The Retrospectors

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 five-man crew, had completed a 4,300-mile, 101-day journey from Peru.  Heyerdahl wanted to prove his (now discredited) theory that prehistoric South Americans could have colonized the Polynesian islands by drifting on ocean currents. The Kon-Tiki was made of indigenous materials and designed to resemble rafts of early South American Indians, although the expedition carried some modern equipment, such as a radio, watches, charts, sextant, and metal knives. While crossing the Pacific, the sailors encountered storms, sharks and whales. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Heyerdahl's hypothesis of a South American origin of the Polynesian peoples is rejected today; marvel at his bold use of eye-catching graphic design; and expose how the crew's food rations weren't all that they seemed… Further Reading: • ‘New proof for Kon-Tiki theory' (The Guardian, 1953): https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/may/18/new-kon-tiki-proof-expedition-archive-1953 • ‘How the Voyage of the Kon-Tiki Misled the World About Navigating the Pacific' (Smithsonian Magazine, 2014): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-voyage-kon-tiki-misled-world-about-navigating-pacific-180952478/ • ‘KonTiki (short)' (The Kon-Tiki Museum, 1951):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFcW-dCvO2A This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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, the American teen zig-zagged the current for over 14 hours from France to England. Sponsored by the New York Daily News, Ederle had a nation in thrall, who, thanks to newfangled wireless radio updates, were able to follow her progress live like it was the Super Bowl.  When she stepped onto the beach in Dover, journalists literally swam out to meet her. Back home, 2 million people packed the streets of NYC for her ticker-tape parade — the first ever for a woman. President Calvin Coolidge dubbed her “America's Best Girl.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the more dispiriting final chapters of Ederle's life; explain how she was able to drink soup whilst she was swimming; and interrogate whether she really was the ‘flapper' the 1920s press ghostwriters made her out to be…  Further Reading: • ‘Young Woman and The Sea: The Real History of Gertrude Ederle's Swim' (HistoryExtra, 2024): https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/gertrude-ederle-first-woman-swim-swam-english-channel-matthew-webb-american/ • ‘This Day In Sports: Gertrude Ederle Swims the Channel' (The New York Times, 2004): https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.06.html?scp=1&sq=English%20Bay&st=cse • ‘Young Woman and the Sea | Official Trailer' (Disney, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tNvrYzPUrk Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 spiritualism was the only way to survive being buried alive. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the spat between Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle; reveal the ‘code' Houdini had promised his wife Beth he'd use if contacting her from beyond the grave; and consider whether vengeful psychic fraudsters were responsible for his death… Further Reading: • ‘How Houdini Stayed in an Underwater Coffin for 90 Minutes' (Mental Floss, 2016): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/83075/how-houdini-stayed-underwater-coffin-90-minutes • ‘The Hotel Shelton pool in color' (Wild About Houdini, 2015): https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2015/07/the-hotel-shelton-pool-in-color.html • ‘5 Things You May Not Have Known About Houdini' (Top5s, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiZj4xZTL-Y this episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 continues to capture the hearts of visitors with its intricate details and nostalgic charm. Callingham, a model railway enthusiast, created Bekonscot in his back garden; constructing an entire town to serve his model trains, featuring multiple stations, a butcher, baker, and circus big top. Initially created for private enjoyment, it was officially opened to the public by Princess Elizabeth in 1934, and was modified during World War II to feature tiny air raid wardens and wartime street scenes. Since the 90s, it has been architecturally preserved in its 1930s heyday. This episode first aired in 2024 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 demand for automobiles - and, therefore, Michelin tyres. At the time, there were fewer than 3,000 cars on French roads. Nearly 35,000 copies of this first, free edition of the guide were distributed, providing information to motorists including maps, tyre repair and replacement instructions, car mechanics listings, hotels, and petrol stations throughout France. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the Michelin mascot, Bibendum, is white; reveal the levels of secrecy expected of Michelin's restaurant inspectors; and consider why Japan ranks second to France in its star ratings…  Further Reading: • ‘The ingenious story behind Michelin stars' (BBC Travel, 2018): https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20181024-the-ingenious-story-behind-michelin-stars • ‘What's wrong with the Michelin guide?' (Financial Times, 2021): https://www.ft.com/content/e622ec53-ea9f-487a-a434-747f13f5ffa0 •'How the Michelin Guide rates restaurants' (CBS Sunday Morning, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tceSuaTbcU8 This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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-standing tradition was mainly due to safety concerns, following fears surrounding the more complex technology now in operation across the Navy. To show their disappointment, some sailors wore black armbands. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace back the origins of this quaint custom; explain why spirits had taken the place of beer on boats; and marvel at footage of sailors who were clearly ‘pissed, in both senses of the word'...  Further Reading: • ‘Black Tot Day: rum rations for sailors abolished 45 years ago today' (Daily Telegraph, 2015): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10210966/What-became-of-the-drunken-sailor.html • ‘Black Tot Day: The end of the rum ration' (Forces Net, 2022): https://www.forces.net/services/navy/black-tot-day-end-rum-ration • ‘Black Tot Day (End of the Royal Navy Rum Ration)' (ITN, 1970): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gh5PCghfbs This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 was much more than just a Mafia stooge. He'd been involved in labour unions from the age of fourteen, rapidly rising through the ranks to become president of the powerful Teamsters Union by 1957. Under his leadership, the union ballooned to over 2 million members. And with great power came great corruption; Hoffa's close ties to organised crime eventually landing him in federal prison for bribery and fraud. In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly explain why Hoffa's intended memoir may have spurred the Mob on to silence him; discover how his father's death led him into activism; and ponder whether it is *ever* a good idea to meet up in a parking lot…  Further Reading: • ‘Seven Years Later, Jimmy Hoffa Case Is Still a Mystery' (The Washington Post, 1982): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/07/31/seven-years-later-jimmy-hoffa-case-is-still-a-mystery/3ed452a7-78e4-4785-8eef-dd9a0a5782cb/ • ‘Jimmy Hoffa's Disappearance: What Really Happened To Him?' (All Thats Interesting, 2024): https://allthatsinteresting.com/jimmy-hoffa-death • ‘The Irishman' (Netflix, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouLiC3oMHmE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 global Boy Scout movement.  Each day started with cocoa and exercises, and ended with campfire yarns. In between, there was a lot of knot-tying, parading and praying. By the time of the Second World War, 3.3 million British children were enrolled as Boy Scouts. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explore the link between the Boer war and B-P's ‘Scouting Book for Boys'; unearth the racist and homophobic elements of the global Scout movement; and explain why Indonesia has more Scouts than anywhere else... Further Reading: • ‘Brownsea Island: The First Camp', from The Scouting Pages: https://thescoutingpages.org.uk/the-first-camp/ • ‘Boy Scouts of America reaches $850BILLION settlement with 60,000 child sex abuse victims' (Mail Online, 2021): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9748029/Boy-Scouts-America-reaches-pivotal-agreement-victims.html • ‘Who Was Baden-Powell? & How B-P Changed the World!' (Scouter Stan, YouTube 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY9pv8iF4wg This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 the wrong way, narrowly missing the Chrysler Building - before crashing into the Empire State Building. Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver, was thrown from her lift, but miraculously survived. First responders, unaware of the damaged cables in the shaft, placed her in another elevator to transport her for medical care - and the cables snapped, sending her plummeting 1,000 feet. Yet, astonishingly, she survived: setting a world record for the longest-survived elevator fall. In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how the incident led to landmark legislation allowing American citizens to sue the federal government; explain why the dramatic crash didn't make a splash you might expect on the New York Times; and reveal the best position to adopt if you find yourself in a plunging elevator cart… Further Reading: • ‘Why a Plane Crashed into the Empire State Building 70 Years Ago' (TIME, 2015): https://time.com/3967660/army-pilot-crash-empire-state-building/ • ‘This Woman Cheated Death Twice on the Same Day After a 1945 Disaster' (History Collection, 2017): https://historycollection.com/cheat-death-twice-betty-lou-oliver-survived-75-storey-elevator-crash-plane-crashed-building/ • ‘TBT: She survived the longest elevator free fall' (CNN, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHM-0c_Otes This episode first aired in 2024 Image By Bettman archive, Corbis, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18623093 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 2 hours, 3 minutes.  The brainchild of British engineer and inventor Christopher Cockerell, Hovercraft was described as a cross between an aircraft, a boat and a land vehicle, hovering just above the water on a cushion of air. Ultimately over 80 million people and 12 million cars crossed the Channel using Hovercraft.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Cockerell eventually got the UK Government on-side; consider the role of Duty Free regulations in its popularity and demise; and attempt to settle for good whether this iconic craft is *really* a boat, or a plane…  Further Reading: • Cross-Channel Aviation Pioneers: Blanchard and Bleriot, Vikings and Viscounts - By Bruce Hales-Dutton' (Pen and Sword, 2021):  https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Cross_Channel_Aviation_Pioneers/S90SEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Captain+Peter+Lamb,+John+Chaplin+,+Christopher+Cockerell&pg=PA171&printsec=frontcover • ‘Back to the future — amphibious travel gets a fresh lease of life' (FT, 2016): https://www.ft.com/content/c986c712-3dd3-11e6-8716-a4a71e8140b0 • ‘What Happened To Giant Hovercraft?' (Mustard, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnJLT8wFyhY This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 Olympics in Moscow on 24th July, 1980: the only time the United States had not won the event. It was Australia's first Gold medal for eight years, but reaction back home to the swimmers' astonishing victory was mixed, because some of their countrymen - including the Australian government - believed the team, like the USA, should have boycotted the games due to Russia's invasion of Afghanistan. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly debate whether their triumph was one of determination or youthful confidence; explain why the Seamen's Union Of Australia played a pivotal role in getting them to Moscow; and investigate the Soviets' claims to have run ‘the cleanest Games on record'… Further Reading: • Mark Tonelli Relives Legendary Commentator Norman May's famous Moscow call: “Gold…Gold to Australia…Gold.!!” (Swimming World, 2020): https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/mark-tonelli-relives-legendary-commentator-norman-mays-famous-moscow-call-goldgold-to-australiagold/ • ‘The 1980 Olympics Are The 'Cleanest' In History. Athletes Recall How Moscow Cheated The System' (Radio Free Europe, 2020): https://www.rferl.org/a/the-1980-moscow-olympics-rank-as-the-cleanest-in-history-athletes-recall-how-the-u-s-s-r-cheated-the-system-/30741567.html • ‘Norman May - GOLD, GOLD, GOLD!' (Olympics, 1980): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8sguWatsAU This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 naively, that as a woman she couldn't possibly be involved in such "unnatural" practices, but the jury was unconvinced: she was fined, sentenced to two years in prison, and subjected to public humiliation on the pillory, where the crowd's abuse was so severe she reportedly fainted multiple times. In the shadowy corners of early 18th-century London, queer life pulsed with secret vitality despite the oppressive laws of the time, which criminalized male same-sex acts with penalties as severe as death. Molly houses like Mother Clap's offered sanctuary—a mix of tavern, drag show, hookup spot, and even mock wedding venue. In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly explain how a raid by the Society for the Reformation of Manners brought about Mother Clap's downfall; discover how London's newspapers revelled in the titillation of the tales, yet also stoked further hatred of homosexuals; and uncover the surprisingly tolerant locals who were queer ‘allies' centuries before such a term existed… Further Reading: • ‘Mother Clap (died c.1726) | Humanist Heritage - Exploring the rich history and influence of humanism in the UK' (Humanists UK, 2024): https://heritage.humanists.uk/mother-clap/ • ‘Beastly Sodomites And The Shameless Urban Future' (Farid Azfar, Swarthmore College, 2014): https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/76220788.pdf • ‘Molly Houses and Madams: Unravelling Georgian Subcultures' (British Library, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTSHC_GmkPk Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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. Some of them had solid iron tyres. One was an eight passenger wagonette that weighed four tonnes. The car that came in first - a 20 horsepower steam tractor - was ruled ineligible. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the wisdom of interrupting proceedings for a 90 minute luncheon, ask whether horsepower has become an unhelpful measurement of speed in the 21st century, and explain how the UK's Locomotive Act of 1865 killed England's chances of competing... Further Reading: • Vintage cars repeat the Paris-Rouen route in 1966 (Associated Press): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q94gZfHQ9JQ • An account of the race from Goodwood's historic motorsport pages (2019): https://www.goodwood.com/grr/race/historic/2019/6/the-1894-paris-rouen-trial-the-race-that-wasnt-a-race/ • Race-winner Albert Lemaître and his ‘crime of passion': https://peoplepill.com/people/albert-lemaitre-2 This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 major landscaped public park; a grand plan which aimed to rival European cities. Rocky and swampy land, previously home to small farms and settlements, was bulldozed - at a cost that exceeded the purchase of Alaska. A competition produced Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux's winning design, a version of an English pastoral landscape that reflected the natural beauty of New York State. Their design included a parade ground, fountains, skating arena, and ladies' ‘refreshment salon'. In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly question just how inclusive this ‘park for everybody' truly was; consider how the upper classes benefited from the property opportunity presented by its construction; and check out the latest park's trend: pizza box recycling bins... Further Reading: • ‘Almanac: On July 21, 1853, hundreds of acres of land in the center of Manhattan were set aside for Central Park, one of the world's most glorious public spaces' (CBS News, 2019): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/almanac-central-park-new-york-city/ • '12 Secrets of New York's Central Park' (Smithsonian Magazine, ): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/12-secrets-new-yorks-central-park-180957937/ • ​​'How Central Park Was Created Entirely By Design and Not By Nature' (Architectural Digest, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AVymQ-SU3A Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 Silvano de Gennaro, an analyst in the Computer Science department. The girlband were striking a pose for their forthcoming CD cover, little realising their comedy love songs about colliders, quarks, liquid nitrogen, microwaves, and antimatter would soon go down in internet history. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the spooky social media resonance of this earliest online picture; explain how Berners-Lee used ‘sex' to ‘sell' the world wide web; and check out the Cernette's biggest banger, ‘Collider'... Further Reading: • ‘The true story behind the 'first picture on the internet' myth' (Metro, 2022): https://metro.co.uk/2022/07/18/the-true-story-behind-the-first-picture-on-the-internet-myth-16945088/?ito=article.mweb.share.top.link&fbclid=IwAR1BGGcwPK2HYL1f3-KBtCfQBILTtCtKOlq4aYIcZRfBzUJ8ssN0RwjPwi8 • ‘Was this the 1st photo on the web? 25 years on, Quebec woman tells how she came to be in it' (CBC News, 2017): https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/first-internet-photo-features-sherbrooke-woman-1.4206913 • ‘LHC - Collider' (Cernettes, 2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1L2xODZSI4 This episode originally aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 Family and Relinquishing the Use of All German Titles and Dignities.” The decision to change the family name came amid strong anti-German feeling following air raids over London, and in particular the bombing of a school in the East End by Gotha bombers - by coincidence, the same name as the royal family. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover who was responsible for picking ‘Windsor' as the family's new name; uncover the Royal Albert Hall's flawed response to the onset of World War One; and reveal the REAL Royal surname… Further Reading: • ‘British royal family change their name to Windsor' (The Guardian, 1917): https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/from-the-archive-blog/2017/jul/17/british-royal-family-windsor-name-change-1917 • ‘Jeremy Paxman: A hundred years of Windsors but still the Queen is partly German (FT, 2017): https://www.ft.com/content/b80a9dde-f1f0-11e6-95ee-f14e55513608 • ‘'The British Royal Family Needed to Seem Less German During WWI' (Smithsonian Channel, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZaOlJajows This episode originally aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 himself. President Bill Clinton called it “a very sad time,” and for good reason — it was déjà vu for America. The Kennedy legacy was playing out once more, not with gunshots in Dallas or Los Angeles, but in slow, quiet dread over a radar blip gone missing. Search crews eventually found the wreckage, and the official cause was clear — JFK Jr. had lost spatial awareness while flying at night over water. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why he decided to take to the skies that evening, despite the changing weather conditions and his lack of instrument training; recall how, from being a toddler who saluted his father's coffin on his third birthday, he grew up in the public eye; and consider the validity of the so-called “Kennedy Curse” that hangs over his otherwise privileged family…  Further Reading: • ‘Opinion | Tragedy Revisits the Kennedys' (The New York Times, 1999): https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/19/opinion/tragedy-revisits-the-kennedys.html • ‘Why did JFK Jr.'s plane crash? What we know about the 1999 tragedy' (Cape Cod Times, 2024): https://eu.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2024/07/17/jfk-jr-plane-crash-kennedy-carolyn-bessette-lauren-died-marthas-vineyard/74428324007/ • ‘Remembering JFK Jr. 25 years after deadly plane crash' (TODAY, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoBIz9Rykj8 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The first images of Mars found their way back to Earth from NASA's Mariner 4 mission on 15th July, 1965 - and were simultaneously revelatory and disappointing. Delivered as binary code, rendered in black and white, and revealing only 1% of the planet, the photos were coloured in by hand and showed no evidence of life. But they played a significant part in the scientific understanding of the Red Planet for years to come. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca compare the computing power of the 1960s with ‘lame' Victorian telescopes; reveal the surprisingly recent date that the first ever colour image of Mars was committed to camera; and explain how a mis-translation from Italian lead H.G. Wells to think there may be Martian waterways... Further Reading: • Mariner 4 at NASA.gov: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/mariner-4 • ‘Men Encounter Mars' (NASA documentary, 1965): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKVzepl-2zY • ‘First Mission To Mars: Mariner 4's Special Place in History' (Cosmos, 2017): https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/first-mission-to-mars-mariner-4-s-special-place-in-history/ This episode first aired in 2021 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cold-blooded killer? Folk hero? Petty thief? Billy The Kid, who met his end on 14th July, 1881, was all of the above. His luck finally ran out in a dark bedroom in New Mexico, where his old friend, Sheriff Pat Garrett, ensured that he would be the one to live to tell the tale. Born Henry McCarty but also known by numerous aliases like William H. Bonny and Kid Antrim, ‘The Kid' was just 21 when he died, having killed at least four men. The media of the time glamorised his escapades, creating a larger-than-life persona that overshadowed the harsh reality of his actions—a series of thefts and fatal altercations driven by desperation and survival. In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover Billy's most audacious jail escapes; marvel at his astonishing firearm skills; and consider the claims of those who have purported to be the famous outlaw long after his apparent death… Further Reading: • ‘Pat Garrett: The Truth About The Man Who Killed Billy The Kid' (Grunge, 2023): https://www.grunge.com/188477/pat-garrett-the-truth-about-the-man-who-killed-billy-the-kid/ • ‘Wild West Outlaw Billy the Kid: Who Was He Really?' (TIME, 2015): https://time.com/3766171/billy-the-kid-history/ • 'Caught on camera: Billy The Kid' (CBS, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmcTikY-E1k Image: By Ben Wittick - Brian Lebel's Old West Show and AuctionFile:Billy the Kid tintype, Fort Sumner, 1879-80.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15657780 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Mary Whitehouse successfully sued Gay News and publisher Denis Lemon at the Old Bailey in a trial that began on 11th July, 1977 - Britain's last conviction for blasphemy. What had ired the notorious Christian campaigner was the magazine's publication of “The Love That Dares to Speak Its Name”, a poem by James Kirkup written from the perspective of a Roman centurion who graphically describes having sex with Jesus after his crucifixion. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the poem literally could not be defended on its artistic merit; reveal how it came to Whitehouse's attention in the first place; and consider the literary potency of ‘Foxy Judas'...  Content Warning: explicit poetry, necrophilia, material likely to offend Christians. Further Reading: • ‘The gay poem that broke blasphemy laws' (Pink News, 2008): https://www.thepinknews.com/2008/01/10/the-gay-poem-that-broke-blasphemy-laws/ • ‘Blasphemy in the Christian World - A History, By David Nash' (OUP, 2010): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Blasphemy_in_the_Christian_World/BPYkhnY-3_cC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=robertson+whitehouse+lemon&pg=PA98&printsec=frontcover • ‘The Love That Dares To Speak Its Name, by James Kirkup' (Stand Up Jesus, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iiIORJTOqY This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The ‘Abernathy Boys', Temple and Louis, were aged just 5 and 8 respectively when they departed Guthrie, Oklahoma for a 1,300-mile horseback trip to Roswell, New Mexico on July 10th, 1909. Alone. Sons of widower John Abernathy, himself the youngest-ever U.S. Marshal, the boys encountered wolves, outlaws and vast stretches of untamed plains on their journey - but survived the trip and became national celebrities and friends with Teddy Roosevelt. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how, in another adventure, the brothers ended up commandeering a motor car back from New York City; consider the extent to which the boys were being exploited to provide their Dad with publicity; and reveal John's arresting technique for capturing wild wolves… Further Reading: • ‘Free-range kids: Louis and Temple Abernathy rode horses from Oklahoma to New York to meet Teddy Roosevelt' (The Washington Post, 2019): https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/10/19/ultimate-free-range-kids-two-boys-rode-horses-new-york-oklahoma/ • ‘How The Abernathy Boys Became The Most Adventurous Kids In History' (Fatherly, 2016): https://www.fatherly.com/love-money/abernathy-boys-solo-cross-country-1909 • ‘America On Their Own: The True Adventures and Explorations of the Abernathy Boys' (Holly Culver, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01szRIfFjiQ Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Rock Around The Clock was a moderately successful B-side - until its inclusion in the teen rebellion movie Blackboard Jungle - following which, on 9th July, 1955, Bill Haley and the Comets' earworm became the first rock n'roll song to hit US No.1. But Haley was no teenage rebel. He was already in his late 30s, balding, and rocking a curl on his forehead that screamed “respectable uncle”. But he was smart. He had rebranded his country-western band, The Saddlemen, as a rock outfit;  raided high school dances for slang, watched what kids moved to, and marketed accordingly. But, despite kickstarting a musical revolution, his star dimmed quickly.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover Haley's bizarre second wind in Mexico, where he became the voice of The Twist; consider Rock Around The Clock's role in retro nostalgia, following its later inclusion in ‘Happy Days'; and examine exactly what in its DNA caused 50's teenagers to slash open cinema seats in excitement…  Further Reading: • ‘Clock that rocked the world' (The Times, 2004): https://www.thetimes.com/article/766e2b25-addf-46fc-bfb4-98f821692d79 • ‘The Making of a Teenage Anthem: The Story Behind "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets' (American Songwriter, 2024): https://americansongwriter.com/a-teenage-anthem-the-story-behind-rock-around-the-clock-by-bill-haley-and-his-comets/ • ‘Bill Haley & His Comets - Rock Around The Clock' (1955): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgdufzXvjqw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Our Lady of Kazan', a painting of the Virgin and Child, was discovered in the ashes of a fire in the Russian town of Kazan on 8th July, 1579. The icon quickly became associated with miracles after two blind men were said to have their sight restored by standing in front of it. The original was stolen in 1904, but the copies still represent one of Russia's most important pieces of religious art - credited by some with thwarting Napoleon's invasion of 1812. In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly interrogate the reportage that continues to promote the ‘miracles' performed by the painting; reveal Hermann Goering's role in the fascinating 20th century history of the work; and recall a religious image of squirting milk that, once seen, cannot be unseen... Further Reading: • ‘Roman Catholic Saints' profiles Our Lady of Kazan (2011): https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/our-lady-of-kazan.html • ‘The Miracle Behind One of St Petersburg's Most Famous Landmarks' (Russian National Tourist Office): https://www.visitrussia.org.uk/blog/the-miracle-behind-one-of-st-petersburgs-most-famous-landmarks/ • The Associated Press records the day the icon was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church by the Pope (2004): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIVLYmmHrOE Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Samantha Smith, an 11 year-old from Maine, New England, left for the USSR on 7th July, 1983, as the personal guest of Soviet Premier Yuri Andropov. Her adventure began with a letter she wrote him, bluntly asking if he intended to start a war or conquer the United States. After the letter was published in Pravda, Andropov invited her to visit Russia, attending the Bolshoi Ballet, touring Lenin's Tomb, and staying at the Artek summer camp in Crimea. In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Smith's journey to the land described as an "Evil Empire" by President Reagan captured the hearts of millions; recall the showbiz career awaiting her upon returning to the United States; and uncover the tributes paid to her after the plane crash that ended her life… Further Reading: • ‘The Surprising Story of the American Girl Who Broke Through the Iron Curtain' (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/surprising-story-american-girl-who-broke-through-iron-curtain-180969043/ • ‘11-year-old Samantha Smith leaves for visit to the USSR' (History, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/samantha-smith-leaves-for-visit-to-the-ussr Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Jack Johnson, the first Black world heavyweight champion, and Jim Jeffries, the so-called "Great White Hope", slugged it out in Reno, Nevada on 4th July, 1910 - in one of the most explosive sporting events in American sports history. Literally billed as a battle for racial supremacy, the fight attracted 20,000 paying fans - and sparked the biggest race riots in the United States until the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.  Jeffries came out of retirement for a fat paycheck. Johnson danced circles around him, forcing his corner to throw in the towel by round 15. To many white Americans, this wasn't just a loss; it was an existential meltdown in boxing gloves. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Johnson's brashness and defiance made him a marked man; explore how his triumph resonated in Black America, just one generation after emancipation; and reveal what Sylvester Stallone contributed to his place in the history books... Further Reading: • ‘Introduction - Jack Johnson vs. James Jeffries: Topics in Chronicling America' (Library of Congress): https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-johnson-vs-jeffries • ‘Tex Rickard and the Making of Modern Sports' (We're History, 2015): https://werehistory.org/tex-rickard/ • ‘Jack Johnson Vs. James J Jeffries (July 4th, 1910): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esnq-orAvo8&t=14s Love the show? Support us!  Join 

David Bowie retired his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust live on stage at London's Hammersmith Odeon on 3rd July, 1973. To the surprise of most of his band, the Spiders From Mars, he announced to a devastated crowd that the gig was “the last show we'll ever do.”  Bowie's management company had plans to take Ziggy on an international tour, but being Ziggy Stardust had taken a mental and physical toll on the singer. “I really did want it all to come to an end,” he wrote in Moonage Daydream.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a ‘fake' Lou Reed influenced Bowie to create the character of Ziggy; discover how, for a while, his fans were called ‘the Uglies' and his genre ‘freakrock'; and reveal how this iconic rockstar felt ‘hopelessly lost' in his own fantasy… Further Reading: • ‘Looking back on David Bowie's most legendary gig: The death of Ziggy Stardust' (London Evening Standard, 2019): https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/david-bowie-death-ziggy-stardust-hammersmith-odeon-a4034746.html • ‘How David Bowie killed off Ziggy Stardust' (Far Out Magazine, 2021): https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/how-david-bowie-killed-ziggy-stardust/ • ‘David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust' (Live, 1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq8gG3pzMrU&list=PLNJirx02I6P72KTv5oJPSF-kkagLgfJWr&index=3 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Minnesotan dentist Walter Palmer killed Cecil The Lion on 2nd July, 2015; ending the life of a beloved and photogenic big cat, and kickstarting his career as the internet's most vilified trophy hunter. Cecil, who lived in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, wasn't just any lion - he was being tracked by Oxford scientists, and was a hit with tourists, known for his majestic black mane and his chill attitude toward safari vehicles. Palmer used a bow and arrow, returning 11 hours later to finish the kill, behead him, and leave the body to rot.  The backlash was explosive. Palmer's dental office, homes, and reputation were targeted with vandalism, hate mail, and death threats; his Yelp reviews are still haunted by Cecil's ghost. While many in Africa were confused by the global outrage, Western celebrities like Jimmy Kimmel, Ricky Gervais, and Ellen turned the story into a viral cause. Palmer claimed ignorance - he didn't know Cecil was special. But critics asked: why be okay with killing a lion at all? In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the ethics of big game hunting; investigate Palmer's trophy-hunting past (and present); and, ten years on from this viral moment, ask if the backlash following Cecil's death led to any positive outcomes…  Further Reading: • ‘Why Cecil the Lion Was So Popular With People' (National Geographic, 2015): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/150730-cecil-lion-africa-hunting-science-animals • ‘Cecil the lion's legacy: five years on' (University of Oxford, 2020): https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-12-21-cecil-lion-s-legacy-five-years • ‘Cecil The Lion's Death: What Really Happened Is Revealed In New Book 'Lion Hearted'' (TODAY, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgwHH9oS3IA Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Sony's revolutionary cassette player, the Walkman, debuted in the USA on 1st July, 1979, costing $150. It went on to shift a staggering 450m units. Boasting a classy aluminium chassis, audio splitter, and novelty ‘Hotline' button for dance parties, the device took off after an advertising campaign featuring sexy models and an elderly Japanese monk. In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the genesis of the Walkman's brand name; consider whether it deserved an even HIGHER place in TIME's list of the Top 50 Most Influential Gadgets, and ask if, in 2021, we are living in the shadow of ‘The Walkman Effect'... Further Reading: • ‘The History of the Walkman: 35 Years of Iconic Music Players' (The Verge, 2014): https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/1/5861062/sony-walkman-at-35 • The original TV spots for the Walkman in Japan (1979): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrrTv_BzAAQ • TIME's list of the 50 Most Influential Gadgets of All Time (2016): https://time.com/4309573/most-influential-gadgets/ Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Margaret Mitchell's first and only novel, Gone With The Wind, was released on 30th June, 1936, and delighted readers and critics alike, shifting millions of copies and scooping the Pulitzer Prize. But its romanticised tales of life in the South - complete with glorified depictions of slave labour and the Confederate Army - was divisive for African-Americans at the time, and is now recognised as overtly racist. Mitchell, a ‘flapper' who had a racy private life compared to her cohort, died after being struck by a car. But her magnum opus remains consistently ranked as one of America's favourite books. In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Martin Luther King, Jr. was involved in the premiere of the movie; consider an alternative name for the novel's lead character; and reveal the mind-boggling amounts of money paid for copies of the book, and the film rights… Further Reading: • ‘Margaret Mitchell's 'Gone With The Wind' Turns 75' (NPR, 2011): https://www.npr.org/2011/06/30/137476187/margaret-mitchells-gone-with-the-wind-turns-75 • ‘The Long Battle Over ‘Gone With the Wind'' (The New York Times, 2020): https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/14/movies/gone-with-the-wind-battle.html • ‘Gone with the Wind - By Margaret Mitchell. FULL Audiobook' (Complete Audiobooks, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6mpo9-P5BQ Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The deadly fight between Patrick Farrell and James Donnelly on 27th June 1857 kickstarted one of the longest-lasting and most violent feuds in Canadian history. The property the Donnellys had been squatting on had been previously leased by Farrell. A judge had ruled that the lot be split 50/50, but, at a barn raising bee, Donnelly chucked a handspike at Farrell, who died two days later. Decades later, the Donnelly family's homestead was attacked by a vigilante mob, leaving five of their family dead. In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why nobody was convicted of the murders, despite two trials and a reliable eyewitness; reveal why the Donnelleys became known locally as the ‘black' Donnelleys, a nickname which persists to this day; and unearth, amongst one of their number, a surprising predilection for poetry… Further Reading: • ‘History | Lucan Museum' (donnellymuseum.com): https://www.donnellymuseum.com/history • ‘Black Donnellys - The Outrageous Tale of Canada's Deadliest Feud, By Nate Hendley' (Formac Publishing Company Limited, 2018): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Black_Donnellys/sK5jDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 • ‘The Doomed Donnellys of Ontario' (TVO Today, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqqfg3PND7o Love the show? Support us!  Join 

At a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio, a packet of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum became the first ever product to have its barcode scanned - at 8:01 a.m. on June 26th, 1974. Inspired by the morse code training of his Boy Scout days, Norman Joseph Woodland first sketched out a barcode on a Florida beach in 1948, drawing dots and dashes in the sand. Together with fellow Drexel Institute graduate student Bernard Silver, he received a U.S. Patent in 1952 - but it would be another 20 years before IBM produced the technology that could be rolled out to grocery stores. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the invention accelerated the growth of the largest retailers; consider Woodland's original ‘bullseye' barcode design; and reveal why conspiracy theorists think barcodes are the DEVIL's work… Further Reading: • ‘How the barcode changed retailing and manufacturing' (BBC News, 2017): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38498700 • ‘N Joseph Woodland obituary' (The Guardian, 2012): https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/dec/16/n-joseph-woodland • ‘How Do Barcodes Work?' (sciBRIGHT, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfeVckbQxdQ Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Architect Stanford White was shot three times at close range by millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw during a performance of Broadway comedy ‘Mamzelle Champagne' on 25th June, 1906. At first, the stunned audience thought it was part of the show. Thaw claimed White had “ruined” his wife, showgirl Evelyn Nesbit - often called America's first ‘It Girl' - who at just 16 had been lured into White's orbit and ‘seduced' by White - though a reading of Nesbit's diary makes it sound a lot more like rape.  But sadistic playboy Thaw was no knight in shining armour himself. His legal defense introduced the bizarre concept of dementia Americana—a supposed burst of "patriotic insanity" any red-blooded man might feel upon learning his wife had been wronged. Astonishingly, it worked.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider (yet another) ‘trial of the century'; reveal what happened to Nesbit once the dust had settled; and explain what Thaw used to with his $100 bills… CONTENT WARNING: sexual sadism, abuse, coercive control, description of murder. Further Reading: • ‘The History of New York Scandals - Harry Thaw Shoots Architect Stanford White' (New York Magazine, 2012): https://nymag.com/news/features/scandals/stanford-white-2012-4/ • ‘THAW MURDERS STANFORD WHITE; Shoots Him on the Madison Square Garden Roof' (The New York Times, 1906): https://www.nytimes.com/1906/06/26/archives/thaw-murders-stanford-white-shoots-him-on-the-madison-square-garden.html • ‘The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing: Trailer' (20th Century Fox, 1955): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARhXJas59YQ Love the show? Support us!  Join 

‘Dancing Mania' - in which people spontaneously danced to exhaustion, some until they broke their ribs and subsequently died, took hold of Aachen, Germany on 24th June, 1374. We still don't really know why. Had the victims ingested ergot, a mould from rye bread that can inspire hallucinations? Was it a hysterical mass response to a stressful and traumatic environment? Or a kind of pre-smartphone flashmob?  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the likely causes and cures for this curious episode, learn about the equally extraordinary phenomenon of Tarantism, and play ‘guess the Saintly disease'...  Further Reading: • ‘A Strange Case of Dancing Mania Struck Germany Six Centuries Ago', Smithsonian Magazine (2016) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/strange-case-dancing-mania-struck-germany-six-centuries-ago-today-180959549/ • ‘A forgotten plague: making sense of dancing mania', The Lancet (2009): https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(09)60386-X/fulltext • ‘Tarantism: A Rhythm For Your Soul'  (Giuliano Capani, 2008) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6fB4oInT7A Love the show? Support us!  Join 

John Gotti, the infamous ‘Teflon Don' boss of New York's Gambino crime family, smiled as he received a life sentence in a Brooklyn courthouse on 23rd June, 1992. Outside, chaos reigned as nearly a thousand supporters flipped over a federal marshal's car and chanted in defence of the mobster, framing his conviction as an anti-Italian injustice. But the FBI had been determined to bring Gotti down. After multiple failed attempts - including a memorable trial with a bribed juror - they finally found their opportunity by bugging his social club, capturing crucial conversations that convicted him of multiple murders and racketeering. Arion, Rebecca and Olly contrast Gotti's reputation in his Queens neighbourhood with his perception amongst the public at large; explain how his charisma and flashy style earned him the nickname ‘Dapper Don' before he became ‘Teflon'; and reveal how a true crime documentary helped bring him to justice... Further Reading: • ‘Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano, The Mobster Who Betrayed John Gotti' (All Thats Interesting, 2023): https://allthatsinteresting.com/sammy-the-bull-gravano • ‘MOB CHIEF GOTTI SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE' (The Washington Post, 1992): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1992/06/24/mob-chief-gotti-sentenced-to-life-without-parole/885eb70e-2eae-4be4-9126-c54182b3262f/ • ‘John Gotti trial' (Fox 5 New York, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLPjxxw-mGU Love the show? Support us!  Join 

When the East India Company surrendered Fort William (in modern-day Kolkata) to the Nawab of Bengal on 20th June, 1756, dozens of British captives were imprisoned in a cell measuring only 18ft long and 14ft wide, with just two tiny windows - ‘the Black Hole of Calcutta'. Among the prisoners was John Zephaniah Holwell, whose pamphlet describing the terrors of the airless room caused a sensation back in Britain and became a cause célèbre in the idealization of imperialism in India. Holwell claimed 123 men lost their lives in the cell, although it is now thought the number of deaths was exaggerated. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover Holwell's mixed feelings around colonialism; consider how ‘the black hole of Calcutta' became an enduring term of phrase; and reveal what connected Kolkata with Olly's home village in Hertfordshire… Further Reading: • ‘A Genuine Narrative of the Deplorable Deaths of the English Gentlemen, and Others, who Were Suffocated in the Black-Hole in Fort-William, at Calcutta, in the Kingdom of Bengal, in the Night Succeeding the 20th Day of June, 1756, in a Letter to a Friend - By John Zephaniah Holwell' (A. Millar, 1758): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_Genuine_Narrative_of_the_Deplorable_De/xGg0Cg9WVNcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Holwell+%2B+Calcutta&printsec=frontcover • ‘The Black Hole of Calcutta – Kolkata, India' (Atlas Obscura): https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-black-hole-of-calcutta • ‘The Story of The Black Hole Of Calcutta - Britain's Secret Homes' (ITV Daytime, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbjFxITtXwU This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The Grand Knockout Tournament (also known as It's a Royal Knockout) was a one-off charity event first shown on BBC1 on 19th June 1987, to an audience of 18 million gobsmacked viewers.  The brainchild of the then 23 year old Prince Edward, the slapstick spectacle featured the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of York captaining rival teams in a series of preposterous rounds involving celebrities including Rowan Atkinson, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, John Travolta and Les Dawson. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall Fergie's feelings of shame, blame and betrayal; discover the extraordinary cast of characters gathered at this bizarre occasion; and explain why Meat Loaf and Prince Andrew did not see eye-to-eye… Further Reading: • ‘Remembering The TV Disaster That Was It's A Royal Knockout' (Grazia, 2020): https://graziadaily.co.uk/celebrity/news/royal-knockout-anne-edward-andrew/ • ‘It's a royal cock-up' (The Guardian, 2002): https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/mar/05/themonarchy.broadcasting • ‘The Grand Knockout Tournament' (BBC, 1987): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwkv0-QlbZY This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart became the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air on June 18th, 1928… but on this occasion didn't actually fly the plane; she was a passenger aboard the Friendship, a three-engine seaplane piloted by Wilmer Stultz and co-piloted by Louis Gordon.  Originally, a wealthy heiress was meant to take the flight, but her family vetoed it as too dangerous. So Earhart, smart, skilled, and camera-ready, was chosen to be “Lady Lindy”, and that one journey launched her into the stratosphere of fame. She wrote a book, became a Cosmopolitan editor, endorsed everything from cigarettes to watches, and even launched her own fashion line.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit Earhart's iconic joyrides, including the one alongside Eleanor Roosevelt; consider the impact of her work to elevate women pilots, given that 95% of pilots are still men; and speculate about one of aviation's greatest mysteries: what happened to her plane on the day she went missing? Further Reading: • ‘BBC - Wales History: Amelia Earhart flies the Atlantic' (BBC Wales, 2010): https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/waleshistory/2010/05/amelia_earhart_flies_the_atlantic.html • ‘Amelia Earhart Facts: 24 Fascinating Things You Should Know' (All Thats Interesting, 2017): https://allthatsinteresting.com/amelia-earhart-facts • ‘Mystery solved? Explorer thinks he found Amelia Earhart's lost plane' (NBC, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DqU8LaL-L0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 on to symbolise the immigrant journey - even though the designers and engineers behind it had no such intention. And it wasn't supposed to be green, either - that's because it's oxidized. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider whether NYC bagged themselves a bargain, reveal the origins of the ‘ticker tape parade', and wonder if they could ever do something so epic for their Mums... Further Reading: • The Statue of Liberty: Building an Icon (The B1M, 2017):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QM0tipFQ9c • History on ‘How The Statue of Liberty Became An Icon': https://www.history.com/news/statue-of-liberty-icon-building • Reuters fact-check: why Lady Liberty is NOT an enslaved black woman (2020):  https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-statue-liberty-design-idUSKBN24B2L1 This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 barrier, proclaiming in English, "I want to be free," and was swiftly escorted to the airport police station, marking the start of his life in the West. His defection, while fraught with personal sacrifice - including a potential permanent separation from his family and homeland - became a major propaganda victory in the Cold War, highlighting the repressive nature of the Soviet regime. In this episode, The Retrospectors reveal how Nureyev's uncompromising dedication to artistic freedom clashed with Soviet norms; discover what his groupies used to chant outside the Stage Door in Covent Garden; and uncover Jerome Robbins' succinct description of his awesome talents… Further Reading: • ‘How Rudolf Nureyev danced to freedom' (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/stage/dance-blog/2015/dec/14/rudolf-nureyev-dance-to-freedom-bbc-documentary-film • 'Rudolf Nureyev: from small steps to one giant leap' (Financial Times, 2015): https://www.ft.com/content/9fab8b22-9ce2-11e5-8ce1-f6219b685d74 • ‘Margot Fonteyn & Rudolf Nureyev Pas de Deux in LE CORSAIRE' (1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79IYUS63agQ Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 the US inventor Marion Donovan patented a new kind of nappy, with an envelope-like plastic cover and an absorbent insert. Her invention ultimately netted her a million dollars (nearly $10 million in today's money) and paved the way for the development of disposable nappies which have become ubiquitous in many parts of the world today.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss how Donovan became one of the most prolific female inventors of her time; reveal that when she attempted to sell her invention, she was laughed out of boardrooms by male executives; and explain why one of her inventions, the “Zippity-Do”, could potentially be the undoing of Olly's relationship with his wife… Further Reading: • ‘The Woman Who Invented Disposable Diapers' (The Atlantic, 2014): https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/10/the-woman-who-invented-disposable-diapers/381310/  • ‘Marion Donovan: Waterproof Diaper Cover Inventor' (National Inventors' Hall of Fame, 2023): https://www.invent.org/inductees/marion-donovan  • ‘Inventors on "Not for Women Only" from 1975' (Lemelson Center, 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-YtYOKt6T0  This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 Clapton, and Ringo Starr, but only one official photo was ever released - so local teens with disposable cameras became unlikely paparazzi for hire.  The couple's doomed love story began in 1999 at the Pride of Britain Awards, but when the tabloid press got hold of their relationship, eyebrows were raised over their age gap, Mills' rocky employment history, and her supposed friction with Paul's daughter, designer Stella McCartney. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look back at the misogynistic coverage of Mills in the popular press; revisit the turbulent fallout of this high-profile celebrity marriage; and pore over the ashes of Mills's prior romances… Further Reading: • ‘McCartney ties knot at rock 'n' roll wedding' (CNN, 2002): https://edition.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/11/mccartney.wedday/index.html • ‘First view from inside Paul McCartney and Heather Mills' wedding' (Mail Online, 2015):  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3035182/Help-Gloom-Macca-s-girls-doomed-wedding-view-inside-Paul-Heather-s-wedding-did-grim-faced-Stella-Mary-know-coming.html • ‘Mills rants after getting £24.3m from Macca' (On Demand Entertainment, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9R7gV9evNE Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 Wordsworth (Christ Church College, Oxford) and Merivale (St. John's, Cambridge) challenged each other to race up the Thames in Henley, they never could have known their schoolboy jape would attract 20,000 spectators, nor that it would go on to become one of the major sporting events in the British calendar.  In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider if rowing is still an elitist sport; whether Oxbridge colleges should now ditch the pretence that they never admit postgraduate students specifically to participate in the race; and reveal Hugh Laurie's consolation prize for losing for Cambridge in 1980… Further Reading:  • ‘Origins of the Boat Race' at the Boat Race's official website: https://theboatrace.org/origins • 111 years after the original race, Oxford and Cambridge compete in Henley again (British Pathé, 1940): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQSsei8KxCw • ‘Ten Things You Didn't Know About The Boat Race' from Sky History: https://www.history.co.uk/article/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-boat-race This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 unique talents of Clarence Nash - a man who'd spent his childhood mimicking barnyard sounds), Donald's hot-tempered, accident-prone slapstick sensibilities brought a welcome unpredictability to the sanitised world the studio had constructed around their hero, Mickey Mouse. But Donald wasn't just a cartoon character. He soon became a symbol of resilience during World War II, when he starred in morale-boosting shorts like Donald Gets Drafted - and even donned a swastika to parody Nazi Germany in the Oscar-winning Der Fuehrer's Face. In this episode, The Retrospectors unpick the particular appeal of Donald's vain, cocky, and boastful appearances; explain why it took years for him to truly earn his iconic sailor's outift; and reveal how Duck Tales has its roots in military service… Further Reading: • ‘A Duck for All Seasons' (The Washington Post, 1984): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1984/06/24/a-duck-for-all-seasons/36253ddd-a547-47ab-9c50-b0ff696f707e/ • ‘50-Year Career : Clarence Nash, Donald Duck's Voice, Dies' (Los Angeles Times, 1985): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-02-21-mn-619-story.html • 'The Wise Little Hen' (Disney, 1934): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLFyNRuEkCM Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 grave of a man named “Wolfgang Gerhard” - later proven to be Mengele, who'd drowned at a beach resort at the age of 68. Mengele, responsible for sending up to 400,000 Jews to their deaths at Auschwitz, was able to escape to Argentina via Italy after the War, even living freely under his real name for a period, before Mossad and ‘Nazi Hunter' Simon Wiesenthal began hunting him down more assiduously. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how frustratingly close Israel's secret services came to capturing him in his lifetime; explain how he was able to live under cover in South America for decades; and consider the irony of what finally happened to his skeleton… Content Warning: depictions of Auschwitz, Holocaust torture techniques Further Reading: • ‘Son Says Mengele's Dead, Tells Why He Kept Silent : Learned of Death in 1979' (Los Angeles Times, 1985): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-06-11-mn-10339-story.html • ‘How did the infamous Josef Mengele escape punishment?' (The Spectator, 2020): https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-did-the-infamous-josef-mengele-escape-punishment/ • ‘Confirming the remains of Josef Mengele' (NBC, 1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m46WUDwxxpA This episode first premiered in 2024, for members of

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 stepmother, who had been crushed by the blows of a hatchet - 11 and 19 times, respectively. In attendance were three judges, Borden's high-powered defense team (paid for from her late father's estate), and reporters and onlookers keen to parse the lurid details of the shocking deaths in the Borden homestead. But, despite there being no other suspects, Borden was acquitted. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Lizzie just *may* have innocently been purchasing poison; consider whether this was the case that first ignited the female interest in ‘true crime' stories in America; and reveal what's happened to the ‘Borden Murder House' in the 21st century … Content Warning: domestic violence, description of brutal murder scene. Further Reading: • ‘Why 19th-Century Axe Murderer Lizzie Borden Was Found Not Guilty' (Smithsonian Magazine, 2019): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-19th-century-axe-murderer-lizzie-borden-was-found-not-guilty-180972707/ • ‘Lizzie Borden case: Images from one of the most notorious crime scenes in history' (CBS, 2021): https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/lizzie-borden-case-images-crime-scene/ • ‘48 Hours: Lizzie Borden Took an Axe' (CBS, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYDiEcyDUBU Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 could grab 10 ounces of beer. The lines never stopped, as fans circled back, drank in line, and kept the buzz going. Tensions were high, as this was a rematch with the Texas Rangers following a brawl. Fans cheered when a Rangers player got injured, and started throwing trash, rocks, and batteries onto the field. Then came a full-on invasion: around 200 fans, some armed with chains and chunks of stadium seats, rushed the pitch. Players fought to protect each other. The umpire, bleeding from a thrown rock and narrowly missed by a knife, finally called it: game over. Cleveland forfeited. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Cleveland's ill-advised 10 cent beer promotion came to be; unpick what the baseball players were thinking, as they were dashed back to a hotel for their safety; and marvel at the gratuitous nudity on the pitch, in the golden age of 70s streaking… Further Reading: • ‘A mistake by the lake: Remembering the 10-cent Beer Night riot' (Sports Illustrated, 2013): https://www.si.com/mlb/2013/06/04/mistake-lake-remembering-10-cent-beer-night-riot • ‘10 Cent Beer Night: An Oral History of Cleveland Baseball's Most Infamous Night' (Cleveland Magazine, 2024): https://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/sports/articles/10-cent-beer-night-an-oral-history-of-cleveland-baseball's-most-infamous-night • ‘10-Cent Beer Night: A look back' (Sports & Extras Network, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFtR38Mlscc Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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, Warhol wore a corset for the rest of his life; security had to be introduced at the previously open-door environment of The Factory; and Solanas' name went down in infamy. In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca ask whether her feminist writing would carry more weight if she'd never committed this violent act; consider the ethics of wannabe-assassins becoming celebrities, and wonder whether her SCUM Manifesto reads more like Jane Austen or Germaine Greer… Content Warning: mental health, paranoid schizophrenia, injury detail Further Reading: • ‘I Shot Andy Warhol' trailer (1996):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAQRCcQlXXE • ‘The SCUM Manifesto' on Northeastern University's website:  https://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/shivers/rants/scum.html • ‘This Is Why a Radical Playwright Shot Andy Warhol' (Time, 2015):  https://time.com/3901488/andy-warhol-valerie-solanas/ This episode was first published in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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. The tragedy occurred during the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus, when hooligans from both clubs had infiltrated the neutral sections. The policing was inadequate, with officers diverted by minor thefts, and the stadium's security measures woefully insufficient. 39 fans died, and 600 were injured, but, astonishingly, the match continued - with Juventus winning 1-0. In this episode, The Retrospectors discover how the ban led to the creation of the ill-fated ‘Screensport Super Cup'; consider how Rupert Murdoch's investment in rights transformed the sport; and reveal how the ban affected English clubs' ability to attract international talent… Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 tax. The protest triggered a violent confrontation, rapidly spreading across the south-east of the country. Within a month, the rebels were marching towards London, massacring merchants and razing the palace of the king's uncle, John of Gaunt. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether the protestors really were ‘peasants' at all; appraise 14 year-old king Richard II's handling of their appeasement; and explain how, despite the horrific hardship of the Black Death, the working classes had, for once, something of an advantage… Further Reading: • ‘The Peasants' Revolt Of 1381: A Guide' (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/your-guide-peasants-revolt-facts-timeline/ • ‘Peasants' Revolt' (British Library): https://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item132518.html • ‘The Untold Story Of The 1381 Peasants Revolt' (Timeline, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kq9sbtFCR8&t=2s Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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) Sir John Lubbock, the Bank Holidays Act of 1871 created four official days off, cleverly packaged as innocuous financial regulation so as to sneak through Parliament without incurring moral panic. So admired was the innovation that the holidays became informally known as “Saint Lubbock's Days”. But, in a way, Lubbock had only revived the spirit of the medieval calendar, which had plenty of saint days and community-wide rest. The industrial revolution had crushed all that under factory whistles and time cards, but now, with the rollout of the Victorian railways, city folk could flee to the seaside for a sunny day with their families.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pore over Lubbock's bizarre CV; consider the debate around renaming Bank Holidays as “Princess Diana Day” or “Britishness Day”; and explain why, despite the new laws, not all industries shut up shop…  Further Reading: • ‘Bank holiday notice, 1896' (NatWest Group Heritage Hub): https://www.natwestgroup.com/heritage/history-100/objects-by-theme/our-people-in-the-community/bank-holiday-notice-1896.html • ‘Sir John Lubbock, Lord Avebury 1834 – 1913' (Chislehurst Society): https://chislehurst-society.org.uk/pages/about/people/sir-john-lubbock-lord-avebury-1834-1913/ • ‘What is a Bank Holiday? | Why Do We Get Bank Holidays?' (Twinkl Educational Publishing, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_I_pzgE920 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

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 to dethrone Queen Elizabeth I and restore Catholicism, no less.  Unfortunately, their commander, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, had no naval experience. And the English got wind of the "secret" invasion months in advance. When they finally arrived, the Spanish were struggling with storms, rotting supplies, and low morale; and the comparatively cobbled-together English fleet darted in, fired, and slipped away before the lumbering Spanish could react. Then came the infamous “fire ships”—floating bonfires set toward the Spanish fleet, causing panic, chaos, and most importantly, shattering the Armada's crescent formation. With ships scattered and winds whipping up, the Spanish went into retreat — but the exit door was now a long, stormy road around Scotland and Ireland… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why the Spanish believed victory was inevitable; reveal how the biggest toll on the Armada came AFTER the famous battle; and explain why it took so long for news of the victory to spread around England… Further Reading: • ‘Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada' (Royal Museums Greenwich): https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/elizabeth-i-spanish-armada • ‘The Spanish Armada: 10 Little-Known Facts' (HistoryExtra, 2018): https://www.historyextra.com/period/elizabethan/spanish-armada-facts-elizabeth-i-medina-sidonia-catholic-philip-ii/  • ‘England vs The Spanish Armada: The Defeat Of The Invincible Fleet' (Timeline, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZsTRdmnp_Y Love the show? Support us!  Join