Today In History with The Retrospectors

On 24th April 1644, the Chongzhen Emperor walked to Meishan, a small hill in present-day Jingshan Park and hanged himself on a tree, bringing a sudden end to the Ming dynasty. The writing had been on the wall for him for some time. By 1640, the unfortunate emperor faced multiple pandemics, an invasion, two internal rebellions, persistent drought, widespread famine, and an economic collapse. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the fifth son of a low ranking concubine ultimately became emperor; reveal wythe Chongzhen Emperor used to sleep clutching a sword at night; and reveal why in medieval China, the gods could grant a monarch a mandate to rule, but they could also take it away if they felt like it… Further Reading: • ‘A death on Coal Hill’ (The China Project, 2022): https://thechinaproject.com/2022/04/20/a-death-on-coal-hill/ • ‘The Fall of the Ming Dynasty in China in 1644’ (Thought Co., 2018): https://www.thoughtco.com/the-fall-of-the-ming-dynasty-3956385 • ‘Why did Ming explode into chaos? (Animated History)’ (Laith - The Social Streamers, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTBQJFOA-Tk CONTENT WARNING: suicide, mass suicide #1400s #China 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coca-Cola was approaching its 100th birthday on 23rd April, 1985, when it unveiled a new beverage at New York City's Lincoln Center: the ‘smoother, rounder, bolder’ flavour of ‘New Coke’. The success of Diet Coke had fragmented the market, and, in response to Pepsi's aggressive marketing campaigns targeting younger consumers, Coke had sought to introduce a sweeter formula. But, instead of offering the new formula alongside the original, they made the catastrophic decision to discontinue their classic recipe, known as Merchandise 7X. The company had conducted extensive taste tests involving 190,000 consumers, which indicated a preference for the new formula. However, these tests overlooked the deep emotional connection many had with the original Coke. Protest groups like the Society for the Preservation of the Real Thing and Old Cola Drinkers of America, founded by Gay Mullins, emerged, reflecting the public's dissatisfaction, and, just 79 days after the launch, on July 11th, 1985, Coca-Cola held a press conference to announce the return of the original formula - now branded as "Coca-Cola Classic." In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal those hardcore cola fans who stockpiled soda like it was gold; uncover the psychiatrist’s opinion that Coke’s most committed customers were behaving as if they’d experienced a bereavement; and consider the conspiracy theories that suggest Coca-Cola engineered the whole debacle deliberately… Further Reading: • ‘Coke, The Taste That Distresses’ (The Washington Post, 1985): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/06/07/coke-the-taste-that-distresses/1f0758dd-98a2-4a9d-ae1c-c188c2228354/ • ‘New Coke Didn’t Fail. It Was Murdered’ (Mother Jones, 2019): https://www.motherjones.com/food/2019/07/what-if-weve-all-been-wrong-about-what-killed-new-coke/ • ‘1985: Coca-Cola launches new Coke’ (CBS Evening News, 1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8j97dOLsyk #80s #Advertising #Mistakes #Food 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Riding a Penny Farthing bicycle from the Sierra Nevada mountains to Yokohama, Japan, Thomas Stevens began his epic two-and-a-half year journey around the world on 22nd April, 1884. Along the way, he encountered mountain lions, Persian aristocracy, and thousands of supporters from bicycle clubs, who turned up to hear him speak. His journey was endlessly delayed by having to demonstrate the virtues of his bike to anyone who asked. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the ‘wheel-men’ of 1884 desperately needed a role-model like Stevens; reveal how he was able to monetize his adventurism in a very modern way; and unearth the surprising second career he embarked upon back in his native England… Further Reading: • ‘The Fearless Traveller: Around the World with Thomas Stevens’ (Adventure Cycling, 2010): https://www.adventurecycling.org/sites/default/assets/resources/201005_TheFearlessTraveler_Koss.pdf • ‘Thomas Stevens, a Berkhamsted pioneer, crosses America by bicycle’ (Berkhamsted Local History & Museum Society): https://berkhamsted-history.org.uk/thomas-stevens-a-berkhamsted-pioneer-crosses-america-by-bicycle/ • ‘Epic Explorers: Thomas Stevens’ (The EPIC Channel, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqHY1-TL12o #Explorer #Sport #UK #USA #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 2025. This episode first aired in 2022 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Costing just 12,500 yen, Nintendo's revolutionary handheld console, the Game Boy, was released in Japan on 21st April, 1989, quickly selling out its initial stock of 300,000 units. With its compact size, cartridge-based games, and impressive battery life, the Game Boy went on to become a cultural phenomenon, setting the stage for a new era of portable entertainment. Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the device’s humble monochrome display and lack of backlight were actually secrets of its success; consider Gunpei Yokoi's design philosophy of "lateral thinking with withered technology"; and reveal how Super Mario Land, not Tetris, was very nearly bundled in with the U.S. release… 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 2025. This episode first aired in 2024 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Action Comics #1, published on April 18th, 1938, featured the first ever appearance of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s iconic superhero, Superman. The character already boasted invincibility, had a hopeless crush on Lois Lane, and an inexplicable penchant for wearing bright red underpants on the outside of his costume. But, as yet, he could not fly, did not live in Kansas, and did not work at the Daily Planet. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Siegel and Shuster came to sell the rights to their creation for a paltry $130; reveal the Jewish subtexts of Krypton and Batman; and consider whether Superman’s liberal politics prevented DC from fully embracing the character they’d unleashed… Further Reading: • ‘Action Comics #1: Superman’ (DC, 1938): https://archive.org/details/superman-1938-issue-1/mode/2up • ‘Superman at 80: The Jewish origins of the Man of Steel and the 'curse' that haunts the actors who play him’ (The Independent, 2018): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/superman-jewish-origins-film-adaptations-curse-jerry-siegel-christopher-reeve-henry-cavill-a8344461.html • ‘Superman’ (Columbia, 1948): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7soDPQUxpOk #30s #Publishing #Jewish #Comics 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oil tycoon Robert P. McCulloch purchased London Bridge for $2,460,000 on 17th April, 1968. The Victorian structure, which had been sinking into the River Thames at a rate of one inch every eight years, was then dismantled stone by stone and shipped to the USA, where it now bestrides Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The wheeze was the work of advertising executive-turned-London councilor Ivan Luckin, who convinced his colleagues that it might be possible to sell the bridge to pay for the costs of building a new one, and set about a marketing blitz including a press conference in New York in which he invoked the crossing’s illustrious Roman history. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the gaudy launch ceremony; debunk the myth that McCulloch thought he was buying Tower Bridge instead; and reveal that buying the bridge wasn’t even this eccentric entrepreneur’s wackiest idea… Further Reading: • ‘How London Bridge Ended Up In Arizona’ (HISTORY, 2016): https://www.history.com/news/how-london-bridge-ended-up-in-arizona • Inside Arizona's London Bridge (BBC, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnHy4_P8SCE • ‘London Bridge in America - The Tall Story of a Transatlantic Crossing, By Travis Elborough’ (Jonathan Cape, 2013): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/London_Bridge_in_America/n96uDvKN3ioC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ivan+Luckin&pg=PA271&printsec=frontcover 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pharaoh Thutmose III’s legendary military career kicked off on 16th April, 1457 BC with the Battle of Megiddo, the first recorded battle in history. Facing a rebellion from the Canaanite city-states, who thought they could take advantage of his inexperience, Thutmose assembled a massive army and marched straight to Megiddo, a crucial strategic hub in modern-day Israel. Boldly, he led his troops through a treacherous, narrow pass, single file, at great personal risk. His generals were understandably terrified, but the gamble paid off—and they took the enemy by surprise. Yet, despite his brilliant tactics, his troops got distracted looting the battlefield, and it took a further seven months of siege before they secured the city. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how detailed records of the Pharaoh’s expeditions have been passed down; wonder if scribes became weary of the warrior-king’s repeated victories; and discover why we should all pay attention to Megiddo - it’s in the Book of Revelation… Further Reading: • ‘Thutmose III's Battle of Megiddo Inscription’ (World History Encyclopedia, 2017): https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1102/thutmose-iiis-battle-of-megiddo-inscription/ • ‘Battle of Megiddo’ (National Army Musem): https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-megiddo • ‘​​The Deadliest Pharaoh | Thutmose III | Ancient Egypt Documentary’ (History Explained, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2XS3vmVGjU #Egyptian #War #Israel #Royals 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A chaotic, shambolic and critically panned parody, the first on-screen incarnation of Ian Fleming’s novel ‘Casino Royale’ received its London premiere on 12th April, 1967 - with final edits still being made in the projection room. Nonetheless, it went on to take an extraordinary $40 million at the box office. Hardnut hero James Bond’s adventures had become a swinging Sixties sex comedy starring Peter Sellers, thanks to Fleming’s disasterous decision to sell the movie rights to actor Gregory Ratoff for a song long before Bond was known all around the world thanks to the highly succesful film versions of his later books ‘Dr No’ and ‘From Russia With Love’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how producer Charles K Feldman assembled such an impressive cast list for his 007 ensemble, including Orson Welles, Ronnie Corbett and Ursula Andress; explain how an on-set visit by Princess Margaret prompted an enormous clash of egos; and ponder why ‘the Spice World of the Sixties’ became such a box office hit… Further Reading: • ‘Casino Royale movie review & film summary’ (Roger Ebert, 1967): https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/casino-royale-1967 • ‘The Casino Royale calamity: how Peter Sellers turned Bond into a laughing stock’ (Daily Telegraph, 2021): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/casino-royale-calamity-peter-sellers-turned-bond-laughing-stock/ • ‘Casino Royale: Official Trailer’ (MGM, 1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onhWav2DejM 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 2025. This episode first aired in 2022 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President William Howard Taft became the first Commander-in-Chief to throw the ceremonial first pitch on 14th April, 1910. Taft's participation cemented baseball as the quintessential American sport, in a period when it was still shedding its dodgy image. The game’s enduring popularity ensured that the tradition persisted for over a century, with each president adding their unique flair to the ritual - though it has faced challenges, including presidents being booed by crowds and political statements made during the ceremonial pitch. In this episode, The Retrospectors reveal which presidents have passed on the opportunity to participate, which have prepared extra-hard for their big sporting moment, and which UK Prime Minister turned down the opportunity to have a go himself… Further Reading: ‘How the first pitch became baseball's Opening Day tradition’ (National Geographic): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/first-pitch-baseball-opening-day-tradition ‘Taft becomes first U.S. president to throw out first pitch at MLB game’ (HISTORY, 2021): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/historic-baseball-pitches-presidents ‘Presidential First Pitches’ (Richard S. Dargan, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB7ualOQTh0 This episode first premiered in 2024, 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Stone of Scone, an oblong block of red sandstone used for centuries in the coronation of British monarchs, was recovered by Police on April 11th, 1951; three and a half months after its removal from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day. Four Scottish students from the University of Glasgow (Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon, Kay Matheson and Alan Stuart) stole the stone in the hope it could boost interest in Scottish nationalism. Instead, it seemed to provoke a national discussion about where the stone - which they’d accidentally split in two before bungling it into their Ford Anglia - should now reside. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly decode the religious myths surrounding this ‘stone of destiny’; explain why Charles III *will* want it to ‘groan’ when he sits on it; and reveal the ingenious way the authorities tracked the stone up to Arbroath… Further Reading: • ‘Theft of the Stone of Scone’ (The Guardian, 2007): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/dec/29/featuresreviews.guardianreview • ‘The students who stole the Stone of Destiny’ (BBC News): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-63130942 • ‘Coronation Stone of Scone discovered in Scotland’ (Gaumont, 1951): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-ni0XrAmtA 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The foundations of modern copyright law were laid on 10th April 1710, when the Statute of Anne came into effect. Before the Act, anyone could copy and sell books without giving a penny to the author; now, writers would be protected from being completely exploited by (British) publishers for an initial period of 14 years. Writers like Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe had earned respect as professionals, pushing for more control over their own work, and leading to a shift away from the Stationers’ Company—a powerful guild that previously held a monopoly over publishing and censorship. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how later writers like William Wordsworth would campaign for longer copyright duration; revisit the milestones that allowed the law to be applied to other creative endeavours, such as music and film; and reveal why you won’t be hearing Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in many adverts for a few years yet… Further Reading: • ‘The Statute of Anne’ (British Parliament, 1710): https://ipmall.law.unh.edu/sites/default/files/hosted_resources/lipa/copyrights/Statute%20of%20Anne%20_1710_.pdf • ‘Whose line is it anyway?’ (The Sunday Times, 2012): https://www.thetimes.com/article/7c5efe43-97d5-4d9f-b53f-5444bca12a2a • ‘IP BASICS: What is Intellectual Property?’ (Intellectual Property Office UK, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYiXTKbdNr4 #Publishing #1700s #UK #Legal 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The only sitting U.S. president to ever be arrested was Ulysses S. Grant, who was busted THREE TIMES for the same crime: speeding. The first was 9th April, 1886, when he tore through Washington, D.C. in a horse-drawn buggy. General Grant scoffed at the idea of getting arrested and simply rode off: the 1860s version of flipping the bird. Grant’s love for fast horses wasn’t just a reckless hobby—it was part of his identity. Even at West Point, he was known more for his exceptional riding skills than his military prowess, and his ability to charge fearlessly into battle on horseback had made him an unstoppable force in the Civil War, leading the Union Army to victory. But back in peacetime D.C., his speed-demon tendencies weren’t quite as heroic. The streets were packed with pedestrians, and reckless buggies had already caused serious injuries, so law enforcement was cracking down. Just three months later, he was caught speeding again. This time, he played it cool, paid the fine, and didn’t cause a scene. But the real kicker came in 1872, when Grant—now a sitting U.S. president—was arrested yet again. This time, the officer in question was William West, a Black Civil War veteran turned policeman. The encounter was almost poetic: a president known for fighting for African American rights being held accountable by a Black officer who had once fought for the Union. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the veracity of Officer West’s account, given it wasn’t published for many decades; consider why twenty women reportedly turned up to court the next day to testify against the President’s mates; and reveal how the arrests were reported very differently in the South… Further Reading: • ‘Has a U.S. President Ever Been Arrested Before? | When Ulysses S. Grant Was Arrested for Speeding’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2023): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/when-president-ulysses-s-grant-was-arrested-for-speeding-in-a-horse-drawn-carriage-180981916/ • ‘Was General Grant Arrested for Speeding in Washington, D.C.?’ (U.S. National Park Service) https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/was-general-grant-arrested-for-speeding-in-washington-d-c.htm • ‘Civil War Hero: Ulysses S. Grant was a Horse Whisperer?! | Told By Macey Hensley | History at Home’ (History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOj0qUGpksg #Funny #Black #Crime #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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The most famous armless statue of all time, ‘Venus de Milo’ was discovered by a farmer on the Aegean island of Milos on 8th April, 1829, sparking an international bidding war that saw her eventually donated to the Louvre by Louis XVIII. The French had a particular interest in snapping up a new ancient treasure, having been forced to return many priceless artefacts to their original nations following Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the statue’s original blingtastic paintwork; explain why Louis XVIII’s obesity delayed its arrival in Paris; and ask what actually happened to Venus’s arms… Image: https://flickr.com/photos/sey_alg9/ Further Reading: • ‘Venus de Milo: The Most Famous Armless Statue in the World’ (HowStuffWorks, 2020): https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/artwork/venus-de-milo.htm • ‘How a peasant farmer found the Venus de Milo’ (The National, 2020): https://www.thenational.scot/news/18365077.peasant-farmer-found-venus-de-milo/ • ‘The conspiracy behind this famous statue’ (VOX, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs1VWuQEd7Y 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Michael and Andew Ridgely, aka British duo Wham!, became the first Western group to play a gig in Communist China on 7th April, 1985. The event, staged at the People's Gymnasium in Beijing, was primarily a strategic move aimed at breaking the band in the United States; the brainchild of the band’s managers, Gordon Jazz Summer and Simon Napier Bell, who embarked on a series of hotel lunches with Chinese officials, gradually unveiling the proposal for Wham!'s performance. The logistical challenges were immense - requiring a jumbo jet solely dedicated to transporting equipment for the concert, and securing funding for an accompanying film from CBS. In this episode, The Retrospectors consider how the atmosphere was tempered by police presence and cultural sensitivities; reveal just why it was that the audience knew all the songs, even though they’d never heard of the band when they’d purchased their tickets; and discover how NOT to get a clap-along going during ‘Club Tropicana’... Further Reading: • ‘Wham! Play China’ (MOJO Magazine, 2023): https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/stories/wham-play-china/ • ‘When China met Wham!’ (CBC Radio, 2015): https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-friday-edition-1.3028194/when-china-met-wham-thirty-years-ago-the-band-staged-first-western-pop-concert-1.3028466 • ’Wham! In China: Foreign Skies’ (Lindsahy Anderson, 1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG5flQd5ETI 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gerald Holtom’s CND symbol, known internationally as the ‘peace’ symbol, made its debut at a protest march by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament on 4th April, 1958. The march went from London to Aldermaston, where Britain’s nuclear weapons were and still are manufactured. Five hundred cardboard ‘lollipop sticks’ displaying the logo were produced - and it’s since scarcely been out of circulation as an anti-establishment plea for peace around the world. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly question whether Goya helped influence Holton’s iconic design; reveal how author J.B. Priestley had fermented the protests on this day; and consider the International Shoe Corporation’s dubious claim to the patent … Further Reading: • ‘The Peace Symbol: Beginnings and Evolution’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/the-peace-symbol-1779351# • ‘He gave his unforgettable work for nothing. Shouldn't the designer of the peace symbol be commemorated?’ (The Guardian, 2015): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/28/shouldnt-british-designer-gerard-holtom-of-peace-symbol-be-commemorated-paris-attacks • ‘Walter Wolfgang: 'why I marched to Aldermaston in 1958' (CND, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLqBUws7R8E #50s #UK #War #Design 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 2025. This episode first aired in 2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before the transcontinental telegraph, sending a message coast-to-coast in the United States could take up to a month via stagecoach. Until, that is, the opening of the Pony Express, on April 3, 1860. Its founders, William H. Russell, William Bradford Waddell and Alexander Majors, set up over 150 relay stations along a pioneer trail, recruiting wiry teenage lone riders (‘orphans preferred’) to make the precarious trek in a record-breaking ten days. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the employment clauses insisted upon by these entrepreneurs; consider how Buffalo Bill Cody enshrined the concept in the American frontier myth for generations; and explain why, if you thought a job as a mailman sounded risky, you *really* wouldn’t want to be posted at the relay stations… Further Reading: • ‘The Pony Express Was Short-Lived And Costly’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2015): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pony-express-was-short-lived-and-costly-180954986/ • ‘Pony Express Debuts’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pony-express-debuts • ‘Trailer: The Pony Express’ (Paramount, 1953): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5va9JXedVo #1800s #US #Animals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fleetwood Mac’s iconic breakup album ‘Rumours’ hit No.1 on the U.S. album charts on April 2nd, 1977, and has never really left the public consciousness since. With banger after banger—Dreams, Go Your Own Way, The Chain—it resonated across generations, but perhaps especially with the band’s boomer contemporaries, many experiencing troubled relationships of their own. At the time of its recording in California, Mick Fleetwood was reeling from a collapsed marriage, John and Christine McVie were divorcing, and Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were locked in an emotional war, with Nicks soon to embark upon a relationship with Fleetwood. Recording Rumours was a year-long endurance test. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the mathematical formula for Fleetwood’s cocaine consumpion; consider how TikTok has revived interest in this seminal LP; and reveal how, despite making positive noises, contemporary critics missed just how important the album would become… Further Reading: • ‘Rumours’ (Library of Congress, 2017): https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/Rumours.pdf • ‘Fleetwood Mac: In the Middle of the Road’ (The Washington Post, 1977): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1977/02/09/fleetwood-mac-in-the-middle-of-the-road/537b612c-e519-4623-a118-144efcac1a1f/ • ‘Fleetwood Mac - Rumours [Full Album]’ (Warner Records, 1977): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uFU79MGj00 #Music #70s #US #Celebrity 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Under the orders of King Charles III - who wanted marble and classical art for his palace at Portici - Spanish military engineer Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre excavated some Campanian ruins on 1st April, 1748 - and discovered the long-lost city of Pompeii. Buried beneath volcanic ash and debris since Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79, much of the city was remarkably preserved; including breathtaking buildings that portrayed the opulent lifestyle enjoyed by the city's wealthy elite. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the site has since inspired all archaeological digs; ask why Pompeii in particular has generated such huge human interest; and reveal the truth about ‘Wanking Man’... Further Reading: • ‘Excavations of Pompeii in the 18th Century · The Discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum’ (from ‘Piranesi in Rome’, Wellesley College): http://omeka.wellesley.edu/piranesi-rome/exhibits/show/discovery-of-pompeii-and-hercu/pompeii-excavations • ‘The two embracing 'maidens' of Pompeii are both MEN’ (MailOnline, 2017): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4391498/The-two-embracing-maidens-Pompeii-MEN.html • ‘Pompeii: New Studies Reveal Secrets From a Dead City’ (National Geographic, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSg_Sd94Y8k 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tinky Winky, Dipsy, La La and Po were introduced to British viewers on 31st March, 1997 - launching an international phenomenon and changing kid’s television forever. ‘Teletubbies’ was an enormous hit for the BBC, but not without controversy: from viewers concerned that the characters’ toddlerish language might impede the linguistic development of the nation’s children, to angry Radio Times readers who claimed the BBC were committing ‘cultural vandalism’ by axing the long-running series Playdays. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly get lost in the weeds of Teletubbies Wiki fandom; revisit the ‘toy rage’ that the show had inspired by Christmas 1997; and reveal why the first generation ‘tubbies never did live appearances… Further Reading: • ‘Teletubbies turn 20: how four blinking toddlers became a true TV phenomenon’ (The Guardian, 2017): https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/mar/31/teletubbies-turn-20-how-four-blinking-toddlers-became-a-true-tv-phenomenon • ‘The Great Distractor’ (Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, 2021): https://www.mediatechdemocracy.com/work/the-great-distractor • ‘Teletubbies: Ned’s Bicycle’ (BBC, 1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9woh2gKx1rM&list=PL8Zq4IrtuktnIh_XkWqMRfNkebVPgUIwy 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 2025. This episode first aired in 2022 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a 23 year run that included introducing American audiences to The Beatles, Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones, the last original episode of ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ aired on CBS on March 28, 1971. The variety programme, which cost $8 million per year, fell victim to ‘the rural purge’, via which several iconic shows that appealed mainly to poorer and older demographics were axed in favour of screening old movies. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Sullivan was able to become a TV superstar, despite having no discernible talent for presentation; explain how the host’s advancing senility gave an early advantage to comedian Joan Rivers; and reveal whom this famously polite father figure deigned to call ‘bitch’… Further Reading: • ‘Right Here on Our Stage Tonight! - Ed Sullivan's America, By Gerald Nachman’ (University of California Press, 2009): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Right_Here_on_Our_Stage_Tonight/v7owDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ed+sullivan+show+28th+march+1971&pg=PA384&printsec=frontcover • ‘Ed Sullivan, Variety Show Host Influenced American Culture’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/ed-sullivan-4589827 • ‘Elvis Presley performs "Hound Dog" on The Ed Sullivan Show’ (CBS, 1956): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNYWl13IWhY&list=PLQWND5qZhbj0nqnmye5U2g3Z-ai8wos4p 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices