Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors
  • 0.0 (0)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED DAILY
Today In History with The Retrospectors Podcast
CLUB RETROSPECTORS

Get Sunday episodes, ditch the ads, & bonus bits

US$3.99/month or US$62.99/year

Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee). Ten minute daily episodes bringing you curious moments from this day in history, with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll: The Retrospectors. It's history, but not as you know it! New eps Mon-Wed; reruns Thurs/Fri; Sunday exclusives at Patreon.com/Retrospectors and for Apple Subscribers.

  1. 21 HR AGO

    Let's Illuminate Blackpool

    Rerun: Powered by steam engines, and positioned on 60ft poles along the seafront, the Blackpool illuminations were first shown to adoring public on 19th September, 1879. 70,000 people came to see eight arc lamps, positioned 320 yards apart. Between them they provided illumination equal to 48,000 candles: an incredible spectacle considering it would still be another year before Thomas Edison patented the modern commercial lightbulb.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall some of the weirder celebrities who have been roped into performing the iconic switching-on ceremony in the Lancashire town; reveal the connection between the Walt Disney Company and this Northern institution; and explain how the resort initially developed its three piers to segregate the middle-classes from the ‘Kiss Me Quick’ day-trippers…  Further Reading: • ‘Blackpool Illuminations celebrates its centenary’ (The Guardian, 2012): https://www.theguardian.com/travel/gallery/2012/aug/31/blackpool-illuminations-centenary-100-years-lights • ‘Cities of Light: Two Centuries of Urban Illumination - Eds. Dietrich Neumann, Margaret Maile Petty, Sandy Isenstadt’ (Taylor & Francis, 2014): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Cities_of_Light/iHLfBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=blackpool+illuminations&pg=PA58&printsec=frontcover • ‘Vintage Blackpool Illuminations’ (AshBlackpoolFan, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X5wkeF34pQ ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday…  … But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    12 min

  2. 1 DAY AGO

    How the Paralympics Began

    The first Paralympic Games - hosting 400 athletes from 23 countries - took place in Rome on 18th September, 1960.  But it was only known by this name retrospectively: the day it took place, this festival of disabled sport was called The Ninth Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games. Sprung from a competition held at a hospital in Buckinghamshire, and pioneered by German-Jewish neurosurgeon Dr. Ludwig Guttman, the Games began as part of a physiotherapy programme for soldiers and civilians with spinal cord injuries. As the Stoke Mandeville Games expanded, so did the variety of sports and the level of competition. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal Russia’s initial refusal to participate; uncover the controversial use of performance-enhancing drugs; and celebrate Dr. Guttman’s vision of what was possible for athletes with disabilities... Further Reading: • Paralympians still hold a flame for Stoke Mandeville pioneer (The Times, 2023): https://www.thetimes.com/sport/cricket/article/paralympians-still-hold-a-flame-for-stoke-mandeville-pioneer-653kbqjx5 • ‘Celebrating 60 years since Rome 1960 - the first Paralympic Games!’ (Paralympic Games, 2020): https://www.paralympic.org/feature/celebrating-60-years-rome-1960-first-paralympic-games • ’How the Paralympics Began’ (The Retrospectors, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1cA22GsmBE Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    13 min

  3. 2 DAYS AGO

    Mary, King of Hungary

    Mary, ‘King’ of Hungary, was coronated today in history, on 17th September, 1382.  The Hungarian nobility had never had a female monarch, and did not recognize the possibility of one in law, so decided to crown her as if she was male - but that was by no means the end of her problems. Before long, Charles of Naples was leading a rebellion to overthrow the child monarch. In this episode, The Retrospectors rank the numerous poor decisions of Mary’s mother, the Queen Regent Elizabeth; unearth the impressive linguistic leg-work put in by Mary’s future husband, Sigismund of Luxembourg; and explain how Mary’s father Louis’ best laid plans unraveled so dramatically… Further Reading: • ‘A concise history of Hungary - By Miklós Molnár’ (Cambridge University Press, 2001): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_Concise_History_of_Hungary/y0g4YEp7ZrsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=mary+sigismund&pg=PA56&printsec=frontcover • ’Outlines of Medieval History - By Charles William Previté-Orton’ (1916): https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4PXDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA481&dq=mary+sigismund&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjS2enHt6WBAxVUQkEAHeTwC2AQ6AF6BAgLEAI • ‘Queen Mary of Hungary by Leoni, 1553 - 1564’ (American Friends of the Prado Museum, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yaagl1xhbLA This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!   We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    12 min

  4. 3 DAYS AGO

    The Oklahoma Land Grab

    The largest land rush in history kicked off on 16th September, 1893 - on Oklahoma's Cherokee Strip. Tens of thousands of people—horseback riders, wagons, and even a passenger train—waited for a cannon’s boom to initiate a mad race for land. The term "Boomer" became synonymous with those waiting for that cannon's boom to charge in, while "Sooners" were the sneaky folks who snuck into the land early to claim it before the rush began. Officers were tasked with clearing out the opportunistic Sooners, but it wasn’t an easy job. With everyone trying to stake their claims in chaos, tensions ran high, and skirmishes sometimes broke out between claimants, creating a dangerous situation for those trying to ‘play fair’ - and the Native American tribes who had already been relocated there once already. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Oklahoma, previously considered arid land unsuited for farming, had suddenly become a hot commodity; reveal what happened when fights for land turned ugly; and, as settlers carved out their fortunes, investigate how long it took for the Cherokee tribes to receive their payment…. Further Reading: • ’CHEROKEE OUTLET OPENING’ (The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture): https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=CH021 • ‘Cherokee Strip Land Rush - By Jay M. Price’ (Arcadia Publisher, 2006):  https://books.google.com/books/about/Cherokee_Strip_Land_Rush.html?id=ikXycrCcTvAC • ’Cherokee Outlet Land Run’ (Olahoma Council Social Studies): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyhlU-Zt9YY&t=133s Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    12 min

  5. 4 DAYS AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    EXTRA: Trench Foot, Fake News and Barbed Wire

    Conditions in the World War One trenches were appalling - but it’s a miracle anybody ever found out, as Arion, Rebecca and Olly reflect in this three minutes’ bonus material for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴on Patreon and Apple Podcasts. Thanks for supporting the show!

    3 min

  6. 4 DAYS AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Digging the Trenches

    The start of World War I featured officers in white gloves, leading troops in neat lines, and cavalry charges complete with sabres and lances. But this changed on 15th September, 1914 - when soldiers began digging into the earth, laying the groundwork for the trench warfare that would come to define the conflict. By that November, trenches covered 400 miles along the Western Front, in two opposing lines that were often as close as 50 metres, with "No Man’s Land" in between—a deadly strip of land covered in barbed wire. Soldiers lived in constant fear of artillery, sniper fire, and brutal night raids. The trenches were muddy, disease-ridden, and teeming with rats and lice. In this week’s Sunday’s episode, exclusively for our 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the physical and psychological toll of trench life; explain how flamethrowers, ‘trench clubs’ and even helmets all became more popular over the course of the conflict; and discover that the process of rotation meant soldiers were in the trenches only for short bursts, yet long enough to leave lasting trauma… Further Reading: • ‘First trenches are dug on the Western Front | September 15, 1914’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-trenches-are-dug-on-the-western-front • ’Trench tactics: how was war fought in the WW1 trenches?’ (History Extra, 2023): https://www.historyextra.com/period/first-world-war/trench-warfare-ww1-tactics-what/ • ‘Conditions in Trenches - Dan Snow's Battle of the Somme’ (Discovery UK, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvYIIuxh2kY Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Ollie Peart Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

    11 min

  7. 6 DAYS AGO

    I'mma Let You Finish

    Rerun: Kanye West was ejected from Radio City Music Hall at the MTV VMAs on 13th September, 2009, after drunkenly interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video. Distraught that the country star’s ‘You Belong To Me’ video has beaten Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ to the trophy, he memorably proclaimed: “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine whether this viral moment was ultimately harmful or beneficial to both stars’ careers; highlight how the fracas accelerated Twitter’s adoption by the mainstream media; and ask whether - after all these years - Kanye was right… Further Reading: • ‘How the Taylor Swift-Kanye West VMAs scandal became a perfect American morality tale’ (Vox, 2019): https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/8/26/20828559/taylor-swift-kanye-west-2009-mtv-vmas-explained • ‘2009 VMAs Oral History: What You Didn't See When Kanye West Rushed the Stage on Taylor Swift’ (Billboard, 2009): https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/television/8523549/2009-mtv-vmas-oral-history • Artisan News Service reports on the event in 2009: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z8gCZ7zpsQ ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday…  … But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    12 min

  8. 6 DAYS AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    I'mma Let You Finish

    Rerun: Kanye West was ejected from Radio City Music Hall at the MTV VMAs on 13th September, 2009, after drunkenly interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video. Distraught that the country star’s ‘You Belong To Me’ video has beaten Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ to the trophy, he memorably proclaimed: “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine whether this viral moment was ultimately harmful or beneficial to both stars’ careers; highlight how the fracas accelerated Twitter’s adoption by the mainstream media; and ask whether - after all these years - Kanye was right… Further Reading: • ‘How the Taylor Swift-Kanye West VMAs scandal became a perfect American morality tale’ (Vox, 2019): https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/8/26/20828559/taylor-swift-kanye-west-2009-mtv-vmas-explained • ‘2009 VMAs Oral History: What You Didn't See When Kanye West Rushed the Stage on Taylor Swift’ (Billboard, 2009): https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/television/8523549/2009-mtv-vmas-oral-history • Artisan News Service reports on the event in 2009: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z8gCZ7zpsQ Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Ollie Peart Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

    10 min
See All (1.1K)

Trailers

Hosts & Guests

About

Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee). Ten minute daily episodes bringing you curious moments from this day in history, with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll: The Retrospectors. It's history, but not as you know it! New eps Mon-Wed; reruns Thurs/Fri; Sunday exclusives at Patreon.com/Retrospectors and for Apple Subscribers.

Information

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada