Today In History with The Retrospectors

According to the 17th-century Archbishop James Ussher, the world began on 23rd October, 4004 BC at precisely midday. Today, it is easy to ridicule Ussher’s date – and plenty of people do – but his methodology was scrupulous and his calculations were in line with most of the best estimates of his age. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss what was behind the 17th Century fascination with the age of the Earth; investigate how the Gideon Society made Ussher a household name; and ask whether Ussher was the original superfan (with the caveat that his area of nerdy obsession happened to be Biblical chronology)... Further Reading: • ‘Chronologies: The date of the world’s beginning’ (University of Cambridge, 2022): https://exhibitions.lib.cam.ac.uk/reformation/artifacts/the-date-of-the-worlds-beginning/ • ‘How an archbishop calculated the Creation’ (The Irish Times, 2003): https://www.irishtimes.com/news/how-an-archbishop-calculated-the-creation-1.378556 • 'The Annals of the World by James Ussher' (BBC, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/wMDRZOpFQCCJwqJGg-qwCQ • 'The man who dated Creation at Oct. 23, 4004 BC' (The Globe and Mail, 2010): https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/the-man-who-dated-creation-at-oct-23-4004-bc/article4084451/ • 'Theologians in Conversation; James Ussher: Creation of Reputation' (University of Nottingham, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq-8TJRpYjA This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Sydney Opera House was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20th October, 1973, marking the start of a two-week festival of events in celebration of the audacious new building. “I understand that its construction has not been totally without problems,” Her Majesty commented with some understatement, adding “but the human spirit must sometimes take wings or sails, and create something that is not just utilitarian or commonplace”. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why the construction of the Opera House ran ten years late and 1,357% over budget; examine what prompted visionary architect Jørn Utzon to walk away from his magnum opus mid-project; and reveal why finding a home for the pie shop has long bedevilled the landmark's designers… Further Reading: • ‘Sydney Opera House - 50 years of extraordinary moments’ (Sydney Opera House, 2023): https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/our-story/50-years-extraordinary-moments • ‘The Surprising Story of the Sydney Opera House's Construction’ (Google Arts & Culture, 2020): https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-surprising-story-of-the-sydney-opera-house-39-s-construction/CAVhiDXG4On-xA?hl=en • ‘The Sydney Opera House (construction story) 1958 - 1973’ (BBC, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81-EDxHdmlI 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ten thousand spectators gathered by the side of the Thames on 19th October, 2003 to watch street magician/illusionist David Blaine come back down to Earth, having spent 44 days suspended in a perspex box in a stunt called ‘Above The Below’. It was an accomplishment almost sabotaged by the British tabloid media and general public, who had heckled him, tried to dismantle his crane, and even flown up a hamburger on a drone to taunt him. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why Londoners were so hostile to this performance art unfolding in their midsts; explain what Dizzee Rascal had to do with it all; and reveal exactly how Blaine did a wee, whilst suspended in mid-air… Further Reading: • ‘Above the Below’ - David Blaine’s Official Website: https://davidblaine.com/above-the-below/ • ‘Remembering David Blaine's 44 days in a glass box, which frustrated the British public like no other act of performance art’ (The Independent, 2018): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/david-blaine-london-glass-box-stunt-reaction-starvation-above-below-a8523606.html • ‘David Blaine - Above the Below’ (Harmony Korine, 2003): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki5fRls2uv4 ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content 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: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On October 18th, 1867, the United States formally took possession of Alaska, after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million, or less than two cents an acre. This certainly looks like an incredibly good deal today but at the time the American public believed the land to be barren and worthless and dubbed the purchase “Seward’s Folly” and “Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear Garden”, among other derogatory names. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss how the the discovery of gold served to change Americans' attitude to their purchase; explain why Alaska natives maintain that their land was never Russia's to sell; and reveal why the handover ceremony was a thoroughly unedifying spectacle… Further Reading: • ‘U.S. takes possession of Alaska’ (History.com, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-takes-possession-of-alaska • ‘There Are Two Versions of the Story of How the U.S. Purchased Alaska From Russia’ (Smithsonian, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-russia-gave-alaska-americas-gateway-arctic-180962714/ • ‘Why did Russia sell Alaska to America?’ (History Matters, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoR_k4Go9W8 Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The traditional music for the circus, "Entrance of the Gladiators", wasn’t actually written for the circus at all, instead when it was composed on 17th October, 1899, it was in fact intended to be a military march. Julius Fučík composed it, in part, to showcase the cutting-edge capabilities of the era's brass instruments, which had become quicker and more precise than ever before. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate how a sober military march ended up being associated with clowns and trapeze artists; explain what circus music would have sounded like before big bands took over; and reveal which song you should listen out for that traditionally tells circus performers if there is a fire or an escaped wild animal… Further Reading: • ‘Julius Fučík ‘Entrance of the Gladiators’: Roll Up Roll Up!’ (Clasicalexburns, 2020): https://classicalexburns.com/2021/10/15/julius-fucik-entrance-of-the-gladiators-roll-up-roll-up/ • ‘Circus Music History and Facts’ (History of Circus, 2020): https://www.historyofcircus.com/circus-facts/circus-music-history-facts/ • ‘Julius Fucik - Entry of the Gladiators’ (The Wicked North, 2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B0CyOAO8y0 Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jack The Ripper’s ‘letters’ can mostly be dismissed as hoaxes. The possible exception is the letter sent to George Lusk, the President of Mile End Vigilance Committee, on 16th October, 1888. It was marked, “From Hell”. And it had half a human kidney attached to it. “Sor I send you half the Kidne I took from one women”, it began. “prasarved it for you tother piece I fried and ate it was very nise. I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer. Catch me when you can Mishter Lusk”. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the motivation of the fraudulent letter-writers; examine whether the kidney sent with this letter could have been that of victim Catherine Eddowes; and interrogate Rebecca’s dalliance with Ripperology on an East London walking tour… Further Reading: • ‘Inside The 'From Hell' Letter Written By Jack The Ripper’ (All Thats Interesting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/from-hell-letter • ‘Your guide to Jack the Ripper’ (HistoryExtra, 2018): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/your-guide-to-jack-the-ripper/ • ‘George Lusk And The Letter From Hell’ (Jack The Ripper Tour, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGP0aX8ENd4 This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On October 13th, 1881, the linguist and grammarian Eliezer Ben-Yehuda held what is thought to have been the first modern conversation in Hebrew with two friends at a Paris café. The conversation would have had some serious stumbling blocks, given that the language was still missing numerous modern words including bicycle, towel, and – crucially for being in a cafe – a word for coffee. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss the connection between Hebrew's revival and growing Jewish nationalism; look at the personal lengths Ben-Yehuda was willing to go to make the language take off, including speaking to his son exclusively in Hebrew; and explain why, in the early days, conversing in an ancient language must have been like speaking exclusively in David Bowie song lyrics… Further Reading: • ‘Revival of the Hebrew language’ (The Jerusalem Post, 2010): https://www.jpost.com/jewish-world/jewish-news/this-week-in-history-revival-of-the-hebrew-language • ‘How to revive an ancient language, according to 19th-century Hebrew and Persian revivalists’ (University of Washington, 2018): https://jewishstudies.washington.edu/israel-hebrew/reviving-hebrew-persian-ancient-languages-eliezer-ben-yehuda-manekji-limji-hataria/ • ‘Hebrew wasn’t spoken for 2,000 years. Here’s how it was revived’ (National Geographic, 2023): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/hebrew-wasnt-spoken-for-2000-years-heres-how-it-was-revived • ‘The History & Revival of the Hebrew Language’ (Unpacked, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBiiad9fO-g 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The world’s most famous adult magazine went ‘SFW’ on 12th October, 2015 - when Scott Flanders, then Playboy’s chief executive, announced that future editions would no longer contain full nudity. The change lasted for only one year. ‘Reading it for the articles’ had, at one time, been a plausible option - the magazine had published stories by Margaret Atwood and interviews with Malcolm X, Vladimir Nabokov, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jimmy Carter. But, in the internet era, Playboy had become more lucrative as a clothing brand than as a credible print title, finally ceasing publication in 2020. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the first issue, from 1953; dig into Hugh Hefner’s burial plot; and visit Playboy’s website, FOR RESEARCH… Further Reading: •‘Playboy to remove nudity from magazine’ (Channel 4 News, 2015): https://www.channel4.com/news/playboy-to-remove-nudity-from-magazine •‘Playboy's Postfeminism Problem’ (Diggit, 2018): https://www.diggitmagazine.com/column/playboys-postfeminism-problem ‘Playboy Is Bringing Nudity Back’ (ThinkTank, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiJzqwM4ibA ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content 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: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Triggering a national and international outcry, the San Francisco school board issued an order on October 11th, 1906, requiring all Japanese and Korean children to attend a separate “Oriental School” where Chinese pupils were already segregated. The move came as a huge embarrassment to President Theodore Roosevelt, who was trying to build relations with Japan, prompting him to describe the school board’s action as a “wicked absurdity” in his annual message to Congress. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why an earthquake prompted San Francisco to act; explain why anti-Chinese sentiment came to be transferred to Japanese immigrants; and look into how laws overtly banning Asians from entering the country remained on the books in the US until 1965… Further Reading: • ‘Segregation of Japanese School Kids in San Francisco Sparks An International Incident’ (California State Library, 2019): https://cal170.library.ca.gov/japanese-segregation/ • ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement’ (History.com, 2009): https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/gentlemens-agreement • ‘The dark history of the Chinese Exclusion Act’ (TED, 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K88pWCimZg Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On 10th October, 1967 a treaty went into force that has gone on to become the backbone for all international space law – a United Nations-approved agreement known as the The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, but better known today as the Outer Space Treaty. It’s a relatively succinct document of just 17 articles, some as short as a single sentence, but it represented a lot of fundamentally very challenging cooperation at the time. Not least because it came about when the Cold War was in full swing, and both the United States and the Soviet Union wanted to prevent the expansion of the nuclear arms race into space. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the principles of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 turned out to be a good fit for rules on what can and can't be done in outer space; revisit everyone's favourite topic of property law in the 13th century; and discuss whether Elon Musk will, according to the law, own other planets if he lands on them. Further Reading: • ‘Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies’ (US Department of State, 2009): https://2009-2017.state.gov/t/isn/5181.htm • ‘How an international treaty signed 50 years ago became the backbone for space law’ (The Verge, 2017): https://www.theverge.com/2017/1/27/14398492/outer-space-treaty-50-anniversary-exploration-guidelines • ‘Who Owns The Moon?’ (Vsauce, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks8WH3xUo_E Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scandal beset baseball’s biggest contest on 9th October, 1919, when members of the Chicago White Sox conspired to lose the World Series to underdogs the Cincinnati Reds, in return for a slice of gambling profits. There had been numerous attempts to fix high-profile games before, but the ‘Black Sox’ affair was the first time America at large became aware of dodgy dealings behind-the-scenes - and the outrage rocked the country. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the role of notorious gangster Arnold Rothstein; question whether White Sox players were in fact underpaid in the era; and explain why the lines between truth and fiction were deliberately blurred in ‘Eight Men Out’, Eliot Asinof's 1963 book about the case... Further Reading: • ‘The 1919 Black Sox Baseball Scandal Was Just One of Many’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1919-black-sox-baseball-scandal-wasnt-first-180964673/ • ‘Arnold Rothstein: The Drug Kingpin Who Fixed The 1919 World Series’ (All Thats Interesting, 2022): https://allthatsinteresting.com/arnold-rothstein • ‘Eight Men Out: Banned From Baseball’ (Orion Pictures, 1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7ME7WkPyC8 This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The world’s most famous cabaret, the Moulin Rouge, opened its doors in Paris on 6th October, 1889. Founded by Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler, the club was originally called the Jardin de Paris and featured everything from art galleries to operettas, live tableau and an opium den. In the era of the Belle Epoque, however, the venue became most associated with the scandalous can-can dance, which actually originated in London but found its home in Montmartre. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a giant stucco elephant became part of the opening attractions; recall what happened when the Prince of Wales, future Edward VII, went to check out the entertainment on offer; and unpick the notorious novelty act ‘Le Pétomane’ (Joseph Pujol), and his, um, unique control over airflow… Further Reading: • ’The original Moulin Rouge the year before it burned down and other historical images, 1890-1930’ (Rare Historical Photos): https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/original-moulin-rouge-1914/ • ‘Fart history? Joseph Pujol trumps them all’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/aug/20/fart-history-joseph-pujol-trumps-them-all • ‘Moulin Rouge Paris’ (Explore France, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK7qVv-tNos 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ‘Women’s March’ of 1789 began spontaneously, when a market trader banged a drum in a Parisian square on 5th October - launching a chain of events which would eventually end a century of Versailles rule and lead to the execution of Louis XVI. Initially a reaction to the grain shortage that had left Parisians hungry as the aristocracy indulged in luxuries, the protest soon morphed into an angry mob demanding everything from the relocation of the monarchy to the murder of Marie Antoinette. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the protestors reportedly fainted at the King’s feet once granted an audience with him; review some of the bizarre weaponry mobilised by the mob; and learn that the French Revolution happened a lot more slowly than you probably think it did… Further Reading: • ‘A History of the Women’s March on Versailles’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/womens-march-on-versailles-3529107 • ‘How Bread Shortages Helped Ignite The French Revolution’ (HISTORY): https://www.history.com/news/bread-french-revolution-marie-antoinette#:~:text=The%20Bread%20Famine%20in%2018th%2Dcentury%20France.&text=It%20didn't%20work.,a%20little%20over%20three%20weeks • ‘What It Was Like To Live At Versailles’ (Weird History, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrKysG9aiic ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content 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: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum began chiseling the rockface of Mount Rushmore on 4th October, 1927 - the start of a 14 year project to carve Presidents Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Roosevelt into the South Dakotan summit. A team of up to 400 workers used dynamite, jackhammers, and chisels to shape the mountain into the iconic presidential faces, and to access the summit, built a staircase and ropes for support, working at dizzying heights of 500 feet above the ground. Remarkably, despite the dangers, not a single fatality occurred during the construction. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Borglum hotfooted it to the project from a even more controversial one in Georgia; unpick the Lakota Sioux people’s legal disputes with the U.S. government over the land rights; and reveal why George Washington's nose was even larger-than-life than the rest of him… Further Reading: • ‘Sculptor Gutzon Borglum - Mount Rushmore National Memorial’ (U.S. National Park Service, 2023): https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/gutzon-borglum.htm • ‘The Making of Mount Rushmore’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2011): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-making-of-mount-rushmore-121886182/ • ‘The dark history of Mount Rushmore - Ned Blackhawk and Jeffrey D. Means’ (Ted-Ed, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX4IvoP1HTk Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Irish popstar Sinéad O’Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II during her performance of Bob Marley’s ‘War’ on NBC’s TV show ‘Saturday Night Live’ on 3rd October, 1992. The unexpected act was meticulously planned by O'Connor; a protest against child abuse within the Catholic Church. The performance left the audience almost silent, and, although she faced significant backlash, O'Connor remained unapologetic, writing in her memoirs that it was one of her proudest achievements. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a Top of the Pops performance by Bob Geldof first inspired the stunt; reveal where precisely O’Connor got the photo of the Pope from; and ask if, when it comes to this divisive moment, SNL have fallen on the right side of history… Further Reading: • ‘The day Sinead O’Connor tore up a photo of the Pope on Saturday Night Live’ (The Independent, 2022): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/sinead-oconnor-snl-pope-photo-b2191296.html • ‘Sinead O’Connor’s Legacy With Sex Abuse Survivors in Catholic Church’ (Rolling Stone, 2023): https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/sinead-oconnor-catholic-church-abuse-legacy-1234797102/ • ‘Sinéad O'Connor rips up picture of Pope John Paul II’ (NBC, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGFj1WClin4 #90s #Religion #Protest #TV #Irish #Catholic CONTENT WARNING: child abuse Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published on October 2nd, 1902. The book was an instant sensation, needing reprints almost immediately, and ultimately went on to sell an extraordinary 40 million copies worldwide. Potter had initially written it in 1893 as a letter to cheer up Noel Moore, the five-year-old son of her former governess. Noel was ill, and Potter wrote the story simply to help him pass the time. Seeing Peter Rabbit’s potential, however, her friends encouraged her to publish. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why The Tale of Peter Rabbit was rejected by six publishers; look into how Potter first met the “real” Peter Rabbit; and discuss how the gentle book was given a high-octane update when it transferred to TV… Further Reading: • ‘Peter Rabbit: the tale of “The Tale”’ (V&A Museum, 2021): https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/peter-rabbit-the-tale-of-the-tale • ‘Peter Rabbit and Other Stories’ (Lit2Go, 1902): https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/148/peter-rabbit-and-other-stories/4923/the-tale-of-peter-rabbit/ • ‘Peter Rabbit - Official Trailer’ (Sony Pictures, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pa_Weidt08 This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Henry Robinson opened the Office of Addresses and Encounters on Threadneedle Street, London on 29th September, 1650. The centre provided a forward-looking, unusual mix of services ranging from job placements, money lending, and property dealings… to (shhh) match-making. Robinson's inspiration came from a broader philosophical concept of creating a place where people of all classes could access information, regardless of their status in society. He accordingly charged a minimal fee for answers to queries, and offered an array of services, from buying and selling land to language tuition and finding ‘travel companions’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why euphemistic wording was so often used in these very first ‘classifieds’; reveal the first documented example of a ‘Lonely Hearts’ advertisement; and consider what Robinson’s upselling model had in common with Costco… Further Reading: • ‘Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout: They Found Answers at the Office of Addresses and Encounters’ (Patrick Murfin, 2016): https://patrickmurfin.blogspot.com/2016/09/they-found-answers-at-office-of.html • ‘The Secret History of Domesticity - Public, Private, and the Division of Knowledge - By Michael McKeon’ (John Hopkins University Press, 2006): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Secret_History_of_Domesticity/8VrwIKiAefkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=henry+robinson+office+of+encounters&pg=PA28&printsec=frontcover • ‘HISTORY OF IDEAS - Dating’ (The School of Life, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob14PcHtazQ #1600s #UK #Romantic #Business Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve Stonhold Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. Feet, inches, palms, cubits, rods… all were SWEPT ASIDE on 28th September, 1889, when the first General Conference of the Weights and Measures Commission met in Sèvres, France to refine a definition for the NEW universal measurement of distance: the metre. The calculation was painstakingly made by measuring a quarter of the meridian of the Earth - running from the North Pole to the Equator - and then dividing it into 10 million parts. Metal bars measuring exactly one metre were then distributed to attendees of the Conference. In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether this scientific method of calculating distance was *really* any better than barleycorns and man-size hugs; ask why the USA still hasn’t got on-board with the metric system; and explain why Napoleon might not have been as short as we think he was… Further Reading: • ‘Galileo, Krypton, and How the Metric Standard Came to Be’ (WIRED, 2018): https://www.wired.com/story/book-excerpt-the-perfectionists-history-meter/ • ‘How France created the metric system’ (BBC Travel, 2018): https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180923-how-france-created-the-metric-system • ‘Who Invented the Meter?’ (It’s Okay To Be Smart, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3eHHwcMVcA ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content 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. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve Stonhold Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Stephenson drove Britain’s first-ever steam-powered passenger train, the Locomotion Number One, on 27th September, 1825, from Darlington to Stockton on Tees. The Cambridge Chronicle and Journal reported, with breathless excitement: “in the presence of great crowds of spectators, including many scientific gentlemen… 60 waggons were attached, containing one thousand persons, who were visibly delighted, as were the thousands of spectators. The cavalcade moved by signals, and the whole of this immense mass could be stopped at any prescribed place and moment. On one part of the line, the speed was 12 miles an hour.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how this pivotal event lead to the development of the commuter class, larger-scale corporations, and trades unions with newfound power; explain how amenities including corridors, toilets, and proper ticketing systems were still decades away; and reveal how Wordsworth campaigned against the steam railway - in verse, of course… Further Reading: • ‘George Stephenson and the Invention of the Steam Locomotive Engine’ (ThoughtCo, 2017): https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-railroad-1992457 • ‘George Stephenson - The Father of Railways’ (Stockton Heritage): https://heritage.stockton.gov.uk/articles/people/george-stephenson-the-father-of-railways/ • ‘The Stockton and Darlington Railway’ (BBC Teach, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6a4zDjLAlY #1800s #Science #UK #Technology Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve Stonhold Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pushing the boundaries of human flight to hitherto unknown extremes, Swiss aviator Yves Rossy entered the record books on 26th September, 2008, becoming the first person ever to cross the English channel using a jet-propelled wing strapped to his back, equipped with four kerosene-fueled turbine engines. To embark on his flight, Rossy first ascended to 2,500 feet over Calais in a support plane. From there, he tumbled out, and, after free-falling and stabilizing, jetpacked over the White Cliffs of Dover in under ten minutes: the result of years of work and multiple prior attempts. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, despite being a popular movie trope, jet-packs have yet to catch on; consider whether Rossy’s crash-landing ruined the aesthetics of his bird-like descent; and reminisce about Michael Jackson’s rocket-powered exit from the Dangerous world tour… Further Reading: • ’Jet Man flies across Channel on a wing’ (The Guardian, 2008): https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/sep/26/aeronautics • ‘The Great American Jet Pack - The Quest for the Ultimate Individual Lift Device, By Steve Lehto’ (Chicago Review Press, 2013): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Great_American_Jet_Pack/ycr1HSRzRuIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=yves+rossy&pg=PA169&printsec=frontcover ‘Fly with the Jetman’ (TED, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2sT9KoII_M #00s #Switzerland #Inventions #Strange Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow!: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve Stonhold Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The world did NOT wake up to the dangers of smoking on September 25th, 1878, despite the efforts of Dr. Charles R. Drysdale, who had a letter published in The Times warning that smoking is a practice “deleterious to health and vitality,” noting that a contemporaneous experiment on dogs had led to “palsy of the hind leg, blindness, deafness, and death.” But early anti-smoking campaigners like Drysdale were fighting a losing battle anyway because they were up against a formidable enemy: technology itself, which every day was making cigarettes cheaper and cheaper to mass produce. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look into why Nazi Germany was at the forefront of anti-smoking efforts; explain how Hollywood helped make smoking sexy; and reveal why if any of us did smoke, we would definitely choose Marlboro Lights… Further Reading: • ‘Tobacco and the diseases it produces by Charles R. Drysdale’ (Today in Science History, 2001): https://todayinsci.com/D/Drysdale_Charles/DrysdaleCharles-TobaccoLetter%281878%29.htm • ‘Sept. 25, 1878: Yes, Smoking Is a Health Hazard’ (Wired, 2008): https://www.wired.com/2008/09/sept-25-1878-yes-smoking-is-a-health-hazard/ • ‘The UK's first anti-smoking films’ (BFI, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYSNq3Kf074 This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robert Walpole, first Lord of the Treasury, moved into 10 Downing Street on 22nd September, 1735, after three years of renovations. Although initially given to him as a personal gift from the King, the house became the official residence for all future Prime Ministers. Despite its central location in London, Downing Street wasn't fashionable at the time, and the house already had a long history of structural issues due to soft ground, leading to constant repairs. Over time, the original yellow bricks designed by Sir Christopher Wren turned black because of pollution from smog and smut. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the negative opinions of generations of PMs towards the nation’s primary grace and favour apartment; explain why Ramsay MacDonald dispatched his daughter down to the January sales; and reveal how Margaret Thatcher's very 80s aesthetic choices resonate with international visitors to this day... Further Reading: ‘The Surprising History of 10 Downing Street’ (HISTORY, 2016): https://www.history.com/news/the-surprising-history-of-10-downing-street ‘Sir Robert Walpole moved into Downing Street today in 1735’ (The Oldie, 2021): https://www.theoldie.co.uk/blog/sir-robert-walpole-became-the-first-pm-300-years-ago-today-david-horspool ‘Inside Downing Street: A brief history of No.10’ (The Times Red Box, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwfHqQqImcc #1700s #UK #Politics #Architecture Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve Stonhold Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. ‘The Fish Feud!’ - as the tabloids originally termed the standoff between Britain and Iceland over fishing rights - had escalated into a fully-fledged ‘Cod War’ by 21st September, 1958, when the destroyer H.M.S. Diana requested medical assistance for a Marine suffering appendicitis. The dispute arose when Iceland had unilaterally extended its fishing zone from 4 to 12 nautical miles. For centuries prior to this, boundaries were calculated via the ‘canon shot rule’ - i.e. the distance a canon could be fired from the shore. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Iceland was having a jingoistic moment; reveal how the Soviets intervened to disrupt Britain’s defense strategy; and explain how the humble battered sausage came to the rescue for the UK’s chip shops… Further Reading: • ‘Iceland v Britain: the cod wars begin’ (The Guardian, 1958): https://www.theguardian.com/business/from-the-archive-blog/2018/sep/07/first-cod-war-iceland-britain-fish-1958 • ‘How Iceland Beat the British in the Four Cod Wars’ (Atlas Obscura, 2018): https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-were-cod-wars • ‘Storyville: Cod Wars’ (BBC, 2002): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsOytZMRXo0 Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robert of Geneva was elected Pope Clement VII on 20th September, 1378. Inconveniently, there was already a pope: Urban VI. Cue three decades of confusion and division, as citizens and nations had to choose which pope to support - the one in Rome, or the one Avignon - the situation becoming more inflamed as both popes engaged in aggressive rhetoric against each other. Unbelievably, efforts to resolve the schism resulted in the election of a THIRD pope, John XXIII, in Pisa, further complicating matters. It took four years and the Council of Constance to finally bring an end to the crisis by demanding the abdication of all three popes, and a FOURTH pope, Martin V, was then elected. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the problems the schism caused for a generation of Catholics; marvel at the unGodlike behaviour of this era of popes; and consider whether Pope Francis is, himself, an antipope… #Medieval #Catholic #Religion #Strange Further Reading: ‘The Crazy Truth About The Time When There Were Three Popes’ (Grunge, 2023): https://www.grunge.com/249934/the-crazy-truth-about-the-time-when-there-were-three-popes/ ‘Pope Urban VI and the Anti-Pope Clement VII - Master of the Getty Froissart’ (Google Arts & Culture): https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/pope-urban-vi-and-the-anti-pope-clement-vii/sQFL-DyiiICnLw ‘Why were there three popes at the same time? - Joëlle Rollo-Koster’ (TedEx, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i2bd5F1BXM #pope #popes ... Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When German hikers Erika and Helmut Simon stumbled upon a dead body in the Oertzel Alps on 19th September, 1991, they believed it to be a recently fallen mountaineer, whose cadaver had been preserved in the ice. In fact, the specimen turned out to be 5,300 years old - older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids. The man, nicknamed ‘Ötzi’ by the press, had been struck down in mid-stride, and was discovered surrounded by his possessions, which included a copper axe. His remains are now on permanent display in Italy. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly probe into the various theories about how ‘the Iceman’ died; reveal what the post-mortem told us were the contents of his last meal; and consider the ‘Curse of the Frozen Mummy’... Further Reading: • ’The Discovery of Otzi the Iceman and Its Significance’ (ThoughtCo, 2020): https://www.thoughtco.com/otzi-the-iceman-1779439 • ‘Who killed Oetzi the Iceman? Italy reopens coldest of cases’ (BBC News, 2017): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40104139 • ‘Was Otzi the Iceman a Victim of Human Sacrifice?’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUVtJ8oqRWA #Discoveries #Italy #Switzerland #BC Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tiffany, now a $16 billion jewelry empire, opened their first store at 259 Broadway, New York, on 18th September, 1837. Their first day’s sales total was $4.98. Co-founded by 25 year-old Charles Lewis Tiffany (thanks to a $1,000 loan from his father), the ‘fancy goods emporium’ initially sold disparate luxury items including perfumes, dinner sets, and, er, dog whips - but eventually settled upon gems as their core offering, expanding the brand through collaborations with P. T. Barnum and ‘The Blue Book’, America’s first mail-order catalogue. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how, despite his business nous, Tiffany fell victim to the Great Diamond Hoax of 1872; explore how his design influence extends to the $1 bill and the New York Yankees' logo; and reveal how ‘robin egg’ blue became so synonymous with the company.... Further Reading: • ‘Jewelry House Histories: Tiffany’ (Invaluable, 2022): https://www.invaluable.com/blog/jewelry-house-histories-tiffany/ • ‘Tiffany Is More Than a Store’ (The New York Times, 2019): https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/28/business/tiffany-history.html?searchResultPosition=4 • ‘Deconstructing The Tiffany Setting’ (Forbes, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2RVMgMAaPw #1800s #NewYork #Fashion #Business Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! : 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a symbol over 7,000 years old, the swastika had a long, diverse history before becoming the official flag of Nazi Germany on 15th September, 1935. It had been considered a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Odinism - and appeared on artifacts from pre-Christian European cultures. It had even featured as part of U.S. Girl Scout iconography in the early 20th century. But when Adolf Hitler made it the symbol of the Nazi Party in 1920, its resonance altered forever. No longer an image of good luck and auspiciousness, it became synonymous with Nazi atrocities. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Hitler came to design this striking visual logo; reveal the surprising places the symbol pops up in, from the Carlsberg factory to Chelmsford Town Hall; and consider the wisdom of one man’s 21st century ‘Learn To Love The Swastika’ campaign… Further Reading: • ‘The Man Who Brought the Swastika to Germany, and How the Nazis Stole It’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/man-who-brought-swastika-germany-and-how-nazis-stole-it-180962812/ • ‘How the world loved the swastika - until Hitler stole it’ (BBC News, 2014): https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29644591 • ‘History of the Swastika’ (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEkWXG_XTeg #Nazis #WW2 #Design #Racism 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is now well-known as the USA’s national anthem - but when Francis Scott Key wrote the words on 14th September, 1814, it was merely the latest in a series of patriotic poems he’d penned; this one concerning the British assault on the coastal fortification of Fort McHenry.It was only when - bizarrely - it was set to the tune of an old English drinking song, ‘To Anacreon in Heaven’, that it began to gain traction - and another 119 years before it became the nation’s official ‘choon. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn what a ‘contrafactum’ is; explore why the US national anthem is so notoriously tricky to sing; and question what meaning ‘the land of the free’ held for Baltimore’s enslaved Africans… Further Reading: • ‘Francis Scott Key - National Anthem, War of 1812 & Facts’ (Biography, 2021): https://www.biography.com/writer/francis-scott-key • ‘To Anacreon In Heaven’ (Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine):https://www.nps.gov/fomc/learn/historyculture/to-anacreon-in-heaven.htm • ‘Top 10 American National Anthem Performance Fails’ (Watch Mojo, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XffxvV1PAEI ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ‘High Priest of LSD’, Timothy Leary, made a daring escape from the California Men's Colony on September 13th, 1970. A prominent counterculture figure and advocate for psychedelic substances, Leary had been incarcerated for possession of marijuana - and was labeled ‘The Most Dangerous Man in America’ by Richard Nixon. His escape was orchestrated by the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, a drug trafficking organization, and the Weather Underground, a far-left Marxist militant group. They provided Leary with a cable to scale the prison wall, a getaway car, new clothing, and false ID papers; then bungled him off to Algeria in the care of the Black Panthers. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca consider Leary’s famous slogan, ‘Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out’; explain how his controversial LSD experiments at Harvard were legitimately concerning to the academic system that initially supported him; and reveal what Susan Sarandon did with his remains at Burning Man… Further Reading: • ‘Will Timothy Leary's papers turn us on to LSD?’ (The Guardian, 2011): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/18/timothy-leary-papers-sale-lsd • ‘Nixon's Manhunt For The High Priest Of LSD In 'The Most Dangerous Man In America'’ (NPR, 2018): https://www.npr.org/2018/01/05/575392333/nixons-manhunt-for-the-high-priest-of-lsd-in-the-most-dangerous-man-in-america • ‘Dr Timothy Leary’s Ranch’ (ABC News, 1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSLRA1Ub9mA #60s #Crime #Protest #Celebrity Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The secret wedding of poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning on September 12th, 1846, was witnessed by just two people. Elizabeth was so nervous about the ceremony, held at Marylebone Parish Church, that she needed smelling salts to calm her. Barrett was already an acclaimed poet, while Browning was relatively unknown at the time. But their correspondence, comprising almost 600 letters exchanged over less than two years, is considered one of literature’s great romances. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Brownings’ marriage inspired their greatest works; probe into Browning’s pet name for Barrett, ‘the Portuguese'; and consider whether, contrary to all appearances, Browning may have had sinister intentions for his new wife… Further Reading: • ‘Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Life, Poetry, Relationship & ‘How Do I Love Thee?’’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/elizabeth-barrett-browning-who-life-love-poetry-relationship-robert/ • ‘What we can learn from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's years in lockdown’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/15/what-we-can-learn-from-elizabeth-barrett-brownings-years-in-lockdown •’The life and work of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’ (The British Academy, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkSWGqMDBEY #Literature #Victorian #Romantic #Wedding #UK Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Construction of the Virginia headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense began on September 11th, 1941 - spookily, the same date it was attacked by al-Qaeda six decades later. The massive five-sided building, a potent symbol of America’s military strength, became known as the Pentagon. Featuring 4 million square feet of office space, the building was designed by George Bergstrom under the supervision of Leslie R. Groves, who was later chosen to head the Manhattan Project and build the atomic bomb. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca, and Olly explain why the building’s racially segregated bathrooms were installed, but never used; reveal why, for a while, a ‘Pentagon project’ became a by-word for a white elephant; and consider whether a hot dog stand in the complex foxed the Soviets… Further Reading: ‘10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Pentagon’ (U.S. Department of Defense, 2019): https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/1650913/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-pentagon/ ‘Pentagon Hot Dog Stand – Arlington, Virginia’ (Atlas Obscura, 2017): https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pentagon-hot-dog-stand • ‘FOX Business reveals 'stunning' new details about Pentagon's construction’ (FOX Business, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tK6gIsMAgc #US #WW2 #Architecture Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The last known Tasmanian tiger to be held in captivity was found dead at Hobart’s Beaumaris zoo on 8th September, 1936. The critically endangered marsupial was accidentally locked out of its shelter overnight and succumbed to the frigid temperatures. With the animal’s death, a species that had once roamed across Australia for thousands of years went out with a whisper. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why 19th- and 20th-century Australians hunted Tasmanian tigers with such enthusiasm; explain why Thylacines had been in decline for about 3,500 years anyway; and look into how close scientists now are to bringing the “dog-headed pouched one” back from extinction… Further Reading: ‘The history of the Thylacine’ (The Zoological Society London, 2016): https://www.zsl.org/news-and-events/feature/history-of-the-thylacine ‘Tasmanian tiger: Remains of last thylacine found in cupboard after 85 years’ (BBC, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-63855426 ‘Last of their kind: Caring for the Tasmanian Tiger collection’ (Museums Victoria; 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykb66UCOMOY&t=9s ‘Tasmanian Tiger in Colour’ (NFSA Films, 2022) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gt0X-27GXM #1930s #Nature #Australia #Sad 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. Bulgarian writer Georgi Markov was shot by a poisoned pellet whilst walking on Waterloo Bridge on 7th September, 1978. Four days later, he was dead. He thought the bullet – believed to be filled with ricin – had emanated from the umbrella of a Soviet secret agent, and the British press labelled his assassination the ‘Poison Brolly Riddle’. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how Markov was initially disbelieved by doctors; reveal the mysterious involvement of a pig in the Porton Down investigation; and ask whether poisoning is really as efficient a method of murder as it seems… Further Viewing: Umbrella fired fatal ricin dart (CNN 2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZO5Lf8wD_c&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Ftheretrospectors.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content 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. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve Stonhold Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Nao Victoria, the first ship to circumnavigate the globe, arrived back to its starting point in Spain on 6th September, 1522, with one person notably missing: Ferdinand Magellan, the man who had initiated the audacious voyage. Through a mixture of hubris and misfortune Magellan had come to a rather sticky end just before reaching his intended destination of the Moluccas, otherwise known as the Indonesian Spice Islands. But even though the expedition – which Magellan had hoped would open a western route to Asia – was unsuccessful, its contribution to Europeans’ understanding of the globe was immeasurable. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look at the countless disasters, mutinies and impediments Magellan faced during his journey; discuss why the Spice Islands were so important to Europeans in the 16th century; and explain why you can never pack too much wine and hardtack when attempting to circumnavigate the globe… Further Reading: ‘A voyage from hell: how Magellan’s circumnavigation of the world changed history’ (History Extra, 2019): https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/how-magellan-circumnavigation-world-changed-history-what-was-voyage-like/ ‘Ferdinand Magellan’ (History.com, 2023): https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/ferdinand-magellan ‘The greatest expeditions of mankind - Magellan and the space race’ (DW Documentary; 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5TP1k9z4ak #Europe #1900s #explorer #person #Spain #Portugal Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve Stonhold Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, the small town of Leavenworth in Washington is known for its Bavarian-themed hotels, restaurants, shops and festivals, but when it was incorporated on 5th September, 1906, its main claim to fame was that it had a train line and a fledgling logging industry. After the train hub that had put it on the map in the first place was moved, Leavenworth went into near terminal decline, until some savvy townspeople got together in the 1960s to give it a themed makeover. “Bavarian” was the chosen theme, and the rest was history. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look at the other themes that had been considered before Leavenworth settled on Bavarian; explain why Leavenworth guarantees incredibly Instagrammable backdrops regardless of what time of year you visit; and lament that Kinderfest decorations seem to be going up earlier and earlier with each passing year… Further Reading: ‘All Over the Map: How Leavenworth became the PNW’s own slice of Bavaria’ (My North West, 2019): https://mynorthwest.com/1488483/all-over-the-map-leavenworth-history/ ‘America’s Best 'European Villages'?’ (National Geographic, 2012): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/where-are-americas-best-european-villages ‘Leavenworth: Your Winter Wonderland’ (Visit Leavenworth; 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTyVydTNRqI #US #1900s #architecture Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve Stonhold Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On 4th September, 1998, the debut episode of the world-conquering game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? aired in the UK. Initially titled Cash Mountain, the show format had been offered to nearly all the major UK networks with no success, but eventually it found its home on ITV after a legendary pitch that has gone down in television history. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the excitement in the crowd during the recording of the very first episode; discuss how the show went from being a local TV success story to a worldwide phenomenon; and explain why hosts of the show the world over were required to wear Armani suits… Further Reading: ‘Three wise men, a star and a miracle’ (The Independent, 1999): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/three-wise-men-a-star-and-a-miracle-743157.html ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire past winners: When was £1million last won?’ (The Sun, 2022): https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/11604768/who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-winners/ ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? First Episode’ (ITV; 1998): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtxh2wb38FM #UK #1990s #TV Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow!: 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On 1st September 1997, as Britain was still reeling from Diana Princess of Wales’ untimely death, Elton John’s Candle in the Wind 1997 turned up on a shortlist of potential music to be performed at her funeral. The song, which had been reworked and rerecorded in just a few days, had originally been written about Marilyn Monroe. The original had been a moderate success, charting at Number 5 in the UK charts and 6 in the US. The 1997 update, meanwhile, which was released the day after the princess’s funeral stormed straight to the top of the UK and US singles charts – and did the same in countless countries around the world. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why people’s feelings about the song soured so swiftly; discuss which other song was being considered for funeral; and explain which lyrics from the original were thought to be too spicy to be included in the 1997 version… Further Reading: ‘Slow Burn: How Elton John's "Candle in the Wind '97"—the Best-Selling Single in Music History—Became a Royal Relic’ (Mental Floss, 2022): https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/elton-john-candle-in-the-wind-97-princess-diana-tribute-song-history ‘Princess Diana: Palace did not want Sir Elton John to sing at her funeral, newly released papers show’ (Sky News, 2021): https://news.sky.com/story/princess-diana-palace-did-not-want-sir-elton-john-to-sing-at-her-funeral-newly-released-papers-show-12506086 ‘How Elton John’s Candle in the Wind became the soundtrack of a nation’s grief’ (The Times, 2022) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/princess-diana-funeral-music-25-year-anniversary-fkf7380ph ‘Elton John - Candle in the Wind/Goodbye England's Rose (Live at Princess Diana's Funeral - 1997)’ (BBC; 1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o9rLDCfO6o #UK #1990s #Royals #Arts #Music 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. A giant chicken with the mannerisms of a wise-crackin’ Southern gentleman, Foghorn Leghorn first appeared in the Looney Tunes short ‘Walky Talky Hawky’ on 31st August, 1946. Directed by Robert McKimson and voiced by Mel Blanc, the character – who was inspired in part by popular radio character ‘Senator Claghorn’ from The Fred Allen Show – proved an instant audience favourite. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Foghorn’s Antebellum expressions put him on the soon-to-be-’cancelled’ list; explain the origin of Warner’s other animated franchise, ‘Merrie Melodies’; and marvel at Blanc’s bed-bound professionalism… Further Reading: • ‘Walky Talky Hawky’ (Warner Bros, 1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ9lyubmGys • ‘The Censored Eleven – Banned Cartoons’ (The Museum Of UnCut Funk): https://museumofuncutfunk.com/2011/10/05/the-censored-eleven/ • ‘How Bugs Bunny Saved Mel Blanc From A Coma In 1961’ (doyouremember, 2021): https://doyouremember.com/141804/bugs-bunny-saved-mel-blanc-coma ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lord Walsingham shot 1,070 grouse on 30th August, 1888 – a number that remains a world record, and, one feels, is unlikely to ever be bettered. To achieve this astonishing figure Walsingham started shooting at 5:12 AM and kept going until just before 7:00 PM. And just for good measure he shot another 14 birds on his walk home. At this pace, he would have been shooting one grouse every 13 seconds. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether driven shoots are fundamentally unsporting; discuss the ethics of shooting at hot air balloons; and explain the connection between shooting and the establishment of the Guinness Book of World Records… Further Reading: ‘Lord Walsingham Shot 1,070 Grouse (1888)’ (Today in Conservation, 2018): https://todayinconservation.com/2018/07/august-30-lord-walsingham-shot-1070-grouse-1888/ ‘Grouse shooting: 12 facts about The Glorious 12th ’ (The Telegraph, 2018): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/grouse-shooting-12-facts-about-the-glorious-12th/ ‘Grouse shooting season begins on the “Glorious Twelfth”’ (Daily Mail; 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bJw2kK5lZw #UK #1800s #Nature Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ishi, a native American man who was widely acclaimed as the “last wild Indian” emerged from the wilderness on 29th August, 1911. His arrival came as a huge surprise to the people of Oroville, California, who had thought that his entire tribe had become extinct a good 40 years earlier. He was immediately taken to a jail cell and locked up, not because he had committed a crime but because authorities simply had no idea what to do with him. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore the relationship between Ishi and the anthropologists that took him in; discuss why he preferred to be photographed in a suit and tie rather than Native American dress; and speculate on what Ishi must have made of the vaudeville shows his handlers took him to see… Further Reading: ‘The Story Of Ishi, The ‘Last’ Native American’ (All That's Interesting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/ishi-last-native-american ‘America honours its debt to Ishi, last of the Yahis’ (The Guardian, 2000): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/aug/10/duncancampbell ‘A Man Called Ishi’ (Advanced Laboratory for Visual Anthropology at CSU, Chico, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEmqOCta3NU #US #1910s #Indigenous Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nissin Chikin Ramen (日清チキンラーメン), the first marketed brand of instant noodles, launched in Japan on 25th August, 1958. The product was created by Momofuku Ando, who developed the production method of flash frying noodles after they had been made, thereby drying them and extending their shelf life. His inspiration sprung from the food scarcity in Japan after the Second World War, and the Ministry of Health’s attempts to distribute unpopular U.S.-supplied bread. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how Ando’s invention became the world’s emergency supply, student essential, and even prison currency… Further Reading: ‘How Momofuku Ando invented instant ramen — and transformed Japanese cuisine’ (Vox, 2015): https://www.vox.com/2015/3/5/8150929/momofuku-ando-ramen-instant-noodles ‘Momofuku Ando & The Rise Of Ramen In Post-War Japan’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/momofuko-ando-noodles-ramen-history-postwar-japan/ ‘How Instant Ramen Became An Instant Success’ (Insider Business, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASlx70G2x-c #Food #Japan #50s #Inventions 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. Bandit, Admiral, wizard, pirate... ‘Eustace The Monk’ did it all - and was decapitated for his troubles, at the Battle of Sandwich on 24th August, 1217. Previously a licensed criminal for the court of King John, he became an enemy of England by switching sides and battling on behalf of the French - an extraordinary end to a remarkable career which took in black magic, robbery, and farting in a Benedictine monastery. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why Eustace’s story has yet to receive the Hollywood treatment; explain how to deploy lime effectively; and swot up on their Middle English verse… Further Reading: ‘The Pirate Monk, by Julie Estep’ (History of Yesterday, 2020): https://historyofyesterday.com/the-pirate-monk-da2bc7340dfb‘Eustace The Monk: One Of Medieval Europe's Unholiest Holy Men’ (HistoryExtra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/eustace-monk-holy-man-king-john-french-invasion-england/‘Medieval Outlaws: Eustace the Monk’ (Channel Legendarium, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDZOvGYKSs4 ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! 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: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A colossal human chain, stretching 430 miles, spanned across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on 23rd August, 1989 - the anniversary of the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact that covertly carved up the region fifty years earlier. Around two million people held hands for 15 minutes, synchronised at 7pm and photographed from helicopters above. Organised by Rahvarinne of Estonia, the Tautas fronte of Latvia, and Sąjūdis of Lithuania, the event drew global attention to the three nations’ desire for independence. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the Soviet authorities’ response to this pacifist protest; explain how the participants were placed across the route; and reveal just how to make your own miracle in Vilnius' Cathedral Square Plaza… Further Reading: • ‘30 Years Ago: How A Photographer Captured The 'Baltic Chain' From Above’ (Radio Free Europe, 2019): https://www.rferl.org/a/how-a-photographer-captured-the-1989-baltic-way-protest-from-above/30119472.html • ‘BALTIC STATES LINK IN PROTEST 'SO OUR CHILDREN CAN BE FREE'’ (The Washington Post, 1989): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/08/24/baltic-states-link-in-protest-so-our-children-can-be-free/5a016f3d-35d0-4a7e-ab75-916c8c05eb0d/ • ‘Baltic Way: 30 years since the 600-km human chain that helped trigger the collapse of communism’ (EuroNews, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVg6S6KEHDE #80s #Protest #Russia #Politics #WW2 Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Established in 1852, Devil’s Island, one of six penal colonies in French Guiana, was finally closed on 22nd August, 1953. Nicknamed the ‘Green Hell’ and the ‘Dry Guillotine’, it earned a reputation as ‘The Alcatraz of South America’: the world’s most brutal prison. Established by Emperor Napoleon III to remove political opponents and jumpstart France’s programme of colonisation, the horrors of the islands became more understood in France following the publication of memoirs by René Belbenoît and Henri ‘Papillon’ Charrière. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why a spell on Devil’s Island was potentially preferable to elsewhere in Guiana; reveal what the guards did with rebellious prisoners and their cadavers; and check out some contemporary perspectives - on TripAdvisor… Further Reading: • Why Devil's Island Was The World's Most Feared Prison (All Thats Interesting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/devils-island • ‘Notorious French Prison Turns Into a No-Man's Land’ (LA Times, 2002): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-15-adfg-devilisle15-story.html • ‘Devil's Island Prison Colony’ (British Pathé, 1947): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_xCHbpkDss #Crime #France #Macabre #50s Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CCTV footage captured middle-aged bank worker Mary Bale dropping friendly tabby cat Lola into a Coventry wheelie bin on 21st August, 2010. The video went viral, and Bale was disgraced on the front page of The Sun. Despite her initially nonchalant response, Bale faced the full force of internet mob mentality, not to mention a court trial for animal cruelty. One tantalising, unanswered question remained: WHY DID SHE PUT THE CAT IN THE BIN? In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Bale’s behaviour was actually quietly condoned by millions of her contemporaries; uncover the classist dog whistles in the reporting of the event; and explain how ‘Cat Bin Lady’ became a rapid international sensation… Further Reading: • ‘Is Mary Bale the most evil woman in Britain?’ (The Independent, 2010): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/is-mary-bale-the-most-evil-woman-in-britain-2064733.html • ‘The trial of Mary Bale’ (Financial Times, 2011): https://www.ft.com/content/36396618-54ef-11e0-96f3-00144feab49a • ‘Woman throws cat in wheelie bin’ (Daryl Mann, YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbMt82yVj24 #Internet #Strange #2010s #UK #Animals Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen became the first person to observe helium, an element never before seen on Earth, on August 18th, 1868. Janssen had been observing a total solar eclipse in Guntur, India when he noticed a bright yellow line with a wavelength of 587.49 nanometers in the spectrum of the chromosphere of the Sun. He initially assumed the line to be sodium, but, upon further investigating his hunch that it might be a new element, concluded he had stumbled upon something hitherto unknown. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly try their damndest to explain how Spectroscopy works; reveal which scientist first detected the presence of helium on Earth; and query the French Academy of Sciences’ impartiality when it came to attributing the discovery… Further Reading: ‘How Scientists Discovered Helium, the First Alien Element, 150 Years Ago’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018): ​​https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-scientists-discovered-helium-first-alien-element-1868-180970057/ ‘The High-Flying, Death-Defying Discovery of Helium’ (Science History Institute, 2021): https://sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-high-flying-death-defying-discovery-of-helium/ ‘Helium 101’ (National Geographic, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLUcO26Q7wE #Science #Discoveries #France #India #1800s Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. When two month-old Azaria Chamberlain was taken from her tent by a dingo on the night of August 17th, 1980, the majority of the Australian public believed that her mother, Lindy Chamerlain, had done the deed herself. Prosecuting authorities charged her with murder. She was imprisoned, but in 2012, a coroner found Azaria’s death was “the result of being attacked and taken by a dingo”. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the Australian public were so inclined to disbelieve Lindy’s version of events; revisit the injustices perpetrated against the Chamberlains; and consider how on Earth the phrase ‘A Dingo’s Got My Baby!’ became a comedy meme… Content Warning: Includes detailed description of true crime and harm against children Further Reading: • ‘Horrifying story of Lindy Chamberlain – jailed for murder after her baby daughter was ‘eaten by a dingo’ on camping trip’ (The Sun, 2020): https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/13418625/lindy-chamberlain-jailed-murder-baby-dingo/ • ‘The Messed Up True Story Of “A Dingo Got My Baby”’ (Grunge, 2020): https://www.grunge.com/291293/the-messed-up-true-story-of-a-dingo-got-my-baby/ • ‘Lindy Chamberlain Reflects On The Horror Of Losing Baby Azaria’ (The Project, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2PV4kD5-dg&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Ftheretrospectors.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Angry protestors gathered outside The White House on 16th August, 1841, burning an effigy of President John Tyler, the first Vice-President to assume the Presidency (following the death of William Henry Harrison, just 31 days into his term). The mob, largely consisting of Tyler’s fellow Whigs, opposed his veto of a national banking bill. Although no serious scuffles or bloodshed occurred, the incident highlighted the vulnerability of the White House and the lack of a proper security detail during that era. Tyler and his family were at home during the protest, underscoring the absence of a secret service or presidential bodyguard. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca, and Oly explain why Tyler became so unpopular within his own party, and was eventually expelled from it; consider why Tyler hadn’t been the main name on the election ticket in the first place; and reveal an astonishing fact about the President’s family in the 21st century… Further Reading: • ‘Looking back: One of the ugliest protests in White House history’ (Constitution Center, 2019): https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/looking-back-the-ugliest-protest-in-white-house-history • ‘The Tyler Precedent: How John Tyler became president after William Henry Harrison in 1841’ (The Washington Post, 2019): https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/03/23/his-accidency-first-president-die-office-constitutional-crisis-that-followed/ John Tyler - Top 10 Forgettable Presidents - TIME: https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1879648_1879646_1879658,00.html Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Immortalised by Shakespeare, Scottish king Macbeth was killed in battle near Lumphanan, Aberdeenshire on 15th August 1057; a demise that brought significant changes to Scotland's monarchy. But the real Macbeth, contrary to his portrayal in the play, ruled for 17 relatively peaceful years and displayed generosity toward the church. That said, his relationship with the real Lady Macbeth - Gruogh, widow of Gilear, the previous king - was, let’s agree, rather complicated. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why witches were included in the script to satisfy King James I; offer a pragmatic explanation for the superstition that actors must never speak the name "Macbeth" in a theatre; and reveal the, er, creative way the Danish minister for finance once escaped responsibility for a nasty shipwreck… Further Reading: ‘The Real Macbeth: King of Scots, 1040-1054’ (History Today, 1957): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/real-macbeth-king-scots-1040-1054 ‘Macbeth (r. 1040-1057)’ (The Royal Family): https://www.royal.uk/macbeth-r-1040-1057 ‘Who Was The Real King MacBeth?’ (Timeline, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq75Cl_osxk #Scotland #Royals #Theatre #Medieval Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A decades-long manhunt closed in on international terrorist Illich Ramirez Sanchez, aka Carlos the Jackal, on 14th August, 1994 - when he was sedated and kidnapped by French intelligence agents in Khartoum, Sudan, following a tip-off by the CIA. Affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Organization for Armed Arab Struggle, and the Japanese Red Army, the Venezuelan militant had been responsible for a slew of major terrorist attacks in the 1970s and 80s, notably the storming of an OPEC meeting in 1975, during which he took hostages and demanded ransoms, and was widely considered the world’s most-wanted man. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how ‘Carlos’ came to acquire not just one, but two nicknames; consider how the politics of the day enabled both his terrorism and his womanising; and reveal why his sperm count ultimately cost him his freedom… Further Reading: ‘SUDAN SEIZES TERRORIST 'CARLOS THE JACKAL'’ (The Washington Post, 1994): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/08/16/sudan-seizes-terrorist-carlos-the-jackal/4e8d3daa-b064-4ca7-ba16-e6f0d68744aa/?itid=sr_2 ‘Carlos the Jackal: The Extraordinary Life of the Most Notorious Terrorist Before Bin Laden’ (Vice, 2022): https://www.vice.com/en/article/4awdbq/carlos-the-jackal-communist-terrorist ‘'Carlos the Jackal' convicted in France’ (AlJazeera English, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2sUuxYcdro #Crime #France #Person Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! 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: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices