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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

11:16

Panto's Greatest Dame

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/20

Victorian music hall star Dan Leno, creator of Widow Twankey and Mother Goose, was born on 20th December, 1860. A child prodigy of the stage, Leno kicked off his career as "Little George, the Infant Wonder," winning the World Clog Dancing Championship in Leeds.Having become an esteemed character comedian, Leno was poached to play Dame Durden in ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane - a success so immense that he played the role for 15 consecutive years, effectively kickstarting

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9:36

The War on Christmas

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/19

England’s Puritan Parliament attempted to purge Christmas of Catholic influences on 19th December, 1644, by passing The Ordinance for the Better Observation of the Monthly Fast, an attempt in the legislature to solemnise the day and prevent the public from indulging in carnal and sensual delights. Essentially: to ban Christmas.The enforcement of these measures led to numerous conflicts, including the Plum Pudding Riot of 1647, when 10,000 men in Kent signed a petition declaring they would rather see

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10:12

Introducing The Nutcracker

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/18

The premiere of Tchaikovsky’s seminal ballet ‘The Nutcracker’, on 18th December, 1892, at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg. It was NOT a hit.The composer, who thought the Alexander Dumas source material was slight and childish, only agreed to write the piece if it was shown in a double-bill with his opera, ‘Iolanta’. He certainly didn’t want to repeat the critical failure of his earlier work: a certain ‘Swan Lake’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a trip to Paris

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11:15

Spice World!

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/15

At the height of the ‘Cool Britannia’ craze, the Spice Girls released their first movie, ‘Spice World’, with a glittering premiere at the Empire Leicester Square, on 15th December, 1997. Geri, Emma, Victoria, Mel B, and Mel C donned pinstripe suits with boosted cleavage; attendees included the Prince of Wales; and their on-screen co-stars included Meat Loaf, Richard E Grant, Roger Moore, and Elton John.The film, made for a budget of just $5m and with a production schedule of just one year, had been

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10:31

Dubya Dodges A Shoeing

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/14

Rerun: When George W Bush flew to Baghdad for a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on 14th December, 2008, he had hoped the headlines would reflect his triumphant appraisal of his deployment of American troops. Instead, it became known as the day he got some shoes thrown at him.The man throwing the shoes was Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi, who yelled in Arabic: “This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, dog!”. The president ducked, and Zaidi let his other shoe fly

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10:37

The ‘Pop Goes The Weasel’ Craze

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/13

The undisputed viral hit of Christmas 1852 was the country dance ‘Pop Goes The Weasel’, still taught to children today. On 13th December, 1852, the craze was seen at a party in Ipswich, where it was declared “one of the most mirth-inspiring dances which can ever be well imagined”.The song was performed at the Palace and taught to the gentry but, within a few years, had gained a reputation as an irritating earworm beloved by the poor and illiterate. How did this plummet from posh society come about

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10:42

Is That Mary Magdalene?

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/12

Inspired by a dream, Prince Charles of Provence ordered an excavation that uncovered a sarcophagus believed to contain the remains of Mary Magdalene on 12th December, 1279.The evidence presented included a papyrus note, a sweet rose fragrance filling the air, a wax-covered tablet proclaiming Mary's identity, and even a piece of skin where Jesus supposedly touched her after his resurrection.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate how and why Mary may have ended up in France in the first

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10:18

The Man Who Sold The Eiffel Tower

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/11

On this day we recall the Police operation to ensnare prolific conman Victor Lustig.The ‘Catch Me If You Can’-style manhunt intensified on 11th December, 1928, when Lustig made the mistake of robbing $16,000 from Massachusetts businessman Thomas Kearns, thereby triggering a chase that eventually saw Lustig sent to Alcatraz.Prior to this, he’d scarcely ever tripped up: scamming everyone from county fair audiences to notorious gangster Al Capone. He gambled, he swindled, he fixed sporting odds. But

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10:35

Let Them Drink Curry

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/08

The Duke of Norfolk suffered a ‘Marie Antoinette Moment’ on 8th November, 1845, when, amidst the Irish Potato Famine, the Whig MP proposed a questionable solution to feed Ireland’s starving workers: curry powder soup.The Duke was met with derision, but the moment highlighted how woefully out-of-touch the English aristocracy were regarding what was about to befall the Irish people. Far worse was the attitude of Charles Trevelyan, whom Prime Minister Robert Peel had tasked with addressing the crisis,

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9:55

Morcambe, Wise and Mr Preview

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/07

Rerun: Oscar-winning conductor André Previn was an unlikely choice of celebrity guest for the Christmas special of ‘The Morcambe and Wise Show’ recorded on 7th December, 1971 - but the 13-minute sketch they taped together remains one of Britain’s all-time favourites.The music hall-style caper - which revolves around a comically catastrophic interpretation of Grieg’s Piano Concerto - was actually a reversion of a sketch Eric and Ernie had performed at least twice before, but never with a guest

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10:53

The Real Santa Claus

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/06

St Nicholas was a Greek bishop, known for his generosity. But he didn’t have a beard, and he didn’t drive a sleigh - so how did he morph into the Santa Claus the world knows and loves? The supposed date of his death - 3rd December, 343 - may have a lot to do with it…Then there’s the miracles. In the most famous story associated with St Nick, he anonymously leaves some gold coins in the house of a poor family to give the daughters a dowry and swerve them away from sex work, which is how he became the

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10:36

Who Needs A Switchboard?

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/05

Queen Elizabeth II made Britain’s first long-distance automated phone call on 5th November, 1958 - when, from Bristol, she spoke directly to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, 300 miles away, without the need for an Operator.Subscriber Trunk Dialing (STD) transformed the telephone network, but was not without its challenges: automation brought efficiency but also led to job losses, sparking some labour disputes, and the roll-out was not completed for twenty years.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly

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10:16

Elvis, Jerry Lee, Johnny & Carl

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/04

Today we discover the iconic jamming session that birthed ‘The Million Dollar Quartet’ - Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ Perkins - who spent the day making music together at Sun Studios, Memphis on 4th December, 1956.Although the event began as an impromptu get-together, Sun’s Sam Phillips was quick to call a press photographer to document the troupe, which also included Elvis’s then-girlfriend, Marilyn Evans. Luckily, a savvy recording engineer also switched

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10:06

When Gnomes Took Over The World

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/12/01

Lampy, Britain’s oldest surviving garden gnome, was insured for £1 million on 28th November, 1997.Imported from Germany, his human dad was Sir Charles Isham, an eccentric aristocrat who adorned his rockery in Northampton with a selection of gnomes, the rest of whom were later destroyed by his daughters.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace how gnomes have experienced moments of fashion and disdain throughout their history; explain how World War II disrupted the British gnome industry; and

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9:27

Football's First International

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/11/30

Rerun. England played Scotland in a publicly-advertised game for the first time on 30th November, 1872 - kickstarting international football as we know it today. The English team included players drafted in from Oxford University. The Scottish team was entirely made up of teammates from Queen’s Park. The score was 0-0.Much of the game was yet to be codified - for example, that you couldn’t catch a ball with your hands. Readers of the match-report in The Guardian had to have it explained to them that

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10:30

Marriage of the Moonies

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/11/29

The first American mass marriage ceremony of the Unification Church - for 28,000 couples in matching garb, led by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon - took place at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C. on 29th November, 1997.Newleyweds had to confirm their virginity and abstain from sexual relations for 40 days afterwards, but many participants were already legally married, and the event was a blend of existing unions and Moonie recruits. Whitney Houston was slated to perform at the

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10:12

The Sound of Luxury

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/11/28

In the annals of automotive innovation, November 28th, 2018 marked a peculiar milestone: the birth of the Lincoln Chimes. The brainchild of Jennifer Prescott, overseer of "Vehicle Harmony" at the motor company, this warning system replaced the synthetic sound of in-car emergency alerts with a blend of violin, viola, and marimba played by The Detroit Symphony Orchestra.Lincoln's endeavour followed in the wake of Bentley revamping its alert and indicator sounds, drawing inspiration from the gentle

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10:24

The Berners St Hoax

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/11/27

We reveal how, on 27th November, 1809, a respectable house on the well-to-do Berners Street in London became ground zero for one of the most disruptive practical jokes in history: the Berners Street Hoax.First a chimney sweep turned up at the address, then another and another, then cake makers, surgeons, lawyers, physicians, obstetricians, butchers, priests and more. The archbishop of Canterbury also showed his face, as did the Governor of the Bank of England, the chairman of the East India Company,

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9:41

QVC's First Day

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/11/24

The ‘Windsor Shower Companion’ ($11.49) was the first product sold on home shopping network QVC, which made its debut on 24th November, 1986, quickly becoming a cable TVphenomenon.Joe Segel, the channel’s founder, focussed on a ‘soft sell’ approach that emphasised authenticity and a friendly, neighbourly connection. The channel's anonymity factor allowed customers to indulge in, um, unusual purchases without fear of judgement, contributing to its ongoing appeal.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and

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10:23

The Tamagotchi Effect

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2023/11/23

With cutesy graphics and a female-focussed origin story, Tamagotchi was positioned as a ‘nurturing toy’ for Japanese girls when Bandai launched the brand on 23rd November, 1996. But the gadget's massive popularity soon transcended gender and nationality - shifting 40 million units globally in just three years.Users had to check in regularly with their virtual pets, which buzzed when they were hungry or needed attention. Otherwise, neglectful owners would witness their Tamagotchi transition into

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