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
The Arrival Of Lady Liberty
Still the tallest statue in the USA, the Statue of Liberty arrived from France - in no less than 214 crates - in New York City on 17th June, 1885.
Costing just $10m in today’s money, the Lady went o…
00:11:52 |
Tue 17 Jun 2025
'Nureyev's 'Leap To Freedom'
Russia’s brightest ballet star, Rudolf Nureyev, evaded his KGB minders and defected from the USSR on 16th June, 1961.
According to feverish newspaper reports, the dancer dashed towards the barrie…
00:11:37 |
Mon 16 Jun 2025
Marion Donovan: Housewife Inventor
Until the mid-20th century, putting nappies on babies involved folding and pinning cloth towelling, then pulling a pair of rubber pants over the top. That all began to change on June 12th, 1951, when…
00:12:51 |
Thu 12 Jun 2025
The Second Mrs McCartney
Paul McCartney married Heather Mills in an extravagant ceremony at Castle Leslie in County Monaghan, Ireland, on 11th June, 2002.
300 VIP guests were in attendance, including Elton John, Eric Clapt…
00:12:41 |
Wed 11 Jun 2025
The Very First 'Boat Race'
The Oxford v Cambridge Men’s Boat Race has been an annual tradition since 1856 - but the first one was the result of a light-hearted bet between two friends called Charles on 10th June, 1829.
When W…
00:11:49 |
Tue 10 Jun 2025
Meet Donald Duck
The Wise Little Hen’, the Silly Symphonies short from was released on 9th June, 1934 and introduced a new Disney character: Donald Duck.
With his distinctive strangled quacking (born from the uniq…
00:11:33 |
Mon 09 Jun 2025
Digging Up Josef Mengele
Notorious Nazi doctor, ‘Angel of Death’ Josef Mengele, spent the last twenty years of his life on the run. His remains were recovered in São Paulo on 6th June, 1985, when Brazilian Police dug up the …
00:12:43 |
Fri 06 Jun 2025
So I Acquitted An Axe Murderer
Lizzie Borden’s murder trial began on June 5, 1893 in New Bedford Courthouse, Massachusetts. The 32 year-old was accused of killing her father, wealthy magnate Andrew Borden, and his wife Abby, her s…
00:12:34 |
Thu 05 Jun 2025
The 'Ten Cent Beer Night' Riot
Twice the usual crowd turned up to see the Cleveland Indians take on the Texas Rangers on June 4th, 1974 - drawn in not by the baseball match, but by an innovative promotion: for just 10 cents, fans …
00:12:36 |
Wed 04 Jun 2025
The Woman Who Shot Andy Warhol
Radical playwright Valerie Solanas, author of the SCUM Manifesto (for the ‘Society of Cutting Up Men’) attempted to assassinate pop artist Andy Warhol at The Factory on 3rd June, 1968.
As a result, …
00:11:07 |
Tue 03 Jun 2025
When UEFA Banned England
Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall the shocking events of the Heysel Stadium disaster, which lead to all English football clubs being banned from European competitions for five years from 2nd June, 1985.…
00:12:03 |
Mon 02 Jun 2025
The Peasants Are Revolting
The most significant rebellion of the Medieval era, the so-called Peasant’s Revolt, kicked off in Brentwood, Essex on 30th May, 1381, when tax collector John Bampton attempted to collect unpaid poll …
00:13:07 |
Fri 30 May 2025
The First Bank Holiday
Whit Monday became the first of the new ‘Bank Holidays’ on 29th May, 1871, as millions of Britons got an officially-sanctioned paid day off.
The brainchild of eccentric polymath (and former banker)…
00:12:58 |
Thu 29 May 2025
Here Comes The Spanish Armada
A naval juggernaut of 137 ships, 10,000 sailors, 2,500 guns, and 20,000 soldiers was launched at England by Philip II of Spain on May 28th, 1588: the Spanish Armada. Their goal? A full-scale invasion…
00:12:24 |
Wed 28 May 2025
Fan-Dancing, Dwarfism and Microwaves
Microwave cookery was first demonstrated by Ross Kilgore of Westinghouse at the Chicago World’s Fair, which opened on 27th May, 1933. But the event was deemed to be a side-show of little scientific s…
00:11:56 |
Tue 27 May 2025
Exposing Italy's Puppet Masters
The major political upheaval that befell Italy happened on 26th May, 1981, when Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani and his entire cabinet resigned.
This followed the exposure of a secretive Masonic lod…
00:12:38 |
Mon 26 May 2025
Captain Kidd: Pirate or Privateer?
Hanged for piracy and murder, sea captain William Kidd was executed in Wapping on 23rd May, 1701. From the gallows he proclaimed to the large assembled crowd that he was innocent of the crimes, as he…
00:12:03 |
Fri 23 May 2025
Introducing Pac-Man
Namco’s ground-breaking arcade game Pac-Man had its first focus test in a Tokyo cinema foyer on May 22nd, 1980. Created by 24 year-old Toru Iwatani, it was originally called ‘Puck-Man’ and designed t…
00:12:09 |
Thu 22 May 2025
Ed Miliband’s ‘Bacon Sandwich’ Moment
Labour leader Ed Miliband awkwardly ate a bacon sandwich at New Covent Garden Market on 21st May, 2014. Mid-bite, eyes squinting, lips oddly parted, and fingers clumsily gripping the sandwich - it wa…
00:12:05 |
Wed 21 May 2025
The Accidental Vibrator
When Hitachi launched their ‘personal massager’ on 20th May, 1968, they had no idea (or so they claim) that they were about to, um, go down in sex toy history.
The Magic Wand was initially developed…
00:11:30 |
Tue 20 May 2025
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