Today In History with The Retrospectors
Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll.
From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain to America's Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes!
Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee).
Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 12 minutes
- Episodes
- 1103
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Ponzi Gets Busted
The ‘Get Rich Quick’ scheme pioneered by scamster Charles Ponzi came to an end with his arrest on 12th August, 1920 - but ‘Ponzi schemes’ remain a popular form of swindling to this day.
After promi…
00:10:55 |
Tue 12 Aug 2025
Who Invented Hip Hop?
Clive Campbell, better known as DJ Kool Herc, soundtracked his sister Cindy Campbell’s back-to-school party in the Bronx on 11th August, 1973 - and in doing so, laid down the musical tropes that woul…
00:11:17 |
Mon 11 Aug 2025
I Need A Dollar
The dollar emerged as the official currency of the United States at a meeting of the Continental Congress on 8th August, 1786. During the American Revolution, various international coins had remained…
00:10:55 |
Fri 08 Aug 2025
The Aryan Polynesian Hypothesis
The Kon-Tiki expedition, led by Norwegian explorer and ethnologist Thor Heyerdahl, reached Raroia in the Tuamotu Archipelag near Tahiti, on 7th August, 1947. The 45-foot-long balsa wood raft, with a …
00:12:23 |
Thu 07 Aug 2025
The First Woman To Swim The Channel
Gertrude Ederle smashed records on 6th August, 1926, becoming the first woman to swim the English Channel - and in faster time than any man before her.
Battling six-foot waves and jellyfish swarms,…
00:12:28 |
Wed 06 Aug 2025
Houdini's Last Escape
Harry Houdini survived 91 minutes in an underwater coffin at the Shelton Hotel, New York on 5th August, 1926.
The stunt had been arranged to counter the claims of Hindu mystic Rahman Bey, who said …
00:11:25 |
Tue 05 Aug 2025
Bekonscot: Britain In Miniature
The world’s first model village, Bekonscot in Buckinghamshire, had its initial public open day on 4th August, 1929. Begun as a personal project of accountant Roland Callingham, the attraction continu…
00:12:33 |
Mon 04 Aug 2025
The First Michelin Guide
Andre and Edouard Michelin published their first Guide on 1st August, 1900. Now recognised as the gold standard in luxury restaurant reviews, the original guide was primarily created to encourage de…
00:11:36 |
Fri 01 Aug 2025
The Great Rum Debate
The Royal Navy were issued with their final daily ration of rum - ending a tradition of more than 300 years - on July 31, 1970. The day became known as ‘Black Tot Day’.
The demise of the long-standi…
00:12:32 |
Thu 31 Jul 2025
Where's Jimmy Hoffa?
Union boss Jimmy Hoffa left his Michigan home for what was supposed to be a peace summit with mobsters Anthony Provenzano and Anthony Giacalone on 30th July, 1975. He never returned home.
But Hoffa …
00:11:59 |
Wed 30 Jul 2025
The First Boy Scouts
Robert Paden-Powell took twenty boys to Brownsea Island, Poole on 29th July, 1907, to embark on a ten-day camp. The trip was, essentially, a laboratory for his subsequent books - and, therefore, the …
00:11:23 |
Tue 29 Jul 2025
The Plane That Crashed into the Empire State
Captain William Smith, a decorated World War II pilot, was flying a B-25 Mitchell bomber on a routine mission on 28th July, 1945. In heavy fog over New York, he got disoriented and tragically turned …
00:12:31 |
Mon 28 Jul 2025
Is it a Boat? Is it a Plane? No, it's Hovercraft
The Hovercraft SR-N1, piloted by Captain Peter Lamb, sailed from Calais to Dover on 25th July 1959, fifty years to the day after Louis Blériot made the first crossing of the English Channel. It took …
00:11:56 |
Fri 25 Jul 2025
The Aussies Who Outswam The Soviets
The ‘Quietly Confident Quartet’ of Mark Tonelli (backstroke), Peter Evans (breaststroke), Mark Kerry (butterfly), and Neil Brooks (freestyle) won Gold in the 4 × 100 metres medley relay at the Summer…
00:13:16 |
Thu 24 Jul 2025
Inside The Molly House
Margaret "Mother" Clap stood before a London court on 23rd July, 1726, accused of running a “Molly house” - a social club for gay men that was part-brothel, part-safe haven.
She argued, perhaps nai…
00:11:38 |
Wed 23 Jul 2025
The World's First Motor Race
Billed as a concours for ‘horseless carriages’, the Paris–Rouen competition which took place on 22nd July, 1894, is now widely considered the world’s first motor race.
Only 21 vehicles qualified. S…
00:11:36 |
Tue 22 Jul 2025
Let's Build Central Park
New York City's iconic green space, Central Park - larger than Monaco and Vatican City combined - was legislated for on 21st July, 1853. Over 750 acres of Manhattan were allocated for America's first…
00:11:54 |
Mon 21 Jul 2025
The Web's First Image
Tim Berners-Lee uploaded a photo of parody doo-wop group Les Horrible Cernettes on 18th July 1992 - the first image to be shared online.
The photograph was taken at the CERN Hardronic Festival by Si…
00:10:45 |
Fri 18 Jul 2025
Rebranding the Royal Family
Windsor became the official surname of the British Royal family on 17th July 1917, when King George V issued a proclamation declaring that “The Name of Windsor is to be borne by His Royal House and F…
00:11:38 |
Thu 17 Jul 2025
The Kennedy Curse
John F. Kennedy Jr., son of JFK and Jackie Onassis, disappeared off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard on July 16th, 1999. He had crashed his private plane, killing his wife, his sister-in-law and himsel…
00:13:03 |
Wed 16 Jul 2025
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