Today In History with The Retrospectors
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1.407 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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The Birth of Ladybird Books
27 augustus 2026 · 11 min
The British Museum Library registered the legal deposit of the first ever 'Ladybird Series' titles, from publishers Wills & Hepworth (later 'Ladybird') on 27th August, 1914. Lees meer
The books - 'Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales' and 'Tiny Tots Travels' - didn't look at all like the classic Ladybird books we think of today - but were the beginning of a publishing legacy that changed children’s books forever.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how the classic Ladybird look - fashioned from one massive sheet of paper - was a response to World War Two; review how the publisher dealt with accusations of sexism and colour-blindness in the '70s; and explain the M.O.D.’s connection to one of the most valuable Ladybirds ever published…
Thanks to Ladybird collector and historian Helen Day for helping us dig up this date from the archives! Discover more about Helen and her passion for Ladybird on her excellent website:
https://ladybirdflyawayhome.com/so-whats-the-story-the-kitchen-table/
Further Reading:
• ‘Ladybird Books at 100: The series that inspired millions of children to read’ (Daily Mirror, 2015): https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ladybird-books-100-series-inspired-5335319
• ‘Ladybird Books: The strange things we learned’ (BBC, 2015): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-30709937
• ‘The Ladybird Books Story’ (Little Car, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ED7o4mG0lM
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2021.
#1910s #Arts #U…
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The Man Who Lived in the Airport
26 augustus 2026 · 13 min
The inspiration for Steven Spielberg movie ‘The Terminal’, Iranian refugee Mehran Karimi Nasseri, began his incredible 18-year stint inside Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport on 26th August 1988. Lees meer
With hopes of flying to Britain, he had found himself trapped in a bureaucratic no-man’s-land after travelling without documents.
Answering to ‘Sir Alfred’, he began to carve out a new personality for himself, living on a red bench surrounded by luggage, airport shops and the relentless rhythms of international travel. He washed in the terminal toilets, ate regularly at McDonald’s using vouchers given to him by airline staff, wore donated clothes and spent hours writing. He became perhaps the world’s most famous homeless man.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Nasseri eventually came to leave - and then return - to his airport home; uncover how his Hollywood money prevented him from accessing support services; and reveal the story of a Turkish citizen who, incredibly, appears to have beaten Sir Alfred’s record for airport residency…
Further Reading:
• ‘’The Terminal Man’ lived in a Paris airport for 18 years. I’ll never forget the weeks I spent with him | France’ (The Guardian, 2022): 'https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/23/terminal-man-lived-in-paris-airport-18-years-ill-never-forget-weeks-with-him• 'Mehran Karimi Nasseri, Who Inspired ‘The Terminal,’ Dies in Paris Airport’ (The New York Times, 2022): https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/13/world/europe/mehran-karimi-nasseri-dead.html
• 'He was arguably the world's best-known homeless person' (FRANCE 24 English, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbOBZ9JVR4Q
#France #Strange #Person #Iran
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Noodles: The World's Convenience Food
25 augustus 2026 · 12 min
Nissin Chikin Ramen (日清チキンラーメン), the first marketed brand of instant noodles, launched in Japan on 25th August, 1958. Lees meer
The product was created by Momofuku Ando, who developed the production method of flash frying noodles after they had been made, thereby drying them and extending their shelf life. His inspiration sprung from the food scarcity in Japan after the Second World War, and the Ministry of Health’s attempts to distribute unpopular U.S.-supplied bread.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how Ando’s invention became the world’s emergency supply, student essential, and even prison currency…
Further Reading:
• ‘How Momofuku Ando invented instant ramen — and transformed Japanese cuisine’ (Vox, 2015): https://www.vox.com/2015/3/5/8150929/momofuku-ando-ramen-instant-noodles
• ‘Momofuku Ando & The Rise Of Ramen In Post-War Japan’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/momofuko-ando-noodles-ramen-history-postwar-japan/
• ‘How Instant Ramen Became An Instant Success’ (Insider Business, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASlx70G2x-c
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2023.
#Food #Japan #50s #Inventions
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The Godfather of Graffiti
24 augustus 2026 · 13 min
Darryl McCray, better known as ‘Cornbread’, was honoured at the Graffiti Hall of Fame in Harlem on 24th August, 2013. But it was in 1960s Philadelphia that he’d made his name… by spraying it all over the city, becoming street art’s first serial ‘tagger’ in the process. Lees meer
Unlike gangs, who tagged to claim turf, the teenage Cornbread simply wanted to be noticed - and he was, declaring his love for a girl named Cynthia by writing “Cornbread Loves Cynthia” across the city, much to her parents’ horror. Cornbread’s antics grew ever more daring; he famously tagged an elephant at the zoo, and even the Jackson 5’s airplane, solidifying his reputation as the “Godfather of Graffiti.”
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why this new form of self-expression particularly appealed to Philadelphia’s disenfranchised Black youth; consider the influence of tagging on later movements such as hip-hop; and reveal how Cornbread got his name…
Further Reading:
• ‘CORNBREAD: The Graff Pioneer who Tagged an Elephant’ (Blankslaps, 2023): https://blankslaps.com/blogs/blog/cornbread-the-graff-pioneer-who-tagged-an-elephant
• ‘First graffiti artist Cornbread shows new work at Philly gallery’ (WHYY, 2019): https://whyy.org/articles/cornbread-the-first-graffiti-artist-shows-new-work-at-philadelphia-gallery/
• ‘CORNBREAD Lives’ (Mass Appeal, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXz_5TJbXr0
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
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The Voodoo Revolution
21 augustus 2026 · 12 min
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. Lees meer
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. The brutal conditions on the plantations, exacerbated by rampant diseases like yellow fever, led to a staggering death rate among the enslaved population.
Meanwhile the French colonists, who were vastly outnumbered by the enslaved Africans, lived in constant fear of rebellion. When it came, the uprising rapidly gained momentum, destroying hundreds of plantations and killing thousands of white colonists within weeks.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the revolution was not actually intended to separate Haiti from France; consider how Toussaint Louverture rose through the ranks to command a formidable army and confront Napoleon’s forces; and reveal how the Haitian flag came to be…
Further Reading:
• ‘Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) • Global African History’ (Blackpast, 2007): https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/haitian-revolution-1791-1804/
• ’How Toussaint L'ouverture Rose from Slavery to Lead the Haitian Revolution’ (HISTORY, 2021): https://www.history.com/news/toussaint-louverture-haiti-revolution
• ’The Haitian Revolution - Liberation’ (Extra History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfLskhmVd7k
We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & A…
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One Direction: The Movie
20 augustus 2026 · 12 min
‘This Is Us’ premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square on 20th August, 2013. 10,000 ‘Directioners’, some of whom had slept rough for three nights, were there to catch a glimpse of their favourite boyband. Lees meer
The documentary, directed by ‘Supersize Me’s Morgan Spurlock, went on to take $18m in its Labor Day opening weekend in the US - but failed to scale the heights of Justin Beiber’s effort, ‘Never Say Never’.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion unpick the secret of the boys’ success; explain why X Factor winner Matt Cardle was mysteriously disappeared from the movie; and reveal an unexpected connection between 1D and Osama Bin Laden...
Further Reading:
• One Direction "This Is US" London Premiere Part 1 (Poveelive, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ_Kd4JC0ck
• ‘This Is Us’ on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2515086/
• ‘Morgan Spurlock, Director Of ‘This Is Us,’ Explains Why He Cut One Direction’s Girlfriends Out Of Documentary’ (HuffPo, 2013):
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/this-is-us-girlfriends-cut-morgan-spurlock_n_3839053
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2021.
#2010s #Music #Film #UK
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The CIA's Iranian Coup
19 augustus 2026 · 13 min
Mohammad Mossadegh was overthrown in a coup backed by the CIA and MI6 on 19th August, 1953. He had nationalised Iran's oil industry, threatening the British stake in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP), fuelling American fears of the spread of Communism. Lees meer
Britain initially responded with an economic blockade, and the Americans initially stayed out, but Cold War fears about Soviet influence eventually persuaded President Eisenhower's administration to get involved.
Following the coup, what had looked like a short-term victory for Britain and America became a much longer-term problem. The Shah’s increasingly authoritarian rule crushed political opposition, helping to create the conditions for the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which finally swept him from power and established the Islamic Republic.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the partisan press coverage of the time; explain the Brits’ ‘biscuit tin strategy’; and reveal how the CIA funded not just the revolution, but also convincing counter-demonstrations…
Further Reading:
• ‘CIA-assisted coup overthrows government of Iran’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/August-19/cia-assisted-coup-overthrows-government-of-iran
• ‘In declassified document, CIA acknowledges role in 1953 Iran coup’ (CNN Politics, 2013): https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/19/politics/cia-iran-1953-coup/
• ‘Before the Iran War: The Secret CIA Operation to Oust an Iranian Regime’ (PBS American Experience, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xceDBZeolIM
#Iran #Revolution #50s #ColdWar
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Grap…
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Discovering Helium
18 augustus 2026 · 11 min
French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen became the first person to observe helium, an element never before seen on Earth, on August 18th, 1868. Lees meer
Janssen had been observing a total solar eclipse in Guntur, India when he noticed a bright yellow line with a wavelength of 587.49 nanometers in the spectrum of the chromosphere of the Sun. He initially assumed the line to be sodium, but, upon further investigating his hunch that it might be a new element, concluded he had stumbled upon something hitherto unknown.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly try their damndest to explain how Spectroscopy works; reveal which scientist first detected the presence of helium on Earth; and query the French Academy of Sciences’ impartiality when it came to attributing the discovery…
Further Reading:
• ‘How Scientists Discovered Helium, the First Alien Element, 150 Years Ago’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-scientists-discovered-helium-first-alien-element-1868-180970057/
• ‘The High-Flying, Death-Defying Discovery of Helium’ (Science History Institute, 2021): https://sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-high-flying-death-defying-discovery-of-helium/
• ‘Helium 101’ (National Geographic, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLUcO26Q7wE
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Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2023.
#Science #Discoveries #France #India #1800s
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The Man Who Invented Seat Belts
17 augustus 2026 · 11 min
Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin patented the three-point seatbelt while working for Volvo, on 17th August 1959. Prior to that, cars only had lap belts - basically a single strap across your waist - if they were fitted at all. Lees meer
Volvo made the patent open to all manufacturers, which boosted global take-up, and enhanced their Safety First brand image.
But manufacturers and governments alike were surprisingly hostile to seatbelts at first... Some car owners in the U.S. even had them removed, claiming they were uncomfortable or might trap them if the car caught fire or sank in water.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Australia led the way with mandatory seatbelt laws, while in Britain Margaret Thatcher and Michael Foot were both opposed; reveal which country has STILL not legislated nationally for compulsory seatbelts; and recall the terrifying impact of public service ads like the infamous “Julie” campaign…
Further Reading:
• ‘How Did Nils Bohlin Change the Auto Industry? (Inventor of the Three-Point Seatbelt)’ (The Collector, 2024): https://www.thecollector.com/inventor-nils-bohlin-change-auto-industry/
• ‘US3043625A - Safety belt’ (Google Patents): https://patents.google.com/patent/US3043625A/en
• ‘How Do Seatbelts Work?’ (Real Engineering, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3ncfcGMo50
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
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Inside The Stanford Prison Experiment
14 augustus 2026 · 13 min
The Stanford Prison Experiment, created by Philip Zimbardo, began on 14th August, 1971. Lees meer
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 sunglasses, and batons, establishing a stark power divide.
The guards quickly embraced their roles, with some becoming cruel and abusive. They enforced strict, often humiliating regimens on the prisoners, such as roll calls and physical exercises, to instill a sense of powerlessness. But the guards were not aware they were also subjects of the study…
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly interrogate the selection process and context that belies the study’s impact; consider the distress supposedly experienced by the participants; and ask if this controversial experiment should now be scrubbed from the textbooks…
Further Reading:
• ‘The Stanford Prison Experiment: Philip Zimbardo defends his most famous work’ (Vox, 2018):
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/6/28/17509470/stanford-prison-experiment-zimbardo-interview
• ‘Philip Zimbardo Thinks We All Can Be Evil’ (The New York Times, 2015):
• ‘The Stanford Prison Experiment Was One of the Most Disturbing Studies Ever’ (Weird History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRR7CwdHxUE
We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Ter…
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The Fake King of Albania
13 augustus 2026 · 11 min
German circus performer Otto Witte went to his death-bed claiming he had been crowned King of Albania on 13th August, 1913 for a five-day reign which culminated with him being chased out of the country as an imposter. Lees meer
Generally believed to have been a fantasist who invented the story, Witte was humoured by the German authorities in his life-time, and his tombstone in Hamburg bears the inscription, ‘former King of Albania’.
In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion explore the phenomenon of the German ‘originale’; uncover the legend of ‘Sausage Hans’ and ‘the slag monkey’; and reveal who inspired the story of Baron Munchausen…
Further Reading:
• ‘The Man Who Was King’ (TIME, 1958): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,868723,00.html
• ‘The legend of Otto Witte, the impostor King of Albania’ (The Balkanista, 2018): http://thebalkanista.com/2018/10/04/the-legend-of-otto-witte-the-impostor-king-of-albania/
• An enterprising man acts out the works of the Cologne 'originales' on German Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6lsche_Originale
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Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…
… Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.
Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️
The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2021.
#1910s #Person #Germany
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Ford Puts The World On Wheels
12 augustus 2026 · 13 min
The Ford Model T rolled into production on 12th August, 1908, still hand-assembled in much the same way as its rivals. But Henry Ford’s ambition for the car was bigger: to create a reliable, durable motor that ordinary Americans could realistically afford - a dream he later realised by deploying a moving assembly line. Lees meer
Built from tough vanadium steel, the car could cope with the rutted, muddy roads of early 20th-century America better than many rivals. It had a 20-horsepower engine which was easy to maintain and could run on petrol, kerosene or ethanol, while a top speed of around 45 miles per hour. Adapted into a bewildering variety of body styles, it became everything from a family runabout to an ambulance, fire engine and military vehicle. By the time production ended in 1927, more than 15 million Model Ts had been sold.
In today's episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how Ford’s need for less skilled workers counterintuitively meant doubling his workers’ wages; explain how a trip to a slaughterhouse influenced his Detroit factory; and reveal why customers could have any colour - so long as it was black...
Further Reading:
• ‘Henry Ford - Case Study of an Innovator’ (The Henry Ford Museum, 2021): https://www.thehenryford.org/collections/explore/articles/henry-ford-case-study-of-an-innovator
• ‘US bids farewell to era of Model T’: (Financial Times, 2008): https://www.ft.com/content/36fe2ac2-58f1-11dd-a093-000077b07658
• ‘Driving a Ford Model T Is a Lot Harder Than You'd Think! We Tried It’ (Bloomberg, 2016):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLMS_QtKamg
#Motoring #Inventions #1900s #US
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme M…
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America's Biggest Mall
11 augustus 2026 · 11 min
The Mall of America, in Bloomington, Minnesota, opened on 11th August, 1992, with more than 10,000 employees, 330 stores, and a Camp Snoopy theme park. Lees meer
With a gross area of 4.8 million square feet, the mall remains the largest in the United States; its roughly 40 million annual visitors equal to around eight times the population of the state of Minnesota.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the mall is heated, despite having no central heating system; explain how the modern American shopping mall was, bizarrely, derived from Victor Gruen’s socialist utopia; and consider how it overcame the ‘Megadeath’ label to become one of America’s top tourist attractions…
Further Reading:
• ‘Why You Should Visit Mall of America for Its Experiences Over Shopping’ (Business Insider, 2022): https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-mall-of-america-experiences-better-than-shopping-minneapolis-2022-4?r=US&IR=T#away-from-the-big-attractions-that-make-it-unique-mall-of-america-just-felt-like-any-upscale-mall-35
• ‘The Unofficial Guide to Mall of America - By Beth Blair’ (Unofficial Guides, 2016): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Unofficial_Guide_to_Mall_of_America/U4wWDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=mall+of+america&pg=PA12&printsec=frontcover
• ‘Mall of America Preview’ (WCCO 4 News, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PZcP4A5CkQ
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Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2023.
#80s #US #Business #Fashion #Architecture
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Let's Open The Louvre
10 augustus 2026 · 11 min
The world’s most famous museum opened to the public for the very first time on 10th August, 1793: exactly one year after France abolished the monarchy. The Louvre, housed in a former royal palace, was redolent with symbolism: treasures once hidden behind the walls of kings and queens were now open to the people. Lees meer
The collection was already impressive: over 500 paintings, plus sculptures and decorative objects confiscated from the church and nobility. Visitors could finally see masterpieces by Raphael, Rubens, and Michelangelo - works they had only ever heard of. Over time, the Louvre’s collection grew dramatically, especially thanks to Napoleon, who “borrowed” treasures from across Europe and Egypt to fill its halls.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how the museum copes with the overwhelming number of tourists who only want to see the Mona Lisa; reveal why the museum wasn’t ‘complete’ until 1993; and recall possibly its most controversial addition - the glass pyramid entrance designed by I.M. Pei…
Further Reading:
• ‘The Louvre - The Many Lives of the World's Most Famous Museum, By James Gardner’ (Grove Press, 2020): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Louvre/oMfEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+louvre&printsec=frontcover
• ‘Louvre Museum opens | August 10, 1793’ (HISTORY, 2010): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/August-10/louvre-museum-opens
• ‘The Louvre: A Drone Tour of the World's Most Famous Museum’ *(Top Virtual Tours, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip3Hsz4fcVU
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer…
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California's Courtroom Siege
7 augustus 2026 · 11 min
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. Lees meer
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, founding a Marxist revolutionary group within the prison and campaigning for justice for the ‘Soledad Brothers’. This context made the courtroom siege an explosive event in the fight against systemic racism.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly detail the brief but deadly shootout that followed in the court’s parking lot; discover why the police opened fire, despite the high-profile hostages; and consider how George Jackson later smuggled a gun into prison…
CONTENT WARNING: violence, murder, racism.
Further Reading:
• ’Marin County Courtroom Shootout’ (Bay Area Television Archive, 1970):
https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/190039
• ‘Bloody Breakout at San Rafael’ (LIFE, 1970): https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=t1UEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31&dq=harold+haley+james+mcclain&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjEnYX1q9aGAxWGWEEAHYg8DBoQuwV6BAgEEAY#v=onepage&q=harold%20haley%20james%20mcclain&f=false
• ‘San Quentin's Bloodiest Riot | The Story of George Jackson’ (19XX, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzDoYNd5xjk
We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer:…
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The Shocking Debut of the Electric Chair
6 augustus 2026 · 12 min
Axe murderer William Kemler became the first person to be put to death by electric chair at Auburn Prison, New York on 6th August, 1890. It did not go smoothly. Lees meer
The first charge failed, and the second was abandoned only after two minutes. Despite the gruesome spectacle, Ohio soon became the second state to authorise death by electrocution.
In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal the origins of the word ‘electrocution’, examine the underhand business practices of Thomas Edison; and review the most popular ‘final meal’ choices on Death Row...
Content Warning: description of prolonged execution; botched hangings; suicidal thoughts; animal electrocution.
Further Reading:
• ‘Death and Money: The History of the Electric Chair’ (thoughtco, 2019):
https://www.thoughtco.com/death-money-and-the-history-of-the-electric-chair-1991890
• ‘On This Day: The first execution by electric chair’ (HISTORY, 2010): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-execution-by-electric-chair
• ‘How Does The Electric Chair Work?’ (The Infographics Show, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsPm3VfNoiE
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2021.
#1800s #Inventions #Person #Crime #White #Macabre #US
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Pepsi Owes Me a Fighter Jet
5 augustus 2026 · 14 min
Is an ad a legally binding contract? Judge Kimba Wood finally brought the curtain down on one of the strangest disputes to ever reach a courtroom on 5th August, 1999 - concluding that Pepsi's ‘Drink Pepsi, Get Stuff’ promotion had not, in fact, truly promised customers a Harrier jump jet in return for 7 million ‘Pepsi points’. Lees meer
Seattle student John Leonard had spotted that Pepsi's promotion allowed customers to buy additional Pepsi Points for 10 cents each, provided they submitted at least 15 genuine points. Backed by millionaire investor Todd Hoffman, he submitted a cheque for $700,008.50, claiming enough points to redeem the fighter jet. Pepsi refused, insisting the advert was clearly tongue-in-cheek, but the audacious stunt sparked a years-long legal battle.
Pepsi emerged victorious, but many observers felt the company had missed a golden opportunity to embrace the joke and turn Leonard into part of their ‘Cola wars’ campaign, rather than fighting him in court. Instead, Pepsi quietly altered the advert, increasing the Harrier's price to 700 million points and adding the words "Just Kidding", and the Pentagon stepped in to confirm that Harrier jump jets were not available for private purchase.
In today's episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the Simpsons episode that might have influenced Leonard’s thinking; consider whether Pepsi ultimately benefitted from the publicity; and discover just how much money Leonard turned down in a pre-court settlement...
Further Reading:
• ‘‘Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?’ - when Pepsi was sued and advertising changed forever’ (Content, 2022): https://www.marketingmag.com.au/news/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-when-pepsi-was-sued-and-advertising-changed-forever/
• ‘What Happened to John Leonard? Where the Man Who Sued Pepsi Is Now’ (Newsweek, 2022): https://www.newsweek.com/what-happened-john-leonard-sued-pepsi-wheres-my-jet-netflix-1760569
• ‘Harrier Jet Commercial 1’ (Pepsi, 1996): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdackF2H7Qc&t=1s
#Legal #…
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Put Him in the Stocks!
4 augustus 2026 · 12 min
The public stocks in St Clement’s Dane’s parish (now Portugal Street in London’s Strand) were finally dismantled on 4th August, 1826. They had originally been mandated in 1351, to subjugate labourers demanding higher wages. Lees meer
Not to be confused for pillories (which restrain both head and hands), stocks (which restrain only the feet) were used for lesser ‘crimes’, such as homosexuality, heresy, and drunkenness. The treatment of prisoners was essentially at the crowd’s discretion: at the minor end of the scale, humiliation, but, if rocks or bricks were thrown, sometimes fatality.
In this episode, Arion, Rebeca and Olly uncover celebrities-in-the-stocks Cardinal Wolsey and Daniel Defoe; explain why this medieval punishment was never formally abolished in Britain; and reveal the ecclesiastical purpose of ‘the finger stocks’...
Further Reading:
• ‘Haydn's Dictionary of Dates Relating to All Ages and Nations’ (E. Moxon and Company, 1866): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Haydn_s_Dictionary_of_Dates_Relating_to/Aq9CAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=1826+stocks+removed+from+st+clement+danes&pg=PA690&printsec=frontcover
• ‘The use of public corporal punishment up to the 19th century - Methods of punishment’ (BBC Bitesize): https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z938v9q/revision/3
• ‘What It Was Like to Be In the Stocks’ (Weird History, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6sUhH3SYrU
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2023.
#London #Crime #Medieval #Victorian…
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Virginia Woolf's Diary
3 augustus 2026 · 12 min
Virginia Woolf returned to her journal after a two-year hiatus on 3rd August, 1917. In the gap, she had suffered a major mental breakdown, attempted suicide, and been under intense medical supervision. Her rural retreat at Asheham in Sussex became both her sanctuary and a kind of nature-fueled therapy zone where she convalesced under a strict routine of “bed, walk, bed.” Lees meer
Woolf's diary captures everything—creative breakthroughs, emotional collapses, what she had for lunch, and who annoyed her that week - from mundane observations to reflections on depression and mortality. She compared her journaling to practicing musical scales, a creative warm-up: one day she’s raving about Eliot and fretting about Joyce, and the next she’s lamenting a lack of eggs. Through it all, we see a mind battling itself: sharp, self-aware, and constantly asking, what’s the point of all this?
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dig out some warts-and-all passages for scrutiny; explain how archivists literally had to stick certain bits back together again; and ask how Woolf would fare as a twenty-first century micro-blogger…
Content Warning: suicide, clinical depression, eugenics.
Further Reading:
• ‘Virginia Woolf’s living book’ (New Statesman, 2023): https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2023/07/virginia-woolfs-diaries-review
• ‘Discover the Bloomsbury Group's connection to Sussex’ (Great British Life, 2021): https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/sussex/22568606.discover-bloomsbury-groups-connection-sussex/
• ‘The Recorded Voice Of Virginia Woolf’ (BBC, 1937): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8czs8v6PuI
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Th…
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Little Hugh and the Blood Libel
31 juli 2026 · 12 min
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. Lees meer
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 arrested. However, behind-the-scenes negotiations, possibly involving friars and the king’s brother Richard of Cornwall, saw most Jews quietly released by May 1256, suggesting an awareness of the falsehoods fuelling the hysteria.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why it was often in the population’s financial interest to perpetuate the ‘blood libel’; consider how the legacy of ‘Little Hugh’ has morphed into modern conspiracy theories like QAnon; and reveal how one enterprising Lincoln resident tried to cash in on Little Hugh tourism in the 1920s…
Further Reading:
• ‘Religion: The Legend of Little Hugh’ (TIME, 1959) https://time.com/archive/6827883/religion-the-legend-of-little-hugh/
• ‘Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln revisited | Bat-Zion Susskind-Sacks’ (Times Of Israel, 2016): https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/little-saint-hugh-of-lincoln-revisited/
• ‘780. Little Sir Hugh (Child 155) - (Traditional)’ (Raymond Crooke, 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXUL3h5Q5lY
We'll be back on Monday - unless you join🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Au…
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When Noel Gallagher Met Tony Blair
30 juli 2026 · 12 min
The ‘Cool Britannia’ party - held at 10 Downing Street on 30th July, 1997 - quickly became one of the most iconic events of the New Labour era. Celebrities including Helen Mirren, Eddie Izzard and Lenny Henry were invited to Britain’s seat of power to sup champagne with Tony Blair, the youngest Prime Minister since 1812. Lees meer
The defining image of the night was a photo of Blair chuckling away with rockstar Noel Gallagher. The Oasis singer defended his attendance (“because I’m from Burnage, and me mam would kill me if I turned down the chance to go to Downing Street. Wouldn’t yours?”), but later claimed to have snorted coke off the Queen’s lavatory whilst there.
In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal the surprising origins of the phrase ‘Cool Britannia’ (spoiler: the Tories did it first); ask whether popstar-politician collabs are ALWAYS ultimately disastrous; and consider whether the lukewarm reaction to David Cameron’s subsequent showbiz party might yet be considered a success for the Conservatives...
Further Reading:
• Footage from the party (Associated Press, 1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDa__W1_gcg
• ‘Cool Britannia: where did it all go wrong?’ (New Statesman, 2017): https://www.newstatesman.com/1997/2017/05/cool-britannia-where-did-it-all-go-wrong
• ‘David Cameron revisits Cool Britannia (with Michael McIntyre and Cilla Black)’, (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/30/david-cameron-a-listers-cool-britannia-party
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / …
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Welcome To Mordor
29 juli 2026 · 13 min
When J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring reached British bookshops on 29th July 1954, there was little sign it would become one of the most influential novels of the century. Lees meer
Britain was only just emerging from post-war austerity, food rationing had ended only weeks before, and Tolkien's hefty, 21-shilling fantasy - complete with a fold-out map of Middle-earth - looked unlike anything else on the shelves.
Much of what made the novel distinctive came from Tolkien's day job. As an Oxford professor of Old and Middle English, he drew on medieval literature, mythology and philology to create not just a story, but entire languages, histories and cultures.
The book might never have appeared at all without the enthusiasm of Rayner Unwin, who had championed The Hobbit as a ten-year-old reader and, nearly two decades later, persuaded his father's publishing house to back its far more ambitious successor.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the manuscript lingers as much over songs, meals and conversation as much as it does battles and quests; uncover the contemporary critical reaction to the Lord of the Rings trilogy; and reveal just how much an early edition of the masterpiece is now worth…
Further Reading:
• ‘Behind the Best Sellers: J. R. R. Tolkien’ (The New York Times, 1977): https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/02/archives/behind-the-best-sellers-jrr-tolkien.html
• ‘The Fellowship of the Ring reviewed: ‘epic romance’’ (The Guardian, 1954): https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/aug/20/the-fellowship-of-the-ring-review-tolkien-1954
• ‘J. R. R. Tolkien. The Complete Lord Of The Rings, First Editions’ (Peter Harrington Books, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_Z3og0AefY
#Books #1950s #Publishing #UK
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When Zombies Came To Hollywood
28 juli 2026 · 12 min
Independent horror film ‘White Zombie’, starring Bela Lugosi, premiered in New York City’s Rivoli Theatre on July 28th, 1932. It marked the first time that zombies had featured in a Hollywood picture - albeit as the result of an evil voodoo master in Haiti rather than a condition passed on through bites, as in later zombie screenplays. Lees meer
Large portions of the film were shot on the Universal Studios lot, borrowing props and scenery from other horror films of the era, with an ultra-low budget of just $50,000.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Lugosi went from Hungarian Shakespeare star to Tinseltown villain; unpick the racism at the heart of the story; and consider why zombies have proven to be such a resilient horror movie staple….
Further Reading:
• ‘Hollywood Flashback: Bela Lugosi Introduced the World to Zombies in 1932’ (The Hollywood Reporter, 2021): https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/bela-lugosi-white-zombies-1234954832/
• ‘White Zombie - Anatomy of a Horror Film, By Gary D. Rhodes’ (McFarland, 2001): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/White_Zombie/oHApAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=white+zombie+lugosi&printsec=frontcover
• ‘White Zombie’ (dir. Victor Halperin, 1932): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV3B2z0HkKA
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2023.
#Film #30s #Hollywood #Macabre #Racism
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Meet Bugs Bunny 🥕
27 juli 2026 · 13 min
Warner Brothers’ biggest animated star, Bugs Bunny, made his cartoon debut on July 27th, 1940, in A Wild Hare - though, at the time, he didn’t officially have a name… Lees meer
Though previous versions of the ‘wabbit had appeared in earlier Looney Tunes shorts, this incarnation - directed by Tex Avery - solidified his iconic look, voice, and attitude, including his now-legendary catchphrase, “What’s up, Doc?”; the phrase itself a casual Texas idiom Avery had grown up with, but which immediately resonated with audiences, turning Bugs into a breakout star.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Mel Blanc’s iconic voice performance was achieved, thanks to a handy spittoon; explain how America’s involvement in World War Two increased the popularity of the character; and take a tour into the scrappy, underdog animation studio overseen by Leon Schlesinger…
Further Reading:
• ‘Happy 75th, Bugs Bunny: How animation’s first great brain-trust created a legend’ (The Washington Post, 2015): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/07/27/happy-75th-bugs-bunny-how-animations-1st-great-brain-trust-created-a-legend/
• ‘7 Secrets About Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck From the Man Who’s Voiced Them for 35 Years’ (Cracked, 2024): https://www.cracked.com/article_43177_7-secrets-about-bugs-bunny-and-daffy-duck-from-the-man-whos-voiced-them-for-35-years.html
• ‘A Wild Hare : Bugs Bunny’s Death Trick Scene’ (Warner Bros, 1940): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mvsx3bDw04
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
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Copyright: Rethink Audio / O…
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Finding Machu Picchu
24 juli 2026 · 12 min
American professor Hiram Bingham "discovered" Machu Picchu on 24th July, 1911 - though he initially misidentified it as Vilcabamba, the last stronghold of the Inca civilization during the Spanish conquest. Lees meer
Unlike Vilcabamba, Machu Picchu was built at the peak of the Inca Empire's glory. Believed to have been a winter retreat for the Inca elite, its exact purpose remains a mystery due to that civilisation’s lack of written records. Situated 2,430 metres above sea level, the site features remarkable stone structures that have withstood earthquakes due to their precise construction without mortar.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Bingham got the funds to explore Peru so doggedly; consider whether Speilberg and Lucas were directly inspired by his escapades to create Indiana Jones; and explain how he went on to earn the nickname "The Flying Senator"...
Further Reading:
• ‘Who Discovered Machu Picchu?’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2009): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-discovered-machu-picchu-52654657/
• ‘Hiram Bingham And The Rediscovery of Machu Picchu’ (HistoryExtra, 2023): https://www.historyextra.com/period/early-modern/machu-picchu-inca-city-history/
• ‘Machu Picchu 101’ (National Geographic, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnMa-Sm9H4k
We'll be back on Monday - unless you join CLUB RETROSPECTORS, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2024.
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Radio 1 Hits The Road
23 juli 2026 · 11 min
Concerned that it was too London-centric, the BBC commissioned a series of pop-up outside broadcasts for its youth music station Radio 1, kicking off modestly in Newquay on 23rd July, 1973. The events exploded in popularity, and spawned an annual tour of bucket-and-spade Britain, becoming the iconic ‘Radio 1 Roadshow’. Lees meer
Despite the concerts pulling in massive crowds - and radio audiences of around 15 million - the events struggled to attract credible music artists, who didn’t want to be seen rubbing shoulders with popsters like the Wombles and the Bay City Rollers.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how Steve Wright came to ‘give away’ his son in a late-night escapade, reveal ‘the shorts rule’ imposed on the network’s presenters, and applaud the entrepreneurship of ‘Smiley Miley’, the roadie who wangled the rights to sell the merch…
Further Reading:
• Peter Powell hosts the Radio 1 Roadshow, 1982: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El-fuGW9DfQ
• A compilation of archive Radio 1 footage from the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06w9txp
• ‘The Happy Sound’ - a history of the Roadshow at Radio Rewind: https://www.radiorewind.co.uk/radio1/roadshow.htm
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2021.
#70s #Inventions #Arts #Music #Technology #UK
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Where's Pablo Escobar?
22 juli 2026 · 14 min
Pablo Escobar dramatically escaped from La Catedral (aka ‘Hotel Escobar’, his luxurious prison compound) on 22nd July, 1992. Lees meer
The drugs lord had surrendered the previous year under an extraordinary deal that allowed him to avoid extradition to the United States by serving his sentence in a bling hilltop retreat, complete with recreational facilities, fine food and contact with the outside world.
But the arrangement quickly became an embarrassment for the Colombian government once it became clear that Escobar had continued to direct the international cocaine trade from inside the facility. Matters came to a head after he had several associates murdered, prompting the authorities to transfer him to a conventional military jail. But, before they could do so, Escobar slipped away, disappearing into the mountains surrounding Medellín…
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the cartel leader’s complicated public image in Columbia; discover how security forces eventually tracked and killed him; and reveal just how much money this legendary figure was making at the peak of his empire.
Further Reading:
• ‘La Catedral: The Luxury Prison Pablo Escobar Built For Himself’ (All That’s Interesting, 2026): https://allthatsinteresting.com/la-catedral
• ‘Escobar escape humiliates Colombian leaders | Colombia’ (The Guardian, 1992): https://www.theguardian.com/world/1992/jul/24/colombia.fromthearchive
• ‘Pablo Escobar Escapes from Prison’ (NBC News, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vmlUuOw2kE
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
… -
Herostratus: Burning Ambition
21 juli 2026 · 11 min
The fire that destroyed the second Temple of Artemis - one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world - was supposedly set on the day Alexander the Great was born: 21st July, 356 BC. The story goes that the arsonist, Herosratus, was simply seeking notoriety. Lees meer
Herostratus was captured and tortured on the rack, where he confessed to having committed the arson in an attempt to immortalize his name. To dissuade those of similar intentions, the Ephesian authorities not only executed Herostratus, but attempted to condemn him to a legacy of obscurity by forbidding mention of his name under penalty of death.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider herostratic fame as a live issue when it comes to school shooters and terrorists; take a peek round the ancient Temple to see if it would have been worth a trip; and consider whether its successors deserved their places in the subsequent ‘Seven Wonders’ lists…
Further Reading:
• ‘21 July: On this day in history’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/on-this-day/21-july-on-this-day-in-history/
• ‘Monumental Fury - The History of Iconoclasm and the Future of Our Past - By Matthew Fraser’ (Prometheus, 2022): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Monumental_Fury/FVV-EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=herostratus&pg=PA35&printsec=frontcover
• ‘The Temple of Artemis and Herostratus | Legendary Wonder of the Ancient World Destroyed!’ (Because It’s Interesting, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pnGjfPvN58
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2…
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Let's Assassinate Hitler
20 juli 2026 · 12 min
Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg tried to kill Hitler with a suitcase bomb on 20th July, 1944. He failed. The plan — bold, desperate, and nearly successful — was part of Operation Valkyrie, a broader scheme to take control of Germany after Hitler's death and steer the country away from what many military officers feared was total destruction. Lees meer
The near-success hinged on a moment of unfortunate timing and misplaced luggage. Stauffenberg, who had lost an eye, a hand, and fingers in earlier combat, struggled to arm both bombs due to his injuries. He managed just one, planted it near Hitler, and scarpered. But then Lt. Colonel Heinz Brandt, unaware of what lay inside the suitcase, moved it to the far side of a thick oak table leg — shielding Hitler from the worst of the blast. The explosion still left the Führer bruised and temporarily deaf, but alive. And so the plan unraveled.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how news of the plot triggered simultaneous action across Europe; track Hitler’s swift and horrific vengeance against those involved in the putsch; and consider THE great armchair philosophical quandary: would you go back in time and kill Hitler…?
Content Warning: includes graphic description of executions.
Further Reading:
• ‘Claus Von Stauffenberg & Operation Valkyrie | The Plot To Kill Hitler’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/should-we-be-glad-the-plot-to-kill-hitler-failed/
• ‘Why Operation Valkyrie—the July Plot to Kill Hitler—Failed’ (TIME, 2019): https://time.com/5629999/operation-valkyrie-july-plot/
• ‘The Wolf's Lair: Hitler's Hidden Hideout | WWII: Secrets From Above’ (National Geographic UK, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_17EPzfkDs
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Publishing Punch
17 juli 2026 · 12 min
Punch Magazine published its first edition on 17th July, 1841. Subtitled ‘the London Charivari’, the weekly periodical aimed to carve a niche in the market with less crude and bawdy satire compared to its contemporaries. Lees meer
Its early days were challenging, with poor circulation and financial troubles. But, as it gained in popularity and influence, it contributed the modern use of the word "cartoon" to the English language - alongside some excellent examples of the form, thanks in large part to illustrator John Leech - before its downfall in the second half of the twentieth century.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Punch innovated the idea of the Christmas annual; explore how they gave big breaks to the likes of John Betjeman, Sylvia Plath, and P.G. Wodehouse; and discover Mohammed Al-Fayed’s attempts to turn the publication’s fortunes around…
Further Reading:
• ‘The first issue of Punch’ (History Today, 2016): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/first-issue-punch
• ‘About Punch Magazine’ (PUNCH Magazine Cartoon Archive): https://magazine.punch.co.uk/about/index
• ’Punch Magazine’ (British Pathé, 1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ACJhyygIxU
We'll be back on Monday - unless you join CLUB RETROSPECTORS, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2024.
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The Death of Kissing
16 juli 2026 · 12 min
Kissing was a big deal in the Middle Ages: for signing contracts, for greeting colleagues, and for showing deference to the King - a tradition that ended on 16th July, 1439, when Henry VI issued a decree imploring his citizens to stop kissing his ring. Lees meer
Some 400 years before the modern concepts of hygiene and germs had been scientifically established, the 18 year-old monarch clearly had an instinct that clamping down on kissing might stop the spread of the bubonic plague - a deadly disease that had been rampant for 100 years.
In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca explain why one village soaked their supplies in vinegar; reveal how to write a letter to the King (with appropriate levels of flattery); and consider the merits of banning bearded men from handling milk…
Further Reading:
• BBC profile of Henry VI: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/henry_vi_king.shtml
• ‘Here ye, here ye: No more smoochies!’ (History Daily, 2020): https://historydaily.org/kissing-ban-england-response-black-plague-1439
• ‘What Made The Black Death So Deadly?’ (The Infographics Show, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5q-PIN3KSE
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2021.
#1400s #Royals #Discoveries #White #UK
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I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!
15 juli 2026 · 12 min
The inventor of margarine, French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès, patented his butter substitute on 15th July, 1869. Inspired by a competition launched by Emperor Napoleon III to find a cheaper, longer-lasting alternative to butter for the French Navy, Mège-Mouriès called his creation ‘oléomargarine’. Lees meer
It combined purified beef fat with milk and water to create a spread that was more stable than butter and less likely to spoil. The patent rights were eventually sold to Dutch manufacturers, eventually leading to Unilever evolving the spread into one of the world's biggest consumer products. As it spread across North America, dairy farmers saw it as a serious threat, leading to the so-called "Butter Wars" bans.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how margarine kick-started a fad for lab-grown foods which continues to this day; ask why posh restaurants never seem to make their own; and reveal why Wisconsin didn’t legalise it until 1967…
Further Reading:
• ‘Spread it around. Just don't mention it’ (The Washington Post, 2010): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2010/09/29/spread-it-around-just-dont-mention-it/66f52152-caa2-11df-8eee-2e1a26a3708e/
• ‘Hippolyte Mege-Mouries: A brief history of the bootleg margarine trade’ (Slate, 2013): https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2013/03/hippolyte-mege-mouries-a-brief-history-of-the-bootleg-margarine-trade.html
• ‘Watch how easy it is to make homemade margarine!’ (News24, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFm2aCP_wx0
#Food #Inventions #France #1800s
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
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Mr. Dynamite
14 juli 2026 · 13 min
Dynamite was invented by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, who demonstrated it in Britain for the first time on 14th July, 1867. He had discovered that when nitroglycerin, an explosive liquid, was absorbed by kieselguhr, a porous siliceous earth, it produced a solid that was resistant to shock but readily detonable by heat or percussion, making it safer to handle. Lees meer
Nobel named his invention “dynamite” after the Greek word “dynamis,” meaning "power". His invention revolutionized the construction industry and made possible many engineering feats such as the construction of canals, tunnels, and roads, and also had a significant impact on mining, quarrying, and demolition operations.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore the ‘obituary’ legend that supposedly explained Nobel’s creation of the Nobel Prizes; uncover the extraordinary approach the Swede took to health and safety in his factories; and reveal how staggeringly little it cost to buy a stick of dynamite in New York City in 1910…
Further Reading:
• ‘How Dynamite Spawned the Nobel Prizes’ (McGill University, 2021): https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/history/how-dynamite-spawned-nobel-prizes
• ‘This week in science history - The first demonstration of dynamite’ (The Naked Scientists, 2009): https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/week-science-history-first-demonstration-dynamite
• ‘Alfred Nobel: From Dynamite to the Nobel Peace Prize’ (Nobel Peace Center, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diaUxeVsg-4
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: R…
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Hollywood's Iconic Landmark
13 juli 2026 · 12 min
Designed as a temporary billboard for a luxury housing development, the iconic ‘Hollywood’ sign (originally spelling out ‘Hollywoodland’) was dedicated on July 13th, 1923. It was intended to last 18 months. Over a century later, it remains. Lees meer
Erected at cost of $21,000—about $360,000 today—and lit by 4,000 bulbs that flashed dramatically in segments (“Holly,” then “Wood,” then “Land,”), the sign fell into disrepair by the late 1970s - when an unlikely alliance of Hugh Hefner and Alice Cooper came to the rescue…
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca trace the rise of the Los Angeles suburbs from citrus groves to a filmmaking mecca; unearth the singular, diligent German immigrant who was responsible for the sign’s upkeep; and consider the glorious successor the iconic signed spawned: in Basildon…
Further Reading:
• ‘The Hidden History of the Hollywood Sign’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2023): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-hidden-history-of-the-hollywood-sign-180982518/
• ‘As the Hollywood sign turns 100, Los Angeles is in no mood to party’ (The Washington Post, 2023): https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/11/02/hollywood-sign-los-angeles-100-years/
• ‘Archive aerial footage shows Hollywoodland sign in 1930’ (Mail Online, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lixq_XtJnww
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
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Evolution on Trial
10 juli 2026 · 12 min
The Scopes Monkey Trial - one of the most famous show trials in U.S. history - began in Dayton, Tennessee on 10th July, 1925. Lees meer
Though it centred on John T. Scopes - a high school teacher put on trial for teaching evolution - he was actually a substitute teacher who may never have really taught the textbook concerned, and had put himself in the frame to test the Butler Act, a Tennessee law prohibiting the teaching of any theory that contradicted the biblical account of creation.
The trial transformed Dayton into a chaotic carnival. Spectators and journalists from around the world flocked to the small town, which became a hub of street preachers, revival tents, and vendors selling Bibles and toy monkeys.
Both sides of the trial brought in heavyweights: William Jennings Bryan, renowned fundamentalist and three-time presidential candidate, volunteered to assist the prosecution, while the famous defence attorney Clarence Darrow, took up Scopes' defence.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the trial came to be heard out on the courthouse lawn; explain what happened to Scopes after receiving his sentence; and reveal which real-life monkeys were harmed in the making of the trial…
Further Reading:
• ‘Scopes Monkey Trial: The Historic Trial That Began 90 Years Ago’ (TIME, 2015): https://time.com/3952775/scopes-monkey-trial-1925/
• ‘Timeline: Remembering the Scopes Monkey Trial’ (NPR, 2005): https://www.npr.org/2005/07/05/4723956/timeline-remembering-the-scopes-monkey-trial
• ’Inherit the Wind’ (MGM, 1960): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtNdYsoool8
We'll be back on Monday - unless you join CLUB RETROSPECTORS, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Rav…
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The Sun Sets on 'Eldorado'
9 juli 2026 · 11 min
One of the BBC’s biggest-ever flops, soap opera ‘Eldorado’, broadcast its final episode on 9th July, 1993 - just one year after it had begun, at a reported cost of £10 million. Lees meer
Focussing on the glamorous lives of British expats - fusing the elements of ‘EastEnders’ and ‘Neighbours’ - it had seemed destined to be a sure-fire hit. So, a large permanent set for the fictional town of Los Barcos was built from scratch in the Costa Del Sol. These days it is used for paint-balling.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion unearth Rupert Murdoch’s alleged attempts to sabotage the soap; consider whether it was actually rather more successful an enterprise than it was given credit for at the time; and reveal which cancelled TV shows they’d resurrect, if only they could...
Further Reading:
• The final scene and closing credits of ‘Eldorado’ (BBC, 1993): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TfR15KgC6w
• ‘Sun, sea and subtitles - how Eldorado became TV's biggest flop’ (The Guardian, 2018): https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jul/09/eldorado-bbc-one-soap-opera
• Los Barcos - the Unofficial Eldorado Website: http://www.losbarcos.org.uk/
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2021.
#90s #TV #Person #UK
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Let's Build A Rollercoaster
8 juli 2026 · 12 min
Promenades Aériennes, the world’s first modern rollercoaster, opened in Paris on 8th July, 1817. Thrillseekers climbed a towering wooden structure before being sent gliding back down on wheeled carriages attached securely to rails; modest by modern standards, yes, but introducing many of the key features that still define coasters today. Lees meer
Visitors faced a lengthy climb to the summit before enjoying their gravity-powered descent, with cafés thoughtfully placed along the staircase for those needing a rest. And the journey itself demanded a degree of bravery: there were no seat belts or safety bars, and passengers simply held on as the carriage swept down the track.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the idea of the proto-rollercoaster back to Catherine the Great’s Russia; explain how goldrush-era mining trains inspired the Switchback Railway at Coney Island in 1884; and consider how little about coaster design really changed until Disney brought in tubular steel in 1955…
Further Reading:
• ‘Object: Promenades Aeriennes Jardin Baujon’ (British Museum) https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1899-0713-182
• ‘First Roller Coaster in America Opened at Coney Island’ (The Association of Mature American Citizens, 2026): https://amac.us/newsline/lifestyle/first-roller-coaster-in-america-opens/
• ‘10 Of The Best Roller Coasters in the UK! Front Seat POVs!’ (Theme Park Review, 2025): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU-tmfOQo9E
#France #1800s #Design #NewYork
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink A…
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Meet Pinocchio
7 juli 2026 · 12 min
Pinocchio, ‘The Story of a Puppet’, debuted in Giornale per i bambini, an Italian weekly magazine for children, on 7th July, 1881. Its author, Carlo Lorenzini - going by the pseudonym C. Collodi - intended the tale to end with the hanging of Pinocchio, but popular demand led to the character having further, more optimistic adventures. Lees meer
As a young man, Collodi joined the seminary but left to support the Italian national unification movement through journalism. His children’s writings are cut through with satire and moral lessons specific to Italy in the 1800s, yet resonated internationally almost immediately, having been translated into as many as 260 languages.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Collodi in the context of other serialised literature of the time, such as Dickens; uncover the darkest moments in the story which Disney sensibly swerved; and explain what that whole weird donkey metaphor is all about…
Further Reading:
• ‘The Real Story of Pinocchio Tells No Lies’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2022): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-real-pinocchio-180980027/
• ‘Pinocchio: The scariest children's story ever written’ (BBC Culture, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20221207-pinocchio-the-scariest-childrens-story-ever-written
• ‘The birthplace of Pinocchio’ (CBS, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAkdYYaTzcI&t=9s
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2023.
#1800s #Italy #Books
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When Lennon Met McCartney
6 juli 2026 · 12 min
The Quarrymen took to the stage at a parish fête near Liverpool on 6th July, 1957: the event that first brought together the brains behind the Beatles, teenagers John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Lees meer
John oozed cool with his swagger, sideburns, and low slung guitar. Paul, watching in awe, was struck by Lennon’s confidence and his seeming ability to improvise lyrics to niche doo-wop tunes. The two boys were introduced later that day by a mutual friend, and immediately clicked; Paul performing his Little Richard-style “woo!" to an impressed John. Two weeks later, John offered him a spot in The Quarrymen. Paul said yes—but only after Scout camp and a family holiday to Butlins.
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca explore how the two boys were united in a shared history of grief; explain how they came up with the name "The Beatles”; and reveal why an incident with a condom got them deported from their first stint in Hamburg…
Further Reading:
• ‘When Paul McCartney met John Lennon’ (National Museums Liverpool): https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/stories/when-paul-mccartney-met-john-lennon
• ‘Truth about John Lennon and Paul McCartney's first ever meeting in unlikely venue’ (The Mirror, 2019): https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/truth-john-lennon-paul-mccartneys-17261716
• ‘Nowhere Boy’ (Film4, 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xITuqrVimlE
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
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Sailing Alone Around The World
3 juli 2026 · 12 min
Captain Joshua Slocum set sail from Nova Scotia in The Spray, his revamped oyster sloop, on 3rd July, 1895: the first solo circumnavigation of the world. Lees meer
Sailing alone for no reason other than pleasure was considered a fool’s errand at the time, but, motivated by the death of his beloved first wife, Virginia, Slocum sought solace in the sea. His memoir, dedicated to ‘the one who believed the Spray would return’, detailed his daring journey and struggle against loneliness.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Slocum survived - given his navigational aids of a broken chronometer and tin clock; explain how he evaded pirates in Gibraltar - in the most long-winded way possible; and explore his cheese-inspired hallucinations…
Further Reading:
• ’Joshua Slocum and his first Single-handed Sail around the World’ (SciHi, 2021): http://scihi.org/joshua-slocum-around-the-world/
• ’“The Spray will Come Back”: Solo Circumnavigator Joshua Slocum’ (New Bedford Whaling Museum, 2017): https://www.whalingmuseum.org/exhibition/the-spray-will-come-back
• ‘The Mysterious Disappearance Of A Sea Pioneer’ (Timeline, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K6ZQiOUG9M
We'll be back on Monday - unless you join CLUB RETROSPECTORS, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2024.
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Zeppelin Takes Flight
2 juli 2026 · 11 min
Airships had flown since the 1850s, but the first rigid airship to comfortably carry passengers - the Zeppelin - had its maiden voyage at Lake Constance on 2nd July, 1900. Lees meer
The passion project of German aristocrat Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the ‘golden age’ craft were freezing cold on-board, and precarious: the majority of them eventually crashed. Nonetheless, his pluckiness captured the German imagination, raising millions of Reichsmarks, and inspiring Hitler to co-opt the machines for political and military means.
In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider how Zeppelin’s connections to Daimler saved his start-up; explain why the Hindenburg (fatefully) ended up being filled with hydrogen, rather than helium; and reveal the plans of a Bedfordshire-based business to bring blimps back to Britain’s skies...
Further Reading
• ‘A History of German Airship Aviation’ at Google Arts & Culture:
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/the-dream-of-flight-a-history-of-german-airship-aviation-zeppelin-museum-friedrichshafen/cQJywRaJSvazIw?hl=en
• ‘The Hindenburg Disaster in 1937’ from PennLive (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b94SPaP7mU
• The Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander 10 - from their official website:
https://www.hybridairvehicles.com/our-aircraft/airlander-10/
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2021.
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The First Tour De France 🚲
1 juli 2026 · 12 min
Around sixty cyclists set off from a café in Montgeron, just outside Paris, on 1st July, 1903: the start of the first ever Tour de France. Lees meer
The event began as a circulation-boosting scheme by newspaper L'Auto; struggling to compete with its rival Le Vélo, they launched the race as a publicity exercise. But the challenge facing riders was extraordinary: the original route covered roughly 2,400 kilometres in six stages, with each stage far longer than those seen in the modern race. Competitors rode heavy single-speed bicycles with minimal technology and often travelled through the night. And, although professional cyclists entered, many participants were just enthusiastic amateurs attracted by the prize money and the possibility of fame. Of the sixty riders who started, only twenty-one completed the race.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the stunt evolved into the quintessentially French festival of cycling it became; consider the role of anti-semitic sympathies inspiring L’Auto’s advertisers; and discover the dark side of Maurice Garin, the race’s heroic first winner, nicknamed "The Little Chimney Sweep"...
Further Reading:
• ‘Worth a (bike) trip, 100 years later’ (The New York Times, 2003): https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/26/news/worth-a-bike-trip-100-years-later.html?searchResultPosition=4
• ‘A ride into the past’ (Financial Times, 2003): https://www.ft.com/content/ad90409a-de47-11e2-9b47-00144feab7de
• ‘20 Great Tour de France moments’ (8 Seconds Of Cycling, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEmHe19epmg
#France #Sport #1900s #Publishing
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
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Debating Darwin's Theory
30 juni 2026 · 12 min
Thomas Huxley and Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford, were among the prominent figures discussing Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution at the Oxford University Museum on 30th June 1860; an encounter sometimes referred to as ‘The Great Debate’. Lees meer
The confrontation is best remembered for a heated exchange in which Wilberforce supposedly asked Huxley whether it was through his grandfather or his grandmother that he claimed his descent from a monkey. Huxley is said to have replied that he would not be ashamed to have a monkey for his ancestor, but he would be ashamed to be connected with a man who used his great gifts to obscure the truth.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how both men came to believe they had ‘won’ the ‘debate’; trace back the origins of the men’s nicknames ‘Darwin’s Bulldog’ and ‘Soapy Sam’; and consider whether Darwin himself was keen on causing such controversy…
Further Reading:
• ‘The Great Debate’ (Oxford University Museum of Natural History): https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/great-debate
• ‘Did Huxley really mop the floor with Wilberforce?’ (National Geographic, 2008): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/repost-did-huxley-really-mop-the-floor-with-wilberforce
• ‘Darwin’s Dangerous Idea’ (PBS, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=povYofKYqJM
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2023.
#Science #Victorian #UK
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When Kubrick Met Spielberg
29 juni 2026 · 13 min
After nearly three decades of development, A.I. Artificial Intelligence finally had a theatrical release on 29th June, 2001. Written and directed by Steven Spielberg - following the death of his friend Stanley Kubrick - it promised to be a cinematic masterpiece. But many critics saw it as akin to a custody battle between two very different parents—Kubrick’s icy intellect clashing with Spielberg’s sentimental warmth. Lees meer
Kubrick first bought the rights to the short story Supertoys Last All Summer Long in 1983, envisioning a film about climate catastrophe, underwater Manhattan, and artificially intelligent robot children that would tug at your heartstrings—if only the tech could catch up. Spielberg stuck close to Kubrick’s original vision, especially the perfectly eerie first and third acts—but admitted the middle was “pieces of a dream.”
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca pore over the box office receipts this “mess” achieved; explain why ‘Jurassic Park’ played a pivotal role in the movie’s development; and reveal why Kubrick insisted on being told the layout of Spielberg’s Hollywood home…
Further Reading:
• ‘Artificial foolishness / "A.I.' starts out promising but ends up combining the worst of Kubrick, Spielberg’ (San Francisco Chronicle, 2001): https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Artificial-foolishness-A-I-starts-out-2905798.php
• ‘From Kubrick to Spielberg: The Story of ‘A.I.’’ (The Ringer, 2021): https://www.theringer.com/2021/06/29/movies/ai-artificial-intelligence-steven-spielberg-stanley-kubrick
• ‘Spielberg on Spielberg: Spielberg Explains Ending of A.I. Artificial Intelligence’ (TCM, 2007): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz7sPiOoU7A
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The Real Pied Piper
26 juni 2026 · 12 min
What happened to the 130 children that went missing from the town of Hamlein, Lower Saxony on 26th June, 1284? According to legend, a vindictive ‘Pied Piper’ took revenge after the town had failed to stump up for his magical pest control services. But numerous sources corroborate that, fairy tales aside, the town’s children really did disappear. Lees meer
An inscription on the facade of a timbered house in the city, dating back to 1602, commemorates the strange event, and notes the Piper's role in leading the children away (though it makes no mention of rats). And church records and stained glass windows depict a Piper leading away ghostly children.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly compare hypotheses on this centuries-old mystery; consider whether the kids were deliberately groomed to settle new communities; and reveal why the current-day Piper paraded for tourists is wearing the WRONG clothes…
Further Reading:
• ‘The grim truth behind the Pied Piper’ (BBC Travel, 2020): https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200902-the-grim-truth-behind-the-pied-piper
• ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning’ (Poetry Foundation): https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45818/the-pied-piper-of-hamelin
• ‘Faerie Tale Theatreseries: The Pied Piper of Hamelin’ (Showtime, 1986): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg43OBEISY0
We'll be back on Monday - unless you join CLUB RETROSPECTORS, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2024.
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Introducing... The Fork
25 juni 2026 · 12 min
The fork had only recently received Royal approval in Britain when it was gifted to the Governor of Massachusetts, John Winthrop, on 25th June, 1633. Lees meer
It took centuries for Americans to feel comfortable with this new way of eating, but in Italy it was already gaining ground, as Englishman Thomas Coryat observed in 1611, noting: "the Italian cannot by any means endure to have his dish touched with the fingers, seeing all men's fingers are not alike cleane. Herupon I myselft thought good to imitate the Italian fashion by this forked cutting of meate."
In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider how the Victorians conspired to make cutlery culturally exclusionary; review the American method of ‘cut and switch’; and wonder whether the early Fork Sceptics were right to question the wisdom of putting metal in their mouths...
Further Reading:
• ‘Nearly 400 years later, the fork remains at the center of American dining controversy’, Quartz (2018):
https://qz.com/1313214/nearly-400-years-later-the-fork-remains-at-the-center-of-american-dining-controversy/
•‘The Rise of the Fork’, Slate (2012): http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/design/2012/06/the_history_of_the_fork_when_we_started_using_forks_and_how_their_design_changed_over_time_.html?via=gdpr-consent
•‘The History of the Fork’ by History of the Plate on YouTube (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HCnFChptvI
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2021.
#1600s #Inventions #Food #Royals #US #UK
Le… -
Henry VIII's 'Ugly Wife'
24 juni 2026 · 13 min
Anne of Cleves was dumped by her profligate husband Henry VIII on 24th June, 1540, when she was summoned to Richmond Palace and asked to accept an annulment from her tyrannical spouse. In return for her compliance, she received substantial estates, including Richmond Palace itself, and Hever Castle, along with a generous income that made her one of the wealthiest women in England. Lees meer
Henry granted her the title of "the King's Beloved Sister", placing her in a uniquely privileged position at court. Far from being exiled, she remained a respected figure, maintained good relations with Henry, and became particularly close to his daughters Mary and Elizabeth.
Henry’s fourth marriage had been arranged for political reasons. And popular memory has long reduced Anne's story to being the "ugly wife" Henry found physically repellent at their first meeting. But the portrait painted by Hans Holbein the Younger (of which Henry initially approved) was almost certainly an accurate likeness, and perhaps in truth Henry and Anne were simply incompatible; Anne had been raised in a practical German court that valued piety and household management, while Henry fancied himself a Renaissance prince steeped in courtly romance.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Anne’s relative good fortune (compared to the fate of some of Henry's other wives); review the relative physical condition of the two young lovebirds; and reveal why Anne may have believed, in spite of the evidence, that their marriage had been consummated…
Further Reading:
• ‘Anne of Cleves: The Great Survivor | Hampton Court Palace’ (Historic Royal Palaces, 2026): https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and-stories/anne-of-cleves/
• ‘Was Anne Of Cleves Henry VIII's Most Successful Queen?’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/anne-of-cleves-henry-viii-successful-queen-fourth-wife-tracy-borman/
• ‘What History Gets Wrong About Anne Boleyn | Timestamp’ (BBC, 2025): https://w…
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Bobbitt
23 juni 2026 · 14 min
Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis with a kitchen knife while he was asleep in their apartment in Manassas, Virginia on 23rd June, 1993. After a nine-hour surgery, Bobbitt’s penis was successfully reattached – and the case became an international news sensation. Lees meer
The 24 year-old manicurist was charged with malicious wounding and faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted. But in court she showed that her then-husband had repeatedly sexually and physically abused her and was found Not Guilty, on the basis of temporary insanity.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how John’s penis was discovered and transported after amputation; explain why Virginia’s marital abuse laws were insufficient to cover the scope of the Bobbitt’s relationship; and consider one of the weirdest offers to ever come from Playboy…
CONTENT WARNING: rape, domestic violence, gore.
Further Reading:
• ‘Lorena Bobbitt: SEX, LIES, AND AN 8-INCH CARVING KNIFE’ (Vanity Fair, 1993): https://www.vanityfair.com/style/1993/11/lorena-bobbitt-interview-sex-lies-carving-knife
• ‘You Know the Lorena Bobbitt Story. But Not All of It’ (The New York Times, 2019): https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/arts/television/lorena-bobbitt-documentary-jordan-peele.html?searchResultPosition=4
• ‘The night Lorena Bobbitt sliced off her husband John’s penis’ (ABC 20/20, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmSWTavWC_A
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2023.
#90s #US #…
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I Invented The Donut 🍩
22 juni 2026 · 13 min
Sea Captain Hanson Gregory claimed to have first cut a hole in a donut on 22nd June, 1847, sparking an American tradition: the nation now consumes ten billion donuts per year. Lees meer
But Americans munched on Dutch “oily cakes” for decades prior to that, and the corporate intervention of Dunkin’ Donuts - founded in Gregory’s hometown - might help explain why Gregory’s origin story has stuck…
Regardless, there were two inarguable milestones in America’s adoption of this sugary treat: volunteer women handing them out to homesick soldiers in France during World War One; and New Yorker Adolph Levitt’s invention of the first automatic donut machine in the 1920s.
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca explain why donuts were being considered the “Food of the Future” at the World’s Fair; reveal why the trope of police officers frequenting donut shops has its basis in truth; and consider why a journalist’s trip to an old people’s home in 1916 has skewered our understanding of DONUT TRUTH 🍩!
Further Reading:
• ‘Rhodri Marsden's Interesting Objects: The doughnut hole’ (The Independent, 2015): https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/rhodri-marsden-s-interesting-objects-the-doughnut-hole-10326542.html
• ‘The Maine Ship Captain Who Invented the Modern Donut’ (New England Historical Society): https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/maine-ship-captain-invented-modern-donut/
• ‘How does a Donut Machine work? (Krispy Kreme)’ (Jared Owen, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPR43MiRtmw
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart…
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Making The Metropolitan Police
19 juni 2026 · 11 min
Sir Robert Peel received royal assent for the Metropolis Police Improvement Bill on 19th June, 1829 - leading to the creation of London's first professional police force, who were soon nicknamed ‘Bobbies’ in tribute. Lees meer
The Met’s first constables hit the streets that Autumn, dressed in tailcoats (to signify their role as servants of the people), and top hats (strengthened with an iron ring for protection), and all in blue to distinguish them from the red colouring used by the Army.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick ‘Policing By Consent’; reveal the recruitment criteria for new members of the force; and explain why officers became known as ‘PC Plod’...
Further Reading:
• ‘The Metropolitan Police: an introduction to records of service 1829-1958’ (The National Archives): https://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/the-metropolitan-police-an-introduction-to-records-of-service-1829-1958-2/
• ‘The establishment of the Metropolitan Police - Enforcing law and order’ (BBC Bitesize): https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zy9sn9q/revision/4
• ‘The founding of the police force | History - The Strange Case of the Law’ (BBC Teach, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KA2dbDtFnA
We'll be back on Monday - unless you join CLUB RETROSPECTORS, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2024.
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