x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

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.

history film history

All Episodes

10:26

Inventing The Typewriter

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/23

The Glidden-Sholes prototype for “the writing of ordinary communications with types instead of a pen” was granted a patent on 23rd June, 1868. It wasn’t the first typewriter, but it became the first to be mass-produced, and gave the world a new way to write things down.But it only typed out in uppercase, didn’t yet have a QWERTY keyboard, and users couldn't actually see what they were typing. It also looked like a sewing machine, having been developed in collaboration with sewing machine

en

10:29

Public Enemy Number One, Number One

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/22

John Dillinger, infamous 1930s gangster, jail breaker, bank robber and brawler, earned himself a new title on 22nd June, 1934 - when he became the FBI’s first ever ‘Public Enemy Number One’.The authorities were intent on disabusing Americans of their love affair with the ‘Robin Hood’-style gangsters as portrayed in the movies. But the new title didn’t dissuade Dillinger’s admirers from continuing to idolise his illegal pursuits.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace Dillinger’s career from

en

10:19

Empire of the Sunglasses

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/21

Why are spectacles so expensive? The sheer scale of EssilorLuxottica, the world’s biggest maker of eyewear and lenses, might have something to do with it. On 21st September, 2007, they paid $2.1 billion for the last major designer brand they didn’t already own: Oakley.Their empire now includes Dolce and Gabbana, Versace, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany, Persol, Ray-Ban and DKNY. But they don’t just make frames: they also own many opticians, including LensCrafters; a situation critics suggest has

en

10:17

The Famous Painting Ape

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/20

Congo, pet chimp of science writer and TV personality Desmond Morris, was considered a novelty in the art world when his paintings were displayed in the 1950’s. But, on 20th June, 2005, three of his works went under the hammer at prestigious London auction house Bonham’s - and sold for £12,000.Morris - zoologist, surrealist and author of the bestselling science book The Naked Ape - had the perfect experience to support the monkey in his artistic career, and was rewarded when his chimp’s paintings

en

10:04

Fancy Meeting You Here

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/17

When Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen abandoned his epic, but failed, attempt to reach the North Pole, he was not expecting to hitch a ride home with a Brit.But, on 17th June, 1896, in the remote wilderness of Franz Joseph Land, he and colleague Hjalmar Johansen - replete with long shaggy beards and frozen mittens - bumped into English explorer Frederick Jackson, who was also in the Arctic thanks to funding from the Daily Mail.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how

en

10:23

Don't Wear Orange

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/16

Dutch patriots are now regularly spotted sporting orange wigs, orange clothes, orange banners and orange face paint. But, on 16th June, 1784, they were BANNED from wearing anything orange.The intention was to silence supporters of the ‘stadtholders’. And the colour - descending, in the public imagination, from William of Orange - had become so politically toxic in some cities that it was even prohibited to display orange carrots without their green tops showing.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and

en

10:35

Don't Eat The Ice Cream

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/15

Typhoid Mary - real name Mary Mallon - was the first ever asymptomatic carrier of typhoid to be identified. A cook for wealthy New York families, her name was published on 15th June, 1907, when sanitation engineer George Soper exposed her as the source of numerous outbreaks of the disease across the City.Of particular concern was Mallon’s habit of preparing fresh peach ice cream for her clients on a Sunday. “No better way could be found for a cook to cleanse her hands of microbes and infect a

en

10:20

Zsa Zsa and the Beverly Hills Cop

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/14

Slapping a police officer is rarely a great idea, but it somewhat revived the career of actress and Hollywood personality Zsa Zsa Gabor, whose trial began amidst a media blitz on 14th June, 1989.After being pulled over in her $214,000 Rolls Royce convertible, she had assaulted officer Paul Kramer - who then charged her with driving with an open flask of Jack Daniels, and speeding off after being apprehended.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit Gabor’s greatest one-liners, on film and in

en

10:27

Let’s Censor Hollywood

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/13

The Production Code Administration - which policed standards of decency on all US cinema releases for twenty years - was established on 13th June, 1934, following a patch of unconvincing Hollywood self-censorship.‘Excessive or lustful kissing’ and ‘sex perversion’ were no longer allowed - but nor was ‘depictions of safe-cracking’, ‘childbirth,’ and ‘dynamiting’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether the strict rules enforced by the code actively inspired the classic ‘golden era’

en

10:37

Dmitry The Undead

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/10

Three imposters claimed to be the assassinated son of Ivan the Terrible, Prince Dmitry - but the first of the fraudsters got the furthest, actually being crowned Tzar on 10th June, 1605, and reigning over Russia for almost a year.His name was Grigory Otrepiev - now more often known as ‘False Dmitry I’ - and he’d come to power despite a previous coup (in which he led a rebel army of Lithuanian and Polish nobles, Jesuits and Cossacks) having failed.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how

en

10:15

Goodbye, Alexandra Palace

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/09

A huge fire ravaged Alexandra Palace in Muswell Hill, London on 9th June, 1873 - just 16 days after it had opened, on Queen Victoria’s birthday, as ‘the People’s Palace’. A single burning ember is thought to have caused the blaze.125 firefighters, in horse-drawn and steam-powered fire engines, had to climb 7 miles uphill, and by the time they got there, the building was engulfed in flames. But, almost immediately, a decision was taken to rebuild it. That’s Victorian stoicism for you.In this episode,

en

10:22

Meet The Vikings

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/08

Northumbria’s ‘holy island’, Lindisfarne, was invaded by Vikings on 8th June, 793 in a smash-and-grab, ‘shock and awe’ attack that left locals reeling for decades.The completely unexpected incursion was not, in fact, the first time Viking forces invaded the English coastline, but was, undoubtedly, the moment their reputation as merciless warriors and pirates was sealed.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the Vikings targeted so many of their raids on monasteries; consider why

en

10:19

Sony’s Betamax Blunder

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/07

VHS won the so-called ‘format wars’ of the 1980s - but before JVC unveiled their VCR system, Sony created the market, with their innovative Japanese launch of Betamax on 7th June, 1975.For the first time, consumers could tape shows at home, rewind and fast-forward the best bits, and share cassettes with friends. But Betamax tapes were only one hour long, so they couldn’t contain an entire movie or football game. And Hollywood was unhappy about the technology, triggering a massive lawsuit from

en

10:04

It's Fun To Found The YMCA

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/06

George Williams, 22, created the Young Men’s Christian Association to provide somewhere for London’s young men to escape the vices and stress of rapid urbanization (translation: get yourself clean, hang out with all the boys). The group’s first meeting was above a draper’s shop in St Paul’s on 6th June, 1844.The mission aligned perfectly with the burgeoning movement for ‘muscular Christianity’, and before long, multiple groups were sprouting all over Europe, and then the United States - where YMCA

en

10:11

The Quintessential Whisky Drinker

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/06/01

An entry in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland on 1st June, 1495, records that Friar John Cor was given charge of eight bolls of malt, ‘wherewith to make aqua vitae’. This has led many people to believe that his patron, King James IV, was the first big consumer of what we now know as whisky.But the drink may not have been ordered for recreational purposes. It *might* have been intended for use inthe production of gunpowder. Or… it may have been to help develop ‘the quintessence’, the life elixir being

en

10:10

Ramesses The Great Propagandist

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/05/31

Becoming Pharaoh at the age of 24, Ramesses ‘The Great’ II had his coronation on 31st May, 1279 BC - a fact we know because he had it chiselled into stone. Repeatedly.He lived until the age of 90 and reigned for 66 years - which gave him plenty of time to commission statues of himself, name towns after himself, and generally make sure that even in 2022 we have a reasonable idea of what he actually looked like.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why he was so keen on commemorating his

en

10:23

Hershey and the Chocolate Theme Park

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/05/30

Hersheypark was created as a recreation ground for the workers and families who staffed the Hershey chocolate factory in Pennsylvania when it opened on 30th May, 1906. But visitors from across the State soon came to marvel at its playgrounds, boating lake and band-stand… and, before long, the environs began to morph into the chocolate-themed amusement park it remains to this day.Its success exemplifies the ‘Company Town’ phenomenon: at one point, 3% of the USA’s entire population lived in a town

en

9:54

The Queen's Punk Jubilee

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/05/27

The Sex Pistols’ anti-establishment single ‘God Save The Queen’ was banned by the BBC when it was re-released on 27th May, 1977 by Virgin Records - mischievously, to tie-in with the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.To rub salt in the wound, the band’s ‘art-school punk’ manager, Malcolm McLaren, arranged a boat procession outside the Houses of Parliament so the group could perform the song outside the heart of British government itself. They were then arrested.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and

en

10:34

I Am Kaspar Hauser

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/05/26

When a ragged, peculiar-looking teenage boy was found wandering the streets of Nuremberg on 26th May, 1828, it triggered a centuries-long quest to discover who he was, why he had (apparently) been raised in captivity, and (if so) whom had done such a thing to him. His name was Kasper Hauser.The newspapers went into overdrive, reporting every salacious detail: the boy refused to eat or drink anything apart from bread and water; he seemed astonished by mirrors and candles; he was overwhelmed by loud

en

10:42

The First Aboriginal Cricket Stars

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2022/05/25

The first group of Australian sportspeople to ever represent the country overseas were an Aboriginal team of cricketers, who began an acclaimed tour of England on 25th May, 1868.The team had to face racism, illness and ignorance - but won the hearts of thousands of spectators, and the British establishment. They also did some awesome spear-throwing.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace back the story to Tom Wills, one of the inventors of Aussie-rules football; reveal why Charles Darwin

en

1,263 results

Similar Podcasts

The Old Front Line

Paul Reed

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

جنود خلدهم التاريخ

ALSUMOOD PODCAST

Film History - Daily

Inception Point Ai

Madonna - Biography Flash

Inception Point Ai