x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

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.

history film history

All Episodes

12:13

The Horse Bus

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/19

Blaise Pascal created the first organised public transport system: the carrosses à cinq sols (“five-sou carriages”), which had its first full day of service in Paris on 19th March, 1662.Like a modern bus, the horse-drawn carriages followed fixed routes and scheduled departures, running whether or not they were full; a scheme authorised by royal patent under the reign of Louis XIV, granting Pascal’s partners exclusive rights to operate the service. Each vehicle carried around eight passengers,

en

11:46

Braille For Your Feet

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/18

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

en

11:38

Parading for St Paddy

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/17

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

en

12:35

Burn The Heretics!

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/16

Over 200 people were burned at the stake on 16th March, 1244, throwing themselves on to the pyre in their refusal to accept the Catholic church.These ‘Cathars’ reportedly followed a radical dualist belief system, seeing the material world as the creation of an evil force, with salvation lying in renouncing earthly pleasures. After years of persecution, on this day they found themselves trapped in Montségur Castle, perched atop a dramatic limestone peak. But many historians now believe the

en

11:49

Fall of the Maya

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/13

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

en

12:13

Yes, We Canberra

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/12

What is Australia’s capital city? Not Sydney. Nor Melbourne. It’s Canberra: so named at an official ceremony on 12th March, 1913 - when the site was little more than grazing land for sheep.But for this newly-federated nation, Canberra’s remote, inland location was a deliberate compromise to offset the rivalry between the country’s two largest cities. Sydney had long been the principal colonial centre, but Melbourne’s rapid expansion during the nineteenth-century gold rush made it an equally

en

12:18

Meet The Luddites

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/11

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,

en

11:43

The Foreigners Fighting For France

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/10

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;

en

12:42

Stalin's Daughter

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/09

Svetlana Aleluyeva walked into the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi on 9th March, 1967, and asked for political asylum. As the only daughter of Joseph Stalin, she was an unknown figure outside the USSR; panicking American diplomats: how could they grant her asylum, without warming up the Cold War?The U.S. tried to keep her defection under wraps, but upon arriving in New York in April 1967, she held a press conference where she denounced her father as a "moral and spiritual monster" and renounced her

en

11:19

Shutting Down Napster

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/06

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

en

11:27

Hula Hoop Mania!

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/05

The hip-swivelling Hula Hoop craze swept through America within months of its 1958 debut - yet Wham-O didn’t receive a patent for it until 5th March, 1963. The toy had first come to the attention of Arthur K. 'Spud' Melin, the company’s co-founder, when Australian swimsuit model Joan Anderson demonstrated it in California. Appending the ‘hula’ name to it tapped into the zeitgeist for Hawaiian imagery, but manufacturing it out of inexpensive plastic tubing was a masterstroke. In this episode,

en

12:39

John Lennon's Jesus Controversy

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/04

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,

en

11:58

Comstock's War On Obscenity

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/03

Sending rude mail was dealt a devastating blow on 3rd March, 1873, when the campaign against pornography, 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

en

11:32

It's King Kong!

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/03/02

King Kong roared onto the silver screen on March 2nd, 1933, in an extraordinary simultaneous screening at Radio City and the Roxy, New York - attracting 10,000 viewers in one hit. The buzz around the film was no accident — RKO Pictures had blitzed the public with an aggressive marketing campaign, including publishing a novelization before the film’s release and producing a radio serial that aired twice a week. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how animation genius Willis O’Brien

en

12:05

Unmasking Mardi Gras

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/27

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

en

12:58

And The Winner Isn't

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/26

The 89th Academy Awards reached its grand finale on 26th February 2017, with a balls-up that instantly entered Hollywood lore. Presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway stepped onstage to announce Best Picture and declared La La Land the winner. Cast and crew flooded the stage, speeches began, and the orchestra swelled - but the true winner, of course, was Moonlight.Beatty’s visible hesitation, replayed endlessly since, stemmed from a simple but catastrophic mistake: he had been handed the

en

11:56

The Lonely Hearts Serial Killer

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/25

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

en

11:49

Hello Francis, this is God

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/24

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

en

11:46

Get Your Specs On!

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/23

Optometry historians observe 23rd February, 1305 as the day eyeglasses were perhaps first discussed in public, when friar Giordano de Rivalto stood at the pulpit and declared that he had personally met the man who invented spectacles... Except, frustratingly, he forgot to mention the bloke’s name. One popular contender for the title is Salvino D'Armati, a Florentine said to have created the first glasses in 1284. The only problem? His story turned out to be a hoax—his supposed 1317 epitaph even

en

12:14

Let's Colonise Florida

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/20

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 20th, 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,

en

1,253 results

Similar Podcasts

The Old Front Line

Paul Reed

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

جنود خلدهم التاريخ

ALSUMOOD PODCAST

Film History - Daily

Inception Point Ai

Madonna - Biography Flash

Inception Point Ai