Today In History with The Retrospectors

With their colourful uniforms and pomp, the Vatican’s iconic Swiss Guards might seem more decorative than dangerous today - but their origin is far from ornamental. On January 22nd, 1506, 150 elite Swiss mercenaries marched into the City, and were blessed by ‘Warrior Pope’ Julius II at sunset to protect the Pope during a tumultuous era of political strife.

The Swiss were Renaissance Europe’s answer to modern special forces. Renowned for their phalanx formations and halberds, they could dismantle charging cavalry with precision. Their reputation as fierce fighters had already drawn the attention of earlier popes, including Sixtus IV and Alexander VI, who hired Swiss mercenaries to bolster their armies. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the lethal Sack of Rome in 1527; explain how Jules Repond revived and reformed the Guards in the 20th century; and consider the strict qualifications for candidates to become a member of their ranks…

Further Reading:

• ’A history of the Vatican's Swiss Guard’ (Daily Telegraph, 2011): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/8873853/A-history-of-the-Vaticans-Swiss-Guard.html?msockid=23c525cc0876634208c637a40951628f

• ‘The Swiss Guard’ (Suisse Société): https://houseofswitzerland.org/swissstories/society/swiss-guard

• ’Ex-guards march to mark 500th anniversary’ (Associated Press, 2015):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyF8VDovJqM

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The iconic DeLorean DMC-12 rolled off the production line in Belfast on 21st January, 1981.

Priced at $25,000, the stainless steel gullwing sportscar was marketed as a luxury item, but its actual features fell short of the hype. The DeLorean Motor Company faced financial troubles, and had ceased production within just two years. But the car found its way into the "Back to the Future" script because John DeLorean, the man behind the car, was embroiled in a $24 million cocaine conspiracy, making headlines during the film's development.

In this episode, The Retrospectors explain how DeLorean leveraged his profile within the car industry to raise the funds to finance his dream project; explain how the car’s production in Northern Ireland led to untrained workers and corporate deceit of the British government; and reveal how Doc Brown very nearly drove a Mustang...

Further Reading:

• ’The Short, Chaotic History of the DeLorean’ (Time, 2016):

https://time.com/4180894/delorean-history/

• ‘DeLorean Motor Company and the DMC-12: the full story’ (AutoExpress, 2021): https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/features/354919/delorean-motor-company-and-dmc-12-full-story

• ‘Back to the Future: The DeLorean’ (Amblin Entertainment, 1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0cw6lU5jo4

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Ozzy Osbourne orally decapitated a bat live on stage in Des Moines, Iowa on 20th January, 1982; an act that quickly went down as one of the most outrageous moments in rock n roll history.

Concertgoer Mark Neal, 17, said the bat was dead long before he threw it on stage. But this was not Osbourne’s first offence: he had previously shocked attendees at a CBS press launch by biting the head away from a live dove.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of Osbourne’s bizarre bird-and-bat-beheading behaviour; applaud the ingenuity of his long-suffering wife Sharon; and debate whether Alice Cooper intentionally threw a chicken to a braying mob to be mutilated…

CONTENT WARNING: animal cruelty, offensive language beeped.

Further Reading:

• ‘Everything you need to know about Ozzy Osbourne biting the head off a bat in Des Moines’ (desmoinesregister.com): https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/kyle-munson/2016/01/20/everything-you-need-know-ozzy-osbourne-biting-head-off-bat-des-moines/79055858/

• ‘When Ozzy Osbourne Bit Off the Heads of Two Doves (ultimateclassicrock.com)’:

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ozzy-osbourne-dove-bite-head/

• ‘Ozzy Osbourne talking to David Letterman about the bat incident’ (NBC, 1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxn2_sO5los

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We all know you’re here because you - like us, are a bona fide history nerd, so here's a little something from the producers of this podcast; a brand new series of Conflict Of Interest with the Imperial War Museum. We think you're going to love it

How have artists, filmmakers and photographers shaped our understanding of wars and conflict? Journalist and writer Helen Lewis explores the recently-opened Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries at Imperial War Museum, London.

From No Man's Land to mushroom clouds, Helen discovers the people that have interpreted over a hundred years of conflict, in this specially-curated tour by James Bulgin, Head of Public History at IWM.

They are joined by Suzanne Plunkett, Reuters' Chief Photographer for the UK and Ireland, and a photojournalist for almost 30 years - and someone who can give us a first hand account of what it’s like to be capturing a seismic event in the moment.

Objects Discussed:

Paul Nash, The Menin Road, 1919

John Armstrong, Pro Patria, 1938 

War Pictorial News No. 21

Mushroom Cloud over Nagasaki, 1945

Suzanne Plunkett, People Covered in Dust and Debris New York, 11 September 2001 - 

© AP (IWM DC 123993)

© AP (IWM DC 124023)

Narrator:  James Taylor. Producer: Matt Hill at Rethink Audio, with support from Eleanor Head, Daniel BenChorin, and the IWM Institute team at Imperial War Museums

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The first night of Richard Sheridan’s classic comedy ‘The Rivals’ did not go according to plan. Critics thought it was too long, the Irish gentry in the audience were insulted, and an actor was pelted with rotten fruit. It closed after one performance on 17th January, 1775.

But then… after eleven days of rewrites, recasting and edits (a process Sheridan called “prunings, trimmings and patchings”), the show re-opened - and became the much-loved hit it remains to this day.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly expose how Sheridan exploited his notoriety in Bath to put bums on seats; unpick how the play’s famous ‘Malapropisms’ achieved seminal status; and revisit the best of Sheridan’s real-life one-liners…

Further Reading:

• ‘The scourge of Bath’ (The Guardian, 2004): https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2004/may/15/theatre

• The Dramatic Works of Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Cavan Library): http://www.cavanlibrary.ie/file/Local-Studies/Library-Scanned-Docs/The_dramatic_works_of_Richard_Brinsley_Sheridan.pdf

• ‘What Are Malapropisms?’ (Bright Idea, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMdgr-qSAfM

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Prior to the release of his book Don Quixote on 16th January, 1605, Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes had previously been a soldier, a royal messenger, a tax collector and – for a spell – a slave.

But perseverance paid off for the aspiring author who, at the age of 57, produced a book that has been called “the greatest piece of literature ever written”.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why Cervantes’ poetry and plays weren’t as successful as his first novel; reveal how his characters became embedded in the English language; and explain why Don Quixote is really just Shrek but 400 years earlier.  

Further Reading:

• ‘Disney’s many failed attempts to bring Don Quixote to the screen’ (Polygon, 2020): https://www.polygon.com/entertainment/2020/9/15/21436961/disneys-failed-attempts-to-bring-don-quixote-to-the-screen

• ‘No Ordinary Man - The Life and Times of Miguel de Cervantes’ (Dover Publishing, 2006): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/No_Ordinary_Man/CBHLqNlLuEMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Miguel+de+Cervantes&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Why should you read "Don Quixote"?’ (TED-Ed, 2019): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDUPu6tMWHY 

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Groundbreaking police procedural Hill Street Blues first aired on NBC on January 15th, 1981. Back then, TV dramas were mainly mindless entertainment, overshadowed by sitcoms or feel-good fare such as Little House on the Prairie. But, with its richly chaotic blend of overlapping dialogue, gritty realism, and complex characters, Hill St broke the mould. 

Yet the pilot’s test audiences found the unconventional format disorienting—the flawed characters, unresolved storylines, and chaotic setting were too unfamiliar for comfort. Nonetheless, NBC renewed the low-rated show, partly because its small audience was an influential demographic of discerning viewers who valued its intelligence and depth.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Hill Street Blues revolutionized TV storytelling; consider the outdated societal attitudes on display in their pilot episode; and reveal why Rebecca was prevented from discussing her love for show on the BBC’s Mastermind…

Further Reading:

• ‘Hill Street Blues’: The most influential TV show ever (CNN, 2014): https://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/29/showbiz/tv/hill-street-blues-oral-history/index.html

• ’15 Surprising Facts About Hill Street Blues’ (Mental Floss, 2018): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/73436/15-gripping-facts-about-hill-street-blues

• ‘Hill St Blues, Episode 1’ (NBC, 1981): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeJEEAtZH_I

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24-year-old doctor Jesse Bennett successfully performed a C-section on his wife, Elizabeth, saving both her life and their daughter Maria's: 14th January, 1794, in a log cabin on the Virginia Frontier.

The attending physician's refusal to participate, leaving the scene altogether, left Bennett to make quick decisions - though this included spontaneously removing his wife's ovaries.

The groundbreaking operation remained a local legend for nearly a century, as he never publicly reported it due to concerns about disbelief and the delicacy of the matter.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, despite the success of this operation, C-sections still weren’t routinely performed until over a century later; investigate whether earlier examples of successful caesareans had happened in Africa; and consider whether pig-spaying was an appropriate qualification for midwifery…

Further Reading:

• ‘Caesarean Section - A Brief History: Part 2’ (US National Library of Medicine): https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/cesarean/part2.html

• ‘House Of The Dragon: A History Of Mediaeval Caesareans (C-Sections)’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/general-history/caesarean-c-section-childbirth-history-origins/

• ‘African midwives successfully performed C-sections before it was common in Europe’ (Verify, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mto400r_T3M

This episode first premiered in 2024, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.

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Chariot racing was a dangerous and violent sport at the best of times, but on 13th January, 532, a hooligan-led protest at the Hippodrome of Constantinople - known as ‘the Nika rebellion’ - ultimately lead to over 30,000 deaths and the destruction of half the City. 

Upon hearing his wife urge him that ‘royalty is a good burial shroud’, the Emperor Justinian reportedly decided to slaughter his own people to maintain his position of power. Yet, despite this, he was ultimately deemed to have earned his epithet: ‘The Great’. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unearth the tradition of ‘curse tablets’; explain why Empress Theodora switched allegiances from the ‘greens’ to the ‘blues’; and reveal how a eunuch wielding gold coins helped to stabilise the Byzantine empire…

Further Reading:

• ‘Overview of the Nika Revolt’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/the-nika-revolt-1788557

• Deadly Moments in History - The Nika Riots (Invicta, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm9mscL2qHU

• ‘12 Historic Little Known Rebellions with Tragic and Bloody Ends’ (History Collection, 2017): https://historycollection.com/12-historic-little-known-rebellions-tragic-bloody-ends/9/

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

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Rerun: The Sinclair C5, Sir Clive Sinclair’s disastrous entry into the EV market, launched at Alexandra Palace on 10th January, 1985. 

Looking like a cross between a mobility scooter and a child’s pedal car, it had no on-board storage, was too heavy to climb uphill, and a top speed of 15km per hour. But Sinclair had contracted Hoover to produce the vehicle, expecting orders of 200,000 units per year.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the original publicity material for this doomed design classic; rank the public embarrassment of the car’s failure against Sinclair’s other high-profile flops; and reveal the contents of the optional ‘wet weather kit’ drivers could enjoy…

Further Reading:

• ‘A Revolution in Personal Transport’ - the original press kit from the launch (1985): www.sinclairql.net/downloads/1985-01-10_Sinclair_C5_launch_press_kit-SQPP.pdf

• ‘Sinclair C5: the history of Sir Clive Sinclair’s electric car’ (Auto Express, 2021): https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/356059/sinclair-c5-history-sir-clive-sinclairs-electric-car

• ‘Imagine a Vehicle that can drive you five miles for a penny’ - original Sinclair C5 TV advert (1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EQetm_qWDg

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eevblog/

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.

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Rerun: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”, the American statesman Benjamin Franklin once said, but until 9 January, 1799, taxation looked very different to the way it does today, because this was the day the world was first introduced to income tax.

Its introduction by British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger was not one of his most popular innovations, but he had good reason to be wanting to bring more money into the government’s coffers, given the national debt had doubled during the American War of Independence and now stood at £243 million.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why there was a bonfire outside Westminster the day income tax was eventually repealed; marvel that taxation used to target the wealthy rather than the poor; and reveal why taxing farts is more sensible than it sounds… 

Further Reading:

• ‘9 January 1799: income tax introduced to Britain’ (Money Week, 2021): https://moneyweek.com/372129/9-january-1799-income-tax-introduced-to-britain 

• ‘A short history of income tax’ (The Independent, 1995): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/a-short-history-of-income-tax-1577708.html

• ‘William Hague on William Pitt’ (Cambridge University, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0tHmYEaqok

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.

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According to legend, François Grimaldi and his brother Ranieri executed a bold plan to seize control of Monaco's iconic rock on 8th January, 1297. Disguised as Franciscan monks seeking refuge, they gained access to the fortress under false pretenses… only to reveal their true intentions by overpowering the guards and taking the stronghold. The House of Grimaldi remains the monarchy of the microstate, over seven centuries later.

Monaco’s appeal has always revolved around its strategic rock. Since ancient times, this geographical feature has served as a vital lookout and defence point over the Mediterranean. It wasn’t until 1297, amid the turbulent Guelph and Ghibelline conflicts—where local loyalties were deeply entangled in the rivalries of the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor—that the Grimaldis seized their opportunity. Their success against Genoan control marked the start of an initially turbulent history, with Monaco’s sovereignty repeatedly contested until the principality solidified its independence.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal that Monaco, now synonymous with wealth, was in fact once the world’s poorest country; explain where the ‘Carlo’ in ‘Monte Carlo’ comes from; and question whether ‘The Grimaldi Curse’ can really be evidenced…

Further Reading:

• ’How the Grimaldis came to live on the Rock’ (Monaco Life, 2023): https://monacolife.net/how-the-grimaldis-came-to-live-on-the-rock/

• ‘The Basics; Why Is Monaco A Country?’ (The New York Times, 2005): https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/10/weekinreview/the-basics-why-is-monaco-a-country.html?searchResultPosition=27

• ‘MONACO: MONTE CARLO: 700TH ANNIVERSARY OF GRIMALDI DYNASTY’ (AP Archive, 2015):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1M8H-XcOMo

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On January 7th, 1904 the Marconi Company sought to establish a universal distress call; proposing, ‘CQD’ for emergencies. 

Despite its adoption in Britain, other nations had varied distress signals, leading to a lack of international consensus. The second International Radio Telegraphic Conference in Berlin in 1906 came up with ‘SOS’ instead. The United States weren’t keen on adopting the new standard… until the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 highlighted the need to fall into line.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain what ‘WC’ meant; recall the eye-catching way Marconi first demonstrated transatlantic radio waves; and explain how, eventually, Morse Code itself was retired as a method of marine communication by the end of the 20th Century… 

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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In our first new episode of 2025, The Retrospectors dive into the scandal that shocked the world of figure skating, when, on 6th January, 1994, Olympic hopeful Nancy Kerrigan was attacked in the leg by a man wielding a police baton in an attempt to incapacitate her. 

This wasn’t just a random act of violence; it was part of an orchestrated scheme involving Kerrigan’s rival, Tonya Harding, her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly, and a band of bumbling conspirators. What followed was a tale of ambition, sabotage, and an investigation that captured the world’s attention.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how the media, both upmarket and tabloid, got their guns out for Harding and backed Kerrigan as the wronged ice princess; recall the drama that played out in Lillehammer that year as both competitors were chosen for the squad; and consider how, despite a raised awareness of the abusive relationships under the surface, the sheer absurdity of Harding’s crime continues to resonate…

Further Reading:

• ‘Jealousy On Ice’ (The New York Times, 1994): 

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/01.06.html

• ’Jeff Gillooly, The Mastermind Behind The Nancy Kerrigan Attack’ (All That’s Interesting, 2024): https://allthatsinteresting.com/jeff-gillooly

• ‘Tonya Harding speaks out about Nancy Kerrigan attack’ (Good Morning America, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfXm8s37E8g

#Sport #Crime #90s #Scandal

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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 2024.

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Olly’s favourite episode of 2024 unfolds on September 23rd, 1387: the day of the most extravagant feast of the Middle Ages, featuring dishes like broth, venison, roasted swan, and boar-heads… and 12,000 eggs. 

It took place at the London home of the Bishop of Durham, and was given in honour of King Richard II. Just 20 years old, Richard had already developed a reputation for extravagant tastes, employing 2,000 cooks to feed his court. But, despite the abundant and luxurious menu, the atmosphere at the feast was likely solemn, given the churchy setting and the era's rigid rules of etiquette. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the cooks roasted birds in increasingly extravagant styles, yet served spices NEAT; discover how to make a "subtlety"; and dip into the rulebook for the carvers trained in the fine art of slicing and presenting food fit for a King…

Further Reading:

• ‘King Richard's Feast Of 1387’ (OAKDEN): https://oakden.co.uk/king-richard-second-feast-1387/

• ’Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery’ (1990): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Oxford_Symposium_on_Food_Cookery_1990/XseXnb98h90C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=23rd+September+1387&pg=PA138&printsec=frontcover

• ‘How To Prepare A Traditional Medieval Feast | Let's Cook History’ (Chronicle, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkqQ5iGATrk

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Rebecca’s favourite episode of 2024 recalls the day ‘These Are My Children’ premiered on NBC; the world’s first televised soap opera, transmitted on 31st January, 1949. It lasted only four weeks on air, was broadcast live, and had a tiny budget, but influenced the production of the genre for decades. 

As dramas primarily created by and for women, soap operas typically attracted sniffy reviews from male critics, yet proved enormously popular with their initial audience of 1950s housewives. Creator Irna Phillips’ own backstory mirrored the dramatic storylines she wrote, and many of the situations she introduced into her productions – illegitimate children, amnesiac medical patients – were TV firsts. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the genre’s clunky transition from radio to TV; explain the difficulties in obtaining quality soap actors; and reveal how Phillips not only pioneered soaps, but also pre-empted the Marvel Cinematic Universe… 

Further Reading:

• ‘The Queen of Soaps Speaks…for Herself’ (Library of Congress, 2022): https://blogs.loc.gov/now-see-hear/2022/03/the-queen-of-soaps-speaks-for-herself/

• ‘Women Pioneers in Television – Biographies of Fifteen Industry Leaders, By Cary O’Dell’ (McFarland, 1997): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Women_Pioneers_in_Television/74fnsRmeeZcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=these+are+my+children+first+soap+opera&pg=PA191&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Eileen Fulton on Irna Phillips’ (Television Academy, 2018):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGyhpn01e9I

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Happy New Year, Retrospectors! We’ll return with new episodes from Monday 6th January, but in the meantime the team have been choosing their favourite episodes from 2024 that are worthy of a second listen. First up, Arion has selected our conversation about “Zone de Sensibilité Picturale Immatérielle”, the artwork concluded by French artist Yves Klein  on 26th January 1962 – when he threw half the gold he received for the artwork into the Seine, and burned the ownership receipt. This conceptual performance, forgotten for decades, is now often credited by art critics for presaging the world of NFTs and blockchains.

Known for his daring, influential art, Klein’s more famous works include orchestrating a monotone silence symphony and copyrighting a colour: International Klein Blue. Despite satirising capitalism, however, he always made sure he was well paid… 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Klein’s methods aimed for spontaneous, chaotic, and absurd expressions of art; explain how the audience were always a crucial component in his performances; and question whether Farrow and Ball have the edge over his trademark colour… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Money for nothing: receipt for ‘invisible art’ sells for $1.2m’ (The Guardian, 2022): https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/apr/14/receipt-for-invisible-art-auction-yves-klein

• ‘Yves Klein: The man who invented a colour’ (BBC Culture, 2014): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20140828-the-man-who-invented-a-colour

• What Inspired Yves Klein? (Christie’s, 2018):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX3GrC6legQ

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How many nickels did the first Automat take in 1902? What does ‘Opus Dei’ mean in Latin?

And what WAS the title of the novelty song released by the Jamaican bobsled team in 1988? 

It’s Arion vs. Rebecca in our fourth annual Retrospectors Quiz of the Year! Over festive drinks and listener feedback, Olly puts them to the test in this fiendishly difficult quiz - fiendishly difficult, that is, unless you’ve been listening to our show this year… in which case you will obviously know ALL the answers.

That’s it for another year of great Retrospecting: we’ll be back with new episodes from Monday 6th January, 2025. Thanks for listening, and happy holidays!

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Rerun: Charles Dickens’ novella ‘A Christmas Carol’ was written in just six weeks, and published on 19th December, 1843. The timeless story, which introduced the world to Ebeneezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, was conceived in part to get its author out of a sticky financial situation.

Dickens’ other motive was to put into an accessible fable the political ideas that had formed the core of his proposed pamphlet, ‘An Appeal to the People of England on behalf of the Poor Man's Child’. In so doing, he re-focussed the Christmas message around charitable giving and kindness for generations. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Dickens plundered his own back-catalogue to surface some ‘Christmas goblins’; consider whether the book-buying public truly understood the intended message of his work; and reveal why his determination to produce it in an affordable edition hit him in the pocket… 

Further Reading:

• ‘A Christmas Carol: The True History Behind the Dickens Story’ (Time, 2021): https://time.com/4597964/history-charles-dickens-christmas-carol/

• ‘How did A Christmas Carol come to be?’ (BBC Culture, 2017): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20171215-how-did-a-christmas-carol-come-to-be

• "What day is it?" (George C. Scott - A Christmas Carol - 1984): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO17UOjcovg

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Save Your Love became the UK’s unlikely Christmas Number One on 18th December, 1982. A blend of heartfelt crooning, offbeat British humour, and bucketfuls of kitsch, the song gained traction after Terry Wogan played it on his Radio 2 breakfast show, going on to sell around one million copies.

Former Italian waiter Renato Pagliari delivered the operatic voice and dramatic presence that carried the track, but the ‘Renée’ in the duet was in fact a young British session musician called Hilary Lester. The two had been brought together by songwriter Johnny Edward, after he spotted Pagliari on New Faces, and composed Save Your Love as a satirical jab at the overly saccharine ballads of the 70s. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Renée came to be replaced for the song’s iconic video; reveal the extraordinary contribution the song made to the success of independent records in the UK charts; and take a shot at topping Ronato’s show-stopping vocals…

Further Reading:

• ’30 years on from Birmingham duo Renee and Renato at top of the pop charts’ (Birmingham Live, 2013): https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/music/30-years-on-from-birmingham-duo-renee-401365

• ’Even Renée didn't want to star in 'cheesy' Save Your Love hit’ (Daily Express, 2022): https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1711081/renee-renato-save-your-love-christmas-hit

• ’Renée and Renato - Save Your Love’ (Hollywood Records, 1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuaIBGwEUfo

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Victorian Henry Cole took delivery of the first ever mass-produced card today in history in 1843.

Notably absent from the design was Jesus Christ; Cole had commissioned up-and-coming illustrator John Callcott Horsley to depict a family enjoying a traditional dinner and drinks. The card was a commercial flop, but, by the 1870s, with decreasing postage costs, Christmas cards began to gain popularity among the lower middle classes - and have been circulated ever since.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why robins, of all birds, became a favourite feature on mass-produced cards; discover Horsley’s campaign against nudes in art; and lament the Victorian card themes that have sadly not endured into the Hallmark era; dogs, cats, rabbits, and clowns…

Further Reading:

‘The History of the Christmas Card’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2015): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-christmas-card-180957487/

‘The first Christmas card’ (V&A Museum): https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-first-christmas-card

‘World's First Christmas Card | How did the tradition of sending Christmas cards start?’ (Postal Museum, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDml2EBWTho

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Over a Chequers banquet of sole in shrimp sauce, fillet of beef, and caramelized oranges, Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev met for the first time on 16th December, 1984. 

While their ideologies were worlds apart, Thatcher appreciated Gorbachev's frankness and imagination. The Soviet leader, meanwhile, seemed equally captivated by Thatcher's unapologetic firmness and sharp intellect. Their rapport formed the foundation of a relationship that would influence global politics profoundly, with Thatcher famously declaring the Russian "a man we can do business with".

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore the rest of the Gorbachevs’ holiday itinerary; explain how Neil Kinnock killed the vibes; and reveal what Denis and Raisa got up to while their spouses were deep in conversation… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Gorbachev and Thatcher: The Chequers meeting that melted the Cold War ice’ (The Times, 2022): https://www.thetimes.com/article/e9c5616c-2942-11ed-9092-6adde03bf612

• ’Political leadership in the Cold War's ending: Thatcher and the turn to engagement with the Soviet Union’ (British Politics and Policy at LSE, 2020): https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/thatcher-end-of-cold-war/

• ‘Margaret Thatcher would 'do business with' Mikhail Gorbachev - Daily Mail’ (BBC News, 1984): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhl680YRT6g

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Rerun: Michelle "Cardboard Shell" Lesco achieved her third world record in competitive eating on 13th December, 2018 - this time for consuming the most amount of mayonnaise in three minutes.

She consumed 2,448g - the equivalent of 3.5 jars, and 16,000 calories.

Her previous titles were the fastest time to eat a bowl of pasta (26.69 seconds), and the fastest time to eat a hot dog with no hands (21.60 seconds).

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether all the viewers watching women with mayo on their faces are *purely* interested in the sport; trace the history of competitive eating back to 17th Century Kent; and recall the times when speed-eating has turned tragic…

Further Reading:

• ‘Woman eats 5 lbs of mayo in 3 minutes | Guinness World Record’ (SoAmazing TV, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oiwfl9IrZbk

• ‘What It's Really Like to Train for the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest’ (Men’s Health, 2019): https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a28196268/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest-training/

•’Competitive Eating Was Even More Gluttonous and Disgusting in the 17th Century’ https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/eating-kent-eater-competitive-history-nicholas-wood-food

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Rerun: Winona Ryder was arrested for shoplifting from Saks Fifth Avenue, Beverly Hills on 12th December, 2001. Amongst the products she had stuffed into her hat was a Marc Jacobs sweater worth $760, and Frederic Fekkai hair adornments listed at $600.

At first, the Oscar nominated actress claimed she had been under the impression that her assistant would pay for the items later. Then, she said she had stolen them as research for a forthcoming role. But in court, the security guards said they’d seen Ryder clipping the tags off some items with scissors. She got 500 hours of Community Service, and her career was derailed for a decade.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Saks leveraged the opportunity for publicity purposes; examine the strange composition of the jury who decided Ryder’s fate; and ask if her appearance in a ‘Free Winona’ t-shirt was indulgent or amusing… 

Further Reading:

• ‘A grass roots campaign to "free" Winona Ryder helps make $15 T-shirt LA's hottest style statement’ (British Vogue, 2002): https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/free-winona

• ‘Ryder possessed 8 drugs during arrest, memo says’ (Chicago Tribune, 2002): https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-12-04-0212040374-story.html

Winona Ryder Convicted of 2 Counts in Shoplifting - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

• ‘America’s Dumbest Criminals’ (Channel 5, 2002): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unyKRYb7WPo

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mobile game Angry Birds debuted on the App Store on 11th December, 2009. The quirky and fun cartoonish characters and addictive gameplay found fans - but it took Apple featuring the app as their ‘Game of the Week’ in early 2010 for the Finnish creation to become a cultural juggernaut, catapulting mobile gaming into the mainstream.

Angry Birds wasn’t just a game; it was a masterclass in universal appeal. Rovio cracked the code of "four-quadrant gaming," targeting men, women, kids, and adults alike. Its intuitive drag-and-release mechanics suited the touchscreen revolution, making it accessible to non-gamers, and, by 2011, Angry Birds had evolved into a full-blown multimedia empire, spawning toys, cartoons, and a movie. Though sceptics doubted its longevity, the 2016 "Angry Birds" movie grossed $352 million, proving the franchise's unexpected staying power.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain what a roast turkey had to do with the Angry Birds phenomenon; consider how the game ushered in a rush for downloadable updates and an ever-closer developer-player relationship; and come to blows as to whether future generations of kids will recognise the characters as they do Mickey Mouse now…

Further Reading:

• ‘Ten Years at the Top - An in-depth chronicle of Angry Birds' history’ (Pocket Gamer, 2019): https://www.pocketgamer.com/angry-birds/ten-years-at-the-top-an-in-depth-chronicle-of-angr/

• ‘In depth: How Rovio made Angry Birds a winner (and what's next)’ (Wired, 2011): https://www.wired.com/story/how-rovio-made-angry-birds-a-winner/

• ‘Angry Birds In-game Trailer’ (Rovio, 2009):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNNzRyd1xz0

Love the show? Support us! 

Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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On 10th December, 1907, angry medical students and animal rights activists were clashing over a controversial bronze statue of a brown terrier who had been dissected at University College London in 1903, revealing violations of animal experimentation regulations.

The ‘brown dog’ case fuelled the anti-vivisection movement, kickstarting a fundraising appeal that culminated in the erection of a memorial in Battersea - chosen as the statue’s location because of its association with the famous dog home - and, ultimately, some of the worst rioting ever seen in London…

In this episode, The Retrospectors consider why this seemingly innocuous drinking fountain required round-the-clock police protection; explain why there was a link between feminism and animal rights campaigners; and reveal the considerably less controversial statue that still stands in Battersea Park...

Further Reading:

• ‘The Statue Of A Dog That Caused Riots’ (Londonist, 2016): https://londonist.com/2016/09/the-dog-statue-that-cause-riots

• ‘How the cruel death of a little stray dog led to riots in 1900s Britain’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/sep/12/how-the-cruel-death-of-a-little-stray-dog-led-to-riots-in-1900s-britain

• ‘The history of the anti-vivisection movement’ (NewsTalk, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3KTsi61tok

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Alfred Tennyson’s ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ was first published on 9th December, 1854, in The Examiner. Tennyson had penned the poem shortly after reading a dramatic account in The Times of the disastrous charge, which occurred during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War. 

Its rhythmic cadence, mimicking the galloping charge, made it both poignant and memorable, and the poem was an instant hit with the public - though critics were sniffy about the poet’s rhyming of ‘blunder’ and ‘hundred’...

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why Tennyson initially left his name off the poem, despite him being Queen Victoria’s Poet Laureate; debate whether it is pro or anti-war; and try to establish exactly who blundered on the battlefield…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ (Historic UK, 2019): https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Charge-Of-The-Light-Brigade/

• ’Poem of the week: The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Tennyson’ (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jan/20/poem-of-the-week-charge-light-brigade-tennyson

• ’Alfred, Lord Tennyson Reading "The Charge of the Light Brigade"’ (Thomas Edison, 1890): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLrJqhhR2G8

Love the show? Support us! 

Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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Rerun: A female contestant had never scooped the jackpot on an American TV quiz show before New York psychologist Dr Joyce Brothers won $64,000 on 6th December, 1955.

Her specialist subject was boxing - a topic about which she knew little, until she devoted herself to studying the annals of the sport in preparation for multiple appearances on the show. Despite the best efforts of sponsors Revlon to catch her out, she claimed the top prize on ‘The $64,000 Question’ AND its subsequent spin-off, ‘The $64,000 Challenge’.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Brothers combatted sexism on many prior occasions; explain how she swerved ‘the Quiz Show scandals’; and celebrate her ability to leverage her celebrity and academic qualifications to become America’s first pop psychologist…

Further Reading:

• ‘Dr. Joyce Brothers on The $64,000 Question’ (CBS, 1955): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqhxN9a8OCg

• ‘Obituary: Popular TV psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers dies at 85’ (Los Angeles Times, 2013): https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-joyce-brothers-20130514-story.html

• ‘Joyce Brothers: She overcame sexism to become the first woman to win US quiz show’ (Honey, 2021): https://honey.nine.com.au/latest/joyce-brothers-first-woman-to-win-us-quiz-show-64000-question-women-in-history/dd9f0dd2-0815-47e5-b84b-8f13edeb688f

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Rerun: James Christie held his first auction on 5th December, 1766 - billed as a sale of “genuine household furniture, jewels, plate, firearms, china and a large quantity of madeira and high flavoured claret” belonging to a “Noble Personage (deceased)”.

His auction-house, Christie’s, went on to become one of the world’s leading dealers of fine art. But it took Christie many years to exploit this opportunity, which he accomplished partly by leveraging well-connected friends. His milieu included Richard Tattersall, Thomas Chipperfield, Thomas Gainsborough, Horace Walpole, Joshua Reynolds and David Garrick - a ‘Who’s Who’ of 18th century London once known as ‘Christie's Fraternity of Godparents’.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Christie innovated public viewings, product placement and sales technique; connect the dots between the French Revolution and Christie’s biggest successes; and reveal how much it costs to buy a two-headed taxidermied lamb… 

Further Reading:

• ‘James Christie: the eloquent auctioneer’ (Royal Academy of Arts, 2016): https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/james-christie-eloquent-auctioneer

• ‘Mr Christie, before Christie’s… His early days’ (Artprice, 2021): https://www.artprice.com/artmarketinsight/mr-christie-before-christies-his-early-days

• ‘Welcome to Christie’s’ (Christies, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ2kq20kK5U

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A 245 million years old fossil named Nyasasaurus parringtoni was officially determined the earliest known dinosaur on 4th December, 2012; meaning dinosaurs had roamed the Earth at least 10 million years earlier than the previously believed "dawn of the dinosaurs."

Unearthed in Tanzania in the 1930s and mostly ignored for decades, the fossil’s story was brought to light through meticulous analysis by paleontologists in collaboration with museums. The dating of the Nyasasaurus also bridged the gap between early archosaurs (dinosaur ancestors) and true dinosaurs, with characteristics such as rapid bone growth and distinct sacral vertebrae.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether a T-Rex the size of a labrador retriever would remain terrifying; consider what else might be hiding in the depths of the Natural History Museum’s ‘boring bits’; and attempt to summarise the pre-dinosaur history of Planet Earth in sixty seconds…

Further Reading:

• ’The Earliest Known Dino?’ (Science, 2012): https://www.science.org/content/article/earliest-known-dino

• ‘Scientists Discover Oldest Known Dinosaur’ (Smithsonian, 2012):

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/scientists-discover-oldest-known-dinosaur-152807497/

• World's Oldest Known Dinosaur Identified (Slate, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlhkP8kKMBQ

Love the show? Support us! 

Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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Renowned detective novelist Agatha Christie found herself at the centre of a real-life mystery: when she mysteriously disappeared for 11 days, from 3rd December, 1926. 

Shortly after learning of her husband's infidelity, Christie had driven away from the family home, abandoning her car near a quarry. There was a massive manhunt as theories circulated in the newspapers, including murder, suicide, or intentional disappearance. Eventually she was spotted in a spa hotel in Harrogate, living under an assumed identity.

In this episode, The Retrospectors investigate what Christie got up to during her mental fugue; consider whether this event triggered the trend for amateur sleuths joyriding on real-life crimes; and reveal how the novelist’s most detailed description of the event occurs not in her autobiography, but in a novel she wrote under a pseudonym…

CONTENT WARNING: attempted suicide, post-traumatic mental illness.

Further Reading:

• ‘When the World’s Most Famous Mystery Writer Vanished’ (The New York Times, 2019):

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/11/books/agatha-christie-vanished-11-days-1926.html

• ‘‘I just wanted my life to end’: the mystery of Agatha Christie’s disappearance’ (The Guardian, 2022): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/aug/27/mystery-of-agatha-christie-disappearance

• ‘The Mysterious Disappearance of Agatha Christie’ (Ireland A.M., 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yd2o4XFKIk

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Enron—the seventh-largest company in the U.S.—filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 2nd December, 2001, marking the dramatic end of a business empire once hailed as unstoppable. 

What once looked like a financial juggernaut turned out to be a house of cards built on illusory profits, market manipulation, and sheer audacity. “Creative” accounting, including mark-to-market practices, had inflated their profits by booking future revenues as current earnings. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Enron emerged from a gas trading company to a dodgy corporate monolith; uncover the shady partnerships run by CFO Andrew Fastow; and reveal exactly what went wrong with the company’s beleaguered Indian power plant project… 

Further Reading:

• ‘The collapse of Enron and the dark side of business’ (BBC News, 2021): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58026162

• ’Former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow: ‘You can follow all the rules and still commit fraud’’ (The Irish Times, 2016):

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/companies/former-enron-cfo-andrew-fastow-you-can-follow-all-the-rules-and-still-commit-fraud-1.2485821

• ‘Collapse of Enron (2001) | A Day That Shook the World’ (British Pathé, 2018):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z9Z2i3qfiw 

Love the show? Support us! 

Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: Supersonic aircraft took a giant leap forward when the French and British governments signed a treaty to join forces on designing Concorde on 29th November, 1962. Up until this point, the two countries had been developing their aircraft separately - which had already cost the United Kingdom £150 million.

Technologically superior and far more luxurious than any commercial passenger jet that had come before, it was also the fastest - capable of launching its wealthy clientele from London to New York in under three hours.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the success of the 747 killed off supersonic flight; consider how Britain blew its chance to create 'the British Airbus'; and reveal why Pepsi’s blue paint-job for Air France could have proven truly explosive…

Further Reading:

• ‘Concorde and supersonic travel: The days when the sun rose in the west’ (The Independent, 2013): https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/concorde-and-supersonic-travel-the-days-when-the-sun-rose-in-the-west-8888836.html

• ‘Concorde’s first British test flight, 50 years on’ (History of government, gov.uk 2019): https://history.blog.gov.uk/2019/04/09/concordes-first-british-test-flight-50-years-on/

• ‘Anglo-French Airliner Model Concorde’ (British Pathé, 1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfPiPC6O7qs

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Rerun: Towards the end of 1983, frenzied parents battled with one another in stores across the US in a desperate bid to buy their children the toy of the moment, the Cabbage Patch Kid.

The so-called Cabbage Patch Riots culminated on 28th November 1983 at a Zayre department store in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, when a melee broke out that was so intense a store manager grabbed a baseball bat to protect himself, police dispersed the crowds and four people ended up in hospital.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why Cabbage Patch Kids were in such short supply; look into why the toys had their inventor’s name emblazoned on their bottoms; and reveal the true story of how Cabbage Patch dolls came into being…  

Further Reading:

• ‘The Not-So-Sweet Truth About Cabbage Patch Kids’ (Good Housekeeping, 2015): https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a32201/cabbage-patch-dolls-history/ 

• ‘The strange story of the Cabbage Patch Kid Riots of 1983’ (ABC, 2022): https://abc7ny.com/cabbage-patch-dolls-crazy-riot-the-vault/5713681/ 

• ‘Tales from the Cabbage Patch Riots of 1983’ (Pixel Dan, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpa5IZiAfC0 

#US #80s #Strange #Toys

Picture: Flickr/Benjamin Gray

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Aerosmith, 50 Cent and Tom Petty starred at 13 year old Elizabeth Brooks’ $10 million bat mitzvah party on 27th November, 2005. The lavish do, at New York’s legendary Rainbow Rooms, became a symbol of extreme extravagance, and triggered an investigation into her father, David H. Brooks.

Brooks had been CEO of a military body armour company that thrived during the post-9/11 war boom, and later died in prison. But the infamy of his daughter’s blowout birthday bash continued, not least because, despite the attending celebrities’ requests to ban photos, many party guests were given digital cameras as a keepsake… 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider other ill-advised celebrity appearances, including J-Lo’s trip to Turkmenistan; explain why Elizabeth Brooks had the upper hand on her older brother; and consider the benefits of downing a bottle of Hennessy to get you through an awkward event…

Further Reading:

• ’$10 Million Bat Mitzvah Was the Party to End All Parties … Literally’ (New York, 2007): https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2007/10/david_brooks.html

• ’My big, fat $10 million bat mitzvah’ (The Jerusalem Post, 2005): https://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/My-big-fat-10-million-bat-mitzva

• ’American Greed Bonus Edition: In Harm’s Way’ (CNBC, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FheZyGLIBTg

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Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall the founding of The Kappa Alpha Society, the oldest continuously existing college fraternity, established as a literary society at Union College, New York on 26th November, 1825.

The founders, led by John Hart Hunter, sought camaraderie and intellectual discussions, creating a forum where they could break free from the constraints of the curriculum. The use of Greek letters and mottos added an element of secrecy, a common feature of fraternal orders during that era. Later, these societies evolved into fraternities with social elements, including rituals, signs, and boozy gatherings.

In this episode, The Retropsectors uncover just how many US Preisdents have been members of a college fraternity; reveal Jon Hamm’s involvement in an out-of-control hazing ritual; and explain how baked potatoes became an iconic foodstuff for students ever since this day in history…

Further Reading:

• ‘“Botany Bay”: The State of Society at Union College during the Early Nineteenth Century’ (Andrew Cassarino, Union College, 2018): https://digitalworks.union.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1800&context=theses

• ‘Mad Men star Jon Hamm was charged with hazing in college days’ (The Guardian, 2015): https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/apr/10/mad-men-star-jon-hamm-was-charged-with-hazing-in-college-days

• ‘Why colleges tolerate fraternities’ (Vox, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVh7HP_wisw

#1800s #US #White #Inventions

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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When The White Ship hit a rock near Barfleur on 25th November, 1120, she sank, killing all 300 noblemen on-board. Among the dead was Henry I’s one legitimate son, William Adelin, plunging the English throne into a dynastic crisis.

Like the Titanic, the vessel was considered the epitome of safety and prestige for its time, Captained by Thomas FitzSteven, whose father had piloted the boat that brought William the Conqueror to England. But, despite this pedigree, the crew and passengers’ decision to a) get drunk and b) race the King home sealed their doom.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the plotting that unseated the next in line to the throne (because she was a GIRL); explain how a humble butcher was the sole survivor of the shipwreck; and consider why contemporaries thought it was all God’s work… 

Further Reading:

• ‘900 years since the White Ship disaster’ (British Library, 2020): https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2020/11/white-ship.html

• ’Earl Spencer - The White Ship, the worst ever royal disaster’ (The Oldie, 2020): https://theoldie.co.uk/blog/the-900th-anniversary-of-the-worst-ever-royal-disaster

• ‘The White Ship by Charles Spencer’ (Brights of Nettlebed, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVKDHDgyTXY

#Medieval #Royals #Mistakes #Rowing #France

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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 2024.

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Rerun: Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) embraced and kissed on "Plato’s Stepchildren"; an episode of ‘Star Trek’ broadcast on 22nd November, 1968 - just a year after the Supreme Court declared interracial marriage to be legal.

However, despite popular belief that this was TV’s first interracial kiss, it wasn’t. It wasn’t even the first interracial kiss on TV featuring William Shatner…

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine just how slowly attitudes to ‘mixed marriage’ were shifting in the United States; compare this iconic Trekkie moment to homoerotic frat-boy YouTube videos; and reveal how the actors concerned deliberately sabotaged ‘the wide’ so their kiss would be screened coast-to-coast…

Further Reading:

• Kirk and Uhura kiss on ‘Star Trek’ (Paramount Television, 1968): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lThvEsP5-9Y

• ‘'Star Trek's' interracial kiss 50 years ago boldly went where none had gone before’ (NBC News, 2018):

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/star-trek-s-interracial-kiss-50-years-ago-went-boldly-n941181

• ‘Nichelle Nichols on filming the first interracial kiss on American television’ (Archive of American Television, 2010):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hKKkGhEDoU

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

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Rerun: La Ronde, the USA’s first revolving restaurant, opened on 21st November, 1961, at the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. On the menu in the 298ft-tall tower was shrimp cocktail, mahi-mahi, and ‘the Queen of beefdom’.

It had a predecessor, though, in perhaps an unlikely city: post-war Dortmund, Germany. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of rotating restaurants back to Ancient Rome (of course); recall Elvis Presley’s role in furthering the popularity of high-rise revolving dining at the Space Needle; and consider the particular appeal of ‘high attractions in low rise cities’... 

Further Reading:

• ‘A Moveable Feast: A Brief History of the Revolving Restaurant’ (Duck Pie, 2014): https://duckpie.com/2014/05/02/a-moveable-feast-a-brief-history-of-the-revolving-restaurant/

• ‘Revolving Architecture: A History of Buildings That Rotate, Swivel, and Pivot - By Chad Randl’ (Princeton Architectural Press, 2008):

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Revolving_Architecture/H8gAaZj2e-AC?q=sky+view&gbpv=1#f=false

• ‘Top of Waikiki Revolving Restaurant View’ (Life Is Amazing, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYOUofNjFU4

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Beethoven's first attempt at opera, Leonore, premiered in Vienna on 20th November, 1805. Attendance was sparse, due in part to Napoleon's recent invasion: the audience largely composed of French officers. And, unlike almost all his other work, the piece still has a reputation as ‘A Director’s Graveyard’. Why?

Possibly because the setting - a jail - is drab and uninspiring. Perhaps because the archetypal characters are mostly singing about their inner life. Or… maybe because it’s all sung in German, and Beethoven didn’t know how to write for singers?

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how the great composer made an initial impact on Austria thanks to his virtuoso piano skills, not his compositions; reveal the multiple occasions on which he attempted to re-work his flop (finally debuting a revised Fidelio in 1814 to great acclaim); and explain why Leonore was the Spider-Man of its day…

Further Reading:

• ’Fidelio: Story, Synopsis & More’ (English National Opera):: https://www.eno.org/operas/fidelio/

• ‘Beethoven: Fidelio, By Peter Gutmann’ (Classical Notes, 2014): http://www.classicalnotes.net/opera/fidelio.html

• ‘Stage@Seven: Beethoven: Fidelio (Ouverture) - Andrés Orozco-Estrada’ (Frankfurt Radio Symphony, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ8xsi42ubA

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Arion, Rebecca and Olly pore over the astonishing career of football legend Pelé, who (by his own count, if not FIFA’s) scored his 1,000th goal on 19th November, 1969.

Smashing racial barriers, Pelé was the first black player to grace the cover of LIFE magazine; played a pivotal role in Brazil's triumphs at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the 1962 World Cup in Chile, and the 1970 World Cup in Mexico; and remains the all-time leading scorer for his club, Santos FC.

In this episode, The Retrospectors weigh up arguments whether his 1000th goal ‘counts’; reveal how Pelé got his name; and praise how the player transformed his nation’s image on the world stage from ‘coffee beans and Carmen Miranda’ to a global footballing powerhouse...

Further Reading:

• ‘50 Years On From Pelé’s 1,000th Goal, It Has Become Necessary To Reaffirm His Greatness’ (Forbes, 2019): https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshualaw/2019/11/19/50-years-on-from-pels-1000th-goal-it-has-become-necessary-to-reaffirm-his-greatness/

• ‘Pele's 1,000+ goals: Why Santos' claims about the G.O.A.T. should be taken seriously’ (ESPN, 2021): https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/37612913/why-santos-claims-goat-taken-seriously

• ‘Pele scoring his 1,000th career goal’ (The Sports Pages, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=107f2tga0LE

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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King Louis XIV underwent risky surgery to remove a painful anal fistula on 18th November, 1686: an event that created a sensation at court, leading to 1686 being declared the ‘year of the fistula’. 

Louis’s choice to undergo such a dangeous procedure signalled an unspoken endorsement of surgery, bringing it a semblance of respectability - though the risk to Royal health had been highly mitigated in advance, as Royal Surgeon Félix de Tassy had already experimented on (and killed) dozens of peasants in preparation.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly take a deep dive into the Royal bottom, discovering the salves made from luxurious ingredients which had previously failed to cure Louis; reveal how Felix developed his special “Royal Scalpel” just for the king’s surgery; and explore how the “Grand Operation,” as it became known, inspired a highly peculiar trend…

Further Reading:

• ‘Sciences at Versailles part 6: fit for a king, medicine and surgery’ (Google Arts & Culture): https://artsandculture.google.com/story/sciences-at-versailles-part-6-fit-for-a-king-medicine-and-surgery-palace-of-versailles/pwXBUrLu24XTIg?hl=en

• ‘It is good to be the king: The French surgical revolution’ (Hektoen International, 2019): https://hekint.org/2019/10/31/it-is-good-to-be-the-king-the-french-surgical-revolution/

• ‘The Many Diseases of Louis XIV, King of France’ (SLICE, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V68ws3K0Qk

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Rerun: Anne Bonny and Mary Read - the most notorious women to swashbuckle and plunder in the ‘golden age of piracy’ - were captured near Jamaica by pirate-hunter Jonathan Barnet on 8th November, 1720.

Disguised as men for most of their careers, they sailed (and cavorted) with Pirate Captain ‘Calico Jack’. But, when their crimes came to trial, they both avoided being sentenced to death by ‘pleading the belly’.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly speculate about how Bonny and Read were able to pass as men so convincingly; explain how they met in the ‘pirate republic’ of Nassau; and reveal why ‘Robinson Crusoe’ author Daniel Defoe may just be responsible for the enduring ‘Reader’s Wives’ version of Bonny and Read’s friendship...

CONTENT WARNING: reference to rape

Further Reading:

• ‘Comparing the Female Pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read’ (ThoughtCo, 2018): https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-about-anne-bonny-mary-read-2136281

• ‘How Anne Bonny and Mary Read Changed The Face Of Female Piracy’ (All That’s Interesting, 2018):

https://allthatsinteresting.com/anne-bonny-mary-read

• ‘Behind the myth of a breast-baring pirate’ (BBC Reel, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBVeQwhcjZg

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

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Rerun: The Royal Wedding between Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips on 14th November, 1973 was a lavish affair at Westminster Abbey, with an anticipated global audience of 500 million - but the 23 year-old daughter of the Queen was clearly awkward about being the centre of attention, and asked to be only filmed from behind.

Labelled ‘Princess Sourpuss’ by some of the tabloids, the public had yet to warm to Anne’s devotion to public service, love of horses and reticence to engage with the limelight. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick their favourite ‘facts’ from the exhaustive eight-hour TV coverage of this event; explain why it was bad form to mention sausages at the wedding reception; and revisit Prince Philip’s most quotable line about Anne: “if it doesn’t fart, or eat hay, she isn’t interested”... 

Further Reading:

• ‘Royal Wedding Fever’ (The Observer, 1973): https://www.theguardian.com/news/2014/oct/12/from-the-observer-archive-14-october-1973-royal-wedding-fever

• ‘Princess Anne Married Mark Phillips 47 Years Ago’ (People, 2020): https://people.com/royals/on-this-day-in-royal-history-princess-anne-married-mark-phillips/

• ‘THE ROYAL WEDDING (COLOUR)’ (Movietone, 1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMsr7xfwoYc&t=3s

Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Amityville is synonymous with horror movies, but that’s because of a real-life tragedy that happened on 13th November, 1974, when Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his parents and his four younger siblings. Initially, he claimed a mob hitman was responsible, but later confessed to the crimes.

After the murders, newlyweds George and Kathy Lutz moved in to the DeFeo house, bringing along Kathy’s three children and their dog, Harry. Within 28 days, however, they’d fled, claiming paranormal experiences on the property, from swarms of flies to visions of a demonic pig.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal what happened when the Lutzes took a polygraph test; explain how their story snowballed into first a bestselling book, then a movie franchise; and consider how the town has coped with its consequent celebrity status…

Further Reading:

• ‘Amityville Murders: The True Story Of The Killings That Inspired The Movie’ (All Thats Interesting, 2022): https://allthatsinteresting.com/amityville-murders

• ’The Amityville Horror House’ (Long Island Guide): https://www.longislandguide.com/visit/amityville-horror-house/

• ‘THE AMITYVILLE HORROR’ (MGM, 1979): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbCJv_vWyQA

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Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall the events of 12th November, 1970, when the coastal town of Florence, Oregon faced a dilemma: the 8-ton dead sperm whale washed up on its shores, emitting a putrid stench that had become unbearable for residents.

George Thornton, a Department of Transportation engineer, proposed an unconventional solution: detonating the whale with half a ton of dynamite. Crowds gathered to witness this spectacle, expecting a controlled explosion. However, the blast instead launched chunks of whale meat into the air, raining down on spectators and even crushing a car with a sizable piece of flesh.

In this episode, The Retrospectors explain why Thornton and crew nonetheless considered the operation a success; reveal how the incident became one of the internet’s first viral stories, twenty years after it happened; and marvel at how the citizens of Florence have embraced this truly bizarre moment in their history…

Further Reading:

‘Florence, Oregon's Exploding Whale And The Wild Story Behind It’ (All

Thats Interesting, 2023): https://allthatsinteresting.com/exploding-whale

‘Fifty years ago, Oregon exploded a whale with a half-ton of dynamite’ (The Washington Post, 2020): https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/13/oregon-whale-explosion-anniversary/

‘Dead on Arrival on a Beach near Florence’ (KATU News, 1970): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6CLumsir34

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Joseph "Blueskin" Blake was hanged on 11th November, 1724. His notoriety as a highwayman was due in large part to his network of criminal associates, including ‘London’s most glamorous rogue’ Jack Sheppard (who inspired Gay’s Beggars Opera) and ‘Thief-Taker General’, Jonathan Wilde.

Under the guise of law enforcement, Wilde had charged victims for retrieving their stolen goods, manipulating the criminal justice system so that he profited from crimes he had himself orchestrated. Blake found himself under Wilde's wing as a young pickpocket, but his loyalty didn’t pay off in the end, as Wilde personally apprehended Blake following a botched robbery.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain what a ‘Buttock and File’ scheme is; recall how Sheppard’s daring prison escapes captured the public imagination; and explain how an offence as minor as lace theft ultimately brought Wilde to the same grim end as Blueskin…

Further Reading:

• ’Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals: Joseph Blake’ (Hayward, 1735):

https://www.pascalbonenfant.com/18c/newgatecalendar/lives_joseph_blake.html 

• ’The Amazing Escapes of Jack Sheppard’ (Historic UK): https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Amazing-Escapes-of-Jack-Sheppard/

• ’Policing London - The Fall of Jonathan Wild’ (Extra History, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9siL4CWTe4

#Crime #London #1700s #Macabre

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Rerun: Kylie Minogue and Jason Donavan’s characters in hit soap opera ‘Neighbours’ were wed in 1988, causing a shopping mall riot in Australia, and attracting an astonishing 20 million viewers to the UK transmission on 8th November. 

Soundtracked entirely by Angry Anderson’s surging power ballad ‘Suddenly’, the ceremony quickly became an iconic moment in 80s telly - but very nearly hadn’t happened at all, because the series was canned by its original network, and Scott was supposed to be played by another actor.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, despite the show’s huge success, the production standards were so low; examine the extent to which the tourist dollar for Scott and Charlene fans has held up over the decades; and consider the stylistic legacy of the makeup and dresses created for the wedding by ‘Isis of Melbourne’... 

Further Reading:

• ‘Neighbours’ - episode 523 in full (Grundy, 1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR34ISysYQc

• ‘Bouncer's dream and gorillagrams: an oral history of Neighbours – the world's silliest, sunniest show’ (The Guardian, 2020): https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/mar/31/bouncers-dream-and-gorillagrams-an-oral-history-of-neighbours-the-worlds-silliest-sunniest-show

• ‘Especially For You - The Scott And Charlene Love Story’ (Retroheadz, 2016): https://www.retroheadz.com/classic-tv/especially-for-you-the-scott-and-charlene-love-story/

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Rerun: Why are the Republican Party represented by an elephant, and the Democrats (unofficially) by a donkey? The answer lies in the work of revered political cartoonist Thomas Nast, whose picture ‘Third Term Panic’ was published in Harper's Weekly on 7th November, 1874 - the day before the mid-terms.

His Aesop-style symbolism is rather tricky for modern readers to untangle, but the satiric thrust of this particular cartoon related to news that President Ulysses S. Grant was considering running for an unprecedented third term in office. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why 19th century political cartoonists were so influential;  

consider whether Nast’s view of the Irish corresponded with his more enlightened views on African-Americans; and reveal how Andrew Jackson reclaimed his portrayal as a ‘jackass’ and turned it into a political positive… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Thomas Nast: The Father of Modern Political Cartoons by Fiona Deans Halloran’ (University of North Carolina Press, 2012): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Thomas_Nast/HlX6kAxzyRYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=thomas+nast+elephant&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Why are an elephant and a donkey the Republican and Democratic party symbols?’ (The Sun, 2020): https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12977208/elephant-republican-donkey-democratic-party-symbols-elections/

• ‘Elephant or Donkey? How Animals Became U.S. Political Symbols’ (National Geographic, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5MmEfkli9o

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Catherine the Great of Russia died on 6th November, 1796 - but, contrary to rumours which still persist to this day, the event did not involve an intimate act with a horse. In reality, she collapsed in her washroom, fell into a coma, and died in bed. 

Born as Princess Sophie in Prussia, she was groomed for marriage, and eventually wed Peter, who would become Tsar of Russia. Detesting him from the start, she seized her chance to overthrow and replace him, and, once in power, didn’t just rule, but reshaped Russia. A passionate advocate for the Enlightenment, she pursued extensive reforms in education, agriculture, and military strategies, as well as territorial expansions into Crimea, Belarus, and Lithuania.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how criticism and jealousy of Catherine’s rule grew alongside her power and influence; unpick the reality of her seemingly colourful love life; and reveal how the gifts bestowed upon her ‘friends with benefits’ included jewellery, serfs, and, er, Poland…

Further Reading:

• ’Why Catherine the Great's Enemies Portrayed Her as a Sex Fiend’ (HISTORY, 2023): https://www.history.com/news/catherine-the-great-enemies-sex-myths

• ’Catherine The Great: True Story Of Her Rule, Husband, Affairs & Children’ (HistoryExtra, ) https://www.historyextra.com/period/early-modern/catherine-great-empress-russia-did-she-murder-her-husband-tsar-peter-helen-mirren-sky-atlantic/

• ‘Catherine The Great’ (HBO, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsjxeQpmTlM

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Arion, Rebecca and Olly unearth the origins of iconic board-game Monopoly, marketed across the United States by Parker Brothers on 5th November, 1935.

Its roots lay in a game designed by Quaker feminist Lizzie Magie in 1902, intended to illustrate the theories of political economist Henry George. Her concept, called "The Landlord's Game," intended to demonstrate the unfairness of the land system. But, though home-made versions spread across the States, the game was only picked up for official distribution after being spotted by entrepreneur Charles Darrow in Atlantic City.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how little Magee was financially compensated, despite having a patent on the game; explain why the London version of the board has been played in more territories than the Atlantic City version; and consider the merits of spin-offs Gayopoly, Drinkopoly, and even the ‘Love Actually’ version…

Further Reading:

• ‘Lizzie Magie invented Monopoly, so why haven’t we heard of her?’ (The Guardian, 2015): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/10/lizzie-magie-invented-monopoly-landlords-game

• ‘The Game of Monopoly is Patented’ (Library of Congress, 2010): https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/december/game-of-monopoly-patent#:~:text=Charles%20B.,Parker%20Brothers%20bought%20the%20game

• ‘The surprising history behind the board game "Monopoly"’ (CBS, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz5H0cg2uXs

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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The Fashion Fête, a three-day event at the Ritz Carlton in New York, began on 4th November, 1914, offering New Yorkers their first glimpse of what we would now understand as a fashion show.

With Parisian ateliers shut down due to the First World War, the U.S. editor of Vogue, Edna Woolman Chase, had proposed the event as a way to showcase the work of American designers: a novel concept in an industry that traditionally looked to France for inspiration.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Conde Nast (the man) was originally unsure about the precedent Conde Nast (the brand) would be establishing; reveal how Woolman Chase encouraged high society ladies to participate; and reveal how the War also led to other fashion breakthroughs including New York Fashion Week and the Met Gala… 

Further Reading:

• ‘The fascinating history of the catwalk show’ (Harpers Bazaar, 2022): https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/a35783366/history-catwalk-show/

• ‘As Seen in Vogue: A Century of American Fashion in Advertising, By Daniel Delis Hill’ (Texas Tech University Press, 2004): 

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/As_Seen_in_Vogue/MvilOZhaRkAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=fashion+fete+1914&pg=PA29&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Paris Fashion in 1917 - AI Enhanced Film during WW1’ (Glamour Daze, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pjw12GSNBM

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Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: The first ever emoji set, including the earliest incarnations of 🍷, ❤️, and 💩, was released in Japan on 1st November, 1997. But the only users could send and receive them were owners of a now-forgotten ‘SkyWalker’ handset made by J-Phone. ☹️

Emoji didn’t truly transform written communication in the West until some fourteen years later, when emoji keyboards came by default on iPhone (Android users, incredibly, had to wait until 2013 🤯).

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss how unloved 1990s font Wingdings paved the way for graphical communication; ponder whether emojis can be used in legal contracts; and reveal how an obscure internal bulletin board at a University helped to create the smiley, and its opposite, ‘the frowny’... 

There are NINE MINUTES more of emoji-based bantz available exclusively to our Patreon subscribers*. What was the OED's Word of the Year, 2015? What are our team's most-used emojis? And does 🙏 represent high-fives, or prayers? Find out now at https://patreon.com/Retrospectors (*top two tiers).

Further Reading:

• ‘Correcting the Record on the First Emoji Set’ (emojipedia, 2019): https://blog.emojipedia.org/correcting-the-record-on-the-first-emoji-set/

• ‘History of Emoticons and Emoji’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/emoticons-and-emoji-1991412

• ‘A Brief History of Emoji’(The Open University, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tTXLuZHYf4

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: One of Giacomo Casanova's most famous deeds was his daring midnight, cross-rooftop escape from the dreaded “The Leads” prison in Venice on the night of October 31st, 1756.

Key to his escape plan was a Bible, a large iron bar and an oversized bowl of pasta.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why Casanova wasn’t thrilled about being moved to a new jail cell with a better view; explain why he had a little nap right in the middle of his jailbreak; and  consider the awkwardness of being such an indiscriminate shagger that you eventually accidentally end up in bed with your own daughter…

Further Reading:

• 'How Casanova’s provocative memoir created a legend' (BBC, 2016): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20161108-how-casanovas-x-rated-memoir-created-a-legend 

• 'Giacomo Casanova Breaks out of Prison' (Odd Salon, 2016): https://oddsalon.com/jan-5-1757-giacomo-casanova-breaks-out-of-prison/ 

• 'Fellini's Casanova - The Escape’ (Produzioni Europee Associate, 1976): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccQ3f0agbU4 

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Martians invaded New Jersey on CBS Radio on 30th October, 1938, when Orson Welles' War of the Worlds delighted and confused a generation of Americans. 

The fictional news bulletins sounded terrifyingly real, and many listeners missed the disclaimer stating it was just a play. But radio was a burgeoning medium, and Americans were still feeling the strain of the Great Depression, and feared becoming embroiled in World War II, so were perhaps pre-disposed to panic when their primary news source informed them aerial invasions and explosions were lighting up the skies.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how newspapers hyped up the resultant ‘mass panic’ in order to take revenge on the radio industry; explain how the play’s use of ‘fake news’ broadcasts, mimicking newsman Herbert Morrison’s dramatic Hindenburg coverage, was a surprisingly late addition; and consider why, in our world of A.I. deepfakes, its lessons resonate still…

Further Reading:

• ’The Infamous "War of the Worlds" Radio Broadcast Was a Magnificent Fluke’ (Smithsonian, 2015):

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/infamous-war-worlds-radio-broadcast-was-magnificent-fluke-180955180/

• '’I had no idea I'd become a national event': Orson Welles on the mass hysteria of The War of the Worlds’ (BBC Culture, 2023): https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20231027-behind-the-broadcast-orson-welles-on-the-mass-hysteria-of-the-war-of-the-worlds

• ’The War of the Worlds: The Original Broadcast’ (CBS, 1938): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crPGFZiFjfs&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nj.com%2Flife-and-culture%2Ferry-2018%2F10%2F42845552865240%2Fwas-new-jersey-the-birthplace.html

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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 ‘jewel heist of the Century’ occurred at the American Museum of Natural History, New York on 29th October, 1964.

Florida surfer ‘Murph the Surf’ and his accomplices, Allan Kuhn and Roger Clark, stole priceless gems, including the Star of India, worth over $3 million today. The lax security at the institution, along with non-functional alarms and reduced staff, made the theft relatively easy - but the perceived glamour and audacity of the operation caught America’s attention, as the nation mourned President Kennedy.

In this episode, The Retrospectors consider the fate of the still-missing Eagle Diamond; reveal the natty dress sense Murph employed on night he pulled off the theft; and explain how an alleged encounter with Eva Gabor helped put the perpetrators behind bars…

Further Reading:

• ‘How Three Amateur Jewel Thieves Made Off With New York’s Most Precious Gems’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2014): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-three-amateur-jewel-thieves-made-new-yorks-most-precious-gems-180949885/

• ‘How a Band of Surfer Dudes Pulled Off the Biggest Jewel Heist in N.Y. History’ (The New York Times, 2019): https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/nyregion/natural-history-museum-jewelry-heist.html

• ‘History's Greatest Heists - Season 1’ (HISTORY, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNZDVQnyLuU

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jonathan Swift’s enduring satire Gulliver’s Travels was first published on October 28, 1726 - though the true identity of the book’s author was concealed from readers.

A spoof of Daniel Defoe’s popular Robinson Crusoe, the novel bleakly satirised British society, colonialism, and the monarchy, shocking as many readers as it entertained.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the tale’s rebellious origins in Swift’s social oeuvre; consider why children still relate to (abridged versions of) this highly specific political satire; and explain why Swift’s creation lead directly to Yahoo! Mail… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Why Jonathan Swift wanted to ‘vex the world’ with Gulliver’s Travels’ (The Conversation): https://theconversation.com/why-jonathan-swift-wanted-to-vex-the-world-with-gullivers-travels-94972

• 'Letter to Jonathan Swift' (John Gay, 1726): https://walleahpress.com.au/communion8-John-Gay.html

• ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ (Paramount, 1939): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rehNT9wIjUg

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Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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Rerun: The ‘Teapot Dome scandal’ reached its climax when Senator Albert Fall was found guilty of bribery, fined $100,000 and sent to jail on 25th October, 1929.

During the Presidency of Warren G Harding, Fall had been offering private companies the chance to drill for oil on state land, without competitive bidding, in return for bags cash. And some farm animals. 

In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca reveal the unheroic role of newspapers in suppressing the scandal; pick apart the realism of ‘There Will Be Blood’; and ask whether American politics has ever lost its penchant for ‘kickbacks’...

Further Reading:

• ‘Secretary Fall resigns in Teapot Dome scandal’ (HISTORY, 2020): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/secretary-fall-resigns-in-teapot-dome-scandal

 • ‘History Brief: The Ohio Gang and the Teapot Dome Scandal’ (Reading Through History, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjL-uE4lSvI

• ‘The Mystery Behind the Greystone Mansion Murder-Suicide’ (Scare Street, 2019): https://scarestreet.com/greystone-mansion/

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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rerun: Mr Blobby made his anarchic television debut on 24th October, 1992, in a new segment called “Gotcha” on the hugely popular BBC show Noel’s House Party.

The googly eyed, perma-grinning, yellow and pink character was an immediate hit, selling masses of merchandise to British kids and adults alike. At the height of Blobbymania, Mr Blobby released a No. 1 UK single and spawned four theme parks around the country.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly defend Mr Blobby against the haters; speculate on how he became an inadvertent victim of his own success; and marvel at what can be achieved with a lot of alcohol and just five minute of doodling...

Further Reading:

• ‘'A Loveable Anarchist': The Oral History of Mr Blobby’ (Vice, 2021): https://www.vice.com/en/article/qj85mq/mr-blobby-oral-history-television 

• 'A decade of Crinkley Bottom: Noel’s House Party remembered' (BBC, 1991): https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/november/noels-house-party/ 

• ‘Noel’s House Party: Season 2, Episode 1’ (BBC, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b53wCwecec 

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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When Steve Jobs took to the stage in Cupertino on 23rd October, 2001, he unveiled Apple’s first portable device: the iPod. As ever, his pitch was simple and on-point: "1,000 songs in your pocket."

But the iPod wasn't Jobs’s creation. Its concept came from Tony Fadell, an amateur DJ who’d grown frustrated by lugging his music collection to gigs. Apple saw the potential for a hardware system that could work as an entry-point to iTunes. By the time the iPod was eventually discontinued in 2022, over 450 million products had been sold, forever changing how people consume music.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall a world of "skip protection", CDs and FireWire cables; reveal how Jobs’ showmanship was just the tip of his deep involvement with the product; and explain how Apple delicately danced around concerns of music piracy… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Apple’s ‘Breakthrough’ iPod’ (Wired, 2001): https://www.wired.com/2001/10/apples-breakthrough-ipod/

• ‘Apple Presents iPod’ (Apple Press Release, 2001): https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2001/10/23Apple-Presents-iPod/

• ‘iPod Launch Event’ (Apple, 2001): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN0SVBCJqLs

Love the show? Support us! 

Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate the story of Dr. Hawley Crippen, convicted of murdering his wife, music hall performer Cora Crippen, on 22nd October, 1910.

Cora’s corpse had been discovered in their Holloway cellar - but homoeopath Crippen had fled to America with his lover Ethel Lenev dressed as a boy. However, the Captain of the SS Montrose became suspicious of their behaviour, and wirelessly telegraphed Scotland Yard to arrest the pair upon arrival in Canada.

In this episode, the Retrospectors explore how it was Lenev’s love for Cora’s jewellery that initially raised suspicion; consider how technology enabled the media to closely cover the case, turning it into a sensational story as it unfolded in real-time; and question the description of the couple piously parroted in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography…

Further Reading:

• ‘Editorial: the Dr Crippen murder trial’ (The Guardian, 1910): https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/24/editorial-the-dr-crippen-trial-archive-1910

• ‘The Execution of Dr Crippen’ (History Today, 2010): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/execution-dr-crippen

• ‘The Dark & Disturbing Case of Dr. Crippen’ (Brief Case, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQb1rFZjDxc

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Battle of Sekigahara, on 21st October, 1600, was the largest in Japanese feudal history, with over 160,000 troops involved. And stakes were high: the victor, Tokugawa Ieyasu, became the Shōgun of Japan, initiating the Edo period; whilst the leader of the losing Western army, Ishida Mitsunari, was beheaded.

The battle itself was chaotic, partly due to defections, with several commanders secretly switching sides, leading to confusion and collapse. But, despite the battle’s inclusion of modern firearms introduced by the Portuguese, the aftermath saw a return to the cult of the sword! 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca, and Olly discover how the morning fog caused a clumsy start to the fighting; explain how Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s succession struggles lead to a powerful power vacuum; and reveal how Ieyasu matched his superiority in battle with some seriously savvy backstairs politicking…

Further Reading:

• ’Shōgun: The Incredible True Story of the Battle of Sekigahara’ (Esquire, 2024): https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a60382366/shogun-battle-of-sekigahara-true-story/

• ‘Battle of Sekigahara - Gettysburg National Military Park’ (U.S. National Park Service, 2022): https://www.nps.gov/gett/learn/historyculture/battle-of-sekigahara.htm

• ‘Masterpiece: Lord Toranaga Fights And Wins The Battle Of Sekigahara Against Ishido And Becomes Shogun’ (NBC, 1980): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGYI6NVtzAg

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Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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Rerun: When Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross failed to reach their celebrity guest, 78 year-old ‘Fawlty Towers’ star Andrew Sachs, they instead left him a series of answerphone messages, joking about sexual encounters with Sachs's granddaughter, Georgina Baillie. The segment aired on Brand’s Radio 2 show on 18th October, 2008, and became the third most-complained about programme in recent BBC history.

The presenters were suspended, the station controller resigned, and the BBC was fined £150,000. The event, which became known as ‘Sachsgate’, kick-started an era of ‘compliance’ at Britain’s national broadcaster, and was an early example of tabloid-generated ‘cancel culture’.

In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca ask whether the presenters would still be in their old jobs, were it not for the Mail On Sunday; discover a parallel between one of Sachs’ greatest comic moments and the voicemails that brought him back to national attention; and speculate whether ‘Sachsgate’ lead to the boom in comedy podcasts…

Further Reading:

• ‘Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross Abuse Andrew Sachs via Phone’ (BBC, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7IHJ66wj9g&t=476s

• ‘Sachsgate: The obscene prank calls from Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross that 'haunted' Andrew Sachs before his death’ (Daily Mirror, 2016): https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/sachsgate-obscene-prank-calls-russell-9376380

• ‘BBC apologises over Brand prank’ (BBC, 2008): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7692911.stm

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: The London Beer Flood, which created a 15ft-high wave of booze, and claimed the lives of eight people, began on 17th October, 1814 - when an iron hoop came loose on a giant barrel at Meux’s famous Horse Shoe Brewery.

The barrel, in which over a million pints of fermenting porter were brewing, exploded - triggering a chain reaction that effectively blew up the factory and caused bricks to rain down over a nearby slum area.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the only surviving eyewitness account of the tragedy; explain how Daddy issues might have caused Meux to construct such giant barrels of beer in the first place; and weigh up whether anyone made merry with the opportunities offered by a cascading river of ale…  

Further Reading:

• ‘This 1814 Beer Flood Killed Eight People’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1814-beer-flood-killed-eight-people-180964256/

• ‘The Lost Beers & Breweries of Britain by Brian Glover’ (Amberley Publishing, 2012): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Lost_Beers_Breweries_of_Britain/R1GoAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=horseshoe+brewery&pg=PA49-IA44&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Strange Stories: The London Beer Flood of 1814’ (Simple History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96OMuA65goo

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Wu Zetian became China's first and only female Emperor on 16th October, 655 - cementing an extraordinary rise from Concubine to Secretary to Consort to Queen. On the day of her coronation in 690, a massive earthquake rocked China, a supposed sign of divine disapproval. But Wu flipped the narrative, declaring that the upheaval was a blessing, a symbol of Buddhist paradise manifesting on earth. 

Her path to power was unconventional, defying deeply entrenched Confucian ideals that regarded female rulers as unnatural, even catastrophic. It was a rise marked by brutal rivalries, during which she allegedly orchestrated the downfall of enemies, including her rival Empress Wang, and even faced accusations of murdering her own daughter to frame a competitor to the throne.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly weigh up the sexist commentary of the time with the genuine ruthlessness Wu seemed to display; explain how her all-male hareem helped bring about her downfall; and consider how, even as recently as 2014, she remains a controversial, sexualised and divisive figure in China…

Further Reading:

• ‘The First and Only Woman Emperor of China’ (Google Arts & Culture): https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-first-and-only-woman-emperor-of-china/PQWR-NRltC6QFA?hl=en

• ’Empress Wu Zetian: The Only Woman To Rule China’ (HistoryExtra, 2023): https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/empress-wu-zetian-china-rule-life-reputation/

• ‘Wu Zetian: China's First & Only Female Emperor | Empress Who Ruled The World’ (Timeline, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeZ7esmQcm4

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The Secret of Monkey Island, one of the best loved video games of the point-and-click era, was released on the 15th October, 1990, without, it must be said, a great deal of fanfare.

Inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland and the novel On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers, the game was a swashbuckling piratical adventure which – unusually for gaming of the time – put laughs above thrills. Despite its initially mixed reaction, it went on to become a sleeper hit that a generation of gamers took to their hearts.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate why George Lucas wasn't putting his new video games division to work publishing loads of Star Wars games; explain why it was important to Monkey Island's creators that their main character couldn't die; and find out whether the jokes Olly found hilarious as a ten-year-old are still as side-splittingly funny today…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Complete History Of Monkey Island’ (Time Extension, 2022): https://www.timeextension.com/features/the-complete-history-of-monkey-island

• ‘What Is The Secret Of Monkey Island?’ (The Gamer, 2022): https://www.thegamer.com/monkey-island-secret-origins-mystery-answer/

• ‘The Secret of Monkey Island Longplay’ (AL82 Retrogaming Longplays, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgRIXntFhww&t=633s

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, published on 14th October, 1892, was the collection of 12 stories that took his much-loved titular detective from the pages of magazine serials and on to the world’s bookshelves.

The inspiration for Holmes, who solves crimes through science rather than chance, came from Dr. Joseph Bell, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, who impressed Conan Doyle with his keen powers of deduction. The progressive edge to the stories also set them apart, as Holmes often fought for the powerless, helping stepdaughters, servants, and others who were mistreated.

Yet, despite the public’s adoration, Conan Doyle grew tired of writing about Holmes. By 1893, he’d had enough and wrote Holmes off, literally, by pushing him down a waterfall in a confrontation with Moriarty.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the public backlash to Holmes’s death lead to his reluctant resurrection; consider how Holmes came to be pictured with his distinctive pipe; and reveal Conan Doyle’s frustrations that this highly successful side hustle completely overtook his medical career…

Further Reading:

• ’The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ (Arthur Conan Doyle, 1892): https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1661/1661-h/1661-h.htm

• ‘How Arthur Conan Doyle Plotted Against Sherlock Holmes’ (History Collection, 2020): https://historycollection.com/how-arthur-conan-doyle-plotted-against-sherlock-holmes/

• ‘Stephen Fry on Celebrity Mastermind: Sherlock Holmes’ (BBC, 2003): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdxafxQe-Bc

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Rerun: Virgin Cola, Sir Richard Branson’s ultimately flawed contender in the Cola Wars, was certainly taken seriously by the competition. On 11th October 1994, a pokerfaced Coca-Cola spokesperson told The Independent: “Consumers consistently demonstrate, when given a free choice, that they prefer our product.

”Despite an extensive publicity campaign - including a stunt in Times Square, a bottle shaped like Pamela Anderson, and product placement on ‘Friends’ - the beverage never took off internationally, but did have success in the UK and Bangladesh, before being discontinued in 2009.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Coke’s ‘gangster’ tactics; sympathise with Branson’s children and their classmates; and question why the maverick billionaire just wasn’t able to disrupt the cola market as he’d hoped…

Further Reading:

• ‘How Richard Branson Took On Coca-Cola’ (Intrigue Academy, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-PaJkPTQYk

• ‘What Richard Branson learned when Coke put Virgin Cola out of business’ (CNBC, 2017): https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/07/what-richard-branson-learned-when-coke-put-virgin-cola-out-of-business.html

• ‘Sir Richard Branson’s setbacks: from Virgin Cola to Virgin Brides’ (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/06/sir-richard-branson-failures-vigin-cola-brides

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Rerun: Scent-o-Vision, an in-cinema olfactory experience, was unveiled at the New York World’s Fair on 10th October, 1940.

Accompanying a short film ‘My Dream’, its Swiss inventor, Hans Laube, pumped in aromas of rose water, peaches and burning incense for his wowed attendees to sniff. But it would be two decades before the technology was finally put into a feature film - Mike Todd, Jr’s ‘Scent of Mystery’, in 1960 - and never used again.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the 50’s battle of the ‘smellaroo pix’, as Todd’s re-named ‘Smell-o-Vision’ took on the rival ‘Smell-O-Rama’; explore why theme parks ultimately provided the best platform for the theory in practice; and consider what happens when an audience experiences ‘olfactory fatigue’... 

Image source Carmen Laube

Further Reading:

• ‘Smell-O-Vision: That Movie Really Did Stink!’ (Neatorama, 2015): https://www.neatorama.com/2015/04/27/Smell-O-Vision-That-Movie-Really-Did-Stink/

• ‘Rare pictures from the 1939 New York World's Fair’ (Rare Historical Photos, 2021): https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/1939-new-york-world-fair/

• ‘Trailer: Scent of Mystery’ (1960): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7jNGsLEn2U

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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King Alexander of Yugoslavia embarked on a state visit to France on 9th October, 1934 - and was shockingly shot dead by an assassin in the crowd, the aftermath of which was captured by newsreels.

Yugoslavia was a fractured country; an uneasy alliance between multiple peoples governed from Belgrade, and despised by extremist groups who wanted Macedonian independence.

The assassin, Bulgarian revolutionary Chernozemski, was facilitated by Italy and Hungary, dissatisfied with the Treaty of Versailles and seeking influence in the Balkans - but this dark alliance was covered-up by France in an attempt to keep Mussolini on-side in upcoming battles against Hitler. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how King Alexander’s death symbolised the deep fractures about to engulf Europe; review the film footage that was sexed-up by American news agencies; and reveal why Alexander was so wary of Tuesdays…

Further Reading:

• ‘Balkan Terrorists’ (LIFE, 1934): https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=SVEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA54&dq=king+alexander+assassination+1934&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjW-bjO9rqIAxVEVkEAHeJoLGYQ6AF6BAgEEAI#v=onepage&q=king%20alexander%20assassination%201934&f=false

• ‘Alexander I of Yugoslavia assassinated’ (History Today, 2010): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/alexander-i-yugoslavia-assassinated#:~:text=He%20was%20a%2036-year-old%20Bulgarian%20who%20belonged%20to%20a%20Macedonian

• ‘Assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia & Louis Barthou’ (British Pathé, 1934): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R3dVZdFxxo

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The world's oldest oldest continuously surviving constitution, was adopted in the tiny country of San Marino on 8th October, 1600.

This was a good 187 years before the United States adopted its own constitution and, during his presidency, Abraham Lincoln frequently held San Marino up as the model of a government founded on republican principles. Such ongoing praise eventually earnt the US president honorary San Marino citizenship!

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain what an "Extraordinarium" is;  discuss why most of the rest of the world had to wait almost two hundred years before they had their own constitutional moment; and reveal that the world's first parliament was created by vikings…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Constitution of San Marino-Oldest and Active written Constitution of the World’ (FYI, 2021): https://vocal.media/fyi/the-constitution-of-san-marino-oldest-and-active-written-constitution-of-the-world 

• ‘San Marino is founded by Saint Marinus’ (The Centre of the Rule of Law, 2021): https://www.thecenterforruleoflaw.org/rule-of-law-blog/september-3-301-san-marino-one-of-the-smallest-nations-in-the-world-and-the-worlds-oldest-republic-still-in-existence-is-founded-by-saint-marinus-or-maybe-its-one-of-the-newest-nations-at-just-48-years-old-wait-what 

• ‘Why is San Marino a country? - History of San Marino in 12 Minutes’ (Knowledgia, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXxIV1IRMR4

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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A boatload of Swedish identical twins, aged 11 to 80, descended into Felixstowe on 7th October, 1977 - wearing matching outfits - for a shopping trip. 

The eye-catching stunt was part of a scientific project led by ship captain Sune Dahlström, a twin himself, in collaboration with the Swedish Twin Register at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and aimed to study the similarities and differences in their behaviours.

Twin studies have a long history, with dark roots in Victorian eugenics and, infamously, Nazi experiments. However, the Swedish Twin Register became a more positive force for scientific discovery, meticulously based on twin birth records from parishes across Sweden, and today holding data on nearly 100,000 pairs of twins, making it the most comprehensive collection of its kind.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly celebrate the accomplishments of the Swedish Twin Register; discover how education impacts longevity; and consider why on Earth Felixstowe, of all places, played host to this unusual event…

Further Reading:

• ‘“As twins we’re useful”’ (Karolinska Institutet, 2017): https://ki.se/en/research/popular-science-and-dialogue/spotlight-on/spotlight-on-participating-in-research/as-twins-were-useful

• ‘Seeing Double: How History Became Obsessed With Twins’ (Google Arts & Culture): https://artsandculture.google.com/story/seeing-double-how-history-became-obsessed-with-twins/XgIiH-H78-86LQ

• ‘What identical twins separated at birth teach us about genetics’ (BBC REEL, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMlJcOSRX-8

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Rerun: Hooters, the beach bar chain famous for its flirtatious waitresses, first flung open its doors in Clearwater, Florida on 4th October, 1983. Its publicity-friendly ‘Hooters Girls’ - and a chance visit by John Riggins, star fullback for the Washington Redskins - ensured the concept took off, spawning 425 outlets in 30 countries.

However, more recently, Hooters was hit by rival ‘breastaurants’ Tilted Kilt and Twin Peaks, and a slow generational shift away from ‘male’ environments in which exclusively female serving employees are forced to wear sexualised outfits and banter with customers.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the clever but disconcerting clauses within Hooters’ employment contracts; reveal the thinking behind the safety briefings on-board short-lived airline Hooters Air; and explain how Hooters Girls kept U.S. troops entertained in Afghanistan… 

Further Reading: 

• ‘Wanna do a Dad a really big favor? Tell your Mom you wanna go to Hooters!’ - Hooters’ first TV commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIEentLPJQQ

• ‘14 Things You Should Know Before Eating At Hooters’ (Delish, 2016):

https://www.delish.com/food-news/a48451/what-you-need-to-know-before-you-visit-hooters/

‘The Real Reason Hooters Is Disappearing Across The Country’ (Mashed, 2018):  https://www.mashed.com/129065/the-real-reason-hooters-is-disappearing-across-the-country/

Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/retrospectors

to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day

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Rerun: The Roy half of Siegfried and Roy was mauled on October 3rd, 2003, by a 380-pound white tiger live on stage in Las Vegas.

Roy lived, but was partially paralysed, which spelled the end for the wildly successful double act, which had performed more than 30,000 shows for 50 million people and generated well over $1 billion in ticket sales over nearly half a century.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how opulence, German accents and mullets proved a winning formula for Siegried and Roy; discuss how the pair bonded over a smuggled cheetah; and look into why there was a police investigation into the white tiger’s attack…

Further Reading:

• ‘Siegfried and Roy: What Happened the Night of the Tiger Attack?’ (Reader’s Digest, 2021): https://www.rd.com/article/siegfried-and-roy-tiger-attack/ 

• ‘The untold truth of Siegfried and Roy’ (Grunge, 2021): https://www.grunge.com/163908/the-untold-truth-of-siegfried-and-roy/ 

• ‘Roy Horn Reveals Shocking Info on Tiger Attack from 11 Years Ago’ (Entertainment Tonight, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU_d7O8dWww 

• ‘Siegfried & Roy Full Show: The Magic & The Mystery at The Mirage Las Vegas (Legends of Magic, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7VCa8yowlA   

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/retrospectors

to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day

money-back guarantee.

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Secretive Catholic sect Opus Dei was founded on 2nd October, 1928 by the young, energetic priest Jose Maria Escriva, who believed his divine mission was to inject religious fervour into everyday life, with holiness achieved not via clergy, but from the daily work of laypeople. 

The faith grew rapidly in Spain, especially during the Franco era, eventually spreading internationally. But its ties to right-wing governments, including those of Franco and Pinochet, sparked criticism; and its propagation of corporal mortification - where members engage in practices such as wearing uncomfortable garments and self-flagellation - have been controversial.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the organisation’s presence in the halls of power; investigate how the sect continues to attract followers, years after Escriva’s death (and Sainthood); and ask just how (in)accurate Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code really was… 

Further Reading:

• ‘What is Opus Dei, and why is it so controversial — both in and out of the Catholic Church?’ (ABC News, 2023): https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-30/what-is-opus-dei-secretive-catholic-church-group-prelature/101905802

• ‘Letter: A former member recalls Opus Dei’s methods’ (Financial Times, 2024): https://www.ft.com/content/5e053d88-4b12-4cd9-95d9-fbfee2eecfa4

• ’St. Josemaria Escriva's impact’ (Catholic News Service, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHFNuo5cefQ

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Tobe Hooper’s legendary low-budget horror film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, first screened in Austin on 1st October, 1974.

The movie was an international sensation - making £21.9 million from its £100,000 budget in its first year - although not in the UK, where it was not screened nationally for 25 years, due to the BBFC’s concerns about its portrayal of suffering and violence against women.

In this episode, The Retrospectors unpick the picture’s gruesome reputation, given that much of the violence is suggested rather than explicitly shown; pore over the extreme conditions faced by the hitherto unknown cast during filming, including scorching Texas heat and foul-smelling props like rotting animal bones; and consider whether the piece can be considered a (very black) comedy… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Tobe Hooper: the director who took a chainsaw to wholesome family life’ (The Guardian, 2017): https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/27/tobe-hooper-appreciation-texas-chainsaw-massacre-american-family

• ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ (BBFC Education): https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre

• ‘ The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Original Trailer (Tobe Hooper, 1974): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKn9QIaMgtQ

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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How did tea become Britain’s national drink? Its story begins in China, where it was first popularised during the Han and Tang dynasties - but it first made its mark in London’s coffee houses on 30th September, 1658, when it was advertised to the public in a ‘newsbook’, marketing the exotic beverage as "an excellent and by all physicians approved China drink".

However, British tea importers faced stiff competition from the beer industry, which wasn’t thrilled about losing customers to this new sector. Breweries even spread rumours that tea was bad for your health in a bid to retain their market share. Yet, once Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza married Charles II in 1662, the Royal family’s much-publicised fondness for a cuppa brought it out of the coffeehouses and into homes, where it became a genteel, domestic drink.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the history of England’s infatuation with tea, from Pitt The Younger’s association with the ‘tea tax’, to shops like Twinings springing up across the country, cementing the drink’s place in British society…

Further Reading:

•  ‘Tea’ (The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge): https://fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-our-collection/highlights/context/stories-and-histories/tea

• ‘The history of tea’ (The National Trust): https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/the-history-of-tea

• ‘Tea: Helen & Olly's Great British Questions’ (Answer Me This!, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8tGlGvn3N0

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Journalists, exhibitors and producers packed the Ambassador Hotel Theater, Los Angeles on 27th September, 1922 - to see the first ever paid-for screening of a 3-D film, ‘The Power Of Love’.

Using an anaglyph system (meaning the 3-D glasses had two tinted lenses; one red, one green), viewers were told they could select a happy or sad ending - by closing one of their eyes.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider if the costs of double-projector movies explains why first-gen 3-D never took off; revisit the provocative tag-line from 1952 3-D movie ‘Bwana Devil’, and reveal what the critics consider to be the best 3-D film ever…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Power of Love’ (1922) on IMBb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013506/trivia

• ‘The fascinating history of 3D films’ (Interesting Engineering, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmmFDyhCufc

• ‘The 18 best 3D movies’ (Empire, 2016): https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-3d-movies/

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Rerun: Jean Bernadotte’s dad, a local prosecutor in the southwestern French city of Pau, intended for his son to follow in his footsteps as a lawyer. Instead, Jean became heir to the Swedish Crown on September 26th, 1810, and his descendants still sit on the Swedish throne to this day.

Shortly after he moved to Sweden, the new crown prince was joined by his wife, Désirée, and their 11-year-old son, Oscar. But it's fair to say Désirée wasn’t exactly enamoured with the new land her husband was set to rule; she swiftly returned to France and didn’t come back for another 13 years.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look into why Napoleon became an accidental Swedish kingmaker; explore why it is best to do all your conquering just before declaring yourself to be neutral; and ask why no one has yet made any of us the monarch of their country.

Further Reading:

• ‘Centenary of Sweden’s proud Bernadotte dynasty’ (The New York Times, 1910): https://www.nytimes.com/1910/05/15/archives/centenary-of-swedens-proud-bernadotte-dynasty-founded-one-hundred.html 

• ‘The French Army Officer Who Became a Scandinavian King’ (Real Scandinavia, 2019): http://realscandinavia.com/jean-bernadotte-the-french-soldier-who-became-king-of-sweden/ 

• ‘A Royal family keeping up with the times’ (The Swedish Royal Palace, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bTZDGn4SUE 

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

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Billy Graham’s Los Angeles Crusade started modestly on 25th September, 1949. But after newspaper giant William Randolph Hearst told his editors to "puff Graham", the nightly revival meetings exploded in popularity, becoming a ‘sin-smashing sensation’, and Graham soon became America’s favourite preacher.

His style was perfect for the Hollywood backdrop. At just 30 years old, Graham had a youthful, energetic presence, dashing good looks, and a flair for the dramatic. His sermons, packed with urgency and fast-paced delivery, connected worldly threats like communism with personal struggles, and always offered a strikingly simple answer: Jesus. By the end of this first eight-week crusade, 350,000 people had attended, with 3,000 recorded conversions.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the skills that set Graham apart from other evangelists; consider his global influence, including a record-breaking run at London’s  Haringey Arena; and recall how a singing cowboy transformed Graham’s fortunes… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Billy Graham's star was born at his 1949 revival in Los Angeles’ (Los Angeles Times, 2007): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-02-me-then2-story.html

• ‘How Billy Graham became the most famous preacher in America’ (CNN, 2018): https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/21/us/how-billy-graham-became-famous/index.html

• ‘WEMBLEY: BILLY GRAHAM IN LONDON’ (Gaumont, 1955): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGPQpQb_dDM

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The ‘Austenmania’ craze of the mid-90s kicked off with the BBC’s production of ‘Pride and Prejudice’, which first aired on 24th September, 1995.

Now primarily remembered for Colin Firth’s ‘wet shirt’ scene, Andrew Davies’s ‘sexed up’ adaptation also starred Firth’s real-life squeeze Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet, and was the first serialisation of the novel to be filmed on location, with picturesque country estates providing a ‘property porn’ backdrop to the plot’s central romance.

In this episode, the Retrospectors reveal how Firth later tried to distance himself from the fetishisation of his role as Mr Darcy; explain the part rat urine played in filming the iconic bathing scene; and discover how this sensationally popular miniseries sparked interest in erotic adaptations of Austen's work…

Further Reading:

‘Pride and Prejudice at 20: The scene that changed everything’ (BBC Culture, 2015): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150922-pride-and-prejudice-at-20-the-scene-that-changed-everything

‘Books, Bras and Bridget Jones: reading adaptations of Pride and Prejudice - by Olivia Murphy’ (University of Sydney): https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/229392346.pdf

‘The Lake Scene (Colin Firth Strips Off)’ (BBC, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hasKmDr1yrA

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The most extravagant feast of the Middle Ages took place at the London home of the Bishop of Durham on September 23rd, 1387, in honour of King Richard II. 

The banquet featured dishes like broth, venison, roasted swan, and boar-heads… and  12,000 eggs. 

At just 20 years old, Richard had already developed a reputation for extravagant tastes, employing 2,000 cooks to feed his court. But, despite the abundant and luxurious menu, the atmosphere at the feast was likely solemn, given the churchy setting and the era's rigid rules of etiquette. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the cooks roasted birds in increasingly extravagant styles, yet served spices NEAT; discover how to make a "subtlety"; and dip into the rulebook for the carvers trained in the fine art of slicing and presenting food fit for a King…

Further Reading:

• ‘King Richard's Feast Of 1387’ (OAKDEN): https://oakden.co.uk/king-richard-second-feast-1387/

• ’Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery’ (1990): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Oxford_Symposium_on_Food_Cookery_1990/XseXnb98h90C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=23rd+September+1387&pg=PA138&printsec=frontcover

• ‘How To Prepare A Traditional Medieval Feast | Let's Cook History’ (Chronicle, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkqQ5iGATrk

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Rerun: Henry Winkler, an accomplished water-skier, had asked the producers of ‘Happy Days’ if he could showcase his skills on the sitcom. On 20th September, 1977 his wish came true - in a shark-jumping sequence so absurd it would forever be linked with the irreversible artistic decline of long-running TV series.

To ‘Jump the Shark’ was a phrase coined some eight years later by college roommates Sean Connolly and Jon Hein, and has since inspired other pop culture idioms including ‘growing the beard’ (a TV show that gets better with age) and ‘nuking the fridge’ (a ‘jump the shark’ for movie franchises, named after Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull).

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal Winkler’s star power as the top turn on Happy Days, and explain why Robin Williams’ appearance in the show *wasn’t* a dream. Do they say ‘eeeeeeeeeeey’ a lot? Exactamundo!

Further Reading:

• Fonzie ‘Jumps the Shark’ (Happy Days, 1977): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk_y_r5cXZs

• ‘’Jumping the Shark’, ‘Fridging the Girlfriend’ and 8 Other Pop Culture Idioms Explained’ (Funk's House of Geekery, 2016):

https://houseofgeekery.com/2016/07/11/jumping-the-shark-fridging-the-girlfriend-and-8-other-pop-culture-idioms-explained/

• ‘Jumping the Shark: 10 Great TV Shows That Took a Turn for the Worse’ (Rolling Stone, 2014): https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-lists/jumping-the-shark-10-great-tv-shows-that-took-a-turn-for-the-worse-156728/dexter-35323/

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/retrospectors to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee.

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Rerun: Powered by steam engines, and positioned on 60ft poles along the seafront, the Blackpool illuminations were first shown to adoring public on 19th September, 1879.

70,000 people came to see eight arc lamps, positioned 320 yards apart. Between them they provided illumination equal to 48,000 candles: an incredible spectacle considering it would still be another year before Thomas Edison patented the modern commercial lightbulb. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall some of the weirder celebrities who have been roped into performing the iconic switching-on ceremony in the Lancashire town; reveal the connection between the Walt Disney Company and this Northern institution; and explain how the resort initially developed its three piers to segregate the middle-classes from the ‘Kiss Me Quick’ day-trippers… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Blackpool Illuminations celebrates its centenary’ (The Guardian, 2012): https://www.theguardian.com/travel/gallery/2012/aug/31/blackpool-illuminations-centenary-100-years-lights

• ‘Cities of Light: Two Centuries of Urban Illumination - Eds. Dietrich Neumann, Margaret Maile Petty, Sandy Isenstadt’ (Taylor & Francis, 2014):

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Cities_of_Light/iHLfBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=blackpool+illuminations&pg=PA58&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Vintage Blackpool Illuminations’ (AshBlackpoolFan, 2020):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X5wkeF34pQ

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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The first Paralympic Games - hosting 400 athletes from 23 countries - took place in Rome on 18th September, 1960. 

But it was only known by this name retrospectively: the day it took place, this festival of disabled sport was called The Ninth Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games.

Sprung from a competition held at a hospital in Buckinghamshire, and pioneered by German-Jewish neurosurgeon Dr. Ludwig Guttman, the Games began as part of a physiotherapy programme for soldiers and civilians with spinal cord injuries. As the Stoke Mandeville Games expanded, so did the variety of sports and the level of competition.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal Russia’s initial refusal to participate; uncover the controversial use of performance-enhancing drugs; and celebrate Dr. Guttman’s vision of what was possible for athletes with disabilities...

Further Reading:

• Paralympians still hold a flame for Stoke Mandeville pioneer (The Times, 2023): https://www.thetimes.com/sport/cricket/article/paralympians-still-hold-a-flame-for-stoke-mandeville-pioneer-653kbqjx5

• ‘Celebrating 60 years since Rome 1960 - the first Paralympic Games!’ (Paralympic Games, 2020): https://www.paralympic.org/feature/celebrating-60-years-rome-1960-first-paralympic-games

• ’How the Paralympics Began’ (The Retrospectors, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1cA22GsmBE

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Mary, ‘King’ of Hungary, was coronated today in history, on 17th September, 1382. 

The Hungarian nobility had never had a female monarch, and did not recognize the possibility of one in law, so decided to crown her as if she was male - but that was by no means the end of her problems. Before long, Charles of Naples was leading a rebellion to overthrow the child monarch.

In this episode, The Retrospectors rank the numerous poor decisions of Mary’s mother, the Queen Regent Elizabeth; unearth the impressive linguistic leg-work put in by Mary’s future husband, Sigismund of Luxembourg; and explain how Mary’s father Louis’ best laid plans unraveled so dramatically…

Further Reading:

• ‘A concise history of Hungary - By Miklós Molnár’ (Cambridge University Press, 2001): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_Concise_History_of_Hungary/y0g4YEp7ZrsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=mary+sigismund&pg=PA56&printsec=frontcover

• ’Outlines of Medieval History - By Charles William Previté-Orton’ (1916):

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4PXDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA481&dq=mary+sigismund&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjS2enHt6WBAxVUQkEAHeTwC2AQ6AF6BAgLEAI

• ‘Queen Mary of Hungary by Leoni, 1553 - 1564’ (American Friends of the Prado Museum, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yaagl1xhbLA

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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The largest land rush in history kicked off on 16th September, 1893 - on Oklahoma's Cherokee Strip. Tens of thousands of people—horseback riders, wagons, and even a passenger train—waited for a cannon’s boom to initiate a mad race for land.

The term "Boomer" became synonymous with those waiting for that cannon's boom to charge in, while "Sooners" were the sneaky folks who snuck into the land early to claim it before the rush began. Officers were tasked with clearing out the opportunistic Sooners, but it wasn’t an easy job. With everyone trying to stake their claims in chaos, tensions ran high, and skirmishes sometimes broke out between claimants, creating a dangerous situation for those trying to ‘play fair’ - and the Native American tribes who had already been relocated there once already.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Oklahoma, previously considered arid land unsuited for farming, had suddenly become a hot commodity; reveal what happened when fights for land turned ugly; and, as settlers carved out their fortunes, investigate how long it took for the Cherokee tribes to receive their payment….

Further Reading:

• ’CHEROKEE OUTLET OPENING’ (The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture): https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=CH021

• ‘Cherokee Strip Land Rush - By Jay M. Price’ (Arcadia Publisher, 2006):

 https://books.google.com/books/about/Cherokee_Strip_Land_Rush.html?id=ikXycrCcTvAC

• ’Cherokee Outlet Land Run’ (Olahoma Council Social Studies):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyhlU-Zt9YY&t=133s

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Rerun: Kanye West was ejected from Radio City Music Hall at the MTV VMAs on 13th September, 2009, after drunkenly interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video.

Distraught that the country star’s ‘You Belong To Me’ video has beaten Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ to the trophy, he memorably proclaimed: “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!”

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine whether this viral moment was ultimately harmful or beneficial to both stars’ careers; highlight how the fracas accelerated Twitter’s adoption by the mainstream media; and ask whether - after all these years - Kanye was right…

Further Reading:

• ‘How the Taylor Swift-Kanye West VMAs scandal became a perfect American morality tale’ (Vox, 2019):

https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/8/26/20828559/taylor-swift-kanye-west-2009-mtv-vmas-explained

• ‘2009 VMAs Oral History: What You Didn't See When Kanye West Rushed the Stage on Taylor Swift’ (Billboard, 2009):

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/television/8523549/2009-mtv-vmas-oral-history

• Artisan News Service reports on the event in 2009: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z8gCZ7zpsQ

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

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Rerun: NBC premiered ‘Royal Flush’ - the pilot episode of iconic Sixties pop-comedy show The Monkees - on 12th September, 1966. And the Daydream Believers quickly found their way into America’s heart…

The Beatles-a-like actors had never met or worked with each other ever before answering an ad seeking ‘four insane boys, aged 18-21’, placed by‘Five Easy Pieces’ producer Bob Rafelson.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why each episode of the sitcom ended with a fourth wall-breaking discussion between the boys; explore how credible songwriters like Carole King and Neil Diamond ended up working on their singles; and discover why, despite the boyband’s enormous success, the series was cancelled in its second season… 

Further Reading:

• ‘The Untold Truth Of The Monkees’ (Grunge, 2019): https://www.grunge.com/146172/the-untold-truth-of-the-monkees/

• ‘Why 'The Monkees' Was a Perfect Meld of Television and Music (That Will Never Happen Again)’ (Huffington Post, 2016): https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-the-monkees-was-a-per_b_10368468

• ‘The Monkees: Royal Flush’ (NBC, 1966): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JESo3dcRuo

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

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Captain Peter Warner and his crew made a startling discovery as they sailed past the uninhabited island of Atta in the Pacific on 11th September, 1966: six naked, shaggy-haired teenage boys, who had been stranded there for fifteen months.

Sione, Stephen, Kolo, David, Luke, and Mano had escaped from their boarding school in Tonga's capital, Nuku'alofa, having "borrowed" a boat and embarked on a spontaneous adventure that went horribly wrong when a storm left them adrift at sea. 

For eight days, they battled the elements, surviving on coconuts, bananas, and rainwater before they spotted Atta. With their boat breaking apart, they used makeshift buoyancy aids to swim to the island, beginning their remarkable tale of survival.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the boys’ ingenuity, faith and resilience had kept them alive; reveal the extraordinary lives they went on to have afterwards; and marvel at their well-maintained muscles… 

Further Reading:

• ‘The Miraculous Survival of 6 Tongan Boys in 1965’ (People, 2020): https://people.com/human-interest/inside-real-life-lord-of-the-flies-survival-of-6-tongan-boys-54-years-ago/

• ’The real Lord of the Flies: what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months’ (The Guardian, 2020): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months

• ‘The real-life 'Lord of the Flies'’ (ABC News, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDz-331V-pY

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Chicagoans gathered around their radio sets on 10th September, 1924 - to hear Judge John R. Caverly sentence wealthy teenagers and lovers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb to life in prison for the brutal murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks.

The couple showed no remorse, exhibited a complete lack of empathy, and said they had committed their crime "because we damn well wanted to", but were nonetheless spared the death penalty following the passionate defense submitted by their attorney, the celebrated campaigner Clarence Darrow.

In this edition, The Retrospectors explore how classism intersected with blood-lust when it came to the public perception of the pair’s propsective punishment; explore how Nietzsche's concept of the Superman influenced their acts; and explain why their ill-conceived plan to extort ransom money failed so spectacularly…

Content Warning: Descriptions of Violence/Murder.

Further Reading:

• ‘Leopold and Loeb: 90 Years Later, Finding the Truth’ (CrimeReads, 2018): https://crimereads.com/leopold-and-loeb-90-years-later-finding-the-truth/

• ‘Leopold and Loeb's Criminal Minds’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2008): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/leopold-and-loebs-criminal-minds-996498/

• ‘Darrow’ (Atlantis Films, 1991): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQzN9mtvLvM

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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The viral phrase ‘OMG’ has a much longer history than you might think… first being recorded on 9th September, 1917, in a letter from Lord John Fisher, a 75-year-old retired admiral, to Winston Churchill. 

Fisher used it sarcastically, riffing on the idea of a new order of knighthood; playing off the similar-sounding "OM," the Order of Merit, which he himself had received. While his pun was witty, the abbreviation didn’t catch on at the time, and the acronym stayed buried in history until the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) uncovered it decades later, whilst preparing their 2011 edition.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how OMG resurfaced in 1994, in a soap opera message board; delve into a potted history of abbreviations, from Queen Victoria’s shorthand to Twitter; and reveal the meaning of another of Lord Fisher’s favourite phrases - "Buggin's Turn"… 

Further Reading:

• ‘The First Use of OMG Was in a 1917 Letter to Winston Churchill’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2012): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-first-use-of-omg-was-in-a-1917-letter-to-winston-churchill-145636383/

• ‘OMG: The creator of the abbreviation 'would have loved emojis'’ (BBC News, 2020): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-54893939

• ‘The Curious Origins of Popular Sayings’ (Hochelaga, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlin1W-qThs

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Rerun: Clarence Saunders opened the world’s first self-service supermarket, ‘Piggly Wiggly’, in Memphis, Tennessee on 6th September, 1916.

Calculating that the revenues gained through impulse purchases would outweigh those lost from shoplifting, Saunders’ concept forever changed the world of shopping for groceries - but his business acumen did not last.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review Saunders’ promotional hustles; weigh up the items in a shopping basket of the era; and reveal how ‘Piggly Wiggly’ (almost certainly) gained its distinctive name...

Further Reading:

• ‘The Untold Truth Of Piggly Wiggly’ (Mashed, 2021):

https://www.mashed.com/426197/the-untold-truth-of-piggly-wiggly/

• ‘America's First Supermarket at 100: How It Changed the World’ (Time, 2016): https://time.com/4480303/supermarkets-history/

• ‘Piggly Wiggly, the first true grocery store - Life in America’ (Recollection Road, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVvgAd_5vpo

'Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: Peter The Great levied a tax on facial hair on 5th September, 1698, requiring every man in Moscow to shave or stump up some cash - although there were exemptions for the Orthodox Church.

The hare-brained scheme occurred to the eccentric Peter on his expeditions through Europe, where he came to see clean chins as symbolic of progress and sophistication.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover Peter’s other ‘European rules of comportment’; convert the costs of Peter’s taxes into the highly-relatable metric of ‘sturgeon from North’; and reveal how a similar tax was proposed in New Jersey as recently as 1907… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Russia: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present’ (Mauricio Borrero, 2009):

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Russia/dhm0cGdrTOIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=beard+tax+1698&pg=PA83&printsec=frontcover

• ‘10 terrible taxes in history’ (HistoryExtra, 2018): https://www.historyextra.com/period/general-history/10-terrible-taxes/

• ‘Ten Minute History - Peter the Great and the Russian Empire’ (History Matters, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tBNr2gjAA0

Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When 90 Irish nobles, led by the Earl of Tyrconnell and the Earl of Tyrone, fled for Normandy in the dead of night on 4th September, 1607, their intentions were not entirely clear. 

Their escape, which became known as the ‘Flight of the Earls’, was mainly a bid for freedom from the tightening grip of English Protestant rule - but did they intend to return, securing support for a rebellion against England en route? Or simply seek refuge in Rome, amidst an increasingly impossible situation for Catholics after the Nine Years’ War?

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the slow deterioration of the Irish lords’ status - giving up their titles, language, religion and private armies - led to this moment; consider why other European nations were not keen to support their cause militarily; and explain how one of their progeny ended up in Eton after being abandoned in Ireland…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Flight of the Earls’ (History Today, 2007):

 https://www.historytoday.com/archive/flight-earls

• ’Rome to mark Flight of the Earls’ (The Irish Times, 2008): https://www.irishtimes.com/news/rome-to-mark-flight-of-the-earls-1.911911

• ’The Flight of the Earls - Dr Hiram Morgan’ (Hill of The O'Neill & Ranfurly House, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38QJXROmRVk

Love the show? Support us! 

Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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In today’s episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly look into the founding of the massive multinational e-commerce company eBay.

On the day it went live it was named AuctionWeb, and was just one project among many being built by its creator, Pierre Omidyar. In fact, a significant part of the site was dedicated to information about Ebola, which happened to be a pet interest of Omidyar.

In this episode, The Retrospectors put to bed the myth that eBay was short for “EbolaBay”; list all the things that you cannot sell on the site; and reveal Olly’s first ever eBay purchase…

Further Reading:

‘The Small-Scale Story Behind eBay's Big Bucks’ (Time magazine, 2015): https://time.com/4013672/ebay-founded-story/

‘25 years on since the birth of eBay, a true giant of modern computing’ (The National, 2020): https://www.thenational.scot/news/18693304.25-years-since-birth-ebay-true-giant-modern-computing/

‘eBay - How It Started’ (Company Man; 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkEorxAxFXo

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Millperra, a quiet suburb in southwest Sydney, is now best known for a tragic event that took place on 2nd September, 1984: a violent shootout between two biker gangs, the Comancheros and the Bandidos, which became known as the ‘Father’s Day Massacre’.

As 19 armed Comancheros ambushed the Bandidos in a car park during a motorcycle swap meet, the situation quickly spiralled out of control, with gunfire erupting and innocent bystanders, including an innocent 15 year-old girl, Leanne Walters, caught in the crossfire. The brutality of the event shocked the nation, with eyewitnesses describing a scene of unimaginable horror, with bikers and bystanders alike caught in a bloody battle.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain what Rule 4 of the gang - "No screwing another member's old lady" - had to do with the battle; marvel at the composure of the bikies who paused their fighting to go and get beers; and reveal what Jock Ross, the man at the centre of the conflict, went on to do next… 

Further Reading:

• ’The Milperra bikie massacre’ (Sydney Morning Herald, 1984): https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/from-the-archives-1984-the-milperra-bikie-massacre-20190826-p52kvb.html

• ‘Witnesses recall the Milperra massacre 30 years on’ (ABC News, 2014): https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-02/30th-anniversary-of-the-milperra-massacre-brings-back-bad-memor/5712522

• ‘The Father's Day Massacre: The worst bikie violence in the world’ (60 Minutes Australia, 2018): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6G38Lbrn9Q

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Rerun: After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviets and Americans agreed to install a ‘hot line’ between their Presidents. On 30th August, 1963, a 10,000 mile transatlantic Washington-Moscow cable went live from the Pentagon to Red Square.

In the public imagination (in part thanks to Kubrik’s ‘Dr Strangelove’), it remains a red telephone - but it is, in fact, a pair of beige teletype machines that each required ten staff to operate.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, prior to this, diplomacy was often being skipped altogether in favour of inflammatory radio broadcasts; consider what the messages the two nations send each other can tell us about their cultural differences; and marvel at just how much geopolitics hinges on whether two particular world leaders like each other… 

Further Reading:

• 'Hot line' between Washington and Moscow to be opened’ (The Guardian, 1963): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/31/hot-line-between-washington-and-moscow-1963-archive

• ‘There Never Was Such a Thing as a Red Phone in the White House’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2013):

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/there-never-was-such-a-thing-as-a-red-phone-in-the-white-house-1129598/?no-ist

• ‘History Of The Moscow-Washington ‘Red Phone’’ (NBC News, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR5Z8jYRyFo

Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

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When Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Reed Hastings and Mark Randolph registered the website that would become Netflix on 29th August, 1997, they named it ‘Kibble’ after a previous idea they had for a dogfood company. But their new concept - mailing DVDs out in the post - would become one of the big success stories of the dotcom era.

To test the model, they sent a Patsy Cline CD through the mail; within a year, they had 30 employees and a growing library of nearly 1,000 DVDs. 

Their first day saw them ship 137 DVDs, crashing their servers from unexpected demand. Despite the challenges, by 2005, they were mailing out a million DVDs a day, making Netflix a significant player in the DVD rental market - and positioning them perfectly to revolutionise the industry all over again with online streaming.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Blockbuster (the then-giant in movie rentals) turned down the opportunity to buy up Netflix for just $50 million; consider Hastings’ apocryphal origin story; and reveal how the founders created not one, but two game-changing TV companies… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Netflix: Did one late video really bring down Blockbuster empire?

 (News.com.au, 2020): https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/other-industries/true-story-behind-netflixs-rise-and-the-downfall-of-blockbuster/news-story/407f8f2305d2800125b3cc9329c48bc4

• ‘Netflix's 20th Anniversary Is Nice, But It Doesn't Matter’ (WIRED, 2017): https://www.wired.com/story/netflix-20th-anniversary/

• ‘Netflix ad’ (Netflix, 1998): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akWxRqObbEM

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Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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Larry Donovan made headlines by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge on 28th August, 1886: a daring feat that earned him the name of the ‘Champion Jumper of the World’ and a reputation for daredevil jumps that ultimately led to his early death.

Donovan, who worked for the Police Gazette, an early men's magazine filled with sensational stories, prepared for the jump via a mix of practicality and showmanship, deploying weighted shoes to maintain his posture during the fall and padded leggings for protection, but also a black derby hat for style. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover the 1880s meme for jumping off bridges; consider why Donovan never attracted the devoted following in Britain he had managed to achieve in America; and reveal how a drunken bet brought the story of this early viral star to a tragic end… 

CONTENT WARNING: reference to suicide, death by jumping

Further Reading:

• ‘Larry Donovan, 1880s Bridge Jumper, Lived Too Soon’ (Atlas Obscura, 2017): https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/larry-donovan-bridge-jumper

• ’Steve Brodie and the Brooklyn Bridge’ (ThoughtCo, 2017): https://www.thoughtco.com/steve-brodie-and-the-brooklyn-bridge-1773925

• ‘The Infamous Eiffel Tower Death Jump of 1912’ (Content Warning: Death) (Bailey James, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDUYPrKKM5M

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The awesome, brutal power of the Krakatoa eruption, which had the explosive force of a 200-megatonne bomb, killed more than 36,000 people and cooled the entire Earth by an average of 0.6°C.

Curiously, Krakatoa is not the most powerful volcanic eruption in history, but it is perhaps the most famous because it became one of the first global catastrophes, due in large part to the newly installed worldwide telegraphic network that allowed newspapers to broadcast news of the eruption all over the globe.

In this episode, The Retrospectors discuss how Krakatoa’s eruption may have inspired Edvard Munch’s The Scream; reveal why, instead of fleeing, locals held festivals when the volcano began to smoke; and explain why, if you are ever find yourself captaining a large ship during a tsunami, you may want to consider sailing towards the wave rather than away from it…

Further Reading:

‘Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded’ (Penguin, 2004): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Krakatoa/Qmz4HFv-IeoC?hl=en&gbpv=0

‘Krakatoa is still active, and we are not ready for the tsunamis another eruption would generate’ (The Conversation, 2020): https://theconversation.com/krakatoa-is-still-active-and-we-are-not-ready-for-the-tsunamis-another-eruption-would-generate-147250

‘Krakatoa: The Volcanic Eruption That Shook The World’ (Our World, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrFm3HtL8_M

Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it.

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer:

Ollie Peart

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: Howard Hawks’ film noir ‘The Big Sleep’ finally hit cinemas on 23rd August, 1946, after extra crowd-pleasing repartee had been inserted, featuring real life couple Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

But more flirtation meant less exposition - making the plot of the detective story notoriously difficult to follow, even to the extent that the filmmakers had to call author Raymond Chandler to ask him who had killed one of the characters. 

In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly explain why the Hays censorship code compounded an already confusing script; reveal William Faulkner’s left-field approach to WFH; and consider why - on the silver screen, anyway - women appeared to fall at Bogart’s feet…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Big Sleep: Proof That Plot Doesn’t Matter’ (Den of Geek, 2019): https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-big-sleep-proof-that-plot-doesn-t-matter/

• ‘Homosexuality and the Production Code –The Big Sleep’ (Sophie Hagberg, 2014): https://sophiehagbergscrn131.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/homosexuality-and-the-production-code-the-big-sleep-1946/

• ‘They’re Together Again!’ (Official Trailer, 1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-K49CUaeto

Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it.

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer:

Ollie Peart

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: The world’s first notable air raid occurred on 22nd August, 1849, when the Austrian Army attacked Venice using a fleet of 200 miniature hot air balloons, each delivering a 33lb pound bomb. 

Following a disastrous first attempt - when the balloons blew back on to their own men - this time the Austrians equipped each balloon with a long copper wire to trigger the detonation. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly weigh up if the event had a decisive effect on their recapture of the Italian city; consider the psychological impact of attacking from the skies; and reveal why a ‘drone’ is called a drone… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Bombs over Venice’ (History Today, 1958): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/bombs-over-venice

• ‘Drones in Society’ by Ron Bartsch, James Coyne and Katherine Gray (Taylor & Francis, 2016) : https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Drones_in_Society/7CglDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=1849+austrian+venice+balloon&pg=PA20&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Planehook Stories: The Siege of Venice’ (Droneport Texas): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQQhrd7_32w

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.

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

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Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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Winston Churchill had only been Prime Minister for three months when, on 20th August, 1940, he delivered ‘The Few’ - one of his most iconic speeches - in the House of Commons. 

Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how and why Churchill’s paean to the courage of RAF pilots during the Battle of Britain has been so well-remembered - albeit mainly for a quote that appears in the middle of a lengthy address: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”.

In this episode, The Retrospectors reveal why Churchill laboured for hours on his most famous speeches; consider how his pronouncements played a crucial role in boosting national morale; and explore how he himself transformed from a divisive figure to a unifying PM during this pivotal time in British history...

Thanks for supporting our show!

Further Reading:

• ‘The Few’ (International Churchill Society): https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1940-the-finest-hour/the-few/

• ‘8 Of Winston Churchill's Best Speeches – Chosen By His Grandson’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/churchills-greatest-speeches/

• ‘How Winston Churchill's Speeches helped to win WW2’ (Imperial War Museums, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3I_-5njblk

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A whopping 40,000 spectators gathered at Burkhart Hill in Dayton, Ohio, to witness the first-ever All American Soapbox Derby on August 19th, 1934. Hundreds of kids, aged 10 to 15, raced in homemade cars built from recycled materials and old pram and bike wheels, all powered solely by gravity. 

The event originated in 1933 when young William Condit and his friends were encouraged by his father to organise a race, which drew the attention of the Dayton Daily News. Myron Scott, a photographer for the paper, saw the potential for a larger event, leading to the first official race in 1934, with 362 children participating, creating a local sensation.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the sport snowballed into a national obsession; reveal that girls as well as boys played an early role in the contest; and explain how a cheating scandal in 1973 nearly saw the wheels come off....

Further Reading:

• ‘Myron E. Scott, 91, Ohioan Who Created Soap Box Derby’ (The New York Times, 1998): https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/08/sports/myron-e-scott-91-ohioan-who-created-soap-box-derby.html

• ’August 19, 1934 - The First All American Soap Box Derby’ (This Day In Automotive History, 2021): https://automotivehistory.org/first-all-american-soap-box-derby-race/

• ‘All American Soap Box Derby’ (1934): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiG5pzTmFR0

Love the show? Support us! 

Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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Rerun: Conjoined teenagers Chang and Eng Bunker began their world tour in Boston, Massachusetts on 16th August, 1829.

‘Discovered’ by Scotsman Robert Hunter in Siam (now Thailand), the boys inspired the term ‘Siamese Twins’, despite being ethnically Chinese.

Chang was a heavy drinker, and Eng was a teetotaller - yet they shared a liver. They had faced discrimination in the US, yet became slave-owning plantation owners in North Carolina. Then they married sisters - Sarah and Adelaide Yates.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the sexual side of the brothers’ relationship; explain how the ambiguity of their ethnicity enabled them to climb up through Southern society; and consider the merits of their ‘death cast’, now on display in a Philadelphia museum...

Further Reading:

• ‘The Death of Chang and Eng, Conjoined Twins Until the Last’ (Atlas Obscura, 2013):

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/morbid-monday-the-demise-of-chang-and-eng

• ‘How the original Siamese twins had 21 children by 2 sisters (Mail Online, 2014): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2825888/How-original-Siamese-twins-21-children-two-sisters-sharing-one-reinforced-bed.html

• ‘World Famous Conjoined Twins, Chang and Eng Bunker’ (Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWXoPrGAQMk

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: Camp Siegfried hosted a ‘Nazi Camp Fete’ for 40,000 attendees on 15th August, 1938. The Summer resort, on Yaphank, Long Island, was the epicentre of the German-American Bund: an organisation devoted to establishing a Nazi stronghold across the United States. 

Alongside campfire building and swimming lessons, young attendees were taught to emulate the Hitler Youth and host mini Nuremberg-style rallies. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how delegates were trained to anticipate a Nazi coup of the USA; consider why all the key players in the movement escaped serious criminal prosecution, even after the Second World War; and why events such as these were so casually reported, even in the New York Times… 

Further Reading:

• ‘New York's 1930s Nazi Summer Camp’ (Ripley’s, 2016): https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/nazi-summer-camp/

• ‘A New York Town in the 1930s Embraced Hitler and Nazi Germany’ (History Collection, 2017): https://historycollection.com/welcome-hitler-street-usa-pending/

• ‘Nazis on Long Island: The Story of Camp Siegfried’ (Museum of Jewish Heritage, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGJW1VQo1Ts

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Stanford Prison Experiment, created by Philip Zimbardo, began on 14th August, 1971.

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):

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/magazine/philip-zimbardo-thinks-we-all-can-be-evil.html

• ‘The Stanford Prison Experiment Was One of the Most Disturbing Studies Ever’ (Weird History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRR7CwdHxUE

Love the show? Support us! 

Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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The ‘mock’ battle of Manila took place on 13th August, 1898, when the Spanish Army attempted to save face by staging a low-impact fight with the Americans, handing over the territory of the Philippines without seeming weak.

The pseudo engagement aimed for a bloodless resolution, but unintentional shots fired from both sides disrupted the facade. However, the stratagem effectively terminated the Spanish-American war, 106 days after its commencement - and (temporarily) prevented Filipinos from regaining control of their nation.

In this episode, The Retrospectors expose the racism underpinning both side’s thinking; reveal what Mark Twain thought of U.S. expansionism; and explain why, due to events in Washington, the battle turned out to be entirely unnecessary… 

Further Reading:

• ‘The Spanish-American War in the Philippines and the Battle for Manila’ (PBS American Experience): https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/macarthur-spanish-american-war-philippines-and-battle-for-manila/

• ‘Struggle for Freedom - By Cecilio D. Duka (Rex Book Store, 2008): 

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Struggle_for_Freedom_2008_Ed/4wk8yqCEmJUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=mock+manila+1898&pg=PA164&printsec=frontcover

• ‘The Spanish-American War’ (NBC News Learn, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZMcRzvxTMg

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Isaac Singer's iteration of a mechanised sewing machine received US Patent Number 8294 on 12th August, 1851. 

By refining an existing design by Elias Howe, and improving it with a straight-line shuttle and straight needle, Singer’s prototype produced 900 stitches a minute, compared to 40 stitches by hand, drastically reducing the time it took to make garments; a beacon of efficiency that slashed production time from hours to mere minutes.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore the racier chapters of Singer’s private life; marvel at his Steve Jobs-level business acumen; and explain how he turned his initially business-to-business product into a hitherto unprecedented multinational corporation…

Further Reading:

• ’How Singer Won the Sewing Machine War’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2015): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-singer-won-sewing-machine-war-180955919/

• ‘Business: Red S’ (TIME, 1929): https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,737940,00.html

• ‘How the Sewing Machine Changed Daily Life’ (Henry Ford's Innovation Nation, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3kh2CDAccU

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: Black Rock - a 200-yard strip of pebbly beach in Brighton - was first set aside for naked bathers on 9th August, 1979. It came after a campaign by the Central Council For British Naturism, who had previously petitioned 140 local authorities.

When Conservative councillor Eileen Jakes responded positively to the call, she was accused of pandering to weirdos and perverts. Fellow councillor John Blackman said the beach would facilitate a "flagrant exhibition of mammary glands".

In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider whether the concerns about the beach concealed latent homophobia; compare their experiences of shedding their own clothes in public; and reveal which nations are most prone to getting naked...

Content warning: sexual references, crude comedy.

Further Reading:

• ‘Britain’s First Nudist Beach’ on BBC World Service ‘Witness History’ (2011):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p00j84cs

• ‘Gay Nude Beach in Brighton, England UK’ (Pink Planet, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4vlklRT-oI

• ‘Naked as nature - if not weather - intended’ (The Guardian, 2 April 1980): 

https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/apr/02/archive-1980-naturist-brighton-beach?INTCMP=SRCH

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Rerun: Abbey Road was a street known only to North Londoners until The Beatles posed on the zebra crossing outside EMI Studios on 8th August, 1969. Photographer Iain MacMillan took just six snaps, one of which graced the front cover of their penultimate album, ‘Abbey Road’.

The image became instantly iconic, partly due to the decision not to name the band or the album on the front of LP. It even spurred a conspiracy theory that claimed that Paul McCartney was dead, and being played by a lookalike, attested to his by bare feet and the number plate on the vehicle behind him.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the picture nearly didn’t happen in St John’s Wood at all, but in NEPAL; dive into the ‘Paul Is Dead’ conspiracy; and check out the live feed of hapless tourists approximating the picture… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Obituary: Iain MacMillan’ (The Independent, 2006): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/iain-macmillan-364645.html

• ‘Revisiting London's iconic album cover images’ (BBC News, 2008): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-43318498

• ‘Beatles fans flock to Abbey Road for 44th anniversary’ (Telegraph, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoVvSW-Qqmk

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. 

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

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The Addams Family debuted as a one-panel cartoon in The New Yorker on 6th August, 1938.

Created by Charles Addams, the family (who for decades were essentially archetypes, without character names) were a satirical inversion of the ideal postwar American middle-class nuclear family, delighting in the macabre, and seemingly unaware or unconcerned that other people find them bizarre or frightening.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Addamses finally got their TV names; consider the on-screen rivalry between their show and the similarly-themed The Munsters; and recall MC Hammer’s SEMINAL interpretation of their iconic theme tune…

Further Reading:

• ‘Charles Addams Cartoons Are Far Darker Than The Addams Family Films’ (Den of Geek, 2021): https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/charles-addams-cartoons-darker-than-the-addams-family/

• ‘Charles Addams’ (The New Yorker, 2010); https://www.newyorker.com/cartoons/bob-mankoff/charles-addams

• ‘The Addams Family: Wednesday Leaves Home’ (MGM, 1964): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxZgUp-E0fo&list=PLwwhtOnMyjuxQy81h7uJMCdsR-bS-uVaD&index=5

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Nationalist Party, was founded on 5th August, 1925, with a principal mission to revive the Welsh language.

Despite boasting a history of over 1,400 years - evolving from the Celtic language spoken by ancient Britons - Welsh was on the decline in the 20th century, following significant suppression dating back to the 1536 Act of Union that banned Welsh in legal and public spheres.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how protests over an RAF training camp in Gwynedd altered Plaid’s fortunes; discover the punishments dolled out to Victorian schoolchildren who dared to speak their native language; and - inevitably - have a crack at pronouncing Wales’s longest place-name…

Further Reading:

• ‘A Profile of Plaid Cymru - All you need to know’ (Politics.co.uk):

https://www.politics.co.uk/reference/plaid-cymru/

• ‘Why the Welsh language deserves respect not ridicule’ (Metro, 2021): https://metro.co.uk/2021/02/15/disrespect-for-the-welsh-language-in-the-uk-needs-to-stop-14048261/

• ‘Now You're Talking’ (S4C, 1990): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6anFdal3CgQ&list=PLt6NoCieiwOy9hr_tRT5b6Ag2nZcNtpJ3

Love the show? Support us! 

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 ❤️

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: William II, son of William The Conqueror, took a hunting trip to the New Forest on 2nd August, 1100 - and was shot dead by an arrow, which punctured his lung. 

But, whodunnit? Chroniclers laid the blame at the door of Walter Tirel, who quickly fled to France. But could it have really been fratricide, orchestrated by William’s younger brother Henry?

In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion weigh up the suspects; review William’s ‘addiction to sodomy’, and unearth other undignified Royal deaths from history...

Further Reading:

• ‘Horrible Histories’ do William’s death (BBC, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DalHBbf7f8

• William’s biography at Historic UK: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/William-Rufus/

• The Death of William II (Reading Museum, 2017): https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/blog/death-william-ii

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: Chubby Checker's "The Twist", the most popular single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, was released on 1st August, 1960.

It was just a cover version of a B-side which had already been released by its writer, Hank Ballard - but after it appeared on The Dick Clark Show, the world slowly became obsessed with the catchy tune and simple lyrics, and the suggestive dance that inspired it.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly tell the bizarre story of how Checker was selected to perform the version that sold millions of copies; revisit other 60’s dance crazes the turkey trot, bunny hug, and the grizzly bear; and explain how the song reached No.1 again two years later, thanks to a completely different audience getting hold of the trend… 

Further Reading:

• ‘The Twist: A Worldwide Dance Craze in the 1960s’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/the-twist-dance-craze-1779369

• ‘‘The Twist’ top song of Billboard Hot 100 era’ (NBC Today, 2008): https://www.today.com/popculture/twist-top-song-billboard-hot-100-era-1C9421254

• ‘Chubby Checker performs ‘The Twist’ & ‘Let's Twist Again’ on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’’ (CBS, 1961):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDGprGUreOc

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.

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 fueling 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

Love the show? Support us! 

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 ❤️

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The final episode of ‘Top Of The Pops’ aired on 30th July, 2006.

Co-hosted by necrophiliac paedophile Jimmy Savile, the BBC institution ended after 42 years with little fanfare and no live performances.

In this episode, The Retospectors consider whether TOTP could or should have survived longer into the 21st century; unpick what lay behind its enormous success in its 70s heyday; and get into a bit of argy-bargy about Snow Patrol’s ‘Chasing Cars’...

Further Reading:

• ‘Top of the Pops axed’ (The Guardian, 2006): https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jun/21/broadcasting.arts

• ‘BBC says fond farewell to Top of the Pops’ (BBC Press Office, 2006): https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/06_june/20/totp.shtml

• ‘Top of the Pops: The Final Countdown’ (BBC, 2006): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLS3HHDWOeU

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

King Louis Philippe unveiled an iconic Parisian monument, the Arc De Triomphe, on 29th July, 1836. But, due to fears of an attack, only 11 people attended the event - six of whom were soldiers. 

Originally commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 after his victory at Austerlitz, the Arc was inspired by the ancient Roman triumphal arches. But progress was slow. By 1810, only the base of the pillars was completed, leading to a makeshift wooden and canvas structure for his wedding procession. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the design evolved during some incredibly rocky decades of French history; discover how the wide boulevards around it ‘curbed’ further insurrections; and consider what would have become of London’s equivalent, Marble Arch, if it had passed through quite so much political upheaval… 

Further Reading:

• ‘History of the Arc de triomphe’ (Official Website): https://www.paris-arc-de-triomphe.fr/en/discover/history-of-the-arc-de-triomphe

• A Guide To Visiting Arc De Triomphe (& How To Get Inside) (MSN, 2023): https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/a-guide-to-visiting-arc-de-triomphe-how-to-get-inside/ar-AA1hMQBS

• ‘Paris' Arc de Triomphe wrapped in fabric 60 years later’ (CBS, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPQBeKOsphs

Love the show? Support us! 

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 ❤️

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: Linguist L. L. Zamenhof published ‘Dr. Esperanto's International Language’ on 26th July, 1887 - and in so doing launched Esperanto, the most popular ‘constructed language’ on Earth. Thanks to apps like Duolingo, there are still around 2 million esperantists today.

It was once even proposed as the official language of the incipient League of Nations - but shortly afterwards, many esperantists, including Zemenhoff’s own children, were murdered in the Holocaust. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn about Amikejo, the 3.5 sq km territory between the Netherlands, Germany and France where Esperanto nearly became the official language; revisit the 1966 horror film ‘Incubus’, starring William Shatner; and consider whether Duolingo has killed off the language conference hook-up scene...

Further Reading:

• ‘L.L. Zamenhof and the Shadow People’(The New Republic, 2009):

https://newrepublic.com/article/72110/ll-zamenhof-and-the-shadow-people

• Tim Morley’s Ted X talk on why primary school children should learn Esperanto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gSAkUOElsg

• ‘The bizarre story of a long-lost horror film made entirely in Esperanto, starring William Shatner’ (Quartz, 2017): https://qz.com/1035897/the-bizarre-story-of-a-long-lost-horror-film-made-entirely-in-esperanto-starring-william-shatner/

Por bonifiko materialo kaj subteni la montr, vizito Patreon.com/Retrospectors Ni ..os est malantaŭo morgaŭ! 

Sekvi nin kie ajn vi trovas, ke viaj podkastoj: podfollow.com/Retrospectors

La Retrospectors estas Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, kun Matt Monteto.

Temo Muziko: Pasi La Pizojn. Parolisto: Bob Ravelli. Grafika desegnado: Terry Saunders. Redakti Produktiston: Emma Corsham. Kopirajto: Rekonsider Aŭdio / Olly Mann 2024

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices