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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

10:47

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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11:07

Chaplin: Birth of The Tramp

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/07

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

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11:13

I Am Anastasia

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/06

Grand Duchess 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

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10:41

The Plastic That Changed The World

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/05

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

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10:07

The First Groundhog Day

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/03

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

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10:07

The First Groundhog Day

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/02

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

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9:59

The Hashish Club

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/01

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,

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10:18

TV's First Soap Opera

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/31

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

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10:37

Bring Me The Head of Oliver Cromwell

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/30

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

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10:45

Bush, Frum and the Axis of Evil

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/29

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

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10:36

The Man Who Sold The Wind

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/26

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:

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9:48

Soundtracking the Royal Wedding

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/25

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

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11:18

I've Struck Gold!

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/24

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

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10:28

The Elephants of War

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/23

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,

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10:32

Bjorn Borg's Retirement Bombshell

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/22

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 ‘Borgasm’ 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

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10:17

I Impregnated Lucy

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/19

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

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10:10

Arriving At Botany Bay

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/18

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

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