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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

10:50

Balloons With Bombs On

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/22

Rerun: The world’s first notable air raid occurred on 22nd August, 1849, when the Austrian Army attacked Venice using a fleet of 200 miniature hot air balloons, each delivering a 33lb pound bomb. Following a disastrous first attempt - when the balloons blew back on to their own men - this time the Austrians equipped each balloon with a long copper wire to trigger the detonation. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly weigh up if the event had a decisive effect on their recapture of the Italian

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12:28

The Voodoo Revolution

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/21

The creation of Haiti was the culmination of a slave revolt that began on a stormy night in the dense woods of Bois Caïman in Saint-Domingue, on 21st September, 1791, when a Voodoo ceremony led by the Jamaican-born priest Dutty Boukman called upon the enslaved Africans to reject their masters and embrace freedom in a bloody uprising.Saint-Domingue was France’s most lucrative colony, producing vast quantities of sugar, coffee, cotton, and indigo. However, this wealth came at an enormous human cost

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11:42

Never In The Field Of Human Conflict

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/20

Winston Churchill had only been Prime Minister for three months when, on 20th August, 1940, he delivered ‘The Few’ - one of his most iconic speeches - in the House of Commons. Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how and why Churchill’s paean to the courage of RAF pilots during the Battle of Britain has been so well-remembered - albeit mainly for a quote that appears in the middle of a lengthy address: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”. In this episode, The

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12:02

Creating The Soap Box Derby

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/19

A whopping 40,000 spectators gathered at Burkhart Hill in Dayton, Ohio, to witness the first-ever All American Soapbox Derby on August 19th, 1934. Hundreds of kids, aged 10 to 15, raced in homemade cars built from recycled materials and old pram and bike wheels, all powered solely by gravity. The event originated in 1933 when young William Condit and his friends were encouraged by his father to organise a race, which drew the attention of the Dayton Daily News. Myron Scott, a photographer for the

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11:12

On Tour with the Siamese Twins

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/16

Rerun: Conjoined teenagers Chang and Eng Bunker began their world tour in Boston, Massachusetts on 16th August, 1829. ‘Discovered’ by Scotsman Robert Hunter in Siam (now Thailand), the boys inspired the term ‘Siamese Twins’, despite being ethnically Chinese. Chang was a heavy drinker, and Eng was a teetotaller - yet they shared a liver. They had faced discrimination in the US, yet became slave-owning plantation owners in North Carolina. Then they married sisters - Sarah and Adelaide Yates. In this

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12:07

America's Nazi Summer Camps

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/15

Rerun: Camp Siegfried hosted a ‘Nazi Camp Fete’ for 40,000 attendees on 15th August, 1938. The Summer resort, on Yaphank, Long Island, was the epicentre of the German-American Bund: an organisation devoted to establishing a Nazi stronghold across the United States. Alongside campfire building and swimming lessons, young attendees were taught to emulate the Hitler Youth and host mini Nuremberg-style rallies. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how delegates were trained to anticipate a

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13:01

Inside The Stanford Prison Experiment

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/14

The Stanford Prison Experiment, created by Philip Zimbardo, began on 14th August, 1971. 24 male college students volunteered to be assigned roles as either ‘guard’ or ‘prisoner’ in a mock jail: the ‘prisoners’ were ‘arrested’ by real cops outside their family homes and marched down to a Police Station before being transferred to their imitation incarceration. Once inside, they were stripped, deloused, and given smocks and ID numbers; while guards were outfitted with khaki uniforms, mirrored

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11:45

The 'Mock' Battle of Manila

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/13

The ‘mock’ battle of Manila took place on 13th August, 1898, when the Spanish Army attempted to save face by staging a low-impact fight with the Americans, handing over the territory of the Philippines without seeming weak. The pseudo engagement aimed for a bloodless resolution, but unintentional shots fired from both sides disrupted the facade. However, the stratagem effectively terminated the Spanish-American war, 106 days after its commencement - and (temporarily) prevented Filipinos from

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12:50

Singer's Sewing Machine

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/12

Isaac Singer's iteration of a mechanised sewing machine received US Patent Number 8294 on 12th August, 1851. By refining an existing design by Elias Howe, and improving it with a straight-line shuttle and straight needle, Singer’s prototype produced 900 stitches a minute, compared to 40 stitches by hand, drastically reducing the time it took to make garments; a beacon of efficiency that slashed production time from hours to mere minutes. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore the racier

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11:35

Britain's First Nudist Beach

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/09

Rerun: Black Rock - a 200-yard strip of pebbly beach in Brighton - was first set aside for naked bathers on 9th August, 1979. It came after a campaign by the Central Council For British Naturism, who had previously petitioned 140 local authorities.When Conservative councillor Eileen Jakes responded positively to the call, she was accused of pandering to weirdos and perverts. Fellow councillor John Blackman said the beach would facilitate a "flagrant exhibition of mammary glands". In this episode,

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11:33

When The Beatles Crossed The Road

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/08

Rerun: Abbey Road was a street known only to North Londoners until The Beatles posed on the zebra crossing outside EMI Studios on 8th August, 1969. Photographer Iain MacMillan took just six snaps, one of which graced the front cover of their penultimate album, ‘Abbey Road’.The image became instantly iconic, partly due to the decision not to name the band or the album on the front of LP. It even spurred a conspiracy theory that claimed that Paul McCartney was dead, and being played by a lookalike,

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11:25

California's Courtroom Siege

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/07

Jonathan Jackson, teenage brother of imprisoned black power activist George Jackson, entered the Marin County Courthouse concealing three guns under his raincoat on 7th August, 1970. In the middle of a trial, he took Judge Harold Haley hostage in a bid to secure his brother's release. The previous year had seen a landmark incident at San Quentin Correctional Facility, when three black inmates were shot dead by white prison guards. George Jackson, Jonathan’s brother, had become a prominent figure,

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12:07

Meet The Addams Family

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/06

The Addams Family debuted as a one-panel cartoon in The New Yorker on 6th August, 1938. Created by Charles Addams, the family (who for decades were essentially archetypes, without character names) were a satirical inversion of the ideal postwar American middle-class nuclear family, delighting in the macabre, and seemingly unaware or unconcerned that other people find them bizarre or frightening. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Addamses finally got their TV names;

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12:31

Let's Revive Welsh

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/05

Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Nationalist Party, was founded on 5th August, 1925, with a principal mission to revive the Welsh language. Despite boasting a history of over 1,400 years - evolving from the Celtic language spoken by ancient Britons - Welsh was on the decline in the 20th century, following significant suppression dating back to the 1536 Act of Union that banned Welsh in legal and public spheres. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how protests over an RAF training camp in Gwynedd

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11:53

Who Killed William II?

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/08/02

Rerun: William II, son of William The Conqueror, took a hunting trip to the New Forest on 2nd August, 1100 - and was shot dead by an arrow, which punctured his lung. But, whodunnit? Chroniclers laid the blame at the door of Walter Tirel, who quickly fled to France. But could it have really been fratricide, orchestrated by William’s younger brother Henry? In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion weigh up the suspects; review William’s ‘addiction to sodomy’, and unearth other undignified Royal deaths

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11:57

Let's Do The Twist

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/07/31

Rerun: Chubby Checker's "The Twist", the most popular single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, was released on 1st August, 1960.It was just a cover version of a B-side which had already been released by its writer, Hank Ballard - but after it appeared on The Dick Clark Show, the world slowly became obsessed with the catchy tune and simple lyrics, and the suggestive dance that inspired it. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly tell the bizarre story of how Checker was selected to perform

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12:31

Little Hugh and the Blood Libel

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/07/31

Nine year-old ‘Little Hugh’ went missing in Lincoln on 31st July, 1255. A popular narrative emerged that local Jews (in fact gathering for a wedding) had kidnapped, tortured, and crucified him, perhaps even eating his blood; an antisemitic myth that persisted for centuries, only called out by the Church of England in 1955.A local Jewish man called Copin confessed to the crime (after being tortured), claiming to annually sacrifice Christian children. He was executed and over ninety other Jews were

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12:46

Goodbye Top of the Pops

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/07/30

The final episode of ‘Top Of The Pops’ aired on 30th July, 2006. Co-hosted by necrophiliac paedophile Jimmy Savile, the BBC institution ended after 42 years with little fanfare and no live performances. In this episode, The Retospectors consider whether TOTP could or should have survived longer into the 21st century; unpick what lay behind its enormous success in its 70s heyday; and get into a bit of argy-bargy about Snow Patrol’s ‘Chasing Cars’... Further Reading: • ‘Top of the Pops axed’ (The

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11:07

Bienvenue à l'Arc de triomphe

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/07/29

King Louis Philippe unveiled an iconic Parisian monument, the Arc De Triomphe, on 29th July, 1836. But, due to fears of an attack, only 11 people attended the event - six of whom were soldiers. Originally commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 after his victory at Austerlitz, the Arc was inspired by the ancient Roman triumphal arches. But progress was slow. By 1810, only the base of the pillars was completed, leading to a makeshift wooden and canvas structure for his wedding procession. In this episode,

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10:59

Let's Build A Language

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/07/26

Rerun: Linguist L. L. Zamenhof published ‘Dr. Esperanto's International Language’ on 26th July, 1887 - and in so doing launched Esperanto, the most popular ‘constructed language’ on Earth. Thanks to apps like Duolingo, there are still around 2 million esperantists today.It was once even proposed as the official language of the incipient League of Nations - but shortly afterwards, many esperantists, including Zemenhoff’s own children, were murdered in the Holocaust. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca

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