become so politically toxic in some cities that it was even prohibited to display orange carrots without their green tops showing.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why the Dutch flag isn’t orange, despite the Netherlands’ love of the colour; posit what not to do on what used to be ‘Queen’s Day’; and reveal why Queen Wilhelmina’s wartime exile in London finally sealed the deal for this controversial colour… Further Reading:• ‘Why the Dutch wear orange’ (Amsterdam Tourist Information): https://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/321-why-the-dutch-wear-orange• ‘The Dutch Patriot Movement of the 1780s’ (Loyola University of New Orleans, 1986): http://people.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1986-7/botticelli.htm• ‘Why do the Dutch wear orange?’ (WonderWhy):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFLcaYUPphYFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/16/2022 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

Typhoid Mary - real name Mary Mallon - was the first ever asymptomatic carrier of typhoid to be identified. A cook for wealthy New York families, her name was published on 15th June, 1907, when sanitation engineer George Soper exposed her as the source of numerous outbreaks of the disease across the City.Of particular concern was Mallon’s habit of preparing fresh peach ice cream for her clients on a Sunday. “No better way could be found for a cook to cleanse her hands of microbes and infect a family,” Soper concluded.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask if Mallon was treated unfairly by the authorities due to her class and circ*mstances; explain how she came to be quarantined - twice - on North Brother Island; and question how she possibly found herself working back in kitchens, preparing food, even after her reputation as a carrier of typhoid had been well publicised… Further Reading:• ‘THE WORK OF A CHRONIC TYPHOID GERM DISTRIBUTOR’ (George A. Soper, Ph.D, 1907): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/463876• ‘Typhoid Mary, Who Spread Typhoid in Early 1900s’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/typhoid-mary-1779179• ‘What Exactly Is Typhoid Fever?’ (Seeker, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1lKW2CYU68&t=306sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/15/2022 • 10 minutes, 35 seconds

Slapping a police officer is rarely a great idea, but it somewhat revived the career of actress and Hollywood personality Zsa Zsa Gabor, whose trial began amidst a media blitz on 14th June, 1989. After being pulled over in her $214,000 Rolls Royce convertible, she had assaulted officer Paul Kramer - who then charged her with driving with an open flask of Jack Daniels, and speeding off after being apprehended. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit Gabor’s greatest one-liners, on film and in court; consider how “Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler” ended up being invoked against a motorcycle cop; and reveal how Gabor was spared “the lesbians” in jail… Further Reading:• ‘Remember When Zsa Zsa Gabor Slapped a Motorcycle Cop Across the Face?’ (Jezebel, 2016): https://jezebel.com/remember-when-zsa-zsa-gabor-slapped-a-motorcycle-cop-ac-1787290804• ‘Zsa Zsa Gabor, the Beverly Hills cop and 'the slap heard 'round the world’' (Los Angeles Times, 2016): https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-zsa-zsa-gabor-retrospective-20161219-story.html• ‘Zsa Zsa Gabor in "The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear" Opening Credits’ (Paramount, 1991): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BI4F7ZgbHQFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/14/2022 • 10 minutes, 20 seconds

The Production Code Administration - which policed standards of decency on all US cinema releases for twenty years - was established on 13th June, 1934, following a patch of unconvincing Hollywood self-censorship.‘Excessive or lustful kissing’ and ‘sex perversion’ were no longer allowed - but nor was ‘depictions of safe-cracking’, ‘childbirth,’ and ‘dynamiting’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether the strict rules enforced by the code actively inspired the classic ‘golden era’ movies that are still regarded with nostalgia today; reveal the anti-semitism behind the policy; and remind us of the pre-code movies, starring the likes of Jimmy Cagney and Mae West, that remain “raunchy - for now”... Further Reading:• ‘The Quick 10: 9 Movies and Shows Affected by the Hays Code’ (Mental Floss, 2010): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/24341/quick-10-9-movies-and-shows-affected-hays-code• ‘Film | The First Amendment Encyclopedia’ (mtsu.edu): https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1246/film• ’How the Catholic Church censored Hollywood's Golden Age’ (Vox, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXZGKhpv8eg#US #Hollywood #FilmFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/13/2022 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Three imposters claimed to be the assassinated son of Ivan the Terrible, Prince Dmitry - but the first of the fraudsters got the furthest, actually being crowned Tzar on 10th June, 1605, and reigning over Russia for almost a year.His name was Grigory Otrepiev - now more often known as ‘False Dmitry I’ - and he’d come to power despite a previous coup (in which he led a rebel army of Lithuanian and Polish nobles, Jesuits and Cossacks) having failed.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how he overcame this military defeat to seize power anyway; ask why so many Muscovites were prepared to state he was the ‘real’ Dmitry when he quite plainly wasn’t; and reveal whose testicl*s he ripped off to (very briefly) achieve his dreams…Further Reading:• ‘Grigory Otrepiev - the first of Lzhedmitriyev’ (Unansea): ​​https://en.unansea.com/grigory-otrepiev-the-first-of-lzhedmitriyev/• ‘Russia: A History, by Derek B Lange’ (New Word City, 2018): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Russia_A_History/UO1jDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=false+dmitry+i&printsec=frontcover• ‘Weird History Sock Puppet Theatre: False Dmitry I’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYta60nyY0k#Russia #1600s #crime #RoyalsFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie KingCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/10/2022 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

A huge fire ravaged Alexandra Palace in Muswell Hill, London on 9th June, 1873 - just 16 days after it had opened, on Queen Victoria’s birthday, as ‘the People’s Palace’. A single burning ember is thought to have caused the blaze.125 firefighters, in horse-drawn and steam-powered fire engines, had to climb 7 miles uphill, and by the time they got there, the building was engulfed in flames. But, almost immediately, a decision was taken to rebuild it. That’s Victorian stoicism for you.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly peruse the surprisingly gaudy programme of planned events for the exhibition space’s opening season; explain how a ‘people’s’ palace came to be named after Royalty anyway; and reveal the remarkable resilience of Henry Willis’ giant organ… Further Reading:• ‘9 June 1873: Alexandra Palace burns down’ (MoneyWeek, 2015): https://moneyweek.com/395048/9-june-1873-alexandra-palace-burns-down• ‘A Look Back in Time’ (Alexandra Palace official website): https://www.alexandrapalace.com/our-history/timeline/• ‘Alexandra Palace London [4K] - DJI MAVIC PRO’ (FlyBy, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cool4TxpaQ#Victorian #UK #LondonFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/9/2022 • 10 minutes, 15 seconds

Northumbria’s ‘holy island’, Lindisfarne, was invaded by Vikings on 8th June, 793 in a smash-and-grab, ‘shock and awe’ attack that left locals reeling for decades. The completely unexpected incursion was not, in fact, the first time Viking forces invaded the English coastline, but was, undoubtedly, the moment their reputation as merciless warriors and pirates was sealed.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the Vikings targeted so many of their raids on monasteries; consider why Lindisfarne was, in the first place, regarded as such a spiritual site; and explain why many Englishmen viewed the raid as vengeance from God…Further Reading:• ‘The Holy Island of Lindisfarne’ (Visit Northumberland): https://www.visitnorthumberland.com/explore/destinations/islands/holy-island• ‘The Viking Raid Of Lindisfarne In AD 793: Your Guide’ (HistoryExtra, 2019): https://www.historyextra.com/period/viking/guide-viking-raid-lindisfarne-what-happened-when/• ‘Viking Raid on Lindisfarne (AD793)’ (Simple History, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS3YfhAiXHUBut our discussion about Lindisfarne doesn't end with today's episode... there's also a chat about WIlliam of Normandy’s Viking connections, the perfect weather for a Viking invasion, and the identity crisis of Northumbrian Christians - but, to hear that, and a bonus bit like it each and every week, you need to subscribe to ‘The Bonus Pack’ on Apple Podcasts, or at https://patreon.com/Retrospectors. Thanks!#War #Vikings #Christian For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/8/2022 • 10 minutes, 22 seconds

VHS won the so-called ‘format wars’ of the 1980s - but before JVC unveiled their VCR system, Sony created the market, with their innovative Japanese launch of Betamax on 7th June, 1975. For the first time, consumers could tape shows at home, rewind and fast-forward the best bits, and share cassettes with friends. But Betamax tapes were only one hour long, so they couldn’t contain an entire movie or football game. And Hollywood was unhappy about the technology, triggering a massive lawsuit from Universal Pictures and Walt Disney.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider what role p*rnography played in VHS’ ultimate defeat of Betamax; explain why video rental shops were such a popular concept; and reveal how, despite Sony’s early advantage, JVC got other manufacturers on-board before poor Betamax could catch up… Further Reading:• ‘June 7, 1975: Before Digital, Before VHS ... There Was Betamax’ (WIRED, 2007): https://www.wired.com/2007/06/dayintech-0607/?msclkid=b50fb350d13a11eca7a9948d91685605• ‘Why VHS was better than Betamax - Jack Schofield’ (The Guardian, 2003): https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2003/jan/25/comment.comment?msclkid=fb5c2af5d13a11ec962eda595e20814a• ‘The Sony Betamax: It’s Only Purpose Is To Serve You’ (Sony Promotional Video, 1975): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt2KlIEr5xA#80s #70s #Technology #MistakesFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/7/2022 • 10 minutes, 19 seconds

George Williams, 22, created the Young Men’s Christian Association to provide somewhere for London’s young men to escape the vices and stress of rapid urbanization (translation: get yourself clean, hang out with all the boys). The group’s first meeting was above a draper’s shop in St Paul’s on 6th June, 1844.The mission aligned perfectly with the burgeoning movement for ‘muscular Christianity’, and before long, multiple groups were sprouting all over Europe, and then the United States - where YMCA affiliates invented body-building, volleyball and basketball. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the YMCA then became associated with cruising; reveal how the Village People got together; and consider what George Williams had in common with Milton S. Hershey… Further Reading:• ‘15 Things You Might Not Know About the YMCA’ (Mental Floss, 2018): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/57095/facts-about-the-ymca• ‘#DidYaKnow? For 50+ Years the YMCA & Most Schools REQUIRED Males to Swim Naked!?’ (World of Wonder, 2021): https://worldofwonder.net/didyaknow-for-50-years-the-ymca-most-schools-required-males-to-swim-naked/• ‘Village People - YMCA’ (1978): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9OO0S5w2k#Victorian #London #LGB #ChristianFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/6/2022 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds

An entry in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland on 1st June, 1495, records that Friar John Cor was given charge of eight bolls of malt, ‘wherewith to make aqua vitae’. This has led many people to believe that his patron, King James IV, was the first big consumer of what we now know as whisky.But the drink may not have been ordered for recreational purposes. It *might* have been intended for use in the production of gunpowder. Or… it may have been to help develop ‘the quintessence’, the life elixir being developed by the King’s alchemist, John Damian, promising to confer immortality to the King.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and OIly revisit Damian’s other mission - to be the first man to achieve winged flight; trace back the history of whisky for medicinal purposes; and reveal the ingredients of ‘a Renaissance-era Long Island Iced Tea’... Further Reading:• ‘Famous whisky drinkers: King James IV’ (Scotch Whisky): https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/famous-whisky-drinkers/13189/king-james-iv/• ‘The aqua vitae era’ (Whisky Magazine): https://whiskymag.com/story/the-aqua-vitae-era• ‘The Real Reason Whiskey Is Healthier Than Any Other Drink’ (Mashed, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKjXoSckzbQWe're off for a couple of days after this (it's a public holiday in Britain), so no new episodes tomorrow/Friday. We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/1/2022 • 10 minutes, 11 seconds

Becoming Pharaoh at the age of 24, Ramesses ‘The Great’ II had his coronation on 31st May, 1279 BC - a fact we know because he had it chiselled into stone. Repeatedly.He lived until the age of 90 and reigned for 66 years - which gave him plenty of time to commission statues of himself, name towns after himself, and generally make sure that even in 2022 we have a reasonable idea of what he actually looked like. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why he was so keen on commemorating his achievements; consider what he had in common with Donald Trump; and ask just how young is too young to inherit an Empire…But the story of Ramesses doesn't end with today's episode... ... there's also the mysterious tale of what happened when he was DUG UP over 3,000 years later - as Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal in today's bonus bit, cut-for-time from the main show and exclusively available to supporters of the show. To hear it - and a bonus bit like it each and every week - subscribe to ‘The Bonus Pack’ on Apple Podcasts, or at https://patreon.com/Retrospectors. Thanks!Further Reading:• ‘Was Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II Really That Great?’ (History Extra, 2019):https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-egypt/was-ramesses-ii-pharaoh-great-brilliant-why/• ‘Museum of the World: Statue of Ramesses II, The ‘Younger Memnon’’ (British Museum With Google): https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/object/statue-of-ramesses-ii-the-younger-memnon• ‘Ramses, Master of Diplomacy: Lost Treasures of Egypt ‘ (National Geographic, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDi51dEloLMWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/31/2022 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds

Hersheypark was created as a recreation ground for the workers and families who staffed the Hershey chocolate factory in Pennsylvania when it opened on 30th May, 1906. But visitors from across the State soon came to marvel at its playgrounds, boating lake and band-stand… and, before long, the environs began to morph into the chocolate-themed amusem*nt park it remains to this day.Its success exemplifies the ‘Company Town’ phenomenon: at one point, 3% of the USA’s entire population lived in a town that was owned and run by the company that they worked for.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how caramel, not chocolate, first paved the way to Hershey’s success; debate whether Hersheypark was a philanthropic gift to his employees, or a cynical bid to keep them from leaving; and explain to Americans why Brits would prefer an attraction with less butyric acid… Further Reading:• ‘More Than 110 Years of Hersheypark Happy’ (Hershey, 2022): https://www.hersheypa.com/about-hershey/history/hersheypark-history.php• Milton Hershey, The Man Who Built A Chocolate Empire (All That’s Interesting, 2022): https://allthatsinteresting.com/milton-hershey• ‘From Sweet To Sweeter: The Legacy of Hersheypark’ (Hersheypark Enthusiast, 2021):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIJlIYlPo38For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/30/2022 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

The Sex Pistols’ anti-establishment single ‘God Save The Queen’ was banned by the BBC when it was re-released on 27th May, 1977 by Virgin Records - mischievously, to tie-in with the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.To rub salt in the wound, the band’s ‘art-school punk’ manager, Malcolm McLaren, arranged a boat procession outside the Houses of Parliament so the group could perform the song outside the heart of British government itself. They were then arrested.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Johnny Rotten and co were just as commercially savvy as they were sincerely punk activists; consider whether there are parts of the controversial lyrics which which conservative royalists might actually agree; and investigate whether the single (and not Rod Stewart’s ‘I Don’t Want To Talk About It’) *actually* got to Number 1 in the charts…Further Reading:• ‘The Story Behind The Song: 'God Save The Queen'’ (Far Out Magazine, 2020): https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/sex-pistols-god-save-the-queen-story-behind-the-song/• ‘Still a fascist regime? Sex Pistols’ God Save the Queen reissued to mark platinum jubilee’ (The Guardian, 2022): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/may/03/still-a-fascist-regime-sex-pistols-god-save-the-queen-reissued-to-mark-platinum-jubilee• ‘The Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen - on the river Thames’ (Virgin Records, 1977): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHrUleT8HTsEnjoy this episode? There’s FOUR MINUTES MORE of Sex Pistols chat over on our supporters’ ad-free podcast feed. To get it - and a bonus bit like it every single week, just sign up to support the show via Apple Subscriptions or our top two tiers at https://patreon.com/Retrospectors.We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa WeissmanCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/27/2022 • 9 minutes, 54 seconds

When a ragged, peculiar-looking teenage boy was found wandering the streets of Nuremberg on 26th May, 1828, it triggered a centuries-long quest to discover who he was, why he had (apparently) been raised in captivity, and (if so) whom had done such a thing to him. His name was Kasper Hauser.The newspapers went into overdrive, reporting every salacious detail: the boy refused to eat or drink anything apart from bread and water; he seemed astonished by mirrors and candles; he was overwhelmed by loud noises; he couldn’t hold metal; the odour of the graveyard sent him into fits… soon enough, he became one of the most famous people in all of Germany.   In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly attempt, in our usual ten minutes, to unpick whether this is a story of child abuse, a fantastical imagination, a deceptive manipulator, or all of the above; explain why some of Hauser’s astonishing achievements are arguably *too* astonishing to be entirely genuine; and recall how his death was just as mysterious as his life… Further Reading:• ‘The Enduring 200-Year-Old Mystery Of Kaspar Hauser’ (All That’s Interesting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/kaspar-hauser• ‘The enigma of Kaspar Hauser: Secret prince, hoaxer, or victim?’ (Sky HISTORY): https://www.history.co.uk/articles/he-s-a-real-wild-child-the-enigma-of-kaspar-hauser-secret-prince-hoaxer-or-victim• ‘The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser - trailer’ (1974): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzxreLUzuUI&t=18sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/26/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

The first group of Australian sportspeople to ever represent the country overseas were an Aboriginal team of cricketers, who began an acclaimed tour of England on 25th May, 1868.The team had to face racism, illness and ignorance - but won the hearts of thousands of spectators, and the British establishment. They also did some awesome spear-throwing.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace back the story to Tom Wills, one of the inventors of Aussie-rules football; reveal why Charles Darwin played a role in inspiring the crowds of spectators; and explain how this pioneering team created the first indigenous cricketing stars in Australia...Further Reading:• ‘Aboriginal cricket: The first Australian tour of England, 1868’ (BBC, 2013):https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23225434• ‘Batting for the British Empire: The Role Cricket Played In Colonialism’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/cricket-colonialism-role-british-empire/• ‘Tom Wills, founder of Australian Football’ (Hallow Edition, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv6dAoUcSrMCONTENT WARNING: ​​Members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are advised that this podcast contains names of deceased people.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/25/2022 • 10 minutes, 42 seconds

California had virtually no reputation as an international wine-growing region until 24th May, 1976 - when 11 wine experts gathered at a Parisian hotel and decided, in a blind taste-test, that wines from Napa Valley were indeed more quaffable than France’s most famous varieties: a decision that shook up the world of wine, and became known as ‘The Judgement of Paris’.Upon realising how controversial her scoring would become, Odette Kahn, France’s most famous wine critic, even asked for her notes back.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why nobody predicted the rumpus that this event would cause; uncover how it paved the way for ‘new world’ wines to take centre stage; and reveal how it toppled careers in the French wine establishment… Further Reading• ‘Best French and California Wine—A Test That Changed a World’ (TIME, 2016): https://time.com/4342433/judgment-of-paris-time-magazine-anniversary/• Modern Living: Judgment of Paris’ (TIME, 1976): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,947719,00.html• ‘Judgement of Paris with Sir Peter Michael, Steven Spurrier and Gary Myatt’ (The Vineyard Hotel):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlCRWqNF4xEFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/24/2022 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

Throwing people out of windows might seem a peculiar way to protest, but it’s happened so often in history, it’s got a special name: defenestration. And perhaps the most significant of all - because it brought about the Thirty Years War - was the assault on three Habsburg officials by Bohemian malcontents in Prague on 23rd May, 1618.The dispute had kicked off when Ferdinand II refused permission for some Protestants to build a new place of worship on a piece of land - and then granted it to Catholics instead. Dick move.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether ‘a bloodthirsty mob of Christians’ is a contradiction in terms; explain why 1618 was a bad year to take a secretarial job; and how, despite triggering the bloodiest war yet seen in Europe, Ferdinand II still managed to insert humour into proceedings… Further Reading:• ‘Defenestration: The Bloody History Of Throwing People Out Of A Window’ (All That’s Interesting, 2022): https://allthatsinteresting.com/defenestration• ‘What Happened At The 1618 Defenestration of Prague?’ (History Extra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/1618-defenestration-prague-facts-history-explained-what-happened-why-castle-protestant-catholic/• ‘The 30 Years' War (1618-48) and the Second Defenestration of Prague - Professor Peter Wilson’ (Gresham College, 2018):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7vxXfy09EA&t=134sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/23/2022 • 10 minutes, 33 seconds

Motorcycling daredevil Evel Knievel had been keen on jumping the Grand Canyon since 1968, but never staged an actual attempt. On May 20th, 1999, however, his son Robbie performed the feat on live television - and lived to tell the tale.“I’m wiped out in the head a little”, he said, before being examined by paramedics, who applied a neck brace and flew him to the nearest hospital. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the extent to which Knievel, Jr had been motivated by his father’s ‘death-defying’ 1970s career; explain how Knievel, Sr became named ‘Evel’; and reveal how the Hualapai Indian Tribe became a footnote in this piece of sporting history…Further Reading:• ‘Daredevil Knievel clears Grand Canyon on motorcycle’ (The Guardian, 1999):https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/may/21/2• ‘Grand Canyon Stunts Over the Years’ (National Geographic, 2013): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/130622-grand-canyon-stunts-wallenda• ‘Robbie Knievel Jumps The Grand Canyon’ (Fox Sports, 1999): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_cqmCtZmpI&t=2160sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/20/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Over 100 million Rubik’s Cubes were sold in just a few short years at the onset of the 1980s - a phenomenon kickstarted on 19th May, 1974, when Hungarian Professor of Architecture Ernő Rubik supposedly created the prototype for his ‘Magic Cube’.It took him a month to solve himself - a feat which seems unimpressive in a world where the current record stands at under six seconds.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Ideal Toys saw the unlikely potential in the unprecedented ‘spacial logic toy’ Rubik had created; reveal just how many knockoffs and spinoffs were generated by its incredible success; and explain why there are 519 quintillion reasons to be sceptical about this being a truly significant date in Rubik’s history… Further Reading:• ‘Rubik's Cube - A History of the 1980s Puzzle’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-rubiks-cube-1779400• ‘On this Day, in 1974: the “Magic Cube” was invented by Ernő Rubik’ (Kafkadesk, 2021): https://kafkadesk.org/2021/05/19/on-this-day-in-1974-the-magic-cube-was-invented-by-erno-rubik/• ‘Rubik's Cube Commercials through the years!’ (Rubik’s, 2021):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNGg8FdLxsAWant more? There’s OVER FIVE MINUTES of Rubik’s fun, cut for time from today’s episode, exclusively available to our podcast’s supporters. For this, and bonus content each and every week, subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts or sign up to our top two tiers on Patreon:https://patreon.com/Retrospectors. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/19/2022 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

Atheist, hom*osexual, heretic… the slurs levelled at popular playwright Christopher Marlowe came thick and fast after he was arrested on 18th May, 1593. Just twelve days later, he was murdered in a London tavern.His former roomate, Thomas Kyd, pointed the finger at Marlowe after being tortured following the discovery of a ‘treasonous’ pamphlet in his home. Perhaps for the first time in Marlowe’s career, the privy council (who had, probably, been employing him as a spy) did not come to his rescue and drop the charges.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain what (supposedly) caused the row in the tavern that escalated to homicide; consider Marlowe’s giddy rise from shoemaker’s son to Cambridge graduate; and revisit some of the fruitier heresies in which he was alleged to engage… Further Reading:• ‘Christopher Marlowe’ (Poetry Foundation): https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/christopher-marlowe• ‘New twist to Marlowe's murder riddle’ (The Guardian, 2001): https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/01/books.humanities• ‘MINI BIO: Christopher Marlowe - Elizabethean Dramatist’ (Biography, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CbWeIkgF-gFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/18/2022 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

The Buttonwood Agreement, as it came to be known, effectively launched the New York Stock Exchange. Signed by 24 stockbrokers on 17th May, 1792, it promised two things - that they would trade exclusively and directly with each other, and that they wouldn’t undercut each other’s commission.But they had no permanent building, and only a tiny number of companies to trade. So, until 1817, traders met at Tontine Coffee House at 82 Wall Street - a riotous and dynamic backdrop against which to do business.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn what a Buttonwood is; reveal which sitting U.S. President was the first to step foot in the NYSE; and explain what (presumably) happens in the complicated second act of ‘Hamilton’... Further Reading:• ‘8 March 1817: the New York Stock Exchange is formed’ (MoneyWeek, 2020): https://moneyweek.com/429720/8-march-1817-the-new-york-stock-exchange-is-formed• ‘The Tontine Coffee House’ (Narratively, 2013): https://narratively.com/the-tontine-coffee-house/• ‘Hidden History: Wall Street’ (HISTORY):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOPw0x0yGJcFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/17/2022 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

The future Queen of France was accompanied by 57 carriages, 117 footmen and 376 horses on her journey from Austria to Versailles - but remarkably took only three hours to do her hair and makeup when she tied the knot with Louis-Auguste on 16th May, 1770.Only 15 at the time, Louis was perceived - even by his closest friends and family - to be timid, unforthcoming and bookish. In a further bad omen, their wedding firework display was postponed due to a storm - and when it finally happened, there was a massive riot that resulted in the crowds being trampled to death. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Arion replay the ‘bedding ceremony’ in excruciating detail; explain exactly what went wrong between the sheets; and consider whether the roots of MArie Antoinette’s legendary profligacy can be traced back to her wedding day… CONTENT WARNING: Graphic description of sexual intercourse. (Albeit one written in the 1770s, by a Roman Emperor. But, still: you *probably* won’t want to listen along with the kids.)Further Reading:• ‘Marriage of the Dauphin Louis and Marie-Antoinette’ (Palace of Versailles): https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/marriage-dauphin-louis-and-marie-antoinette• ‘French dauphin, Louis, marries Marie Antoinette’ (HISTORY, 2010):https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/louis-marries-marie-antoinette• ‘“Marie Antoinette”: Wedding scene’ (Sony Pictures, 2006): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftWA5LLAyooFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/16/2022 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

When three young kids in Fatima, Portugal reported that the Virgin Mary had appeared to them on 13th May, 1917, the incident sparked hysteria across their rural, intensely Catholic community.The ‘three secrets’ supposedly revealed that day - and the much-attended ‘Miracle of the Sun’ event prophesied that Autumn - gave a long-lasting boost to Fatima’s visitor numbers. It still plays host to six million pilgrims a year. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, for decades, only the Pope was allowed to know all the events Mary had predicted; unpick exactly what the witnesses to the sun-miracle may have actually seen; and consider whether, for the Vatican, Sister Lucia’s visions were a blessing or a curse…Further Reading:• ‘A saga of spirituality, secrecy and scepticism’ (Irish Times, 2005): https://www.irishtimes.com/news/a-saga-of-spirituality-secrecy-and-scepticism-1.416714• ‘Our Lady of Fatima and the Miracle of the Sun: The Virgin Mary appeared to three children in Portugal’ (The Washington Post, 2017): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/10/13/our-lady-of-fatima-the-virgin-mary-promised-three-kids-a-miracle-that-70000-gathered-to-see/• ‘SISTER LUCIA OF FATIMA’S LAST PUBLIC INTERVIEW (1957)’ (Catholic 365, 2021):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc6k7lf5xL8For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/13/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator’ opened in the UK on 12th May, 2000 - and was widely credited with resurrecting the ‘swords-and-sandals’ genre, sparking an interest in Roman history, and achieving that rare combination of critical praise and humongous box office success.But the epic production was problematic - not least because supporting star Ollie Reed died during filming, leading to SFX house The Mill filling in the remainder of his scenes with CGI, at a cost of $3 million.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Russell Crowe came to be cast as Maximus; consider the alternative screenplays, featuring fighting hippopotamuses and man-on-man bath wrestling; and uncover songwriter Nick Cave’s bizarre attempts at penning the sequel… Further Reading:• ‘Ridley Scott says Oliver Reed ‘dropped down dead’ after challenging sailors to drinking match while filming Gladiator’ (The Independent, 2020): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/oliver-reed-gladiator-death-drinking-ridley-scott-20th-anniversary-russell-crowe-joaquin-phoenix-a9499331.html• ‘Gladiator 2: The strangest sequel never made?’ (BBC Culture, 2018): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180810-gladiator-2-was-written-and-its-mad• ‘Strength and Honor: Creating the World of 'Gladiator'’ (DreamWorks / Universal, 2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rueOOMBcE3YFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/12/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

IBM's Deep Blue conquered Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov on 11th May, 1997 - in a man v machine clash Newsweek brazenly baptised ‘The Brain’s Last Stand’.Despite the incredible achievement of having created a program able to calculate 200 billion positions in three minutes, the IBM engineers were advised by their PR team not to look too happy at the press conference afterwards, so as to avoid Kasparov - who had initially hinted at foul play behind the scenes - from gaining sympathy. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca explore whether American viewers felt more affinity with the Russian player or the American corporation; question whether machine learning ruined competitive chess forever; and reveal how even this computerised contest came down to psychological tactics…Further Reading:• ‘Deep Blue computer beats world chess champion’ (The Guardian, 1996): https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/feb/12/deep-blue-computer-beats-kasparov-chess-1996• ‘Twenty years on from Deep Blue vs Kasparov: how a chess match started the big data revolution’ (The Conversation, 2017): https://theconversation.com/twenty-years-on-from-deep-blue-vs-kasparov-how-a-chess-match-started-the-big-data-revolution-76882• ‘Deep Blue vs Kasparov: How a computer beat best chess player in the world’ (BBC News, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF6sLCeBj0sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/11/2022 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds

Michelangelo was a sculptor, not a painter, when on 10th May, 1508, he embarked upon the biggest gig of his career: painting the roof of the Sistine chapel in the Vatican. Outwardly reluctant, and doubtful he could complete the project, he nonetheless took the opportunity to suggest that rather than portraying the twelve apostles requested by the Pope, he should instead depict 300 different characters. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how he set about this Herculean task (no, he didn’t paint lying down); reveal how he channeled his frustrations into black humour; and discover the artful way in which he treated his harshest critics… Further Reading:• ‘Book Extract: Michelangelo And The Sistine Chapel by Andrew Graham-Dixon’ (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2008): https://www.andrewgrahamdixon.com/extract/michelangelo-and-the-sistine-chapel.html#• ‘​​"The Last Judgement" Michelangelo - The Sistine Chapel Masterpiece’ (Art In Context, 2021): https://artincontext.org/the-last-judgement-michelangelo/• ‘Art, Explained: Deconstructing Michelangelo's process from a Sistine Chapel study’ (The Met, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICQCUTiC0mIFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/10/2022 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

Fugitive Thomas Blood sneaked his way into the Tower of London’s jewel room on 9th May, 1671 - bludgeoning the 77 year-old Keeper of the Jewels, Talbot Edwards, in the process. Disguised as a parson, the Irish adventurer had cat-fished Edwards in an audacious and complex heist that involved multiple pairs of white gloves, a fake nephew and stuffing an orb down his trousers.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Blood failed to steal the jewels, but got away with a Royal pardon from Charles II; recall his earlier escapades as a fake doctor and a mock executioner; and ask why, after all that planning, the criminal gang didn’t BRING A BIGGER BAG… Further Reading:• ‘Attempt to steal the Crown Jewels’ (The National Archives): https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/significant-events/attempt-to-steal-the-crown-jewels/ • ‘Thomas Blood and the Theft of the Crown Jewels’ (Historia Magazine, 2017): https://www.historiamag.com/thomas-blood/• ‘The Crown Jewels Thief - Colonel Blood’ (Historic Royal Palaces, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRmBE6B8F7IFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/9/2022 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

The lifts weren’t operational, so there weren’t any visitors, but the commemorative coins had already been minted - so it was 6th May, 1889 that went down in history as the official opening of the Eiffel Tower, at that time the world’s tallest man-made structure.Erected for the World’s Fair to commemorate 100 years since the French Revolution, it was designed to be dismantled after a few years - not least because there was significant opposition to it from some of Paris’s best known artists - yet it remains an iconic part of the Paris skyline to this day.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the committee came to choose this unusual structure for their centennial celebrations; compare Gustav Eiffel’s elevated office space to Donald Trump’s; and explain how radio transmissions saved the Tower from its intended fate… Further Reading:• ‘The artists who protested the Eiffel Tower’ (Tour Eiffel Official Website): https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/news/130-years/artists-who-protested-eiffel-tower• ‘Gustave Eiffel's Secret Apartment – Paris, France’ (Atlas Obscura, 2006): https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gustave-eiffels-secret-apartment• ‘Deconstructing History: Eiffel Tower’ (History, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqHa1XJWODIFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/6/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Chanel No 5, the legendary perfume still said to shift one bottle every thirty seconds, was first released in Paris on 5th May, 1921.Created by Ernest Beaux, its innovative mixture of jasmine, sandalwood, orange blossom and aldehydes gave it a freshness and fizz that turned heads - and its simple, masculine bottle bucked the trend for ornate designs crafted by renowned glass-houses.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Coco Chanel savvily put herself at the centre of the brand’s marketing; reveal how she collaborated with the Nazis to attempt to regain control of the company; and consider what she had in common with Colonel Sanders…Further Reading:• ‘How Its Made: The Iconic Chanel No. 5’ (Fashion.Luxury): https://fashion.luxury/beauty/how-its-made-the-iconic-chanel-no-5/• ‘Coco Chanel's Secret Life as a Nazi Agent’ (Biography, 2019): https://www.biography.com/news/coco-chanel-nazi-agent• ‘CHANEL N°5 - For the first time’ (Inside CHANEL, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRQa33dqyxIFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/5/2022 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

As British literacy rates surged to a new high of 97%, the time was right to launch a simpler, shorter, more readable newspaper - and Alfred Harmsworth’s Daily Mail caught the zeitgeist when it hit the news-stands (at the eye-catching price of just half a penny) on 4th May, 1896.The new paper attracted half a million daily readers by the end of the century, drawn in by its American-inspired mix of provocative political commentary, human interest and sentiment.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Mail innovated faster national and international distribution; chart Harmsworth (later Lord Northcliffe)’s progress to becoming the Rupert Murdoch of his day; and explain how, by the 1930s, this very British institution was championing Hitler…Further Reading:• The Daily Mail - First Edition (Associated Newspapers, 1896):https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oYc4qln-cac/Tz_TRp8hfFI/AAAAAAAAAhM/iM-U3hiquB4/s1600/P1000838.JPG• ‘Lord Northcliffe – The Press baron at the heart of World War One’ (Cardiff University, 2016): https://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/musicresearch/lord-northcliffe-the-press-baron-at-the-heart-of-world-war-one/• ‘Prime Ministers and Press Barons: Lord Northcliffe’ (BBC, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHmImZhYK4wFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/4/2022 • 10 minutes, 20 seconds

Martin Shkreli, ‘the most hated man in America’, purchased the one extant copy of the Wu-Tang Clan’s concept album ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’ for $2 million on 3rd May, 2015. In seeking to sell their record in an auction, the hip-hop collective had been inspired by the concept of wealthy patrons funding Renaissance artists - but hadn’t counted on the winning bidder being the ‘pharma bro’ notorious for raising the price of toxoplasmosis drug Daraprim by a factor of 56.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Shkreli’s ‘price gouging’ antics made him an (in)appropriate buyer; ask whether it can really be true that the multimillionaire didn’t even bother listening to his purchase; and explain what happened to the CD after Shkreli was imprisoned for fraud…Further Reading:• Everything I Know About the Wu-Tang Album from Hanging Out with Martin Shkreli (VICE, 2016): https://www.vice.com/en/article/3bjmq9/everything-i-know-about-the-wu-tang-clan-album-from-hanging-out-with-martin-shkreli• ‘Wu-Tang clap back, dissing Martin Shkreli on new track’ (The Guardian, 2017): https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/22/wu-tang-clan-martin-shkreli-track• ‘Martin Shkreli on Drug Price Hikes and Playing the World’s Villain’ (VICE, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PCb9mnrU1gFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/3/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

Where are meatballs from, and why does it matter? Social media users frenziedly grappled with these very questions on 29th April, 2018, when Sweden’s official Twitter account proclaimed: “Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King Charles XII brought home from Turkey in the early 18th century. Let's stick to the facts!”Does this tale about the Royal family bringing meatballs back from the Ottoman Empire check out? And doesn’t every culture in the world have some form of meatballs? You’d think these would be innocent questions - but they ended up overhauling Sweden’s social media strategy for good…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of IKEA’s best-selling product; reveal the world-record for meatball consumption; and investigate a Finnish hack for soupy balls…Further Reading:• ‘Swedish Meatballs Are Actually Turkish, According to Sweden’ (TIME, 2018): https://time.com/5263690/swedish-meatballs-actually-turkish/• ‘Sweden’s official Twitter account will no longer be run by random Swedes’ (The Verge, 2018): https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/5/17824338/sweden-twitter-account-citizens-takeover-swedish• ‘Sweden admits Swedish meatballs are actually from Turkey’ (CBS Evening News, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0ShdZADmhg#food #culture #sweden #2010s #tech #funnyFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/29/2022 • 9 minutes, 41 seconds

Dennis Tito, a 60 year-old investment manager from California, blasted into orbit onboard a Russian Soyuz rocket on 28th April, 2001 - becoming the first ever private citizen to visit the International Space Station.He had self-funded the trip, to the tune of $20 million - much to the displeasure of his former employers, NASA, who initially refused to provide him with any training.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the social dynamics of the ISS; explain why NASA has flip-flopped about space tourism over the decades; and explore whether Tito’s trip was, in fact, money well spent… Further Reading:• ‘World's first space tourist 10 years on: Dennis Tito’ (BBC News, 2011): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13208329• ‘First space tourist Dennis Tito: 'It was the greatest moment of my life' (CNN Travel, 2021): https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/space-tourism-20-year-anniversary-scn/index.html• ‘Dennis Tito on the Late Show’ (CBS, 2001): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZtv6xl0NLc#2000s #Explorer #Space #RussiaFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/28/2022 • 10 minutes, 3 seconds

King Henri III of France had a favourite group of young courtiers - his ‘mignons’ (or ‘cuties’, ‘sweeties’, or ‘‘darlings’) - known for dressing in an effeminate and eye-catching style. On 27th April, 1578, they  engaged in a bloody duel with a rival gang in a battle that came to be known as ‘The Duel of the Mignons’.Was it a ‘beautiful’ battle, a classical allusion to Roman combat, as some scribes argued? Or, as the King himself concluded, a pointless - and rather farcical - loss of life?In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore Henri’s ‘mummy’s boy’ reputation; reveal how many Frenchmen slaughtered each other in this fashion during the five bloody decades from 1575; and explain why, when turning up at a sunrise duel, it’s always best to remember your dagger… Further Reading:• ‘King Henri III and His Mignons’ (The Gay & Lesbian Review, 2020): https://glreview.org/article/king-henri-iii-and-his-mignons/• ‘On this day in history: Duel of the Mignons, 1578’ (The Modern Historian, 2012): http://modernhistorian.blogspot.com/2012/04/on-this-day-in-history-duel-of-mignons.html• ‘The King's darlings - The Mignons’ (Whitehall Moll History Clips):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBfrDLUkmEY#France #1500s #Royals #Strange #LGBFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/27/2022 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

John Wilkes Booth was on the run for twelve days before being tracked down to a tobacco barn at Garrett’s Farm in Port Royal, Virginia, and shot in the neck. He died of his injuries on 26th April, 1865 - after several agonising hours bleeding out. Despite numerous witnesses to his death, it continued to be disputed by conspiracists for decades afterwards - one of whom took a mummified corpse he believed was the ‘real’ Booth on a tour of sideshows and carnivals.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Booth’s fame preceded him long before he fired a shot at President Lincoln; consider why the site where Booth breathed his last is still relatively obscured by the authorities; and explore how Boston Corbett, the man who killed Booth, was a rather curious chap himself…Further Reading:• ‘John Wilkes Booth's Death And The Manhunt That Preceded It’ (All Thats Interesting, 2022): https://allthatsinteresting.com/john-wilkes-booth-death• ‘John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln… but who killed John Wilkes Booth?’ (The Verge, 2013): https://www.theverge.com/2013/7/31/4395960/john-wilkes-booth-killed-lincoln-but-who-killed-john-wilkes-booth• ‘John Wilkes Booth's Final Days’ (HISTORY, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC0vHZeBIHI#US #1800s #Crime #Politics #TheatreFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/26/2022 • 10 minutes, 1 second

Freda Payne’s banger ‘Band Of Gold’ sounds like a Motown record, but actually isn’t. Although written by Berry Gordy’s hit-making trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, it was released on their breakaway label, Invictus, on 25th April, 1970.Ever since, fans have speculated as to the meaning of its lyrics and the nature of the crumbled relationship within. “That night on our honeymoon / We stayed in separate rooms,” Payne sings. Was her betrothed a closeted hom*osexual? Impotent? Frigid?In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how this ‘proto-disco’ classic has been embraced as a gay anthem; explain why Payne originally felt ill-equipped to sing the song that made her name; and credit the extraordinary track record of Detroit’s Hutchins Middle School… Further Reading:• ‘Band of Gold by Freda Payne’ (Songfacts): https://www.songfacts.com/facts/freda-payne/band-of-gold• ‘Holland-Dozier-Holland (1962-1970)’ (Black Past, 2021): https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/groups-organizations-african-american-history/holland-dozier-holland-1962-1970/• ‘Freda Payne - Band Of Gold’ (Soul Train, 1970): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF9Q3hnAr88#US #Black #70s #MusicFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/25/2022 • 9 minutes, 52 seconds

Riding a Penny Farthing bicycle from the Sierra Nevada mountains to Yokohama, Japan, Thomas Stevens began his epic two-and-a-half year journey around the world on 22nd April, 1884.Along the way, he encountered mountain lions, Persian aristocracy, and thousands of supporters from bicycle clubs, who turned up to hear him speak. His journey was endlessly delayed by having to demonstrate the virtues of his bike to anyone who asked.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the ‘wheel-men’ of 1884 desperately needed a role-model like Stevens; reveal how he was able to monetize his adventurism in a very modern way; and unearth the surprising second career he embarked upon back in his native England… Further Reading:• ‘The Fearless Traveller: Around the World with Thomas Stevens’ (Adventure Cycling, 2010): https://www.adventurecycling.org/sites/default/assets/resources/201005_TheFearlessTraveler_Koss.pdf• ‘Thomas Stevens, a Berkhamsted pioneer, crosses America by bicycle’ (Berkhamsted Local History & Museum Society): https://berkhamsted-history.org.uk/thomas-stevens-a-berkhamsted-pioneer-crosses-america-by-bicycle/• ‘Epic Explorers: Thomas Stevens’ (The EPIC Channel, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqHY1-TL12o#Explorer #Sport #UK #USA #1800sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/22/2022 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

The ‘Surgeon’s Photograph’, as it came to be known - a supposed glimpse of Nessie papped from the lochside - was debated by Loch Ness Monster aficionados for decades after being published in a sensational front-page splash by the Daily Mail on 21st April, 1934.Taken by London gynaecologist Dr Robert Kenneth Wilson, the photo was given particular credence because it had been submitted by a member of the medical establishment - but, many decades later, it was revealed as a revenge hoax, which actually portrayed a toy submarine purchased from Woolworth’s.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a Billy Wilder prop similarly got monster-hunters’ hearts all a-flutter; investigate why the Loch Ness Monster was front-page news even in the year Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany; and reveal what Nessie had in common with Shirley Temple… Further Reading:• ‘The Loch Ness monster, 1934 - a picture from the past’ (The Guardian, 2013): https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/picture/2013/oct/23/photography• ‘The Surgeon’s Photo: A Thread’ (Darren Naish, 2020): https://twitter.com/tetzoo/status/1280597569131995139?s=12• ‘Loch Ness Monster - The Surgeon's Photo’ (Naked Science): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGzHkFvDGFA#30s #UK #Scotland #Science #MysteryMORE? Can Arion, Rebecca and Olly finally disprove the existence of the Loch Ness Monster in just three-and-a-half minutes? They’re going to give it their very best shot in today's bonus podcast - sign up at Patreon.com/Retrospectors (top two tiers) or on Apple Podcasts.We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/21/2022 • 10 minutes, 13 seconds

No European had returned alive from Timbuktu until French adventurer René Caillie, who arrived in the ‘City of Gold’ on 20th April, 1828 after an arduous year-long journey. He was fêted by the Société de Géographie in Paris, who awarded him 10,000 francs in recognition of his daring voyage - and his place in the history books was assured.But Caillie was disappointed by what he had found. “The city presented, at first view, nothing but a mass of ill-looking houses, built of earth,” he wrote. “Nothing was to be seen in all directions but immense plains of quicksand of a yellowish white colour ... all nature wore a dreary aspect."In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why a myth had grown up around the Malian city; reveal how Caillie got away with pretending to be Muslim; and dig up the Société’s impressively exhaustive list of evidence required to prove he had been there…Further Reading:• Who, What, Why: Why do we know Timbuktu?’ (BBC News, 2012): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17583772• ‘Foreign Policy: Timbuktu, Lost City’ (NPR, 2012): https://www.npr.org/2012/07/11/156602241/foreign-policy-timbuktu-lost-city• ‘Timbuktu’ (UNESCO, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4V-QAzKQ3AFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/20/2022 • 10 minutes, 2 seconds

Child star Shirley Temple made her feature film debut aged six in ‘Stand Up And Cheer’, released at the height of the Depression, on 19th April, 1934 - and never looked back. In one year alone she would star in a further six films, and become a firm favourite of President Roosevelt.Fox Studios were soon employing a 19-strong team of writers just to crank out projects for the pint-sized star, and pretty soon Temple was responsible for her entire family’s income. But as she got older, it became increasingly apparent she wasn’t as good an actress as her peers…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Temple’s incredible second career as a groundbreaking American diplomat; come to wish they’d never committed ‘Baby Burlesks’ to their browsing history; and reveal the secret addiction Temple took to her grave… Further Reading:• ‘On The Set Of Shirley Temple's Creepy First Film, The 'Baby Burlesks'’ (All Thats Interesting, 2019):https://allthatsinteresting.com/shirley-temple-baby-burlesks• ‘Shirley Temple: 10 political facts’ (POLITICO, 2014): https://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/shirley-temple-politics-103371• ‘Shirley Temple in “Stand Up and Cheer” (Fox, 1934):: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVJv4K-niTo&t=57sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/19/2022 • 10 minutes, 16 seconds

Britain had no driving test, no enforced rules on drink-driving, and a network of roads reliant on hand signals on 14th April, 1931 - the publication day of surprise national bestseller The Highway Code.Codifying driving etiquette - rather than reducing fatalities - was as much a preoccupation of the book as safe driving per se. “Good manners, and consideration for others, are as desirable and are as much appreciated on the road as elsewhere”, the Introduction said. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the work of Leslie Hore-Belisha and his ‘Belisha Beacons’; ask whether a little more consideration for cyclists could have avoided decades of irate cabbies calling phone-in radio; and test their own knowledge of the current Highway Code (clue: Rebecca still hasn’t passed her driving test…) Further Reading:• ‘The Untold Story of the Highway Code’ (The Historic England Blog, 2021): https://heritagecalling.com/2021/02/12/the-untold-story-of-the-highway-code/• ‘14 April 1931: the first edition of the Highway Code is published’ (MoneyWeek, 2020): https://moneyweek.com/387612/14-april-1931-the-first-edition-of-the-highway-code-is-published• ‘Read And Act On The Highway Code’ (British Pathé, 1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkBOIToUBrYFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Tuesday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/14/2022 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

Joanna of Castile, was, as a young lady, remarked upon for her intellect and good companionship, and married off to prize catch Philip the Handsome - but by the time she died on 13th April, 1555 she was known colloquially by the name that’s stuck ever since: ‘Joanna The Mad’.She had, by then, spent 45 years in prison at the hands of her own family, who had a political advantage in exaggerating her moments of instability to keep control of her territories.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether Joanna’s problems can be traced back to her troubling childhood; reveal her disturbing behaviour whilst she grieved for her philandering husband; and consider her legacy as a prototype for the ‘mad woman in the attic’ seen in so much Western literature…Further Reading:‘The Intriguing Life of Joana of Castile, Who Slept With Her Husband's Corpse’ (Esquire, 2018): https://www.esquiremag.ph/the-good-life/pursuits/joanna-of-castile-history-a00208-20180428-lfrm‘Who Was Catherine of Aragon's Sister Juana la Loca in The Spanish Princess?’ (Town and Country, 2019): https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a27786471/catherine-of-aragon-sister-juana-la-loca-spanish-princess/‘Juana la Loca, Rap Histórico’ (Academia Play, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddlYsTO8bcMFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/13/2022 • 10 minutes, 37 seconds

A chaotic, shambolic and critically panned parody, the first on-screen incarnation of Ian Fleming’s novel ‘Casino Royale’ received its London premiere on 12th April, 1967 - with final edits still being made in the projection room. Nonetheless, it went on to take an extraordinary $40 million at the box office. Hardnut hero James Bond’s adventures had become a swinging Sixties sex comedy starring Peter Sellers, thanks to Fleming’s disasterous decision to sell the movie rights to actor Gregory Ratoff for a song long before Bond was known all around the world thanks to the highly succesful film versions of his later books ‘Dr No’ and ‘From Russia With Love’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how producer Charles K Feldman assembled such an impressive cast list for his 007 ensemble, including Orson Welles, Ronnie Corbett and Ursula Andress; explain how an on-set visit by Princess Margaret prompted an enormous clash of egos; and ponder why ‘the Spice World of the Sixties’ became such a box office hit… Further Reading:• ‘Casino Royale movie review & film summary’ (Roger Ebert, 1967): https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/casino-royale-1967• ‘The Casino Royale calamity: how Peter Sellers turned Bond into a laughing stock’ (Daily Telegraph, 2021): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/casino-royale-calamity-peter-sellers-turned-bond-laughing-stock/• ‘Casino Royale: Official Trailer’ (MGM, 1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onhWav2DejMEnjoy this episode? There’s five minutes MORE to explore in our weekly bonus episode, available now exclusively to our supporters on Patreon* and subscribers on Apple Podcasts. Get it now and support the show!*top two tiers only: https://patreon.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/12/2022 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

The first holiday camp in Britain, Butlin’s Skegness, opened to the public on 11th April, 1936 - although one member of the public, a certain Freda Monk from Nottingham, was so keen to attend that she arrived a day early. It cost 35 shillings per week to attend. South Africa-born Billy Butlin had created the camp after holidaying in Barry Island and feeling “sorry for the families with young children as they trudged along wet and bedgraggled, and forlornly filled time in amusem*nt arcades until they could return back to the boarding houses.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the entertainments on offer, from rambunctious Redcoats to boxing kangaroos; explain how The Beatles owe a debt to Butlin’s Skegness; and reveal the sad fate of the park’s famous monorail… Further Reading:• ‘'Our True Intent Is All For Your Delight' - Glorious Pictures of the Skegness Butlin's’ (Flashbak, 2019): https://flashbak.com/our-true-intent-is-all-for-your-delight-butlins-at-skegness-17646• ‘The mystery of how an old Butlin's monorail train ended up in this Lincolnshire field’ (Lincolnshire Live, 2021): https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/mystery-how-old-butlins-monorail-5059270• ‘Best of Butlin's’ (British Pathé):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGZoqkZUFtAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/11/2022 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

The most famous armless statue of all time, ‘Venus de Milo’ was discovered by a farmer on the Aegean island of Milos on 8th April, 1829, sparking an international bidding war that saw her eventually donated to the Louvre by Louis XVIII.The French had a particular interest in snapping up a new ancient treasure, having been forced to return many priceless artefacts to their original nations following Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the statue’s original blingtastic paintwork; explain why Louis XVIII’s obesity delayed its arrival in Paris; and ask what actually happened to Venus’s arms…Image: https://flickr.com/photos/sey_alg9/Further Reading:• ‘Venus de Milo: The Most Famous Armless Statue in the World’ (HowStuffWorks, 2020): https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/artwork/venus-de-milo.htm• ‘How a peasant farmer found the Venus de Milo’ (The National, 2020): https://www.thenational.scot/news/18365077.peasant-farmer-found-venus-de-milo/• ‘The conspiracy behind this famous statue’ (VOX, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs1VWuQEd7YFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/8/2022 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

Highwayman Dick Turpin was executed at York on 7th April, 1739, for stealing horses. He was 34. But, whilst the date and manner of his death are accurately recalled, almost everything else about Turpin has been distorted in the public imagination. Far from being a dashing character who outwitted corrupt authorities and robbed only the outlandishly wealthy with a gentlemanly flourish, he was a brutal murderer and rapist who took pleasure in his victims’ pain.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Turpin progressed from dodgy under-counter fraudster to dangerous public enemy; reveal the extraordinary chain of events that lead to his arrest and identification; and discover how, when Turpin actually did get round doing some ‘proper’ highwayman-ing, he ballsed it up, disastrously… Further Reading:• ‘The myth of highwayman Dick Turpin outlives the facts’ (The History Press):https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-myth-of-highwayman-dick-turpin-outlives-the-facts/• ‘Dick Turpin: Notorious Local Highwaymen’ (Blackheath And Greenwich History Blog, 2021):https://www.blackheathandgreenwich.com/post/blackheath-dick-turpin#viewer-31cd9• ‘Horrible Histories Songs - Dick Turpin’ (CBBC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYU-vSh7ORAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/7/2022 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

George Eastman filed a patent for the first ever celluloid roll film on 6th April, 1889 - an incremental development following the release of the first Kodak handheld camera, released in 1888, but a truly significant one.Eastman’s original products came preloaded with film, and were marketed as “convenient as a field-glass”. For $10, customers could take 100 shots which were then developed by Kodak at their factory in Rochester, New York.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover why Eastman’s advertising nous was years ahead of its time; explain how Kodak soon became the world’s leading supplier of film stock; and reveal that his company wasn’t as tardy about the coming digital photographic revolution as you might imagine… Content Warning: SuicideFurther Reading:• ‘George Eastman and the Kodak Camera’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/george-eastman-history-of-kodak-1991619• ‘Kodak inventor George Eastman’s perfectly planned death’ (news.com.au, 2019): https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/the-perfectly-planned-death-of-kodak-inventor-george-eastman/news-story/8af9b9f21050cc95d4a306b21d198c08• ‘American Experience: The Wizard of Photography’ (PBS, 2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v0cUEBZSC4For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/6/2022 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

Deaf and blind since toddlerhood, Helen Keller was seven years old when her teacher, Anne Sullivan, took her to a water-pump on 5th April, 1887 - and she learned the word ‘water’.It was a eureka moment for Keller, who went on to read braille; write in pencil; learn French, German, Greek, and Latin; study at Harvard University; and speak using her own voice. She became one of the most famous disabled people of the twentieth century.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider a wordless definition of ‘love’; explain how Keller was able to follow her University lectures; and ask whether her autobiography’s narrative of overcoming immense adversity has become an unwitting example of ‘inspiration p*rn’...Further Reading:• ‘Deaf, Blind and Determined: How Helen Keller Learned to Communicate’ (HowStuffWorks, 2021): https://people.howstuffworks.com/helen-keller.htm• ‘Is a Helen Keller Obsession Holding Disabled People Back?’ (New York Times, 2021): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/opinion/helen-keller.html• ‘Helen Keller Speaks Out’ (1954): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ch_H8pt9M8For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/5/2022 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

MSG, the umami seasoning frequently added to Chinese cuisine, came under fire on 4th April, 1968 - when Dr Robert Ho Man Kwok wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine musing about the possible causes of a ‘syndrome’ he experienced whenever he ate at Chinese restaurants in the US.  “The most prominent symptoms are numbness at the back of the neck, gradually radiating to both arms in the back, general weakness and palpitation”, he wrote, in a letter that soon attracted multiple responses from other clinicians - and spawned an unscientific panic about monosodium glutamate which still persists to this day.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate which foods contain naturally-occurring MSG; ask why 1960s America was especially susceptible to scepticism about chemical additives; and consider the racist undertones to the definitions of the ‘syndrome’ in the modern-day dictionary… Further Reading:• Is MSG as bad as it’s made out to be? (BBC Future, 2015): https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151106-is-msg-as-bad-as-its-made-out-to-be• The Campaign to Redefine ‘Chinese Restaurant Syndrome’ (The New York Times, 2020): https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/dining/msg-chinese-restaurant-syndrome-merriam-webster-dictionary.html• ‘Korean chef talk about MSG myth - Uncle Roger is RIGHT? WRONG?’ (Goodchoi's Kitchen, 2020):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et_ja0X9C4IEnjoyed this episode? There’s over FIVE MINUTES more material, cut-for-time from today’s show and exclusively available to our podcast’s supporters, available right now - in which The Retrospectors investigate Ken Hom’s MSG-criticism; Tesco’s international websites; and whether pizza causes ‘sexual incontinence’...Discover this bonus bit - and similar extra content every single week - by supporting the show via Patreon* or clicking ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts.* top two tiers only - https://patreon.com/retrospectorsFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/4/2022 • 10 minutes, 14 seconds

Under the orders of King Charles III - who wanted marble and classical art for his palace at Portici - Spanish military engineer Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre excavated some Campanian ruins on 1st April, 1748 - and discovered the long-lost city of Pompeii.Buried beneath volcanic ash and debris since Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79, much of the city was remarkably preserved; including breathtaking buildings that portrayed the opulent lifestyle enjoyed by the city's wealthy elite.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the site has since inspired all archaeological digs; ask why Pompeii in particular has generated such huge human interest; and reveal the truth about ‘Wanking Man’...Further Reading:• ‘Excavations of Pompeii in the 18th Century · The Discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum’ (from ‘Piranesi in Rome’, Wellesley College): http://omeka.wellesley.edu/piranesi-rome/exhibits/show/discovery-of-pompeii-and-hercu/pompeii-excavations• ‘The two embracing 'maidens' of Pompeii are both MEN’ (MailOnline, 2017): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4391498/The-two-embracing-maidens-Pompeii-MEN.html• ‘Pompeii: New Studies Reveal Secrets From a Dead City’ (National Geographic, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSg_Sd94Y8kFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Alexa Weissman.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/1/2022 • 10 minutes, 16 seconds

Tinky Winky, Dipsy, La La and Po were introduced to British viewers on 31st March, 1997 - launching an international phenomenon and changing kid’s television forever.‘Teletubbies’ was an enormous hit for the BBC, but not without controversy: from viewers concerned that the characters’ toddlerish language might impede the linguistic development of the nation’s children, to angry Radio Times readers who claimed the BBC were committing ‘cultural vandalism’ by axing the long-running series Playdays.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly get lost in the weeds of Teletubbies Wiki fandom; revisit the ‘toy rage’ that the show had inspired by Christmas 1997; and reveal why the first generation ‘tubbies never did live appearances… Further Reading:• ‘Teletubbies turn 20: how four blinking toddlers became a true TV phenomenon’ (The Guardian, 2017): https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/mar/31/teletubbies-turn-20-how-four-blinking-toddlers-became-a-true-tv-phenomenon• ‘The Great Distractor’ (Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, 2021): https://www.mediatechdemocracy.com/work/the-great-distractor• ‘Teletubbies: Ned’s Bicycle’ (BBC, 1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9woh2gKx1rM&list=PL8Zq4IrtuktnIh_XkWqMRfNkebVPgUIwyIf you enjoyed this episode, there’s three-and-a-half minutes MORE material about the Teletubbies exclusively available to our supporters today!Just sign up at Patreon* or click Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to receive your bonus bit, this and every week...* https://patreon.com/Retrospectors. Top two tiers only.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/31/2022 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

Pain-free surgery eluded physicians for centuries, but 26-year-old Crawford Williamson Long successfully removed a tumour from the neck of patient James Venable on 30th March, 1842 - whilst Venable was anaesthetised with ether.  Dr Long had come to appreciate the ‘exhilarating effects’ of ether as a result of attending drug-fuelled parties at medical school - known in his coterie as ‘ether frolics’ - and identifying that, whilst high on ether, he had bruised his body, yet not felt the impact. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Dr Long experimented on his friends, families and unwitting local youths before applying ether surgically; reveal how Queen Victoria caused chloroform to eclipse ether as the anaesthetic of choice for childbirth; and revisit the religious controversies that arose when doctors started ‘playing God’...Further Reading:• ‘The surprising (and Long) story of the first use of ether in surgery’ (The Conversation, 2019): https://theconversation.com/the-surprising-and-long-story-of-the-first-use-of-ether-in-surgery-113340• ‘March 30, 1842: It's Lights Out, Thanks to Ether’ (WIRED, 2007): https://www.wired.com/2007/03/march-30-1842-its-lights-out-thanks-to-ether/• ‘Georgia Stories: What Would Surgery Be Like Without Anaesthesia?’ (GPB, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG29p8iiZiEFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/30/2022 • 9 minutes, 48 seconds

Edward Lawrence Levy, a bald and bespectacled 40 year old choir-master from Birmingham, became the first ever winner of an international weightlifting contest at Cafe Monaco in London on 28th March, 1891. The event was an attempt to separate the serious sport of dumbbell lifting from the popular performing ‘strongmen’ at sideshows and variety halls, but it did not immediately take hold: the competition was described by the newspaper Sporting Life as “very slow”.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall the career of ‘perfect human specimen’ Eugen Sandow; dig into the movement for muscular Judaism; and work out exactly how Levy would fare in a modern Olympic competition… Further Reading:• ‘The Untold History of the First Weightlifting Competition’ (BarBend, 2019): https://barbend.com/history-first-weightlifting-competition/• ‘This Hebrew School Teacher Was the First World Weightlifting Champ’ (National Library of Israel, 2021): https://blog.nli.org.il/en/lbh-el-levy/• ‘The History of Weightlifting’ (Bodytribe, 2013):: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9moGJHmJygImage: Levy with his 1891 British Amateur Championship trophy. From E. Lawrence Levy and Muscular Judaism, 1851-1932, part of the National Library of Israel collectionFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie KingCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/28/2022 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Marc Brunel’s visionary under-water tunnel from Rotherhithe to Wapping finally opened to the public on 25th March, 1843. It had taken 18 years to build, and was massively over-budget, but was the first tunnel successfully created under a navigable river anywhere in the world.Its construction had cost lives, caused controversy and changed the way tunnels would be built forever. But it soon became notorious as a gangway frequented by pickpockets and prostitutes.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Brunel had to build a vertical tunnel before embarking upon his horizontal one; tot up its takings as an enormously popular tourist attraction; and explain how the injuries sustained by Isambard Kingdom Brunel during its construction lead directly to his even more famous architectural masterpieces… Further Reading:• ‘The Opening Of The Thames Tunnel’ (SS Great Britain Blog Brunel, 2021): https://www.ssgreatbritain.org/the-opening-of-the-thames-tunnel/• ‘Open again after 145 years, the eighth wonder of the world’ (The Independent, 2010): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/open-again-after-145-years-the-eighth-wonder-of-the-world-1920723.html• ‘The Thames Tunnel Archive - Part 5/5’ (Brunel Museum London, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HADkw-laAMFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/25/2022 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

When ultra-nationalist Yoshio Kodama was attacked by disaffected erotic actor Mitsuyasu Maeno in a kamikaze-style plane crash on his home in Tokyo on 24th March, 1976, it came as a surprise even to Maeno’s friends, who had photographed him, dressed as a World War Two pilot, taking to the skies.The bizarre event, in which Maeno died but Kodama survived, took place whilst Japan was reeling from ‘The Lockheed Scandal’, whereby it emerged that, for 18 years, the American company Lockheed had been bribing Japanese officials to buy their products - with Kodama, a convicted war criminal, as their insider.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why even some of Kodama’s supporters would have sympathised with Maeno’s extreme actions; ask whether his appearance in ‘Tokyo Emmanuelle’ truly means Maeno should be described as a ‘p*rn star’; and reveal how Maeno blagged his way behind the wheel of a rented aircraft to commit his attack… Further Reading:• ‘When a p*rn Star Crashed His Plane into a Crime Boss’s Home in Japan’ (Medium, 2021): https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/when-a-p*rn-star-crashed-his-plane-into-a-crime-bosss-home-in-japan-54de7ce3f7c0• ‘Japan Seeks Motive in Crash Into Lockheed Agent's Dome’ (The New York Times, 1976): https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/24/archives/japan-seeks-motive-in-crash-into-lockheed-agents-home.html• ‘The Man Who Kamikazed a Yakuza Don's Mansion’ (Oki’s Weird Stories, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4ecWb2cCDcFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/24/2022 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Hallelujah! Handel’s ‘Messiah’ is one of the cornerstones of Western classical music. But when it had its London premiere at Covent Garden on 23rd March 1743, it was billed as “a new sacred oratorio”, lest the real title of the show seem blasphemous.To further mitigate the problem of performing religious work in a secular playhouse, librettist Charles Jennens ensured that no one singer could be said to be ‘playing’ the role of Christ, and profits from the show were donated to charity.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how fashionable Italian singers were liable to attract as much laughter as praise; reveal what Mozart and Beethoven made of Handel’s masterpiece; and explain how the production at Crystal Palace in 1850 blew the original out of the water… Further Reading:• ‘The Glorious History of Handel's Messiah’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2009): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-glorious-history-of-handels-messiah-148168540/• ‘Charles Jennens: The unsung hero of Handel’s Messiah’ (The Globe and Mail, 2016): https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/charles-jennens-the-unsung-hero-of-handels-messiah/article33389290/• ‘'Hallelujah Chorus' from Handel's Messiah’ (Royal Choral Society, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUZEtVbJT5cFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/23/2022 • 9 minutes, 51 seconds

For most of America's history, gambling has either been outright banned or incredibly tightly controlled - a tradition that began on 22nd March, 1630 when the Puritan colonists in Boston issued a decree that “all persons whatsoever that have cards, dice, or tables in their homes make away with them, under pain of punishment”.It was one of many habits banned during this time, including smoking, celebrating Christmas, and wearing clothes with more than two slashes in the sleeves.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why moral crusades to control the ‘vice’ of gambling have always ultimately failed across the centuries; reveal why King James himself had spoken up in favour of skittles; and consider the merits of whist, cribbage, and dog fighting…Further Reading:• ‘The Puritans Ban Gambling and a Whole Lot of Other Things’ (New England Historical Society, 2021): https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/puritans-ban-gambling-and-whole-lot-things/• ‘How protectionism and puritanism put paid to online gaming industry’ (The Independent, 2006):https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/how-protectionism-and-puritanism-put-paid-to-online-gaming-industry-5330775.html• ‘Why was Christmas banned?’ (The Guardian, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsFYm796digWe had EVEN MORE to say about gambling in olden times. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!(*top two tiers only)The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/22/2022 • 9 minutes, 58 seconds

The world’s most famous high-security jail, Alcatraz, evicted its last prisoner on 21st March, 1963. Met by a huge crowd of reporters who asked him what he thought of ‘the rock’, armed robber Frank Weatherman responded, “Alcatraz was never no good for nobody.”For nearly thirty years the island prison had built a reputation as ‘inescapable’, but in 1962 three men did indeed manage to escape, and were never found, dead or alive. The costs of running the facility sealed its fate: at a cost of $10 per day per prisoner, it cost three times more to run than a typical American prison.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the state-of-the-art security features the prison had when it opened; revisit the 1935 Christmas menu dished up in the mess hall; and review some bad-taste souvenirs offered up in the modern-day gift shop… Further Reading:• ‘Alcatraz closes its doors’ (HISTORY, 2020): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/alcatraz-closes-its-doors• ‘Alcatraz Prison Was Apparently an Excellent Place to Eat’ (Bon Appetit): https://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/article/alcatraz-prison-food• ‘Last prisoners leaving Alcatraz Island’ (Universal International News, 1963): ​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpP5IJeBshEFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/21/2022 • 9 minutes, 57 seconds

The craze for paper dresses was the huge and unexpected impact of a viral marketing campaign for the Scott Paper Company that debuted in TIME magazine on 18th March, 1966. For $1.25, readers could send off for a red bandana print or a black and white pop art dress made of cellulose. It was intended as a press stunt to promote durable napkins, but, to everybody’s surprise, half a million units were sold in just eight months.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether these teenage kicks of the ‘60s presaged the 21st century trend for ‘fast fashion’; reveal how Richard Nixon got in on the act; and explain how, even if you think it sounds ridiculous, you’ve probably worn an outfit inspired by paper dresses at some point in your life, without even realising it…Further Reading:• ‘Fashion: Real Live Paper Dolls’ (TIME, 1967): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,836820,00.html• ‘Paper Fashion in the 1960s: The Genesis of Fast Fashion’ (Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection, 2018): https://blogs.cornell.edu/cornellcostume/2018/03/17/paper-fashion-in-the-1960s-the-genesis-of-fast-fashion/• ‘Paper Clothing of the 1960s and the Rise of Fast Fashion’ (ElleYeah, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zZBjNuenMcFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/18/2022 • 9 minutes, 46 seconds

Joseph Grimaldi, the most famous clown in Britain, made his final appearance at Sadler’s Wells Theatre on 17th March, 1829 - the very venue where he’d made his stage debut as a toddler in his father’s variety act. He was 48.Crippled with rheumatism, he told his adoring audience: “It is four years since I jumped my last jump, filched my last oyster, boiled my last sausage and set in for retirement.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly perform a thigh-slapping round of his hit drinking song ‘Hot Codlins’; explore why Grimaldi’s innovations were so influential for all ‘clownkind’; and recall how tragedy was a constant companion for this theatrical legend…Further Reading:• ‘Books: The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi: Laughter, Madness and the Story of Britain's Greatest Comedian by Andrew McConnell Stott (The Guardian, 2009): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/dec/19/simon-callow-biography-grimaldi-review• ‘Joseph Grimaldi Factsheet’ (It’s Behind You!, The Magic of Pantomime): http://www.its-behind-you.com/Factsheets/Joseph%20Grimaldi%20Factsheet.pdf• ‘Grimaldi: 150 Years On’ (Thames News, 1987): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuqlG-_RRSEContent warning: child abuse, staged suicide.#Victorian #Theatre #Sad #UK #LondonFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/17/2022 • 9 minutes, 51 seconds

Gustav III was shot, in the back and at close range, at Stockholm’s Royal Opera House on 16th March, 1792. But he didn’t die for another two weeks. Which made things rather difficult for the conspirators who had assassinated him.During his two decades on the throne, Sweden’s ‘Culture King’ had increased religious freedom, widened opportunities for ordinary citizens and built the very opera house in which he was attacked. But his popularity with the people did not spare him the wrath of the nobility - quite the reverse.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how, at a masked ball, the King was still so readily identifiable; ask whether his war with Russia was a clever or foolish piece of military strategy; and reveal the ugly fate that befell his assailant…Further Reading:• ‘That Fatal Shot — by the Royal Armoury, Sweden’ (Google Arts & Culture): https://artsandculture.google.com/story/that-fatal-shot-the-royal-armoury-sweden/MQURevye_fzGJQ?hl=en• ‘Gustav III of Sweden: The Forgotten Despot of the Age of Enlightenment’ (History Today, 2003): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/gustav-iii-sweden-forgotten-despot-age-enlightenment• ‘The Ambitious Building Projects of Gustav III’ (Kings And Things, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5MbLbv2gSU#1800s #Sweden #Crime #Royals For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/16/2022 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

David Beckham met Victoria Adams in the Manchester United Players Lounge on 15th March, 1997. The Spice Girl wrote her parents' phone number onto a boarding pass, passed it to the midfielder, and reportedly told him, “Mr. Beckham, if you don't ring me, I'm going to kick you in the bollocks.”David had apparently admired ‘Posh’ in the Say You’ll Be There video, while Victoria had perused David’s photo in a Panini sticker album. From these humble beginnings they established themselves as football’s first ‘power couple’, as relevant to readers of the front pages as they were to the sports pages at the back.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, in the initial days of their relationship, ‘Posh and Becks’ returned regularly to a branch of Harvester; consider how their joint star power eclipsed their fame as individuals; and how the couple effectively created the PR template for exploiting a ‘personal brand’... Further Reading:• ‘David and Victoria Beckham’s Relationship Timeline’ (US Magazine, 2022): https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/david-and-victoria-beckhams-relationship-timeline/• ‘Twenty years of the Beckhams: how they ushered in our era of personal branding’ (The Guardian, 2019): https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/apr/18/20-years-david-victoria-beckham-personal-branding• ‘Victoria & David Beckham Announce Engagement (Press Conference)’ (Associated Press, 1998): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKAFi7TP8vcFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/15/2022 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

Colonel Harland Sanders’ image continues to grace the logo of KFC, who continue to sell the chicken inspired by his ‘11 secret herbs and spices’. But on 14th March, 1978 the Colonel and the chain’s owners were at legal loggerheads over his constant criticism of their food.As KFC franchises were rolled out worldwide, Sanders was highly critical of the innovations made to his recipe - describing the new batter as "a damn fried doughball stuck on some chicken" - and the iteration of his gravy as "God-damned slop".In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the Colonel’s surprising devotion to swearing; explain how his devotion to quality made him the ‘Heston Blumenthal of fried chicken’; and revisit the debacle of ‘Kentucky Roast Beef’… Further Reading:• ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken of Bowling Green, Inc. v. Sanders’ (Supreme Court of Kentucky, 1978):https://law.justia.com/cases/kentucky/supreme-court/1978/563-s-w-2d-8-1.html• ‘8 Things You May Not Know About the Real Colonel Sanders’ (HISTORY, 2019): https://www.history.com/news/8-facts-real-colonel-sanders-kfc• ‘Colonel Sanders: Integrity in What You Do’ (KFC promotional video, 1970s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzPwWu4PKjUEnjoy this episode? There’s even more finger-lickin’ content in the boneless bucket that is our weekly bonus episode, available exclusively to our supporters on Patreon and subscribers on Apple Podcasts. In this week’s installment, we explain what happened when KFC tried to sue Colonel Sanders a second time - when he established ‘The Colonel's Ladies Dinner House Restaurant’ (still open to this day as Claudia Sanders’ Dinner House’) in Shelbyville, Kentucky….Go get it now at patreon.com/Retrospectors (top two tiers only), and support the show. Thanks!For more bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/14/2022 • 9 minutes, 29 seconds

Producer John Langley had been pitching a no-frills, fly-on-the-wall documentary series following US Police Officers for six years when, in the midst of a writer’s strike, Fox finally bit. COPS made its debut on 11th March, 1989, becoming one of the longest-running shows in TV history.Langley called it ‘video vérité’; the New York Times called it ‘tabloid TV’. From the beginning, concerns about its depiction of race relations in America led to criticism that eventually brought about its cancellation - before it was reinstated on a different TV network.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how various Police departments across the States went from being resistant to being featured in COPS to actually nominating themselves for filming; consider why participants were so keen to sign release forms when they were being depicted in such a vulnerable position; and ask if the first series still seems as ‘tabloid’ as it was considered at the time… Further Reading:• ‘Episode One: Broward County Florida - Part 2’ (Fox, 1989): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5k36VTrZcY• ‘Review/Television; 'Cops' Camera Shows the Real Thing’ (The New York Times, 1989): https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/07/arts/review-television-cops-camera-shows-the-real-thing.html• ‘John Langley: Producer who turned police work into prime reality TV’ (The Independent, 2021): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/john-langley-cops-reality-tv-obituary-b1875648.htmlFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/11/2022 • 10 minutes, 33 seconds

How many eligible men can we send to fight France? Are there enough food supplies to feed the population for the next century? Until 10th March 1801, the British Parliament weren’t sure - which is why they commissioned the first national headcount since the Doomsday Book. Unlike a modern-day census - which harvests data on religion, education and even sexuality - their first efforts only totted up the numbers of men and women, and their engagement in certain employment, such as agricultural work. Despite this, they still managed to balls it up - with some parishes never bothering to return the paperwork properly.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why birthplace and employment came to be introduced in later surveys; consider the problem of dishonesty in self-declaration; and reveal how suffragettes used the census as a clever tactic for protest… Further Reading:• ‘10 March 1801: Britain conducts its first census’ (MoneyWeek, 2020): https://moneyweek.com/383334/10-march-1801-britain-conducts-its-first-census• ‘An Essay on the Principle of Population, as it Affects the Future Improvement of Society with Remarks on the Speculations of Mr. Godwin, M. Condorcet, and Other Writers’ (Thomas Malthus, 1798): http://www.esp.org/books/malthus/population/malthus.pdf• ‘Who Had To Return To Their Birthplace For The Census?’ (QI, 2003): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWa7LEl36UYPhoto courtesy of Essex University.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/10/2022 • 9 minutes, 37 seconds

India’s Hijra community - who for centuries held a significant cultural, political and spiritual role in Indian society - were officially recognised on 9th March, 2005, when a new option appeared on passport forms, allowing applicants to select M for Male, F for Female, or ‘write E for Eunuch’.Although being labelled as a ‘third sex’ was considered by some to be stigmatising, it also reflected an understanding of the Hijra (a group including trans women, intersex people and castrates) as ‘eunuchs’, a depiction with its roots in both Hindu mythology and British colonialism.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the Hijra are believed to bring blessings to ceremonial occasions; dig into the polarised attitude that defines how Indians still see this marginalised community; and explain how a combination of transphobia, desperation and entrepreneurship has lead to many of them finding employment as ‘human Howlers’...Further Reading:• ‘Third sex in passports’ (Telegraph India, 2005): https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/third-sex-in-passports/cid/670187• ‘India's third gender - in pictures’ (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/society/gallery/2014/apr/16/india-third-gender-in-pictures• ‘India's Transgender Community: The Hijra’ (Refinery29, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgw7M-JABMgFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/9/2022 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier’s ‘Fight of the Century’ at Madison Square Garden on 8th March, 1971 had the attention of the world - including multiple celebrities. But the photographer LIFE magazine had hired for the event was, nevertheless, a coup: Frank Sinatra. “I'm so mad I could chew nails and spit tax”, wrote former LIFE staff photographer Robert W. Kelley. “I've been a professional news photographer 34 years… and what irks me is your cover. It was obviously selected because Frank Sinatra took it, rather for any photographic excellence. In fact, it was a bad picture. What millions of LIFE readers wanted to see was Frazier's fist firmly implanted against Muhammad Ali's mouth."In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether LIFE’s Managing Editor Ralph Graves was right to commission Sinatra to contribute the cover photo for such an iconic event; reveal what happened when Bing Crosby tried to blag his way into the fight; and look back on how Ali’s trash-talking of Frazier spurred him on for the fight of his life… Further Reading:• ‘Frank Sinatra Once Photographed Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier’ (Vice, 2015): https://www.vice.com/en/article/ezedg7/frank-sinatra-once-photographed-muhammad-ali-and-joe-frazier• ‘Brutal first meeting of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier stopped the world 50 years ago’  (Mail Online, 2021): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-9335207/Brutal-meeting-Muhammad-Ali-Joe-Frazier-stopped-world-50-years-ago.html• ‘Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier’ (ABC, 1971):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQhFhdmW6Vs#1960s #Sport #Black #Arts #US #MusicWe had EVEN MORE to say about ol' Blue Eyes and his boxing pics. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!(*top two tiers only)The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/8/2022 • 10 minutes, 13 seconds

Why is Sunday the Christian day of rest? Because Jesus said so? No! It was Roman emperor Constantine The Great who decreed on 7th March, 320 that “on the venerable day of the sun, let the magistrate and the people residing in cities rest and let all workshops be closed”.It was a departure from the tradition of commemorating Sabbath on a Saturday, which had been in line with Jewish teachings - and the word of God as depicted in the Bible itself.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Sumerians and Babylonians also played their part in the seemingly arbitrary division of the week into seven days; ask if Constantine was hedging his bets by merging the Christian calendar with the Roman sun-God’s special day; and reveal how the Emperor tried to cheat his way into Heaven at the very last minute…Further Reading:• ‘Constantine Orders That Sunday Becomes A Day of Rest’ (BBC History Magazine, 2016): https://www.pressreader.com/uk/bbc-history-magazine/20160225/281698319039318• ‘Sol Invictus - Roman Sun God’ (Mythology.net, 2016): https://mythology.net/roman/roman-gods/sol-invictus/• ‘Why Christianity Owes a Lot to the Roman Emperor Constantine’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2020):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y7c9vweo8k#Roman #Religion #ChristianFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/7/2022 • 9 minutes, 13 seconds

When Andrew Jackson was inaugurated on 4th March, 1829, large crowds of recently emancipated, enthusiastic voters turned up to the Capitol to watch the former Army commander become President. But the event soon spiraled out of control, descending into, at best, chaos; and, at worst, a brawl. Eyewitness Margaret Bayard Smith wrote: “No arrangements had been made no police officers placed on duty and the whole house had been inundated by the rabble mob… At one time, the President who had retreated and retreated until he was pressed against the wall, could only be secured by a number of gentleman forming around him and making a kind of barrier of their own bodies.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Jackson’s legacy, and the routine comparisons with President Trump; ask how reliable the eyewitnesses are, given that many were part of the political elite that Jackson despised; and reveal the novel technique deployed by White House staffers to disperse the crowds…Further Reading:• ‘Andrew Jackson, The 7th President of the United States’’ (White House Historical Association, 2006): https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/andrew-jackson/• ‘Was the White House Really Trashed at Andrew Jackson's First Inauguration?’ (HowStuffWorks, 2021):https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/andrew-jacksons-inauguration.htm• ‘Donald Trump's Hero is Andrew Jackson’ (Brut America, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD3-uFReZ3s#Politics #US #1800sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/4/2022 • 10 minutes, 12 seconds

Russell Athletic, the company that created the sweatshirt, began life as The Russell Manufacturing Company on 3rd March, 1902 in Alexander City, Alabama. Its founder was entrepreneurial polymath Benjamin Russell, and they specialized in women’s undershirts.It wasn’t until decades later - when Russell’s son returned from college with a concept for college-based sportswear - that the brand embarked upon designing their iconic garment that still sells by the bucketload today.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly compare Russell to various characters in ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’; outline rival Champion’s claim to having invented the hoodie; and explain how ‘athleisure wear’ has its roots in apparel designed for spectators, not participants…Further Reading:• ‘Our Heritage: A Rich History’ (Russell Athletic official website): https://www.russellathletic.com/history• Benjamin Russell - The Alabama Business Hall of Fame (ua.edu): https://abhof.culverhouse.ua.edu/member/benjamin-russell/• ‘Harold Lloyd in THE FRESHMAN (1925)’ (Janus Films, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ntrhlDr8MU#Sport #Fashion #1900s #Inventions #Business #US For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/3/2022 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

The Victory of Adwa on 2nd March, 1896 marked a milestone in the so-called ‘Scramble for Africa’ - because, whilst so much of the continent had been colonised by European nations, Abysinnia successfully defended their country from the invading Italians.Rome had underestimated the Ethiopians’ weaponry, motivation and strategy, and turned up with bad maps, demoralized troops - and orders to march on.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a tricksy treaty was used to justify the incursion; consider the fates of the Eritreans who fought alongside the Europeans; and question the wisdom of getting your troops to march for nine hours straight before engaging in combat… Further Reading:‘First Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Adwa’ (ThoughtCo, 2018): https://www.thoughtco.com/italo-ethiopian-war-battle-of-adwa-2360814‘The History of The Battle and Victory of Adwa (African History month): https://ahm.africa/the-history-of-the-battle-and-victory-of-adwa-125th/‘How did Italy Lose to Ethiopia?’ (Animated History, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hln0GjuUQk&t=4sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/2/2022 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Eva Tanguay, vaudeville megastar, was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky on 1st March, 1910 after stabbing a stagehand three times with a hat pin. At the police station, she reportedly produced a roll of bills and cried, “take it all. And let me go, for it's now my dinner time.”It was neither the first violent incident of her career, nor the first time she had piqued the curiosity of the press - indeed, Tanguay had made a career of combining her edgy charisma, style and sexuality with suggestive lyrics and wild gossip guaranteed to keep her in the public eye.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how she co-opted ‘I Don’t Care’, a song not even written for her, into her personal anthem; reveal what ‘hotdogging’ is; and revisit her tragic letter to Henry Ford…Further Reading:‘In search of Eva Tanguay, the first rock star’ (Slate, 2009): http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2009/12/vanishing_act.html?via=gdpr-consent&via=gdpr-consent‘Eva Tanguay (1896—1982)’ (Lawrence History Center): https://www.lawrencehistory.org/lhcexhibits/lewishine/tanguay‘Eva Tanguay sings ‘I Don't Care’’ (Nordskog, 1922): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zte2sDJ0rysFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.#1910s #Crime #Theatre #Arts #Music #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/1/2022 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Webster’s New International Dictionary (Second Edition) was the largest book to be mass produced, but - as was revealed on 28th February, 1939 - it contained an embarrassing error: on page 771, between the entries for Dorcopsis (a type of small kangaroo) and doré (golden in colour), was the word ‘dord’. Which doesn’t exist. The mistake had arisen from a note submitted by the dictionary’s Chemistry Editor, Austin M. Patterson, who had intended to include ‘D or d’ as an abbreviation for ‘density’. It became the most celebrated example of a ‘ghost word’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether the time is right to re-introduce ‘dord’ to the dictionary; reveal how the word ‘ghost’ itself contains a ‘ghost letter’; and explain why the the 1975 edition of the New Columbia Dictionary deliberately included an entry on fictitious photographer Lillian Virginia Mountweazel…Further Reading:‘The Curious Case of “Dord,” the Dictionary-Defined Word That Doesn’t Exist’ (MindBounce, 2020): https://www.mindbounce.com/446502/the-curious-case-of-dord-the-dictionary-defined-word-that-doesnt-exist/‘What Are Ghost Words?’ (Grammarly): https://www.grammarly.com/blog/ghost-words/‘Ask The Editor: Ghost Word’ (Merriam-Webster, 2011):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3sDiH3FhnYEnjoy this episode? The team have uncovered even MORE about trap streets and unrecognisable words, which you can hear exclusively if you’re our supporter on Patreon* or subscriber on Apple Podcasts. Support the show, skip the ads** and get bonus material every week!*top two tiers only. Patreon.com/Retrospectors **Patreon only.We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.#30s #Mistakes #Discoveries #Funny #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/28/2022 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

Henri Landru, known as ‘Bluebeard’ to the French public, was executed by guillotine on 25th February, 1922, having murdered at least ten women he dated during the First World War.He continued to protest his innocence throughout his sensational trial - despite having drawn a detailed doodle of the oven he had used to burn his victims’ bodies.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick Landru’s disturbing methodology; uncover why France’s top defense attorney was attracted to the case; and explain what it all had to do with Rudyard Kipling… Further Reading:‘The Story Of Henri Landru, France's Charming Bluebeard Serial Killer’ (All That’s Interesting, 2017): https://allthatsinteresting.com/henri-landru‘Hidden for 100 years, the untold story of serial killer who preyed on lonely war widows’ (Mail Online, 2019): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6511793/Hidden-100-years-untold-story-serial-killer-preyed-lonely-war-widows.html‘Bluebeard's 10 Honeymoons’ (Anglo Allied Pictures, 1960): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrfmrucyKGoFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. #20s #Person #Crime #War #Macabre #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/25/2022 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

The ‘Last Invasion’ of Britain was not, as most people assume, The Battle of Hastings - but actually a farcical French attempt to conquer the Pembrokeshire town of Fishguard on 24th February, 1797. Windy weather had already scuppered the first two prongs of this failed three-pronged attack, which was ultimately overthrown by a rag-bag militia of volunteers, a shipload of discarded booze, and a Welshwoman with a pitchfork.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask if the French had any realistic chance of success; explain why their soldiers seemed quite so unmotivated by the task at hand; and pay tribute to the pub at the heart of the surrender… Further Reading:• ‘Battle of Fishguard: The Last Invasion Of Mainland Britain’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/last-invasion-britain-french-battle-fishguard-what-happened-jemima-nicholas/• ‘Jemima Nicholas, a Fishguard Heroine - People of Pembrokeshire’ (coastalcottages.co.uk): https://www.coastalcottages.co.uk/inspiration/heritage/jemima-nicholas-a-fishguard-heroine/• ‘The One Show: The French Invasion of Fishguard’ (BBC Wales, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QGBV-rizTwFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.#1700s #War #UK #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/24/2022 • 10 minutes, 34 seconds

When Jennifer Lopez turned up on the Grammys’ red carpet wearing a green Versace dress on February 23rd, 2000, there was such a rush from the public to see the image that it became the most searched-for term in Google’s history. As a result - Eric Schmidt later confessed - Google Images was developed and launched, and a whole new way of searching the web was created.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover where the iconic dress is now; explain how Geri Halliwell missed out on the chance of (increased) internet infamy; and reveal just how many dresses J-Lo tried on before settling on ‘the one’...   Further Reading:‘How Jennifer Lopez’s Versace Dress Created Google Images’ (GQ, 2019): https://www.gq.com/story/jennifer-lopez-versace-google-imagesGeri Halliwell actually wore Jennifer Lopez's iconic Grammy dress first (yahoo.com): https://uk.style.yahoo.com/blogs/shine-on/geri-halliwell-actually-wore-jennifer-lopezs-175622959.html‘Jennifer Lopez Tells the Story of the Green Versace Dress’ (Vogue, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTyBFcEgc-AFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.#2000s #Person #Music #Fashion #Inventions #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/23/2022 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Dolly The Sheep, the first ever successfully cloned mammal, was introduced to the world’s press at the Roslin Institute in Scotland on 22nd February, 1997.Born seven months earlier, with the comparatively unremarkable name ‘Lamb Number 6LL3’, news of her birth had been leaked by The Observer before the scientific paper about her genesis could be published, sparking an international frenzy. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the international media (and Bill Clinton) took the opportunity to drum up panic about human cloning, rather than engage with the remarkable breakthrough she actually represented; reveal why Dolly developed a snack habit; and identify a missed opportunity for Dolly’s Tea Rooms in Roslin…Further Reading:• ‘Dolly the sheep’ (National Museum of Scotland): https://www.nms.ac.uk/dolly• ‘Dolly the Sheep and the human cloning debate - twenty years later’ (The Conversation, 2016): https://theconversation.com/dolly-the-sheep-and-the-human-cloning-debate-twenty-years-later-63712• ‘Retro Report: The Story of Dolly the Cloned Sheep’ (The New York Times, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tELZEPcgKkEEnjoyed this episode? There’s FIVE MINUTES of bonus content about Dolly The Sheep for you to download, exclusively available to our Subscribers on Apple Podcasts and our supporters* on Patreon (patreon.com/Retrospectors). Sign up now, support our show and get bonus content each and every week!* top two tiers onlyFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.#90s #Science #Invention #Discoveries #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/22/2022 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

Pan-Am pilot Byron Rickards was surrounded by soldiers and told he had become the prisoner of a revolutionary organisation shortly after landing in Arequipa, Peru on 21 February 1931 - the first recorded aircraft hijack in history.Rickards refused to drop pro-rebel propaganda, leading to a stand-off - although, astonishingly, it wasn’t the only time in his career that his plane would be hijacked…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the 1960s created the perfect circ*mstances for a hijacking boom; reveal the most hijacked pilot of all time; and attempt to investigate the origins of the word ‘hijack’ - with mixed results…Further Reading:• ‘From the Bizarre to the Deadly: History’s Most Notorious Hijackings’ (History Hit): https://www.historyhit.com/from-the-bizarre-to-the-deadly-historys-most-notorious-hijackings/• What is the origin of the word 'hijack'? (The Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-1420,00.html• ‘The First Ever Flight Hijacking in History’ (Histographics, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psoHDSMjGvUFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.#30s #Crime #Peru Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/21/2022 • 10 minutes, 14 seconds

Sentenced to death for treason against his brother King Edward IV, George, Duke of Clarence was executed on 18th February, 1478 - and, according to legend, chose to be drowned in a butt of his favorite tipple: malmsey wine. It was apt punishment for years of plotting against his brother alongside his father-in-law, the Earl of Warwick - most notably by claiming that the King’s two children were illegitimate.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how close George came to actually seizing the throne; consider how Shakespeare sexed things up for ‘Richard III’; and investigate the financial outlay required if you wanted to drown yourself in a butt of malmsey wine in 2022…Further Reading:• ‘Duke of Clarence: A title through time’ (The History Press): https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/duke-of-clarence-a-title-through-time/• ‘Malmsey - Madeira Wine and Dine’: https://www.madeirawineanddine.com/malmsey/• ‘On This Day: the execution of George, Duke of Clarence’ (Matt Lewis, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3teyJXLduCMFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. #1400s #Royals #Food #Crime #Macabre #Strange #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/18/2022 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

The 1870 Education Act was the first to deal specifically with the provision of British schools. Speaking in the House of Commons, William Edward Forster MP proposed: "I believe that the country demands from us that we should… cover the country with good schools, and get parents to send their children to those schools.”But there was opposition: from Christians concerned about the religious nonconformity of these new institutions; ideologues who thought the state simply couldn’t afford to fund them; and families who relied on their children bringing home a wage from work. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Prime Minister William Gladstone was disappointed by the reforms; examine whether the intention was really as philanthropic as it seemed; and reveal why it was only in living memory that Britain’s education policy truly provided the nation’s kids with full-time schooling… Thanks to James Plunkett’s book, End State (2021) for inspiring this topic. Check out the audiobook (read by Olly!) here: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/End-State-Audiobook/1398702218Further Reading:• ‘LEAVE. FIRST READING: Elementary Education Bill’ (Hansard, 1870): http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1870/feb/17/leave-first-reading• ‘The 1870 Education Act’ (UK Parliament): https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/school/overview/1870educationact/• ‘What was life like at a Victorian Reformatory School?’ (BBC Teach): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erYwMz5rdW0For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.#1800s #Victorian #Inventions #Religion #Politics #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/17/2022 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

Why do we say ‘God Bless You’ when we sneeze? Some historians trace it back to 16th February, 600 - and a decree supposedly issued by the pun-loving, God-fearing Pope Gregory to ward off the effects of the plague that had killed his predecessor.(Sadly, Gregory’s other idea to fight off the disease wasn’t quite so successful - he organized a parade through Rome, and 80 people in the crowd spread the symptoms to each other, subsequently dying.)In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how locals respond to sneezes in Serbia, China, Russia and Tanzania; consider whether commenting on someone else’s bodily functions is unwelcome, or a ‘micro-affection’; and imagine a world with a more upbeat style of Gregorian chanting…Further Reading:• ‘This is the REAL reason we say ‘bless you’ when someone sneezes… and it’s not because of the Plague’ – (The Sun, 2016): https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1158748/this-is-the-real-reason-we-say-bless-you-when-someone-sneezes-and-its-not-because-of-the-plague-2/• ‘Why do we say 'bless you' or 'gesundheit' when people sneeze?’ (HowStuffWorks, 2021): https://people.howstuffworks.com/sneezing.htm• ‘Should People Say 'Bless You'?’ (The Real Daytime, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP6BzhCDccUFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.#600s #Religion #Person #Strange #Italy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/16/2022 • 10 minutes, 22 seconds

TV chef Delia Smith built a stellar career on the success spawned from her first book, ‘How To Cheat At Cooking’ in 1971. So, when she published a reboot on 15th February, 2008, it seemed a shoo-in to sell bucketloads (which it did) - but not, perhaps, attract controversy (which it REALLY did).By seemingly encouraging the chattering classes to buy ready-mixed and frozen food, she was accused of having betrayed her audience of foodies. And that was BEFORE she turned up on telly pouring tinned mince into a Shepherd’s Pie…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly test out Delia’s ‘cheat’ Moroccan chicken; unpick whether the backlash was classist in nature; and reveal just how much culinary ‘cheating’ has changed since the first book in the ‘70s… Further Reading:• ‘The demonising of St Delia: How her cheat recipes provoked an extraordinary backlash’ (Mail Online, 2008): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-533565/The-demonising-St-Delia-How-cheat-recipes-provoked-extraordinary-backlash.html• ‘Happy 80th birthday, Delia Smith! 10 lessons she has taught us – from eggs to lemon zesters’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jun/18/happy-80th-birthday-delia-smith-10-lessons-she-has-taught-us-from-eggs-to-lemon-zesters• ‘Delia’s How To Cheat: Shepherd’s Pie’ (BBC, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIoeEJTPpQAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2000s #Food #Person TV #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/15/2022 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

The Rockettes kicked off a celebrity line-up including Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minelli, Jimmy Stewart, Al Pacino and Miss Piggy at ‘The Night of 100 Stars’, a benefit for the Actors Fund of America recorded on 14th February, 1982 at Radio City Music Hall, New York. A night of sheer glitz and excess, the true tally of stars on-stage totalled 206 - but perhaps that’s what you’d expect for $1000 per ticket and a bum-numbing running time of five-and-a-half hours.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly question the star-counting mechanic for the New York Yankees; explain how the assasination of Abraham Lincoln inspired the foundation of the Actor’s Fund in 1882; and marvel at the long-windedness of this televised tribute to the charity’s centenary…Further Reading:• ‘Bask in the Bewildering '80s Glamour of 'Night of 100 Stars'’ (Jezebel, 2016): https://jezebel.com/bask-in-the-bewildering-80s-glamour-of-night-of-100-sta-1759236215/amp• ‘Glamor Glut’ (The Washington Post, 1982): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/02/16/glamor-glut/7ff21880-5540-4c20-acb4-fa5832781184/• ‘VIDEO: The Night of 100 Stars’ (ABC, 1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkgaJobbIPgThere’s more! If you enjoyed this chat, support the show now on Apple Podcasts or Patreon* to access SEVEN MINUTES more of bonus content all about The Night of 100 Stars - including the medley of forgotten musicals, Liza Minelli’s show-starting show-stopper, and the audience reaction to Robin Williams.*top two tiers onlyThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #Theatre #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/14/2022 • 10 minutes, 12 seconds

The first women’s public toilets in London opened on Bedford St on 11th February, 1852 - attempting to capitalize on the success of George Jennings’ ‘monkey closets’, used by over 800,000 visitors to the 1851 Great Exhibition.Unfortunately, even though the facility had been fought for by campaigning women’s sanitary organizations, middle and upper class Victorian ladies were not yet prepared to pee in public - and the toilets closed a year later.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain where the phrase ‘spending a penny’ (probably) comes from; reveal why ‘the urinary leash’ came to describe the predicament of women’s lives; and investigate why the number of 21st century public toilets continues to fall… Further Reading:• ‘Pamphlets of the Ladies Sanitary Association’ (Wellcome Collection): https://wellcomecollection.org/works?query=%22Ladies+Sanitary+Association.%22• ‘London's long-term lav affair: A history of public toilets in the capital’ (BBC News, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-59785477• ‘Victorian realities - how did they use the toilet??!’ (Prior Attire, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUHeSTDv_24Enjoy this episode? There is SIX MINUTES MORE available to our subscribers on Apple Podcasts and our top two tiers of supporters via Patreon. Sign up now to support the show and receive bonus content every single week!#1800s #Victorian #Sexism #Inventions #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/11/2022 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Violent ‘town versus gown’ confrontations have been part of Oxford life ever since the University was founded - but reached an ignominious peak on 10th February, 1355, when almost 100 people were massacred in what became known as the ‘St Scholastica’s Day Riot’.The killing spree began as a brawl in a bar. When a pair of students at the Swindlestock Tavern complained about the quality of the wine, the Landlord responded with “saucie language” - and the students by bottling him. Then, it escalated. A lot.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate how the blood-letting was preceded by decades of tension in the city; explain why such events explain the foundation of Cambridge University; and reveal why the fight was still being discussed in Parliament, some six hundred years later…Further Reading:• ‘Rioting over wine led to 90 deaths’ (Oxford Mail, 2011): https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9200746.rioting-wine-led-90-deaths/• ‘St. Scholastica Day Riot: When English People Killed Dozens Over The Taste Of Wine’ (History Daily): https://historydaily.org/st-scholastica-day-riot-facts-stories-trivia• ‘The St. Scholastica's Day Riot’ (The History Guy, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3qPzNcJKQMFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1300s #Strange #Macabre #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/10/2022 • 10 minutes, 5 seconds

Chester Racecourse hosted Britain’s first ever recorded horse-racing meet on 9th February, 1539. The winner received a set of silver bells to hang from their bridal.Mayor Henry Gee had come up with the idea as a replacement for the traditional Shrove Tuesday football match - which he’d banned for being too riotous and violent.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly debate the folk etymology of ‘Gee Gees’; explain why the Royals were responsible for robbing the North of its equestrian edge; and reveal why Oliver Cromwell took objection to a day at the races… Further Reading:• ‘History - Chester Racecourse’ (chester-races.com): https://www.chester-races.com/about/history/• ‘Shrove Tuesday football: “No quarter asked nor given”' (BBC News, 2020): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-51445310• ‘Horrible Histories, HHTV Tudor Horse Racing’ (CBBC, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S53q_Cij3XYImage: John S Turner and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#Sport #1500s #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/9/2022 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Diners Club, the world’s first credit card, was used for the first time at Major’s Cabin Grill in New York City on February 8th, 1950. Perhaps at odds with the debonair image the company went on to cultivate, the first iteration was made of cardboard, and required three signatories. Frank X McNamara claimed to have invented the product after previously dining at Major’s and realizing to his horror that he’d left his wallet at home. By the end of their first year in business, Diners Club signed up 42,000 card holders.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the role of Diners Club’s PR man Matty Simmonds in the company’s compelling origin story; commend the savviness of the start-up for targeting wealthy diners at elite restaurants; and explain why, in 1950s America, credit was a man’s game… Photo: The National Museum of American History / Flickr CCFurther Reading:‘When Were Credit Cards Invented: The History of Credit Cards’ (Forbes Advisor, 2021): https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/history-of-credit-cards/‘The surprising history of credit cards: How this tech has evolved and where it's headed’ (CNET, 2022): https://www.cnet.com/features/the-history-of-credit-cards/‘How Credit Cards Were Invented’ (NPR Planet Money, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IksSNiEo2gFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#50s #Science #Inventions #Food #Technology #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/8/2022 • 10 minutes, 6 seconds

Inventing the internet and pioneering satellite navigation, U.S. government agency DARPA has had an illustrious history since being founded by President Eisenhower (as the Advanced Research Projects Agency) on February 7th, 1958. Created in response to the Soviets launching Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite, its mission, which continues to this day, is ‘to prevent technological surprise.’In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover how DARPA helped create the humble computer mouse; explain how former Nazi Wernher von Braun found his way to the head of this supposedly All-American organisation; and look forward to a world of self-sustaining surveillance robots eating us out of house and home…Further Reading:‘Fifty years of DARPA: A surprising history’ (New Scientist, 2008): https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13908-fifty-years-of-darpa-a-surprising-history/‘The Nazi Science That Fed the Apollo 11 Moon Landing’ (Time, 2019): https://time.com/5627637/nasa-nazi-von-braun/‘3 of the strangest projects DARPA has worked on’ (Tech Insider, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hSs0S5FVx8For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#50s #Inventions #Technology #Russia #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/7/2022 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

Disguised variously as a baseball umpire, NFL referee, pro golfer, and even Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, Barry Bremen earned his reputation as America’s greatest pitch invader - a career that kicked off on 4th February, 1979.Dressed as a player for the Kansas City Kings, the 32 year-old insurance salesman crashed the court of an NBA All-Star basketball game - much to the delight of fellow players and spectators. Hey, it was the Seventies!In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why top sportsmen of the day were so keen to support him; reveal how the media encouraged his efforts to become a sporting celebrity; and explain why his behaviour pushed the broadcasters of the 1985 Emmys to cut quickly to a puzzled David Hasselhoff…Further Reading:‘From Ali Dia to Karl Power: the greatest impostors in sporting history’ (The Guardian, 2016): https://www.theguardian.com/sport/shortcuts/2016/oct/18/from-ali-dia-barry-bremen-greatest-fakers-in-sporting-history’When Barry Bremen Tried to Infiltrate the Dallas Cowgirls, the Team Found It a Drag’ (People, 1980): https://people.com/archive/when-barry-bremen-tried-to-infiltrate-the-dallas-cowgirls-the-team-found-it-a-drag-vol-13-no-2/‘The Great Imposter Barry Bremen’ (NBC, 1979): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNjZni1yQ90For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Sport #Person #Funny #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/4/2022 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

The women of the Wild West mostly spent their lives laundering men’s clothes, bringing up children, and avoiding getting caught in the crossfire - but that didn’t stop a legend forming around them; not least dime novel heroine and ‘Bandit Queen’ Belle Starr, who was murdered on 3rd February, 1889.The ‘outlaw’ was riding home, two days before her 41st birthday, eating a piece of cornbread, when she was blasted off her horse. And then shot again, in the face. But mystery still surrounds the identity of her killer.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the fallout from the civil war shaped Starr’s life; ask whether ostrich plumes, rattlesnake rattles and dried earlobes could come back into fashion; and explain what Tom Starr’s gang had in common with Elton John… Further Reading:‘Belle Starr the Bandit Queen: How a Southern Girl Became a Legendary Western Outlaw’ (Atlas Obscura, 2013): https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/belle-starr-the-bandit-queen‘Belle Starr The Badass "Bandit Queen" Of The Wild West’ (allthatsinteresting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/belle-starr‘Belle Starr's Crazy Life Story & Grave!’ (Rhetty for History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2XLrY0cuJ8For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Person #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/3/2022 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

TMZ posted leaked footage of Christian Bale’s infamous meltdown on the set of ‘Terminator Salvation’ on 2nd February, 2009.Triggered by the film's Director Of Photography, Shane Hurlbut, repeatedly walking past his eyeline, Bale launched into an expletive-laden tirade that lasted more than three minutes, during which he threatened to smash up the lights, and have Hurlbut fired from the set.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dissect how Bale’s star power immunized him against reasonable pushback; compare his defense with Prince Andrew’s declarations of honour; and rank the rant against other notorious on-set ‘freakouts’ from the likes of Tom Cruise and David O. Russell… Further Reading:‘Christian Bale apologises 'unreservedly' for Terminator set rant’ (The Guardian, 2009):https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/feb/09/christian-bale-apologises-for-onset-rant‘Film stars' most shocking on-set meltdowns - from Tom Cruise's Covid rant to Christian Bale’s foul-mouthed outburst’ (The Sun, 2020): https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/13492481/film-star-meltdown-tom-cruise-christian-bale/‘Christian Bale Freaks Out on Set w/ SUBTITLES OF CREW in background’ (jenndouglas1, 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0auwpvAU2YA… AND there is over seven minutes of extra content from Arion, Rebecca and Olly on this subject available to our show supporters today! In our bonus episode, ‘Loose Lips Sink Starships’ our trio investigate how Hollywood reacted to the leaking of the tape, and inspired smartphone restrictions on the 'Star Wars' set, embarrassing moments on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live', and even the #MeToo movement that killed so many careers. To hear it - and a bonus bit of content every single week - support our show on Patreon (patreon.com/Retrospectors) or click ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2010s #Person #Film #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/2/2022 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

Theophile Gautier’s account of ‘green jam’ cannabis consumption at the drug-addled dinner parties of the ‘Club des Hachichins’ - alongside literary figures Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac - was first published in Revue des Deux Mondes on 1st February, 1846.The Club, founded by psychiatrist Dr Jacques Joseph Moreau to establish the psychedelic effects of eating copious amounts of marijuana, met in Arab fancy dress; its members mashing their drugs up with with cinnamon cloves, nutmeg, pistachio, sugar, orange juice - and an aphrodisiac derived from Spanish Fly.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Napoleon inadvertently triggered the French trend for weed that endures to this day; consider the influence of Thomas de Quincey’s ‘Confessions of an English Opium Eater’ on this select group of Romantic literati; and review Charles Baudelaire’s claim that he was merely a spectator and DID NOT INHALE…Further Reading:• ‘Spoonfuls of paradise’ (extract from ‘Cannabis’ by Jonathon Green, 2002): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/oct/12/featuresreviews.guardianreview34• ‘The Hashish Club: How the Poets of Paris Turned on Europe’ (High Times, 1979): https://hightimes.com/culture/the-hashish-club/• ‘Jon Snow takes cannabis’ (Channel 4, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyn0fDFqG3IFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Food #Strange #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/1/2022 • 9 minutes, 58 seconds

McDonald’s invested $50million to establish an outpost in the Soviet Union, and after 14 years of preparation, their first Russian restaurant opened in Moscow’s Pushkinskaya Square on 31st January, 1990.30,000 residents lined up in the freezing cold to be amongst the first customers to get a taste of America - although the restaurant, at the time the world’s largest, was technically an offshoot of McDonald’s of Canada.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the Soviet authorities clamped down on ‘burger scalping’; compare and contrast the golden arches with Communist iconography; and explain how it wasn’t just the Big Macs, but the customer service, that felt entirely foreign to the Muscovites…Photo credit: Alexander Steshanov/МАММ/MDF/russiainphoto.ruFurther Reading:‘The first McDonald’s in Moscow that drove the city mad, 1990’ (Rare Historical Photos, 2021): https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/first-mcdonalds-moscow-soviet-union-1990/‘The Evolution of Russia, as Seen From McDonald’s’ (The New York Times, 2010): https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/business/global/02mcdonalds.html‘McDonald's opens in hungry Moscow, but costs half-a-day's wages for lunch’ (CBC, 1990): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckbfS99N6jYFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Food #Russia #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/31/2022 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Stud-and-tube bricks, which paved the way for Lego to become one of the most successful companies in Denmark, were patented on 28th January, 1958. But this family business had already been in existence for 26 years, mostly making wooden toys.It later emerged, however, that the plastic self-locking bricks that brought them so much success had in fact already been invented - and patented - by British toymaker Hillary Page in 1940.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Lego’s lawyers stay one step ahead of their imitators; unconvincingly demonstrate how to pronounce ‘Skoda’; and reveal how branded toys - a controversial pivot for the company in the ‘90s - helped save the business… UNLOCK BONUS CONTENT: including this week's Great Lego Fact-Off, as Arion, Rebecca and Olly compete to out-do each other with astonishing facts about the Danish brand... only when you join Patreon (top two tiers only) or take out an Apple Podcasts subscription. Patreon.com/RetrospectorsFurther Reading:• ‘LEGO Brick Timeline: 50 Years of Building Frenzy and Curiosities’ (Gizmodo, 2008): https://gizmodo.com/lego-brick-timeline-50-years-of-building-frenzy-and-cu-349509• ‘Self-Locking Building Bricks, Lego precursor, Kiddicraft (1944-)’: https://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/index/Category:Self-Locking_Building_Bricks_(Kiddicraft)• ‘60 years of LEGO: capturing the world's imagination’ (5 News, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZTiAarAOqwWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #50s #Games #Inventions #UK #Denmark Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/28/2022 • 9 minutes, 54 seconds

Modern art was controversially celebrated on 27th January, 1687, when Charles Perrault read his poem ‘The Century of Louis The Great’ at the Académie Française - railing against the prevailing wisdom that believed literature should follow the strict classical templates laid down by the likes of Homer and Aristotle.The subsequent debate between rival factions of ‘ancient’ and ‘modern’ intellectuals raged for more than five years, and became known as ‘the quarrel’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask how much of Perrault’s argument was actually to do with kissing Louis XIV’s arse; explain what Aesop had to do with the gardens at the Palace of Versailles; and wonder if the Ancients would have approved of Agatha Christie… Further Reading:• ‘The Battle of the Books: History and Literature in the Augustan Age’ by Joseph M. Levine (Cornell University Press, 1991): https://bit.ly/32GeA9V• ‘Charles Perrault, a multifaceted man’ (breteuil.fr): https://www.breteuil.fr/en/charles-perrault-a-multifaceted-man/• ‘Charles Perrault INVENTED fairy tales Cinderella Mother Goose Little Red Riding Hood Sleeping Beauty’ (Timeline, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLGOJHaE6oUFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1600s #Arts #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/27/2022 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

Sometimes termed ‘The Diaper Run’ due to the large number of babies on-board, the S.S. Argentina set sail from Southampton to New York City on 26th January, 1946 - transporting 456 ‘War Brides’ and their 170 children from Britain to the USA.Each was permitted to bring 200lb of luggage, and faced an uncertain future on arrival in the States - some reuniting with their one true love; others finding themselves shacked up with in-laws who resented their existence.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how this historic crossing triggered a change in U.S. immigration policy; examine the appeal of clean-cut American servicemen to working-class British women; and recall the much-forgotten additional passenger - ‘the War Groom’...Further Reading:‘Coming To America: The War Brides Act of 1945’ (The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, 2020): https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/war-brides-act-1945‘War Brides - America’ (WWII magazine): http://www.americainwwii.com/articles/war-brides/ ‘G.I. Brides Sail’ (Pathé News, 1946) - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wiUotiD9HIFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#40s #War #US #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/26/2022 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

Walking down the aisle to Wagner’s ‘Here Comes The Bride’ and departing to Mendelssohn’s ‘The Wedding March’ remains a popular choice at wedding ceremonies - a precedent established by the Princess Royal Victoria and Prince Frederick of Prussia, who married at St James’s Palace on 25th January, 1858.Unfortunately for Mendelssohn, he’d been dead eleven years by the time his tune became a viral hit - but he treasured his patronage by Victoria and Albert, once describing Buckingham Palace as “the only really nice, comfortable house in England.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how ‘The Wedding March’ had its origins not in Church, but Paganism; reveal how Frederick and Victoria’s union influenced American troops in the Second World War; and, with grim inevitability, give yet another airing to Arion’s execrable Queen Victoria impression. Brace yourself…Further Reading:• ‘What Is the Story Behind Mendelssohn’s Wedding March?’ (History Hit, 2017): https://www.historyhit.com/1842-mendelssohns-wedding-march-written/• ‘How 'Here Comes the Bride' Became a Wedding Music Tradition’ (Time, 2018): https://time.com/5115834/wedding-march-here-comes-the-bride/• Felix Mendelssohn - Wedding March: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7_m1om82o4For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Victorian #Music #Royals #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/25/2022 • 9 minutes, 47 seconds

Henry VIII is typically remembered as he was at the end of his life - weighing in at a colossal 28 stone, with ulcerated legs, failing eyesight and an explosive temper. But, prior to the jousting accident he suffered 24th January, 1536, history had recorded him as merry, affable and physically attractive.Jousting was his favourite sport, but after being knocked off his horse and falling unconscious for two hours, he appears to have become increasingly erratic, irritable and cruel - not least to his wife Anne Boleyn and her four famous successors.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly suggest why the identity of Henry’s jousting opponent was not recorded; explain why the Vatican were really quite excited by Henry’s head injury; and ask whether the King’s demeanour really did change significantly, or whether he was ALWAYS a bit of a jerk… Further Reading:• ‘The jousting accident that turned Henry VIII into a tyrant’ (The Independent, 2009): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-jousting-accident-that-turned-henry-viii-into-a-tyrant-1670421.html• ‘Henry VIII: ‘brain injury caused by jousting to blame for erratic behaviour and possible impotence'’ (HistoryExtra, 2016): https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/henry-viii-brain-injury-caused-by-jousting-to-blame-for-erratic-behaviour-and-possible-impotence/• ‘Full Metal Jousting - The Biggest Hits’ (The History Channel, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWVZgp-eQG8#1500s #Royals #Person #Health #Sport #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/24/2022 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

Henri Littière and his adulterous wife Suzanne thought they’d come up with a novel way to combat her philandering - by commissioning a custom-made chastity belt. But on 21st January, 1934, Littière was sentenced to three months in prison for cruelty to his spouse.It’s a strange story, but not half as weird as how the myth of chastity belts gained traction in the first place - not from medieval days, but in fact thanks to Victorian prudishness.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pick holes in 1934 Parisian court reporting; discover the trend for 21st century chastity belts; and explain how widespread belief in the belts can be traced back to a wacky German author’s offbeat sense of humour… Further Reading:• ‘FRANCE: Infibulation’ (TIME, 1934): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,787768,00.html• ‘Are They Real? The Dubious History Of Chastity Belts’ (Ripleys, 2019): https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/dubious-history-chastity-belts/• ‘10 Myths You Still Believe About Medieval Life’ (Alltime 10s, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoRqiTlGfGsFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #30s #Person #Crime #Strange #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/21/2022 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds

Ozzy Osbourne orally decapitated a bat live on stage in Des Moines, Iowa on 20th January, 1982; an act that quickly went down as one of the most outrageous moments in rock n roll history.Concertgoer Mark Neal, 17, said the bat was dead long before he threw it on stage. But this was not Osbourne’s first offence: he had previously shocked attendees at a CBS press launch by biting the head away from a live dove.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of Osbourne’s bizarre bird-and-bat-beheading behaviour; applaud the ingenuity of his long-suffering wife Sharon; and debate whether Alice Cooper intentionally threw a chicken to a braying mob to be mutilated…CONTENT WARNING: animal cruelty, offensive language beeped.Further Reading:• ‘Everything you need to know about Ozzy Osbourne biting the head off a bat in Des Moines’ (desmoinesregister.com): https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/kyle-munson/2016/01/20/everything-you-need-know-ozzy-osbourne-biting-head-off-bat-des-moines/79055858/• ‘When Ozzy Osbourne Bit Off the Heads of Two Doves (ultimateclassicrock.com)’:https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ozzy-osbourne-dove-bite-head/• ‘Ozzy Osbourne talking to David Letterman about the bat incident’ (NBC, 1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxn2_sO5losFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #Music #Person #Strange #Macabre #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/20/2022 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds

Research In Motion were once the world’s most popular maker of smartphones, but when they launched the BlackBerry 850 on 19th January, 1999, the device had no phone functionality: it was marketed as a two-way pager.However, the gadget’s ability to bounce emails from a desktop server to its users on the move, and its bespoke instant messaging service, BBM, ensured it soon became an essential tool in the executive businessperson’s arsenal. Until the iPhone came along, anyway…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the ‘CrackBerry’ phenomenon; unpick the role of Al Gore and Barack Obama as ultimate celebrity influencers for the brand; and wonder whether anyone will still be using one, after the company’s recent announcement that their handsets will no longer be supported…Further Reading:• ‘The one reason why I’ll always miss the BlackBerry’ (Slate, 2013): https://slate.com/technology/2013/10/the-one-reason-why-ill-always-miss-the-blackberry.html• ‘The rise and fall of the BlackBerry in popular culture’ (BBC Newsbeat, 2016): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-37500230• ‘Classic BlackBerry Devices To Officially Stop Working After Decades Of Popularity’ (NBC Today, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWhuVEfDPv8For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Technology #Inventions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/19/2022 • 10 minutes, 20 seconds

‘The First Fleet’ - the eleven ships carrying around 1400 people from Britain, most of whom were convicted criminals - landed in New South Wales on 18th January, 1788.Australia had been home to indigenous people for at least 50,000 years - but was a barren and shocking destination for 'the poms', who’d endured an epic 252-day voyage to get there; a journey about which Robert Hughes wrote: “before them stretched the awesome lonely void of the Indian and Southern oceans, and beyond that lay nothing they could imagine.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how Captain Arthur Phillip motivated his prisoners to build a new settlement; unpick what Captain Cook got wrong about Botany Bay; and explain why the descendants of convicts in modern-day Oz maintain a certain swagger… Further Reading:• ‘From Captain Cook to the First Fleet: how Botany Bay was chosen over Africa as a new British penal colony’ (The Conversation, 2020): https://theconversation.com/from-captain-cook-to-the-first-fleet-how-botany-bay-was-chosen-over-africa-as-a-new-british-penal-colony-128002• ‘Australian Penal Colonies’ (Simple History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS1072MshS0• ‘Australian Genocide: How It Happened And How It Haunts Us To This Day’ (All That’s Interesting, 2016): https://allthatsinteresting.com/australia-genocide For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1700s #Crime #UK #Australia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/18/2022 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

The first night of Richard Sheridan’s classic comedy ‘The Rivals’ did not go according to plan. Critics thought it was too long, the Irish gentry in the audience were insulted, and an actor was pelted with rotten fruit. It closed after one performance on 17th January, 1775.But then… after eleven days of rewrites, recasting and edits (a process Sheridan called “prunings, trimmings and patchings”), the show re-opened - and became the much-loved hit it remains to this day.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly expose how Sheridan exploited his notoriety in Bath to put bums on seats; unpick how the play’s famous ‘Malapropisms’ achieved seminal status; and revisit the best of Sheridan’s real-life one-liners…Further Reading:• ‘The scourge of Bath’ (The Guardian, 2004): https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2004/may/15/theatre• The Dramatic Works of Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Cavan Library): http://www.cavanlibrary.ie/file/Local-Studies/Library-Scanned-Docs/The_dramatic_works_of_Richard_Brinsley_Sheridan.pdf• ‘What Are Malapropisms?’ (Bright Idea, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMdgr-qSAfMWe had EVEN MORE to say about Sheridan's second draft. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or on Apple Podcasts.(*top two tiers only)The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1700s #Theatre #Arts #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/17/2022 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds

Disney’s long-awaited feature ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ was rapturously received at Radio City, New York, inspiring three-hour queues for tickets. The reviews that America woke up to on 14th January 1938 were euphoric: a masterpiece had landed.“It is a classic as important cinematically as The Birth Of A Nation”, Frank Nugent wrote in The New York Times.  “You’ll not, most of the time, realise you are watching animated cartoons”, he continued. “And if you do, it will only be with a sense of amazement”.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the technical feat of creating the world’s first feature-length animation (nicknamed ‘Disney’s Folly’) was all the more remarkable considering the inexperienced cartoonists on the crew; reveal why the UK censors very nearly classified it as unsuitable viewing for children; and challenge the notion that the Disney version of the Grimm tale is any less morbid than its literary forebears… Further Reading:• ‘THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; The Music Hall Presents Walt Disney's Delightful Fantasy, 'Snow hite and the Seven Dwarfs'-Other New Films at Capitol and Criterion’ (The New York Times, 1938):https://www.nytimes.com/1938/01/14/archives/the-screen-in-review-the-music-hall-presents-walt-disneys.html• ‘The Making of Snow White’ (Disney, 1994): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7X8u-EjADw&t=4s• ‘Disney's Folly: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ (Neatorama, 2012):https://www.neatorama.com/2012/06/13/disneys-folly-snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs/Want to hear more ‘Snow White’ chat from the team? There’s over SEVEN MINUTES of extra content today, cut for time from today’s episode and exclusively available to our top-tier subscribers. Head to patreon.com/Retrospectors to support the show and get exclusive bonus content each week. Thanks!We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #30s #Film #Arts #Technology #Inventions #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/14/2022 • 10 minutes, 35 seconds

Chariot racing was a dangerous and violent sport at the best of times, but on 13th January, 532, a hooligan-led protest at the Hippodrome of Constantinople - known as ‘the Nika rebellion’ - ultimately lead to over 30,000 deaths and the destruction of half the City. Upon hearing his wife urge him that ‘royalty is a good burial shroud’, the Emperor Justinian reportedly decided to slaughter his own people to maintain his position of power. Yet, despite this, he was ultimately deemed to have earned his epithet: ‘The Great’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unearth the tradition of ‘curse tablets’; explain why Empress Theodora switched allegiances from the ‘greens’ to the ‘blues’; and reveal how a eunuch wielding gold coins helped to stabilise the Byzantine empire…Further Reading:‘Overview of the Nika Revolt’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/the-nika-revolt-1788557Deadly Moments in History - The Nika Riots (Invicta, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm9mscL2qHU‘12 Historic Little Known Rebellions with Tragic and Bloody Ends’ (History Collection, 2017): https://historycollection.com/12-historic-little-known-rebellions-tragic-bloody-ends/9/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#Medieval #Sport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/13/2022 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

Dr James Bedford became the first dead body to be cryogenically frozen on 12th January, 1967 - a day still commemorated in the ‘suspended animation’ community as Bedford Day.But in this burgeoning (pseudo)science, there were plenty of preparations yet to be made. Which meant that the freezing team - lead not by scientists but enthusiasts - ran out of ice, and forgot to drain his blood. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dive into the legal cases that sprang from this early period of cryogenic freezing; consider the psychological implications of being awoken from death, generations after your grandchildren have died; and propose a controversial solution for minimising future errors in the process…Further Reading:• ‘Cryonics: Will These Bodies Come Back From Death?’ (The Atlantic, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YjrQVVSSbI• ‘Cool dude James Bedford has been cryonically frozen for 50 years’ (CNET, 2017): https://www.cnet.com/news/cool-dude-james-bedford-has-been-cryonically-frozen-for-50-years/Photo credit: AlcorFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.• ‘Evaluation of the Condition of Dr. James H. Bedford After 24 Years of Cryonic Suspension’ (Alcor, 1991): https://www.alcor.org/library/bedford-condition/#60s #Person #Science #Strange #Macabre #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/12/2022 • 10 minutes, 38 seconds

With a top prize of £5,000 and a celebrity backer in the form of Queen Elizabeth I, England embarked on its first ever national lottery draw at St Paul’s Cathedral on 11th January, 1569.The results continued to be announced, day and night, for four months; a particularly prolonged process due to the fact that the prizes had to be divided into twelve, as the organisers had only sold a twelfth as many tickets as had been predicted. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the cost of entry had been set so high (a year’s salary for a working class labourer); reveal the desperate ‘get out of jail free’ tactic to flog more tickets; and ask whether, despite its apparent failure, the event was, at least, proof-of-concept for the state funded lotteries we still know today…Further Reading:‘It Could Be Ye: England’s first lottery’ (The History Press, 2019): https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/it-could-be-ye-england-s-first-lottery/‘11 January 1569: England holds its first lottery draw’ (MoneyWeek, 2021): https://moneyweek.com/421338/11-january-1569-england-holds-its-first-lottery-draw‘January 11 - The first recorded lottery’ (The Anne Boleyn Files and Tudor Society, 2020):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_-XqukRpgkFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1500s #Royals #Inventions #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/11/2022 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

The Sinclair C5, Sir Clive Sinclair’s disastrous entry into the EV market, launched at Alexandra Palace on 10th January, 1985. Looking like a cross between a mobility scooter and a child’s pedal car, it had no on-board storage, was too heavy to climb uphill, and a top speed of 15km per hour. But Sinclair had contracted Hoover to produce the vehicle, expecting orders of 200,000 units per year.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the original publicity material for this doomed design classic; rank the public embarrassment of the car’s failure against Sinclair’s other high-profile flops; and reveal the contents of the optional ‘wet weather kit’ drivers could enjoy…Further Reading:• ‘A Revolution in Personal Transport’ - the original press kit from the launch (1985): www.sinclairql.net/downloads/1985-01-10_Sinclair_C5_launch_press_kit-SQPP.pdf• ‘Sinclair C5: the history of Sir Clive Sinclair’s electric car’ (Auto Express, 2021): https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/356059/sinclair-c5-history-sir-clive-sinclairs-electric-car• ‘Imagine a Vehicle that can drive you five miles for a penny’ - original Sinclair C5 TV advert (1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EQetm_qWDgPhoto credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eevblog/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #Technology #Inventions #Mistakes #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/10/2022 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

It’s our last episode of 2021, and Olly is putting Arion and Rebecca to the test to see what they’ve learned from our first 168 episodes...How many copies of ‘Sense and Sensibility’ were in the original print run in 1811? What (horrifying) ingredients were in Jane Asher’s 1990 ‘Mary, Mary’ cake for children’s parties? Which four U.S. Presidents had been cheerleaders at College? It’s a fight to the death to establish our Retrospectors champion of the year!If you’ve enjoyed the show this year, please…• leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, and help other listeners discover the show:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retrospectors/id1564093130• join our Patreon, where you can support the show, get ad-free episodes and extra content every single week:https://patreon.com/Retrospectors• tell your friends about us on social media:https://twitter.com/RetrospectorsHQhttps://www.instagram.com/theretrospectors/https://www.facebook.com/theretrospectors/https://www.linkedin.com/company/theretrospectors/• get in touch and let us know what we should cover in [emailprotected] Christmas and Happy New Year! The Retrospectors will return on January 10th, 2022.The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/24/2021 • 19 minutes

Before becoming the most valuable poem in American Literature, ‘A Visit From St. Nicholas’ was published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel on 23rd December, 1823 - its author remaining a secret for fourteen years.The work, commonly known as ‘The Night Before Christmas’, was eventually revealed to be written by philosopher and lecturer Clement Clark Moore - although, in recent years, the family of Major Henry Livingston Jr. have claimed that their ancestor was its true author.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the poem has influenced our perception of Santa’s rotundness, but not his height; reveal the Protestant-Catholic divide deftly swerved by Moore in his setting of his story; and explore just what else the Troy Sentinel brought the world… Further Reading:• ‘'Twas The Night Before Christmas - Narrated by Michael Bublé’ (Michael Bublé, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4Y1IpCGHss• ‘The Mystery Behind the World's Most Famous Christmas Poem’ (Mental Floss, 2016): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/26719/mystery-behind-worlds-most-famous-christmas-poem• ‘Clement Clarke Moore, American scholar and author’ (Britannica): https://www.britannica.com/biography/Clement-Clarke-MooreFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Arts #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/23/2021 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

The first string of lights to be festooned upon a tree dazzled visitors to the New York home of Edward Johnson, Vice President of the Edison Electric Light Company, on 22nd December, 1882.Lit patriotic red, white and blue, the tree also revolved; wowing a reporter from The Detroit Post and Tribune. “At the rear of the beautiful parlors, was a large Christmas tree presenting a most picturesque and uncanny aspect,” he wrote. “It was brilliantly lighted with… eighty lights in all encased in these dainty glass eggs… One can hardly imagine anything prettier.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal what electric lights have in common with potatoes; ask why Americans were frightened of wired bulbs, yet quite content to set candles on fire and attach them to flammable resin in their own homes; and untangle how a failed patent application was responsible for the trend finally catching on…Further Reading:‘Untangling the History of Christmas Lights’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2016): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/untangling-history-christmas-lights-180961140/‘Who Invented Christmas Lights?’ (PBS, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qB61a_qbuo• ‘Thomas Edison planned to invent a machine to talk to the dead’ (weirdhistorian, 2016): https://www.weirdhistorian.com/thomas-edison-talked-to-the-dead/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Inventions #Technology #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/22/2021 • 10 minutes, 14 seconds

All I Want For Christmas Is You has made Mariah Carey a fortune - but it took an astonishing 25 years for the song to finally reach Number One on the Billboard Hot 100; a feat it achieved on 21st December, 2019, becoming America’s first festive-themed chart-topper since The Chipmunk Song in 1958. When originally released in 1994, neither Carey nor her co-songwriter Walter Afanasieff expected great things. Afanasieff voiced concerns that it sounded ‘like someone singing vocal scales’, and Carey concluded that, at Christmas time, the public would always prefer to hear the standards. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca expose the bizarre corner of the internet that denies Afanasieff co-wrote the song; explore why so many people around the world, of all different faiths, identify with its message; and weigh up Kelly Clarkson and Leona Lewis’s attempts to de-throne the diva…Further Reading:• ‘Mariah Carey is Christmas: The Story of 'All I Want for Christmas is You' (Amazon Music, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Vhz5BiypU• ‘'All I Want for Christmas' Co-Writer Says Success Is 'Bittersweet'’ (Variety, 2019): https://variety.com/2019/music/news/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-co-writer-walter-afanasieff-interview-1203447527/• ‘How Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Dominates Charts’ (TIME, 2019): https://time.com/5708874/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-mariah-carey/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2010s #Music #Person #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/21/2021 • 10 minutes, 32 seconds

Festive favourite 'It’s a Wonderful Life' originated as a short story transcribed into Christmas cards by its author Philip Van Doren Stern. But it received disappointing box office returns following its premiere on 20th December, 1946 - and was not considered ‘a classic’ for decades.In the 1970s someone at Paramount forgot to renew its copyright, so the film became free for any TV channel to broadcast – which they did, time after time after time after time, right up until 1993 - solidifying America’s relationship with Frank Capra’s movie each December.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly conduct a risk assessment on Beverly Hills High School’s ‘swim-gym’; ask if Jimmy Stewart gets off more lightly than Ebenezer Scrooge; and investigate the film’s little-known ‘90s sequel, ‘Clarence’...Further Reading:• ‘IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE - Official Trailer’ (Paramount, 1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLR3gZrU2Xo• ‘How Frank Capra’s ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ Became a Christmas Classic’ (History Hit, 2017): https://www.historyhit.com/1946-wonderful-life/• ‘How 'It's a Wonderful Life' transformed the use of fake snow’ (NY Post, 2021): https://nypost.com/2021/11/17/how-its-a-wonderful-life-transformed-the-use-of-fake-snow/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#40s #Film #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/20/2021 • 10 minutes, 20 seconds

The debut episode of the world’s longest-running animated sitcom - 'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire' - aired in the U.S. on 17th December, 1989; attracting the Fox network’s highest ever Sunday night ratings.It was an instant sensation, with many contemporary critics remarking that the ‘dysfunctionality’ of The Simpsons was in-keeping with other 90s hits Roseanne and Married… With Children, while conservative voices including George H W Bush criticised what they saw as its celebration of underachievement.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how it came to be that a Christmas special should introduce the series; explain why Tracey Ullman filed a lawsuit about it; and reveal how many colours are in the show’s distinctive paint palette… Further Reading:• ‘Honoring ‘Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire’’ (Vulture, 2018): https://www.vulture.com/2018/12/honoring-simpsons-roasting-on-an-open-fire.html• ‘Did Tracey Ullman Get Rich Off ‘The Simpsons’?’ (Mental Floss, 2017): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/94628/did-tracey-ullman-get-rich-simpsons• ‘Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire’ (Fox, 1989): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIfLqO3SSBsThere's three minutes more bonus material, about how Bart Simpson's campaign for Butterfinger candy swung the production deal! To hear it - and extra material every single week - visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors* or click 'subscribe' in Apple Podcasts, and support the show!*top two tiers onlyWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #80s #TV #Funny #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/17/2021 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

The Hideaway Club, now part of London’s Chinatown, opened on 16th December, 1964. Ronnie and Reggie Kray didn’t turn up for the big night, even though they had booked a table.It was an opening gambit in a war of intimidation against the manager of the club, Huw Cargill McCowan - to whom the gangsters had proposed a protection racket; threatening him when he turned down their offer.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Krays’ (first) trial fell apart; consider how the brothers used the glamour of their West End nightclub to sanitise their personal brand; and explain how journalist John Pearson shaped the public understanding of these notorious bad boys while they were behind bars… Further Reading:• ‘The Kray Twins - Just Pictures’ (Rich2015, YouTube, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhR7dyGmipM• ‘An Evening at El Morocco with the Kray Twins and Barbara Windsor’ (Flashbak, 2016): https://flashbak.com/evening-el-morocco-kray-twins-barbara-windsor-59411/• ‘The hidden history of London's Chinatown’ (Telegraph, 2018): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/london-chinatown-history/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#60s #Person #Crime #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/16/2021 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Napoleon was buried in an unmarked grave in St. Helena. But, 19 years later, on 15th December, 1840, he got buried again: this time at Les Invalides, Paris.It was an ornate state occasion, involving multiple caskets, 500 sailors, 14 semi-naked female statues... and a lot of lardy cakes. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal what Napoleon’s cadaver looked like; explain why a previous petition to relocate his remains had failed; and discover an unexpectedly culinary description of the day from The Sunday Times… Further Reading:• ‘Bring Him Home: How Napoleon Bonaparte’s delayed funeral came to be’ (Lapham’s Quarterly, 2020): https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/bring-him-home• ‘Napoleon’s legacy: ashes, tombs and DNA’ (National Geographic, 2010): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/napoleons-legacy• ‘Secrets of Les Invalides: Home to war veterans and Napoleon’ (France 24, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA4uvmiPVUQFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Person #War #Politics #Macabre #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/15/2021 • 9 minutes, 50 seconds

When George W Bush flew to Baghdad for a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on 14th December, 2008, he had hoped the headlines would reflect his triumphant appraisal of his deployment of American troops. Instead, it became known as the day he got some shoes thrown at him.The man throwing the shoes was Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi, who yelled in Arabic: “This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, dog!”. The president ducked, and Zaidi let his other shoe fly. “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!”. Bush ducked that one too.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the episode inspired a brief moment of Zaidi-Mania in the Arab world, including various offers of marriage; reflect on the torture he endured as a result of his protest; and investigate the copycat attacks around the world… Further Reading:• ‘Raw Video: Iraqi Journalist Throws Shoe at Bush’ (AP, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM3Z_Kskl_U• ‘Why I threw the shoe, by Muntazer al-Zaidi’ (The Guardian, 2009): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/17/why-i-threw-shoe-bush• ‘The Iraqi Journalist Who Threw His Shoes at George W. Bush Has Thoughts About Milkshaking’ (Mother Jones, 2019): https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/06/the-iraqi-journalist-who-threw-his-shoes-at-george-w-bush-has-thoughts-about-milkshaking/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2000s #Person #Politics #War #Strange #Iraq #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/14/2021 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

Michelle "Cardboard Shell" Lesco achieved her third world record in competitive eating on 13th December, 2018 - this time for consuming the most amount of mayonnaise in three minutes.She consumed 2,448g - the equivalent of 3.5 jars, and 16,000 calories.Her previous titles were the fastest time to eat a bowl of pasta (26.69 seconds), and the fastest time to eat a hot dog with no hands (21.60 seconds).In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether all the viewers watching women with mayo on their faces are *purely* interested in the sport; trace the history of competitive eating back to 17th Century Kent; and recall the times when speed-eating has turned tragic…Further Reading:• ‘Woman eats 5 lbs of mayo in 3 minutes | Guinness World Record’ (SoAmazing TV, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oiwfl9IrZbk• ‘What It's Really Like to Train for the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest’ (Men’s Health, 2019): https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a28196268/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest-training/•’Competitive Eating Was Even More Gluttonous and Disgusting in the 17th Century’ https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/eating-kent-eater-competitive-history-nicholas-wood-foodFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2010s #Person #Food #Strange #Funny #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/13/2021 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds

19 year-old singer Frank Sinatra, Jr was snatched from his casino dressing room on 10th December, 1962. His famous father was willing to pay the kidnappers a $1 million ransom - but they insisted they only required $240,000. When the case went to trial, the defence suggested that the Sinatras may have been in on the crime - a slur that damaged Frank Jr’s reputation for the rest of his life.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly take a peek back through kidnapper Barry Keenan’s infamous 27-page ring binder; explain how the assassination of Kennedy scuppered his earlier attempt at snatching Frank, Jr; and ask how the roadblocks set up specifically to block the bungling criminals failed so spectacularly…Further Reading:• ‘FBI Cracks Sinatra Kidnapping Case’ (British Pathé, 1963): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJm3lXkPZyM• ‘The story of the bumbling kidnappers who snatched Frank Sinatra’s only son from hotel’ (Mirror Online, 2021): https://www.mirror.co.uk/features/story-bumbling-kidnappers-who-snatched-25280617• ‘The Bizzare And Terribly Executed Kidnapping Of Frank Sinatra Jr.’ (All Thats Interesting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/frank-sinatra-jr-kidnappingFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #60s #Music #Person #Crime #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/10/2021 • 10 minutes, 19 seconds

Now a 900 strong pub chain, with an annual turnover of £1.6 billion, J.D. Wetherspoon is a big name on the British high street. But when entrepreneur Tim Martin flung open the doors of the first branch in London’s Muswell Hill on 9th December, 1979, it was known as ‘Tim’s Free House’ - and closed down on its opening night.He built up the business by taking over leases at old buildings such as churches and cinemas, and converting them into pubs - meaning they weren’t tied to any particular brewery, guaranteeing lower prices for customers. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly interrogate Martin’s ‘man of the people’ image, reveal why Wetherspoon’s famous carpets are so expensive; and ask if the ‘paltry chip count’ meme explains why they came off social media…Further Reading:• How Wetherspoon's Conquered Britain (Esquire, 2018): https://www.esquire.com/uk/food-drink/a19129642/how-wetherspoons-conquered-britain/• ‘Did Wetherspoons See The Pandemic Coming?’ (Channel 5, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDQl21ZoMEw• ‘Wetherspoons Paltry Chip Count: How the counting chips page went sour’ (JOE.co.uk, 2021): https://www.joe.co.uk/uncategorized/inside-the-wetherspoons-paltry-chip-count-how-the-last-wholesome-corner-of-facebook-turned-sour-303164For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsOur supporters on Patreon* and Apple Podcasts get extra material from the show every single week. In today’s bonus content, the team discover how Tim Martin has claimed the inspiration for Wetherspoon's came from George Orwell's 1946 essay The Moon Under Water - but that the full text reveals some particularly un-'Spoons'y details...* top two tiers onlyWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Invention #Food #Person #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/9/2021 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

The Pope defined the dogma of The Immaculate Conception - confirming that, in the view of the Catholic Church, Christ’s mother Mary had not only been ‘full of grace’, but was completely absent of sin even at her own conception - on 8th December, 1854.Despite this having been an unofficial concept amongst the faithful for centuries prior, it still proved controversial, with 10% of Bishops believing it should not be adopted as doctrine.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly marvel at just how recently this fundamental principle of Catholicism was established; probe around in James, Brother of Jesus’ Oedipal memoirs; and consider the role of Marian devotion in the Madonna-whor* complex…Further Reading:• ‘Christianity: Immaculate Conception’ (BBC, 2011): https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/beliefs/immaculateconception.shtml• ‘Did Jesus Have Siblings?’ (Franciscan Media): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/ask-a-franciscan/did-jesus-have-siblings• ‘Pope Francis explains the Immaculate Conception’ (Catholic News Service, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCGZRGkTq3UFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Religion #Person #Italy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/8/2021 • 10 minutes, 22 seconds

Oscar-winning conductor André Previn was an unlikely choice of celebrity guest for the Christmas special of ‘The Morcambe and Wise Show’ recorded on 7th December, 1971 - but the 13-minute sketch they taped together remains one of Britain’s all-time favourites.The music hall-style caper - which revolves around a comically catastrophic interpretation of Grieg’s Piano Concerto - was actually a reversion of a sketch Eric and Ernie had performed at least twice before, but never with a guest performer. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Mia Farrow helped Previn nail his role in this iconic skit; explore whether the duo’s comic schtick was truly as ‘classless’ as is often claimed; and reflect on whether ‘Mr Preview’ really knew what he was letting himself in for…Further Reading:• André Previn on ‘The Morcambe and Wise Show’ (BBC, 1971): https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xds7am• 'Make any fool of me you like, but I won’t have you make fun of the music’ - André Previn at 80 (Classic FM, 2018): https://www.classicfm.com/artists/andre-previn/guides/andre-previn-80/• ‘The Prelude of Mr Preview: How André Previn won over Morecambe & Wise’ (British Comedy Guide, 2020): https://www.comedy.co.uk/features/comedy_chronicles/andre-previn-prelude-preview/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Person #TV #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/7/2021 • 9 minutes, 55 seconds

A female contestant had never scooped the jackpot on an American TV quiz show before New York psychologist Dr Joyce Brothers won $64,000 on 6th December, 1955.Her specialist subject was boxing - a topic about which she knew little, until she devoted herself to studying the annals of the sport in preparation for multiple appearances on the show. Despite the best efforts of sponsors Revlon to catch her out, she claimed the top prize on ‘The $64,000 Question’ AND its subsequent spin-off, ‘The $64,000 Challenge’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Brothers combatted sexism on many prior occasions; explain how she swerved ‘the Quiz Show scandals’; and celebrate her ability to leverage her celebrity and academic qualifications to become America’s first pop psychologist…Further Reading:• ‘Dr. Joyce Brothers on The $64,000 Question’ (CBS, 1955): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqhxN9a8OCg• ‘Obituary: Popular TV psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers dies at 85’ (Los Angeles Times, 2013): https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-joyce-brothers-20130514-story.html• ‘Joyce Brothers: She overcame sexism to become the first woman to win US quiz show’ (Honey, 2021): https://honey.nine.com.au/latest/joyce-brothers-first-woman-to-win-us-quiz-show-64000-question-women-in-history/dd9f0dd2-0815-47e5-b84b-8f13edeb688fFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#50s #Person #Sexism #TV #Science #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/6/2021 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds

Renaissance Man Thomas Harriot was noted for many things - devising the theory of refraction, creating mathematical symbols including ‘greater than’ and ‘lesser than’, and being the first person to draw the Moon through a telescope. But the contribution for which he’s most remembered is bringing back the potato to Britain - an event commonly credited to 3rd December, 1586.On first spotting the vegetable on Roanoke Island, he wrote: ‘They are a kind of roots of round form, some of the bigness of walnuts, some far greater, which are found in moist & marish grounds growing many together one by another in ropes, or as though they were fastened with a string. Being boiled or sodden they are very good meate.’In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca ask what a ‘versifier’ is; come up with a new name for Accountancy; and discover the bizarre means by which Antoine-Augustin Parmentier popularised spuds in France…Further Reading:• ‘The history of the potato: The humble vegetable that changed the world’ (Sky HISTORY): https://www.history.co.uk/articles/the-history-of-the-potato-the-humble-vegetable-that-changed-the-world• ‘Thomas Harriot (1560 - 1621) - Biography’ (MacTutor History of Mathematics, St Andrews University): https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Harriot/• ‘History through the eyes of the potato’ (Leo Bear-McGuinness, TEDx 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xROmDsULcLEFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1500s #Food #Person #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/3/2021 • 9 minutes, 45 seconds

Tinseltown’s most notorious pimp was convicted of providing high-class ‘call girls’ to undercover police officers on 2nd December, 1994.It followed a dramatic sting involving the LAPD, the Beverly Hills police department, the state alcoholic beverage control agency and the state attorney General's office. They seized her ‘little black book’ (actually a red Gucci diary) full of high-profile names, but the only celebrity client of hers that testified was Charlie Sheen.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Fleiss’ own desire for profile was part of her undoing; explain how she had unseated ‘Madam Alex’ from the top of the tree; and reveal the role of Travellers Cheques in her most famous client’s downfall…There was a surprising next chapter to Fleiss’ career - as a carer for parrots - which we discuss in today’s bonus bit, only available for supporters of the show. Just click Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, or head over to Patreon.com/Retrospectors (top two tiers only) to hear it, and a weekly bit of bonus content every single week. By so doing, you’re also supporting our show - so, thanks!Further Reading:• ‘HEIDI FLEISS GUILTY OF PANDERING’ (The Washington Post, 1994): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/12/03/heidi-fleiss-guilty-of-pandering/d836cdbd-4461-47d2-9038-45842269c3c9/• ‘Heidi Fleiss on Her Arrest, Macaw Cause and “Drug Addict” Ex Tom Sizemore’ (The Hollywood Reporter, 2018): https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/heidi-fleiss-her-arrest-macaw-cause-drug-addict-tom-sizemore-1117449/• ‘Jurors in the Heidi Fleiss trial watch videotape of police arresting four alleged prostitutes’ (AP, 16 Nov 1994): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO0mQUA0bVwWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Crime #Person #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/2/2021 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds

Thousands of beer barrels were emptied into the streets across Lancashire on 1st December, 1900 - when it finally dawned on people that the cheap stout they’d been drinking was contaminated with arsenic. Over 6,000 members of the public were poisoned, mostly across Manchester and Salford, thanks to the practice of breweries padding out the barley with inexpensive glucose syrup. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the role that the class system played in the initial diagnoses of mass ‘alcoholic multiple neuritis’; reveal the one company in the supply chain that eventually stumped up £136,000 compensation; and explain how general elections were believed to push the general public into the public houses…Further Reading:• ‘The Lancet’ covers the news (1900): https://www.sciencedirect.com/sdfe/pdf/download/eid/1-s2.0-S014067360189036X/first-page-pdf• ‘The 1900 arsenic poisoning epidemic’ (from the Journal of the Brewery History Society): http://www.breweryhistory.com/journal/archive/130/Arsenic.pdf• ‘Arsenic: The Most Popular Poison In Victorian Britain’ (Victorian Pharmacy, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93XYE56KwSkFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1900s #Food #Strange #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/1/2021 • 9 minutes, 24 seconds

England played Scotland in a publicly-advertised game for the first time on 30th November, 1872 - kickstarting international football as we know it today. The English team included players drafted in from Oxford University. The Scottish team was entirely made up of teammates from Queen’s Park. The score was 0-0.Much of the game was yet to be codified - for example, that you couldn’t catch a ball with your hands. Readers of the match-report in The Guardian had to have it explained to them that half-time was 45 minutes. But the game was an indisputable hit.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why Scotland still wear dark blue in international competitions; consider the role of cricket stadiums in the continuing confusion over pitch sizes; and question the wisdom of the photographer booked to document the occasion - who decided not to turn up…Further Reading:• ‘Scotland v England 1872’ (scottishsporthistory.com): https://www.scottishsporthistory.com/scotland-v-england-1872.html• ‘The first official fixture between England and Scotland’ (The Guardian, 1872): https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/nov/11/england-scotland-first-football-fixture-1872• ‘EXCLUSIVE! First ever International Highlights’ (Queen’s Park YouTube Channel, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OJD1nXlnuAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Sport #Football #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/30/2021 • 9 minutes, 26 seconds

Supersonic aircraft took a giant leap forward when the French and British governments signed a treaty to join forces on designing Concorde on 29th November, 1962. Up until this point, the two countries had been developing their aircraft separately - which had already cost the United Kingdom £150 million.Technologically superior and far more luxurious than any commercial passenger jet that had come before, it was also the fastest - capable of launching its wealthy clientele from London to New York in under three hours.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the success of the 747 killed off supersonic flight; consider how Britain blew its chance to create 'the British Airbus'; and reveal why Pepsi’s blue paint-job for Air France could have proven truly explosive…Further Reading:• ‘Concorde and supersonic travel: The days when the sun rose in the west’ (The Independent, 2013): https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/concorde-and-supersonic-travel-the-days-when-the-sun-rose-in-the-west-8888836.html• ‘Concorde’s first British test flight, 50 years on’ (History of government, gov.uk 2019): https://history.blog.gov.uk/2019/04/09/concordes-first-british-test-flight-50-years-on/• ‘Anglo-French Airliner Model Concorde’ (British Pathé, 1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfPiPC6O7qsFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#60s #Technology #Inventions #Politics #UK #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/29/2021 • 9 minutes, 50 seconds

Your TV signal wobbles. An alien voice (albeit one with a Southern English accent...) seizes control of your set. And, instead of newsreader Andrew Gardner reporting on the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army, you hear a voice claiming to be ‘Vrillon’, of Ashtar Galactic Command, with a message for humanity.Such was the experience for viewers attempting to watch the ITV Evening News on Southern TV on 26th November, 1977 - an incident which became infamous in the ‘signal-jamming’ pantheon of the twentieth-century. Nobody has ever claimed responsibility.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly compare ‘Vrillon’ to its US counterpart, the ‘Max Headroom’ incident; unpick the idea that the broadcast was part of the Raelian movement; and explain how Twitter ruined signal-jamming pranks forever...  Further Reading:• ‘Alien Vrillon Interruption 1977’ (RECREATION by RukiTheDreamer, YouTube 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhNriwaMTQE• ‘Vrillon: the alien voice hoax that became a legend’ (The Independent, 2017): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/vrillon-hacking-alien-voice-seventies-extra-terrestrial-hoax-unexplained-mysteries-a8069926.html• ‘Five Of The Eeriest Interruptions In Broadcast History’ (Neatorama, 2015): https://www.neatorama.com/2015/11/30/Five-Of-The-Eeriest-Interruptions-In-Broadcast-History/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #70s #TV #Strange #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/26/2021 • 10 minutes, 13 seconds

Wearing an armoured breastplate, clasping a silver cross and seizing an Army spontoon, 31 year old Elizabeth Petrovna appeared at the HQ of the elite Preobrazhensky Regiment guards in St. Petersburg on 25th November, 1741 - intent on over-throwing Tzar Ivan VI (a baby), and seizing the Russian throne for herself.Although she was the daughter of Peter The Great, she was also illegitimate, and overlooked in the line of succession. But her coup was bloodless, and she oversaw a productive cultural period for the dynasty - including her role in selecting Catherine The Great.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall Elizabeth’s fondness for food, fashion and f***ing; posit that her husband Alexis Razumovsky was a bit like Dolly Parton’s beau Carl Dean; and explain why, if you’re staging a coup, you should always slit your drums…Further Reading:• ‘Elizabeth I, Empress of All Russia’ (Unofficial Royalty, 2018): http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/empress-elizabeth-i-of-russia/• ‘Decadent Facts About Empress Elizabeth Of Russia, The Last Romanov’ (Factinate): https://www.factinate.com/people/empress-elizabeth/• ‘St Petersburg Palaces of the Romanovs’ (RT, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3LRMZfmAsUFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1700s #Royals #Food #Russia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/25/2021 • 9 minutes, 55 seconds

It took over three million years to find her. But palaeontologists Donald Johanson and Tom Gray uncovered the remains of ‘the Lucy Fossil’ - a previously undiscovered species of pre-human - in Hadar, Ethiopia on 24th November, 1974.Despite the find’s massive significance, the event was not greeted with untrammelled joy by all their rival fossil hunters. Some - who had wanted to claim such a discovery for themselves - began publicly disputing that Lucy was indeed a missing link in the evolution of humankind.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Lucy received her rock n’ roll name; explain how her tiny brain but upright walking turned previous scientific thinking on its head; and consider whether, actually, “Captain Caveman was quite accurate”...Further Reading:• ‘Nov. 24, 1974: Humanity, Meet Lucy. She's Your Mom’ (WIRED, 2009): https://www.wired.com/2009/11/1124lucy-discovered/• ‘Lucy and the Leakeys’ (Khan Academy): https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/big-history-project/early-humans/how-ancestors-evolved/a/lucy-and-the-leakeys• ‘Donald Johanson: Discovering the Fossil “Lucy”’ (Freedom From Religion Foundation, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AX4eqqBcIMFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. image by Daderot [CC0 1.0], #70s #Discoveries #Science #Ethiopia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/24/2021 • 10 minutes, 31 seconds

With cutesy graphics and a female-focussed origin story, Tamagotchi was positioned as a ‘nurturing toy’ for Japanese girls when Bandai launched the brand on 23rd November, 1996. But the gadget's massive popularity soon transcended gender and nationality - shifting 40 million units globally in just three years.Users had to check in regularly with their virtual pets, which buzzed when they were hungry or needed attention. Otherwise, neglectful owners would witness their Tamagotchi transition into virtual TOMBSTONES.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how a stay-at-home tortoise inspired the concept; explain how the U.S. release of the toy was less brutal than its Japanese precursor; and wonder if now, with our pathetic attachments to Alexa and Siri, we are finally experiencing what 90s psychologists termed ‘The Tamagotchi Effect’...Further Reading:• ‘A Brief History of the Tamagotchi’ (Mental Floss, 2021): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/642373/tamagotchi-history• ‘The Tamagotchi Effect: How Digital Pets Shaped The Way We Use Technology’ (Digital Trends, 2019): https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/how-tamagotchi-shaped-tech/• Tamagotchi TV commercial from the 1990s (United States): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAahOV63_wAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Games #Japan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/23/2021 • 10 minutes, 22 seconds

Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) embraced and kissed on "Plato’s Stepchildren"; an episode of ‘Star Trek’ broadcast on 22nd November, 1968 - just a year after the Supreme Court declared interracial marriage to be legal. However, despite popular belief that this was TV’s first interracial kiss, it wasn’t. It wasn’t even the first interracial kiss on TV featuring William Shatner… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine just how slowly attitudes to ‘mixed marriage’ were shifting in the United States; compare this iconic Trekkie moment to hom*oerotic frat-boy YouTube videos; and reveal how the actors concerned deliberately sabotaged ‘the wide’ so their kiss would be screened coast-to-coast… Further Reading:• Kirk and Uhura kiss on ‘Star Trek’ (Paramount Television, 1968): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lThvEsP5-9Y• ‘'Star Trek's' interracial kiss 50 years ago boldly went where none had gone before’ (NBC News, 2018):https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/star-trek-s-interracial-kiss-50-years-ago-went-boldly-n941181• ‘Nichelle Nichols on filming the first interracial kiss on American television’ (Archive of American Television, 2010):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hKKkGhEDoUFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#60s #TV #White #Black #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/22/2021 • 10 minutes, 8 seconds

After Mount Vesuvius erupted - and original hosts Rome pulled out - the British Olympic council sent a letter, dated 19th November, 1906, agreeing to host the fourth modern Olympic games.With just two years to go, the event was put together hastily, and on a paltry budget; a stadium erected at the White City home of the Franco-British exhibition, and the chosen events ones that British athletes excelled at, including polo, lacrosse, tug of war, deer-shooting, and duelling.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal what a ‘flip-flap’ was; consider the calculation done to establish the length of the modern-day marathon; and establish how a small swig of champagne contributed to one of the Games' greatest ever controversies...Further Reading:‘The 08 Olympics... 1908, that is’ (BBC News Magazine, 2008): http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7544392.stm‘Why Is a Marathon 26.2 Miles?’ (HISTORY, 2014): https://www.history.com/news/why-is-a-marathon-26-2-miles• ‘The 1908 London Olympics - extracts from surviving footage of Track & Field and Marathon events’ (BFI, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IqE2KEqZJIFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1900s #Sport #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/19/2021 • 10 minutes, 17 seconds

Switzerland’s most famous archer shot fruit off his own son’s head on 18th November, 1307. Or did he? ‘Chronicon Helveticum’ by Aegidius Tschudi, from which the date comes, claims to be a serious historical account, but was written roughly 200 years later - and not published until nearly 200 years after that. And the myth bears remarkable similarities with the Danish folklore of Palnatoki, recorded in print centuries earlier.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recount the improbable beats of Tschudi’s tale; consider the small casting pool for 1950s swashbucklers; and marvel at how the story has come to represent the (genuine) Swiss resistance of the Habsburg army…Further Reading:• ‘A Brief History of the Legend of William Tell’ (The Culture Trip, 2017): https://theculturetrip.com/europe/switzerland/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-legend-of-william-tell/• ‘Shooting an apple off one's child's head’ (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_an_apple_off_one%27s_child%27s_head#Palnatoki• ‘The Adventures of William Tell: Opening Theme’ (ITC, 1958): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcfykK8Iw7wFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1300s #Person #Arts #Strange #Switzerland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/18/2021 • 9 minutes, 49 seconds

Mehmet VI stepped on to a British warship to seek refuge in Malta on 17th November, 1922 - thereby becoming the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, a dynasty stretching back to the 14th Century. He was accompanied by his first Chamberlain, his doctor, two secretaries, a valet, a barber, two eunuchs, and a bandmaster. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dig into the archives to see how the event was portrayed in the triumphant West; consider the fate of the Royals left behind in modern-day Turkey; and ponder what ‘cautiously optimistic exile music’ might sound like... Further Reading:• ‘Great Ottoman Empire in Turkey’ (Go Turkey Tourism):https://www.goturkeytourism.com/about-turkey/great-ottoman-empire-in-turkey.html• ‘CONSTANTINOPLE 1922-1923, WHERE NOTHING HAPPENS AS ONE EXPECTS’, (Major P A J Wright OBE, The Guards Magazine, 2016): http://guardsmagazine.com/features/Autumn2016/16autumn_04Constantinople.html• ‘Ten Minute History - The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Birth of the Balkans’ (History Matters, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96n33WWgE9gWe had EVEN MORE to say about why Mehmet brought his eunuchs to Malta, rather than his wives. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!(*top two tiers only)The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/17/2021 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds

Disneyland Paris, now Europe’s most popular theme park, initially haemorrhaged money - at an estimated rate of $1 million per day. But, after three years, it finally returned its first profit on 16th November, 1995. This change in the park’s fortunes can be attributed to the popularity of two trains: the opening of the Eurostar direct line from London, and the building of the world’s most expensive roller coaster, Space Mountain, which launched in Discoveryland on 1st June.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick how the Disney Corporation consistently underestimated the French inclination for wine with lunch, surly customer service and a unionised workforce; reveal how Spain and Britain had competed for the opportunity to be considered as alternative sites for the park’s development; and recall the French antipathy for Americana that led to one critic to label the attraction ‘a cultural Chernobyl’... Further Reading:• ‘INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS; Euro Disney Reports Profit for '95, but the Future Remains Cloudy’ (The New York Times, 1995): https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/16/business/international-business-euro-disney-reports-profit-for-95-but-future-remains.html• ‘Why Was Euro Disney Considered a Failure?’ (The First Drop, 2021): https://thefirstdrop.net/disneyland-paris-resort/why-was-euro-disney-considered-a-failure/• ‘Your destination: outer space. Your speed: astronomical.’ (Space Mountain advert, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlKKTSVETt0For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Arts #Food #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/16/2021 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds

Anne Bonny and Mary Read - the most notorious women to swashbuckle and plunder in the ‘golden age of piracy’ - were captured near Jamaica by pirate-hunter Jonathan Barnet on 8th November, 1720.Disguised as men for most of their careers, they sailed (and cavorted) with Pirate Captain ‘Calico Jack’. But, when their crimes came to trial, they both avoided being sentenced to death by ‘pleading the belly’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly speculate about how Bonny and Read were able to pass as men so convincingly; explain how they met in the ‘pirate republic’ of Nassau; and reveal why ‘Robinson Crusoe’ author Daniel Defoe may just be responsible for the enduring ‘Reader’s Wives’ version of Bonny and Read’s friendship...CONTENT WARNING: reference to rapeFurther Reading:• ‘Comparing the Female Pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read’ (ThoughtCo, 2018): https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-about-anne-bonny-mary-read-2136281• ‘How Anne Bonny and Mary Read Changed The Face Of Female Piracy’ (All That’s Interesting, 2018):https://allthatsinteresting.com/anne-bonny-mary-read• ‘Behind the myth of a breast-baring pirate’ (BBC Reel, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBVeQwhcjZgFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1700s #Crime #Jamaica Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/15/2021 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

Jules Leotard first somersaulted off a trapeze at Cirque Napoléon in Paris on 12th November, 1859. His act inspired gymnasts and circus performers the world over - although Leotard is now best remembered as the inventor of the skin-tight outfits he wore on stage.Leotard had abandoned his studies as a lawyer to perfect his circus skills, spurred on by his acrobatic father. He developed his act into a twelve-minute trapeze routine with only a heap of mattresses to break his fall. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca perve over old photos of Leotard’s physique; reveal how Alvin and the Chipmunks AND Bruce Springsteen have a connection with this day in history; and consider how the leotard evolved from a ‘strong man’ outfit to a girl’s ballet costume… Further Reading:• ‘The First Public performance by Jules Leotard’ (Squaducation, 2020): https://www.squaducation.com/blog/first-public-performance-jules-leotard• ‘THE DRESS AND THE LEGEND: HISTORY AND FUNCTIONS OF A LEOTARD’ (The Vistek, 2020): https://thevistek.com/the-dress-and-the-legend-history-and-functions-of-a-leotard/• ‘Eddie Cantor - The Man On The Flying Trapeze’ (Columbia Years 1922-1940): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwvqMptS7UAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Person #Fashion #Arts #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/12/2021 • 10 minutes, 12 seconds

Geoffrey Chaucer’s granddaughter Alice was first married at the age of 11. She was granted a license to marry her third husband on 11th November, 1430; and became defined by her three powerful unions with men she outlived.Having lost her first two husbands in the Hundred Years War, she then settled down with William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk; a marriage that got her closer than ever to the seat of power. At one point, she even filled in for Queen Margaret on a ceremonial parade in France.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly marvel at Chaucer’s ability to climb the social hierarchy via her marriages; explain why ‘jointures’ changed the fortunes of widows in the Middle Ages; and consider the merits of commissioning multiple statues of themselves…Further Reading:• ‘Four Thought: And His Wife’ (BBC Radio 4, 2021) - Olly Mann interviews Jessica Barker about medieval statues of women, including Alice Chaucer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000z0c4• ‘Historical Figures: Alice Chaucer, Lady of the Garter’ (Just History Posts, 2020): https://justhistoryposts.com/2020/08/11/historical-figures-alice-chaucer-lady-of-the-garter/• ‘'Till Death Us Do Part? Love and the Medieval Tomb Monument with Dr Jessica Barker’ (The Churches Conservation Trust, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH55Vq3tHo0For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1400s #Person #White #Strange #France #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/11/2021 • 10 minutes, 20 seconds

In the early days of advertising, tyre company Goodyear sent a giant tyre on a coast-to-coast publicity trip. It was photographed on 42nd Street, New York on 10th November, 1930.Was this the birth of the ‘big things’ phenomenon that has lead us to roadside giant prawns, record-breaking sausages, and Instagrammable statues of Jeff Goldblum? Perhaps. We’ll go with it, anyway.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Goodyear’s publicity nous went beyond photo opportunities and into their very origin story; explain why press agent Harry Reichenbach once brought a lion into a New York hotel room; and discover how Australia’s love affair with the Big Banana, the Big Prawn and the Big Peg came to be… Further Reading:• The photo that inspired this episode - 42nd Street, New York, 1930 (excerpted from ‘Curious Moments’, published by Konemann, 1999): https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FDv1k7TXsAILXh7?format=jpg&name=large• ‘Most Ridiculous Ways Anyone Ever Promoted A Movie’ (Grunge, 2017): https://www.grunge.com/42153/ridiculous-ways-anyone-ever-promoted-movie/• ‘The World: Australia's BIG Things’ (PRX, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=178HL72VnTAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#30s #Inventions #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/10/2021 • 9 minutes, 54 seconds

Presidential diplomacy now routinely involves hundreds of trips on Air Force One - but, until Theodore Roosevelt travelled to inspect the Panama Canal on 9th November, 1906, no serving US President had ever ventured abroad.It was the biggest infrastructure project a President had ever undertaken, costing hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives. To reassure Americans he was at the helm, Roosevelt was photographed sitting atop a steam shovel, wearing a pristine white suit.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the most recent President to remain ‘at home’ throughout his Presidency; consider whether Roosevelt had ADHD; and explain why one of George H W Bush’s foreign trips inadvertently inspired the Japanese to create a new word for vomiting. Further Reading:• ‘7 Little-Known Legacies of Teddy Roosevelt’ (HISTORY, 2020): https://www.history.com/news/teddy-roosevelt-legacies• ‘The Panama Canal’s Forgotten Casualties’ (The Conversation, 2018): https://theconversation.com/the-panama-canals-forgotten-casualties-93536• ‘George H.W. Bush Vomits’ (January 8, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_KVL-wtpggFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1900s #Politics #Person #White #Panama #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/9/2021 • 9 minutes, 17 seconds

Kylie Minogue and Jason Donavan’s characters in hit soap opera ‘Neighbours’ were wed in 1988, causing a shopping mall riot in Australia, and attracting an astonishing 20 million viewers to the UK transmission on 8th November. Soundtracked entirely by Angry Anderson’s surging power ballad ‘Suddenly’, the ceremony quickly became an iconic moment in 80s telly - but very nearly hadn’t happened at all, because the series was canned by its original network, and Scott was supposed to be played by another actor.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, despite the show’s huge success, the production standards were so low; examine the extent to which the tourist dollar for Scott and Charlene fans has held up over the decades; and consider the stylistic legacy of the makeup and dresses created for the wedding by ‘Isis of Melbourne’... Further Reading:• ‘Neighbours’ - episode 523 in full (Grundy, 1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR34ISysYQc• ‘Bouncer's dream and gorillagrams: an oral history of Neighbours – the world's silliest, sunniest show’ (The Guardian, 2020): https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/mar/31/bouncers-dream-and-gorillagrams-an-oral-history-of-neighbours-the-worlds-silliest-sunniest-show• ‘Especially For You - The Scott And Charlene Love Story’ (Retroheadz, 2016): https://www.retroheadz.com/classic-tv/especially-for-you-the-scott-and-charlene-love-story/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #TV #Music #Australia #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/8/2021 • 10 minutes, 20 seconds

The Mongols attempted to invade Japan on 5th November, 1274. Despite having a fleet of 900 ships, they failed - in part due to a ‘kamikaze’ typhoon that whooshed their boats back to Korea.Then they tried again - and failed again.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how a gunpowder-armed Army was defeated by the Samurai; reveal the brutal (yet unambiguous) response the Japanese gave to the Chinese diplomats who attempted to talk things through; and unearth the surprising connection between Kublai Khan and Lionel Blair…Further Reading:• ‘Kublai Khan - Biography, Death & Achievements’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/topics/china/kublai-khan• Japan's Kamikaze Winds, the Stuff of Legend, May Have Been Real (National Geographic, 2014): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/141104-kamikaze-kublai-khan-winds-typhoon-japan-invasion• ‘Mongol Invasion of Japan: Maps, Animation and Timelines’ (Past To Future, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpguP8emkYcFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1200s #Politics #War #Japan #Korea Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/5/2021 • 10 minutes, 5 seconds

Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered by a water boy who serendipitously stumbled on a buried staircase in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings on 4th November, 1922. It marked the greatest triumph in archaeologist Howard Carter’s career, and unearthed dozens of priceless treasures.The loot included the famous golden death-mask - but also the Pharaoh's walking sticks, linen underwear, and uneaten chickpeas.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the discovery kickstarted a Western interest in Egpytology that influenced fashion, design and art, and lead directly to Indiana Jones; ask whether Carter was a historian or a grave-robber; and dig into the so-called ‘Mummy’s Curse’... Further Reading:• ‘Discovering King Tutankhamun's tomb: Harry Burton's photographs’ (BBC News, 2018): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44636774• ‘The History Of A Cursed Ancient Egyptian Tomb’ (Channel 5, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxot6xmDymQ• ‘Howard Carter - King Tut, Death & Family’ (Biography, 2020): https://www.biography.com/scientist/howard-carterFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#20s #Discoveries #Person #Egypt Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/4/2021 • 9 minutes, 49 seconds

Attending or producing raves was made illegal in Britain with the passing of the Criminal Justice Act on 3rd November, 1994. The government even legislated against electronic dance music, “wholly or predominantly characterized by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats”These unprecedented restrictions were partly in reaction to the moral panic caused after a 'free party' at Castlemorton Common attracted 30,000-40,000 attendees, and the ire of the tabloid press.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the provenance of ‘revellers’ in the raver’s lexicon; explain why the creation of the M25 lead directly to the Act; and confess just how many illegal parties they’ve (inadvertently) attended… Further Reading:• ‘The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 becomes law’ (The Guardian, 2011): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/15/criminal-justice-public-order-act• Police clash with ravers at Castlemorton (BBC News West, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOySsljl54E• ‘Why did raves become illegal?’ (BBC Newsbeat, 2020): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-53170021For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Music #Politics #Crime #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/3/2021 • 10 minutes, 36 seconds

Johnny Campbell, a medical student from the University Of Minnesota, spurred on his alma mater’s struggling football team by leading spectators in a rousing cheer on 2nd November, 1898 - and, in so doing, became the world’s first recognised cheerleader. Even though the sport now features predominantly female participants these days, the first women cheerleaders weren't recorded until 1923. Indeed, four men who would later become U.S. President cheered on their teams at College: Dwight D Eisenhower, Franklin D Roosevelt, George W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the ‘grandfather of cheerleading’, who patented pom-poms; explain how the Dallas Cowboys played a pivotal role in the perception of modern cheerleading; and consider the most comical cheerleading names in the canon… Further Reading:• ‘Almanac: The 1st cheerleader’ (CBS News, 2014): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/almanac-the-1st-cheerleader/• A Not-So-Brief and Extremely Sordid History of Cheerleading – Mother Jones (Mother Jones, 2014): https://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/12/cheerleader-history-timeline/• ‘Top 10 Most Watched Cheerleading Routines EVER on YouTube’ (The Cheer Buzz, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgH-Esw6GpI For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Sport #Person #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/2/2021 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds

The first ever emoji set, including the earliest incarnations of 🍷, ❤️, and 💩, was released in Japan on 1st November, 1997. But the only users could send and receive them were owners of a now-forgotten ‘SkyWalker’ handset made by J-Phone. ☹️Emoji didn’t truly transform written communication in the West until some fourteen years later, when emoji keyboards came by default on iPhone (Android users, incredibly, had to wait until 2013 🤯).In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss how unloved 1990s font Wingdings paved the way for graphical communication; ponder whether emojis can be used in legal contracts; and reveal how an obscure internal bulletin board at a University helped to create the smiley, and its opposite, ‘the frowny’... There are NINE MINUTES more of emoji-based bantz available exclusively to our Patreon subscribers*. What was the OED's Word of the Year, 2015? What are our team's most-used emojis? And does 🙏 represent high-fives, or prayers? Find out now at https://patreon.com/Retrospectors (*top two tiers).Further Reading:• ‘Correcting the Record on the First Emoji Set’ (emojipedia, 2019): https://blog.emojipedia.org/correcting-the-record-on-the-first-emoji-set/• ‘History of Emoticons and Emoji’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/emoticons-and-emoji-1991412• ‘A Brief History of Emoji’(The Open University, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tTXLuZHYf4For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Technology #Inventions #Japan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/1/2021 • 9 minutes, 22 seconds

Margaret Thatcher finally opened London’s first ring road - construction on which had begun in the 1970s - on 29th October, 1986, declaring: "I can't stand those who carp and criticise when they ought to be congratulating Britain on a magnificent achievement and beating the drum for Britain all over the world".A 58-page commemorative booklet was issued for enthusiasts, and coach trips were organised so that car-less punters could complete a circuit of the new motorway. But public enthusiasm for the project was short-lived when it lead to increased congestion and seemingly endless proposals for expansion.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dig into the long history of plans for the capital’s ring roads; explain why the M25 managed to bring Epping's combine harvesters to Parliament Square; and consider how Britain’s most hated motorway remains an existential threat to London's ‘green belt’ countryside……Enjoy this episode? There’s SIX MINUTES MORE of M25 chat over on our Patreon - in which the team discuss Chris Rea's inspiration for 'The Road To Hell', the logistics of a motorway-based honeymoon, and reveal which settlement of Greater London is technically located *outside* the M25: https://patreon.com/Retrospectors (top two tiers only).Further Reading• ‘M25 Opening - Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’ (Thames News, 1986): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkTqf9IJtm4• ‘M25 comes full circle’ (The Guardian, 2011): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/oct/28/m25-london-orbital-margaret-thatcher-25?newsfeed=true• ‘The M25: We're on the road to nowhere’ (The Independent, 2011): https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/features/the-m25-we-re-on-the-road-to-nowhere-420365.htmlFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #80s #Politics #Inventions #Mistakes #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/29/2021 • 9 minutes, 51 seconds

George IV’s impressive Library included all the novels of Jane Austen, for whom he had a particular fondness. But what was not known (until a receipt was discovered in the Royal Archives in 2018) was that the Prince Regent had almost certainly been Austen’s very first customer - buying a copy of ‘Sense and Sensibility’ for 15 shillings on 28th October, 1811.His admiration for the anonymous 35 year-old author’s work lead to an awkward moment later in her career, when she felt obligated to dedicate ‘Emma’ to His Royal Highness - a task she clearly wished to avoid.In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca explain why Austen detested her royal patron; reveal the dry first draft of her dedication to him; and consider how the famously promiscuous, indulgent monarch could have so badly misread Austen’s manifesto for moderation…Further Reading• ‘One of Jane Austen's earliest buyers revealed as Prince Regent – who she 'hated'’ (The Guardian, 2018): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/25/jane-austen-buyer-hated-prince-regent-sense-and-sensibility• ‘Jane Austen’s First Buyer? Probably a Prince She Hated’ (The New York Times, 2018):https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/books/jane-austen-prince-regent.html• ‘JANE AUSTEN, PRINCE REGENT & SANDITON’ - excerpt from “Elegance and Decadence: The Age of the Regency” (BBC, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzrlpIjwKv0For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Royals #Person #Arts #Discoveries #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/28/2021 • 9 minutes, 19 seconds

Soviet naval officer Vasili Arkhipov lacks the name recognition of Castro, Kruschev and Kennedy - but his actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis probably prevented World War Three from erupting on 27th October, 1962. On-board a sweltering Russian submarine, he talked Captain Valentin Savitsky down from firing a nuclear torpedo at the United States Navy, whom - Savitsky falsely believed - were attacking his boat. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly speculate how Arkhipov stopped Savitsky from firing his ‘special weapon’; explain why his heroic story was untold until the ‘90s; and reveal where Jimmy Carter kept his nuclear codes… Further Reading• How Vasili Arkhipov Literally Saved The World From Nuclear War (All That’s Interesting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/vasili-arkhipov• ‘9 Times the World Was at the Brink of Nuclear War — and Pulled Back’ (Business Insider, 2018): https://www.businessinsider.com/when-nuclear-war-almost-happened-2018-4?r=US&IR=T#:~:text=The%20Cuban%20Missile%20Crisis%20is%20perhaps%20the%20closest,DEFCON%203%2C%20two%20steps%20away%20from%20nuclear%20war• ‘Arkhipov family awarded Future of Life award’ (University of Cambridge, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziFzn8LN6l0\For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#60s #Person #Politics #Russia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/27/2021 • 9 minutes, 40 seconds

When Queen and David Bowie met in Switzerland to record their iconic collaboration ‘Under Pressure’ on 26th October, 1981, *quite a lot* of drugs and wine were taken - to the extent that nobody can recall exactly how the iconic pop song came to be formed.What we do know is that Freddie Mercury never performed the monster hit live with Bowie, nor turned up to appear in the video, and that the precise authorship of the instantly recognisable bassline remains hard to establish.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly probe into Bowie’s tax affairs; relate Brian May’s account of Mercury’s vocal-booth improv; and ask why Jedward and Vanilla Ice appear to have stolen a march on this seminal track…Further Reading:• ‘Feel Like’ (1981), the demo Queen recorded before Bowie turned up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-hKRR5FZ78• ‘Under Pressure’ (1981) - David Bowie and Queen, Official Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a01QQZyl-_I• ‘Inside David Bowie and Queen’s 'Tense' Recording Session for "Under Pressure"’ (Biography, 2020): https://www.biography.com/news/david-bowie-queen-under-pressure-recording-sessionFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #Music #Strange #Person #UK #Switzerland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/26/2021 • 10 minutes, 17 seconds

The ‘Teapot Dome scandal’ reached its climax when Senator Albert Fall was found guilty of bribery, fined $100,000 and sent to jail on 25th October, 1929.During the Presidency of Warren G Harding, Fall had been offering private companies the chance to drill for oil on state land, without competitive bidding, in return for bags cash. And some farm animals. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca reveal the unheroic role of newspapers in suppressing the scandal; pick apart the realism of ‘There Will Be Blood’; and ask whether American politics has ever lost its penchant for ‘kickbacks’...Further Reading:• ‘Secretary Fall resigns in Teapot Dome scandal’ (HISTORY, 2020): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/secretary-fall-resigns-in-teapot-dome-scandal • ‘History Brief: The Ohio Gang and the Teapot Dome Scandal’ (Reading Through History, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjL-uE4lSvI• ‘The Mystery Behind the Greystone Mansion Murder-Suicide’ (Scare Street, 2019): https://scarestreet.com/greystone-mansion/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021#20s #Politics #Crime #Person #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/25/2021 • 9 minutes, 22 seconds

Jesus failed to show up on the day that came to be known as ‘The Great Disappointment’ - 22nd October, 1844. It was an embarrassment for the New England preacher, William Miller, who had prophesied Christ’s return; and devastating for his 100,000+ followers in North America alone. Miller had calculated the end of the world via an idiosyncratic interpretation of Daniel 8:14 (“And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed”). In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how the Millerites processed their monumental anti-climax; reveal what Ralph Waldo Emerson made of it all; and wonder whether Miller’s flexibility in the face of contrary evidence has parallels in the modern-day QAnon movement…Further Reading:• ‘William Miller Convinced Thousands of Millerites the End Was Near’ (New England Historical Society, 2020): https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/william-miller-convinced-thousands-millerites-world-end/• ‘The Great Disappointment’ (Grace Communion International): https://www.gci.org/articles/the-great-disappointment/• ‘William Miller Predicted Christ’s Return in 1844. Here's What Happened After His Prophecy Failed’ (History Unplugged, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkYj9DOyz5kFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Religion #Mistakes #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/22/2021 • 9 minutes, 47 seconds

Berated by the tabloids as exhibitionist p*rnography, Madonna’s coffee table book, ‘Sex’, quickly sold out upon its release on 21st October, 1992.Influenced by artists Robert Mapplethorpe and Cindy Sherman, the book included images of full-frontal nudity, simulated gay sex, mixed race couples, threesomes and trans imagery. Madonna vigorously defended it, in a series of interviews, as a portrayal of female sexuality.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask if Madonna was fighting an uphill battle to be taken seriously; debate whether the book was art, a smutty publicity stunt… or both; and consider whether a particularly sensational spread involving a canine companion was taken out of context... Content Warning: discussion of erotic imagery, including abusive sexual fantasiesFurther Reading:• ‘How Madonna Turned Controversy Into a Best-Selling Book’ (Entertainment Tonight, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILybauhbA00• ‘25 Years Later, Madonna's 'Sex' Book Is Still Pop's Most Radical Moment’ (HuffPost, 2017): https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/madonna-sex-book-25th-anniversary_n_59e9f8f1e4b0f9d35bca11e6• ‘Madonna's 'Erotica,' 'Sex': Misunderstood Masterpieces’ (Rolling Stone, 2017): https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/madonnas-erotica-sex-why-musical-masterpiece-defiant-book-still-matter-200685/There are FIVE MINUTES MORE - in which the team consider eBay resale value, spontaneous nudie snaps, and the role of Madge's boyfriend of the time, Vanilla Ice - available exclusively to our show's supporters. Join us via Patreon*, or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, to hear it - and more bonus material ever single week!*top two tiers onlyThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Person #Arts #Music #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/21/2021 • 10 minutes, 18 seconds

William Alnutt tipped arsenic into the family sugar bowl on 20th October, 1847 - and five days later, the 12 year-old’s sweet-toothed grandfather, Samuel Nelme, was dead. It was the second time the deeply troubled Alnutt had attempted to murder his grandfather, following a failed plot to shoot him with a pistol in their garden. His trial caused a media sensation.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Alnutt’s arrest coincided with the burgeoning concept of juvenile delinquency; study Alnutt’s letters from prison, begging forgiveness from God; and uncover the alarming availability of arsenic in Victorian London…Further Reading:• ‘WILLIAM NEWTON ALLNUTT, for the willful murder of Samuel Nelme’ (Old Bailey transcript, 1847): https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/print.jsp?div=t18471213-290• ‘Headlines from History - October crimes and punishment’ (The British Newspaper Archive Blog, 2017): https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2017/10/03/headlines-from-history-october-crimes-and-punishment/• ‘Top 10 Most Evil Children In History’ (MindChop, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyBvr4-Cy_4For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#Victorian #1800s #Person #Crime #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/20/2021 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds

Ten thousand spectators gathered by the side of the Thames on 19th October, 2003 to watch street magician/illusionist David Blaine come back down to Earth, having spent 44 days suspended in a perspex box in a stunt called ‘Above The Below’.It was an accomplishment almost sabotaged by the British tabloid media and general public, who had heckled him, tried to dismantle his crane, and even flown up a hamburger on a drone to taunt him.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why Londoners were so hostile to this performance art unfolding in their midsts; explain what Dizzee Rascal had to do with it all; and reveal exactly how Blaine did a wee, whilst suspended in mid-air…Further Reading:• ‘Above the Below’ - David Blaine’s Official Website: https://davidblaine.com/above-the-below/• ‘Remembering David Blaine's 44 days in a glass box, which frustrated the British public like no other act of performance art’ (The Independent, 2018): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/david-blaine-london-glass-box-stunt-reaction-starvation-above-below-a8523606.html• ‘David Blaine - Above the Below’ (Harmony Korine, 2003): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki5fRls2uv4For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2000s #Person #Arts #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/19/2021 • 8 minutes, 49 seconds

When Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross failed to reach their celebrity guest, 78 year-old ‘Fawlty Towers’ star Andrew Sachs, they instead left him a series of answerphone messages, joking about sexual encounters with Sachs's granddaughter, Georgina Baillie. The segment aired on Brand’s Radio 2 show on 18th October, 2008, and became the third most-complained about programme in recent BBC history.The presenters were suspended, the station controller resigned, and the BBC was fined £150,000. The event, which became known as ‘Sachsgate’, kick-started an era of ‘compliance’ at Britain’s national broadcaster, and was an early example of tabloid-generated ‘cancel culture’.In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca ask whether the presenters would still be in their old jobs, were it not for the Mail On Sunday; discover a parallel between one of Sachs’ greatest comic moments and the voicemails that brought him back to national attention; and speculate whether ‘Sachsgate’ lead to the boom in comedy podcasts…Further Reading:• ‘Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross Abuse Andrew Sachs via Phone’ (BBC, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7IHJ66wj9g&t=476s• ‘Sachsgate: The obscene prank calls from Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross that 'haunted' Andrew Sachs before his death’ (Daily Mirror, 2016): https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/sachsgate-obscene-prank-calls-russell-9376380• ‘BBC apologises over Brand prank’ (BBC, 2008): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7692911.stmFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2000s #Person #Arts #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/18/2021 • 10 minutes, 2 seconds

Future President Abraham Lincoln had yet to grow his iconic facial fuzz when he received a letter from Grace Bedell - an 11 year-old resident of Westfield, New York - dated 15th October, 1860.  “I have yet got four brothers... and if you let your whiskers grow I will try and get the rest of them to vote for you you would look a great deal better for your face is so thin”, she wrote. “All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you and then you would be President.”When Lincoln returned to Westfield (having just been elected), he had grown a beard - and thanked Bedell personally for the suggestion.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how jibes about Lincoln’s appearance had become part of his Presidential campaign; explain the origin of ‘sideburns’; and uncover the surprising story of how Lincoln’s beard lead to the creation of MB Games…(Plus, for our supporters on Patreon* and our paid subscribers on Apple Podcasts, we discuss the SECOND letter Grace Bedell wrote to Lincoln in 1864, requesting his help gaining a job with the Treasury so that she could financially support her parents. Sign up now to hear it at patreon.com/Retrospectors)*top two tiers only.Further Reading:• ‘The Surprising Reason Abraham Lincoln Grew a Beard’ (Biography, 2020): https://www.biography.com/news/abraham-lincoln-beard• ‘Grace Bedell: Abraham Lincoln grew beard after girl, 11, wrote to him and said 'all the ladies like whiskers'’ (Mail Online, 2012): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2240765/Grace-Bedell-Abraham-Lincoln-grew-beard-girl-11-wrote-said-ladies-like-whiskers.html• ‘The Interesting Story Behind Lincoln's Beard’ (Today I Found Out, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJRrusMBGxU For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Person #Politics #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/15/2021 • 10 minutes, 11 seconds

Accused of planning the assassination of her cousin Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots stood trial for treason on 14th October, 1586.Mary’s coded letters, delivered to her co-conspirators in beer barrels, had been intercepted by Sir Francis Walsingham, who had deciphered and copied them and built a case against the former Scottish monarch.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Mary had come to be exiled in not one, but two, palaces; consider her pleas of innocence, in the light of her apparent propensity for plotting; and paint a memorable picture of her decapitation at the hands of the State… Further Reading:• ‘Mary, Queen of Scots: Life Story (The Babington Plot)’, (Tudor Times, 2017): https://tudortimes.co.uk/people/mary-queen-of-scots-life-story/the-babington-plot• ‘Facts about the execution of Mary Queen of Scots’ (History Scotland, 2020):https://www.historyscotland.com/history/facts-about-the-execution-of-mary-queen-of-scots/• ‘The Babington Plot’ (Russel Tarr, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1siZxHuzkdUFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1500s #Person #Royals #Crime #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/14/2021 • 9 minutes, 30 seconds

The first ever U.S. officer to be convicted of treason, Army Lieutenant Martin J. Monti Jr., defected from the Air Service to the Nazis on 13th October, 1944.After a stint in radio propaganda, he joined the Waffen-SS, was recaptured by the Americans, and then claimed to be a prisoner of War. His family petitioned his Senator to go lightly on his crimes, the full extent of which only became clear when he sensationally confessed to treason in court.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly attempt to understand Monti’s repeated flip-flopping; uncover the hidden community of German-born Americans who returned to the Motherland to support Hitler; and explain why even Roosevelt was predisposed to believe Monti was just an ‘eager beaver’...  Further Reading:• ‘How a North County boy became the first U.S. military officer ever to be convicted of treason’ (St Louis Magazine, 2020):https://www.stlmag.com/longform/the-first-traitor-north-county-world-war-II/• ‘A Deserter and Confessed Traitor: The Amazing but True Story of Army Lieutenant Martin J. Monti Jr.’ (American Bar Association, 2017): https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/publications/litigation_journal/2017-18/fall/a-deserter-and-confessed-traitor-amazing-true-story-army-lieutenant-martin-j-monti-jr/• ‘The Only U.S. Pilot to Defect to the Waffen-SS during WW2... in October 1944’ (House of History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJd4aa0beQkFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#40s #Person #Crime #Politics #US #Germany Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/13/2021 • 9 minutes, 40 seconds

The world’s most famous adult magazine went ‘SFW’ on 12th October, 2015 - when Scott Flanders, then Playboy’s chief executive, announced that future editions would no longer contain full nudity.The change lasted for only one year.‘Reading it for the articles’ had, at one time, been a plausible option - the magazine had published stories by Margaret Atwood and interviews with Malcolm X, Vladimir Nabokov, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jimmy Carter. But, in the internet era, Playboy had become more lucrative as a clothing brand than as a credible print title, finally ceasing publication in 2020.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the first issue, from 1953; dig into Hugh Hefner’s burial plot; and visit Playboy’s website, FOR RESEARCH…Further Reading:‘Playboy to remove nudity from magazine’ (Channel 4 News, 2015): https://www.channel4.com/news/playboy-to-remove-nudity-from-magazine‘Playboy's Postfeminism Problem’ (Diggit, 2018): https://www.diggitmagazine.com/column/playboys-postfeminism-problem‘Playboy Is Bringing Nudity Back’ (ThinkTank, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiJzqwM4ibAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2010s #Arts #Person #Fashion #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/12/2021 • 10 minutes, 11 seconds

Virgin Cola, Sir Richard Branson’s ultimately flawed contender in the Cola Wars, was certainly taken seriously by the competition. On 11th October 1994, a pokerfaced Coca-Cola spokesperson told The Independent: “Consumers consistently demonstrate, when given a free choice, that they prefer our product.”Despite an extensive publicity campaign - including a stunt in Times Square, a bottle shaped like Pamela Anderson, and product placement on ‘Friends’ - the beverage never took off internationally, but did have success in the UK and Bangladesh, before being discontinued in 2009.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider co*ke’s ‘gangster’ tactics; sympathise with Branson’s children and their classmates; and question why the maverick billionaire just wasn’t able to disrupt the cola market as he’d hoped…Further Reading:• ‘How Richard Branson Took On Coca-Cola’ (Intrigue Academy, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-PaJkPTQYk• ‘What Richard Branson learned when co*ke put Virgin Cola out of business’ (CNBC, 2017): https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/07/what-richard-branson-learned-when-co*ke-put-virgin-cola-out-of-business.html• ‘Sir Richard Branson’s setbacks: from Virgin Cola to Virgin Brides’ (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/06/sir-richard-branson-failures-vigin-cola-bridesFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Food #Person #White #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/11/2021 • 9 minutes, 26 seconds

Hairdressers descended upon Oxford Street on October 8th, 1906 to witness Karl Nessler’s first public demonstration of his pioneering new ‘perm’ - a style which didn’t have its heyday until some eighty years later.Creating a long-lasting curl had been a goal for many stylists over the decades, but Nessler had hit upon a winning combination of technique and chemicals. He achieved this by subjecting his wife, Catherine, to a seemingly endless onslaught of painful and laborious experiments.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the system of weights, pulleys and chandeliers that facilitated these early experiments; discuss the parallel movement for (yet more risky) chemical relaxers in the African-American community; and compare notes on the weirdest hairdos they’ve permitted on their own heads... Further Reading:• ‘The Story Of Hair and The Nessler Wave’ (Timeless Tales, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pi11YxY4ww• ‘Inside the heated history of the permanent wave machine’ (The State Museum of Pennsylvania): http://statemuseumpa.org/wave-machine/• ‘Making waves: Celebrating the centenary of the perm’ (The Times, 2006): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/making-waves-tnttbrtt30nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1900s #Invention #Person #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/8/2021 • 9 minutes, 53 seconds

Ron Popeil, inventor of The Pocket Fisherman, the Amazing Smokeless Ashtray, and the Inside-The-Shell Egg Scrambler, was (satirically) awarded an Ignoble Award for Consumer Engineering on 7th November, 1993.But the ‘Infomercial King’ had spun an enviable career from his talent for selling; from humble beginnings shilling vegetable choppers on the shop floor of Woolworth’s to establishing Ronco, a $55 million ‘As Seen On TV’ company that eventually went bankrupt. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Popeil’s pathological hatred of runny egg whites and reveal an award-winning way to collect samples of whale snot. But wait, there’s more! They also talk about the magic price point for Popeil’s inventions. It’s just $19.99, so ACT QUICKLY...Further Reading:• Popeil interviewed by CBS Sunday Morning (2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdLyKjKH_II• ‘All Ronco Product Commercials (Internal Reel)’ (1970s-1980s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfcIPuvZE9I• Homepage of the Ignoble Awards: https://www.improbable.com/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Inventions #Technology #Person #White #Food #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/7/2021 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

Agatha Christie’s ‘The Mousetrap’, the world’s longest-running play, opened at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham on 6th October, 1952. Producer, Peter Saunders predicted the production would run for 14 months.Over 28,000 performances later, the show has become an iconic attraction in London’s West End - with a set that still includes the original mantelpiece clock present on stage on opening night nearly 70 years ago.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the unconventional choices Christie made with the copyright of her script; recount Noel Coward’s begrudging correspondence with her when it overtook Blithe Spirit as the West End’s longest-running play; and uncover the tragic backstory that inspired its plot… WITHOUT REVEALING THE TWIST!There is SEVEN MINUTES MORE of us chatting all things Mousetrap - including poring over its predecessor as London’s longest-running show, the forgotten fruit-based operetta ‘Chu Chin Chow’ - exclusively available to supporters of our podcast. Just join us on Patreon*, or subscribe to our premium feed on Apple Podcasts, to get it! * top two tiers only. patreon.com/RetrospectorsFurther Reading:• History timeline from ‘The Mousetrap’s official website (2021): https://uk.the-mousetrap.co.uk/the-history/• “Less in it than meets the eye” - The Guardian’s original review of the production (1952): https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/nov/27/the-mousetrap-agatha-christie-opens-london-1952• ‘Meet The Cast of The Mousetrap’ (Theatre Cafe, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jKdE_gmen0We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#50s #Theatre #Arts #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/6/2021 • 9 minutes, 36 seconds

The ‘Women’s March’ of 1789 began spontaneously, when a market trader banged a drum in a Parisian square on 5th October - launching a chain of events which would eventually end a century of Versailles rule and lead to the execution of Louis XVI.Initially a reaction to the grain shortage that had left Parisians hungry as the aristocracy indulged in luxuries, the protest soon morphed into an angry mob demanding everything from the relocation of the monarchy to the murder of Marie Antoinette.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the protestors reportedly fainted at the King’s feet once granted an audience with him; review some of the bizarre weaponry mobilised by the mob; and learn that the French Revolution happened a lot more slowly than you probably think it did… Further Reading:• ‘A History of the Women’s March on Versailles’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/womens-march-on-versailles-3529107• ‘How Bread Shortages Helped Ignite The French Revolution’ (HISTORY): https://www.history.com/news/bread-french-revolution-marie-antoinette#:~:text=The%20Bread%20Famine%20in%2018th%2Dcentury%20France.&text=It%20didn't%20work.,a%20little%20over%20three%20weeks• ‘What It Was Like To Live At Versailles’ (Weird History, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrKysG9aiicFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1700s #Royals #Politics #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/5/2021 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds

Hooters, the beach bar chain famous for its flirtatious waitresses, first flung open its doors in Clearwater, Florida on 4th October, 1983. Its publicity-friendly ‘Hooters Girls’ - and a chance visit by John Riggins, star fullback for the Washington Redskins - ensured the concept took off, spawning 425 outlets in 30 countries.However, more recently, Hooters was hit by rival ‘breastaurants’ Tilted Kilt and Twin Peaks, and a slow generational shift away from ‘male’ environments in which exclusively female serving employees are forced to wear sexualised outfits and banter with customers.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the clever but disconcerting clauses within Hooters’ employment contracts; reveal the thinking behind the safety briefings on-board short-lived airline Hooters Air; and explain how Hooters Girls kept U.S. troops entertained in Afghanistan… Further Reading: • ‘Wanna do a Dad a really big favor? Tell your Mom you wanna go to Hooters!’ - Hooters’ first TV commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIEentLPJQQ• ‘14 Things You Should Know Before Eating At Hooters’ (Delish, 2016):https://www.delish.com/food-news/a48451/what-you-need-to-know-before-you-visit-hooters/‘The Real Reason Hooters Is Disappearing Across The Country’ (Mashed, 2018):  https://www.mashed.com/129065/the-real-reason-hooters-is-disappearing-across-the-country/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #Food #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/4/2021 • 9 minutes, 46 seconds

A 12 x 8.5cm ‘Correspondenzkarte’, the earliest progenitor of the modern-day postcard, was created by the Austrian Post on 1st October, 1869.Cheaper and more practical than sending long-form letters, the new medium was an instant sensation with the public - with three million postcards being sent in the first three months. But cultural conservatives felt it would lead to poor grammar, a capitulation of individuality, and a brash new form of self-expression...In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca reveal the indomitability of the Isle of Man’s postcard censorship committee; revisit the career of the ‘King of the Saucy Seaside’, Donald McGill; and unearth the frustrated adventures of ‘the wronged true inventor of the postcard’, Dr. Heinrich Von Stephan.Further Reading:• ‘The Story of the Postcard’ (Postimuseo Finland, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjFTxJi66e8• ‘Tweeting by mail: The postcard's stormy birth’(LA Times, 2013): https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2013-jun-22-la-oe-cure-postcards-twitter-20130623-story.html• ‘History of the Saucy Postcard’ (Donald McGill Museum, 2020): https://saucyseasidepostcards.com/?page_id=89We’ve released FIVE MINUTES MORE of bonus content about the history of postcards, which you can access by supporting us via Patreon* at patreon.com/retrospectors. By so doing, you get a bonus bit every single week*, and an ad-free feed, and you help us make the show. Thanks!* top two tiers onlyThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors#1800s #Inventions #Austria Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10/1/2021 • 10 minutes, 14 seconds

Literature’s most famous castaway, Robinson Crusoe, was washed up on a desert island - where he would remain for 28 years - on 30th September, 1659.By selecting this date, author Daniel Defoe ensured that his fictional protagonist’s fate pre-dated the real-life estrangement of Royal Navy man Alexander Selkirk, who was stranded some 46 years later: 14 years prior to Defoe writing his novel.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how his story pioneered not only the English novel, but also the movie trailer; ask whether Crusoe’s narrative voice sounds like an authentic young man of the period, or betrays the fact that Defoe was nearly sixty when he created him; and dig around in the writer’s early career (including, but not limited to, creating perfume from civets)...Further Reading:• Daniel Defoe profile (The British Library): https://www.bl.uk/people/daniel-defoe• ‘Debunking the Myth of the ‘Real’ Robinson Crusoe’ (National Geographic, 2016): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/robinson-crusoe-alexander-selkirk-history• The Shipwreck scene from ‘Robinson Crusoe’ (1927): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCaYAD1ZGuMFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1600s #Arts #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/30/2021 • 10 minutes, 17 seconds

The corpse of John Paul I was discovered by a nun in the early hours of 29th September, 1978. His body was embalmed within 24 hours, heightening suspicions that the cause of death may have been unnatural. He had been Pope for just 33 days.An unconventional Pope - who had refused to wear the papal tiara, use the Royal 'we’, or sit on a ceremonial throne - he seemed to have had a weird premonition that he wouldn't be in office for long, famously responding to his elevation to Popehood by telling the Cardinals, ‘May God forgive you for what you have done’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the conspiracies surrounding the Pope’s apparently untimely death; reveal the role of the unfortunately-named Cardinal Sin; and look back on some of his surprising comic journalism...Further Reading:• ‘Pope John Paul I is dead’ (CBS News, 1978): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-aC86_fZo4• ‘The Mysterious Death Of Pope John Paul I’ (All Thats Interesting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/pope-john-paul-i• ‘On This Day, 1978: Catholics mourn Pope's death’ (BBC, 2005): http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/29/newsid_2542000/2542375.stmFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Religion #Strange Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/29/2021 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

Feet, inches, palms, cubits, rods… all were SWEPT ASIDE on 28th September, 1889, when the first General Conference of the Weights and Measures Commission met in Sèvres, France to refine a definition for the NEW universal measurement of distance: the metre.The calculation was painstakingly made by measuring a quarter of the meridian of the Earth - running from the North Pole to the Equator - and then dividing it into 10 million parts. Metal bars measuring exactly one metre were then distributed to attendees of the Conference. In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether this scientific method of calculating distance was *really* any better than barleycorns and man-size hugs; ask why the USA still hasn’t got on-board with the metric system; and explain why Napoleon might not have been as short as we think he was… Further Reading:• ‘Galileo, Krypton, and How the Metric Standard Came to Be’ (WIRED, 2018): https://www.wired.com/story/book-excerpt-the-perfectionists-history-meter/• ‘How France created the metric system’ (BBC Travel, 2018): https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180923-how-france-created-the-metric-system• ‘Who Invented the Meter?’ (It’s Okay To Be Smart, 2017):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3eHHwcMVcAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Inventions #Science #Technology #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/28/2021 • 10 minutes, 8 seconds

Journalists, exhibitors and producers packed the Ambassador Hotel Theater, Los Angeles on 27th September, 1922 - to see the first ever paid-for screening of a 3-D film, ‘The Power Of Love’.Using an anaglyph system (meaning the 3-D glasses had two tinted lenses; one red, one green), viewers were told they could select a happy or sad ending - by closing one of their eyes.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider if the costs of double-projector movies explains why first-gen 3-D never took off; revisit the provocative tag-line from 1952 3-D movie ‘Bwana Devil’, and reveal what the critics consider to be the best 3-D film ever…Further Reading:• ‘The Power of Love’ (1922) on IMBb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013506/trivia• ‘The fascinating history of 3D films’ (Interesting Engineering, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmmFDyhCufc• ‘The 18 best 3D movies’ (Empire, 2016): https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-3d-movies/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#20s #Film #Technology #Inventions #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/27/2021 • 9 minutes, 46 seconds

Christine Jorgensen began gender reassignment surgery in Copenhagen on 24th September 1951. The New York Daily News later heralded the event with a headline splash - “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty!” - thereby creating America's first transgender celebrity.Writing to friends, she said: “As you can see by the enclosed photos, taken just before the operation, I have changed a great deal. But it is the other changes that are so much more important. Remember the shy, miserable person who left America? Well, that person is no more and, as you can see, I’m in marvellous spirits.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how surprisingly tolerant her parents and much of the media were; how she was strong-armed into showbiz but used the notoriety to campaign for trans rights; and reveal that - amongst her many memoirs - she also penned a Scandinavian cookbook...Further Reading:• ‘Christine Jorgensen – Queer Icon’ (Queer Icons, 2020): https://queericons.home.blog/2020/02/27/christine-jorgensen/• ‘The Hour Magazine with Gary Collins: guest Christine Jorgensen’ (1980s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDlGUeF1Bg0• ‘Dec. 1, 1952: Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty’ (WIRED, 2010): https://www.wired.com/2010/12/1201first-sex-change-surgery/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#50s #Trans #Science #Denmark #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/24/2021 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds

The BBC’s teletext information service, Ceefax, launched on 23rd September, 1974 - providing the British public with a way to look up headlines, football results and TV listings, some twenty years before the launch of Internet Explorer.Countless National Lottery winners discovered their victories via the analogue service, which was discontinued in 2012. To this day, devotees still share ancient samples of it by uploading old VHS tapes to the web.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why teletext never caught on in France; revisit the 1,445-episode ‘soap opera’ ITV Oracle ran on its rival service; and play a Teletext-style Bamboozle quiz of their very own… Further Reading:• ‘The Editors: Goodbye Ceefax’ (BBC, 2012): https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2012/10/goodbye_ceefax.html• ‘Minitel: The Old New Thing’ (WIRED, 2001): https://www.wired.com/2001/04/minitel-the-old-new-thing/• ‘Pages from Ceefax - Three and a half hours of outdated news, sport and weather’ (No Data Available, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU8P5G-GM_gWe had EVEN MORE to say about this internet 0.1, including the underwhelming Ceefax competition prizes on offer in the 1970s, the impact the BBC's teletext service had on the development of the TV remote control, and how to research cinema listings for the St George’s Centre Harrow in 1995. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!*top two tiers onlyThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Technology #Inventions #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/23/2021 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

Witchcraft and infanticide were the charges levelled against young maidservant Judith Catchpole at the General Provincial Court in Patuxent County, Maryland on September 22nd, 1656. Since the case hinged on whether she had been pregnant, an all-female jury was assembled - the first in colonial America.Seven married women and four single women physically examined her - and found her not guilty of the crimes. Which were pretty obviously B.S.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the first and only instance of men being excluded from a jury in England; consider the views of the New York judge in the 1920s, who warned of fainting fits and emotional outbursts if women were permitted as potential jurors; and ask whether men or women are more likely to be swayed by sexy witnesses...Further Reading:• ‘Judith Catchpole Trial: 1656’ (Encyclopedia.com): https://www.encyclopedia.com/law/law-magazines/judith-catchpole-trial-1656• ‘OUR JURY SYSTEM AGAIN UNDER FIRE; One Judge Calls Verdicts of "Twelve Good Men And True"’ (New York Times, 1927):https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/07/24/95455867.html• ‘What is JURY OF MATRONS?’ (The Audiopedia, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr6wc4ZRXHs&t=30sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1600s #Crime #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/22/2021 • 10 minutes, 18 seconds

‘The Fish Feud!’ - as the tabloids originally termed the standoff between Britain and Iceland over fishing rights - had escalated into a fully-fledged ‘Cod War’ by 21st September, 1958, when the destroyer H.M.S. Diana requested medical assistance for a Marine suffering appendicitis.The dispute arose when Iceland had unilaterally extended its fishing zone from 4 to 12 nautical miles. For centuries prior to this, boundaries were calculated via the ‘canon shot rule’ - i.e. the distance a canon could be fired from the shore.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Iceland was having a jingoistic moment; reveal how the Soviets intervened to disrupt Britain’s defense strategy; and explain how the humble battered sausage came to the rescue for the UK’s chip shops…Further Reading:• ‘Iceland v Britain: the cod wars begin’ (The Guardian, 1958): https://www.theguardian.com/business/from-the-archive-blog/2018/sep/07/first-cod-war-iceland-britain-fish-1958• ‘How Iceland Beat the British in the Four Cod Wars’ (Atlas Obscura, 2018): https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-were-cod-wars• ‘Storyville: Cod Wars’ (BBC, 2002): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsOytZMRXo0For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#50s #Politics #UK #Russia #Iceland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/21/2021 • 10 minutes, 12 seconds

Henry Winkler, an accomplished water-skier, had asked the producers of ‘Happy Days’ if he could showcase his skills on the sitcom. On 20th September, 1977 his wish came true - in a shark-jumping sequence so absurd it would forever be linked with the irreversible artistic decline of long-running TV series.To ‘Jump the Shark’ was a phrase coined some eight years later by college roommates Sean Connolly and Jon Hein, and has since inspired other pop culture idioms including ‘growing the beard’ (a TV show that gets better with age) and ‘nuking the fridge’ (a ‘jump the shark’ for movie franchises, named after Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull).In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal Winkler’s star power as the top turn on Happy Days, and explain why Robin Williams’ appearance in the show *wasn’t* a dream. Do they say ‘eeeeeeeeeeey’ a lot? Exactamundo!Further Reading:• Fonzie ‘Jumps the Shark’ (Happy Days, 1977): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk_y_r5cXZs• ‘’Jumping the Shark’, ‘Fridging the Girlfriend’ and 8 Other Pop Culture Idioms Explained’ (Funk's House of Geekery, 2016):https://houseofgeekery.com/2016/07/11/jumping-the-shark-fridging-the-girlfriend-and-8-other-pop-culture-idioms-explained/• ‘Jumping the Shark: 10 Great TV Shows That Took a Turn for the Worse’ (Rolling Stone, 2014): https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-lists/jumping-the-shark-10-great-tv-shows-that-took-a-turn-for-the-worse-156728/dexter-35323/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Person #TV #Sport #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/20/2021 • 10 minutes, 19 seconds

Why were multiple ships and planes lost in the section of the Atlantic between Miami, Puerto Rico and Bermuda? Journalist Edward van Winkle-Jones first floated the idea of ‘the Bermuda Triangle’ - although he didn’t call it that - in an article for the Miami Herald on 17th September, 1950.The speculation that ensued inspired a lively industry in conspiracies, myths and tall tales that remains to this day, but the association with that area being dangerous dates back almost 500 years - when no less a figure than Christopher Columbus reported seeing a giant flame crashing into the sea there.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether the area’s proximity to the USA has prolonged its notoriety; consider the role of aliens in its maritime history (yes. ALIENS); and discover whether the Bermuda Triangle is actually any more treacherous than any other stretch of deep water… Further Reading:• ‘Sea's Puzzles Still Baffle Men In Pushbutton Age’ (Miami Herald, 1950): https://www.physics.smu.edu/pseudo/BermudaTriangle/evwjones.html• ‘Where is the Bermuda Triangle, what is it, why do planes go missing there and what are the conspiracy theories?’ (The Sun, 2018): https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2021520/bermuda-triangle-ships-planes-conspiracy-theories/• ‘Bermuda Triangle: what happened to Flight 19?’ (BBC, 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfsQBeXWktUFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #50s #Discoveries #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/17/2021 • 10 minutes, 18 seconds

The Cornell Daily Sun - the oldest continuously independent college daily newspaper in the United States - published its first issue on 16th September, 1880. It featured some campus sports reports, some horrible amateur poetry, and even some jokes.It wasn’t until seven years later that a British University caught up with its own equivalent: The Student, at Edinburgh University; although it did have celebrity founder Robert Louis Stevenson up its sleeve.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the difference between UK and US student journalism; speak to the Sun’s current Editor about how she can possibly do her degree at the same time as running a daily paper; and discover what an Autophone was...Further Reading:• ‘About The Sun’ (The Cornell Daily Sun):https://cornellsun.com/about/• ‘About The Student’ (Edinburgh Student Newspaper): https://studentnewspaper.org/about• ‘The Cornell Daily Sun: A Documentary: Part 4 (Oliver Bundy, 2007): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIucgSBrWKkFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Arts #Inventions #US #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/16/2021 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

BMW unveiled its redesigned MINI for the first time on 15th September, 1997; the eve of the Frankfurt Motor Show. Its predecessor had been in production for 41 years.Reborn as a ‘city’ car, rather than a micro compact, and with Union flags painted on its roof, this was the moment the iconic brand became seen as cheeky, sporty and British - but not, actually, especially small. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the MINI has its roots in the Suez Crisis; ask why the similar VW Beetle reboot was discontinued in 2019; and reveal how many people can officially squeeze into a ‘new’ Mini...Further Reading:• ‘ROVER SHOWS NEW MINI; LAUNCH IS 2000’ (Automotive News Europe, 1997): https://europe.autonews.com/article/19970915/ANE/709150811/rover-shows-new-mini-launch-is-2000• How the BBC covered the launch (1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is-9aI7utFQ&t=112s• ‘The history of the Mini in pictures’ (Daily Telegraph, 2013): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/picturegalleries/10457166/The-history-of-the-Mini-in-pictures.html?frame=2737732For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Technology #Germany Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/15/2021 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds

‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is now well-known as the USA’s national anthem - but when Francis Scott Key wrote the words on 14th September, 1814, it was merely the latest in a series of patriotic poems he’d penned; this one concerning the British assault on the coastal fortification of Fort McHenry.It was only when - bizarrely - it was set to the tune of an old English drinking song, ‘To Anacreon in Heaven’, that it began to gain traction - and another 119 years before it became the nation’s official ‘choon.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn what a ‘contrafactum’ is; explore why the US national anthem is so notoriously tricky to sing; and question what meaning ‘the land of the free’ held for Baltimore’s enslaved Africans… Further Reading:• ‘Francis Scott Key - National Anthem, War of 1812 & Facts’ (Biography, 2021): https://www.biography.com/writer/francis-scott-key• ‘To Anacreon In Heaven’ (Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine):https://www.nps.gov/fomc/learn/historyculture/to-anacreon-in-heaven.htm• ‘Top 10 American National Anthem Performance Fails’ (Watch Mojo, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XffxvV1PAEIFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Person #Music #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/14/2021 • 9 minutes, 47 seconds

Kanye West was ejected from Radio City Music Hall at the MTV VMAs on 13th September, 2009, after drunkenly interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video.Distraught that the country star’s ‘You Belong To Me’ video has beaten Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ to the trophy, he memorably proclaimed: “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine whether this viral moment was ultimately harmful or beneficial to both stars’ careers; highlight how the fracas accelerated Twitter’s adoption by the mainstream media; and ask whether - after all these years - Kanye was right… Further Reading:• ‘How the Taylor Swift-Kanye West VMAs scandal became a perfect American morality tale’ (Vox, 2019):https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/8/26/20828559/taylor-swift-kanye-west-2009-mtv-vmas-explained• ‘2009 VMAs Oral History: What You Didn't See When Kanye West Rushed the Stage on Taylor Swift’ (Billboard, 2009):https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/television/8523549/2009-mtv-vmas-oral-history• Artisan News Service reports on the event in 2009: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z8gCZ7zpsQFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2010s #Person #Music #Arts #Mistakes #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/13/2021 • 10 minutes, 19 seconds

London cab driver George Smith became the first person ever arrested for drunk driving after slamming his cab into a building on 10th September, 1897. He was fined 20 shillings (around £130 in today's money) - but was not banned from the road.The vehicle he was driving only had a top speed of 12 mph, but, unfortunately for him, the building he crashed into was the home of celebrated actor Sir Henry Irving - which might be why he was the first person charged with a law that had technically been on the books since 1872.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the role of shame in declining drink-driving convictions; explain what the ‘Drunkometer’ was; and question whether Smith should be forgiven for his ‘Cheeky Thursday’... Further Reading:• ‘First Drunk Driving Arrest’ (HISTORY, 2020): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-drunk-driving-arrest• Fifty Years Of Anti-Drink Driving Ads (Sky News, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW2dWqTkDBM• ‘14 of the most ridiculous and hilarious excuses heard in court for drink and drug driving’ (Somerset Live, 2019): https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/14-most-ridiculous-hilarious-excuses-3406709For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Person #Crime #Technology #Politics #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/10/2021 • 10 minutes, 19 seconds

'The Hank McCune Show' - an otherwise unremarkable footnote in American TV history - became the first single-camera sitcom to deploy a pre-recorded laugh track (aka ‘canned laughter’) on 9th September, 1950.The giggles and applause came courtesy of Charlie Douglass, who made a career of capturing audience reaction in his ‘laff box’, and then expertly sprinkling it across other shows, including Bewitched, The Munsters and The Flintstones. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look back at Red Skelton’s ‘pantomimes’, the origin of much of Douglass’ recorded laughter; explain why live studio audiences are sometimes even more enthusiastic clappers than pre-recorded ones; and reveal how the Bolshoi Ballet STILL employ professional audience reactionaries…Further Reading: • ‘The invention of laughter: Charley Douglass and the laff box’ (The Verge, 2013): https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/13/5207136/Charley-Douglass-laff-box-laugh-track• ‘How we fell in and out of love with the Laff Box, the laugh track machine that changed sitcoms forever’ (ABC, 2020): https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-16/history-of-the-laugh-track-laff-box-charles-douglass/12117866• ‘How Do Laugh Tracks Work?’ (How Stuff Works, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-suD4KbgTl4For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#50s #TV #Arts #Person #Inventions #Funny #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/9/2021 • 9 minutes, 45 seconds

When U2’s new album, Songs Of Innocence, was rumoured to be bundled in with the iPhone 6 on 8th September, 2014, the band’s official spokespeople denied any involvement with Apple's product launch.But the following day, U2 did indeed turn up at Tim Cook’s keynote - with an initiative to ‘gift’ the album, for free, to over half a billion iTunes users. Within days, the scheme backfired, and Apple had to create a bespoke website for users to remove it from their collections.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why users felt so violated when being given free music; explore the backlash within the music industry to the deal; and enjoy Bono’s milk-based almost-apology… Further Reading:‘Analyzing Apple's U2 Mistake’ (Forbes, 2014): https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbyowsinski/2014/09/18/analyzing-apples-u2-mistake/?sh=65492cde4939‘Apple's Devious U2 Album Giveaway Is Even Worse Than Spam’ (WIRED, 2014): https://www.wired.com/2014/09/apples-devious-u2-album-giveaway-even-worse-spam/Tim Cook and Bono’s awkward stage bantz (Apple Keynote, 2014): https://youtu.be/38IqQpwPe7s?t=6610For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2010s #Music #Technology #Mistakes #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/8/2021 • 10 minutes, 16 seconds

Bulgarian writer Georgi Markov was shot by a poisoned pellet whilst walking on Waterloo Bridge on 7th September, 1978. Four days later, he was dead.He thought the bullet - believed to be filled with ricin - had emanated from the umbrella of a Soviet secret agent, and the British press labelled his assassination the ‘Poison Brolly Riddle’.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how Markov was initially disbelieved by doctors; reveal the mysterious involvement of a pig in the Porton Down investigation; and ask whether poisoning is really as efficient a method of murder as it seems...Further Reading:‘The poison-tipped umbrella: the death of Georgi Markov in 1978’ (The Guardian, 2020): https://www.theguardian.com/world/from-the-archive-blog/2020/sep/09/georgi-markov-killed-poisoned-umbrella-london-1978‘The umbrella murder mystery’ (The Oldie): https://www.theoldie.co.uk/article/the-umbrella-murder-mysteryUmbrella fired fatal ricin dart (CNN, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZO5Lf8wD_cFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Person #Crime #Macabre #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/7/2021 • 9 minutes, 14 seconds

Clarence Saunders opened the world’s first self-service supermarket, ‘Piggly Wiggly’, in Memphis, Tennessee on 6th September, 1916.Calculating that the revenues gained through impulse purchases would outweigh those lost from shoplifting, Saunders’ concept forever changed the world of shopping for groceries - but his business acumen did not last.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review Saunders’ promotional hustles; weigh up the items in a shopping basket of the era; and reveal how ‘Piggly Wiggly’ (almost certainly) gained its distinctive name...Further Reading:• ‘The Untold Truth Of Piggly Wiggly’ (Mashed, 2021):https://www.mashed.com/426197/the-untold-truth-of-piggly-wiggly/• ‘America's First Supermarket at 100: How It Changed the World’ (Time, 2016): https://time.com/4480303/supermarkets-history/• ‘Piggly Wiggly, the first true grocery store - Life in America’ (Recollection Road, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVvgAd_5vpoFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1910s #Person #Invention #Food #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/6/2021 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds

Posing as a sailor, with a borrowed ‘Protection Pass’ in his pocket, Frederick Douglass boarded a train from Baltimore to Philadelphia on 3rd September, 1838 - and escaped the slavery into which he had been born. To formalise the process, he had to dodge slave-catchers, change his name and pay for his freedom. He then became an abolitionist, orator and public intellectual - and one of the most photographed men of the 19th century.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Douglass’s story continues to challenge many of our preconceptions about slavery; explain how he used writing and public appearances to combat racism; and reveal how Douglass’ story has a surprising connection to, of all places, Northamptonshire...Further Reading:• ‘Frederick Douglass’ Incredible Legacy, Told by Laurence Fishburne’ (History at Home, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsFNYW6EJi4• ‘Frederick Douglass - Quotes, Narrative & Book’ (Biography, 2021): https://www.biography.com/activist/frederick-douglass• ‘Douglass in England - Frederick Douglass in Britain and Ireland’: http://frederickdouglassinbritain.com/journey/FDEngland/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Person #Black #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/3/2021 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds

Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad was 64 years old when she became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the use of a shark cage for protection on 2nd September, 2013.Nyad completed the 110-mile swim from Havana to Key West in approximately 53 hours. It was her fifth attempt to swim through the jellyfish-and shark-infested waters of the Straits of Florida.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Nyad used music and recall to keep her focus; review the conspiracy theories that question if she managed the feat; and consider whether the ‘English Channel Rules’ that govern the sport are in need of an update…Further Reading:• ‘Diana Nyad Arrives in Key West After 111-Mile Swim From Cuba’ (FlordaKeysTV, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcvjiw582G0• The Diana Nyad Cheating Conspiracy Theory (Business Insider, 2013): https://www.businessinsider.com/diana-nyad-cheating-conspiracy-theory-2013-9?r=US&IR=T• ‘It’s about having a steel-trap mind’ (The Guardian, 2016): https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jul/10/endurance-swimmer-diana-nyad-its-about-steel-trap-mindEnjoy this episode? There is a bonus FOUR MINUTES cut for time from today’s show, exclusively available to our top two tiers of Patrons. Visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors for bonus material this and every week!What could marathon podcaster Olly Mann and marathon swimmer Diana Nyad possibly have in common? To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!(*top two tiers only)The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2010s #Person #Sport #Swimming #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/2/2021 • 9 minutes, 35 seconds

The Nokia 3310 - featuring Snake II, pop-on/off covers, and a discreetly concealed antenna - was launched on 1st September, 2000 at a boardsports event in Dusseldorf, Germany.Popularly nicknamed ‘the brick’, the handset went on to shift 126 million units— more than 20 times as many as the first-generation iPhone.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion marvel at a time when only 50% of people in the US had a phone in their pockets; rack their brains to recall OTHER games that were bundled on the handset alongside Snake II; and wonder if the nostalgia for this phone says more about the gadget itself, or the era it represents…Further Reading:• ‘The Indestructible Phone’ (LGR, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xNVmmJ0nZY• Nokia’s press release for the launch (2000). Which doesn’t mention the phone at all: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2000/08/16/1845367/0/en/Don-t-be-bored-Be-totally-board.html• ‘The Nokia 3310 just turned 20 years old – here's what made it special’ (TechRadar, 2020): https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/the-nokia-3310-just-turned-20-years-old-heres-what-made-it-specialFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2000s #Inventions #Technology #Germany Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9/1/2021 • 9 minutes, 49 seconds

A giant chicken with the mannerisms of a wise-crackin’ Southern gentleman, Foghorn Leghorn first appeared in the Looney Tunes short ‘Walky Talky Hawky’ on 31st August, 1946.Directed by Robert McKimson and voiced by Mel Blanc, the character - who was inspired in part by popular radio character ‘Senator Claghorn’ from The Fred Allen Show - proved an instant audience favourite.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Foghorn’s Antebellum expressions put him on the soon-to-be-’cancelled’ list; explain the origin of Warner’s other animated franchise, ‘Merrie Melodies’; and marvel at Blanc’s bed-bound professionalism…Further Reading:• ‘Walky Talky Hawky’ (Warner Bros, 1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi2hQVyf3po&list=PLsvpo7-bdIolr4mWXRgoxRlbJPMV5d7ie• ‘The Censored Eleven - Banned Cartoons’ (The Museum Of UnCut Funk): https://museumofuncutfunk.com/2011/10/05/the-censored-eleven/• ‘How Bugs Bunny Saved Mel Blanc From A Coma In 1961’ (doyouremember, 2021): https://doyouremember.com/141804/bugs-bunny-saved-mel-blanc-comaFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#40s #Film #Inventions #Funny #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/31/2021 • 10 minutes, 6 seconds

The British Museum Library registered the legal deposit of the first ever 'Ladybird Series' titles, from publishers Wills & Hepworth (later 'Ladybird') on 27th August, 1914. The books - 'Hans Andrersen's Fairy Tales' and 'Tiny Tots Travels' - didn't look at all like the classic Ladybird books we think of today - but were the beginning of a publishing legacy that changed children’s books forever.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how the classic Ladybird look - fashioned from one massive sheet of paper - was a response to World War Two; review how the publisher dealt with accusations of sexism and colour-blindness in the '70s; and explain the M.O.D.’s connection to one of the most valuable Ladybirds ever published…Thanks to Ladybird collector and historian Helen Day for helping us dig up this date from the archives! Discover more about Helen and her passion for Ladybird on her excellent website:https://ladybirdflyawayhome.com/so-whats-the-story-the-kitchen-table/Further Reading:• ‘Ladybird Books at 100: The series that inspired millions of children to read’ (Daily Mirror, 2015): https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ladybird-books-100-series-inspired-5335319• ‘Ladybird Books: The strange things we learned’ (BBC, 2015): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-30709937• ‘The Ladybird Books Story’ (Little Car, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ED7o4mG0lMTo hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!(*top two tiers only)See you on TUESDAY (there's a bank holiday here in the UK) The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1910s #Arts #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/27/2021 • 9 minutes, 37 seconds

Equally beloved at office boardrooms and toddler birthday parties, Colin the Caterpillar - a £7 swiss roll cake with white and milk chocolate and buttercream - was launched at an unsuspecting public by Marks and Spencer on 26th August, 1990.At the product development stage, he was going to be a fish - even though fishcake is a TOTALLY different foodstuff. Luckily, the Colin we know and love made it to M&S shelves, where he has since sold more than 15 million units, and spawned dozens of high street imitators. (And an infringement claim against Aldi.)In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how Colin’s popularity coincided with the trend for ‘illusion cakes’; dig up the horrifying sweet/savoury pile-up that is Jane Asher’s ‘Mary Mary’ cake; and consider Colin’s enduring place in British popular culture...Further Reading:• ‘Colin the Caterpillar: A brief history’ (New Statesman, 2018): https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/food-drink/2018/12/colin-caterpillar-brief-history• ‘This is the original M&S Colin the Caterpillar cake back in 1990’ (Good Housekeeping, 2020): https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/a33631942/original-colin-the-caterpillar-cake-1990/• ‘Colin v Cuthbert The Caterpillar: Can M&S Sue Aldi For Copyright Over A Cake?’ (Good Morning Britain, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZrjPL8p874For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Food #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/26/2021 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds

John, Paul, George and Ringo travelled to a transcendental meditation workshop in Bangor, Wales on 25th August, 1967 - at the invitation of ‘giggling guru’, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.The event changed everything for The Fab Four - influencing their music, their philosophy, and ultimately contributing to the end of the band.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore whether the experience encouraged them to give up LSD; reveal how Ringo, frankly, never really seemed to be in to it; and uncover the Maharishi’s later plans for a Yogic amusem*nt park...Further Reading:• The Beatles in Bangor – silent news footage (1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuyE3bSnfVo&t=6s• ‘Lennon was right. The Giggling Guru was a shameless old fraud’ (Daily Mail, 2008): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-512747/Lennon-right-The-Giggling-Guru-shameless-old-fraud.html#:~:text=The%20Giggling%20Guru%20was%20a%20shameless%20old%20fraud,teach%20them%20to%20defy%20gravity%20by%20%22yogic%20flying%22.• Doug Henning’s theme park plans: https://doughenningproject.com/tag/theme-park/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#60s #Music #White #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/25/2021 • 9 minutes, 33 seconds

Bandit, Admiral, wizard, pirate... ‘Eustace The Monk’ did it all - and was decapitated for his troubles, at the Battle of Sandwich on 24th August, 1217.Previously a licensed criminal for the court of King John, he became an enemy of England by switching sides and battling on behalf of the French - an extraordinary end to a remarkable career which took in black magic, robbery, and farting in a Benedictine monastery. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why Eustace’s story has yet to receive the Hollywood treatment; explain how to deploy lime effectively; and swot up on their Middle English verse… Further Reading:‘The Pirate Monk, by Julie Estep’ (History of Yesterday, 2020): https://historyofyesterday.com/the-pirate-monk-da2bc7340dfb‘Eustace The Monk: One Of Medieval Europe's Unholiest Holy Men’ (HistoryExtra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/eustace-monk-holy-man-king-john-french-invasion-england/‘Medieval Outlaws: Eustace the Monk’ (Channel Legendarium, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDZOvGYKSs4For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1200s #Person #Crime #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/24/2021 • 10 minutes, 13 seconds

Howard Hawks’ film noir ‘The Big Sleep’ finally hit cinemas on 23rd August, 1946, after extra crowd-pleasing repartee had been inserted, featuring real life couple Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.But more flirtation meant less exposition - making the plot of the detective story notoriously difficult to follow, even to the extent that the filmmakers had to call author Raymond Chandler to ask him who had killed one of the characters. In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly explain why the Hays censorship code compounded an already confusing script; reveal William Faulkner’s left-field approach to WFH; and consider why - on the silver screen, anyway - women appeared to fall at Bogart’s feet…Further Reading:• ‘The Big Sleep: Proof That Plot Doesn’t Matter’ (Den of Geek, 2019): https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-big-sleep-proof-that-plot-doesn-t-matter/• ‘hom*osexuality and the Production Code –The Big Sleep’ (Sophie Hagberg, 2014): https://sophiehagbergscrn131.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/hom*osexuality-and-the-production-code-the-big-sleep-1946/• ‘They’re Together Again!’ (Official Trailer, 1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-K49CUaetoFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#40s #Film #Arts #Person #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/23/2021 • 9 minutes, 53 seconds

‘This Is Us’ premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square on 20th August, 2013. 10,000 ‘Directioners’, some of whom had slept rough for three nights, were there to catch a glimpse of their favourite boyband.The documentary, directed by ‘Supersize Me’s Morgan Spurlock, went on to take $18m in its Labor Day opening weekend in the US - but failed to scale the heights of Justin Beiber’s effort, ‘Never Say Never’.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion unpick the secret of the boys’ success; explain why X Factor winner Matt Cardle was mysteriously disappeared from the movie; and reveal an unexpected connection between 1D and Osama Bin Laden... Further Reading:• One Direction "This Is US" London Premiere Part 1 (Poveelive, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ_Kd4JC0ck• ‘This Is Us’ on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2515086/• ‘Morgan Spurlock, Director Of ‘This Is Us,’ Explains Why He Cut One Direction’s Girlfriends Out Of Documentary’ (HuffPo, 2013):https://www.huffpost.com/entry/this-is-us-girlfriends-cut-morgan-spurlock_n_3839053We had EVEN MORE to say about Spurlock and 1D. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!(*top two tiers only)The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2010s #Music #Film #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/20/2021 • 10 minutes, 6 seconds

Tippi Hedren, star of Hitchco*ck’s ‘The Birds’ and ‘Marnie’, was already known for her activism - primarily rescuing big cats - when, on 19th August, 1975 she visited a Vietnamese refugee camp in Sacramento, CaliforniaHer nail art dazzled many of the women she met - so she set about helping them retrain as Hollywood manicurists, disrupting an industry which had previously been seen as a Beverly Hills luxury. Today, over half of nail technicians in the USA are of Vietnemese descent.In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider if Hedren’s template for celebrity ambassadorship has ever been bettered; uncover the story of Ted Ngoy, the Cambodian ‘Donut King’; and discover who turned up to a charity event sporting the most expensive manicure of all time...Further Reading:• ‘How Tippi Hedren made Vietnamese refugees into nail salon magnates’ (BBC, 2015): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32544343• 'Nailed It: A Documentary On How Vietnamese Workers Took Over U.S. Nail Salons’ (NPR, 2019):https://www.npr.org/2019/05/19/724452398/how-vietnamese-americans-took-over-the-nails-business-a-documentary?t=1628758439044• ‘Kelly Osbourne wears $250k nail varnish by Azature to the Emmys’ (HELLO!, 2012):https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/201209259431/kelly-osbourne-wears-worlds-most-expensive-manicure/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Person #Film #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/19/2021 • 9 minutes, 41 seconds

A weather map was first broadcast on TV on 18th August, 1926 - but there were no fancy graphics, no on-screen forecaster, and only one intended recipient: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, DC.In the UK, the Met Office had been producing weather forecasts since 1861, but the BBC didn’t bring a ‘weatherman’ to British screens until 1954.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain Charles Darwin’s connection to weather-forecasting; review the first weather forecast on NBC’s Today programme, and reveal exactly how much time the Brits spend discussing the weather… Further Reading:• ‘Weather forecast facts: the first forecast in Britain, the birth of the Met Office and the first TV weatherman’ (HistoryExtra, 2018): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/facts-history-weather-forecast-weatherman-tv/• ‘BBC Television Weather at 60 - A Celebration’ (BBC, 2014): https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/research/television-weather• ‘TODAY's First Weather Forecast: Jan. 14, 1952’ (NBC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiAyWYCcAI0For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#20s #Science #Inventions #US #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/18/2021 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

When two month-old Azaria Chamberlain was taken from her tent by a dingo on the night of August 17th, 1980, the majority of the Australian public believed that her mother, Lindy Chamerlain, had done the deed herself.Prosecuting authorities charged her with murder. She was imprisoned, but in 2012, a coroner found Azaria's death was "the result of being attacked and taken by a dingo".In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the Australian public were so inclined to disbelieve Lindy’s version of events; revisit the injustices perpetrated against the Chamberlains; and consider how on Earth the phrase ‘A Dingo’s Got My Baby!’ became a comedy meme...  Content Warning: Includes detailed description of true crime and harm against childrenFurther Reading:• ‘Horrifying story of Lindy Chamberlain - jailed for murder after her baby daughter was 'eaten by a dingo' on camping trip’ (The Sun, 2020): https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/13418625/lindy-chamberlain-jailed-murder-baby-dingo/• ‘The Messed Up True Story Of "A Dingo Got My Baby"’ (Grunge, 2020): https://www.grunge.com/291293/the-messed-up-true-story-of-a-dingo-got-my-baby/• 'Lindy Chamberlain Reflects On The Horror Of Losing Baby Azaria' (The Project, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2PV4kD5-dgFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #Person #Crime #Sad #Australia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/17/2021 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Conjoined teenagers Chang and Eng Bunker began their world tour in Boston, Massachusetts on 16th August, 1829.‘Discovered’ by Scotsman Robert Hunter in Siam (now Thailand), the boys inspired the term ‘Siamese Twins’, despite being ethnically Chinese.Chang was a heavy drinker, and Eng was a teetotaller - yet they shared a liver. They had faced discrimination in the US, yet became slave-owning plantation owners in North Carolina. Then they married sisters - Sarah and Adelaide Yates.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the sexual side of the brothers’ relationship; explain how the ambiguity of their ethnicity enabled them to climb up through Southern society; and consider the merits of their ‘death cast’, now on display in a Philadelphia museum...Further Reading:• ‘The Death of Chang and Eng, Conjoined Twins Until the Last’ (Atlas Obscura, 2013):https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/morbid-monday-the-demise-of-chang-and-eng• ‘How the original Siamese twins had 21 children by 2 sisters (Mail Online, 2014): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2825888/How-original-Siamese-twins-21-children-two-sisters-sharing-one-reinforced-bed.html• ‘World Famous Conjoined Twins, Chang and Eng Bunker’ (Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWXoPrGAQMkFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Person #Asian #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/16/2021 • 9 minutes, 42 seconds

German circus performer Otto Witte went to his death-bed claiming he had been crowned King of Albania on 13th August, 1913 for a five-day reign which culminated with him being chased out of the country as an imposter.Generally believed to have been a fantasist who invented the story, Witte was humoured by the German authorities in his life-time, and his tombstone in Hamburg bears the inscription, ‘former King of Albania’.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion explore the phenomenon of the German ‘originale’; uncover the legend of ‘Sausage Hans’ and ‘the slag monkey’; and reveal who inspired the story of Baron Munchausen… Further Reading:• ‘The Man Who Was King’ (TIME, 1958): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,868723,00.html• ‘The legend of Otto Witte, the impostor King of Albania’ (The Balkanista, 2018): http://thebalkanista.com/2018/10/04/the-legend-of-otto-witte-the-impostor-king-of-albania/• An enterprising man acts out the works of the Cologne 'originales' on German Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6lsche_OriginaleFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1910s #Person #Germany Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/13/2021 • 9 minutes, 54 seconds

The ‘Get Rich Quick’ scheme pioneered by scamster Charles Ponzi came to an end with his arrest on 12th August, 1920 - but ‘Ponzi schemes’ remain a popular form of swindling to this day. After promising his victims he could double their money in 90 days, Ponzi was charged with 86 counts of mail-fraud - yet he may not have even initially realized his scheme was illegal.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Cryptocurrency is the modern-day Ponzi scheme; explain the difference between a Ponzi scheme and a Pyramid scheme; and reveal the ingenious way Ponzi told his Mum he was in prison… If you enjoyed this episode, there are FOUR BONUS MINUTES of material, cut for time from today’s episode, about Ponzi’s subsequent adventures in Florida and Brazil. Subscribe to our top two tiers on Patreon to receive access to this, and bonus material each and every week, plus an ad-free feed of the podcast:Patreon.com/RetrospectorsFurther Reading:• ‘Pyramid Schemes and Ponzi Schemes Explained in One Minute’ (One Minute Economics, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QkZcdCDJJg• ‘How Charles Ponzi's Scheme Made Him A Millionaire Overnight’ (All Thats Interesting, 2020): ​​https://allthatsinteresting.com/charles-ponzi• ‘The History of Ponzi Schemes Goes Deeper Than You Think’ (Time, 2020): https://time.com/5877434/first-ponzi-scheme/We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#20s #Crime #Person #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/12/2021 • 9 minutes, 23 seconds

The 7,885 year-long calendar used by the Mayan people measure long stretches of time, ‘The Long Count’, began on 11th August, 3114 B.C.The combination of a Haabʼ and a Tzolkʼin date identifies a day in a combination which does not occur again for 18,980 days (52 Haabʼ cycles of 365 days equals 73 Tzolkʼin cycles of 260 days, approximately 52 years), a period known as the Calendar Round. ARE YOU KEEPING UP.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover the rules of ‘Mayan Space Jam’; explain why people thought the world might end in 2012; and call into question the whole diary system on which their beloved podcast depends…Further Reading:• ‘Maya Cosmology & the Real 2012’ (Mary Lou Ridinger, TEDxSanMigueldeAllende, 2013 ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN6E5AFEb9M• ‘Danger on the Court: The Deadly Ancient Mesoamerican Ball Game’ (Ancient Origins, 2020): https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history/ulama-mesoamerican-ball-game-deadly-sport-ancient-americas-003156• ‘9 Interesting Facts About The Mayans’ (yocover, 2021):https://yocover.com/facts-about-the-mayans/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#Discoveries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/11/2021 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

Whilst visiting traumatised U.S. soldiers in an evacuation hospital on 10th August, 1943, General George S. Patton encountered a man he believed to be a coward. So he slapped him in the face with his gloves, and waved a pistol in his face.On Eisenhower’s insistence, Patton apologised to the soldier, but never exhibited genuine remorse for his actions. He wrote in his diary, ‘It is rather a commentary on justice when an Army commander has to soft-soap a skulker to placate the timidity of those above’.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion question the motives of ‘Old Blood and Guts’; reveal Patton’s attitude to Jews after the Holocaust; and play a round of ‘Patton Quote Bingo’… Further Reading:• ‘I Won't Have Cowards in My Army’ (‘Patton’, 1970): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrtS2_TfbeY• General Patton’s speech in Boston, Massachusetts (Critical Past, 1945):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9DpKDwCJcM• ‘10 Things You May Not Know About George Patton’ (HISTORY, 2014):https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-george-pattonThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.Love the show? Support the show! Patreon.com/Retrospectors#40s #Person #Politics #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/10/2021 • 9 minutes, 53 seconds

Black Rock - a 200-yard strip of pebbly beach in Brighton - was first set aside for naked bathers on 9th August, 1979. It came after a campaign by the Central Council For British Naturism, who had previously petitioned 140 local authorities.When Conservative councillor Eileen Jakes responded positively to the call, she was accused of pandering to weirdos and perverts. Fellow councillor John Blackman said the beach would facilitate a "flagrant exhibition of mammary glands".In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider whether the concerns about the beach concealed latent hom*ophobia; compare their experiences of shedding their own clothes in public; and reveal which nations are most prone to getting naked...Content warning: sexual references, crude comedy.Further Reading:• ‘Britain’s First Nudist Beach’ on BBC World Service ‘Witness History’ (2011):https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p00j84cs• ‘Gay Nude Beach in Brighton, England UK’ (Pink Planet, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4vlklRT-oI• ‘Naked as nature - if not weather - intended’ (The Guardian, 2 April 1980): https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/apr/02/archive-1980-naturist-brighton-beach?INTCMP=SRCHFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/9/2021 • 10 minutes, 5 seconds

Axe murderer William Kemler became the first person to be put to death by electric chair at Auburn Prison, New York on 6th August, 1890. It did not go smoothly.The first charge failed, and the second was abandoned only after two minutes. Despite the gruesome spectacle, Ohio soon became the second state to authorise death by electrocution.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal the origins of the word ‘electrocution’, examine the underhand business practices of Thomas Edison; and review the most popular ‘final meal’ choices on Death Row...Content Warning: description of prolonged execution; botched hangings; suicidal thoughts; animal electrocution.Further Reading:• ‘Death and Money: The History of the Electric Chair’ (thoughtco, 2019):https://www.thoughtco.com/death-money-and-the-history-of-the-electric-chair-1991890• ‘On This Day: The first execution by electric chair’ (HISTORY, 2010): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-execution-by-electric-chair• ‘How Does The Electric Chair Work?’ (The Infographics Show, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsPm3VfNoiEFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Inventions #Person #Crime #White #Macabre #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/6/2021 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds

Harry Houdini survived 91 minutes in an underwater coffin at the Shelton Hotel, New York on 5th August, 1926. The stunt had been arranged to counter the claims of Hindu mystic Rahman Bey, who said spiritualism was the only way to survive being buried alive.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the spat between Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle; reveal the ‘code’ Houdini had promised his wife Beth he’d use if contacting her from beyond the grave; and consider whether vengeful psychic fraudsters were responsible for his death…Further Reading:• ‘How Houdini Stayed in an Underwater Coffin for 90 Minutes’ (Mental Floss, 2016): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/83075/how-houdini-stayed-underwater-coffin-90-minutes• ‘The Hotel Shelton pool in color’ (Wild About Houdini, 2015): https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2015/07/the-hotel-shelton-pool-in-color.html• ‘5 Things You May Not Have Known About Houdini’ (Top5s, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiZj4xZTL-YFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#20s #Person #Discoveries #Jewish #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/5/2021 • 9 minutes, 54 seconds

Benedictine monk Dom Perignon is said to have discovered champagne on 4th August, 1693. 200 million bottles are now produced and sold every year.The sparkliness was originally considered a defect - because carbonated wine caused the fragile bottles of the era to burst. Until stronger glass was developed in the mid-19th century, mass-produced champagne was impossible to manufacture, so it gained a reputation as a high society tipple.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine the boredom of wine-tastings; explain how to make fake champagne; and reveal how the bombing of French vineyards, ironically, helped to save the industry...Further Reading:• ‘How Dom Perignon Became The King Of Champagne’ (Alux, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaUB8bFV0lM• ‘Dom Pérignon 'Drinks the Stars' (WIRED, 2009): https://www.wired.com/2009/08/dayintech-0804/• ‘6 things you can carbonate with your SodaStream’ (CNet, 2016):https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/things-you-can-carbonate-with-your-sodastream/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1600s #Inventions #Food #Funny #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/4/2021 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds

Eyebrows were raised when Dave Manning - a previously unknown film critic - was suddenly receiving star billing on Hollywood movie posters. He turned out to be fictional. This climaxed with a lawsuit, settled by Sony on 3rd August, 2005.Manning had been created by Columbia Pictures executive Matthew Kramer, who’d co-opted the name David Manning from a friend in his hometown of Ridgefield, Connecticut. The public were entitled to a $5 refund if they’d attended a movie as a result of the fraudulent posters.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion reveal what the ‘real’ Dave Manning REALLY thought of ‘The Animal’; explain how press junkets seduce otherwise unimpeachable journalists who just want a free sandwich; and sharpen their editing scissors for some selective quotation...Further Reading:• ‘Remembering David Manning, Sony's Fake Film Critic’ (Mental Floss, 2021): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/645297/david-manning-sony-fake-film-critic• ‘Inquiry into fake film critic’ (BBC News, 2005): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1374866.stm• How To Design A Movie Poster’ (IGN, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhs2MEPCmjwFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2000s #Person #Crime #Film #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/3/2021 • 9 minutes, 14 seconds

William II, son of William The Conqueror, took a hunting trip to the New Forest on 2nd August, 1100 - and was shot dead by an arrow, which punctured his lung. But, whodunnit? Chroniclers laid the blame at the door of Walter Tirel, who quickly fled to France. But could it have really been fratricide, orchestrated by William’s younger brother Henry?In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion weigh up the suspects; review William’s ‘addiction to sodomy’, and unearth other undignified Royal deaths from history...Further Reading:• ‘Horrible Histories’ do William’s death (BBC, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DalHBbf7f8• William’s biography at Historic UK: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/William-Rufus/• The Death of William II (Reading Museum, 2017): https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/blog/death-william-iiWe had EVEN MORE to say about William II and his somewhat aggressive tendencies. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!(*top two tiers only)The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1100s #Royals #Person #Crime #Macabre #Strange #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8/2/2021 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

The ‘Cool Britannia’ party - held at 10 Downing Street on 30th July, 1997 - quickly became one of the most iconic events of the New Labour era. Celebrities including Helen Mirren, Eddie Izzard and Lenny Henry were invited to Britain’s seat of power to sup champagne with Tony Blair, the youngest Prime Minister since 1812.The defining image of the night was a photo of Blair chuckling away with rockstar Noel Gallagher. The Oasis singer defended his attendance (“because I’m from Burnage, and me mam would kill me if I turned down the chance to go to Downing Street. Wouldn’t yours?”), but later claimed to have snorted co*ke off the Queen’s lavatory whilst there.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal the surprising origins of the phrase ‘Cool Britannia’ (spoiler: the Tories did it first); ask whether popstar-politician collabs are ALWAYS ultimately disastrous; and consider whether the lukewarm reaction to David Cameron’s subsequent showbiz party might yet be considered a success for the Conservatives...Further Reading:• Footage from the party (Associated Press, 1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDa__W1_gcg• ‘Cool Britannia: where did it all go wrong?’ (New Statesman, 2017): https://www.newstatesman.com/1997/2017/05/cool-britannia-where-did-it-all-go-wrong• ‘David Cameron revisits Cool Britannia (with Michael McIntyre and Cilla Black)’, (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/30/david-cameron-a-listers-cool-britannia-partyFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #90s #Music #Politics #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/30/2021 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds

Robert Paden-Powell took twenty boys to Brownsea Island, Poole on 29th July, 1907, to embark on a ten-day camp. The trip was, essentially, a laboratory for his subsequent books - and, therefore, the global Boy Scout movement. Each day started with cocoa and exercises, and ended with campfire yarns. In between, there was a lot of knot-tying, parading and praying. By the time of the Second World War, 3.3 million British children were enrolled as Boy Scouts.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explore the link between the Boer war and B-P’s ‘Scouting Book for Boys’; unearth the racist and hom*ophobic elements of the global Scout movement; and explain why Indonesia has more Scouts than anywhere else...Further Reading:• ‘Brownsea Island: The First Camp’, from The Scouting Pages:https://thescoutingpages.org.uk/the-first-camp/• ‘Boy Scouts of America reaches $850BILLION settlement with 60,000 child sex abuse victims’ (Mail Online, 2021): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9748029/Boy-Scouts-America-reaches-pivotal-agreement-victims.html• ‘Who Was Baden-Powell? & How B-P Changed the World!’ (Scouter Stan, YouTube 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY9pv8iF4wgFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1900s #Sport #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/29/2021 • 9 minutes, 52 seconds

William James Herschel, a British colonial magistrate in India, first used fingerprints as a means of identification on 28th July, 1858 - not to catch a criminal, but to implement two-step verification on a contract.In Britain, the technology was first used to solve the theft of some billiard balls in 1902. These days, it’s been largely usurped by DNA, but remains a staple of the policing repertoire.In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider whether ears might be better criminal identifiers than fingers; reveal the history of the mugshot; and explain why koalas are our secret hand doubles... Further Reading:• ‘Press Down Firmly, You're in Our Files Now’ (WIRED, 2011): https://www.wired.com/2011/07/0728india-fingerprint-identification/• ‘The Blackburn child killer and rapist who changed criminal forensics forever’ (LancsLive, 2019): https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/blackburn-child-killer-rapist-who-17118836• The Bertillon System of Criminal Identification in use by the Police in the 1910s (Kinolibrary Archive Film collections): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8Myc8LZSMEFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Crime #Person #Inventions #Discoveries #Technology #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/28/2021 • 9 minutes, 35 seconds

Sir Walter Raleigh brought tobacco back to Britain from Virginia on 27th July 1586 - and, in so doing, triggered a craze for smoking, which at the time was considered a tonic for halitosis, and even a cure for cancer.Despite Queen Elizabeth I being an advocate for the new drug, it didn’t take long for the anti-tobacco movement to kick into gear - with King James I writing a treatise against smoking by 1604.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion revisit the phenomenon of ‘Dry Drunkenness’; explain why Eton’s schoolboys were prescribed tobacco with their breakfast; and reveal what happened to Raleigh’s head after he was executed…Further Reading:• Bob Newhart’s Walter Raleigh sketch (1962):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XDxAzVEbN4• ‘“This vile custome”: a history of tobacco's medical interpretations’ (Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh): https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/vile-custome-history-tobaccos-medical-interpretations• ‘Discovery of velvet bag may solve gory mystery of Walter Raleigh’s missing head’ (The Guardian, 2018): https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/oct/28/walter-raleigh-bag-severed-head-gory-mysteryWe had EVEN MORE to say about Sir Walter Raleigh and his tobacco fixation. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors! (*top two tiers only)We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1500s #Royals #Politics #Health #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/27/2021 • 9 minutes, 29 seconds

Linguist L. L. Zamenhof published ‘Dr. Esperanto's International Language’ on 26th July, 1887 - and in so doing launched Esperanto, the most popular ‘constructed language’ on Earth. Thanks to apps like Duolingo, there are still around 2 million esperantists today.It was once even proposed as the official language of the incipient League of Nations - but shortly afterwards, many esperantists, including Zemenhoff’s own children, were murdered in the Holocaust. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn about Amikejo, the 3.5 sq km territory between the Netherlands, Germany and France where Esperanto nearly became the official language; revisit the 1966 horror film ‘Incubus’, starring William Shatner; and consider whether Duolingo has killed off the language conference hook-up scene...Further Reading:• ‘L.L. Zamenhof and the Shadow People’(The New Republic, 2009):https://newrepublic.com/article/72110/ll-zamenhof-and-the-shadow-people• Tim Morley’s Ted X talk on why primary school children should learn Esperanto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gSAkUOElsg• ‘The bizarre story of a long-lost horror film made entirely in Esperanto, starring William Shatner’ (Quartz, 2017): https://qz.com/1035897/the-bizarre-story-of-a-long-lost-horror-film-made-entirely-in-esperanto-starring-william-shatner/Por bonifiko materialo kaj subteni la montr, vizito Patreon.com/Retrospectors Ni ..os est malantaŭo morgaŭ! Sekvi nin kie ajn vi trovas, ke viaj podkastoj: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLa Retrospectors estas Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, kun Matt Monteto. Temo Muziko: Pasi La Pizojn. Parolisto: Bob Ravelli. Grafika desegnado: Terry Saunders. Redakti Produktiston: Emma Corsham. Kopirajto: Rekonsider Aŭdio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Inventions #Arts #Jewish #Poland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/26/2021 • 9 minutes, 29 seconds

Concerned that it was too London-centric, the BBC commissioned a series of pop-up outside broadcasts for its youth music station Radio 1, kicking off modestly in Newquay on 23rd July, 1973. The events exploded in popularity, and spawned an annual tour of bucket-and-spade Britain, becoming the iconic ‘Radio 1 Roadshow’.Despite the concerts pulling in massive crowds - and radio audiences of around 15 million - the events struggled to attract credible music artists, who didn’t want to be seen rubbing shoulders with popsters like the Wombles and the Bay City Rollers.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how Steve Wright came to ‘give away’ his son in a late-night escapade, reveal ‘the shorts rule’ imposed on the network’s presenters, and applaud the entrepreneurship of ‘Smiley Miley’, the roadie who wangled the rights to sell the merch… Further Reading:• Peter Powell hosts the Radio 1 Roadshow, 1982: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El-fuGW9DfQ• A compilation of archive Radio 1 footage from the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06w9txp• ‘The Happy Sound’ - a history of the Roadshow at Radio Rewind: https://www.radiorewind.co.uk/radio1/roadshow.htmFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #70s #Inventions #Arts #Music #Technology #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/23/2021 • 9 minutes, 43 seconds

Billed as a concours for ‘horseless carriages’, the Paris–Rouen competition which took place on 22nd July, 1894, is now widely considered the world’s first motor race. Only 21 vehicles qualified. Some of them had solid iron tyres. One was an eight passenger wagonette that weighed four tonnes. The car that came in first - a 20 horsepower steam tractor - was ruled ineligible.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the wisdom of interrupting proceedings for a 90 minute luncheon, ask whether horsepower has become an unhelpful measurement of speed in the 21st century, and explain how the UK’s Locomotive Act of 1865 killed England’s chances of competing...Further Reading:• Vintage cars repeat the Paris-Rouen route in 1966 (Associated Press): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q94gZfHQ9JQ• An account of the race from Goodwood’s historic motorsport pages (2019): https://www.goodwood.com/grr/race/historic/2019/6/the-1894-paris-rouen-trial-the-race-that-wasnt-a-race/• Race-winner Albert Lemaître and his ‘crime of passion’:https://peoplepill.com/people/albert-lemaitre-2For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Technology #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/22/2021 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds

German pop duo Milli Vanilli sold 33 million singles, including three US number ones, but harboured a shameful secret: their vocals were sung by someone else. At a promotional gig in Connecticut on 21st July, 1989, their backing track crashed - and speculation began to mount.“I knew right then and there, it was the beginning of the end for Milli Vanilli,” ‘singer’ Rob Pilatus admitted to the Los Angeles Times in November 1990. “When my voice got stuck in the computer and it just kept repeating and repeating, I panicked. I just ran off the stage.″In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion reveal how impresario Frank Farian created the band from his Boney M template; ask whether the young men fronting the project took a disproportionate amount of the flack from the public; and consider if ‘Girl You Know It’s True’ might just be the most popular pop song ever to have a spoken word intro… Further Reading:• The moment the record skipped (VH1 Behind The Music): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiB3GTW-j2o• ‘30 Years Ago, Milli Vanilli Returned Their Best New Artist Grammy; Should They Get the Award Back Now?’ (Variety, 2020): https://variety.com/2020/music/news/milli-vanilli-grammy-scandal-fab-morvan-1234865697/• Frank Farian turns 75 (DW, 2016): https://www.dw.com/en/boney-m-producer-frank-farian-turns-75/a-19406061For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #Music #Discoveries #Technology #White #US #Germany Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/21/2021 • 10 minutes, 23 seconds

France's Jewish population mostly had no family surnames - until 20th July, 1808, when Napoleon issued a decree insisting they adopted one. They were not permitted to choose place names, and allusions to the Old Testament were forbidden.Rumours persist that some families were charged higher fees to adopt prettier names, but in a Europe rife with antisemitism, Napoleon’s creations of Jewish consistoires (regulatory bodies) is still seen by some as a relatively tolerant policy.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal the genesis of their names, explain how compound names like Rosenberg and Goldberg came about, and reveal the world’s names most in danger of extinction.Further Reading:• The Imperial Decree, at Napoloeon.org: https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/imperial-decree-of-20-july-1808-concerning-jews-with-no-fixed-first-or-family-names/• ‘What's in a Surname: The History of Surnames and How They Help in Family History Research’, (MyHeritage, 2019):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sxmdkud0P8• Alec Berg’s surname inspires this episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm:https://www.hbo.com/curb-your-enthusiasm/season-08/1-the-divorce/synopsisFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Politics #Jewish #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/20/2021 • 9 minutes, 41 seconds

The world’s biggest-selling chocolate bar underwent a name-change in Britain on 19th July, 1990. Until then - concerned that Brits might refer to their candy as ‘knickers’ - Snickers had been known as ‘Marathon’ in the UK. 31 years later, the decision still smarts for some sections of the confectionary-buying public - but, thanks to the ‘You’re Not You When You’re Hungry’ campaign, its popularity has increased, regardless.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion dig around in the manosphere, untangle the Mars / Milky Way / Three Musketeers transatlantic naming nightmare; and reveal Frank Mars’ penchant for women named Ethel… Further Reading:‘It’s packed full of peanuts, but not too sweet’ - the 1980s ‘stockbrokers’ Marathon ad featuring Rebecca’s ex-colleague https://youtu.be/QJgD9cI4_xQ‘Case study: How fame made Snickers' 'You're not you when you're hungry' campaign a success’ (Campaign, 2016): https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/case-study-fame-made-snickers-youre-not-when-youre-hungry-campaign-success/1410807‘The Untold Truth of Snickers’ (Mashed, 2020):https://www.mashed.com/203394/the-untold-truth-of-snickers/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Food #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/19/2021 • 9 minutes, 38 seconds

Kissing was a big deal in the Middle Ages: for signing contracts, for greeting colleagues, and for showing deference to the King - a tradition that ended on 16th July, 1439, when Henry VI issued a decree imploring his citizens to stop kissing his ring.Some 400 years before the modern concepts of hygiene and germs had been scientifically established, the 18 year-old monarch clearly had an instinct that clamping down on kissing might stop the spread of the bubonic plague - a deadly disease that had been rampant for 100 years.In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca explain why one village soaked their supplies in vinegar; reveal how to write a letter to the King (with appropriate levels of flattery); and consider the merits of banning bearded men from handling milk… Further Reading:• BBC profile of Henry VI: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/henry_vi_king.shtml• ‘Here ye, here ye: No more smoochies!’ (History Daily, 2020): https://historydaily.org/kissing-ban-england-response-black-plague-1439• ‘What Made The Black Death So Deadly?’ (The Infographics Show, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5q-PIN3KSEFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1400s #Royals #Discoveries #White #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/16/2021 • 10 minutes

The first images of Mars found their way back to Earth from NASA’s Mariner 4 mission on 15th July, 1965 - and were simultaneously revelatory and disappointing.Delivered as binary code, rendered in black and white, and revealing only 1% of the planet, the photos were coloured in by hand and showed no evidence of life. But they played a significant part in the scientific understanding of the Red Planet for years to come.In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca compare the computing power of the 1960s with ‘lame’ Victorian telescopes; reveal the surprisingly recent date that the first ever colour image of Mars was committed to camera; and explain how a mis-translation from Italian lead H.G. Wells to think there may be Martian waterways...Further Reading:• Mariner 4 at NASA.gov: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/mariner-4• ‘Men Encounter Mars’ (NASA documentary, 1965): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKVzepl-2zY• ‘First Mission To Mars: Mariner 4’s Special Place in History’ (Cosmos, 2017): https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/first-mission-to-mars-mariner-4-s-special-place-in-history/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#60s #Discoveries #Science #Technology #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/15/2021 • 10 minutes, 3 seconds

Dr Benjamin Spock’s ‘Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care’ was first published on 14th July, 1946. It was then translated into 40 languages, selling over 50 million copies - second only to the Bible in the USA.Spock’s thesis is perhaps best summarised in its seminal opening sentence: ‘Trust yourself, you know more than you think you do’. This intuitive approach was a shock to the world of parental guidance: just 18 years prior, psychologist John B Watson had recommended that children should be treated as adults. In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly revisit the radically different 1916 tome ‘The Mother and Her Baby’; explain how Spock’s trusting instincts were a mainstay of his career; and consider whether Gene Rodenberry’s preference for strong-sounding names REALLY explains how ‘Spock’ became a character on Star Trek...Further Reading:• TV interview with Dr Spock (1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9fSG01h_0w• ‘The Pied Piper Of Permissivism’ (The Guardian, 1962): https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jun/23/dr-benjamin-spock-baby-and-child-care-1962• ‘Dr Spock’s Timeless Lessons in Parenting’ (The Conversation, 2019):https://theconversation.com/dr-spocks-timeless-lessons-in-parenting-122377For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#40s #Science #Discoveries #Person #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/14/2021 • 9 minutes, 44 seconds

Queen Victoria moved from her birthplace, Kensington Palace, and decreed Buckingham Palace her official residence on 13th July, 1837. She was 18, newly-crowned - and until then had shared a bedroom with her mother.Built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham, the Palace had never previously permanently housed anyone, and was reportedly drafty, dirty, and staffed by ‘slovenly’ servants. But, you know, she made do.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine the escapades of ‘the boy Jones’ - a teenage stalker of the young Victoria; pore through the pages of the young monarch’s diaries; and reveal which celebrities claim to have got down and dirty in the Queen's official residence…Further Reading:• Profile of Queen Victoria from Historic Royal Palaces: https://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/history-and-stories/queen-victoria/#gs.59mhsd• Buckingham Palace page at the Royal Collection Trust: https://www.rct.uk/visit/buckingham-palace/who-built-buckingham-palace#/• ‘Victoria’s Palace’ documentary (ITV, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUn63ZIELxUFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#Victorian #1800s #Royals #White #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/13/2021 • 9 minutes, 46 seconds

‘Disco Demolition Night’, the brainchild of 24 year-old shock jock Steve Dahl, caused mass hysteria at Comiskey Park, Chicago on 12th July, 1979 - causing a pitch invasion that lead to 39 arrests.Intended as a promotional event for a Tigers vs White Sox doubleheader, attendees were lured with discounted admission if they turned up to the game armed with disco records to be blown up with powerful explosives; an intermission entertainment that has since been contextualised as a racist, hom*ophobic book-burning.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion examine why Chicago was caught in a rock/disco divide; revisit the club classics of 1979; and question the wisdom of sex on third base…Further Reading:• Broadcast footage from the night - from The Museum of Classic Chicago Television: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqDkBM9vxw8• ‘Disco Demolition: the night they tried to crush black music’ (The Guardian, 2019):https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jul/19/disco-demolition-the-night-they-tried-to-crush-black-music• ‘July 12, 1979: 'The Night Disco Died' — Or Didn't’ (NPR, 2016): https://www.npr.org/2016/07/16/485873750/july-12-1979-the-night-disco-died-or-didntFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Sport #Baseball #Crime #Music #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/12/2021 • 9 minutes, 43 seconds

One of the BBC’s biggest-ever flops, soap opera ‘Eldorado’, broadcast its final episode on 9th July, 1993 - just one year after it had begun, at a reported cost of £10 million.Focussing on the glamorous lives of British expats - fusing the elements of ‘EastEnders’ and ‘Neighbours’ - it had seemed destined to be a sure-fire hit. So, a large permanent set for the fictional town of Los Barcos was built from scratch in the Costa Del Sol. These days it is used for paint-balling.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion unearth Rupert Murdoch’s alleged attempts to sabotage the soap; consider whether it was actually rather more successful an enterprise than it was given credit for at the time; and reveal which cancelled TV shows they’d resurrect, if only they could...Further Reading:• The final scene and closing credits of ‘Eldorado’ (BBC, 1993): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TfR15KgC6w• ‘Sun, sea and subtitles - how Eldorado became TV's biggest flop’ (The Guardian, 2018): https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jul/09/eldorado-bbc-one-soap-opera• Los Barcos - the Unofficial Eldorado Website: http://www.losbarcos.org.uk/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #TV #Person #UK  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/9/2021 • 9 minutes, 50 seconds

‘Our Lady of Kazan’, a painting of the Virgin and Child, was discovered in the ashes of a fire in the Russian town of Kazan on 8th July, 1579. The icon quickly became associated with miracles after two blind men were said to have their sight restored by standing in front of it.The original was stolen in 1904, but the copies still represent one of Russia’s most important pieces of religious art - credited by some with thwarting Napoleon’s invasion of 1812.In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly interrogate the reportage that continues to promote the ‘miracles’ performed by the painting; reveal Hermann Goering’s role in the fascinating 20th century history of the work; and recall a religious image of squirting milk that, once seen, cannot be unseen...Further Reading:• ‘Roman Catholic Saints’ profiles Our Lady of Kazan (2011): https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/our-lady-of-kazan.html• ‘The Miracle Behind One of St Petersburg’s Most Famous Landmarks’ (Russian National Tourist Office): https://www.visitrussia.org.uk/blog/the-miracle-behind-one-of-st-petersburgs-most-famous-landmarks/• The Associated Press records the day the icon was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church by the Pope (2004): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIVLYmmHrOEFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1500s #Art #Religion #Politics #Strange #Russia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/8/2021 • 10 minutes, 3 seconds

‘The Seven Wonders of the World’ *sounds* impressive, but could they do with an update? That was the mission of the mysterious Swiss-based ‘New 7 Wonders Foundation’ when they announced the NEW seven wonders of the world in a ceremony in Lisbon on 7th July, 2007.The finalists - including Petra, the Colosseum, and Chichen Itza - were decided by a public vote, but caused controversy nonetheless, as Australia claimed to be snubbed, and Brazil mounted a lavish campaign to get its people to participate. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca ask how ‘wonder’ should be quantified in the 21st century; compare notes on trips to ancient monuments; and pitch the Burj Khalifa against the Taj Mahal…Further Reading:‘Official Declaration of the New7Wonders of the World’ (2007), from the New7Wonders YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_n1JLu2OkcPhotos of the New 7 Wonders, from DW: https://www.dw.com/en/the-new-7-wonders-of-the-world/g-57906930‘Seven wonders stir up controversy’ (The Observer, 2007): https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/jun/03/escape.channeltunnelFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2000s #Discoveries #Switzerland #Portugal Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/7/2021 • 9 minutes, 15 seconds

Sliced bread had never been automated before Otto Rohwedder unveiled his “power-driven, multi-bladed bread slicer” at Chillicothe Baking Company on July 6, 1928 - after an astonishing SIXTEEN years of self-funded development.The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune ran a front-page story in response - warning that consumers might find sliced bread “startling,” but that “the typical housewife could expect a thrill of pleasure when she first sees a loaf of this bread with each slice the exact counterpart of its fellows.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of this seismic event to the creation of the pop-up toaster in 1921; consider what it means to be ‘an itinerant jeweller’; and reveal the results of a survey of 30,000 housewives on optimum slice-width…Further Reading:• ‘Sliced Bread: Where did it come from?’ on HowStuffWorks’ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q7oMc-L57c• ‘The best thing since sliced bread’ (Jim Glynne, The Madera Tribune, 2018):http://www.maderatribune.com/single-post/2018/07/07/the-best-thing-since-sliced-bread• Chillicothe, Missouri - ‘The Home of Sliced Bread’:http://www.homeofslicedbread.com/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#20s #Person #Food #Inventions #Technology #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/5/2021 • 9 minutes, 34 seconds

Swimwear never made more of a splash than when designer Louis Réard unveiled his daring new two-piece at the Piscine Molitor in Paris on July 5th, 1946. Showgirl Micheline Bernardini modelled the new attire, named after US nuclear testing site Bikini Atoll. Really.Eleven years later, Modern Girl magazine still considered it ‘inconceivable that any girl with tact and decency’ would ever be seen wearing a bikini. Yet, by the sixties, it had become commonplace on beaches around the world.In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider the role rival designer Jacques Heim played in inspiring the garment; reveal the countries where it remains illegal to wear a bikini (sometimes); and unearth Sarah Brightman’s surprising role in Bombalurina’s 1990 cover version of ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’...Further Reading:• 15 Hilarious First Reactions to the Invention of the Bikini (BestLife, 2019):https://bestlifeonline.com/bikini-invention-reactions/• Fred Cole’s scorn for bikinis (‘Fashion: In The Swim’, TIME, 1950):http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,813465,00.html• That Bombalurina video, featuring the future Mrs Barlow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LagoycfdCAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#40s #Inventions #Art #Fashion #White #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/4/2021 • 9 minutes, 47 seconds

Airships had flown since the 1850s, but the first rigid airship to comfortably carry passengers - the Zeppelin - had its maiden voyage at Lake Constance on 2nd July, 1900.The passion project of German aristocrat Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the ‘golden age’ craft were freezing cold on-board, and precarious: the majority of them eventually crashed. Nonetheless, his pluckiness captured the German imagination, raising millions of Reichsmarks, and inspiring Hitler to co-opt the machines for political and military means.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider how Zeppelin’s connections to Daimler saved his start-up; explain why the Hindenburg (fatefully) ended up being filled with hydrogen, rather than helium; and reveal the plans of a Bedfordshire-based business to bring blimps back to Britain’s skies...Further Reading• ‘A History of German Airship Aviation’ at Google Arts & Culture:https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/the-dream-of-flight-a-history-of-german-airship-aviation-zeppelin-museum-friedrichshafen/cQJywRaJSvazIw?hl=en• ‘The Hindenburg Disaster in 1937’ from PennLive (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b94SPaP7mU• The Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander 10 - from their official website: https://www.hybridairvehicles.com/our-aircraft/airlander-10/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1900s #Inventions #Technology #Germany Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/2/2021 • 9 minutes, 46 seconds

Sony’s revolutionary cassette player, the Walkman, debuted in the USA on 1st July, 1979, costing $150. It went on to shift a staggering 450m units.Boasting a classy aluminium chassis, audio splitter, and novelty ‘Hotline’ button for dance parties, the device took off after an advertising campaign featuring sexy models and an elderly Japanese monk.In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the genesis of the Walkman’s brand name; consider whether it deserved an even HIGHER place in TIME’s list of the Top 50 Most Influential Gadgets, and ask if, in 2021, we are living in the shadow of ‘The Walkman Effect’...Further Reading:‘The History of the Walkman: 35 Years of Iconic Music Players’ (The Verge, 2014): https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/1/5861062/sony-walkman-at-35The original TV spots for the Walkman in Japan (1979): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrrTv_BzAAQTIME’s list of the 50 Most Influential Gadgets of All Time (2016): https://time.com/4309573/most-influential-gadgets/To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors! (*top two tiers only)The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Music #Inventions #Technology #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7/1/2021 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds

6/30/2021 • 1 minute, 51 seconds

When marine amphibians fall from the sky, people tend to notice. So it was on 30th June, 1892 - when it reportedly rained FROGS in the Birmingham suburb of Moseley.Multiple accounts of animal rain - now thought to be caused by tornadoes sweeping up creatures as they traverse local water sources - can be found as far back as ancient Roman literature, and throughout the medieval era.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the Biblical resonance of froggy-drops, discover the “Miss ‘Rain of Fish’” competition in Latin America, and work out why it’s said to be ‘raining cats and dogs’, when it literally never is...Further Reading:‘Nine Times Animals Rained Down From The Sky’, from World List’s YouTube channel (2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWNSc49jDf8‘It's raining birds and frogs: Animal phenomena are surprisingly common but why do they happen?’ (Independent, 2011): https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/it-s-raining-birds-and-frogs-animal-phenomena-are-surprisingly-common-but-why-do-they-happen-2177017.htmlMore on ‘Miss Lluvia De Peces’ (All That’s Interesting, 2019): https://allthatsinteresting.com/fish-rain-lluvia-de-pecesFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Strange #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/30/2021 • 9 minutes, 26 seconds

Marshall Mathers III, aka Eminem, was sued for defamation by his own mother, Debbie, on 29th June, 2000. The suit was primarily in response to a lyric, “My Mom does more dope than I do”, from his hit song ‘My Name Is’.However, the case never made it to court. Eminem settled for $25,000 - almost of all of which went to Debbie’s lawyer, who then commented that the cash was not enough to compensate for having to deal with his client...In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider Eminem’s use of the Slim Shady ‘character’ in his lyrics, explain how tough it is to prove a defamation lawsuit against a piece of art; and revisit the work of Australian drag artiste ‘Pauline Pantsdown’.Further Reading:‘Eminem's Mom Makes Music’ (People, 1998): https://people.com/celebrity/eminems-mom-makes-music/‘The Mother Who Sued Her Own Son’, (Mel Magazine, 2019): https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/eminem-mom-debbie-mathers‘I’m A Backdoor Man’ by Pauline Pantsdown (1997): https://soundcloud.com/pauline-pantsdown/im-a-back-door-man-1997For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2000s #Art #Music #Person #Politics #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/29/2021 • 9 minutes, 48 seconds

The first modern dog show took place in Newcastle on 28th June, 1859. Essentially a sideshow to the annual exhibition of cattle, it featured just 23 pointers and 27 setters. The owners of the champion breeds won a gun.Allegations of inbreeding and nepotism plagued the contest from the very beginning; controversies which eventually sparked the invention of The Kennel Club in 1873.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider the competition’s historical connections to pigeon-fancying and eugenics; unearth Charles Dickens’ sceptical opinion of the 1862 ‘Monster Dog Show’ in Islington; and explain how Charles Cruft maneuvered himself up from dog-food salesman to create the premier event in canine display…Further Reading:Early 20th century dog shows at Vintage News Daily:https://vintagenewsdaily.com/22-lovely-photos-that-capture-vintage-dog-shows-in-the-early-20th-century/‘The Surprising History of Victorian Dog Shows’, (History Extra, 2009): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/the-surprising-history-of-victorian-dog-shows/British Pathé visits Monkstown Championship Dog Show (1950): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSbO7vWuDpcFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Inventions #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/28/2021 • 9 minutes, 50 seconds

The fork had only recently received Royal approval in Britain when it was gifted to the Governor of Massachusetts, John Winthrop, on 25th June, 1633.It took centuries for Americans to feel comfortable with this new way of eating, but in Italy it was already gaining ground, as Englishman Thomas Coryat observed in 1611, noting: "the Italian cannot by any means endure to have his dish touched with the fingers, seeing all men's fingers are not alike cleane. Herupon I myselft thought good to imitate the Italian fashion by this forked cutting of meate."In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider how the Victorians conspired to make cutlery culturally exclusionary; review the American method of ‘cut and switch’; and wonder whether the early Fork Sceptics were right to question the wisdom of putting metal in their mouths... Further Reading:• ‘Nearly 400 years later, the fork remains at the center of American dining controversy’, Quartz (2018): https://qz.com/1313214/nearly-400-years-later-the-fork-remains-at-the-center-of-american-dining-controversy/•‘The Rise of the Fork’, Slate (2012): http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/design/2012/06/the_history_of_the_fork_when_we_started_using_forks_and_how_their_design_changed_over_time_.html?via=gdpr-consent•‘The History of the Fork’ by History of the Plate on YouTube (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HCnFChptvIWe had EVEN MORE to say about forks and cutlery in general. No really. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!(*top two tiers only)We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1600s #Inventions #Food #Royals #US #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/25/2021 • 10 minutes, 1 second

6/25/2021 • 3 minutes, 1 second

‘Dancing Mania’ - in which people spontaneously danced to exhaustion, some until they broke their ribs and subsequently died, took hold of Aachen, Germany on 24th June, 1374.We still don’t really know why. Had the victims ingested ergot, a mould from rye bread that can inspire hallucinations? Was it a hysterical mass response to a stressful and traumatic environment? Or a kind of pre-smartphone flashmob? In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the likely causes and cures for this curious episode, learn about the equally extraordinary phenomenon of Tarantism, and play ‘guess the Saintly disease’... Further Reading:• ‘A Strange Case of Dancing Mania Struck Germany Six Centuries Ago’, Smithsonian Magazine (2016)https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/strange-case-dancing-mania-struck-germany-six-centuries-ago-today-180959549/• ‘A forgotten plague: making sense of dancing mania’, The Lancet (2009):https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(09)60386-X/fulltext• ‘Tarantism: A Rhythm For Your Soul’ (Giuliano Capani, 2008) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6fB4oInT7ATo hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors! (*top two tiers only)The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1300s #Strange #Macabre #Germany Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/24/2021 • 10 minutes, 1 second

Over $750m of merchandise had already been sold on the basis of the trailer alone, when Tim Burton’s Batman was released in the USA on 23rd June, 1989. Ten days later, it became the fastest-film ever to earn $100m.The first ‘adult’ Batman movie had been pitched as early as 1979, but, after various possible permutations - one of which would have cast Bill Murray as Batman and Eddie Murphy as Robin - it came to the big screen with Michael Keaton in the titular role ten years later.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion marvel at a world in which comic book nerds were an untapped resource; visit the British stately homes that stood in for Wayne Manor; and ask why no-one ever just shoots Batman in the face…Further Reading:• The original 1989 trailer for Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F07Mf1kxUKY• ‘The Battle To Make Tim Burton’s Batman’, The Hollywood Reporter (2019):https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/batman-michael-keaton-vetoed-michelle-pfeiffer-role-1989-film-1220139/• ‘Nike designed a pretty terrible pair of boots for Tim Burton's 1989 'Batman' movie’, Business Insider (2016): https://www.businessinsider.com/nike-batman-boots-2016-3?r=US&IR=TFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #Film #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/23/2021 • 9 minutes, 43 seconds

John McEnroe was once the world’s No.1 tennis player, winning seven major Grand Slams. But he’ll always be remembered for his extraordinary rant against umpire Edward James at Wimbledon on 22nd June, 1981.During his match with Tom Gullikson, James ruled that the New Yorker’s serve went out. McEnroe's reaction - "You can't be serious man, you cannot be serious!... You guys are the absolute pits of the world!" - staggered the genteel world of tennis.In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca discover that McEnroe had already established a bad-boy reputation with the UK press, who'd labelled him ‘superbrat’ in 1977; marvel at the reaction of the BBC commentators to the unfolding drama; and consider whether the general public would still actually remember who McEnroe was, if this had never happened...Further Reading:• The rant unfolding (1981), from the ESPN Archives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ransFQVzf6c• The Washington Post, pre-rant, record McEnroe’s depiction in Britain as ‘superbrat’ (1979): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1979/06/24/british-aim-fire-at-the-superbrat/7115ab3c-154a-4f5a-b99e-2632fbd2bc5f/• John McEnroe on ‘Desert Island Discs’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08xxfz3For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #Sport #Tennis #Person #White #US #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/22/2021 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

The Ordnance Survey - a government-funded agency created to aid the military in the event of invasion from France - took receipt of a theodolite on 21st June 1791, and so began the epic task of accurately mapping Britain. It took them twenty years to do the county of Kent. And another twenty years to do the South Coast. If you wanted a fragment of one of their hand-drawn maps on your wall, it would set you back two weeks’ wages.In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca pore through their OS Map collection to discover which county has the most commercial greenhouses, the exact location of ‘Britain’s highest pub’, and reveal the OFFICIAL answer to the much-pondered question, ‘Where is the centre of Britain?’... Further Reading:• ‘The Quirky History of Ordnance Survey And The UK’S Maps’, from Much Better Adventures magazine (2020): https://www.muchbetteradventures.com/magazine/ordnance-survey/• ‘A Short History of the Ordnance Survey’ from The Charles Close Society: https://www.charlesclosesociety.org/files/HistoryOSGB.pdf• ‘Attacking Scotland: Five centuries of maps by our enemies’ A lecture by Chris Fleet, Maps Curator of the the National Library of Scotland (2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGLxGLaJG_s&t=5sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1700s #Inventions #Politics #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/21/2021 • 9 minutes, 19 seconds

Designed by Imagineers, and located on the outskirts of Walt Disney World, the town of Celebration, Florida welcomed its first residents on 18th June, 1996.Over 5,000 families had applied to be amongst the first ever homeowners to reside, full-time, in the grounds of a theme park. Conceptually, the town was a mash-up of the wistful nostalgia that inspired the designs of Disneyland’s original Main St, USA and Disney’s ‘utopian city of tomorrow’ vision (which, eventually, manifested as EPCOT).In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider the restrictions of living in a New Urbanist community; ask why the town remains over 90% white; and wonder whether anyone really needs singing bins…Further Reading:• Disney fan-site ‘Inside The Magic’ on Walt’s ‘Florida Project’: https://insidethemagic.net/2021/01/walts-disney-florida-project-lp1/• Insider takes a tour of modern-day Celebration (2020): https://www.insider.com/what-it-is-like-to-live-in-celebration-florida-2020-1• ‘Celebration: the creepy real life town Disney built in Florida’ (news.com.au, 2019):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCko6cVniEwFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021#90s #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/18/2021 • 9 minutes, 48 seconds

Still the tallest statue in the USA, the Statue of Liberty arrived from France - in no less than 214 crates - in New York City on 17th June, 1885.Costing just $10m in today’s money, the Lady went on to symbolise the immigrant journey - even though the designers and engineers behind it had no such intention. And it wasn’t supposed to be green, either - that’s because it’s oxidized.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider whether NYC bagged themselves a bargain, reveal the origins of the ‘ticker tape parade’, and wonder if they could ever do something so epic for their Mums...Further Reading:• The Statue of Liberty: Building an Icon (The B1M, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QM0tipFQ9c• History on ‘How The Statue of Liberty Became An Icon’:https://www.history.com/news/statue-of-liberty-icon-building• Reuters fact-check: why Lady Liberty is NOT an enslaved black woman (2020): https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-statue-liberty-design-idUSKBN24B2L1We had EVEN MORE to say about Lady Liberty's arrival in the USA. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!(*top two tiers only)The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Arts #Inventions #France #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/17/2021 • 10 minutes, 20 seconds

6/17/2021 • 1 minute, 38 seconds

Over beers at The Golden Lion in Ashburton, Devon, ‘Screaming’ Lord Sutch founded his anti-establishment political party The Monster Raving Loony Party on 16th June, 1982.It wasn’t the first time the former rock n’roller had stood on a political platform - he had previously contested Harold Wilson's seat in 1966, achieving 585 votes. But his eccentric new party - with their satirical policies, velvet hats and oversized badges - soon became a fixture of British general elections.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine whether the MRLP’s biggest weapon was visual or lyrical; consider the realities of trudging around the country canvassing for a political party that will inevitably never win; and reveal just how many of the party's former ‘joke’ policies subsequently entered mainstream political thinking...Content warning: suicide, brief description of dead body.Further Reading:• The Official Page of the Monster Raving Loony Party: https://www.loonyparty.com/• Screaming Lord Sutch: An Obituary (The Guardian, 1999): https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/jun/19/guardianobituaries.nigelfountain• Screaming Lord Sutch sings ‘Jack The Ripper’ (1964): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2ZsWENob1sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #Politics #Music #Person #Macabre #UKIn the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/16/2021 • 10 minutes, 3 seconds

Rowan Atkinson headed up the cast and writing team, yet the first series of ‘The Black Adder’ drew a decidedly mixed reaction from audiences and critics when it debuted on BBC TV on 15th June, 1983.Set in 1484, and filmed in castles across England, the series led some wags to quip that it ‘looks a million dollars, but cost a million quid’. It was only later, when Ben Elton joined Richard Curtis to write subsequent series, that its iconic comedy characters truly took shape.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider the role of Oxbridge privilege in the genesis of the series, ask whether it was ever really an ‘alternative comedy’, and quote some funny lines at each other - because this is a discussion about Blackadder, after all...Further Reading:• The show’s profile on the BBC Comedy site (2014): https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theblackadder/• ‘Blackadder at 35: why the writers completely reinvented him after one series’ (The i, 2018):https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/blackadder-reinvented-after-one-series-164228• CLIP: ‘The Blackadder is Born’:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na4v8CeKnxMFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #Arts #TV #Person #White #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/15/2021 • 10 minutes

Circulated in some form since the 16th century, the ‘Index of Forbidden Books’ was quietly discontinued by Pope Paul VI on 14th June, 1966.In its 400-year+ history, the Index Librorum Prohibitorum had censored hundreds of authors including the German astrologer Keppler, the philosopher Kant, and Protestant theologians Martin Luther and John Calvin. But Darwin wasn’t included - because all books about atheism were automatically considered heretical.In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly explain the processes behind the scenes; revisit some choice exchanges between Catholic scholars; and reveal the books they’d ban forever - if only they could...Further Reading:• ‘Roman Catholics: The Issue of Imprimatur’ (TIME, 1966): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,836269,00.html• Wikipedia’s list of Authors and Works in the Index: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_authors_and_works_on_the_Index_Librorum_Prohibitorum• ‘Vatican: Forbidden Works’ from Journeyman Pictures:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_S81oSR2AAFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#60s #Arts #Religion #Politics #White #Italy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/14/2021 • 10 minutes, 12 seconds

It was the THIRD time behind bars for legendary rock n’ roller Chuck Berry when he was found to have dodged $110,000 in income tax on 11th June, 1979.He insisted on being paid cash-in-hand for his sometimes shambolic personal appearances, and his propensity for stashing it was so well-known that in Australia the authorities introduced limits on the amount of cash that could be transited across their border, specifically in response to him once stuffing $50,000 in his guitar case.In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly dig deeper into some of Chuck Berry’s former convictions; take a disturbing peek into his home video library; and reveal the true origins of the ‘duck walk’...Content Warning: detail of underage, exploitative and non-consensual sexual actsFurther Reading:• The New York Post on Berry’s scandalous sex life (2017):https://nypost.com/2017/03/21/the-dark-past-of-chuck-berrys-scandal-filled-sex-life/• Inc. on why Berry’s ‘musical genius was also his financial undoing’ (2017):https://www.inc.com/jay-jay-french/how-chuck-berrys-musical-genius-was-also-his-financial-undoing.html• Chuck Berry’s duck walk - a compilation:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwZcLpYPKoIFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #70s #Music #Crime #Person #Black #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/11/2021 • 10 minutes, 15 seconds

The Oxford v Cambridge Men’s Boat Race has been an annual tradition since 1856 - but the first one was the result of a light-hearted bet between two friends called Charles on 10th June, 1829.When Wordsworth (Christ Church College, Oxford) and Merivale (St. John’s, Cambridge) challenged each other to race up the Thames in Henley, they never could have known their schoolboy jape would attract 20,000 spectators, nor that it would go on to become one of the major sporting events in the British calendar. In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider if rowing is still an elitist sport; whether Oxbridge colleges should now ditch the pretence that they never admit postgraduate students specifically to participate in the race; and reveal Hugh Laurie’s consolation prize for losing for Cambridge in 1980…Further Reading: • ‘Origins of the Boat Race’ at the Boat Race’s official website:https://theboatrace.org/origins• 111 years after the original race, Oxford and Cambridge compete in Henley again (British Pathé, 1940):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQSsei8KxCw• ‘Ten Things You Didn’t Know About The Boat Race’ from Sky History: https://www.history.co.uk/article/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-boat-raceIf you enjoy this episode, there's more of Olly, Arion and Rebecca chatting about the boat race over on our Patreon page, patreon.com/Retrospectors.The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Sport #Rowing #White #UK  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/10/2021 • 10 minutes, 17 seconds

6/10/2021 • 3 minutes, 47 seconds

Orgies, drinking songs, and - perhaps most damagingly of all - Paganism were rumoured tools of the colonist Thomas Morton when he established Merrymount, New England. It wasn't long before he was deported back to Britain by the Puritans on 9th June, 1628.It was his sympathy for the locals which had really done for him. But the headline-grabbing moment was his erection of a Westcountry-stye maypole, around which locals and settlers had danced and drank, and generally cavorted in ways that colonists aren’t usually disposed to do.In this episode Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider why Morton’s story is so rarely taught in schools; interrogate Encyclopedia Britannica’s description of him as ‘picturesque’; and ask just how different Massachusetts really was from 17th century Devon...Further Reading:• Bob Neufeld reads Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ‘The May-Pole of Merry Mount’ (1836):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZzS5xIZ4rI• ‘The Maypole That Infuriated the Puritans’, from The New England Historical Society: https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/maypole-infuriated-puritans/• ‘The two men who almost derailed New England’s first colonies’ at The Conversation (2016): https://theconversation.com/the-two-men-who-almost-derailed-new-englands-first-colonies-68213For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1600s #Person #Religion #White #US #UK  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/9/2021 • 9 minutes, 57 seconds

Sam Panopoulos, creator of the Hawaiian pizza, died on 8th June, 2017 at the age of 83. Originally Greek, he moved to Ontario, Canada at the age of 20 and opened a restaurant where he experimented with toppings far beyond the typical ‘60s triumvirate of mushroom/bacon/pepperoni.Alongside a Chinese-American chef, he kick-started an international appetite for ham and pineapple that grows to this day - the Hawaiian becoming America’s favourite delivery pizza topping in 2021.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the merits of ‘Irish pizza’ (corn beef, cabbage and potato...); reveal that the ‘super-boring’ Napolitana was itself only ‘invented’ in 1889; and attempt to establish if the Hawaiian pizza is actually popular in Hawaii… Further Reading:• Sam Panopoulos’s obituary on CBC News’ ‘The National’ (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DccNpObmrjk• The Guardian’s obituary to Panopoulos (2017):https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jun/10/sam-panapoulos-inventor-of-hawaiian-pizza-dies-aged-83• An alternative history? The menu to ‘Francine’s Pizza Jungle’ - uncovered in The Oregonian’s archives:https://twitter.com/mrgan/status/1303461195005833216For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #2010s #Person #Inventions #Food #Chinese #Asian #US #Canada Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/8/2021 • 9 minutes, 28 seconds

Edgy, gritty and sexy, the Broadway production of ‘Grease’ opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on 7th June, 1972, beginning what would become a record-breaking eight-year run. Despite NOT featuring some of the most well-known hits from the movie - including ‘Grease Is The Word’, ‘You’re The One That I Want’ and ‘Hopelessly Devoted To You’ - the production attracted an unusually high proportion of blue-collar audiences, keen to see working-class and ethnic immigrant subculture portrayed in a musical.In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the origin of the word ‘greasers’, explain why ‘50s nostalgia played little part in the original success of the show, and consider whether the Grease Megamix is an appropriate choice for 10 year olds to sing at a Summer Ball…Further Reading:• The Playbill from the original production:https://www.playbill.com/article/playbill-archives-grease-1972-com-143094• ‘It’s The Longest-Running Show on Broadway’ - a 1970s TV commercial for the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phxb5K7jUUw• The original dialogue from ‘Grease’ c/o New Line Theatre:http://www.newlinetheatre.com/grease-dialogue.html For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Theatre #Arts #Music #Film #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/7/2021 • 10 minutes, 1 second

‘The Annoying Thing’ is how the begenitaled amphibian animated by Erik Wernquist was first described; but by the time he released his first single ‘Axel F’ he was universally known as The Crazy Frog, and beat Coldplay’s ‘Speed of Sound’ to UK #1 on 4th June, 2005.The tale of how this possibly could have happened is unique to the early days of the internet - a teenager messing about imitating motorbike noises emailed the sound to some friends, Wernquist stumbled across it and put it in his portfolio, and then it was adopted for sale by mobile ringtone company Jamster.In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca consider the value of Crazy Frog’s musical legacy, reveal that he’s not even a frog, and applaud the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority for standing up to protest, and permitting us to witness his visible scrotum… Further Reading:• Crazy Frog - Axel F (2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k85mRPqvMbE• ‘Find out how the world’s most annoying noise came about’ - The Sun commemorates Crazy Frog’s 20th birthday (2017): https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/2974489/crazy-frog-just-turned-20-relive-his-hellish-magic-here/• Not So Crazy Frog (Documentary, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8vVz1KoU2sThere is SEVEN MINUTES of bonus material from our discussion about Crazy Frog. We had a lot to discuss. To hear it, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors and support the show.We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2000s #Music #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/4/2021 • 10 minutes, 9 seconds

6/4/2021 • 7 minutes, 20 seconds

Radical playwright Valerie Solanas, author of the SCUM Manifesto (for the ‘Society of Cutting Up Men’) attempted to assassinate pop artist Andy Warhol at The Factory on 3rd June, 1968.As a result, Warhol wore a corset for the rest of his life; security had to be introduced at the previously open-door environment of The Factory; and Solanas’ name went down in infamy.In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca ask whether her feminist writing would carry more weight if she’d never committed this violent act; consider the ethics of wannabe-assassins becoming celebrities, and wonder whether her SCUM Manifesto reads more like Jane Austen or Germaine Greer…Content Warning: mental health, paranoid schizophrenia, injury detailFurther Reading:• ‘I Shot Andy Warhol’ trailer (1996): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAQRCcQlXXE• ‘The SCUM Manifesto’ on Northeastern University’s website: https://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/shivers/rants/scum.html• ‘This Is Why a Radical Playwright Shot Andy Warhol’ (Time, 2015): https://time.com/3901488/andy-warhol-valerie-solanas/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#60s #Person #Arts #Crime #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/3/2021 • 9 minutes, 35 seconds

The ‘Battle of Santiago’ was the name given to the shambolic and brutal World Cup Final between Chile and Italy on 2nd June, 1962.Featuring drop-kicks, punching and nose-breaking, the incendiary footage of the match was introduced by the BBC’s David Coleman as “the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football, possibly in the history of the game.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how referee Ken Aston took inspiration from the event to invent red and yellow cards; explain why Chile, still recovering from the Valdivia earthquake, had taken Italy’s criticism of their country so seriously; and question whether the BBC’s apparent indignation was entirely genuine...Further Reading:• ‘Disgusting and Disgraceful: The Battle of Santiago At World Cup 1962’, The Sportsman (2018):https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/disgusting-and-disgraceful-the-battle-of-santiago-at-world-cup-1962• FIFA revisits the match in 2018:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5t_RoUrvgg• The Guardian looks back at this day in history (2014):https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/mar/04/stunning-moments-no4-battle-of-santiagoFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#60s #Sports #Football #Chile #Italy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/2/2021 • 9 minutes, 38 seconds

‘Cafe coronaries’ were a fact of life until The Journal of Emergency Medicine published details of The Heimlich Manoeuvre on June 1, 1974.In so doing, they made a household name of thoracic surgeon Henry Heimlich, and saved countless diners from choking in restaurants. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca examine whether Heimlich’s notoriety was truly deserved; explain how his Hollywood connections helped him spread the word of his achievements; and revisit his misguided pursuit of malariotherapy as a treatment for HIV...Further Reading:• Henry Heimlich administers his manoeuvre on Johnny Carson and Angie Dickinson - ‘The Tonight Show’ (1979): https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1850117411675283• Peter Heimlich’s critical blog about his father’s legacy: https://www.medfraud.info/• Dr Henry’s Emergency Lessons For People (1980): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmHm8OOz8P8For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Science #Inventions #Food #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/1/2021 • 10 minutes, 12 seconds

John Harvey Kellogg believed his corn flakes had a future as a sexual suppressant when he filed a patent for "Flaked Cereals and Process of Preparing Same" on 31st May, 1895.What the Seventh Day Adventist and eugenicist hadn’t counted on was his brother Will - who combined his discovery with sugar; effectively creating the Kellogg company that still exists to this day. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion reveal the origins of the word ‘Sanitarium’, explain what Dr. Kellogg got up to on honeymoon; and revisit his alarming prescription for yoghurt...Content Warning: references to eugenics, masturbation, sexual contentFurther Reading:• ‘John Harvey Kellogg, MD: Health Reformer and Antismoking Crusader’ at the U.S. National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447485/• NPR’s Fresh Air on ‘How The 'Battling' Kellogg Brothers Revolutionized American Breakfast’ (2017): https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/08/08/542145177/how-the-battling-kellogg-brothers-revolutionized-american-breakfast?t=1621942499296• Discovery’s ‘How It’s Made’ visits a cereal factory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPpMV_vcVEgFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Person #Inventions #Food #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/31/2021 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds

Before ‘Tomb Raider’, before ‘Mortal Kombat’, before ‘Street Fighter’, there was something even WORSE. ‘Super Mario Bros’ - which opened in the United States on 28th May, 1993 - was such a critical and commercial failure that for years afterwards Nintendo kept their franchises out of Hollywood hands.Relocating the action to ‘Dinohattan’, the film inexplicably disregarded most of what had made the videogame such a smash-hit and replaced these elements with allusions to Blade Runner and Tim Burton’s Batman.In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca reveal Bob Hoskins’ drinking and accident-prone habits on-set, consider the relative strength of today’s spinoffs such as The Lego Movie, and analyse the secret sauce that keeps the Mario brand strong in the face of such adversity… Further Reading:• CinemaSins presents: ‘Everything Wrong with Super Mario Bros in 21 Minutes or Less’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYQHnPOYc5Q• ‘The Stench of it Stays With Everybody’, The Guardian (2018): https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/mar/22/super-mario-bros-movie-killing-fields-chariots-fire-video-game• ‘Plumbing a Videogame To Its Depths’ - the New York Times reviews the film in 1993: https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/29/movies/review-film-plumbing-a-video-game-to-its-depths.htmlFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Film #Games #Inventions #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/28/2021 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

Microwave cookery was first demonstrated by Ross Kilgore of Westinghouse at the Chicago World’s Fair, which opened on 27th May, 1933. But the event was deemed to be a side-show of little scientific significance, and was forgotten until microwaves were ‘discovered’ two decades later.Incredibly also on display at the Chicago World’s Fair were incubated premature babies; people with dwarfism paraded in ‘midget’s village’; and, most attention-grabbingly of all, a provocative fan dancer called Sally Rand. Different times.In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca compare the Fair’s SkyRide to its ‘coal mine’; question the purpose of a cigar-smoking robot; and explain why amoebic dysentery made an unwelcome souvenir for many... Further Reading:• America’s Best History looks back at the ‘Century of Progress’ exhibition: https://americasbesthistory.com/wfchicago1933.html• Wilding Pictures captures Technicolor footage of the Fair in 1934: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTqNPjQvOC0• The ‘Coal Mine’ exhibit, preserved at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry:https://www.msichicago.org/explore/whats-here/exhibits/coal-mine/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#30s #Discoveries #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/27/2021 • 10 minutes, 24 seconds

The most iconic image of the 80s? Arguably. One of the biggest-selling posters of all time? Unquestionably. Yet ‘L’Enfant’ - captured on 26th May 1986 by photographer Spencer Rowell - was just a workaday, rapid-turnaround project for high street store Athena.The photo, which went on to adorn over five million walls, is often credited with inventing the ‘New Man’ - but the people in the photograph were hardly financially rewarded for their subsequent stardom.In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal what ‘the baby’ is up to these days; consider the extent to which the image’s cheesy reputation is tied up with British awkwardness around male sexuality; and examine just how many women model Adam Perry claims to have bedded since…Further Reading:• The original poster, uploaded by Eighties Kids: https://www.eightieskids.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/1-1.jpg• The Independent reports on the ‘excess, addiction and tragedy’ of ‘L’Enfant’:https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/curse-man-and-baby-athena-and-birth-legend-432331.html• Spencer Rowell talks to Uncertain States in 2010:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0mUbTajhOcFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #Arts #White #Person #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/26/2021 • 9 minutes, 49 seconds

Chinese citizens were once again able to read and perform the works of William Shakespeare on 25th May, 1977. Chiang Ching, Chairman Mao’s wife, had instituted the ban eleven years earlier - amidst concerns that the Bard’s works could be reinterpreted to undermine the Party’s rule and ideology.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion ask why British Literature has enjoyed a reversal of fortune under President Xi; reveal how Shakespeare’s childhood home is connected to The Venetian, Las Vegas; and recall a surprising fact about One True Voice’s forgotten hit, ‘If I Had Shakespeare’s Way With Words’... Further Reading:• An article on the ban from History: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chinese-government-removes-ban-on-shakespeare• The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust report on the Chinese building project:https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/about-us/news-media/press-releases/shakespeares-family-homes-be-re-created-china/• One True Voice. You have been warned:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zptNzFv4uIUFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Arts #Asian #Theatre #Politics #China Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/25/2021 • 10 minutes, 11 seconds

5/25/2021 • 1 minute, 36 seconds

Spectacle, camp and glamour were NOT on the agenda in Lugano, Switzerland on 24th May, 1956: the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast mostly on the radio, and featured a whistling duo as its interval act. Who had to perform twice.Voting controversy, however, was enshrined in the institution right from the outset - as Judges were permitted to award points to their own nations, and vote in absentia.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal which countries have most consistently scored the famous ‘nul points’; consider why the future of the contest seems to lie Eastwards, and revisit Israel’s entry from 1999, ‘Happy Birthday’...Further Reading:• Lys Assia wins the first Eurovision for Switzerland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyqIPvOkiRk• Facts and Figures from the 1956 contest at the official Eurovision website:https://eurovision.tv/event/lugano-1956• Full list of 1956 voting and points from Eurovisionworld:https://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/1956For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#50s #Arts #Music  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/24/2021 • 9 minutes, 20 seconds

When Carl Wickman started America’s first bus company on 21st May, 1914, they weren’t a bus company, and they weren’t called Greyhound - they were a commuter service for miners in Hibbing, Minnesota.But, despite their ‘dirty dog’ reputation (and the fact they’re now owned by a British conglomerate), the company is still seen as a cornerstone of American culture, and undoubtedly the most famous bus company in the world.In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca consider the role of Hollywood in enshrining Greyhound’s exalted status in the popular imagination, speculate as to whether the development of highways killed the romance of inter-city travel, and reveal why, after the longest coach journey in the world, Father Christmas made Rebecca cry...Further Reading:• The ‘bus scene’ from It Happened One Night (1934): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvzgCo-As6A• Mental Floss celebrate 100 years of Greyhound: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/54273/100-years-dirty-dog-history-greyhound• ‘Facts and Figures’ from Greyhound’s official website:https://news.greyhound.com/facts-figuresFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1910s #Inventions #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/21/2021 • 9 minutes, 59 seconds

When Hitachi launched their ‘personal massager’ on 20th May, 1968, they had no idea (or so they claim) that they were about to, um, go down in sex toy history.The Magic Wand was initially developed to relieve tension and relaxing sore muscles - but soon became celebrated as the most powerful vibrator the world had ever seen.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion discover how its innocent packaging helped boost sales when female masturbation was taboo, reveal the role sex educator Betty Dodson had in introducing it to the chattering classes, and consider how Apple would react today, if it was revealed that ‘rubbing an iPad on your bits felt good’...Content Warning: Explicit content, references to genitalia.Further Reading:• ‘A Brief History of The Magic Wand’, Cosmopolitan (2017): https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a14105499/hitachi-magic-wand-history/• Sam returns her ‘neck massager’ to The Sharper Image in Sex and the City (2002):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T4QIO4XVPc• Magic Wand’s official website:https://magicwandoriginal.com/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#60s #Inventions #Discoveries #Funny #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/20/2021 • 10 minutes, 2 seconds

When Marilyn Monroe delivered her breathy, flirtatious rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ to JFK on 19th May 1962, columnist Dorothy Kilgallen remarked, 'it seemed like Marilyn was making love to the President in front of 40 million Americans.' In fact the two are said to have never seen each other again, and just three months later Monroe was dead from a drug overdose.In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the forgotten, steel-based second verse of the song Monroe also sang that night, consider the role The Simpsons has played in ruining this moment forever, and explain why ‘Sing A Song of Sixpence’ has a lot to answer for…Further Reading:• Marilyn’s iconic performance - and the giant cake presented shortly afterwards:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvoqK6aLE2E• Biography on the story behind the song:https://www.biography.com/news/marilyn-monroe-happy-birthday-mr-president-jfk• Reader’s Digest investigate what happened to Marilyn’s dress:https://www.rd.com/article/marilyn-monroe-happy-birthday-dress/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#60s #Person #Politics #Arts #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/19/2021 • 10 minutes, 22 seconds

Bram Stoker’s Dracula was first introduced to the world NOT via his canonical novel, but rather in the pages of a seldom-performed - and by all accounts appalling - play-reading at London's Lyceum Theatre on 18th May, 1897.The stage version was not intended to reach a mass audience; but was rather a clever wheeze of Stoker’s to ensure he was recognised as the creator of his iconic characters - as the script needed to be rubber-stamped by the Lord Chamberlain's office prior to performance.In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the copyright battle Stoker’s widow nonetheless endured with the makers of ‘Romanian knock-off’ ‘Nosferatu’, consider the benefits of Stoker’s ‘found footage’ approach to authorship, and reveal how an incident in Rhode Island, of all places, may have inspired Stoker to write his play... Further Reading:• Some pages from Stoker’s manuscript at the British Library: https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/bram-stokers-stage-adaptation-of-dracula#• Watch ‘Nosferatu’, on Timeless Classic Movies:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC6jFoYm3xs• Stoker’s life at the Lyceum in ‘Henry Irving & Bram Stoker: A Working Relationship’ from The Irving Society:https://www.theirvingsociety.org.uk/henry-irving-bram-stoker-a-working-relationship/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Theatre #Person #Arts #White #Macabre #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/18/2021 • 10 minutes, 6 seconds

Gun totin’, horse ridin’ spectacular ‘Buffalo Bill’s Wild West’ opened in Omaha, Nebraska on 17th May, 1883 - the start of a multi-decade run. With a cast of hundreds, including Calamity Jane, Sitting Bull, and Annie ‘Get Your Gun’ Oakley, it toured the world - and forever shaped the way cowboys and Indians were represented in popular culture.  In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion reveal the little-known indoor version of the show, consider the role of Native Americans in the ensemble, and explain why the Cossacks in the cast weren’t so popular when they returned home to Georgia…   Further reading:• Footage from Buffalo Bill's show - from the McCracken Research Library, Wyoming:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3meHAqxuDI• William F. Cody profiled at the University of Sheffield’s National Fairground and Circus Archive:https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/nfca/researchandarticles/buffalobill• ‘Ten Things You May Not Know About Annie Oakley’, from History: https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-annie-oakleyFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1880s #Person #Inventions #Arts #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/17/2021 • 9 minutes, 48 seconds

5/17/2021 • 2 minutes, 18 seconds

Can ‘mesmeric’ mental powers harm you from afar? Well, no. But that didn’t stop Lucretia L. S. Brown accusing fellow Christian Scientist Daniel H. Spofford of ‘malicious animal magnetism’ in court; a case that concluded on 14th May, 1878. No doubt bolstered by the fact it took place in Salem, Massachusetts - home of the historic American witchcraft trials, in the 1690s - the case aroused public interest with its judgements on mind control and spiritualism.   In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider the gender politics of witchcraft trials, examine the enduring popularity of folk magic in rural communities, and uncover the surprising rise of witchcraft in the 21st century... Further reading:• ‘The Other Salem Witchtrials’ - a blog-post from the Oxford University Press:https://blog.oup.com/2013/04/the-other-salem-witch-trials/• Brian A. Pavlac investigates the ‘original’ Salem witch trials for TED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVd8kuufBhM• ‘The Long Lost Friend’ by John George Hohman (1820): https://archive.org/details/0223252.nlm.nih.gov/page/n5/mode/2upFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/14/2021 • 9 minutes, 40 seconds

‘WannaCry’, the biggest cyberattack the world has seen, was stopped in its tracks on 13th May, 2017. British blogger Marcus Hutchins found the 'kill switch'. He was 22. The ransomware had attacked the NHS, Renault, Telefónica, FedEx, and Boeing - causing damage estimated at up to $8 billion.  In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion revisit Hutchins’ incredible story, from childhood computer programmer to criminal hacker and, eventually, British hero; consider when exactly their own children will eclipse their technical proficiency; and discover what ‘sinkholing’ is... Further reading:• ‘The Confessions of Marcus Hutchins, the Hacker Who Saved the Internet’ - a long read interview in ‘Wired’:https://www.wired.com/story/confessions-marcus-hutchins-hacker-who-saved-the-internet/• “I’m no hero”, Marcus Hutchins tells the Telegraph:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5dNdnG_t1U• Follow Marcus Hutchins on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MalwareTechBlog For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2010s #Person #Crime #Technology #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/13/2021 • 10 minutes, 42 seconds

When Bill Wilson met Dr Robert Smith on 12th May, 1935, they could not have known that the 12-step plan they’d devised for treating addiction would spawn the world’s largest support group.  Despite their initially low success rate, they persisted to aid recovering alcoholics and their names went down in history - to the extent that A.A. members still sometimes identify each other by asking, ‘...are you a friend of Bob?’. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion review the current trajectory of ‘mindful drinking’ amongst millennials, consider why the number ‘12’ still features prominently in listicles, and reveal the ingredients of the co*cktail that got Wilson hooked on booze in the first place... Further reading:• Bill Wilson tells his story in 1965: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9oNOrTcOzM• Take a virtual tour of Wilson’s home, ‘Stepping Stones’, in Katonah, New York: https://www.steppingstones.org/tours.html• What is AA? Alcoholics Anonymous (USA)’s current website:https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/what-is-aa For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#30s #Person #Invention #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/12/2021 • 9 minutes, 54 seconds

At a cost of £2m, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical ‘Cats’ premiered at the New London Theatre on 11th May, 1981 - and the world had never seen anything like it.  With a cast including Brian Blessed and Elaine Paige, the original production was innovative, sexy, creepy, bizarre - and an enormous gamble for the impresarios who backed it. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion look back at the original reviews for the show, consider whether John Napier’s award-winning costume design was actually incredibly lazy, and reveal how the show’s signature song, ‘Memory’, nearly didn’t happen at all... Further reading:• Elaine Paige performs ‘Memory’ in the original production:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm5w7gHEtJI• Sue MacGregor interviews the cast and crew for Radio 4’s ‘The Reunion’:https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008jyn• ‘Cats’ - a timeline from London’s Evening Standard:https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/cats-musical-history-a4439316.htmlFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#80s #Arts #Theatre #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/11/2021 • 10 minutes, 54 seconds

5/11/2021 • 1 minute, 34 seconds

As Annette Sorensen drank margaritas in a New York BBQ restaurant on May 10th, 1997, she left her 14 month-old daughter outside, in a stroller.  She spent two days in jail, was accused of child neglect, and was separated from her baby for four days. But Sorensen, a Danish visitor to the States, claimed she was following Scandinavian norms, and tried to sue for $20m. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion examine whether leaving your baby outside in the street really IS a Danish custom, consider the culture clash between Copenhagen and NYC, and confess the weirdest places they’ve left their own children... Further reading:• The AP films Sorensen’s (first) court appearance:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-KCeRHBzK4• The New York Times covers the story in 1997:https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/14/nyregion/toddler-left-outside-restaurant-is-returned-to-her-mother.html• 20 years after the case, Annette Sorensen speaks to The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/26/anette-sorenson-denmark-new-york-baby-left-outsideFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Person #Politics #Crime #Denmark #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/10/2021 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds

The theft of Edvard Munch’s iconic painting ‘The Scream’ sullied the opening day of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer - but, on 7th May, 1994, the iconic work was recovered. The painting, which has been stolen multiple times, was returned on this occasion thanks to the involvement of Britain’s Metropolitan Police - and the comic ineptitude of the thieves.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explore the bizarre career of professional footballer turned art thief Pal Enger; consider what Munch had in common with modern-day artists like Damien Hirst; and reveal whether Macaulay Culkin’s ‘scream’ on the poster for Home Alone was a deliberate tribute... Further reading:• When ‘The Scream’ was stolen AGAIN - in 2005 -https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2005/jun/13/art.arttheft• Conservator Gry Landro talks about what happened to the painting after the robbery - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm45OPVxoCc• The Athletic profiles Pal Enger - https://theathletic.co.uk/2445693/2021/03/16/the-footballer-turned-art-thief-who-stole-the-scream/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Voiceover: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#90s #Arts #Crime #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/7/2021 • 9 minutes, 48 seconds

Queen Victoria thrilled the locals with a personal appearance on May 6th 1882, to dedicate Epping Forest, near London, as ‘the people’s forest’.  It was a pivotal moment in the preservation of green space for public recreation - as industrialisation around the capital lead to increasing swathes of land being developed for profit.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how, at one time, as much as one-third of the landmass of Southern England was considered a ‘Royal Forest’, why breaking the rules could land you in ‘forest court’ - and reveal the modern-day criminals chasing after the park’s mushrooms... Further reading:• British Pathé commemorates the glories of Epping Forest (1943) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0Z8KB9Y5RI • ‘The Day Queen Victoria Gave Epping Forest To The People’ - https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/1452517.day-queen-victoria-gave-epping-forest-people/• The arch that was built to commemorate the visit - https://www.eppingforestguardian.co.uk/news/18753957.queen-victoria-visited-chingford-epping-forest-dedication/For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Voiceover: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Victorian #Royals #Person #White #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/6/2021 • 9 minutes, 44 seconds

It was standing room only at Birmingham Town Hall on May 5, 1964 - the day legendary anti-smut campaigner Mary Whitehouse launched her ‘Clean Up TV’ campaign. Claiming the BBC’s Director-General was “responsible for the moral collapse in this country”, she went on to attract 366,355 signatures to her petition opposing the “disbelief, doubt and dirt that the BBC projects into millions of homes through the television screen”.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion revisit her objections to ‘filth’ as diverse as Chuck Berry’s ‘My Ding-A-Ling’ and concentration camp footage; consider whether her M.O. influenced modern-day ‘cancel culture’; and ask if, in a world of 24-hour news, her feelings about war reporting have achieved some merit... Further reading:• Letters from Mary Whitehouse in the National Archives: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/sixties-britain/letters-mary-whitehouse/• Mary Whitehouse’s obituary in The Guardian (2001):https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/nov/24/guardianobituaries.obituaries• From the Huntley Film Archives, the night Clean Up TV launched their petition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO_DqJ85jvkFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Voiceover: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#60s #TV #Person #White #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/5/2021 • 9 minutes, 19 seconds

5/4/2021 • 1 minute, 13 seconds

Thirteen years before ever being broadcast, the Grammys took their first steps into rock n’ roll history on May 4, 1959 - when, curiously, they were held in two separate cities on the same night. If you were a fan of rock n’roll, however, you’d have been sorely disappointed by the winners - ‘Tequila’ by The Champs, Perry Como’s ‘Catch A Falling Star’, and, bizarrely, David Seville & The Chipmunks’ ‘The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)’. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain why The Chipmunks were so acclaimed, consider whether the Grammys have a problem with race, and reveal which noughties novelty pop song was inspired by The Sugarhill Gang... Further reading:• The 1958 Grammys - the winners in full:https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/1st-annual-grammy-awards-1958• The Dark, Angry Father of ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’: https://www.vulture.com/2015/11/the-dark-angry-father-of-alvin-and-the-chipmunks.html• The Beverly Hilton, one of the locations for the first ever Grammys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRYVAodIvw4For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Voiceover: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#50s #Music #Arts #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/4/2021 • 9 minutes, 16 seconds

Eva Gabor’s appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on May 3rd, 1966 introduced the party game ‘Twister’ to an appreciative nation. Previously considered too racy for toy distributors, who nicknamed it ‘sex in a box’, the game went on to sell an astonishing three million copies in that year alone. But it was also greeted with moral panic, following news reports that teenagers were having naked Twister parties.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion reveal the original names for the iconic game, consider the toy’s induction into the US National Toy Hall of Fame - and ponder the surprising success of the Tonight Show spot, given that it was in black and white...Further reading:• The Tonight Show clip has been lost to history - but here’s Merv Griffin and the band having a go a few days later: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3kqLHFtlU4• Twister’s induction into the US National Toy Hall of Fame: https://www.toyhalloffame.org/toys/twister• Twister’s creators, Reyn Guyer and Mel Taft, on how Eva Gabor helped them hit the big time: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/feb/24/how-we-made-twisterFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Voiceover: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021#60s #Games #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5/3/2021 • 9 minutes, 9 seconds

Revisiting remarkable moments from history - with considerably less respect than that suggests. new daily entertainment show from Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina, and Arion McNicoll. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/19/2021 • 55 seconds