Today In History with The Retrospectors
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The Best Thing Since Wrapped Bread
6 juli 2021 · 11 min
Sliced bread had never been automated before Otto Rohwedder unveiled his “power-driven, multi-bladed bread slicer” at Chillicothe Baking Company on July 6, 1928 - after an astonishing SIXTEEN years of self-funded development.
The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune ran a front-page story in response - warning that consumers might find sliced bread “startling,” but that “the typical housewife could expect a thrill of pleasure when she first sees a loaf of this bread with each slice the exact counterpart of its fellows.”
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of this seismic event to the creation of the pop-up toaster in 1921; consider what it means to be ‘an itinerant jeweller’; and reveal the results of a survey of 30,000 housewives on optimum slice-width…
Further Reading:
• ‘Sliced Bread: Where did it come from?’ on HowStuffWorks’ YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q7oMc-L57c
• ‘The best thing since sliced bread’ (Jim Glynne, The Madera Tribune, 2018):
http://www.maderatribune.com/single-post/2018/07/07/the-best-thing-since-sliced-bread
• Chillicothe, Missouri - ‘The Home of Sliced Bread’:
http://www.homeofslicedbread.com/
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#20s #Person #Food #Inventions #Technology #White #US
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Birth Of The Bikini
5 juli 2021 · 11 min
Swimwear never made more of a splash than when designer Louis Réard unveiled his daring new two-piece at the Piscine Molitor in Paris on July 5th, 1946. Showgirl Micheline Bernardini modelled the new attire, named after US nuclear testing site Bikini Atoll. Really.
Eleven years later, Modern Girl magazine still considered it ‘inconceivable that any girl with tact and decency’ would ever be seen wearing a bikini. Yet, by the sixties, it had become commonplace on beaches around the world.
In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider the role rival designer Jacques Heim played in inspiring the garment; reveal the countries where it remains illegal to wear a bikini (sometimes); and unearth Sarah Brightman’s surprising role in Bombalurina’s 1990 cover version of ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’...
Further Reading:
• 15 Hilarious First Reactions to the Invention of the Bikini (BestLife, 2019):
https://bestlifeonline.com/bikini-invention-reactions/
• Fred Cole’s scorn for bikinis (‘Fashion: In The Swim’, TIME, 1950):
http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,813465,00.html
• That Bombalurina video, featuring the future Mrs Barlow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LagoycfdCA
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#40s #Inventions #Art #Fashion #White #France
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Zeppelin Takes Flight
2 juli 2021 · 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.
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/
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#1900s #Inventions #Technology #Germany
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The Walkman Effect
1 juli 2021 · 12 min
Sony’s revolutionary cassette player, the Walkman, debuted in the USA on 1st July, 1979, costing $150. It went on to shift a staggering 450m units.
Boasting a classy aluminium chassis, audio splitter, and novelty ‘Hotline’ button for dance parties, the device took off after an advertising campaign featuring sexy models and an elderly Japanese monk.
In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the genesis of the Walkman’s brand name; consider whether it deserved an even HIGHER place in TIME’s list of the Top 50 Most Influential Gadgets, and ask if, in 2021, we are living in the shadow of ‘The Walkman Effect’...
Further Reading: Lees meer‘The History of the Walkman: 35 Years of Iconic Music Players’ (The Verge, 2014): https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/1/5861062/sony-walkman-at-35
The original TV spots for the Walkman in Japan (1979): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrrTv_BzAAQ
TIME’s list of the 50 Most Influential Gadgets of All Time (2016): https://time.com/4309573/most-influential-gadgets/
To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors! (*top two tiers only)
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#70s #Music #Inventions #Technology #US
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It's raining SPIDERS!
30 juni 2021 · 3 min
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It’s Raining Frogs!
30 juni 2021 · 11 min
When marine amphibians fall from the sky, people tend to notice. So it was on 30th June, 1892 - when it reportedly rained FROGS in the Birmingham suburb of Moseley.
Multiple accounts of animal rain - now thought to be caused by tornadoes sweeping up creatures as they traverse local water sources - can be found as far back as ancient Roman literature, and throughout the medieval era.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the Biblical resonance of froggy-drops, discover the “Miss ‘Rain of Fish’” competition in Latin America, and work out why it’s said to be ‘raining cats and dogs’, when it literally never is...
Further Reading: Lees meer‘Nine Times Animals Rained Down From The Sky’, from World List’s YouTube channel (2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWNSc49jDf8
‘It's raining birds and frogs: Animal phenomena are surprisingly common but why do they happen?’ (Independent, 2011): https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/it-s-raining-birds-and-frogs-animal-phenomena-are-surprisingly-common-but-why-do-they-happen-2177017.html
More on ‘Miss Lluvia De Peces’ (All That’s Interesting, 2019): https://allthatsinteresting.com/fish-rain-lluvia-de-peces
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#1800s #Strange #Funny #UK
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Eminem vs His Mom
29 juni 2021 · 11 min
Marshall Mathers III, aka Eminem, was sued for defamation by his own mother, Debbie, on 29th June, 2000. The suit was primarily in response to a lyric, “My Mom does more dope than I do”, from his hit song ‘My Name Is’.
However, the case never made it to court. Eminem settled for $25,000 - almost of all of which went to Debbie’s lawyer, who then commented that the cash was not enough to compensate for having to deal with his client...
In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider Eminem’s use of the Slim Shady ‘character’ in his lyrics, explain how tough it is to prove a defamation lawsuit against a piece of art; and revisit the work of Australian drag artiste ‘Pauline Pantsdown’.
Further Reading: Lees meer‘Eminem's Mom Makes Music’ (People, 1998): https://people.com/celebrity/eminems-mom-makes-music/
‘The Mother Who Sued Her Own Son’, (Mel Magazine, 2019): https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/eminem-mom-debbie-mathers
‘I’m A Backdoor Man’ by Pauline Pantsdown (1997): https://soundcloud.com/pauline-pantsdown/im-a-back-door-man-1997
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#2000s #Art #Music #Person #Politics #White #US
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Before There Was ‘Crufts’
28 juni 2021 · 11 min
The first modern dog show took place in Newcastle on 28th June, 1859. Essentially a sideshow to the annual exhibition of cattle, it featured just 23 pointers and 27 setters. The owners of the champion breeds won a gun.
Allegations of inbreeding and nepotism plagued the contest from the very beginning; controversies which eventually sparked the invention of The Kennel Club in 1873.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider the competition’s historical connections to pigeon-fancying and eugenics; unearth Charles Dickens’ sceptical opinion of the 1862 ‘Monster Dog Show’ in Islington; and explain how Charles Cruft maneuvered himself up from dog-food salesman to create the premier event in canine display…
Further Reading:
Early 20th century dog shows at Vintage News Daily:
https://vintagenewsdaily.com/22-lovely-photos-that-capture-vintage-dog-shows-in-the-early-20th-century/ Lees meer‘The Surprising History of Victorian Dog Shows’, (History Extra, 2009): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/the-surprising-history-of-victorian-dog-shows/
British Pathé visits Monkstown Championship Dog Show (1950):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSbO7vWuDpc
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#1800s #Inventions #UK
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Introducing… The Fork
25 juni 2021 · 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.
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
We had EVEN MORE to say about forks and cutlery in general. No really. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!(*top two tiers only)
We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#1600s #Inventions #Food #Royals #US #UK
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Forkin' Pioneers
25 juni 2021 · 5 min
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The Town That Danced To Death
24 juni 2021 · 12 min
‘Dancing Mania’ - in which people spontaneously danced to exhaustion, some until they broke their ribs and subsequently died, took hold of Aachen, Germany on 24th June, 1374.
We still don’t really know why. Had the victims ingested ergot, a mould from rye bread that can inspire hallucinations? Was it a hysterical mass response to a stressful and traumatic environment? Or a kind of pre-smartphone flashmob?
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the likely causes and cures for this curious episode, learn about the equally extraordinary phenomenon of Tarantism, and play ‘guess the Saintly disease’...
Further Reading:
• ‘A Strange Case of Dancing Mania Struck Germany Six Centuries Ago’, Smithsonian Magazine (2016)
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/strange-case-dancing-mania-struck-germany-six-centuries-ago-today-180959549/
• ‘A forgotten plague: making sense of dancing mania’, The Lancet (2009):
https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(09)60386-X/fulltext
• ‘Tarantism: A Rhythm For Your Soul’
(Giuliano Capani, 2008) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6fB4oInT7A
To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors! (*top two tiers only)
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#1300s #Strange #Macabre #Germany
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Batman Begins
23 juni 2021 · 11 min
Over $750m of merchandise had already been sold on the basis of the trailer alone, when Tim Burton’s Batman was released in the USA on 23rd June, 1989. Ten days later, it became the fastest-film ever to earn $100m.
The first ‘adult’ Batman movie had been pitched as early as 1979, but, after various possible permutations - one of which would have cast Bill Murray as Batman and Eddie Murphy as Robin - it came to the big screen with Michael Keaton in the titular role ten years later.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion marvel at a world in which comic book nerds were an untapped resource; visit the British stately homes that stood in for Wayne Manor; and ask why no-one ever just shoots Batman in the face…
Further Reading:
• The original 1989 trailer for Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F07Mf1kxUKY
• ‘The Battle To Make Tim Burton’s Batman’, The Hollywood Reporter (2019):https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/batman-michael-keaton-vetoed-michelle-pfeiffer-role-1989-film-1220139/
• ‘Nike designed a pretty terrible pair of boots for Tim Burton's 1989 'Batman' movie’, Business Insider (2016):
https://www.businessinsider.com/nike-batman-boots-2016-3?r=US&IR=T
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#80s #Film #US
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McEnroe’s Wimbledon Meltdown
22 juni 2021 · 12 min
John McEnroe was once the world’s No.1 tennis player, winning seven major Grand Slams. But he’ll always be remembered for his extraordinary rant against umpire Edward James at Wimbledon on 22nd June, 1981.
During his match with Tom Gullikson, James ruled that the New Yorker’s serve went out. McEnroe's reaction - "You can't be serious man, you cannot be serious!... You guys are the absolute pits of the world!" - staggered the genteel world of tennis.
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca discover that McEnroe had already established a bad-boy reputation with the UK press, who'd labelled him ‘superbrat’ in 1977; marvel at the reaction of the BBC commentators to the unfolding drama; and consider whether the general public would still actually remember who McEnroe was, if this had never happened...
Further Reading:
• The rant unfolding (1981), from the ESPN Archives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ransFQVzf6c
• The Washington Post, pre-rant, record McEnroe’s depiction in Britain as ‘superbrat’ (1979): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1979/06/24/british-aim-fire-at-the-superbrat/7115ab3c-154a-4f5a-b99e-2632fbd2bc5f/
• John McEnroe on ‘Desert Island Discs’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08xxfz3
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#80s #Sport #Tennis #Person #White #US #UK
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Let’s Triangulate Britain
21 juni 2021 · 11 min
The Ordnance Survey - a government-funded agency created to aid the military in the event of invasion from France - took receipt of a theodolite on 21st June 1791, and so began the epic task of accurately mapping Britain.
It took them twenty years to do the county of Kent. And another twenty years to do the South Coast. If you wanted a fragment of one of their hand-drawn maps on your wall, it would set you back two weeks’ wages.
In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca pore through their OS Map collection to discover which county has the most commercial greenhouses, the exact location of ‘Britain’s highest pub’, and reveal the OFFICIAL answer to the much-pondered question, ‘Where is the centre of Britain?’...
Further Reading:
• ‘The Quirky History of Ordnance Survey And The UK’S Maps’, from Much Better Adventures magazine (2020):
https://www.muchbetteradventures.com/magazine/ordnance-survey/
• ‘A Short History of the Ordnance Survey’ from The Charles Close Society: https://www.charlesclosesociety.org/files/HistoryOSGB.pdf
• ‘Attacking Scotland: Five centuries of maps by our enemies’ A lecture by Chris Fleet, Maps Curator of the the National Library of Scotland (2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGLxGLaJG_s&t=5s
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#1700s #Inventions #Politics #UK
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The Town Disney Built
18 juni 2021 · 11 min
Designed by Imagineers, and located on the outskirts of Walt Disney World, the town of Celebration, Florida welcomed its first residents on 18th June, 1996.
Over 5,000 families had applied to be amongst the first ever homeowners to reside, full-time, in the grounds of a theme park. Conceptually, the town was a mash-up of the wistful nostalgia that inspired the designs of Disneyland’s original Main St, USA and Disney’s ‘utopian city of tomorrow’ vision (which, eventually, manifested as EPCOT).
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider the restrictions of living in a New Urbanist community; ask why the town remains over 90% white; and wonder whether anyone really needs singing bins…
Further Reading:
• Disney fan-site ‘Inside The Magic’ on Walt’s ‘Florida Project’: https://insidethemagic.net/2021/01/walts-disney-florida-project-lp1/
• Insider takes a tour of modern-day Celebration (2020): https://www.insider.com/what-it-is-like-to-live-in-celebration-florida-2020-1
• ‘Celebration: the creepy real life town Disney built in Florida’ (news.com.au, 2019):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCko6cVniEw
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021
#90s #Strange #US
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The Arrival of Lady Liberty
17 juni 2021 · 12 min
Still the tallest statue in the USA, the Statue of Liberty arrived from France - in no less than 214 crates - in New York City on 17th June, 1885.
Costing just $10m in today’s money, the Lady went on to symbolise the immigrant journey - even though the designers and engineers behind it had no such intention. And it wasn’t supposed to be green, either - that’s because it’s oxidized.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider whether NYC bagged themselves a bargain, reveal the origins of the ‘ticker tape parade’, and wonder if they could ever do something so epic for their Mums...
Further Reading:
• The Statue of Liberty: Building an Icon (The B1M, 2017):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QM0tipFQ9c
• History on ‘How The Statue of Liberty Became An Icon’:
https://www.history.com/news/statue-of-liberty-icon-building
• Reuters fact-check: why Lady Liberty is NOT an enslaved black woman (2020):
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-statue-liberty-design-idUSKBN24B2L1
We had EVEN MORE to say about Lady Liberty's arrival in the USA. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!(*top two tiers only)
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#1800s #Arts #Inventions #France #US
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Living on Liberty Island
17 juni 2021 · 3 min
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Welcome To The Monster Raving Loony Party
16 juni 2021 · 12 min
Over beers at The Golden Lion in Ashburton, Devon, ‘Screaming’ Lord Sutch founded his anti-establishment political party The Monster Raving Loony Party on 16th June, 1982.
It wasn’t the first time the former rock n’roller had stood on a political platform - he had previously contested Harold Wilson's seat in 1966, achieving 585 votes. But his eccentric new party - with their satirical policies, velvet hats and oversized badges - soon became a fixture of British general elections.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine whether the MRLP’s biggest weapon was visual or lyrical; consider the realities of trudging around the country canvassing for a political party that will inevitably never win; and reveal just how many of the party's former ‘joke’ policies subsequently entered mainstream political thinking...
Content warning: suicide, brief description of dead body.
Further Reading:
• The Official Page of the Monster Raving Loony Party: https://www.loonyparty.com/
• Screaming Lord Sutch: An Obituary (The Guardian, 1999):
https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/jun/19/guardianobituaries.nigelfountain
• Screaming Lord Sutch sings ‘Jack The Ripper’ (1964): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2ZsWENob1s Lees meerFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#80s #Politics #Music #Person #Macabre #UK
In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here.
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Blackadder Begins
15 juni 2021 · 12 min
Rowan Atkinson headed up the cast and writing team, yet the first series of ‘The Black Adder’ drew a decidedly mixed reaction from audiences and critics when it debuted on BBC TV on 15th June, 1983.
Set in 1484, and filmed in castles across England, the series led some wags to quip that it ‘looks a million dollars, but cost a million quid’. It was only later, when Ben Elton joined Richard Curtis to write subsequent series, that its iconic comedy characters truly took shape.
In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider the role of Oxbridge privilege in the genesis of the series, ask whether it was ever really an ‘alternative comedy’, and quote some funny lines at each other - because this is a discussion about Blackadder, after all...
Further Reading:
• The show’s profile on the BBC Comedy site (2014): https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theblackadder/
• ‘Blackadder at 35: why the writers completely reinvented him after one series’ (The i, 2018):
https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/blackadder-reinvented-after-one-series-164228
• CLIP: ‘The Blackadder is Born’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na4v8CeKnxM
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#80s #Arts #TV #Person #White #Funny #UK
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The Vatican’s Naughty Library
14 juni 2021 · 12 min
Circulated in some form since the 16th century, the ‘Index of Forbidden Books’ was quietly discontinued by Pope Paul VI on 14th June, 1966.
In its 400-year+ history, the Index Librorum Prohibitorum had censored hundreds of authors including the German astrologer Keppler, the philosopher Kant, and Protestant theologians Martin Luther and John Calvin. But Darwin wasn’t included - because all books about atheism were automatically considered heretical.
In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly explain the processes behind the scenes; revisit some choice exchanges between Catholic scholars; and reveal the books they’d ban forever - if only they could...
Further Reading:
• ‘Roman Catholics: The Issue of Imprimatur’ (TIME, 1966): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,836269,00.html
• Wikipedia’s list of Authors and Works in the Index: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_authors_and_works_on_the_Index_Librorum_Prohibitorum
• ‘Vatican: Forbidden Works’ from Journeyman Pictures:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_S81oSR2AA
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#60s #Arts #Religion #Politics #White #Italy
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Chuck Berry v the I.R.S.
11 juni 2021 · 12 min
It was the THIRD time behind bars for legendary rock n’ roller Chuck Berry when he was found to have dodged $110,000 in income tax on 11th June, 1979.
He insisted on being paid cash-in-hand for his sometimes shambolic personal appearances, and his propensity for stashing it was so well-known that in Australia the authorities introduced limits on the amount of cash that could be transited across their border, specifically in response to him once stuffing $50,000 in his guitar case.
In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly dig deeper into some of Chuck Berry’s former convictions; take a disturbing peek into his home video library; and reveal the true origins of the ‘duck walk’...
Content Warning: detail of underage, exploitative and non-consensual sexual acts
Further Reading:
• The New York Post on Berry’s scandalous sex life (2017):
https://nypost.com/2017/03/21/the-dark-past-of-chuck-berrys-scandal-filled-sex-life/
• Inc. on why Berry’s ‘musical genius was also his financial undoing’ (2017):
https://www.inc.com/jay-jay-french/how-chuck-berrys-musical-genius-was-also-his-financial-undoing.html
• Chuck Berry’s duck walk - a compilation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwZcLpYPKoI
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Music #Crime #Person #Black #US
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The Very First 'Boat Race'
10 juni 2021 · 12 min
The Oxford v Cambridge Men’s Boat Race has been an annual tradition since 1856 - but the first one was the result of a light-hearted bet between two friends called Charles on 10th June, 1829.
When Wordsworth (Christ Church College, Oxford) and Merivale (St. John’s, Cambridge) challenged each other to race up the Thames in Henley, they never could have known their schoolboy jape would attract 20,000 spectators, nor that it would go on to become one of the major sporting events in the British calendar.
In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider if rowing is still an elitist sport; whether Oxbridge colleges should now ditch the pretence that they never admit postgraduate students specifically to participate in the race; and reveal Hugh Laurie’s consolation prize for losing for Cambridge in 1980…
Further Reading:
• ‘Origins of the Boat Race’ at the Boat Race’s official website:
https://theboatrace.org/origins
• 111 years after the original race, Oxford and Cambridge compete in Henley again (British Pathé, 1940):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQSsei8KxCw
• ‘Ten Things You Didn’t Know About The Boat Race’ from Sky History: https://www.history.co.uk/article/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-boat-race
If you enjoy this episode, there's more of Olly, Arion and Rebecca chatting about the boat race over on our Patreon page, patreon.com/Retrospectors.
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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#1800s #Sport #Rowing #White #UK Lees meerHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Boat Race gets LADIES and COCKNEYS
10 juni 2021 · 5 min
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The Man With The Idolatrous Maypole
9 juni 2021 · 11 min
Orgies, drinking songs, and - perhaps most damagingly of all - Paganism were rumoured tools of the colonist Thomas Morton when he established Merrymount, New England. It wasn't long before he was deported back to Britain by the Puritans on 9th June, 1628.
It was his sympathy for the locals which had really done for him. But the headline-grabbing moment was his erection of a Westcountry-stye maypole, around which locals and settlers had danced and drank, and generally cavorted in ways that colonists aren’t usually disposed to do.
In this episode Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider why Morton’s story is so rarely taught in schools; interrogate Encyclopedia Britannica’s description of him as ‘picturesque’; and ask just how different Massachusetts really was from 17th century Devon...
Further Reading:
• Bob Neufeld reads Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ‘The May-Pole of Merry Mount’ (1836):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZzS5xIZ4rI
• ‘The Maypole That Infuriated the Puritans’, from The New England Historical Society: https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/maypole-infuriated-puritans/
• ‘The two men who almost derailed New England’s first colonies’ at The Conversation (2016): https://theconversation.com/the-two-men-who-almost-derailed-new-englands-first-colonies-68213
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#1600s #Person #Religion #White #US #UKHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Hawaiian Pizza - A Legacy
8 juni 2021 · 11 min
Sam Panopoulos, creator of the Hawaiian pizza, died on 8th June, 2017 at the age of 83. Originally Greek, he moved to Ontario, Canada at the age of 20 and opened a restaurant where he experimented with toppings far beyond the typical ‘60s triumvirate of mushroom/bacon/pepperoni.
Alongside a Chinese-American chef, he kick-started an international appetite for ham and pineapple that grows to this day - the Hawaiian becoming America’s favourite delivery pizza topping in 2021.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the merits of ‘Irish pizza’ (corn beef, cabbage and potato...); reveal that the ‘super-boring’ Napolitana was itself only ‘invented’ in 1889; and attempt to establish if the Hawaiian pizza is actually popular in Hawaii…
Further Reading:
• Sam Panopoulos’s obituary on CBC News’ ‘The National’ (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DccNpObmrjk
• The Guardian’s obituary to Panopoulos (2017):
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jun/10/sam-panapoulos-inventor-of-hawaiian-pizza-dies-aged-83
• An alternative history? The menu to ‘Francine’s Pizza Jungle’ - uncovered in The Oregonian’s archives:
https://twitter.com/mrgan/status/1303461195005833216
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2010s #Person #Inventions #Food #Chinese #Asian #US #Canada
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When 'Grease' Was The Word
7 juni 2021 · 12 min
Edgy, gritty and sexy, the Broadway production of ‘Grease’ opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on 7th June, 1972, beginning what would become a record-breaking eight-year run.
Despite NOT featuring some of the most well-known hits from the movie - including ‘Grease Is The Word’, ‘You’re The One That I Want’ and ‘Hopelessly Devoted To You’ - the production attracted an unusually high proportion of blue-collar audiences, keen to see working-class and ethnic immigrant subculture portrayed in a musical.
In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the origin of the word ‘greasers’, explain why ‘50s nostalgia played little part in the original success of the show, and consider whether the Grease Megamix is an appropriate choice for 10 year olds to sing at a Summer Ball…
Further Reading:
• The Playbill from the original production:
https://www.playbill.com/article/playbill-archives-grease-1972-com-143094
• ‘It’s The Longest-Running Show on Broadway’ - a 1970s TV commercial for the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phxb5K7jUUw
• The original dialogue from ‘Grease’ c/o New Line Theatre:
http://www.newlinetheatre.com/grease-dialogue.html Lees meerFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#70s #Theatre #Arts #Music #Film #US
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Crazy Frog v Coldplay
4 juni 2021 · 12 min
‘The Annoying Thing’ is how the begenitaled amphibian animated by Erik Wernquist was first described; but by the time he released his first single ‘Axel F’ he was universally known as The Crazy Frog, and beat Coldplay’s ‘Speed of Sound’ to UK #1 on 4th June, 2005.
The tale of how this possibly could have happened is unique to the early days of the internet - a teenager messing about imitating motorbike noises emailed the sound to some friends, Wernquist stumbled across it and put it in his portfolio, and then it was adopted for sale by mobile ringtone company Jamster.
In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca consider the value of Crazy Frog’s musical legacy, reveal that he’s not even a frog, and applaud the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority for standing up to protest, and permitting us to witness his visible scrotum…
Further Reading:
• Crazy Frog - Axel F (2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k85mRPqvMbE
• ‘Find out how the world’s most annoying noise came about’ - The Sun commemorates Crazy Frog’s 20th birthday (2017): https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/2974489/crazy-frog-just-turned-20-relive-his-hellish-magic-here/
• Not So Crazy Frog (Documentary, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8vVz1KoU2s
There is SEVEN MINUTES of bonus material from our discussion about Crazy Frog. We had a lot to discuss. To hear it, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors and support the show.
We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#2000s #Music #Funny #UK
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Crazy Frog v tombstones and touring
4 juni 2021 · 9 min
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The Woman Who Shot Andy Warhol
3 juni 2021 · 11 min
Radical playwright Valerie Solanas, author of the SCUM Manifesto (for the ‘Society of Cutting Up Men’) attempted to assassinate pop artist Andy Warhol at The Factory on 3rd June, 1968.
As a result, Warhol wore a corset for the rest of his life; security had to be introduced at the previously open-door environment of The Factory; and Solanas’ name went down in infamy.
In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca ask whether her feminist writing would carry more weight if she’d never committed this violent act; consider the ethics of wannabe-assassins becoming celebrities, and wonder whether her SCUM Manifesto reads more like Jane Austen or Germaine Greer…
Content Warning: mental health, paranoid schizophrenia, injury detail
Further Reading:
• ‘I Shot Andy Warhol’ trailer (1996):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAQRCcQlXXE
• ‘The SCUM Manifesto’ on Northeastern University’s website:
https://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/shivers/rants/scum.html
• ‘This Is Why a Radical Playwright Shot Andy Warhol’ (Time, 2015):
https://time.com/3901488/andy-warhol-valerie-solanas/
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#60s #Person #Arts #Crime #White #US
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The World’s Most Violent Football Match
2 juni 2021 · 11 min
The ‘Battle of Santiago’ was the name given to the shambolic and brutal World Cup Final between Chile and Italy on 2nd June, 1962.
Featuring drop-kicks, punching and nose-breaking, the incendiary footage of the match was introduced by the BBC’s David Coleman as “the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football, possibly in the history of the game.”
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how referee Ken Aston took inspiration from the event to invent red and yellow cards; explain why Chile, still recovering from the Valdivia earthquake, had taken Italy’s criticism of their country so seriously; and question whether the BBC’s apparent indignation was entirely genuine...
Further Reading:
• ‘Disgusting and Disgraceful: The Battle of Santiago At World Cup 1962’, The Sportsman (2018):
https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/disgusting-and-disgraceful-the-battle-of-santiago-at-world-cup-1962
• FIFA revisits the match in 2018:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5t_RoUrvgg
• The Guardian looks back at this day in history (2014):
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/mar/04/stunning-moments-no4-battle-of-santiago
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#60s #Sports #Football #Chile #Italy
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Heimlich’s Big Manoeuvre
1 juni 2021 · 12 min
‘Cafe coronaries’ were a fact of life until The Journal of Emergency Medicine published details of The Heimlich Manoeuvre on June 1, 1974.
In so doing, they made a household name of thoracic surgeon Henry Heimlich, and saved countless diners from choking in restaurants.
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca examine whether Heimlich’s notoriety was truly deserved; explain how his Hollywood connections helped him spread the word of his achievements; and revisit his misguided pursuit of malariotherapy as a treatment for HIV...
Further Reading:
• Henry Heimlich administers his manoeuvre on Johnny Carson and Angie Dickinson - ‘The Tonight Show’ (1979): https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1850117411675283
• Peter Heimlich’s critical blog about his father’s legacy: https://www.medfraud.info/
• Dr Henry’s Emergency Lessons For People (1980): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmHm8OOz8P8
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#70s #Science #Inventions #Food #White #US
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The Controversial Birth of Corn Flakes
31 mei 2021 · 12 min
John Harvey Kellogg believed his corn flakes had a future as a sexual suppressant when he filed a patent for "Flaked Cereals and Process of Preparing Same" on 31st May, 1895.
What the Seventh Day Adventist and eugenicist hadn’t counted on was his brother Will - who combined his discovery with sugar; effectively creating the Kellogg company that still exists to this day.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion reveal the origins of the word ‘Sanitarium’, explain what Dr. Kellogg got up to on honeymoon; and revisit his alarming prescription for yoghurt...
Content Warning: references to eugenics, masturbation, sexual content
Further Reading:
• ‘John Harvey Kellogg, MD: Health Reformer and Antismoking Crusader’ at the U.S. National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447485/
• NPR’s Fresh Air on ‘How The 'Battling' Kellogg Brothers Revolutionized American Breakfast’ (2017): https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/08/08/542145177/how-the-battling-kellogg-brothers-revolutionized-american-breakfast?t=1621942499296
• Discovery’s ‘How It’s Made’ visits a cereal factory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPpMV_vcVEg
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#1800s #Person #Inventions #Food #White #US
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Super Mario Bros - The First Videogame Movie
28 mei 2021 · 12 min
Before ‘Tomb Raider’, before ‘Mortal Kombat’, before ‘Street Fighter’, there was something even WORSE. ‘Super Mario Bros’ - which opened in the United States on 28th May, 1993 - was such a critical and commercial failure that for years afterwards Nintendo kept their franchises out of Hollywood hands.
Relocating the action to ‘Dinohattan’, the film inexplicably disregarded most of what had made the videogame such a smash-hit and replaced these elements with allusions to Blade Runner and Tim Burton’s Batman.
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca reveal Bob Hoskins’ drinking and accident-prone habits on-set, consider the relative strength of today’s spinoffs such as The Lego Movie, and analyse the secret sauce that keeps the Mario brand strong in the face of such adversity…
Further Reading:
• CinemaSins presents: ‘Everything Wrong with Super Mario Bros in 21 Minutes or Less’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYQHnPOYc5Q
• ‘The Stench of it Stays With Everybody’, The Guardian (2018):
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/mar/22/super-mario-bros-movie-killing-fields-chariots-fire-video-game
• ‘Plumbing a Videogame To Its Depths’ - the New York Times reviews the film in 1993:
https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/29/movies/review-film-plumbing-a-video-game-to-its-depths.html
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#90s #Film #Games #Inventions #US
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Fan-Dancing, Dwarfism and Microwaves at Chicago World’s Fair
27 mei 2021 · 12 min
Microwave cookery was first demonstrated by Ross Kilgore of Westinghouse at the Chicago World’s Fair, which opened on 27th May, 1933. But the event was deemed to be a side-show of little scientific significance, and was forgotten until microwaves were ‘discovered’ two decades later.
Incredibly also on display at the Chicago World’s Fair were incubated premature babies; people with dwarfism paraded in ‘midget’s village’; and, most attention-grabbingly of all, a provocative fan dancer called Sally Rand. Different times.
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca compare the Fair’s SkyRide to its ‘coal mine’; question the purpose of a cigar-smoking robot; and explain why amoebic dysentery made an unwelcome souvenir for many...
Further Reading:
• America’s Best History looks back at the ‘Century of Progress’ exhibition:
https://americasbesthistory.com/wfchicago1933.html
• Wilding Pictures captures Technicolor footage of the Fair in 1934: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTqNPjQvOC0
• The ‘Coal Mine’ exhibit, preserved at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry:
https://www.msichicago.org/explore/whats-here/exhibits/coal-mine/
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#30s #Discoveries #Strange #US
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Athena’s ‘Man and Baby’ Photoshoot
26 mei 2021 · 11 min
The most iconic image of the 80s? Arguably. One of the biggest-selling posters of all time? Unquestionably. Yet ‘L’Enfant’ - captured on 26th May 1986 by photographer Spencer Rowell - was just a workaday, rapid-turnaround project for high street store Athena.
The photo, which went on to adorn over five million walls, is often credited with inventing the ‘New Man’ - but the people in the photograph were hardly financially rewarded for their subsequent stardom.
In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal what ‘the baby’ is up to these days; consider the extent to which the image’s cheesy reputation is tied up with British awkwardness around male sexuality; and examine just how many women model Adam Perry claims to have bedded since…
Further Reading:
• The original poster, uploaded by Eighties Kids: https://www.eightieskids.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/1-1.jpg
• The Independent reports on the ‘excess, addiction and tragedy’ of ‘L’Enfant’:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/curse-man-and-baby-athena-and-birth-legend-432331.html
• Spencer Rowell talks to Uncertain States in 2010:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0mUbTajhOc
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#80s #Arts #White #Person #UK
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Shakespeare Unbanned
25 mei 2021 · 12 min
Chinese citizens were once again able to read and perform the works of William Shakespeare on 25th May, 1977.
Chiang Ching, Chairman Mao’s wife, had instituted the ban eleven years earlier - amidst concerns that the Bard’s works could be reinterpreted to undermine the Party’s rule and ideology.
In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion ask why British Literature has enjoyed a reversal of fortune under President Xi; reveal how Shakespeare’s childhood home is connected to The Venetian, Las Vegas; and recall a surprising fact about One True Voice’s forgotten hit, ‘If I Had Shakespeare’s Way With Words’...
Further Reading:
• An article on the ban from History: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chinese-government-removes-ban-on-shakespeare
• The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust report on the Chinese building project:
https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/about-us/news-media/press-releases/shakespeares-family-homes-be-re-created-china/
• One True Voice. You have been warned:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zptNzFv4uIU
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#70s #Arts #Asian #Theatre #Politics #China
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What would WE ban?
25 mei 2021 · 3 min
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The Very First Eurovision
24 mei 2021 · 11 min
Spectacle, camp and glamour were NOT on the agenda in Lugano, Switzerland on 24th May, 1956: the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast mostly on the radio, and featured a whistling duo as its interval act. Who had to perform twice.
Voting controversy, however, was enshrined in the institution right from the outset - as Judges were permitted to award points to their own nations, and vote in absentia.
In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal which countries have most consistently scored the famous ‘nul points’; consider why the future of the contest seems to lie Eastwards, and revisit Israel’s entry from 1999, ‘Happy Birthday’...
Further Reading:
• Lys Assia wins the first Eurovision for Switzerland:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyqIPvOkiRk
• Facts and Figures from the 1956 contest at the official Eurovision website:
https://eurovision.tv/event/lugano-1956
• Full list of 1956 voting and points from Eurovisionworld:
https://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/1956
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#50s #Arts #MusicHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Greyhound Hits The Road
21 mei 2021 · 11 min
When Carl Wickman started America’s first bus company on 21st May, 1914, they weren’t a bus company, and they weren’t called Greyhound - they were a commuter service for miners in Hibbing, Minnesota.
But, despite their ‘dirty dog’ reputation (and the fact they’re now owned by a British conglomerate), the company is still seen as a cornerstone of American culture, and undoubtedly the most famous bus company in the world.
In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca consider the role of Hollywood in enshrining Greyhound’s exalted status in the popular imagination, speculate as to whether the development of highways killed the romance of inter-city travel, and reveal why, after the longest coach journey in the world, Father Christmas made Rebecca cry...
Further Reading:
• The ‘bus scene’ from It Happened One Night (1934): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvzgCo-As6A
• Mental Floss celebrate 100 years of Greyhound:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/54273/100-years-dirty-dog-history-greyhound
• ‘Facts and Figures’ from Greyhound’s official website:
https://news.greyhound.com/facts-figures
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#1910s #Inventions #US
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The Accidental Vibrator
20 mei 2021 · 12 min
When Hitachi launched their ‘personal massager’ on 20th May, 1968, they had no idea (or so they claim) that they were about to, um, go down in sex toy history.
The Magic Wand was initially developed to relieve tension and relaxing sore muscles - but soon became celebrated as the most powerful vibrator the world had ever seen.
In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion discover how its innocent packaging helped boost sales when female masturbation was taboo, reveal the role sex educator Betty Dodson had in introducing it to the chattering classes, and consider how Apple would react today, if it was revealed that ‘rubbing an iPad on your bits felt good’...
Content Warning: Explicit content, references to genitalia.
Further Reading:
• ‘A Brief History of The Magic Wand’, Cosmopolitan (2017): https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a14105499/hitachi-magic-wand-history/
• Sam returns her ‘neck massager’ to The Sharper Image in Sex and the City (2002):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T4QIO4XVPc
• Magic Wand’s official website:
https://magicwandoriginal.com/
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#60s #Inventions #Discoveries #Funny #US
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Marilyn's Birthday Surprise
19 mei 2021 · 12 min
When Marilyn Monroe delivered her breathy, flirtatious rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ to JFK on 19th May 1962, columnist Dorothy Kilgallen remarked, 'it seemed like Marilyn was making love to the President in front of 40 million Americans.'
In fact the two are said to have never seen each other again, and just three months later Monroe was dead from a drug overdose.
In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the forgotten, steel-based second verse of the song Monroe also sang that night, consider the role The Simpsons has played in ruining this moment forever, and explain why ‘Sing A Song of Sixpence’ has a lot to answer for…
Further Reading:
• Marilyn’s iconic performance - and the giant cake presented shortly afterwards:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvoqK6aLE2E
• Biography on the story behind the song:
https://www.biography.com/news/marilyn-monroe-happy-birthday-mr-president-jfk
• Reader’s Digest investigate what happened to Marilyn’s dress:
https://www.rd.com/article/marilyn-monroe-happy-birthday-dress/
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#60s #Person #Politics #Arts #White #US
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Dracula! Live on Stage!
18 mei 2021 · 12 min
Bram Stoker’s Dracula was first introduced to the world NOT via his canonical novel, but rather in the pages of a seldom-performed - and by all accounts appalling - play-reading at London's Lyceum Theatre on 18th May, 1897.
The stage version was not intended to reach a mass audience; but was rather a clever wheeze of Stoker’s to ensure he was recognised as the creator of his iconic characters - as the script needed to be rubber-stamped by the Lord Chamberlain's office prior to performance.
In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the copyright battle Stoker’s widow nonetheless endured with the makers of ‘Romanian knock-off’ ‘Nosferatu’, consider the benefits of Stoker’s ‘found footage’ approach to authorship, and reveal how an incident in Rhode Island, of all places, may have inspired Stoker to write his play...
Further Reading:
• Some pages from Stoker’s manuscript at the British Library: https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/bram-stokers-stage-adaptation-of-dracula#
• Watch ‘Nosferatu’, on Timeless Classic Movies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC6jFoYm3xs
• Stoker’s life at the Lyceum in ‘Henry Irving & Bram Stoker: A Working Relationship’ from The Irving Society:
https://www.theirvingsociety.org.uk/henry-irving-bram-stoker-a-working-relationship/
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Lees meerThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#1800s #Theatre #Person #Arts #White #Macabre #UK
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The Man Who Invented The Wild West
17 mei 2021 · 11 min
Gun totin’, horse ridin’ spectacular ‘Buffalo Bill’s Wild West’ opened in Omaha, Nebraska on 17th May, 1883 - the start of a multi-decade run. Lees meer
With a cast of hundreds, including Calamity Jane, Sitting Bull, and Annie ‘Get Your Gun’ Oakley, it toured the world - and forever shaped the way cowboys and Indians were represented in popular culture.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion reveal the little-known indoor version of the show, consider the role of Native Americans in the ensemble, and explain why the Cossacks in the cast weren’t so popular when they returned home to Georgia…
Further reading:
• Footage from Buffalo Bill's show - from the McCracken Research Library, Wyoming:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3meHAqxuDI
• William F. Cody profiled at the University of Sheffield’s
National Fairground and Circus Archive:
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/nfca/researchandarticles/buffalobill
• ‘Ten Things You May Not Know About Annie Oakley’, from History:
https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-annie-oakley
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#1880s #Person #Inventions #Arts #US
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The UK's Buffalo Bill?
17 mei 2021 · 4 min
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America's Last Witchtrial
14 mei 2021 · 11 min
Can ‘mesmeric’ mental powers harm you from afar? Well, no. But that didn’t stop Lucretia L. S. Brown accusing fellow Christian Scientist Daniel H. Spofford of ‘malicious animal magnetism’ in court; a case that concluded on 14th May, 1878. Lees meer
No doubt bolstered by the fact it took place in Salem, Massachusetts - home of the historic American witchcraft trials, in the 1690s - the case aroused public interest with its judgements on mind control and spiritualism.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider the gender politics of witchcraft trials, examine the enduring popularity of folk magic in rural communities, and uncover the surprising rise of witchcraft in the 21st century...
Further reading:
• ‘The Other Salem Witchtrials’ - a blog-post from the Oxford University Press:
https://blog.oup.com/2013/04/the-other-salem-witch-trials/
• Brian A. Pavlac investigates the ‘original’ Salem witch trials for TED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVd8kuufBhM
• ‘The Long Lost Friend’ by John George Hohman (1820):
https://archive.org/details/0223252.nlm.nih.gov/page/n5/mode/2up
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #US
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The $8 Billion 'Kill Switch'
13 mei 2021 · 12 min
‘WannaCry’, the biggest cyberattack the world has seen, was stopped in its tracks on 13th May, 2017. British blogger Marcus Hutchins found the 'kill switch'. He was 22. Lees meer
The ransomware had attacked the NHS, Renault, Telefónica, FedEx, and Boeing - causing damage estimated at up to $8 billion.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion revisit Hutchins’ incredible story, from childhood computer programmer to criminal hacker and, eventually, British hero; consider when exactly their own children will eclipse their technical proficiency; and discover what ‘sinkholing’ is...
Further reading:
• ‘The Confessions of Marcus Hutchins, the Hacker Who Saved the Internet’ - a long read interview in ‘Wired’:
https://www.wired.com/story/confessions-marcus-hutchins-hacker-who-saved-the-internet/
• “I’m no hero”, Marcus Hutchins tells the Telegraph:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5dNdnG_t1U
• Follow Marcus Hutchins on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MalwareTechBlogFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#2010s #Person #Crime #Technology #UK
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The Birth of Alcoholics Anonymous
12 mei 2021 · 11 min
When Bill Wilson met Dr Robert Smith on 12th May, 1935, they could not have known that the 12-step plan they’d devised for treating addiction would spawn the world’s largest support group. Lees meer
Despite their initially low success rate, they persisted to aid recovering alcoholics and their names went down in history - to the extent that A.A. members still sometimes identify each other by asking, ‘...are you a friend of Bob?’.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion review the current trajectory of ‘mindful drinking’ amongst millennials, consider why the number ‘12’ still features prominently in listicles, and reveal the ingredients of the cocktail that got Wilson hooked on booze in the first place...
Further reading:
• Bill Wilson tells his story in 1965: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9oNOrTcOzM
• Take a virtual tour of Wilson’s home, ‘Stepping Stones’, in Katonah, New York:
https://www.steppingstones.org/tours.html
• What is AA? Alcoholics Anonymous (USA)’s current website:
https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/what-is-aaFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#30s #Person #Invention #White #US
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The Opening Night Of 'CATS'
11 mei 2021 · 12 min
At a cost of £2m, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical ‘Cats’ premiered at the New London Theatre on 11th May, 1981 - and the world had never seen anything like it. Lees meer
With a cast including Brian Blessed and Elaine Paige, the original production was innovative, sexy, creepy, bizarre - and an enormous gamble for the impresarios who backed it.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion look back at the original reviews for the show, consider whether John Napier’s award-winning costume design was actually incredibly lazy, and reveal how the show’s signature song, ‘Memory’, nearly didn’t happen at all...
Further reading:
• Elaine Paige performs ‘Memory’ in the original production:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm5w7gHEtJI
• Sue MacGregor interviews the cast and crew for Radio 4’s ‘The Reunion’:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008jyn
• ‘Cats’ - a timeline from London’s Evening Standard:
https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/cats-musical-history-a4439316.html
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#80s #Arts #Theatre #UK
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Elaine Paige's bonkers story about being cast in 'Cats'
11 mei 2021 · 3 min
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The Lady Who Left Her Baby Outside
10 mei 2021 · 12 min
As Annette Sorensen drank margaritas in a New York BBQ restaurant on May 10th, 1997, she left her 14 month-old daughter outside, in a stroller. Lees meer
She spent two days in jail, was accused of child neglect, and was separated from her baby for four days. But Sorensen, a Danish visitor to the States, claimed she was following Scandinavian norms, and tried to sue for $20m.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion examine whether leaving your baby outside in the street really IS a Danish custom, consider the culture clash between Copenhagen and NYC, and confess the weirdest places they’ve left their own children...
Further reading:
• The AP films Sorensen’s (first) court appearance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-KCeRHBzK4
• The New York Times covers the story in 1997:
https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/14/nyregion/toddler-left-outside-restaurant-is-returned-to-her-mother.html
• 20 years after the case, Annette Sorensen speaks to The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/26/anette-sorenson-denmark-new-york-baby-left-outside
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.
#90s #Person #Politics #Crime #Denmark #White #US
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