Episodi

  • When 'Grease' Was The Word

    When 'Grease' Was The Word

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    Rerun: Edgy, gritty and sexy, the Broadway production of ‘Grease’ opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on 7th June, 1972, beginning what would become a record-breaking eight-year run. 
    Despite NOT featuring some of the most well-known hits from the movie - including ‘Grease Is The Word’, ‘You’re The One That I Want’ and ‘Hopelessly Devoted To You’ - the production attracted an unusually high proportion of blue-collar audiences, keen to see working-class and ethnic immigrant subculture portrayed in a musical.
    In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the origin of the word ‘greasers’, explain why ‘50s nostalgia played little part in the original success of the show, and consider whether the Grease Megamix is an appropriate choice for 10 year olds to sing at a Summer Ball…
    Further Reading:
    • The Playbill from the original production:
    https://www.playbill.com/article/playbill-archives-grease-1972-com-143094
    • ‘It’s The Longest-Running Show on Broadway’ - a 1970s TV commercial for the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phxb5K7jUUw
    • The original dialogue from ‘Grease’ c/o New Line Theatre:
    http://www.newlinetheatre.com/grease-dialogue.html
    ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’
    Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 
    … But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • It's Fun To Found The YMCA

    It's Fun To Found The YMCA

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    Rerun: George Williams, 22, created the Young Men’s Christian Association to provide somewhere for London’s young men to escape the vices and stress of rapid urbanization (translation: get yourself clean, hang out with all the boys). The group’s first meeting was above a draper’s shop in St Paul’s on 6th June, 1844.The mission aligned perfectly with the burgeoning movement for ‘muscular Christianity’, and before long, multiple groups were sprouting all over Europe, and then the United States - where YMCA affiliates invented body-building, volleyball and basketball. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the YMCA then became associated with cruising; reveal how the Village People got together; and consider what George Williams had in common with Milton S. Hershey… Further Reading:• ‘15 Things You Might Not Know About the YMCA’ (Mental Floss, 2018): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/57095/facts-about-the-ymca• ‘#DidYaKnow? For 50+ Years the YMCA & Most Schools REQUIRED Males to Swim Naked!?’ (World of Wonder, 2021): https://worldofwonder.net/didyaknow-for-50-years-the-ymca-most-schools-required-males-to-swim-naked/• ‘Village People - YMCA’ (1978): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9OO0S5w2k‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… … But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  • When Lovelace Met Babbage

    When Lovelace Met Babbage

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    When Lord Byron’s 17 year-old daughter, Ada Lovelace, attended a soirée at the home of academic Charles Babbage on 5th June, 1833, the pair hit it off immediately. He invited her to see his ‘Difference Engine’ - an early mechanical calculator - kicking off a correspondence that lasted throughout her life.Their lively, intellectual correspondence, and Ada's deep understanding of mathematics and science, lead to her championing of Babbage’s ‘Analytical Engine’, a groundbreaking proto personal computer for which Ada even wrote an algorithm.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly debate whether Ada deserves her 21st century acclaim as the godmother of computer programming; expose her extramarital affairs and gambling habit; and consider whether Babbage himself even fully understood the applications for what he had invented…Further Reading:• ‘Charles Babbage’s Difference Engines and the Science Museum’ (Science Museum, 2023): https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-difference-engines-and-science-museum• ‘How Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage Invented the World’s First Computer: An Illustrated Adventure in Footnotes and Friendship’ (The Marginalian, 2015): https://www.themarginalian.org/2015/06/15/the-thrilling-adventures-of-lovelace-and-babbage-sydney-padua/• ‘Ada Lovelace in “Victoria” (ITV, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOoCOUDdoeALove 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. Edit producer: Ollie PeartTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Roquefort: Cheese of Kings

    Roquefort: Cheese of Kings

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    On June 4, 1411, Charles VI of France granted the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon a monopoly to ripen his favourite cheese.Noted for its sharp, tangy, salty flavor and its rich, creamy texture, Roquefort is still under designation protected by French law, and sometimes called ‘le fromage des rois et des papes’ (“the cheese of kings and popes”).In this episode, The Retrospectors reveal Casanova’s weird kink for this blue-veined cheese in the bedroom; discover the folksy origin story that has perpetuated for centuries; and consider whether the death of the cheese plate is killing off this King of Cheeses…Further Reading:• ‘The Oxford Companion to Cheese’ (OUP, 2016): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Oxford_Companion_to_Cheese/qRg1DQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=roquefort+1411&pg=PA130&printsec=frontcover• ‘How Much Longer Will Roquefort Reign as the King of Cheese?’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2021): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-much-longer-roquefort-reign-king-cheese-180978999/• ‘Roquefort French Cheese’ (Phil Vickery, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKKahpKQCSQThis episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Meet The Very Hungry Caterpillar

    Meet The Very Hungry Caterpillar

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    Just 224 words long, Eric Carle’s classic children’s book, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, was first published on 3rd June, 1969. Initially conceived as a "bookworm" eating through the pages, Carle's editor suggested a caterpillar for the central character, leading to a timeless tome that has sold over 55 million copies in 70 languages. Carle's journey to becoming a renowned children's author began in his late 30s after a career in advertising. Despite a tumultuous early life, including being conscripted by the Nazis and later the US Army, Carle found solace in his unique artistic style, layering paint and tissue paper to create colourful, textured illustrations.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ponder why Carle’s military history has not caused him reputational damage in the USA; trace his childhood memories and his father's love for nature in his writing; and reveal why George W. Bush misunderestimated our ability to decipher chronology …Further Reading:• ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar: 50 years of magical reading for children’ (The Independent, 2019): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-author-eric-carle-anniversary-50-a8937571.html• ’The Enduring Whimsy and Wonderment of Eric Carle’ (The New York Times, 2021): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/25/books/review/eric-carle-tiny-seeds-very-hungry-caterpillar.html?searchResultPosition=1• ‘Eric Carle Discusses 50 Years of The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ (Penguin Kids, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYwE8qALm9M#Books #60s #Inventions #USLove 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 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • The Controversial Birth of Corn Flakes

    The Controversial Birth of Corn Flakes

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    Rerun. John Harvey Kellogg believed his corn flakes had a future as a sexual suppressant when he filed a patent for "Flaked Cereals and Process of Preparing Same" on 31st May, 1895.What the Seventh Day Adventist and eugenicist hadn’t counted on was his brother Will - who combined his discovery with sugar; effectively creating the Kellogg company that still exists to this day. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion reveal the origins of the word ‘Sanitarium’, explain what Dr. Kellogg got up to on honeymoon; and revisit his alarming prescription for yoghurt...Content Warning: references to eugenics, masturbation, sexual contentFurther Reading:• ‘John Harvey Kellogg, MD: Health Reformer and Antismoking Crusader’ at the U.S. National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447485/• NPR’s Fresh Air on ‘How The 'Battling' Kellogg Brothers Revolutionized American Breakfast’ (2017): https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/08/08/542145177/how-the-battling-kellogg-brothers-revolutionized-american-breakfast?t=1621942499296• Discovery’s ‘How It’s Made’ visits a cereal factory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPpMV_vcVEg‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… … But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma CorshamCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Hershey and the Chocolate Theme Park

    Hershey and the Chocolate Theme Park

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    Rerun. Hersheypark was created as a recreation ground for the workers and families who staffed the Hershey chocolate factory in Pennsylvania when it opened on 30th May, 1906. But visitors from across the State soon came to marvel at its playgrounds, boating lake and band-stand… and, before long, the environs began to morph into the chocolate-themed amusement park it remains to this day.Its success exemplifies the ‘Company Town’ phenomenon: at one point, 3% of the USA’s entire population lived in a town that was owned and run by the company that they worked for.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how caramel, not chocolate, first paved the way to Hershey’s success; debate whether Hersheypark was a philanthropic gift to his employees, or a cynical bid to keep them from leaving; and explain to Americans why Brits would prefer an attraction with less butyric acid… Further Reading:• ‘More Than 110 Years of Hersheypark Happy’ (Hershey, 2022): https://www.hersheypa.com/about-hershey/history/hersheypark-history.php• Milton Hershey, The Man Who Built A Chocolate Empire (All That’s Interesting, 2022): https://allthatsinteresting.com/milton-hershey• ‘From Sweet To Sweeter: The Legacy of Hersheypark’ (Hersheypark Enthusiast, 2021):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIJlIYlPo38‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… … But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Recording 'White Christmas'

    Recording 'White Christmas'

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    Bing Crosby recorded the biggest-selling single of all time, ‘White Christmas’, on 29th May, 1942. The session took just 18 minutes, and the song was not considered the standout from the album: everyone thought the Valentine’s-themed ballad ‘Be Careful, It's My Heart’ had a better chance of chart success.
    The songwriter, Irving Berlin, was perhaps not an obvious person to pen the quintessential American Christmas song, given that he was a Russian-born Jew, who had never celebrated the holiday until his arrival in the United States. But the record’s airplay on US Army overseas radio stations during World War II struck a chord with homesick soldiers, and helped embed the tune deeply into the American psyche.
    In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why the version you’re almost certainly thinking of is NOT the version with which Bing initally topped the charts; unpick the confusing Russian Doll stack of genres into which the song has been repurposed; and explain why Berlin’s Oscar win became a pivotal moment in the Academy Awards ceremony… 
    Further Reading:
    • ‘'White Christmas' at 75: A Snapshot of the Most Successful Song In Music History’ (Billboard, 2017): https://www.billboard.com/culture/lifestyle/white-christmas-bing-crosby-history-8071111/#!
    • ‘Is White Christmas the Best Popular Song Ever Written?’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2012): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/is-white-christmas-the-best-popular-song-ever-written-165989545/
    • ‘Holiday Inn | Bing Crosby Sings "White Christmas"’ (Universal Pictures, 1942): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ36gbGlm8Y
    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 ❤️
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Welcome To Quintland

    Welcome To Quintland

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    ‘Miracle babies’ the Dionne Quintuplets - Yvonne, Annette, Cécile, Émilie, and Marie, the first known quintuplets to survive infancy - born on 28th May, 1934 in rural Canada.Fearing private exploitation, the Ontario government removed them from their parents and placed them in a specially built hospital under the care of Dr Allan Roy Dafoe, who had delivered them. Oliva Dionne fought a nine-year battle to regain them. In the interval, they became the country’s biggest tourist attraction, as three million visitors flocked to “Quintland” to watch the babies at play behind a one-way screen.In this episode, The Retrospectors reveal how news of the quints’ birth spread so very quickly; explain the tragic events of their eventual reunion with their parents; and ask whether a ‘child zoo’ could ever happen in our more enlightened age…Further Reading:‘Dionne Quintuplets: Inside The $500 Million "Freak Show" Of Mid-1900s Canada’ (All That’s Interesting, 2016): https://allthatsinteresting.com/dionne-quintuplets‘Whatever Happened to the Dionne Quintuplets? - Canada's First Quintuplets’ (Country Living, 2017): https://www.countryliving.com/life/kids-pets/a42542/dionne-quintuplets/‘Miracle Babies - The Story of the Dionne Quintuplets’ (BBC, 1998): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GTAWlfjssY&t=2461sThis episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • The Very First Eurovision

    The Very First Eurovision

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    Rerun: Spectacle, camp and glamour were NOT on the agenda in Lugano, Switzerland on 24th May, 1956: the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast mostly on the radio, and featured a whistling duo as its interval act. Who had to perform twice.
    Voting controversy, however, was enshrined in the institution right from the outset - as Judges were permitted to award points to their own nations, and vote in absentia.
    In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal which countries have most consistently scored the famous ‘nul points’; consider why the future of the contest seems to lie Eastwards, and revisit Israel’s entry from 1999, ‘Happy Birthday’...
    Further Reading:
    • Lys Assia wins the first Eurovision for Switzerland: 
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyqIPvOkiRk
    • Facts and Figures from the 1956 contest at the official Eurovision website:
    https://eurovision.tv/event/lugano-1956
    • Full list of 1956 voting and points from Eurovisionworld:
    https://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/1956
    ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’
    Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 
    … But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Demonstration? Defenestration!

    Demonstration? Defenestration!

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    Rerun: Throwing people out of windows might seem a peculiar way to protest, but it’s happened so often in history, it’s got a special name: defenestration. And perhaps the most significant of all - because it brought about the Thirty Years War - was the assault on three Habsburg officials by Bohemian malcontents in Prague on 23rd May, 1618.The dispute had kicked off when Ferdinand II refused permission for some Protestants to build a new place of worship on a piece of land - and then granted it to Catholics instead. Dick move.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether ‘a bloodthirsty mob of Christians’ is a contradiction in terms; explain why 1618 was a bad year to take a secretarial job; and how, despite triggering the bloodiest war yet seen in Europe, Ferdinand II still managed to insert humour into proceedings… Further Reading:• ‘Defenestration: The Bloody History Of Throwing People Out Of A Window’ (All That’s Interesting, 2022): https://allthatsinteresting.com/defenestration• ‘What Happened At The 1618 Defenestration of Prague?’ (History Extra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/1618-defenestration-prague-facts-history-explained-what-happened-why-castle-protestant-catholic/• ‘The 30 Years' War (1618-48) and the Second Defenestration of Prague - Professor Peter Wilson’ (Gresham College, 2018):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7vxXfy09EA&t=134s‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… … But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Jerry Lee Lewis's Child Bride

    Jerry Lee Lewis's Child Bride

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    When Jerry Lee Lewis landed at Heathrow Airport for his first UK tour on 22nd May, 1958, he was met with a flurry of journalists eager for a scoop. Yet just one question brought everything to a halt: "Who are you?". 
    A wide-eyed girl in Lewis's entourage answered: Myra Gale Brown, his wife. But she was only 13 years old. As if this wasn’t scandal enough… she was also his cousin, and their marriage was bigamous. The press exploded with these revelations, turning what was meant to be a triumphant tour into a public relations disaster.
    In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pore over the disturbing details of Lewis’s tumultuous private life; consider whether he was on the path to equalling Elvis’s stardom in the UK, had this matter not come to light; and fruitlessly search the singer’s interviews for a later sense of contrition… 
    Further Reading:
    • ‘Myra Williams talks about marriage at age 13 to Jerry Lee Lewis’ (Los Angeles Times, 2022): https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2022-10-29/jerry-lee-lewis-myra-brown-williams-marriage-13-cousin
    • ‘Inside The Disturbing Marriage Of Jerry Lee Lewis To His 13-Year-Old Cousin’ (All That’s Interesting, 2022): https://allthatsinteresting.com/myra-gale-brown-jerry-lee-lewis
    • ’Jerry Lee Lewis Interview with 13 year old wife’ (1958): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwbty1kRCG0
    CONTENT WARNING: domestic abuse, violence, child sexual abuse.
    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 ❤️

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Burying Bob Marley

    Burying Bob Marley

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    The funeral for Jamaican reggae star Bob Marley was half religious ceremony, half rock concert on 21st May, 1981.

    An estimated 100,000 people are believed to have seen Marley’s body lying in state, and the announcement of Jamaica’s national budget was postponed by several days to accommodate his funeral. The casket contained his red Gibson Les Paul guitar, a Bible opened at Psalm 23, and a stalk of ganja placed there by his widow, Rita.

    In this episode, The Retrospectors uncover the Rastafarian tensions underlying Prime Minister Edward Seaga’s eulogy; explain why this moment of national commemoration also meant coming to terms with some national guilt; and consider how the Marley family subsequently used Bob’s image on everything from earphones to cannabis…

    Further Reading:
    ‘Bob Marley's funeral, 21 May 1981: a day of Jamaican history’ (The Guardian, 2011): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/apr/24/bob-marley-funeral-richard-williams
    ‘In Short - 'I was there': Bob Marley's death, 1981’ (BBC Radio 5 Live, 2017): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2xyVnT65ltGwggk3zrc8yyG/i-was-there-bob-marleys-death-1981
    ‘Excerpt from “Marley” (Universal Pictures, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTx868LW--8
    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 ❤️
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • How To Survive A Nuclear Bomb

    How To Survive A Nuclear Bomb

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    ‘Protect and Survive’, the UK Government’s pamphlet offering Britons advice on how to navigate the aftermath of a nuclear explosion, was published on 20th May, 1980, following a campaign in The Times.Intended for distribution in times of imminent crisis - and only alongside the broadcast of a series of related public information films - the booklet’s earnest yet chilling tone, coupled with its practical advice on makeshift shelters and fallout room essentials, variously triggered alarm, disbelief, and mockery. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament were correct to suggest the campaign promoted a false sense of confidence in survivability of nuclear war; compare notes on the most chilling passages of the simply-written text; and marvel at the official advice for people living in mobile homes… Further Reading:• ‘'Sinister yet pathetic': how the UK was primed for nuclear war’ (The Guardian, 2019): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/30/uk-was-primed-for-nuclear-war-in-the-uk-taras-young-interview• ‘Protect and Survive’ (UK Home Office, 1980): https://archive.org/details/ProtectAndSurvive_136• ‘Protect and Survive’ (BBC, 1980): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yrv505R-0ULove 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 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • The Man Who Invented The Wild West

    The Man Who Invented The Wild West

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    Rerun: Gun totin’, horse ridin’ spectacular ‘Buffalo Bill’s Wild West’ opened in Omaha, Nebraska on 17th May, 1883 - the start of a multi-decade run.
    With a cast of hundreds, including Calamity Jane, Sitting Bull, and Annie ‘Get Your Gun’ Oakley, it toured the world - and forever shaped the way cowboys and Indians were represented in popular culture. 
    In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion reveal the little-known indoor version of the show, consider the role of Native Americans in the ensemble, and explain why the Cossacks in the cast weren’t so popular when they returned home to Georgia…  
    Further reading:
    • Footage from Buffalo Bill's show - from the McCracken Research Library, Wyoming:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3meHAqxuDI
    • William F. Cody profiled at the University of Sheffield’s 
    National Fairground and Circus Archive:
    https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/nfca/researchandarticles/buffalobill
    • ‘Ten Things You May Not Know About Annie Oakley’, from History: 
    https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-annie-oakley
    ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’
    Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 
    … But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️
    The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
    Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.
    Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.


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  • Marie Antoinette's Wedding

    Marie Antoinette's Wedding

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    Rerun: The future Queen of France was accompanied by 57 carriages, 117 footmen and 376 horses on her journey from Austria to Versailles - but remarkably took only three hours to do her hair and makeup when she tied the knot with Louis-Auguste on 16th May, 1770.Only 15 at the time, Louis was perceived - even by his closest friends and family - to be timid, unforthcoming and bookish. In a further bad omen, their wedding firework display was postponed due to a storm - and when it finally happened, there was a massive riot that resulted in the crowds being trampled to death. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Arion replay the ‘bedding ceremony’ in excruciating detail; explain exactly what went wrong between the sheets; and consider whether the roots of MArie Antoinette’s legendary profligacy can be traced back to her wedding day… CONTENT WARNING: Graphic description of sexual intercourse. (Albeit one written in the 1770s, by a Roman Emperor. But, still: you *probably* won’t want to listen along with the kids.)Further Reading:• ‘Marriage of the Dauphin Louis and Marie-Antoinette’ (Palace of Versailles): https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/marriage-dauphin-louis-and-marie-antoinette• ‘French dauphin, Louis, marries Marie Antoinette’ (HISTORY, 2010):https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/louis-marries-marie-antoinette• ‘“Marie Antoinette”: Wedding scene’ (Sony Pictures, 2006): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftWA5LLAyoo‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… … But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • The Unkillable King George

    The Unkillable King George

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    George III narrowly dodged a bullet for the SECOND time in one day on 15th May, 1800, as he attended a performance at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The assassination attempt came from James Hadfield, a clinically insane former soldier, who rose from the pit and fired a pistol at the King, causing uproar in the audience. Despite the danger, George remained composed, even using his opera glasses to survey the disarray.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the leading playwright of the era swiftly calmed nerves with some poetic ingenuity; explain why George III remained popular in this era, despite the repeated attempts on his life; and marvel at how, amidst apparent danger everywhere, the Show really did Go On…Further Reading:‘The Theatre Royal and The Case of Two Mad King Georges’ (The National Archives, 2013): https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/the-theatre-royal-and-the-case-of-two-mad-king-georges/‘James Hadfield: His Attempt on King George III’s Life’ (Geri Walton, 2021): https://www.geriwalton.com/james-hadfield-his-attempt-on-king-george-iiis-life/#_ftn1‘The Madness of King George’ (Channel Four Films, 1994): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8lJ8XzX_GMLove 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 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • The First Two Minute Silence

    The First Two Minute Silence

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    The two minute silence can be traced back to 14th May, 1918, when it was first observed in Cape Town, South Africa. Repeated daily for a year, and initiated by the firing of the noon day gun on Signal Hill, the ‘Two Minute Silent Pause of Remembrance’, as it was known, was instituted by Cape Town Mayor Sir Harry Hands and councillor Robert Rutherford Brydone, both of whom had lost sons at the Front.In this episode, The Retrospectors consider the optimum length for a silence (three minutes was, apparently, simply too long); explain how the tradition became adopted at the UK’s Armistice Day; and reveal the worst place to hold a two-minute silence for Ukraine… Further Reading:• ‘The Scot who began the two-minute silence’ (BBC News, 2018): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-46124328• ‘The two-minute silence: remembrance of the Glorious Dead’ (United Kingdom Government, 2015): https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-two-minute-silence-remembrance-of-the-glorious-dead• ‘Two Minutes' Silence To Honour War Dead’ (Sky News, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahaB53lT2akLove 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 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Cardinal Richelieu and the Table Knife

    Cardinal Richelieu and the Table Knife

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    Disdain for bad table manners reportedly led 17th Century Machiavelli Cardinal Richelieu to insist that knives should be flattened at his table on 13th May, 1637 - revolutionising dining etiquette.While some Mediaeval habits such as spitting and urinating at the table had largely disappeared by this era, finger-licking and the use of knives as toothpicks had persisted, and Richelieu’s irritation with such behaviours supposedly spurred him to action (although: it was probably *also* convenient for the baddie from ‘The Three Musketeers’ not to have a load of sharp knives in his guests’ pockets…)In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the evolution of dining customs, from communal bowls to individual plates and utensils; question whether the polite use of toothpicks at the table has actually ever been solved; and explain why a Royal edict in 1699 popularised the table knife across France…Further Reading:• ‘Rhodri Marsden's interesting objects: The table knife’ (The Independent, 2015): https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/rhodri-marsden-s-interesting-objects-the-table-knife-10229114.html• ‘Panati's Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things’ (Chartwell Books, 2016): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Panati_s_Extraordinary_Origins_of_Everyd/utroDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=knife+%2B+richelieu&pg=PA80&printsec=frontcover• ‘How To Sharpen A Knife’ (Gordon Ramsay, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBn1i9YqN1kLove 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 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • The Lady Who Left Her Baby Outside

    The Lady Who Left Her Baby Outside

    · Today In History with The Retrospectors

    As Annette Sorensen drank margaritas in a New York BBQ restaurant on May 10th, 1997, she left her 14 month-old daughter outside, in a stroller. 
    She spent two days in jail, was accused of child neglect, and was separated from her baby for four days. But Sorensen, a Danish visitor to the States, claimed she was following Scandinavian norms, and tried to sue for $20m.
    In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion examine whether leaving your baby outside in the street really IS a Danish custom, consider the culture clash between Copenhagen and NYC, and confess the weirdest places they’ve left their own children...
    Further reading:
    • The AP films Sorensen’s (first) court appearance:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-KCeRHBzK4
    • The New York Times covers the story in 1997:
    https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/14/nyregion/toddler-left-outside-restaurant-is-returned-to-her-mother.html
    • 20 years after the case, Annette Sorensen speaks to The Guardian: 
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/26/anette-sorenson-denmark-new-york-baby-left-outside
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