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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

10:28

The Long Count

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/08/11

Rerun. The 7,885 year-long calendar that the Mayan people used to measure long stretches of time, ‘The Long Count’, began on 11th August, 3114 B.C.The combination of a Haabʼ and a Tzolkʼin date identifies a day in a combination which does not occur again for 18,980 days (52 Haabʼ cycles of 365 days equals 73 Tzolkʼin cycles of 260 days, approximately 52 years), a period known as the Calendar Round. ARE YOU KEEPING UP.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover the rules of ‘Mayan Space Jam’;

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9:58

Hollywood’s Favourite Dog

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/08/10

Rin Tin Tin, the German Shepherd who starred in more than 27 Hollywood films, died on 10th August, 1932 at the age of 13. Radio stations around the country interrupted programming to announce his death and then broadcast an hour long tribute to him.Discovered in war-torn France by American corporal Lee Duncan, he was taken back to the USA and trained to be a stunt dog, but it was his emotional close-up work which wowed the critics. “Perhaps Rin Tin Tin belongs to that modern school of acting, which

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10:29

The Not-Yet Leaning Tower of Pisa

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/08/09

Construction began on a white marble bell tower for Pisa’s new Cathedral complex on 9th August, 1173. Little did the engineers working on the project know that their building would become famous all over the world, because of its principal flaw: it wasn’t straight.The Leaning Tower of Pisa is now one of Europe’s biggest tourist attractions, and perhaps the most monitored building in the world. Millions have been spent PRESERVING its famous lean, but for well over a century it was something that

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10:01

When The Beatles Crossed The Road

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/08/08

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, attested

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9:53

The Girl in the Comic Strip

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/08/05

Little Orphan Annie, Harold Gray’s plucky heroine, made her newspaper debut on 5th August, 1924. The iconic comic strip then ran for an astonishing 86 years.Although now most associated with the saccharine musical it inspired, ‘Annie’ was MUCH edgier in comic form - gangsters and Nazis made an appearance, and Daddy Warbucks was so disappointed by the election of FDR that he DIED (briefly. Before being brought back to life).In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how, for millions of

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10:25

Dom Perignon Tastes the Stars

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/08/04

Rerun. Benedictine monk Dom Perignon is said to have discovered champagne on 4th August, 1693. 200 million bottles are now produced and sold every year.The sparkliness was originally considered a defect - because carbonated wine caused the fragile bottles of the era to burst. Until stronger glass was developed in the mid-19th century, mass-produced champagne was impossible to manufacture, so it gained a reputation as a high society tipple.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine the boredom

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10:09

Storming the Sacred City

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/08/03

Sir Francis Younghusband’s band of British troops reached Lhasa on 3rd August, 1904. Along the way, they’d massacred thousands of bewildered Tibetans - but justified their incursion with the (false) claim that Russia had been manipulating Tibet to gain ground in British India.Despite the disastrous violence wrought by his men, Younghusband was considered by many back home as an explorer and adventurer - and, later, as a man of peace and friend of Gandhi.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pore

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10:22

Don't Mess With Jeanne

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/08/02

Olivier Clisson III was beheaded for treason on 2nd August, 1343 - an event which triggered his wife Jeanne to violently avenge his death for years: a brutal killing spree that earned her the nickname ‘The Lioness of Brittany’.Despite being a fortysomething mother of two, she fitted out three warships with black paint and red sails, and targeted defenseless French merchant ships with her fearsome ‘Black Fleet’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how to storm a French castle - via the

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10:25

Let's Do The Twist

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/08/01

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 the

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10:06

The Cult of Olaf

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/07/29

Viking King Olaf II Haraldsson was killed on 29th July, 1030, kicking off a campaign, led by an English clergyman, to declare him a Saint.The cult of Olaf continues in Norway still, with festivals, pilgrimages and prayers given in his honour - even though Olaf used extreme violence and suppression to force parts of the country to convert to Christianity.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the inner-workings of the medieval church’s PR machine; explain why ‘extreme violence’ and

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9:35

Fingerprints Go Legit

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/07/28

#throwbackthursday William James Herschel, a British colonial magistrate in India, first used fingerprints as a means of identification on 28th July, 1858 - not to catch a criminal, but to implement two-step verification on a contract.In Britain, the technology was first used to solve the theft of some billiard balls in 1902. These days, it’s been largely usurped by DNA, but remains a staple of the policing repertoire.In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider whether ears might be better

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10:21

Let's Go To Berni Inn

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/07/27

Famous for steaks, maroon banquettes, schooners of sherry and sexist advertising, family restaurant chain and ‘70s date night favourite Berni Inn first opened its doors at the historic Bristol pub The Rummer on 27th July, 1956.Founded by Frank and Aldo Berni, the American-inspired concept had a staggeringly simple menu, so that customers wouldn’t be intimidated and, more importantly, so that the kitchen could be operated by virtually anyone who could use a grill and a deep-fat fryer.In this episode,

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10:33

The Eccentric Outlaw

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/07/26

Charles E. Boles, otherwise known as ‘Black Bart’, was one of the Wild West’s most unlikely stagecoach robbers; being as he was a spiffy and quietly-spoken former teacher from Norfolk. But on 26th July, 1875 he made his name by robbing his first coach - without a gun.He targeted only Wells Fargo coaches, and never killed a passenger. As his crime career progressed, he made a habit of leaving behind little poems, signed ‘PO8’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the private investigation

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10:07

When Mao Went Swimming

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/07/25

Chairman Mao Zedong swam in the Yangtze River on 25th July, 1966. Despite being in his Seventies, the leader was said by party propagandists (and hence every newspaper in China) to have set a world-record pace of nearly 15 km in 65 min.This piece of political theatre showed the world that the public face of the Chinese Communist party was in robust physical shape (despite reports in the West to the contrary), and reset Mao’s image in China after his disastrous ‘Great Leap Forward’ had claimed the

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10:21

When Longbows Defeated Scotland

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/07/22

William ‘Braveheart’ Wallace was defeated by fearsome English archers at the Battle of Falkirk on 22nd July, 1298; when Edward I’s army first used longbows against their Scottish adversaries, with devastating effect.Despite Wallace’s men deploying their famous ‘schiltron’ formation - whereby foot soldiers packed together to form a bristly spear-wall - the arrows the English volleyed back rained down at an awesome rate of ten per minute, per bow.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why

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10:23

The Outing of Milli Vanilli

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/07/21

German pop duo Milli Vanilli sold 33 million singles, including three US number ones, but harboured a shameful secret: their vocals were sung by someone else. At a promotional gig in Connecticut on 21st July, 1989, their backing track crashed - and speculation began to mount.“I knew right then and there, it was the beginning of the end for Milli Vanilli,” ‘singer’ Rob Pilatus admitted to the Los Angeles Times in November 1990. “When my voice got stuck in the computer and it just kept repeating and

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10:30

The Gymnast with the Shattered Kneecap

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/07/20

Shun Fujimoto scored 9.5 on the pommel horse and 9.7 on the rings at the Montreal Olympics on 20th August, 1976 - despite having a badly damaged kneecap, having landed catastrophically during a tumbling run.That should, by rights, have ended his and his team's medal hopes - but he decided not to tell his coach or fellow competitors about the injury, and carried on with his routines. As a result of his endurance and persistence, Japan won Gold.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether

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10:22

When Paris Went Underground

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/07/19

The Paris Metro, engineered by Fulgence Bienvenüe and inaugurated on 19th July, 1900, was far from a world first: London, Budapest and Vienna had all beaten France in the race to create the next generation of subterranean trains.However, this didn’t stop Parisian anxiety about their new subway. Would the electric lines kill innocent travellers? Would being so close to sewers expose commuters to disease? Would the Metropolitan become a ‘Necropolitan’ - a DEATH LINE?In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and

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10:08

Making Voting Secret

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/07/18

Before the Ballot Act of 18th July, 1872, the British electorate were expected to declare their preferred candidate publicly at hustings, often under pressure from their employers and landlords, and plied with alcohol supplied by the politicians standing for election, in a process known as ‘soaking’.Over the years, alternatives had been put forward - including Jeremy Bentham’s concept of 1818, which involved a multitude of secret boxes with viewing windows - before the modern idea of private booths

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42:28

RetroRecommends: We Didn't Start The Fire

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/07/16

Happy Saturday to you. We have another brilliant show to share with you for some relaxed, longer, weekend listening.It’s another history podcast - it’s called We Didn’t Start The Fire, it’s high concept which we LOVE. And yes it’s based on the Billy Joel song.Billy is the guide through the most original, fascinating and random way to explore the history of the post-war world. Just like us, they jump from subject to subject: one week they’re talking about Eisenhower, the next week it’s the polio

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