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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

9:51

Shutting Down Napster

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/03/06

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 platform

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10:02

Che In The Sky With Jacket

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/03/05

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

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11:05

John Lennon's Jesus Controversy

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/03/04

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,

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10:37

I Want My MTV

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/03/01

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

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11:01

Salem's Witchcraft Epidemic

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/29

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

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10:21

Dord: The Ghost Word

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/28

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

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10:37

Unmasking Mardi Gras

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/27

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 the

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10:27

Woodrow Wilson and the Grand Canyon

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/26

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

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10:30

The Plot To Kill The Cabinet

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/23

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

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10:27

The Most Famous Sheep in the World

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/22

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

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10:09

When Polaroid Changed Photography

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/21

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

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10:46

Let's Colonise Florida

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/20

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 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,

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10:30

When Jarvis Met Jacko

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/19

The frontman of Pulp, Jarvis Cocker, 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 Cocker 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

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10:34

The Monk Who Met The Mongols

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/16

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

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10:24

The Delia Backlash

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/15

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

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10:35

Hollywood's Gossip Queens

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/14

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

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10:47

The Jamaican Bobsled Team

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/13

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

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10:32

Death of the 9 Day Queen

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/12

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

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10:50

Will vs Gareth

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/09

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

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10:07

Inventing The Credit Card

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/08

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

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1,161 results

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