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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

13:48

Malcolm X in Smethwick

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/12

Just nine days before he was assassinated, Malcolm X visited an unlikely place on 12th February, 1965: Smethwick, the industrial suburb of Birmingham that had recently gained a grim reputation as ‘the most racist town in Britain’. Having been refused entry to France, Malcolm X had been speaking at the London School of Economics when he was invited by Avtar Singh Jouhl of the Indian Workers’ Association to come to Smethwick’s Marshall Street, an ordinary residential road which had become a

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11:58

The Urinary Leash

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/11

The first women’s public toilets in London opened on Bedford St on 11th February, 1852 - attempting to capitalize on the success of George Jennings’ ‘monkey closets’, used by over 800,000 visitors to the 1851 Great Exhibition.Unfortunately, even though the facility had been fought for by campaigning women’s sanitary organizations, middle and upper class Victorian ladies were not yet prepared to pee in public - and the toilets closed a year later. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain

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12:03

Meet Tom and Jerry

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/10

Hanna-Barbera’s classic cat-and-mouse cartoon series Tom and Jerry kicked off when their debut short, ‘Puss Gets The Boot’, was released by MGM on 10th February, 1940. But, at that time, the stars of the film were known as ‘Jasper and Jinx’. And studio bosses very nearly canned the whole concept - until the audience feedback, and awards nominations, started rolling in… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the chase-based slapstick of this hilariously violent double act empowered

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12:20

Magic Johnson: Hoops and Hope

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/09

Just three months after Magic Johnson retired from basketball due to his HIV diagnosis, he made a triumphant return on 9th February, 1992 - at the NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida. The sports world was divided—some players, like Michael Jordan, welcomed him back, while others, like Karl Malone, were hesitant, voicing concerns about physical contact on the court. But when Johnson stepped out, fans and fellow players alike cheered him on, and Johnson racked up 25 points, dished out nine

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12:42

I Am Anastasia

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/06

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

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13:09

The Studio Run By The Stars

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/05

United Artists, a new company formed by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith - four of the most powerful figures in early cinema - was announced on 5th February 1919. The movie trade press quickly labelled it a ‘rebellion’ against the mainstream studios.Declaring their new enterprise would exist to “protect the industry from itself”, the Hollywood quartet took aim at an industry that depended on long contracts, vertical integration and strict talent control. They

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11:58

Barry Bremen, The Great Imposter

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/04

Disguised variously as a baseball umpire, NFL referee, pro golfer, and even Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, Barry Bremen earned his reputation as America’s greatest pitch invader - a career that kicked off on 4th February, 1979.Dressed as a player for the Kansas City Kings, the 32 year-old insurance salesman crashed the court of an NBA All-Star basketball game - much to the delight of fellow players and spectators. Hey, it was the Seventies! In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why top

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11:56

The £21,000 Masque

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/03

With a cast of over 800, and a budget equivalent to £3 million, James Shirley’s extravagant masque ‘The Triumph of Peace’ was performed on 3rd February, 1634. Unusually, it was such a popular show that, despite the enormous cost of staging it, King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria requested that it be repeated. Though replete with all the arse-kissing allegorical tableaux that typified these celebrations of the monarchy - and requisite set designs by Inigo Jones - this spectacular was also

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11:56

The Truth Machine

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/02/02

Leonarde Keeler, inventor of the modern polygraph, first showcased his device in a courtroom on 2nd February, 1935. The wooden box, which measured physiological responses like blood pressure and respiration, took the stand alongside him, and, while Keeler emphasized the machine wasn’t infallible, he later told journalists assembled outside the venue that his invention would soon revolutionise criminal justice.Keeler’s innovations built upon earlier work by others, including Scottish cardiologist

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12:05

Bring Me The Head of Oliver Cromwell

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/01/30

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

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13:54

Desert Island Discs' First Castaway

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/01/29

The BBC broadcast the first ever edition of Roy Plomley’s ‘Desert Island Discs’ - the world’s longest-running interview programme - on 29th January, 1942. Opening, as the show still does, with Eric Coates’s theme music ‘By the Sleepy Lagoon’, the episode welcomed comedian Vic Oliver as the series’ first ‘castaway’. Plomely would go on to present a further 1,785 editions of the show until his death in 1985. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the metaphor of an abundant and sunlit

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11:23

Lego Shifts To Plastic

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/01/28

Stud-and-tube bricks, which paved the way for Lego to become one of the most successful companies in Denmark, were patented on 28th January, 1958. But this family business had already been in existence for 26 years, mostly making wooden toys.It later emerged, however, that the plastic self-locking bricks that brought them so much success had in fact already been invented - and patented - by British toymaker Hillary Page in 1940. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Lego’s

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11:54

Let's Embalm Lenin

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/01/27

The corpse of Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union, was placed on display in Moscow's Red Square on 27th January, 1924 - where, astonishingly, he remains viewable to this day. He’d wanted to be buried next to his mother in Saint Petersburg, but after he suffered a series of strokes, the Soviet government instead secretly planned to build a mausoleum for his body, in part to deify him as a quasi-religious figure. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how pioneering embalming

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12:24

There's A Baby In The Post

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/01/26

The U.S. Postal Service permitted parcel delivery for packages under 11 pounds in 1913 - parameters which were pushed to their limits on 26th January, 1913, when Ohio couple Jesse and Matilda Beagle set a bizarre precedent by mailing their baby, James, a mile up the road to his grandmother. As Parcel Fever swept the nation, other parents began to use the Postal Service as an affordable alternative to train tickets. Most famously 4-year-old Charlotte May Pierstoff was mailed 73 miles to her

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11:56

The Elephants of War

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/01/23

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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13:06

Unmasking New York's 'Mad Bomber'

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/01/22

George Metesky’s campaign of terror as ‘the Mad Bomber of New York’ ended abruptly on 22nd January, 1957. Between 1940 and 1956, he had planted at least 32 bombs in public places, including theatres, railway stations, libraries, and landmarks such as Grand Central Terminal. Police arrived just before midnight at his modest home in Waterbury, Connecticut, which he shared with his two sisters, and asked him for a handwriting sample. A search of his garage revealed bomb components matching those used

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11:35

The Chastity Belt and the Frenchman

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/01/21

Henri Littière and his adulterous wife Suzanne thought they’d come up with a novel way to combat her philandering - by commissioning a custom-made chastity belt. But on 21st January, 1934, Littière was sentenced to three months in prison for cruelty to his spouse.It’s a strange story, but not half as weird as how the myth of chastity belts gained traction in the first place - not from medieval days, but in fact thanks to Victorian prudishness. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pick holes

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12:08

Lalli and the Axe

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/01/20

According to Finnish legend, a peasant farmer named Lalli murdered the Christian missionary Bishop Henry on the ice of lake Köyliönjärvi on January 20, 1156, dispatching him with an axe blow to the head. It is fair to say things didn’t go terribly well for Lalli after that. He met a gruesome fate that takes various forms depending on the tale you read, but in general Lalli takes the bishop's mitre to wear and when he tries to remove it, it tears his scalp off. The bishop, meanwhile, fared rather

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12:30

Britain's Last Witch

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/01/19

Celebrated medium Helen Duncan was arrested on 19th January, 1944, when, midway through one of her séances, an undercover policeman dramatically revealed her "spirit" to be nothing more than… herself draped in white fabric. Initially charged with minor fraud, her case took a wild turn when she became the last woman imprisoned under the 1735 Witchcraft Act. Duncan’s trial, steeped in wartime paranoia and media frenzy, spotlighted her peculiar career, from her regurgitated "ectoplasm"

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11:58

Shooting 'Dr. No'

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2026/01/16

It had a budget of just $1 million, a lead actor wearing a toupee, and the baddie in the first draft of the script was a monkey. But the first James Bond film, ‘Dr. No’, which began shooting in Jamaica on 16th January, 1962, kicked off a phenomenally successful franchise that’s still a staple of cinema today.Its star, Sean Connery, had been picked out by producers after his appearance in a Disney production, but was marketed as a former lorry driver with little acting experience. Concerned

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