Today In History with The Retrospectors

Folgen

• 
  Welcome To Mordor 29.07.2026 13Min.

  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
• 
  When Zombies Came To Hollywood 28.07.2026 12Min.

  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
• 
  Meet Bugs Bunny 🥕 27.07.2026 12Min.

  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
• 
  Finding Machu Picchu 24.07.2026 12Min.

  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
• 
  Radio 1 Hits The Road 23.07.2026 11Min.

  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
• 
  Where's Pablo Escobar? 22.07.2026 13Min.

  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
• 
  Herostratus: Burning Ambition 21.07.2026 11Min.

  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
• 
  Let's Assassinate Hitler 20.07.2026 11Min.

  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
• 
  Publishing Punch 17.07.2026 12Min.

  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
• 
  The Death of Kissing 16.07.2026 11Min.

  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
• 
  I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! 15.07.2026 12Min.

  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
• 
  Mr. Dynamite 14.07.2026 13Min.

  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
• 
  Hollywood's Iconic Landmark 13.07.2026 11Min.

  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
• 
  Evolution on Trial 10.07.2026 12Min.

  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
• 
  The Sun Sets on 'Eldorado' 09.07.2026 11Min.

  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
• 
  Let's Build A Rollercoaster 08.07.2026 12Min.

  Promenades Aériennes, the world’s first modern rollercoaster, opened in Paris on 8th July, 1817. Thrillseekers climbed a towering wooden structure before being sent gliding back down on wheeled carriages attached securely to rails; modest by modern standards, yes, but introducing many of the key features that still define coasters today. Visitors faced a lengthy climb to the summit before enjoying their gravity-powered descent, with cafés thoughtfully placed along the staircase for those needing a rest. And the journey itself demanded a degree of bravery: there were no seat belts or safety bars, and passengers simply held on as the carriage swept down the track.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the idea of the proto-rollercoaster back to Catherine the Great’s Russia; explain how goldrush-era mining trains inspired the Switchback Railway at Coney Island in 1884; and consider how little about coaster design really changed until Disney brought in tubular steel in 1955…  Further Reading: • ‘Object: Promenades Aeriennes Jardin Baujon’ (British Museum) https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1899-0713-182 • ‘First Roller Coaster in America Opened at Coney Island’ (The Association of Mature American Citizens, 2026): https://amac.us/newsline/lifestyle/first-roller-coaster-in-america-opens/ • ‘10 Of The Best Roller Coasters in the UK! Front Seat POVs!’ (Theme Park Review, 2025): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU-tmfOQo9E #France #1800s #Design #NewYork 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
• 
  Meet Pinocchio 07.07.2026 12Min.

  Pinocchio, ‘The Story of a Puppet’, debuted in Giornale per i bambini, an Italian weekly magazine for children, on 7th July, 1881. Its author, Carlo Lorenzini - going by the pseudonym C. Collodi - intended the tale to end with the hanging of Pinocchio, but popular demand led to the character having further, more optimistic adventures. As a young man, Collodi joined the seminary but left to support the Italian national unification movement through journalism. His children’s writings are cut through with satire and moral lessons specific to Italy in the 1800s, yet resonated internationally almost immediately, having been translated into as many as 260 languages.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Collodi in the context of other serialised literature of the time, such as Dickens; uncover the darkest moments in the story which Disney sensibly swerved; and explain what that whole weird donkey metaphor is all about… Further Reading: • ‘The Real Story of Pinocchio Tells No Lies’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2022): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-real-pinocchio-180980027/ • ‘Pinocchio: The scariest children's story ever written’ (BBC Culture, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20221207-pinocchio-the-scariest-childrens-story-ever-written • ‘The birthplace of Pinocchio’ (CBS, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAkdYYaTzcI&t=9s 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. #1800s #Italy #Books Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• 
  When Lennon Met McCartney 06.07.2026 11Min.

  The Quarrymen took to the stage at a parish fête near Liverpool on 6th July, 1957: the event that first brought together the brains behind the Beatles, teenagers John Lennon and Paul McCartney. John oozed cool with his swagger, sideburns, and low slung guitar. Paul, watching in awe, was struck by Lennon’s confidence and his seeming ability to improvise lyrics to niche doo-wop tunes. The two boys were introduced later that day by a mutual friend, and immediately clicked; Paul performing his Little Richard-style “woo!" to an impressed John. Two weeks later, John offered him a spot in The Quarrymen. Paul said yes—but only after Scout camp and a family holiday to Butlins. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca explore how the two boys were united in a shared history of grief; explain how they came up with the name "The Beatles”; and reveal why an incident with a condom got them deported from their first stint in Hamburg… Further Reading: • ‘When Paul McCartney met John Lennon’ (National Museums Liverpool): https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/stories/when-paul-mccartney-met-john-lennon • ‘Truth about John Lennon and Paul McCartney's first ever meeting in unlikely venue’ (The Mirror, 2019): https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/truth-john-lennon-paul-mccartneys-17261716 • ‘Nowhere Boy’ (Film4, 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xITuqrVimlE 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
• 
  Sailing Alone Around The World 03.07.2026 12Min.

  Captain Joshua Slocum set sail from Nova Scotia in The Spray, his revamped oyster sloop, on 3rd July, 1895: the first solo circumnavigation of the world.  Sailing alone for no reason other than pleasure was considered a fool’s errand at the time, but, motivated by the death of his beloved first wife, Virginia, Slocum sought solace in the sea. His memoir, dedicated to ‘the one who believed the Spray would return’, detailed his daring journey and struggle against loneliness. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Slocum survived - given his navigational aids of a broken chronometer and tin clock; explain how he evaded pirates in Gibraltar - in the most long-winded way possible; and explore his cheese-inspired hallucinations…  Further Reading: • ’Joshua Slocum and his first Single-handed Sail around the World’ (SciHi, 2021): http://scihi.org/joshua-slocum-around-the-world/ • ’“The Spray will Come Back”: Solo Circumnavigator Joshua Slocum’ (New Bedford Whaling Museum, 2017): https://www.whalingmuseum.org/exhibition/the-spray-will-come-back • ‘The Mysterious Disappearance Of A Sea Pioneer’ (Timeline, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K6ZQiOUG9M We'll be back on Monday - unless you join CLUB RETROSPECTORS, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• 
  Zeppelin Takes Flight 02.07.2026 11Min.

  Airships had flown since the 1850s, but the first rigid airship to comfortably carry passengers - the Zeppelin - had its maiden voyage at Lake Constance on 2nd July, 1900. The passion project of German aristocrat Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the ‘golden age’ craft were freezing cold on-board, and precarious: the majority of them eventually crashed. Nonetheless, his pluckiness captured the German imagination, raising millions of Reichsmarks, and inspiring Hitler to co-opt the machines for political and military means. In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider how Zeppelin’s connections to Daimler saved his start-up; explain why the Hindenburg (fatefully) ended up being filled with hydrogen, rather than helium; and reveal the plans of a Bedfordshire-based business to bring blimps back to Britain’s skies... Further Reading • ‘A History of German Airship Aviation’ at Google Arts & Culture: https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/the-dream-of-flight-a-history-of-german-airship-aviation-zeppelin-museum-friedrichshafen/cQJywRaJSvazIw?hl=en • ‘The Hindenburg Disaster in 1937’ from PennLive (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b94SPaP7mU • The Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander 10 - from their official website:  https://www.hybridairvehicles.com/our-aircraft/airlander-10/ 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices