Today In History with The Retrospectors

Pioneering music-sharing platform Napster faced a pivotal legal showdown on March 6th, 2001, when - despite the company’s defence that it was merely a tool for innocent purposes - US District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ordered the removal of all copyrighted material from the service. Napster's legal troubles had begun with lawsuits from prominent artists like Metallica and Dr. Dre, but it was the Recording Industry Association of America's $20 billion lawsuit that spelled the endgame for the platform. Yet the swift rise and fall of the peer-to-peer software marked a paradigm shift in how music was consumed, challenging traditional notions of ownership and distribution.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how its youthful inventors Shawn Fanning and Shaun Parker first met; explore how its legacy lives on in the likes of Spotify; and consider how the legal precedent set by Betamax, of all things, became the technology’s downfall… Further Reading: • ‘Oversharing: how Napster nearly killed the music industry’ (The Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/may/31/napster-twenty-years-music-revolution • ‘The death spiral of Napster begins’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-spiral-of-napster-begins ‘Napster Documentary: Culture of Free’ (The New York Times, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKrdsGdLVQ8 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 hip-swivelling Hula Hoop craze swept through America within months of its 1958 debut - yet Wham-O didn’t receive a patent for it until 5th March, 1963.  The toy had first come to the attention of Arthur K. 'Spud' Melin, the company’s co-founder, when Australian swimsuit model Joan Anderson demonstrated it in California. Appending the ‘hula’ name to it tapped into the zeitgeist for Hawaiian imagery, but manufacturing it out of inexpensive plastic tubing was a masterstroke. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain the innovative business model of Melin and his partner, Richard Knerr, which also begat Frisbee, Hackey-Sack and Slip n’Slide; discover how demonstrations in school playgrounds accelerated the trend’s virality; and learn about the novelty songs inspired by the craze…  Further Reading: • ‘History of the Hula Hoop - Trivia and More’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/hula-hoop-history-1991893 • ‘Unsung hero behind hula hoop invention dies aged 101’ (BBC News, 2025): https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70x4w4z138o • ‘Wham-O Frisbee & Hula Hoop Commercial’ (Wham-O, 1960s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsJ9fwhFzE8 #Toys #Business #50s #US 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 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Lennon's controversial statement that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus was first published in the London Evening Standard on 4th March, 1966. The reporter, Maureen Cleave, documented the eccentricities of Lennon's life and his dissatisfaction with fame and wealth; his musings on religion went almost completely unnoticed. That all changed months later, when American shock jocks unearthed Lennon's comments, sparking widespread outrage, leading to a media frenzy that inspired boycotts, record burnings, and KKK death threats. In Memphis, fear reached its peak when a cherry bomb sparked panic during a Beatles concert - one of the last live gigs they would ever perform. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly expose the cynicism of the DJs who jumped on the Beatles-burning bandwagon; explain how the fallout from Lennon's statement lingered long after the tour, even inspiring Mark David Chapman’s fanaticism; and discover which board-game the Beatles used to unwind with in the evenings… Further Reading: • When John Lennon's 'Jesus' Controversy Turned Ugly (Rolling Stone, 2016): https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/when-john-lennons-more-popular-than-jesus-controversy-turned-ugly-106430/ • ‘Beatle bonfires’ (The Pop History Dig, 2017): https://pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/beatle-bonfires/ • ‘The Beatles Press Conference’ (Aug 12, 1966): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZaI7m1xpAg 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 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sending rude mail was dealt a devastating blow on 3rd March, 1873, when the campaign against pornography, reproductive health, birth control, and abortion led by self-appointed ‘Special Agent’ of the US Postal Service Anthony Comstock went all the way to Washington.  After the ‘Comstock Act’ became law, books were banned, ‘obscene’ pamphlets were destroyed, and, in Comstock’s home state of Connecticut, birth control was banned - even within a marriage. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover what Comstock thought of the women he met at the White House; reveal his earliest crackdowns on licentiousness; and uncover George Bernard Shaw’s trolling of ‘Comstockery’ in the New York press… Further Reading: • ‘How an Anti-Obscenity Crusader Policed America's Mail for Decades’ (HISTORY, 2022): https://www.history.com/news/comstock-act-1873-obscenity-contraception-mail • ‘Anthony Comstock's "Chastity" Laws’ (PBS American Experience): https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-anthony-comstocks-chastity-laws/#:~:text=In%20the%20late%201860s%2C%20Comstock%20began%20supplying%20the,the%20contraceptive%20industry%20as%20one%20of%20his%20targets. • ‘The Man Who Hated Women: Sex, Censorship, and Civil Liberties in the Gilded Age’ (National Archives, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9IS0S-B5HU 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 #Politics #Publishing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

King Kong roared onto the silver screen on March 2nd, 1933, in an extraordinary simultaneous screening at Radio City and the Roxy, New York - attracting 10,000 viewers in one hit. The buzz around the film was no accident — RKO Pictures had blitzed the public with an aggressive marketing campaign, including publishing a novelization before the film’s release and producing a radio serial that aired twice a week. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how animation genius Willis O’Brien brought Kong to life through a mixture of stop-motion and scale-models; reveal how Fay Wray was pitched her iconic role; and discover that contemporary critics weren’t as awed by the film’s lauded SFX as you might imagine… Further Reading: • ’King Kong - The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson. By Ray Morton’ (Applause, 2005): https://books.google.co.uk/books/content?id=UPXbsJLVgCcC&pg=PA78&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&bul=1&sig=ACfU3U1G3kZHHv8P03ttnCr8p18YdlLsJw&w=1280 • ’The first (and original) King Kong’ (The Independent, 2005): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-first-and-original-king-kong-518889.html • ‘King Kong: The Practical Effects Wonder’ (Katie Keenan, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4sFn3Qiw9g 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

New Orleans witnessed its first modern Mardi Gras procession - kick-started by a group of students eager to revive the traditional masquerade, banned for six decades - on 27th February, 1827.  The city’s parades and revelry can trace their origins back to ancient pagan festivals and European traditions, cemented by the arrival of French-Canadian explorer (and MASSIVE ‘Fat Tuesday’ fan) Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville into Louisiana in 1699.  In this episode, The Retrospectors Krewe dig into the celebration’s impact on revenue and refuse; consider the discriminatory practices that accompanied the festivities until the late 20th century; and get angry about the British equivalent: Pancake Day…  Further Reading: • ‘Here's a Brief History of Mardi Gras and How It All Started’ (The Manual, 2024): https://www.themanual.com/culture/history-of-madi-gras/ • ‘Unmasking the History of Mardi Gras in New Orleans’ (The Crescent Magazine, 2022): https://tulanemagazine.com/unmasking-the-history-of-mardi-gras-in-new-orleans/ • ‘Mardi Gras New Orleans Louisiana 4K’ (Dan Usher Films, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bv1mFl9SI4 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 89th Academy Awards reached its grand finale on 26th February 2017, with a balls-up that instantly entered Hollywood lore. Presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway stepped onstage to announce Best Picture and declared La La Land the winner. Cast and crew flooded the stage, speeches began, and the orchestra swelled - but the true winner, of course, was Moonlight. Beatty’s visible hesitation, replayed endlessly since, stemmed from a simple but catastrophic mistake: he had been handed the duplicate Best Actress envelope, reading “Emma Stone - La La Land”. Unsure how to proceed, he showed the card to Dunaway; believing he was prolonging the suspense, she read out the film’s title. Only as producer Jordan Horowitz was thanking his family did the truth ripple across the stage: “This is not a joke. Moonlight, you guys won Best Picture.” The error was traced to PricewaterhouseCoopers partner Brian Cullinan, who had mistakenly handed over the duplicate envelope while distracted backstage, reportedly after tweeting a photograph of Emma Stone with her Oscar. The irony was sharp: PricewaterhouseCoopers had supervised the Academy’s voting process since 1935, originally engaged after controversy surrounding Bette Davis’s 1934 snub, and prided itself on meticulous safeguards, including identical sets of envelopes held on either side of the stage. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly force themselves to re-watch the excruciating moment repeatedly; consider how, following two years of #OscarsSoWhite criticism, the blunder landed at a particularly sensitive moment for the Academy; and admire the way the La La Land team somehow met this emotional rollercoaster with savviness and tact…  Further Reading: • ‘The Full Story Behind The 'La La Land' And 'Moonlight' Oscars Mix-Up’ (Forbes, 2017): https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2017/02/27/the-full-story-behind-the-la-la-land-and-moonlight-oscars-mix-up/ • ‘How Scandal Started PwC's Oscars Vote Count, Envelope System’ (TIME, 2018): https://time.com/5182902/pwc-academy-awards-oscars-snub/ • ‘Oscars Mistake: Moonlight Wins Best Picture after La La Land Mistakenly Announced’ (ABC, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvK-g1rehpU&t=1s #Mistakes #Film #2010s #Hollywood 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 - including TODAY, where we reveal when the Oscars go wrong. 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

Henri Landru, known as ‘Bluebeard’ to the French public, was executed by guillotine on 25th February, 1922, having murdered at least ten women he dated during the First World War. He continued to protest his innocence throughout his sensational trial - despite having drawn a detailed doodle of the oven he had used to burn his victims’ bodies. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick Landru’s disturbing methodology; uncover why France’s top defense attorney was attracted to the case; and explain what it all had to do with Rudyard Kipling…  Further Reading: • ‘The Story Of Henri Landru, France's Charming Bluebeard Serial Killer’ (All That’s Interesting, 2017): https://allthatsinteresting.com/henri-landru • ‘Hidden for 100 years, the untold story of serial killer who preyed on lonely war widows’ (Mail Online, 2019): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6511793/Hidden-100-years-untold-story-serial-killer-preyed-lonely-war-widows.html • ‘Bluebeard's 10 Honeymoons’ (Anglo Allied Pictures, 1960): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrfmrucyKGo 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 2022. #20s #Person #Crime #War #Macabre #France Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone - now better known as St Francis of Assisi - attended Mass on 24th February, 1208, and heard the Gospel According to Matthew. From that day on, the former soldier and playboy removed his shoes, put on a rough tunic, and embarked fully into a monastic lifestyle. The process would lead him to meet the Pope and become officially recognised by the Church - but alienate him from his wealthy father, who had shelled out ransom money to return him from a battlefield prison. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall how Francis’s father attempted to wangle him out of his inheritance; explore the really rather literal fashion in which Francesco interpreted his various visions; and explain why, at one point, Francis prayed for his miracles to STOP…  Further Reading: • ‘Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi - By Donald Spoto’ (Penguin, 2003): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Reluctant_Saint/K6qy9JMXuGUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=assisi&printsec=frontcover • ‘Francis of Assisi, nature’s mystic’ (The Washington Post, 2013): https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/francis-of-assisi-natures-mystic/2013/03/20/82619910-9166-11e2-bdea-e32ad90da239_story.html • ‘Francis: The Saint and the Pope’ (Catholic News Service, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcOU3bYmMOA 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. #Medieval #Catholic #Italy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Optometry historians observe 23rd February, 1305 as the day eyeglasses were perhaps first discussed in public, when friar Giordano de Rivalto stood at the pulpit and declared that he had personally met the man who invented spectacles... Except, frustratingly, he forgot to mention the bloke’s name. One popular contender for the title is Salvino D'Armati, a Florentine said to have created the first glasses in 1284. The only problem? His story turned out to be a hoax—his supposed 1317 epitaph even used the word "inventor," which didn’t exist yet. But the connection to the church is legit, as the earliest wearers of glasses were usually monks, because they were the nation’s biggest bookworms. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly romp through a brief history of optometry, learning how ear hooks first came to the fore; explaining how Seneca used early lenses to assist his reading; and revealing Benjamin Franklin’s surprising role in the world of bifocals… Further Reading: • ‘Through the looking glass’ (British Library, 2019): https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2019/02/medieval-spectacles.html • ‘The history of spectacles’ (College of Optometrists): https://www.college-optometrists.org/the-british-optical-association-museum/the-history-of-spectacles • ‘Why so many people need glasses now’ (Vox, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAkFtka3UFw 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Departing from Puerto Rico with grand plans to establish a new colony, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León set out on his ill-fated second expedition to Florida on February 20th, 1521.  Ponce de León's reputation as a conquistador preceded him, with tales of his brutal conquests in Hispaniola preceding his quest for new lands. Despite being ousted from power by his rival Diego Columbus, Ponce de León received a charter from King Ferdinand to explore and govern distant territories. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why de León named his ‘discovery’ "Florida"; explain why the ‘tree of death’ played a pivotal part in his downfall; and discover where those ‘Fountain of Youth’ rumours came from…  Further Reading:  • ‘Ponce de Leon: Florida & Fountain of Youth’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/juan-ponce-de-leon • ‘Ponce De Leon Never Searched for the Fountain of Youth’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2013): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ponce-de-leon-never-searched-for-the-fountain-of-youth-72629888/ ‘Juan Ponce de León: Meet the Spanish explorer who discovered Florida’ (10 Tampa Bay, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-BjLdHerRk 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

When the Second Continental Congress calmly reshuffled the revolutionary army’s high command on 19th February 1777, they couldn’t have known they were detonating a grievance in one of their most daring and battle-tested commanders: Benedict Arnold. Arnold was certain that he had the merit and seniority to be promoted, but instead saw junior officers leapfrogging him in a decision printed for all to see. It was the first of many humiliations, arguably leading ultimately to his scandalous defection to the British. George Washington, aware of the dangers, wrote tactfully to Arnold, urging patience and suggesting the omission might yet be corrected. But Arnold’s sensitivity to honour had deep roots: born into a once-prominent Rhode Island family whose fortunes declined through his father’s alcoholism, his whole military career can be seen as an attempt to rehabilitate his reputation.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how history would remember this turncoat and traitor had he died instead at the Battles of Seratoga; explain how the seeds of his treachery were sewn in his marriage to Peggy Shippen; and ask whether the chip on his shoulder was truly justified…  Further Reading: • ‘BENEDICT ARNOLD: HERO, TRAITOR... WHINER’ (The Washington Post, 1995): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/1995/03/08/benedict-arnold-hero-traitor-whiner/52cd2720-8a16-4ba9-ac30-0d1cb56ca5b7/ • ‘10 Surprising Facts About Benedict Arnold’ (Mental Floss, 2021): https://www.mentalfloss.com/history/war/10-facts-about-benedict-arnold • ‘James Kirby Martin discusses the truths and legends of Benedict Arnold’ (American Revolution Institute, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl0v__W6B94 #Scandal #1700s #Philadelphia #Revolution 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

Sentenced to death for treason against his brother King Edward IV, George, Duke of Clarence was executed on 18th February, 1478 - and, according to legend, chose to be drowned in a butt of his favorite tipple: malmsey wine.  It was apt punishment for years of plotting against his brother alongside his father-in-law, the Earl of Warwick - most notably by claiming that the King’s two children were illegitimate. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how close George came to actually seizing the throne; consider how Shakespeare sexed things up for ‘Richard III’; and investigate the financial outlay required if you wanted to drown yourself in a butt of malmsey wine in 2022… Further Reading: • ‘Duke of Clarence: A title through time’ (The History Press): https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/duke-of-clarence-a-title-through-time/ • ‘Malmsey - Madeira Wine and Dine’: https://www.madeirawineanddine.com/malmsey/ • ‘On This Day: the execution of George, Duke of Clarence’ (Matt Lewis, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3teyJXLduCM 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 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Between 1908 and 1927, the Ford Motor Company sold 15,007,033 Model Ts, making the car the best-selling automobile the world had ever seen. That record came to an end on the 17th February, 1972 when the 15,007,034th Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the production line. The car was the brainchild of Adolf Hitler who commissioned it almost immediately after her became chancellor of Germany in 1933. His plan was that the German public, irrespective of whether they were a doctor or a factory worker could buy a car for just 1,000 Reichsmarks which would have been around 31 weeks’ pay for the average worker. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether the Beetle is more a triumph of engineering or advertising; discuss why Ford turned down the Volkswagen factory at Wolfsburg, which they could have had for free; and look at how the Führer’s car came to be loved by 1960s American hippies and flower children…   Further Reading: • ‘The VW Beetle: How Hitler’s idea became a design icon’ (BBC, 2014): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20130830-the-nazi-car-we-came-to-love  • ‘The world’s best-selling cars’ (Auto Express, 2022):  https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars-vans/33872/worlds-best-selling-cars  • ‘The History of Volkswagen, 'The People's Car’ (Wall Street Journal, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhH-oWHzzvQ  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. #70s #Inventions #US Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

High-rolling merchant Nicholas Vanacker wrote out a cheque for a hefty £400 on 16th February, 1659 - one of the earliest modern cheques still preserved today. For goldsmiths-to-the-aristocracy Morris and Clayton, the innovation wasn’t just about ease; it was a strategic move to reduce risk and maximize profit, even though the process involved clerks physically visiting other banks to balance accounts. Eventually, in the 1770s, bankers got smart and started meeting at the Five Bells pub in Lombard Street to settle transactions over a pint—probably the most British way to handle financial exchanges… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly track the history of the cheque through ancient civilizations; argue over the etymology of the word (French vs. Persian); and reminisce about the glory days of the cheque - the 1990s… Further Reading: • ‘16 February 1659: the first British cheque’ (MoneyWeek, 2021): https://moneyweek.com/426390/16-february-1659-the-first-british-cheque-is-issued • ’From the archives: the evolution of the cheque’ (Barclays, 2016): https://home.barclays/news/2016/08/evolution-of-the-cheque/ • ’How to Write a Check’ (Howcast, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIZWqIv_flA Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Winter Olympics kicked off in Calgary on 13th February, 1988 - but the stand-out stars of the event did not qualify for a medal. Rather, the four-man Jamaican Bobsled team - who would later become (unreliably) immortalised in the Disney comedy ‘Cool Runnings’ - became a testament to the intersection of determination, investment, and sporting excellence. The brainchild of Americans George Fitch and William Maloney, the concept was influenced by Jamaica's annual Pushcart Derby, and supported in part by the Tourist Board. Participants, including helicopter pilot Dudley Stokes, were recruited via the pair’s connections to the Jamaican military. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pick out fact from fiction in the Hollywood retelling of the saga; consider the legacy of Jamaica’s first-time involvement with this cold-weather sport; and reveal how reggae music really did help the team make it to the competition…  Further Reading: • 'I Was in The Jamaican Bobsled Team That Inspired 'Cool Runnings'' (Newsweek, 2022): https://www.newsweek.com/i-was-jamaican-bobsled-team-that-inspired-cool-runnings-1675732 • ‘Jamaican bobsleigh team: Everything you need to know about Cool Runnings, the 1988 Olympic Games, and more’ (Olympics, 2021): https://olympics.com/en/news/jamaican-bobsleigh-team-1988-winter-olympics • ‘Jamaican Bobsleigh Team Debut At Calgary Winter Olympics’ (Olympics, 1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm4DjRcmoPY 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

Just nine days before he was assassinated, Malcolm X visited an unlikely place on 12th February, 1965: Smethwick, the industrial suburb of Birmingham that had recently gained a grim reputation as ‘the most racist town in Britain’.  Having been refused entry to France, Malcolm X had been speaking at the London School of Economics when he was invited by Avtar Singh Jouhl of the Indian Workers’ Association to come to Smethwick’s Marshall Street, an ordinary residential road which had become a flashpoint for informal housing segregation.  White residents shouted racist abuse at him. He saw signs advertising jobs declaring “coloured people need not apply”. He went to the Blue Gates pub, where a ‘colour bar’ restricted service to non-white customers. After being denied service, he remarked that Smethwick felt “worse than America”. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the toxic politics of the 1964 general election, in which the notorious “If you want a n****r for a neighbour, vote Labour” slogan had surfaced in Smethwick; explain how the Conservative candidate Peter Griffiths entered Parliament under a cloud, with Prime Minister Harold Wilson labelling him a “parliamentary leper”; and consider how, just weeks before the Race Relations Act 1965 would ban discrimination in public places, Malcolm X’s visit to Smethwick took place at pivotal moment in British race relations… CONTENT WARNING: racism, historical racist terminology Further Reading: • ‘The day Malcolm X came to Smethwick 60 years ago’ (BBC News, 2025): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq8yy312xkxo • ‘Malcolm X in “the most racist town in Britain” (Black Country Living Museum): https://bclm.com/our-museum/blog/malcolm-x-in-the-most-racist-town-in-britain/ • ‘Malcolm X: 60 years on from special Smethwick visit’ (ITV, 2025): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eLVik05Wrs #UK #60s #Black #Racism  Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first women’s public toilets in London opened on Bedford St on 11th February, 1852 - attempting to capitalize on the success of George Jennings’ ‘monkey closets’, used by over 800,000 visitors to the 1851 Great Exhibition. Unfortunately, even though the facility had been fought for by campaigning women’s sanitary organizations, middle and upper class Victorian ladies were not yet prepared to pee in public - and the toilets closed a year later. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain where the phrase ‘spending a penny’ (probably) comes from; reveal why ‘the urinary leash’ came to describe the predicament of women’s lives; and investigate why the number of 21st century public toilets continues to fall…  Further Reading: • ‘Pamphlets of the Ladies Sanitary Association’ (Wellcome Collection): https://wellcomecollection.org/works?query=%22Ladies+Sanitary+Association.%22 • ‘London's long-term lav affair: A history of public toilets in the capital’ (BBC News, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-59785477 • ‘Victorian realities - how did they use the toilet??!’ (Prior Attire, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUHeSTDv_24 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 2022. #1800s #Victorian #Sexism #Inventions #Funny #UK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hanna-Barbera’s classic cat-and-mouse cartoon series Tom and Jerry kicked off when their debut short, ‘Puss Gets The Boot’, was released by MGM on 10th February, 1940.  But, at that time, the stars of the film were known as ‘Jasper and Jinx’. And studio bosses very nearly canned the whole concept - until the audience feedback, and awards nominations, started rolling in… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the chase-based slapstick of this hilariously violent double act empowered MGM to rival the might of Disney and Warner Bros; reveal how Tom and Jerry got their names; and explain how the racist depiction of ‘Mammy Two Shoes’ evolved from an African-American caricature into an Irish one…  Further Reading: • ‘The 50 MGM Films that Transformed Hollywood - Triumphs, Blockbusters, and Fiascos, By Steven Bingen’ (Lyons Press, 2022): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_50_MGM_Films_that_Transformed_Hollyw/bYh0EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Puss+Gets+the+Boot&pg=PA87&printsec=frontcover • ‘The Untold Truth Of Tom And Jerry’ (Looper, 2020): https://www.looper.com/196800/the-untold-truth-of-tom-and-jerry/ • ‘Puss Gets the Boot’ (MGM, 1940): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiHulAQmdqI 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just three months after Magic Johnson retired from basketball due to his HIV diagnosis, he made a triumphant return on 9th February, 1992 - at the NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida. The sports world was divided—some players, like Michael Jordan, welcomed him back, while others, like Karl Malone, were hesitant, voicing concerns about physical contact on the court. But when Johnson stepped out, fans and fellow players alike cheered him on, and Johnson racked up 25 points, dished out nine assists, and lead the West to a dominant 153-113 victory over the East, becoming named Most Valuable Player. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how Johnson became the face of basketball’s golden era; explain why misunderstandings and ignorance about HIV was so widespread; and uncover the career Johnson built beyond basketball... Further Reading: • ‘Magic Johnson returns for All‑Star Game | February 9, 1992’ (HISTORY, 2024): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/magic-johnson-returns-for-all-star-game • ‘Magic Johnson Talks About How He 'Needed' His Historic 1992 All-Star Game’ (UpRoxx, 2016): https://uproxx.com/dimemag/magic-johnson-1992-all-star-game-hiv/ • The Announcement: Magic Johnson (NBA, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMMWLS8D4OU 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