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Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

BEST DAILY SHOW (British Podcast Awards Nominee, 2026). Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann (Answer Me This!), Rebecca Messina (The Week Unwrapped) and Arion McNicoll (The Chaser). 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! Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or

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All Episodes

11:34

Who Ate All The Mayonnaise?

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/12/13

Rerun: 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

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12:09

Winona's Shoplifting Scandal

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/12/12

Rerun: 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

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10:42

Angry Birds Begins

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/12/11

Mobile game Angry Birds debuted on the App Store on 11th December, 2009. The quirky and fun cartoonish characters and addictive gameplay found fans - but it took Apple featuring the app as their ‘Game of the Week’ in early 2010 for the Finnish creation to become a cultural juggernaut, catapulting mobile gaming into the mainstream.Angry Birds wasn’t just a game; it was a masterclass in universal appeal. Rovio cracked the code of "four-quadrant gaming," targeting men, women, kids, and adults alike

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12:56

The Dog Statue Controversy

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/12/10

On 10th December, 1907, angry medical students and animal rights activists were clashing over a controversial bronze statue of a brown terrier who had been dissected at University College London in 1903, revealing violations of animal experimentation regulations. The ‘brown dog’ case fuelled the anti-vivisection movement, kickstarting a fundraising appeal that culminated in the erection of a memorial in Battersea - chosen as the statue’s location because of its association with the famous dog home

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11:36

Theirs Not To Reason Why

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/12/09

Alfred Tennyson’s ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ was first published on 9th December, 1854, in The Examiner. Tennyson had penned the poem shortly after reading a dramatic account in The Times of the disastrous charge, which occurred during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War. Its rhythmic cadence, mimicking the galloping charge, made it both poignant and memorable, and the poem was an instant hit with the public - though critics were sniffy about the poet’s rhyming of ‘blunder’ and

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11:40

Joyce Brothers - $64,000 Swot

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/12/06

Rerun: 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

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12:01

Christie's First Auction

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/12/05

Rerun: 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

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13:34

The Earliest Dinosaur 🦕

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/12/04

A 245 million years old fossil named Nyasasaurus parringtoni was officially determined the earliest known dinosaur on 4th December, 2012; meaning dinosaurs had roamed the Earth at least 10 million years earlier than the previously believed "dawn of the dinosaurs."Unearthed in Tanzania in the 1930s and mostly ignored for decades, the fossil’s story was brought to light through meticulous analysis by paleontologists in collaboration with museums. The dating of the Nyasasaurus also bridged the gap

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12:55

Where's Agatha Gone?

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/12/03

Renowned detective novelist Agatha Christie found herself at the centre of a real-life mystery: when she mysteriously disappeared for 11 days, from 3rd December, 1926. Shortly after learning of her husband's infidelity, Christie had driven away from the family home, abandoning her car near a quarry. There was a massive manhunt as theories circulated in the newspapers, including murder, suicide, or intentional disappearance. Eventually she was spotted in a spa hotel in Harrogate, living under an

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13:03

The Enron Illusion

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/12/02

Enron—the seventh-largest company in the U.S.—filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 2nd December, 2001, marking the dramatic end of a business empire once hailed as unstoppable. What once looked like a financial juggernaut turned out to be a house of cards built on illusory profits, market manipulation, and sheer audacity. “Creative” accounting, including mark-to-market practices, had inflated their profits by booking future revenues as current earnings. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly

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11:20

Concorde - The Future of Flight

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/11/29

Rerun: 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

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12:09

The Cabbage Patch Riots

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/11/28

Rerun: 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,

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11:47

Mitzvahpalooza!

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/11/27

Aerosmith, 50 Cent and Tom Petty starred at 13 year old Elizabeth Brooks’ $10 million bat mitzvah party on 27th November, 2005. The lavish do, at New York’s legendary Rainbow Rooms, became a symbol of extreme extravagance, and triggered an investigation into her father, David H. Brooks.Brooks had been CEO of a military body armour company that thrived during the post-9/11 war boom, and later died in prison. But the infamy of his daughter’s blowout birthday bash continued, not least because, despite

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11:32

The First Frat House

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/11/26

Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall the founding of The Kappa Alpha Society, the oldest continuously existing college fraternity, established as a literary society at Union College, New York on 26th November, 1825. The founders, led by John Hart Hunter, sought camaraderie and intellectual discussions, creating a forum where they could break free from the constraints of the curriculum. The use of Greek letters and mottos added an element of secrecy, a common feature of fraternal orders during that era

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11:49

The Medieval Titanic

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/11/25

When The White Ship hit a rock near Barfleur on 25th November, 1120, she sank, killing all 300 noblemen on-board. Among the dead was Henry I’s one legitimate son, William Adelin, plunging the English throne into a dynastic crisis. Like the Titanic, the vessel was considered the epitome of safety and prestige for its time, Captained by Thomas FitzSteven, whose father had piloted the boat that brought William the Conqueror to England. But, despite this pedigree, the crew and passengers’ decision to a)

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11:38

Star Trek's Interracial Kiss

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/11/22

Rerun: 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

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11:54

Let's Revolve A Restaurant

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/11/21

Rerun: 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 cocktail, 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

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11:36

Beethoven's Biggest Flop

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/11/20

Beethoven's first attempt at opera, Leonore, premiered in Vienna on 20th November, 1805. Attendance was sparse, due in part to Napoleon's recent invasion: the audience largely composed of French officers. And, unlike almost all his other work, the piece still has a reputation as ‘A Director’s Graveyard’. Why?Possibly because the setting - a jail - is drab and uninspiring. Perhaps because the archetypal characters are mostly singing about their inner life. Or… maybe because it’s all sung in German,

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11:42

Pelé's 1000th Goal

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/11/19

Arion, Rebecca and Olly pore over the astonishing career of football legend Pelé, who (by his own count, if not FIFA’s) scored his 1,000th goal on 19th November, 1969. Smashing racial barriers, Pelé was the first black player to grace the cover of LIFE magazine; played a pivotal role in Brazil's triumphs at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the 1962 World Cup in Chile, and the 1970 World Cup in Mexico; and remains the all-time leading scorer for his club, Santos FC. In this episode, The Retrospectors

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11:55

The (Lady) Pirates of the Carribbean

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/11/15

Rerun: 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

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