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PODCAST

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll. From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar"s invasion of Britain to America"s Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes! Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee). Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.

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All Episodes

10:19

Fonzie Jumps The Shark

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/20

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

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10:18

The Bermuda Triangle Theory

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/17

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

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10:27

The First Student Newspaper

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/16

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

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10:04

Rebirth of the MINI

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/15

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

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9:47

Oh Say, Can You See?

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/14

‘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

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10:19

I’mma Let You Finish

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/13

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

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10:19

The 19th Century Drunk Driver

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/10

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

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9:45

Laughter, Uncanned

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/09

'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

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10:16

Apple’s $100m U2 Fail

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/08

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,

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9:14

The Umbrella Assassin

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/07

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

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10:10

The Self Service Revolution

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/06

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

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10:04

Becoming Frederick Douglass

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/03

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 - andone of the most photographed men of the 19th century.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Douglass’s story

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9:35

Queen of the Cuban Sea

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/02

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

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9:49

Nokia’s Beloved Brick

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/09/01

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

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10:06

I Say, Boy, It’s Foghorn Leghorn

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/08/31

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

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9:37

The Birth of Ladybird Books

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/08/27

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

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10:10

Colin The Caterpillar - A Cultural Odyssey

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/08/26

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

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9:33

The Beatles’ Giggling Guru

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/08/25

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

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10:13

The End of The Pirate Monk

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/08/24

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

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9:53

Bogie and Bacall Burn Up The Screen

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2021/08/23

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

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1,261 results

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