Today In History with The Retrospectors

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

Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia was executed by the Bolsheviks in 1917 - yet, on 6th February, 1928, a mentally troubled Polish factory worker claiming to be her was welcomed to New York by Romanov associates. Anna Anderson’s claim to be the Tsar’s daughter climaxed in a 32-year legal saga, the longest in German history. But posthumous DNA testing debunked her claim, revealing no connection to the Royal family. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover how decades of Soviet misinformation contributed to the conspiracy; reveal how Prince Philip himself became involved in debunking it; and consider a reboot of the animated version of her life… Further Reading: • ‘Did Anastasia Survive The Romanovs Massacre? The Real History Explained’ (HistoryExtra, 2023): https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/did-anastasia-survive-massacre-romanovs-real-history-facts-conspiracy/ • ‘How Anna Anderson Became The Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia’ (All That’s Interesting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/anna-anderson • ‘Royal Runaway? Ultimate Fate of Duchess Anastasia REVEALED’ (History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYRMHKC9xMA 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

United Artists, a new company formed by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith - four of the most powerful figures in early cinema - was announced on 5th February 1919. The movie trade press quickly labelled it a ‘rebellion’ against the mainstream studios. Declaring their new enterprise would exist to “protect the industry from itself”, the Hollywood quartet took aim at an industry that depended on long contracts, vertical integration and strict talent control. They hoped to see a greater degree of creative autonomy and financial reward, but perhaps underestimated the difficulty of running a distribution company and the risks the studio system itself had absorbed. Existing contracts delayed releases, investors were wary, and the promise of artistic freedom collided with the realities of inconsistent output, experimental failure and changing technology, including the arrival of sound. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider UA’s eerily prescient ambition to counter ‘machine-made entertainment’; discover how an experience selling war bonds helped inspire the idea for the studio; and explain why, despite their success, the studio still missed out on ‘Gone With The Wind’... Further Reading: • ‘United Artists: The studio that challenged and revolutionised Hollywood’ (Far Out, 2021): https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/united-artists-studio-revolutionised-hollywood/ • ‘Artists Unite Against the Studios’ (Celebrate California): https://celebratecalifornia.library.ca.gov/february-5-1919-artists-unite-against-the-studios-2/ • ‘Chaplin, Fairbanks, Pickford & Griffith Signing United Artists Contract’ (1919): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEBZU_KHSM0 #Hollywood #1910s #Business #Film 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

Disguised variously as a baseball umpire, NFL referee, pro golfer, and even Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, Barry Bremen earned his reputation as America’s greatest pitch invader - a career that kicked off on 4th February, 1979. Dressed as a player for the Kansas City Kings, the 32 year-old insurance salesman crashed the court of an NBA All-Star basketball game - much to the delight of fellow players and spectators. Hey, it was the Seventies! In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why top sportsmen of the day were so keen to support him; reveal how the media encouraged his efforts to become a sporting celebrity; and explain why his behaviour pushed the broadcasters of the 1985 Emmys to cut quickly to a puzzled David Hasselhoff… Further Reading: • ‘From Ali Dia to Karl Power: the greatest impostors in sporting history’ (The Guardian, 2016): https://www.theguardian.com/sport/shortcuts/2016/oct/18/from-ali-dia-barry-bremen-greatest-fakers-in-sporting-history • ’When Barry Bremen Tried to Infiltrate the Dallas Cowgirls, the Team Found It a Drag’ (People, 1980): https://people.com/archive/when-barry-bremen-tried-to-infiltrate-the-dallas-cowgirls-the-team-found-it-a-drag-vol-13-no-2/ • ‘The Great Imposter Barry Bremen’ (NBC, 1979): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNjZni1yQ90 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

With a cast of over 800, and a budget equivalent to £3 million, James Shirley’s extravagant masque ‘The Triumph of Peace’ was performed on 3rd February, 1634. Unusually, it was such a popular show that, despite the enormous cost of staging it, King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria requested that it be repeated. Though replete with all the arse-kissing allegorical tableaux that typified these celebrations of the monarchy - and requisite set designs by Inigo Jones - this spectacular was also markedly different from its predecessors in that it was especially designed to appease Henrietta, who had been slurred by polemicist William Prynne. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly come to terms with the ‘17th century immersive theatre’ experience; explain why legendary playwright Ben Jonson WASN’T involved in this one; and reveal how a masque was once responsible for the destruction of Shakespeare’s Globe… Further Reading: • ‘Masque and music at the Stuart court’ (Royal Museums Greenwich): https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/masque-music-stuart-court • ‘Inigo Jones designs for masque costumes’ (The British Library): https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/inigo-jones-designs-for-masque-costumes • ‘The History of the British Masque’ (Heidi Kobara, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G22UED2yJ_Q 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. #1600s #Theatre #Royals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leonarde Keeler, inventor of the modern polygraph, first showcased his device in a courtroom on 2nd February, 1935. The wooden box, which measured physiological responses like blood pressure and respiration, took the stand alongside him, and, while Keeler emphasized the machine wasn’t infallible, he later told journalists assembled outside the venue that his invention would soon revolutionise criminal justice. Keeler’s innovations built upon earlier work by others, including Scottish cardiologist James McKenzie, who created a device to detect heart arrhythmias, and Dr. William Moulton Marston, who later linked blood pressure changes to emotional responses - and, inspired by his "truth-telling" research, would go on to create Wonder Woman. But Keeler’s talent for self-promotion, using dramatic applications of his polygraph, made his name, and cemented the device’s reputation as a “lie detector” (a term he never actually used). In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how the polygraph - now discredited as evidence in US courts - once put a Death Row inmate to the electric chair; reveal how Keeler’s mentors gradually drifted away from the ‘monster’ they had created; and explain how the men who invented the ‘truth machines’ of the 20th century had an uncanny talent for meeting their wives at work… Further Reading: • ’Will Lie Detectors Ever Get Their Day in Court Again?’ (Center for Law, Brain & Behavior, Harvard University, 2015): https://clbb.mgh.harvard.edu/will-lie-detectors-ever-get-their-day-in-court-again/ • ‘He Met His Wife Over a Lie Detector. Then Things Got Interesting’ (PBS American Experience, 2022): https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/lie-detector-1000-words/ • ‘Neurologist Trashes "Lie Detector" Tests’ (Dr. Brandon Beaber, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_08b7Y7DgI 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

Revolutionary leader Oliver Cromwell was executed on 30th January, 1661 - despite having been dead for more than two years. His body was exhumed from its tomb in Westminster Abbey on the instruction of King Charles II, who sought retribution for those involved in the trial and execution of his father, Charles I. Along with other Regicides, Cromwell’s corpse was disinterred and subjected to public abuse. On the anniversary of Charles I’s beheading, Cromwell’s head was mounted on a spike and stuck on the roof of Westminster Hall - where it remained for thirty years. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly track the illustrious history of Cromwell’s head from that date forth; consider whether the crowd in attendance at the ‘execution’ really hated their former Lord Protector as much as their jeering suggests; and explain how the intervention of a future Prime Minister prevented Cromwell’s relic being put on public display as recently as the 19th Century… Further Reading: • ‘Oliver Cromwell: Hero or Villain?’ (HistoryExtra, 2014) : https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/oliver-cromwell-hero-or-villain/ • ‘The Strange Saga of Oliver Cromwell's Head’ (Mental Floss, 2019): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/585591/oliver-cromwells-head-history • ‘Opening The Coffin Of Oliver Cromwell’ (The Fortress, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR0_DE2zQgU 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 BBC broadcast the first ever edition of Roy Plomley’s ‘Desert Island Discs’ - the world’s longest-running interview programme - on 29th January, 1942. Opening, as the show still does, with Eric Coates’s theme music ‘By the Sleepy Lagoon’, the episode welcomed comedian Vic Oliver as the series’ first ‘castaway’. Plomely would go on to present a further 1,785 editions of the show until his death in 1985. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the metaphor of an abundant and sunlit desert island in the context of the horrors of the Blitz; discover how BBC censors ensured early episodes lacked the free-wheeling quality modern listeners expect; and reveal the most-chosen artists across the show’s incredible archive… Further Reading: • ‘The History of Desert Island Discs’ (BBC): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/59YrnYM0Tw8J7WJ0MGKVfh7/the-history-of-desert-island-discs • ‘Seven Decades of Desert Island Discs’ (The New Yorker, 2012)’ https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/seven-decades-of-desert-island-discs • ‘Kirsty Young introduces Desert Island Discs: 70 Years of Castaways’ (Waterstones, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7NwCAAAgM #40s #Celebrity #Arts 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

Stud-and-tube bricks, which paved the way for Lego to become one of the most successful companies in Denmark, were patented on 28th January, 1958. But this family business had already been in existence for 26 years, mostly making wooden toys. It later emerged, however, that the plastic self-locking bricks that brought them so much success had in fact already been invented - and patented - by British toymaker Hillary Page in 1940. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Lego’s lawyers stay one step ahead of their imitators; unconvincingly demonstrate how to pronounce ‘Skoda’; and reveal how branded toys - a controversial pivot for the company in the ‘90s - helped save the business… Further Reading: • ‘LEGO Brick Timeline: 50 Years of Building Frenzy and Curiosities’ (Gizmodo, 2008): https://gizmodo.com/lego-brick-timeline-50-years-of-building-frenzy-and-cu-349509 • ‘Self-Locking Building Bricks, Lego precursor, Kiddicraft (1944-)’: https://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/index/Category:Self-Locking_Building_Bricks_(Kiddicraft) • ‘60 years of LEGO: capturing the world's imagination’ (5 News, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZTiAarAOqw 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. #50s #Games #Inventions #UK #Denmark This episode originally aired in 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The corpse of Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union, was placed on display in Moscow's Red Square on 27th January, 1924 - where, astonishingly, he remains viewable to this day. He’d wanted to be buried next to his mother in Saint Petersburg, but after he suffered a series of strokes, the Soviet government instead secretly planned to build a mausoleum for his body, in part to deify him as a quasi-religious figure. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how pioneering embalming techniques were created by ‘The Lenin Lab’ to look after the cadaver; ponder how mausoleum architect Alexey Shchusev contented with the January freeze; and consider whether an embalmed Queen Victoria would be just as popular a tourist attraction… Further Reading: • ‘Death of Lenin’ (The Guardian, 1924): ⁠https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/23/death-of-lenin-archive-1924⁠ • ‘Lenin's Body Improves with Age’ (Scientific American, 2015): ⁠https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lenin-s-body-improves-with-age1/⁠ • ‘Russia: 100 Years on from Revolution’ (BBC News, 2017): ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPmlX4kWgjs⁠ 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

The U.S. Postal Service permitted parcel delivery for packages under 11 pounds in 1913 - parameters which were pushed to their limits on 26th January, 1913, when Ohio couple Jesse and Matilda Beagle set a bizarre precedent by mailing their baby, James, a mile up the road to his grandmother. As Parcel Fever swept the nation, other parents began to use the Postal Service as an affordable alternative to train tickets. Most famously 4-year-old Charlotte May Pierstoff was mailed 73 miles to her grandparents for 55 cents, inspiring a popular children’s book. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate the “self-mailing” antics of various adult eccentrics; reveal how the Postal Service had to intervene to terminate this troublesome trend; and highlight the demand and enthusiasm that initially greeted the great revolution of a rural postal service… Further Reading: • ‘When People Used the Postal Service to 'Mail' Their Children’ (HISTORY, 2018): https://www.history.com/news/mailing-children-post-office • The strangest things sent in the post (BBC News, 2017): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42272052 • ‘How the Post Office Made America’ (Wendover Productions, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu2WOxXxsHw 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