Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Wall Street bomb, outside JP Morgan’s headquarters, killed 38 people and seriously injured 143 more on 16th September, 1920. It was the biggest terror attack in New York City until 9/11. The blast shattered windows, overturned vehicles and sent fragments of metal and glass flying through nearby buildings. J.P. Morgan himself was safely on holiday in Scotland, but his son Junius Morgan was among those injured. Mostly, the victims were clerks, stenographers, messengers, and porters caught in the lunchtime rush.  Investigators reconstructed much of the bomb and questioned hundreds of witnesses, but crucial physical evidence was lost when the scene was cleared overnight. Suspicion quickly fell on Italian anarchists, but nobody was ever charged with the crime. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover the writings of Luigi Galleani, whose newspaper Cronaca Sovversiva advocated revolutionary violence; consider how the event fed into a wider climate of repression during the First Red Scare; and reveal where New Yorkers can still see the pockmarks left by the explosion more than a century later... Content Warning: bomb injury detail Further Reading: • ‘Wall Street bombing: New York's deadliest terror attack before 9/11 happened 100 years ago. No one was ever convicted’ (CBS News, 2020): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wall-street-bombing-new-york-terror-attack/ • ‘Wall Street Bombing 1920’ (FBI): https://www.fbi.gov/history/cases-and-criminals/wall-street-bombing-1920 • ‘New York Treasury Bombed AKA Bomb Outrage On Treasury In New York’ (British Pathé, 1920): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfGdXO6_X0Y #NewYork #Crime #Shocking #20s 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a symbol over 7,000 years old, the swastika had a long, diverse history before becoming the official flag of Nazi Germany on 15th September, 1935. It had been considered a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Odinism - and appeared on artifacts from pre-Christian European cultures.  It had even featured as part of U.S. Girl Scout iconography in the early 20th century. But when Adolf Hitler made it the symbol of the Nazi Party in 1920, its resonance altered forever. No longer an image of good luck and auspiciousness, it became synonymous with Nazi atrocities. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Hitler came to design this striking visual logo; reveal the surprising places the symbol pops up in, from the Carlsberg factory to Chelmsford Town Hall; and consider the wisdom of one man’s 21st century ‘Learn To Love The Swastika’ campaign…  Further Reading: • ‘The Man Who Brought the Swastika to Germany, and How the Nazis Stole It’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/man-who-brought-swastika-germany-and-how-nazis-stole-it-180962812/ • ‘How the world loved the swastika - until Hitler stole it’ (BBC News, 2014): https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29644591 • ‘History of the Swastika’ (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEkWXG_XTeg 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2023. #Nazis #WW2 #Design #Racism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kellogg’s launched their space-age convenience food, Pop-Tarts, on 14th September, 1964. In a cheeky bit of corporate one-upmanship, the cereals company had beaten their arch-rivals, Post, to supermarket shelves: Post’s product “Country Squares” was actually announced first, but couldn’t gain ground on Kellogg’s copycat product. Culturally, Pop-Tarts arrived at just the right moment. Women were working outside the home, households were busier, and convenience was becoming fashionable instead of shameful. Why crack eggs or even pour milk when you could shove something into the toaster and have a ready-to-eat treat? And, thanks to World War II ration-pack technology, Kellogg’s pastry stayed shelf-stable, foil-wrapped, and virtually indestructible. Parents loved the time-saver, kids loved the sugar, and advertisers loved the chance to blast psychedelic Pop-Tart ads across colour TVs. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover which four flavours were available at launch; consider the role of nostalgia in the durability of the brand; and explain why Pop-Tarts are the connoisseur’s choice for nuclear armageddon… Further Reading: • ‘The Contentious History of the Pop-Tart’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2024): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-contentious-history-of-the-pop-tart-180984270/ • ‘Post vs. Post: The Real-Life Breakfast Betrayal Behind ‘Unfrosted,’ Netflix’s Pop-Tarts Movie’ (Mental Floss, 2024): https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/unfrosted-movie-true-story-pop-tarts-invention • 'Milton The Toaster' (Kellogg’s, 1975): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L2nodU5pYY 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. #60s #Inventions #Food #Business Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

London cab driver George Smith became the first person ever arrested for drunk driving after slamming his cab into a building on 10th September, 1897. He was fined 20 shillings (around £130 in today's money) - but was not banned from the road. The vehicle he was driving only had a top speed of 12 mph, but, unfortunately for him, the building he crashed into was the home of celebrated actor Sir Henry Irving - which might be why he was the first person charged with a law that had technically been on the books since 1872. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the role of shame in declining drink-driving convictions; explain what the ‘Drunkometer’ was; and question whether Smith should be forgiven for his ‘Cheeky Thursday’...  Further Reading: • ‘First Drunk Driving Arrest’ (HISTORY, 2020): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-drunk-driving-arrest • Fifty Years Of Anti-Drink Driving Ads (Sky News, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW2dWqTkDBM • ‘14 of the most ridiculous and hilarious excuses heard in court for drink and drug driving’ (Somerset Live, 2019): https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/14-most-ridiculous-hilarious-excuses-3406709 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2021. #1800s #Person #Crime #Technology #Politics #UK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Friends’ spin-off ‘Joey’ premiered on NBC on 9th September, 2004. 18.6 million Americans tuned in to watch Matt LeBlanc’s next chapter as Joey Tribbiani, now relocated to Los Angeles, alongside his sister Gina and her teenage son Michael. But the audience steadily melted away, and NBC shunted the second season around before putting the show on hiatus, before cancelling it.  In today’s episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the delicate dance of trying to spin off a character from a massively successful ensemble comedy; discover that LeBlanc had not been executives’ first choice from the Friends cast to ‘do a Frasier’; and assess whether ‘Gunther and Janice’ would have made a more compelling sitcom…  Further Reading: • ‘'Joey' could use a hug’ (Los Angeles Times, 2004): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-09-wk-brown9-story.html • ‘Remembering 'Joey,' 15 Years After the Maligned 'Friends' Spinoff Ended’ (TV Insider, 2021): https://www.tvinsider.com/1010497/joey-friends-spinoff-what-went-wrong/ • ‘JOEY • Pilot’ (NBC, 2004): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7IciEO6kfw #TV #2000s #Mistakes #Hollywood 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The last known Tasmanian tiger to be held in captivity was found dead at Hobart’s Beaumaris zoo on 8th September, 1936. The critically endangered marsupial was accidentally locked out of its shelter overnight and succumbed to the frigid temperatures. With the animal’s death, a species that had once roamed across Australia for thousands of years went out with a whisper.    In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why 19th- and 20th-century Australians hunted Tasmanian tigers with such enthusiasm; explain why Thylacines had been in decline for about 3,500 years anyway; and look into how close scientists now are to bringing the “dog-headed pouched one” back from extinction…  Further Reading: • ‘The history of the Thylacine’ (The Zoological Society London, 2016): https://www.zsl.org/news-and-events/feature/history-of-the-thylacine  • ‘Tasmanian tiger: Remains of last thylacine found in cupboard after 85 years’ (BBC, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-63855426  • ‘Last of their kind: Caring for the Tasmanian Tiger collection’ (Museums Victoria; 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykb66UCOMOY&t=9s  • ‘Tasmanian Tiger in Colour’ (NFSA Films, 2022) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gt0X-27GXM  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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2023. #1930s #Nature #Australia #Sad  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

America’s first attempt at submarine warfare set sail - or rather, sank - off the coast of New York on 7th September, 1776. ‘The Turtle’ was the brainchild of David Bushnell, a former Yale student who built a wooden, barrel-shaped craft secretly equipped to drill a hole in a British warship, and attach an explosive charge. The vessel had ballast tanks, a hand-cranked propeller, and a snorkel for air - giving the operator about 30 minutes of breathing time. For lighting, candles were too risky, so Bushnell used glow-in-the-dark fungus, which, unfortunately, stopped glowing in cold water. When the mission came, the Turtle’s pilot, infantryman Ezra Lee, paddled out to attack HMS Eagle. After exhausting hand-cranking through tidal currents, he managed to reach the ship, only to hit reinforced copper when he tried drilling into its hull. With the fuse already burning, he had no choice but to release the mine into the harbour, and row like mad… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why this farcical flop was still seen by some as a psychological victory; reveal what George Washington made of the whole madcap enterprise; and marvel at how from such clumsy beginnings grew one of the world’s most fearsome naval technologies… Further Reading: • ‘David Bushnell’s Turtle: The World's First Submarine’ (Warfare History Network, 2006): https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/david-bushnells-turtle-the-worlds-first-submarine/ • ‘World’s first submarine attack | September 7, 1776’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/september-7/worlds-first-submarine-attack • ‘Meet the First Submarine Used in Combat’ (Science Channel, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZTqDjMwejo 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. #1700s #NewYork #Revolution #Military #Inventions 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 We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Posing as a sailor, with a borrowed ‘Protection Pass’ in his pocket, Frederick Douglass boarded a train from Baltimore to Philadelphia on 3rd September, 1838 - and escaped the slavery into which he had been born.  To formalise the process, he had to dodge slave-catchers, change his name and pay for his freedom. He then became an abolitionist, orator and public intellectual - and one of the most photographed men of the 19th century. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Douglass’s story continues to challenge many of our preconceptions about slavery; explain how he used writing and public appearances to combat racism; and reveal how Douglass’ story has a surprising connection to, of all places, Northamptonshire... Further Reading: • ‘Frederick Douglass’ Incredible Legacy, Told by Laurence Fishburne’ (History at Home, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsFNYW6EJi4 • ‘Frederick Douglass - Quotes, Narrative & Book’ (Biography, 2021): https://www.biography.com/activist/frederick-douglass • ‘Douglass in England - Frederick Douglass in Britain and Ireland’: http://frederickdouglassinbritain.com/journey/FDEngland/ 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2021. #1800s #Person #Black #US Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

West German amateur pilot Mathias Rust went on trial on 2nd September 1987. Three months earlier, the teenager had flown a rented Cessna 172 from Helsinki deep into Soviet airspace, eventually landing beside Moscow's Red Square.  His stated aim was a peace mission - he had wanted to meet Mikhail Gorbachev and make a dramatic statement about East-West relations. The Soviet court was unimpressed, charging him with illegal border-crossing, violating international flight regulations and hooliganism. Rust had become preoccupied with Cold War tensions and the failure of the Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Reykjavík, and decided that a spectacular flight from West to East might somehow demonstrate that the Soviet Union was open to peaceful engagement. He modified his Cessna with additional fuel capacity and told his parents he was simply going on a European flying trip. On 28th May, he took off from Helsinki, turned towards the USSR and disappeared into one of the world's most heavily defended airspaces. And then came an extraordinary sequence of lucky breaks. Soviet radar detected him, fighter aircraft were scrambled and the authorities knew that an unidentified aircraft had crossed the border - but the tiny Cessna was repeatedly mistaken for friendly or non-threatening aircraft. Rust eventually reached Moscow and circled Red Square looking for somewhere to land without hitting people. He finally touched down on the bridge beside the square and taxied towards the Kremlin, where astonished onlookers gathered around him. He even had time to chat and sign autographs before Soviet authorities took him into custody. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Rust’s defence that his motives were peaceful; appraise his intention to build an “imaginary bridge” between West and East; and marvel at his daredevilness, just six months after the Soviet Union had shot down a Korean Air Lines Flight, killing all aboard... Further Reading: • ‘Mathias Rust: German teenager who flew to Red Square’ (BBC News, 2012): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20609795 • ‘Target 8255: The Strangely Lucky Flight of Mathias Rust’ (Russian Life, 2005): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Russian_Life/vaQvNZF44XYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mathias+Rust&pg=RA4-SA2005-PA36&printsec=frontcover • ‘Kremlin Caper: Mathias Rust's Landing on Red Square | People & Politics’ (DW, 2012):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wue02Y0lS38&t=1s #Teens #80s #ColdWar #Russia #Strange  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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On 1st September 1997, as Britain was still reeling from Diana Princess of Wales’ untimely death, Elton John’s Candle in the Wind 1997 turned up on a shortlist of potential music to be performed at her funeral. The song, which had been reworked and rerecorded in just a few days, had originally been written about Marilyn Monroe. The original had been a moderate success, charting at Number 5 in the UK charts and 6 in the US. The 1997 update, meanwhile, which was released the day after the princess’s funeral stormed straight to the top of the UK and US singles charts – and did the same in countless countries around the world. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why people’s feelings about the song soured so swiftly; discuss which other song was being considered for funeral; and explain which lyrics from the original were thought to be too spicy to be included in the 1997 version… Further Reading: • ‘Slow Burn: How Elton John's "Candle in the Wind '97"—the Best-Selling Single in Music History—Became a Royal Relic’ (Mental Floss, 2022): https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/elton-john-candle-in-the-wind-97-princess-diana-tribute-song-history  • ‘Princess Diana: Palace did not want Sir Elton John to sing at her funeral, newly released papers show’ (Sky News, 2021): https://news.sky.com/story/princess-diana-palace-did-not-want-sir-elton-john-to-sing-at-her-funeral-newly-released-papers-show-12506086 • ‘How Elton John’s Candle in the Wind became the soundtrack of a nation’s grief’ (The Times, 2022) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/princess-diana-funeral-music-25-year-anniversary-fkf7380ph  • ‘Elton John - Candle in the Wind/Goodbye England's Rose (Live at Princess Diana's Funeral - 1997)’ (BBC; 1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o9rLDCfO6o  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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2023. #UK #1990s #Royals #Arts #Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Bank of Pennsylvania opened to discover that an astonishing $162,821 (around $3 million today) had vanished without a trace on 31st August, 1798. With no smashed windows, and no blown-apart safes, suspicion naturally fell on someone with inside knowledge. But Suspect #1 in America’s first bank robbery - Patrick Lyon, a highly respected blacksmith who had recently worked on the vault’s locks - was, in fact, completely innocent. He knew who he thought the culprits were, but his decision to head to the authorities and inform them turned out to be a tragic error... In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the yellow fever epidemic haunted Lyon throughout; consider the naivety of the true criminal, Isaac Davis, who attempted to deposit the stolen money into his own account; and reveal how Lyon used his eventual compensation to settle some scores… Further Reading: • ‘A Foolish Decision Made By America's First Bank Robber Led To His Confession’ (Grunge, 2022): https://www.grunge.com/892487/a-foolish-decision-made-by-americas-first-bank-robber-led-to-his-confession/ • ’The first major bank robbery in America happened in colonial Philadelphia and the wrong man was blamed’ (PhillyVoice, 2023): https://www.phillyvoice.com/first-bank-robbery-us-philly-carpenters-hall-patrick-lyon/ • ’The First Bank Robbery in the US Was Also the Stupidest’ (Andy J Lang, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/v-kXTgFpa7s Love the show? Support us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The British Museum Library registered the legal deposit of the first ever 'Ladybird Series' titles, from publishers Wills & Hepworth (later 'Ladybird') on 27th August, 1914.  The books - 'Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales' and 'Tiny Tots Travels' - didn't look at all like the classic Ladybird books we think of today - but were the beginning of a publishing legacy that changed children’s books forever. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how the classic Ladybird look - fashioned from one massive sheet of paper - was a response to World War Two; review how the publisher dealt with accusations of sexism and colour-blindness in the '70s; and explain the M.O.D.’s connection to one of the most valuable Ladybirds ever published… Thanks to Ladybird collector and historian Helen Day for helping us dig up this date from the archives! Discover more about Helen and her passion for Ladybird on her excellent website: https://ladybirdflyawayhome.com/so-whats-the-story-the-kitchen-table/ Further Reading: • ‘Ladybird Books at 100: The series that inspired millions of children to read’ (Daily Mirror, 2015): https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ladybird-books-100-series-inspired-5335319 • ‘Ladybird Books: The strange things we learned’ (BBC, 2015): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-30709937 • ‘The Ladybird Books Story’ (Little Car, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ED7o4mG0lM 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2021. #1910s #Arts #UK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The inspiration for Steven Spielberg movie ‘The Terminal’, Iranian refugee Mehran Karimi Nasseri, began his incredible 18-year stint inside Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport on 26th August 1988. With hopes of flying to Britain, he had found himself trapped in a bureaucratic no-man’s-land after travelling without documents.  Answering to ‘Sir Alfred’, he began to carve out a new personality for himself, living on a red bench surrounded by luggage, airport shops and the relentless rhythms of international travel. He washed in the terminal toilets, ate regularly at McDonald’s using vouchers given to him by airline staff, wore donated clothes and spent hours writing. He became perhaps the world’s most famous homeless man. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Nasseri eventually came to leave - and then return - to his airport home; uncover how his Hollywood money prevented him from accessing support services; and reveal the story of a Turkish citizen who, incredibly, appears to have beaten Sir Alfred’s record for airport residency…   Further Reading: • ‘’The Terminal Man’ lived in a Paris airport for 18 years. I’ll never forget the weeks I spent with him | France’ (The Guardian, 2022): 'https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/23/terminal-man-lived-in-paris-airport-18-years-ill-never-forget-weeks-with-him• 'Mehran Karimi Nasseri, Who Inspired ‘The Terminal,’ Dies in Paris Airport’ (The New York Times, 2022): https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/13/world/europe/mehran-karimi-nasseri-dead.html • 'He was arguably the world's best-known homeless person' (FRANCE 24 English, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbOBZ9JVR4Q #France #Strange #Person #Iran 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nissin Chikin Ramen (日清チキンラーメン), the first marketed brand of instant noodles, launched in Japan on 25th August, 1958. The product was created by Momofuku Ando, who developed the production method of flash frying noodles after they had been made, thereby drying them and extending their shelf life. His inspiration sprung from the food scarcity in Japan after the Second World War, and the Ministry of Health’s attempts to distribute unpopular U.S.-supplied bread. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how Ando’s invention became the world’s emergency supply, student essential, and even prison currency… Further Reading: • ‘How Momofuku Ando invented instant ramen — and transformed Japanese cuisine’ (Vox, 2015): https://www.vox.com/2015/3/5/8150929/momofuku-ando-ramen-instant-noodles • ‘Momofuku Ando & The Rise Of Ramen In Post-War Japan’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/momofuko-ando-noodles-ramen-history-postwar-japan/ • ‘How Instant Ramen Became An Instant Success’ (Insider Business, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASlx70G2x-c 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2023. #Food #Japan #50s #Inventions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Darryl McCray, better known as ‘Cornbread’, was honoured at the Graffiti Hall of Fame in Harlem on 24th August, 2013. But it was in 1960s Philadelphia that he’d made his name… by spraying it all over the city, becoming street art’s first serial ‘tagger’ in the process. Unlike gangs, who tagged to claim turf, the teenage Cornbread simply wanted to be noticed - and he was, declaring his love for a girl named Cynthia by writing “Cornbread Loves Cynthia” across the city, much to her parents’ horror. Cornbread’s antics grew ever more daring; he famously tagged an elephant at the zoo, and even the Jackson 5’s airplane, solidifying his reputation as the “Godfather of Graffiti.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why this new form of self-expression particularly appealed to Philadelphia’s disenfranchised Black youth; consider the influence of tagging on later movements such as hip-hop; and reveal how Cornbread got his name… Further Reading: • ‘CORNBREAD: The Graff Pioneer who Tagged an Elephant’ (Blankslaps, 2023): https://blankslaps.com/blogs/blog/cornbread-the-graff-pioneer-who-tagged-an-elephant • ‘First graffiti artist Cornbread shows new work at Philly gallery’ (WHYY, 2019): https://whyy.org/articles/cornbread-the-first-graffiti-artist-shows-new-work-at-philadelphia-gallery/ • ‘CORNBREAD Lives’ (Mass Appeal, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXz_5TJbXr0 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. 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 We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘This Is Us’ premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square on 20th August, 2013. 10,000 ‘Directioners’, some of whom had slept rough for three nights, were there to catch a glimpse of their favourite boyband. The documentary, directed by ‘Supersize Me’s Morgan Spurlock, went on to take $18m in its Labor Day opening weekend in the US - but failed to scale the heights of Justin Beiber’s effort, ‘Never Say Never’. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion unpick the secret of the boys’ success; explain why X Factor winner Matt Cardle was mysteriously disappeared from the movie; and reveal an unexpected connection between 1D and Osama Bin Laden...  Further Reading: • One Direction "This Is US" London Premiere Part 1 (Poveelive, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ_Kd4JC0ck • ‘This Is Us’ on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2515086/ • ‘Morgan Spurlock, Director Of ‘This Is Us,’ Explains Why He Cut One Direction’s Girlfriends Out Of Documentary’ (HuffPo, 2013): https://www.huffpost.com/entry/this-is-us-girlfriends-cut-morgan-spurlock_n_3839053 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2021. #2010s #Music #Film #UK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mohammad Mossadegh was overthrown in a coup backed by the CIA and MI6 on 19th August, 1953. He had nationalised Iran's oil industry, threatening the British stake in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP), fuelling American fears of the spread of Communism.  Britain initially responded with an economic blockade, and the Americans initially stayed out, but Cold War fears about Soviet influence eventually persuaded President Eisenhower's administration to get involved.  Following the coup, what had looked like a short-term victory for Britain and America became a much longer-term problem. The Shah’s increasingly authoritarian rule crushed political opposition, helping to create the conditions for the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which finally swept him from power and established the Islamic Republic.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the partisan press coverage of the time; explain the Brits’ ‘biscuit tin strategy’; and reveal how the CIA funded not just the revolution, but also convincing counter-demonstrations…  Further Reading: • ‘CIA-assisted coup overthrows government of Iran’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/August-19/cia-assisted-coup-overthrows-government-of-iran • ‘In declassified document, CIA acknowledges role in 1953 Iran coup’ (CNN Politics, 2013): https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/19/politics/cia-iran-1953-coup/ • ‘Before the Iran War: The Secret CIA Operation to Oust an Iranian Regime’ (PBS American Experience, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xceDBZeolIM #Iran #Revolution #50s #ColdWar 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen became the first person to observe helium, an element never before seen on Earth, on August 18th, 1868.  Janssen had been observing a total solar eclipse in Guntur, India when he noticed a bright yellow line with a wavelength of 587.49 nanometers in the spectrum of the chromosphere of the Sun. He initially assumed the line to be sodium, but, upon further investigating his hunch that it might be a new element, concluded he had stumbled upon something hitherto unknown. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly try their damndest to explain how Spectroscopy works; reveal which scientist first detected the presence of helium on Earth; and query the French Academy of Sciences’ impartiality when it came to attributing the discovery… Further Reading: • ‘How Scientists Discovered Helium, the First Alien Element, 150 Years Ago’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-scientists-discovered-helium-first-alien-element-1868-180970057/ • ‘The High-Flying, Death-Defying Discovery of Helium’ (Science History Institute, 2021): https://sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-high-flying-death-defying-discovery-of-helium/ • ‘Helium 101’ (National Geographic, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLUcO26Q7wE 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2023. #Science #Discoveries #France #India #1800s Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin patented the three-point seatbelt while working for Volvo, on 17th August 1959. Prior to that, cars only had lap belts - basically a single strap across your waist - if they were fitted at all. Volvo made the patent open to all manufacturers, which boosted global take-up, and enhanced their Safety First brand image. But manufacturers and governments alike were surprisingly hostile to seatbelts at first... Some car owners in the U.S. even had them removed, claiming they were uncomfortable or might trap them if the car caught fire or sank in water. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Australia led the way with mandatory seatbelt laws, while in Britain Margaret Thatcher and Michael Foot were both opposed; reveal which country has STILL not legislated nationally for compulsory seatbelts; and recall the terrifying impact of public service ads like the infamous “Julie” campaign… Further Reading: • ‘How Did Nils Bohlin Change the Auto Industry? (Inventor of the Three-Point Seatbelt)’ (The Collector, 2024): https://www.thecollector.com/inventor-nils-bohlin-change-auto-industry/ • ‘US3043625A - Safety belt’ (Google Patents): https://patents.google.com/patent/US3043625A/en • ‘How Do Seatbelts Work?’ (Real Engineering, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3ncfcGMo50 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. 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): • ‘The Stanford Prison Experiment Was One of the Most Disturbing Studies Ever’ (Weird History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRR7CwdHxUE We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

German circus performer Otto Witte went to his death-bed claiming he had been crowned King of Albania on 13th August, 1913 for a five-day reign which culminated with him being chased out of the country as an imposter. Generally believed to have been a fantasist who invented the story, Witte was humoured by the German authorities in his life-time, and his tombstone in Hamburg bears the inscription, ‘former King of Albania’. In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion explore the phenomenon of the German ‘originale’; uncover the legend of ‘Sausage Hans’ and ‘the slag monkey’; and reveal who inspired the story of Baron Munchausen…  Further Reading: • ‘The Man Who Was King’ (TIME, 1958): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,868723,00.html • ‘The legend of Otto Witte, the impostor King of Albania’ (The Balkanista, 2018): http://thebalkanista.com/2018/10/04/the-legend-of-otto-witte-the-impostor-king-of-albania/ • An enterprising man acts out the works of the Cologne 'originales' on German Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6lsche_Originale 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2021. #1910s #Person #Germany Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Ford Model T rolled into production on 12th August, 1908, still hand-assembled in much the same way as its rivals. But Henry Ford’s ambition for the car was bigger: to create a reliable, durable motor that ordinary Americans could realistically afford - a dream he later realised by deploying a moving assembly line.  Built from tough vanadium steel, the car could cope with the rutted, muddy roads of early 20th-century America better than many rivals. It had a 20-horsepower engine which was easy to maintain and could run on petrol, kerosene or ethanol, while a top speed of around 45 miles per hour. Adapted into a bewildering variety of body styles, it became everything from a family runabout to an ambulance, fire engine and military vehicle. By the time production ended in 1927, more than 15 million Model Ts had been sold.  In today's episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how Ford’s need for less skilled workers counterintuitively meant doubling his workers’ wages; explain how a trip to a slaughterhouse influenced his Detroit factory; and reveal why customers could have any colour - so long as it was black... Further Reading: • ‘Henry Ford - Case Study of an Innovator’ (The Henry Ford Museum, 2021): https://www.thehenryford.org/collections/explore/articles/henry-ford-case-study-of-an-innovator • ‘US bids farewell to era of Model T’: (Financial Times, 2008): https://www.ft.com/content/36fe2ac2-58f1-11dd-a093-000077b07658 • ‘Driving a Ford Model T Is a Lot Harder Than You'd Think! We Tried It’ (Bloomberg, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLMS_QtKamg #Motoring #Inventions #1900s #US 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Mall of America, in Bloomington, Minnesota, opened on 11th August, 1992, with more than 10,000 employees, 330 stores, and a Camp Snoopy theme park. With a gross area of 4.8 million square feet, the mall remains the largest in the United States; its roughly 40 million annual visitors equal to around eight times the population of the state of Minnesota. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the mall is heated, despite having no central heating system; explain how the modern American shopping mall was, bizarrely, derived from Victor Gruen’s socialist utopia; and consider how it overcame the ‘Megadeath’ label to become one of America’s top tourist attractions…  Further Reading: • ‘Why You Should Visit Mall of America for Its Experiences Over Shopping’ (Business Insider, 2022): https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-mall-of-america-experiences-better-than-shopping-minneapolis-2022-4?r=US&IR=T#away-from-the-big-attractions-that-make-it-unique-mall-of-america-just-felt-like-any-upscale-mall-35 • ‘The Unofficial Guide to Mall of America - By Beth Blair’ (Unofficial Guides, 2016): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Unofficial_Guide_to_Mall_of_America/U4wWDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=mall+of+america&pg=PA12&printsec=frontcover • ‘Mall of America Preview’ (WCCO 4 News, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PZcP4A5CkQ 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2023. #80s #US #Business #Fashion #Architecture Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The world’s most famous museum opened to the public for the very first time on 10th August, 1793: exactly one year after France abolished the monarchy. The Louvre, housed in a former royal palace, was redolent with symbolism: treasures once hidden behind the walls of kings and queens were now open to the people. The collection was already impressive: over 500 paintings, plus sculptures and decorative objects confiscated from the church and nobility. Visitors could finally see masterpieces by Raphael, Rubens, and Michelangelo - works they had only ever heard of. Over time, the Louvre’s collection grew dramatically, especially thanks to Napoleon, who “borrowed” treasures from across Europe and Egypt to fill its halls. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how the museum copes with the overwhelming number of tourists who only want to see the Mona Lisa; reveal why the museum wasn’t ‘complete’ until 1993; and recall possibly its most controversial addition - the glass pyramid entrance designed by I.M. Pei… Further Reading: • ‘The Louvre - The Many Lives of the World's Most Famous Museum, By James Gardner’ (Grove Press, 2020): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Louvre/oMfEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+louvre&printsec=frontcover • ‘Louvre Museum opens | August 10, 1793’ (HISTORY, 2010): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/August-10/louvre-museum-opens • ‘The Louvre: A Drone Tour of the World's Most Famous Museum’ *(Top Virtual Tours, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip3Hsz4fcVU 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. 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 We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Axe murderer William Kemler became the first person to be put to death by electric chair at Auburn Prison, New York on 6th August, 1890. It did not go smoothly. The first charge failed, and the second was abandoned only after two minutes. Despite the gruesome spectacle, Ohio soon became the second state to authorise death by electrocution. In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal the origins of the word ‘electrocution’, examine the underhand business practices of Thomas Edison; and review the most popular ‘final meal’ choices on Death Row... Content Warning: description of prolonged execution; botched hangings; suicidal thoughts; animal electrocution. Further Reading: • ‘Death and Money: The History of the Electric Chair’ (thoughtco, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/death-money-and-the-history-of-the-electric-chair-1991890 • ‘On This Day: The first execution by electric chair’ (HISTORY, 2010): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-execution-by-electric-chair • ‘How Does The Electric Chair Work?’ (The Infographics Show, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsPm3VfNoiE 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2021. #1800s #Inventions #Person #Crime #White #Macabre #US Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is an ad a legally binding contract? Judge Kimba Wood finally brought the curtain down on one of the strangest disputes to ever reach a courtroom on 5th August, 1999 - concluding that Pepsi's ‘Drink Pepsi, Get Stuff’ promotion had not, in fact, truly promised customers a Harrier jump jet in return for 7 million ‘Pepsi points’. Seattle student John Leonard had spotted that Pepsi's promotion allowed customers to buy additional Pepsi Points for 10 cents each, provided they submitted at least 15 genuine points. Backed by millionaire investor Todd Hoffman, he submitted a cheque for $700,008.50, claiming enough points to redeem the fighter jet. Pepsi refused, insisting the advert was clearly tongue-in-cheek, but the audacious stunt sparked a years-long legal battle. Pepsi emerged victorious, but many observers felt the company had missed a golden opportunity to embrace the joke and turn Leonard into part of their ‘Cola wars’ campaign, rather than fighting him in court. Instead, Pepsi quietly altered the advert, increasing the Harrier's price to 700 million points and adding the words "Just Kidding", and the Pentagon stepped in to confirm that Harrier jump jets were not available for private purchase. In today's episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the Simpsons episode that might have influenced Leonard’s thinking; consider whether Pepsi ultimately benefitted from the publicity; and discover just how much money Leonard turned down in a pre-court settlement... Further Reading: • ‘‘Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?’ - when Pepsi was sued and advertising changed forever’ (Content, 2022): https://www.marketingmag.com.au/news/pepsi-wheres-my-jet-when-pepsi-was-sued-and-advertising-changed-forever/ • ‘What Happened to John Leonard? Where the Man Who Sued Pepsi Is Now’ (Newsweek, 2022): https://www.newsweek.com/what-happened-john-leonard-sued-pepsi-wheres-my-jet-netflix-1760569 • ‘Harrier Jet Commercial 1’ (Pepsi, 1996): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdackF2H7Qc&t=1s #Legal #Strange #90s #Advertising #Business 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The public stocks in St Clement’s Dane’s parish (now Portugal Street in London’s Strand) were finally dismantled on 4th August, 1826. They had originally been mandated in 1351, to subjugate labourers demanding higher wages.  Not to be confused for pillories (which restrain both head and hands), stocks (which restrain only the feet) were used for lesser ‘crimes’, such as homosexuality, heresy, and drunkenness. The treatment of prisoners was essentially at the crowd’s discretion: at the minor end of the scale, humiliation, but, if rocks or bricks were thrown, sometimes fatality.  In this episode, Arion, Rebeca and Olly uncover celebrities-in-the-stocks Cardinal Wolsey and Daniel Defoe; explain why this medieval punishment was never formally abolished in Britain; and reveal the ecclesiastical purpose of ‘the finger stocks’...  Further Reading: • ‘Haydn's Dictionary of Dates Relating to All Ages and Nations’ (E. Moxon and Company, 1866): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Haydn_s_Dictionary_of_Dates_Relating_to/Aq9CAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=1826+stocks+removed+from+st+clement+danes&pg=PA690&printsec=frontcover • ‘The use of public corporal punishment up to the 19th century - Methods of punishment’ (BBC Bitesize): https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z938v9q/revision/3 • ‘What It Was Like to Be In the Stocks’ (Weird History, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6sUhH3SYrU 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2023. #London #Crime #Medieval #Victorian #Strange Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Virginia Woolf returned to her journal after a two-year hiatus on 3rd August, 1917. In the gap, she had suffered a major mental breakdown, attempted suicide, and been under intense medical supervision. Her rural retreat at Asheham in Sussex became both her sanctuary and a kind of nature-fueled therapy zone where she convalesced under a strict routine of “bed, walk, bed.” Woolf's diary captures everything—creative breakthroughs, emotional collapses, what she had for lunch, and who annoyed her that week - from mundane observations to reflections on depression and mortality. She compared her journaling to practicing musical scales, a creative warm-up: one day she’s raving about Eliot and fretting about Joyce, and the next she’s lamenting a lack of eggs. Through it all, we see a mind battling itself: sharp, self-aware, and constantly asking, what’s the point of all this? In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dig out some warts-and-all passages for scrutiny; explain how archivists literally had to stick certain bits back together again; and ask how Woolf would fare as a twenty-first century micro-blogger… Content Warning: suicide, clinical depression, eugenics. Further Reading: • ‘Virginia Woolf’s living book’ (New Statesman, 2023): https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2023/07/virginia-woolfs-diaries-review • ‘Discover the Bloomsbury Group's connection to Sussex’ (Great British Life, 2021): https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/sussex/22568606.discover-bloomsbury-groups-connection-sussex/ • ‘The Recorded Voice Of Virginia Woolf’ (BBC, 1937): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8czs8v6PuI 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. 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 fuelling the hysteria. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why it was often in the population’s financial interest to perpetuate the ‘blood libel’; consider how the legacy of ‘Little Hugh’ has morphed into modern conspiracy theories like QAnon; and reveal how one enterprising Lincoln resident tried to cash in on Little Hugh tourism in the 1920s… Further Reading: • ‘Religion: The Legend of Little Hugh’ (TIME, 1959) https://time.com/archive/6827883/religion-the-legend-of-little-hugh/ • ‘Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln revisited | Bat-Zion Susskind-Sacks’ (Times Of Israel, 2016): https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/little-saint-hugh-of-lincoln-revisited/ • ‘780. Little Sir Hugh (Child 155) - (Traditional)’ (Raymond Crooke, 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXUL3h5Q5lY We'll be back on Monday - unless you join🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ‘Cool Britannia’ party - held at 10 Downing Street on 30th July, 1997 - quickly became one of the most iconic events of the New Labour era. Celebrities including Helen Mirren, Eddie Izzard and Lenny Henry were invited to Britain’s seat of power to sup champagne with Tony Blair, the youngest Prime Minister since 1812. The defining image of the night was a photo of Blair chuckling away with rockstar Noel Gallagher. The Oasis singer defended his attendance (“because I’m from Burnage, and me mam would kill me if I turned down the chance to go to Downing Street. Wouldn’t yours?”), but later claimed to have snorted coke off the Queen’s lavatory whilst there. In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal the surprising origins of the phrase ‘Cool Britannia’ (spoiler: the Tories did it first); ask whether popstar-politician collabs are ALWAYS ultimately disastrous; and consider whether the lukewarm reaction to David Cameron’s subsequent showbiz party might yet be considered a success for the Conservatives... Further Reading: • Footage from the party (Associated Press, 1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDa__W1_gcg • ‘Cool Britannia: where did it all go wrong?’ (New Statesman, 2017): https://www.newstatesman.com/1997/2017/05/cool-britannia-where-did-it-all-go-wrong • ‘David Cameron revisits Cool Britannia (with Michael McIntyre and Cilla Black)’, (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/30/david-cameron-a-listers-cool-britannia-party 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2021. #90s #Music #Politics #Funny #UK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring reached British bookshops on 29th July 1954, there was little sign it would become one of the most influential novels of the century.  Britain was only just emerging from post-war austerity, food rationing had ended only weeks before, and Tolkien's hefty, 21-shilling fantasy - complete with a fold-out map of Middle-earth - looked unlike anything else on the shelves. Much of what made the novel distinctive came from Tolkien's day job. As an Oxford professor of Old and Middle English, he drew on medieval literature, mythology and philology to create not just a story, but entire languages, histories and cultures.  The book might never have appeared at all without the enthusiasm of Rayner Unwin, who had championed The Hobbit as a ten-year-old reader and, nearly two decades later, persuaded his father's publishing house to back its far more ambitious successor. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the manuscript lingers as much over songs, meals and conversation as much as it does battles and quests; uncover the contemporary critical reaction to the Lord of the Rings trilogy; and reveal just how much an early edition of the masterpiece is now worth… Further Reading: • ‘Behind the Best Sellers: J. R. R. Tolkien’ (The New York Times, 1977): https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/02/archives/behind-the-best-sellers-jrr-tolkien.html • ‘The Fellowship of the Ring reviewed: ‘epic romance’’ (The Guardian, 1954): https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/aug/20/the-fellowship-of-the-ring-review-tolkien-1954 • ‘J. R. R. Tolkien. The Complete Lord Of The Rings, First Editions’ (Peter Harrington Books, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_Z3og0AefY #Books #1950s #Publishing #UK 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 200 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Independent horror film ‘White Zombie’, starring Bela Lugosi, premiered in New York City’s Rivoli Theatre on July 28th, 1932. It marked the first time that zombies had featured in a Hollywood picture - albeit as the result of an evil voodoo master in Haiti rather than a condition passed on through bites, as in later zombie screenplays. Large portions of the film were shot on the Universal Studios lot, borrowing props and scenery from other horror films of the era, with an ultra-low budget of just $50,000. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Lugosi went from Hungarian Shakespeare star to Tinseltown villain; unpick the racism at the heart of the story; and consider why zombies have proven to be such a resilient horror movie staple….  Further Reading: • ‘Hollywood Flashback: Bela Lugosi Introduced the World to Zombies in 1932’ (The Hollywood Reporter, 2021): https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/bela-lugosi-white-zombies-1234954832/ • ‘White Zombie - Anatomy of a Horror Film, By Gary D. Rhodes’ (McFarland, 2001): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/White_Zombie/oHApAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=white+zombie+lugosi&printsec=frontcover • ‘White Zombie’ (dir. Victor Halperin, 1932): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV3B2z0HkKA 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2023. #Film #30s #Hollywood #Macabre #Racism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Warner Brothers’ biggest animated star, Bugs Bunny, made his cartoon debut on July 27th, 1940, in A Wild Hare - though, at the time, he didn’t officially have a name… Though previous versions of the ‘wabbit had appeared in earlier Looney Tunes shorts, this incarnation - directed by Tex Avery - solidified his iconic look, voice, and attitude, including his now-legendary catchphrase, “What’s up, Doc?”; the phrase itself a casual Texas idiom Avery had grown up with, but which immediately resonated with audiences, turning Bugs into a breakout star. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Mel Blanc’s iconic voice performance was achieved, thanks to a handy spittoon; explain how America’s involvement in World War Two increased the popularity of the character; and take a tour into the scrappy, underdog animation studio overseen by Leon Schlesinger… Further Reading: • ‘Happy 75th, Bugs Bunny: How animation’s first great brain-trust created a legend’ (The Washington Post, 2015): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/07/27/happy-75th-bugs-bunny-how-animations-1st-great-brain-trust-created-a-legend/ • ‘7 Secrets About Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck From the Man Who’s Voiced Them for 35 Years’ (Cracked, 2024): https://www.cracked.com/article_43177_7-secrets-about-bugs-bunny-and-daffy-duck-from-the-man-whos-voiced-them-for-35-years.html • ‘A Wild Hare : Bugs Bunny’s Death Trick Scene’ (Warner Bros, 1940): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mvsx3bDw04 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

American professor Hiram Bingham "discovered" Machu Picchu on 24th July, 1911 - though he initially misidentified it as Vilcabamba, the last stronghold of the Inca civilization during the Spanish conquest. Unlike Vilcabamba, Machu Picchu was built at the peak of the Inca Empire's glory. Believed to have been a winter retreat for the Inca elite, its exact purpose remains a mystery due to that civilisation’s lack of written records. Situated 2,430 metres above sea level, the site features remarkable stone structures that have withstood earthquakes due to their precise construction without mortar.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Bingham got the funds to explore Peru so doggedly; consider whether Speilberg and Lucas were directly inspired by his escapades to create Indiana Jones; and explain how he went on to earn the nickname "The Flying Senator"... Further Reading: • ‘Who Discovered Machu Picchu?’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2009): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-discovered-machu-picchu-52654657/ • ‘Hiram Bingham And The Rediscovery of Machu Picchu’ (HistoryExtra, 2023): https://www.historyextra.com/period/early-modern/machu-picchu-inca-city-history/ • ‘Machu Picchu 101’ (National Geographic, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnMa-Sm9H4k We'll be back on Monday - unless you join CLUB RETROSPECTORS, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Concerned that it was too London-centric, the BBC commissioned a series of pop-up outside broadcasts for its youth music station Radio 1, kicking off modestly in Newquay on 23rd July, 1973. The events exploded in popularity, and spawned an annual tour of bucket-and-spade Britain, becoming the iconic ‘Radio 1 Roadshow’. Despite the concerts pulling in massive crowds - and radio audiences of around 15 million - the events struggled to attract credible music artists, who didn’t want to be seen rubbing shoulders with popsters like the Wombles and the Bay City Rollers. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how Steve Wright came to ‘give away’ his son in a late-night escapade, reveal ‘the shorts rule’ imposed on the network’s presenters, and applaud the entrepreneurship of ‘Smiley Miley’, the roadie who wangled the rights to sell the merch…  Further Reading: • Peter Powell hosts the Radio 1 Roadshow, 1982: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El-fuGW9DfQ • A compilation of archive Radio 1 footage from the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06w9txp • ‘The Happy Sound’ - a history of the Roadshow at Radio Rewind: https://www.radiorewind.co.uk/radio1/roadshow.htm 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2021. #70s #Inventions #Arts #Music #Technology #UK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pablo Escobar dramatically escaped from La Catedral (aka ‘Hotel Escobar’, his luxurious prison compound) on 22nd July, 1992.  The drugs lord had surrendered the previous year under an extraordinary deal that allowed him to avoid extradition to the United States by serving his sentence in a bling hilltop retreat, complete with recreational facilities, fine food and contact with the outside world. But the arrangement quickly became an embarrassment for the Colombian government once it became clear that Escobar had continued to direct the international cocaine trade from inside the facility. Matters came to a head after he had several associates murdered, prompting the authorities to transfer him to a conventional military jail. But, before they could do so, Escobar slipped away, disappearing into the mountains surrounding Medellín… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the cartel leader’s complicated public image in Columbia; discover how security forces eventually tracked and killed him; and reveal just how much money this legendary figure was making at the peak of his empire.  Further Reading: • ‘La Catedral: The Luxury Prison Pablo Escobar Built For Himself’ (All That’s Interesting, 2026): https://allthatsinteresting.com/la-catedral • ‘Escobar escape humiliates Colombian leaders | Colombia’ (The Guardian, 1992): https://www.theguardian.com/world/1992/jul/24/colombia.fromthearchive • ‘Pablo Escobar Escapes from Prison’ (NBC News, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vmlUuOw2kE 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The fire that destroyed the second Temple of Artemis - one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world - was supposedly set on the day Alexander the Great was born: 21st July, 356 BC. The story goes that the arsonist, Herosratus, was simply seeking notoriety. Herostratus was captured and tortured on the rack, where he confessed to having committed the arson in an attempt to immortalize his name. To dissuade those of similar intentions, the Ephesian authorities not only executed Herostratus, but attempted to condemn him to a legacy of obscurity by forbidding mention of his name under penalty of death. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider herostratic fame as a live issue when it comes to school shooters and terrorists; take a peek round the ancient Temple to see if it would have been worth a trip; and consider whether its successors deserved their places in the subsequent ‘Seven Wonders’ lists…  Further Reading: • ‘21 July: On this day in history’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/on-this-day/21-july-on-this-day-in-history/ • ‘Monumental Fury - The History of Iconoclasm and the Future of Our Past - By Matthew Fraser’ (Prometheus, 2022): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Monumental_Fury/FVV-EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=herostratus&pg=PA35&printsec=frontcover • ‘The Temple of Artemis and Herostratus | Legendary Wonder of the Ancient World Destroyed!’ (Because It’s Interesting, 2019):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pnGjfPvN58 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2023. #Turkey #Greece #Crime #Person #BC #Strange Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg tried to kill Hitler with a suitcase bomb on 20th July, 1944. He failed. The plan — bold, desperate, and nearly successful — was part of Operation Valkyrie, a broader scheme to take control of Germany after Hitler's death and steer the country away from what many military officers feared was total destruction. The near-success hinged on a moment of unfortunate timing and misplaced luggage. Stauffenberg, who had lost an eye, a hand, and fingers in earlier combat, struggled to arm both bombs due to his injuries. He managed just one, planted it near Hitler, and scarpered. But then Lt. Colonel Heinz Brandt, unaware of what lay inside the suitcase, moved it to the far side of a thick oak table leg — shielding Hitler from the worst of the blast. The explosion still left the Führer bruised and temporarily deaf, but alive. And so the plan unraveled. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how news of the plot triggered simultaneous action across Europe; track Hitler’s swift and horrific vengeance against those involved in the putsch; and consider THE great armchair philosophical quandary: would you go back in time and kill Hitler…? Content Warning: includes graphic description of executions. Further Reading: • ‘Claus Von Stauffenberg & Operation Valkyrie | The Plot To Kill Hitler’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/should-we-be-glad-the-plot-to-kill-hitler-failed/ • ‘Why Operation Valkyrie—the July Plot to Kill Hitler—Failed’ (TIME, 2019): https://time.com/5629999/operation-valkyrie-july-plot/ • ‘The Wolf's Lair: Hitler's Hidden Hideout | WWII: Secrets From Above’ (National Geographic UK, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_17EPzfkDs 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Punch Magazine published its first edition on 17th July, 1841. Subtitled ‘the London Charivari’, the weekly periodical aimed to carve a niche in the market with less crude and bawdy satire compared to its contemporaries.  Its early days were challenging, with poor circulation and financial troubles. But, as it gained in popularity and influence, it contributed the modern use of the word "cartoon" to the English language - alongside some excellent examples of the form, thanks in large part to illustrator John Leech - before its downfall in the second half of the twentieth century. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Punch innovated the idea of the Christmas annual; explore how they gave big breaks to the likes of John Betjeman, Sylvia Plath, and P.G. Wodehouse; and discover Mohammed Al-Fayed’s attempts to turn the publication’s fortunes around…  Further Reading: • ‘The first issue of Punch’ (History Today, 2016): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/first-issue-punch • ‘About Punch Magazine’ (PUNCH Magazine Cartoon Archive): https://magazine.punch.co.uk/about/index • ’Punch Magazine’ (British Pathé, 1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ACJhyygIxU We'll be back on Monday - unless you join CLUB RETROSPECTORS, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kissing was a big deal in the Middle Ages: for signing contracts, for greeting colleagues, and for showing deference to the King - a tradition that ended on 16th July, 1439, when Henry VI issued a decree imploring his citizens to stop kissing his ring. Some 400 years before the modern concepts of hygiene and germs had been scientifically established, the 18 year-old monarch clearly had an instinct that clamping down on kissing might stop the spread of the bubonic plague - a deadly disease that had been rampant for 100 years. In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca explain why one village soaked their supplies in vinegar; reveal how to write a letter to the King (with appropriate levels of flattery); and consider the merits of banning bearded men from handling milk…  Further Reading: • BBC profile of Henry VI: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/henry_vi_king.shtml • ‘Here ye, here ye: No more smoochies!’ (History Daily, 2020): https://historydaily.org/kissing-ban-england-response-black-plague-1439 • ‘What Made The Black Death So Deadly?’ (The Infographics Show, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5q-PIN3KSE 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2021. #1400s #Royals #Discoveries #White #UK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The inventor of margarine, French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès, patented his butter substitute on 15th July, 1869. Inspired by a competition launched by Emperor Napoleon III to find a cheaper, longer-lasting alternative to butter for the French Navy, Mège-Mouriès called his creation ‘oléomargarine’. It combined purified beef fat with milk and water to create a spread that was more stable than butter and less likely to spoil. The patent rights were eventually sold to Dutch manufacturers, eventually leading to Unilever evolving the spread into one of the world's biggest consumer products. As it spread across North America, dairy farmers saw it as a serious threat, leading to the so-called "Butter Wars" bans. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how margarine kick-started a fad for lab-grown foods which continues to this day; ask why posh restaurants never seem to make their own; and reveal why Wisconsin didn’t legalise it until 1967…  Further Reading: • ‘Spread it around. Just don't mention it’ (The Washington Post, 2010): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2010/09/29/spread-it-around-just-dont-mention-it/66f52152-caa2-11df-8eee-2e1a26a3708e/ • ‘Hippolyte Mege-Mouries: A brief history of the bootleg margarine trade’ (Slate, 2013): https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2013/03/hippolyte-mege-mouries-a-brief-history-of-the-bootleg-margarine-trade.html • ‘Watch how easy it is to make homemade margarine!’ (News24, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFm2aCP_wx0 #Food #Inventions #France #1800s 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dynamite was invented by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, who demonstrated it in Britain for the first time on 14th July, 1867. He had discovered that when nitroglycerin, an explosive liquid, was absorbed by kieselguhr, a porous siliceous earth, it produced a solid that was resistant to shock but readily detonable by heat or percussion, making it safer to handle. Nobel named his invention “dynamite” after the Greek word “dynamis,” meaning "power". His invention revolutionized the construction industry and made possible many engineering feats such as the construction of canals, tunnels, and roads, and also had a significant impact on mining, quarrying, and demolition operations. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore the ‘obituary’ legend that supposedly explained Nobel’s creation of the Nobel Prizes; uncover the extraordinary approach the Swede took to health and safety in his factories; and reveal how staggeringly little it cost to buy a stick of dynamite in New York City in 1910…  Further Reading: • ‘How Dynamite Spawned the Nobel Prizes’ (McGill University, 2021): https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/history/how-dynamite-spawned-nobel-prizes • ‘This week in science history - The first demonstration of dynamite’ (The Naked Scientists, 2009): https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/week-science-history-first-demonstration-dynamite • ‘Alfred Nobel: From Dynamite to the Nobel Peace Prize’ (Nobel Peace Center, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diaUxeVsg-4 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2023. #Science #Discoveries #Sweden #1800s Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Designed as a temporary billboard for a luxury housing development, the iconic ‘Hollywood’ sign (originally spelling out ‘Hollywoodland’) was dedicated on July 13th, 1923. It was intended to last 18 months. Over a century later, it remains. Erected at cost of $21,000—about $360,000 today—and lit by 4,000 bulbs that flashed dramatically in segments (“Holly,” then “Wood,” then “Land,”), the sign fell into disrepair by the late 1970s - when an unlikely alliance of Hugh Hefner and Alice Cooper came to the rescue… In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca trace the rise of the Los Angeles suburbs from citrus groves to a filmmaking mecca; unearth the singular, diligent German immigrant who was responsible for the sign’s upkeep; and consider the glorious successor the iconic signed spawned: in Basildon… Further Reading: • ‘The Hidden History of the Hollywood Sign’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2023): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-hidden-history-of-the-hollywood-sign-180982518/ • ‘As the Hollywood sign turns 100, Los Angeles is in no mood to party’ (The Washington Post, 2023): https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/11/02/hollywood-sign-los-angeles-100-years/ • ‘Archive aerial footage shows Hollywoodland sign in 1930’ (Mail Online, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lixq_XtJnww 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Scopes Monkey Trial - one of the most famous show trials in U.S. history - began in Dayton, Tennessee on 10th July, 1925.  Though it centred on John T. Scopes - a high school teacher put on trial for teaching evolution - he was actually a substitute teacher who may never have really taught the textbook concerned, and had put himself in the frame to test the Butler Act, a Tennessee law prohibiting the teaching of any theory that contradicted the biblical account of creation. The trial transformed Dayton into a chaotic carnival. Spectators and journalists from around the world flocked to the small town, which became a hub of street preachers, revival tents, and vendors selling Bibles and toy monkeys.  Both sides of the trial brought in heavyweights: William Jennings Bryan, renowned fundamentalist and three-time presidential candidate, volunteered to assist the prosecution, while the famous defence attorney Clarence Darrow, took up Scopes' defence.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the trial came to be heard out on the courthouse lawn; explain what happened to Scopes after receiving his sentence; and reveal which real-life monkeys were harmed in the making of the trial…  Further Reading: • ‘Scopes Monkey Trial: The Historic Trial That Began 90 Years Ago’ (TIME, 2015): https://time.com/3952775/scopes-monkey-trial-1925/ • ‘Timeline: Remembering the Scopes Monkey Trial’ (NPR, 2005): https://www.npr.org/2005/07/05/4723956/timeline-remembering-the-scopes-monkey-trial • ’Inherit the Wind’ (MGM, 1960): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtNdYsoool8 We'll be back on Monday - unless you join CLUB RETROSPECTORS, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the BBC’s biggest-ever flops, soap opera ‘Eldorado’, broadcast its final episode on 9th July, 1993 - just one year after it had begun, at a reported cost of £10 million. Focussing on the glamorous lives of British expats - fusing the elements of ‘EastEnders’ and ‘Neighbours’ - it had seemed destined to be a sure-fire hit. So, a large permanent set for the fictional town of Los Barcos was built from scratch in the Costa Del Sol. These days it is used for paint-balling. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion unearth Rupert Murdoch’s alleged attempts to sabotage the soap; consider whether it was actually rather more successful an enterprise than it was given credit for at the time; and reveal which cancelled TV shows they’d resurrect, if only they could... Further Reading: • The final scene and closing credits of ‘Eldorado’ (BBC, 1993): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TfR15KgC6w • ‘Sun, sea and subtitles - how Eldorado became TV's biggest flop’ (The Guardian, 2018): https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jul/09/eldorado-bbc-one-soap-opera • Los Barcos - the Unofficial Eldorado Website: http://www.losbarcos.org.uk/ 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 ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2021. #90s #TV #Person #UK  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices