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
- 1105
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Introducing The Nutcracker
The premiere of Tchaikovsky’s seminal ballet ‘The Nutcracker’, on 18th December, 1892, at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg. It was NOT a hit.
The composer, who thought the Alexander D…
00:11:42 |
Mon 18 Dec 2023
Spice World!
At the height of the ‘Cool Britannia’ craze, the Spice Girls released their first movie, ‘Spice World’, with a glittering premiere at the Empire Leicester Square, on 15th December, 1997. Geri, Emma, …
00:12:45 |
Fri 15 Dec 2023
Dubya Dodges A Shoeing
Rerun: When George W Bush flew to Baghdad for a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on 14th December, 2008, he had hoped the headlines would reflect his triumphant appraisal of…
00:12:01 |
Thu 14 Dec 2023
The ‘Pop Goes The Weasel’ Craze
The undisputed viral hit of Christmas 1852 was the country dance ‘Pop Goes The Weasel’, still taught to children today. On 13th December, 1852, the craze was seen at a party in Ipswich, where it was …
00:12:07 |
Wed 13 Dec 2023
Is That Mary Magdalene?
Inspired by a dream, Prince Charles of Provence ordered an excavation that uncovered a sarcophagus believed to contain the remains of Mary Magdalene on 12th December, 1279.
The evidence presented in…
00:12:12 |
Tue 12 Dec 2023
The Man Who Sold The Eiffel Tower
On this day we recall the Police operation to ensnare prolific conman Victor Lustig.
The ‘Catch Me If You Can’-style manhunt intensified on 11th December, 1928, when Lustig made the mistake of robbi…
00:11:48 |
Mon 11 Dec 2023
Let Them Drink Curry
The Duke of Norfolk suffered a ‘Marie Antoinette Moment’ on 8th November, 1845, when, amidst the Irish Potato Famine, the Whig MP proposed a questionable solution to feed Ireland’s starving workers: …
00:12:05 |
Fri 08 Dec 2023
Morcambe, Wise and Mr Preview
Rerun: Oscar-winning conductor André Previn was an unlikely choice of celebrity guest for the Christmas special of ‘The Morcambe and Wise Show’ recorded on 7th December, 1971 - but the 13-minute sket…
00:11:25 |
Thu 07 Dec 2023
The Real Santa Claus
St Nicholas was a Greek bishop, known for his generosity. But he didn’t have a beard, and he didn’t drive a sleigh - so how did he morph into the Santa Claus the world knows and loves? The supposed d…
00:12:23 |
Wed 06 Dec 2023
Who Needs A Switchboard?
Queen Elizabeth II made Britain’s first long-distance automated phone call on 5th November, 1958 - when, from Bristol, she spoke directly to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, 300 miles away, without the…
00:12:06 |
Tue 05 Dec 2023
Elvis, Jerry Lee, Johnny & Carl
Today we discover the iconic jamming session that birthed ‘The Million Dollar Quartet’ - Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ Perkins - who spent the day making mus…
00:11:46 |
Mon 04 Dec 2023
When Gnomes Took Over The World
Lampy, Britain’s oldest surviving garden gnome, was insured for £1 million on 28th November, 1997.
Imported from Germany, his human dad was Sir Charles Isham, an eccentric aristocrat who adorned his …
00:11:36 |
Fri 01 Dec 2023
Football's First International
Rerun. England played Scotland in a publicly-advertised game for the first time on 30th November, 1872 - kickstarting international football as we know it today. The English team included players dra…
00:10:57 |
Thu 30 Nov 2023
Marriage of the Moonies
The first American mass marriage ceremony of the Unification Church - for 28,000 couples in matching garb, led by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon - took place at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, W…
00:12:00 |
Wed 29 Nov 2023
The Sound of Luxury
In the annals of automotive innovation, November 28th, 2018 marked a peculiar milestone: the birth of the Lincoln Chimes. The brainchild of Jennifer Prescott, overseer of "Vehicle Harmony" at the mot…
00:11:42 |
Tue 28 Nov 2023
The Berners St Hoax
We reveal how, on 27th November, 1809, a respectable house on the well-to-do Berners Street in London became ground zero for one of the most disruptive practical jokes in history: the Berners Street …
00:11:54 |
Mon 27 Nov 2023
QVC's First Day
The ‘Windsor Shower Companion’ ($11.49) was the first product sold on home shopping network QVC, which made its debut on 24th November, 1986, quickly becoming a cable TV phenomenon.
Joe Segel, the ch…
00:11:12 |
Fri 24 Nov 2023
The Tamagotchi Effect
With cutesy graphics and a female-focussed origin story, Tamagotchi was positioned as a ‘nurturing toy’ for Japanese girls when Bandai launched the brand on 23rd November, 1996. But the gadget's mass…
00:11:53 |
Thu 23 Nov 2023
Fall of the Knights Templar
Pope Clement V ordered the arrest of all Knights Templar and seizure of their properties on 22nd November, 1307: a day that sealed the fate of the once-celebrated Christian military order. They had a…
00:10:54 |
Wed 22 Nov 2023
The First Hanukkah
When the Maccabees celebrated the recapture of Jerusalem from the Macedonian emperor Antiochus IV, they lit a menorah in the city's holy temple. The date, in the ancient Hebrew calendar, was the twen…
00:11:47 |
Tue 21 Nov 2023
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