Podcast appearances and mentions of Olly Mann

New Orleans witnessed its first modern Mardi Gras procession - kick-started by a group of students eager to revive the traditional masquerade, banned for six decades - on 27th February, 1827.  The city's parades and revelry can trace their origins back to ancient pagan festivals and European traditions, cemented by the arrival of French-Canadian explorer (and MASSIVE ‘Fat Tuesday' fan) Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville into Louisiana in 1699.  In this episode, The Retrospectors Krewe dig into the celebration's impact on revenue and refuse; consider the discriminatory practices that accompanied the festivities until the late 20th century; and get angry about the British equivalent: Pancake Day…  Further Reading: • ‘Here's a Brief History of Mardi Gras and How It All Started' (The Manual, 2024): https://www.themanual.com/culture/history-of-madi-gras/ • ‘Unmasking the History of Mardi Gras in New Orleans' (The Crescent Magazine, 2022): https://tulanemagazine.com/unmasking-the-history-of-mardi-gras-in-new-orleans/ • ‘Mardi Gras New Orleans Louisiana 4K' (Dan Usher Films, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bv1mFl9SI4 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: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 89th Academy Awards reached its grand finale on 26th February 2017, with a balls-up that instantly entered Hollywood lore. Presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway stepped onstage to announce Best Picture and declared La La Land the winner. Cast and crew flooded the stage, speeches began, and the orchestra swelled - but the true winner, of course, was Moonlight. Beatty's visible hesitation, replayed endlessly since, stemmed from a simple but catastrophic mistake: he had been handed the duplicate Best Actress envelope, reading “Emma Stone - La La Land”. Unsure how to proceed, he showed the card to Dunaway; believing he was prolonging the suspense, she read out the film's title. Only as producer Jordan Horowitz was thanking his family did the truth ripple across the stage: “This is not a joke. Moonlight, you guys won Best Picture.” The error was traced to PricewaterhouseCoopers partner Brian Cullinan, who had mistakenly handed over the duplicate envelope while distracted backstage, reportedly after tweeting a photograph of Emma Stone with her Oscar. The irony was sharp: PricewaterhouseCoopers had supervised the Academy's voting process since 1935, originally engaged after controversy surrounding Bette Davis's 1934 snub, and prided itself on meticulous safeguards, including identical sets of envelopes held on either side of the stage. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly force themselves to re-watch the excruciating moment repeatedly; consider how, following two years of #OscarsSoWhite criticism, the blunder landed at a particularly sensitive moment for the Academy; and admire the way the La La Land team somehow met this emotional rollercoaster with savviness and tact…  Further Reading: • ‘The Full Story Behind The 'La La Land' And 'Moonlight' Oscars Mix-Up' (Forbes, 2017): https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2017/02/27/the-full-story-behind-the-la-la-land-and-moonlight-oscars-mix-up/ • ‘How Scandal Started PwC's Oscars Vote Count, Envelope System' (TIME, 2018): https://time.com/5182902/pwc-academy-awards-oscars-snub/ • ‘Oscars Mistake: Moonlight Wins Best Picture after La La Land Mistakenly Announced' (ABC, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvK-g1rehpU&t=1s #Mistakes #Film #2010s #Hollywood Join 

Henri Landru, known as ‘Bluebeard' to the French public, was executed by guillotine on 25th February, 1922, having murdered at least ten women he dated during the First World War. He continued to protest his innocence throughout his sensational trial - despite having drawn a detailed doodle of the oven he had used to burn his victims' bodies. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick Landru's disturbing methodology; uncover why France's top defense attorney was attracted to the case; and explain what it all had to do with Rudyard Kipling…  Further Reading: • ‘The Story Of Henri Landru, France's Charming Bluebeard Serial Killer' (All That's Interesting, 2017): https://allthatsinteresting.com/henri-landru • ‘Hidden for 100 years, the untold story of serial killer who preyed on lonely war widows' (Mail Online, 2019): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6511793/Hidden-100-years-untold-story-serial-killer-preyed-lonely-war-widows.html • ‘Bluebeard's 10 Honeymoons' (Anglo Allied Pictures, 1960): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrfmrucyKGo Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone - now better known as St Francis of Assisi - attended Mass on 24th February, 1208, and heard the Gospel According to Matthew. From that day on, the former soldier and playboy removed his shoes, put on a rough tunic, and embarked fully into a monastic lifestyle. The process would lead him to meet the Pope and become officially recognised by the Church - but alienate him from his wealthy father, who had shelled out ransom money to return him from a battlefield prison. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall how Francis's father attempted to wangle him out of his inheritance; explore the really rather literal fashion in which Francesco interpreted his various visions; and explain why, at one point, Francis prayed for his miracles to STOP…  Further Reading: • ‘Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi - By Donald Spoto' (Penguin, 2003): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Reluctant_Saint/K6qy9JMXuGUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=assisi&printsec=frontcover • ‘Francis of Assisi, nature's mystic' (The Washington Post, 2013): https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/francis-of-assisi-natures-mystic/2013/03/20/82619910-9166-11e2-bdea-e32ad90da239_story.html • ‘Francis: The Saint and the Pope' (Catholic News Service, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcOU3bYmMOA Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Optometry historians observe 23rd February, 1305 as the day eyeglasses were perhaps first discussed in public, when friar Giordano de Rivalto stood at the pulpit and declared that he had personally met the man who invented spectacles... Except, frustratingly, he forgot to mention the bloke's name. One popular contender for the title is Salvino D'Armati, a Florentine said to have created the first glasses in 1284. The only problem? His story turned out to be a hoax—his supposed 1317 epitaph even used the word "inventor," which didn't exist yet. But the connection to the church is legit, as the earliest wearers of glasses were usually monks, because they were the nation's biggest bookworms. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly romp through a brief history of optometry, learning how ear hooks first came to the fore; explaining how Seneca used early lenses to assist his reading; and revealing Benjamin Franklin's surprising role in the world of bifocals… Further Reading: • ‘Through the looking glass' (British Library, 2019): https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2019/02/medieval-spectacles.html • ‘The history of spectacles' (College of Optometrists): https://www.college-optometrists.org/the-british-optical-association-museum/the-history-of-spectacles • ‘Why so many people need glasses now' (Vox, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAkFtka3UFw Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Departing from Puerto Rico with grand plans to establish a new colony, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León set out on his ill-fated second expedition to Florida on February 20th, 1521.  Ponce de León's reputation as a conquistador preceded him, with tales of his brutal conquests in Hispaniola preceding his quest for new lands. Despite being ousted from power by his rival Diego Columbus, Ponce de León received a charter from King Ferdinand to explore and govern distant territories. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why de León named his ‘discovery' "Florida"; explain why the ‘tree of death' played a pivotal part in his downfall; and discover where those ‘Fountain of Youth' rumours came from…  Further Reading:  • ‘Ponce de Leon: Florida & Fountain of Youth' (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/juan-ponce-de-leon • ‘Ponce De Leon Never Searched for the Fountain of Youth' (Smithsonian Magazine, 2013): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ponce-de-leon-never-searched-for-the-fountain-of-youth-72629888/ ‘Juan Ponce de León: Meet the Spanish explorer who discovered Florida' (10 Tampa Bay, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-BjLdHerRk 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: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the Second Continental Congress calmly reshuffled the revolutionary army's high command on 19th February 1777, they couldn't have known they were detonating a grievance in one of their most daring and battle-tested commanders: Benedict Arnold. Arnold was certain that he had the merit and seniority to be promoted, but instead saw junior officers leapfrogging him in a decision printed for all to see. It was the first of many humiliations, arguably leading ultimately to his scandalous defection to the British. George Washington, aware of the dangers, wrote tactfully to Arnold, urging patience and suggesting the omission might yet be corrected. But Arnold's sensitivity to honour had deep roots: born into a once-prominent Rhode Island family whose fortunes declined through his father's alcoholism, his whole military career can be seen as an attempt to rehabilitate his reputation.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how history would remember this turncoat and traitor had he died instead at the Battles of Seratoga; explain how the seeds of his treachery were sewn in his marriage to Peggy Shippen; and ask whether the chip on his shoulder was truly justified…  Further Reading: • ‘BENEDICT ARNOLD: HERO, TRAITOR... WHINER' (The Washington Post, 1995): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/1995/03/08/benedict-arnold-hero-traitor-whiner/52cd2720-8a16-4ba9-ac30-0d1cb56ca5b7/ • ‘10 Surprising Facts About Benedict Arnold' (Mental Floss, 2021): https://www.mentalfloss.com/history/war/10-facts-about-benedict-arnold • ‘James Kirby Martin discusses the truths and legends of Benedict Arnold' (American Revolution Institute, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl0v__W6B94 #Scandal #1700s #Philadelphia #Revolution Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Sentenced to death for treason against his brother King Edward IV, George, Duke of Clarence was executed on 18th February, 1478 - and, according to legend, chose to be drowned in a butt of his favorite tipple: malmsey wine.  It was apt punishment for years of plotting against his brother alongside his father-in-law, the Earl of Warwick - most notably by claiming that the King's two children were illegitimate. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how close George came to actually seizing the throne; consider how Shakespeare sexed things up for ‘Richard III'; and investigate the financial outlay required if you wanted to drown yourself in a butt of malmsey wine in 2022… Further Reading: • ‘Duke of Clarence: A title through time' (The History Press): https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/duke-of-clarence-a-title-through-time/ • ‘Malmsey - Madeira Wine and Dine': https://www.madeirawineanddine.com/malmsey/ • ‘On This Day: the execution of George, Duke of Clarence' (Matt Lewis, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3teyJXLduCM Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Between 1908 and 1927, the Ford Motor Company sold 15,007,033 Model Ts, making the car the best-selling automobile the world had ever seen. That record came to an end on the 17th February, 1972 when the 15,007,034th Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the production line. The car was the brainchild of Adolf Hitler who commissioned it almost immediately after her became chancellor of Germany in 1933. His plan was that the German public, irrespective of whether they were a doctor or a factory worker could buy a car for just 1,000 Reichsmarks which would have been around 31 weeks' pay for the average worker. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether the Beetle is more a triumph of engineering or advertising; discuss why Ford turned down the Volkswagen factory at Wolfsburg, which they could have had for free; and look at how the Führer's car came to be loved by 1960s American hippies and flower children…   Further Reading: • ‘The VW Beetle: How Hitler's idea became a design icon' (BBC, 2014): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20130830-the-nazi-car-we-came-to-love  • ‘The world's best-selling cars' (Auto Express, 2022):  https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars-vans/33872/worlds-best-selling-cars  • ‘The History of Volkswagen, 'The People's Car' (Wall Street Journal, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhH-oWHzzvQ  Love the show? Support us!  Join 

High-rolling merchant Nicholas Vanacker wrote out a cheque for a hefty £400 on 16th February, 1659 - one of the earliest modern cheques still preserved today. For goldsmiths-to-the-aristocracy Morris and Clayton, the innovation wasn't just about ease; it was a strategic move to reduce risk and maximize profit, even though the process involved clerks physically visiting other banks to balance accounts. Eventually, in the 1770s, bankers got smart and started meeting at the Five Bells pub in Lombard Street to settle transactions over a pint—probably the most British way to handle financial exchanges… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly track the history of the cheque through ancient civilizations; argue over the etymology of the word (French vs. Persian); and reminisce about the glory days of the cheque - the 1990s… Further Reading: • ‘16 February 1659: the first British cheque' (MoneyWeek, 2021): https://moneyweek.com/426390/16-february-1659-the-first-british-cheque-is-issued • 'From the archives: the evolution of the cheque' (Barclays, 2016): https://home.barclays/news/2016/08/evolution-of-the-cheque/ • 'How to Write a Check' (Howcast, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIZWqIv_flA Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The Winter Olympics kicked off in Calgary on 13th February, 1988 - but the stand-out stars of the event did not qualify for a medal. Rather, the four-man Jamaican Bobsled team - who would later become (unreliably) immortalised in the Disney comedy ‘Cool Runnings' - became a testament to the intersection of determination, investment, and sporting excellence. The brainchild of Americans George Fitch and William Maloney, the concept was influenced by Jamaica's annual Pushcart Derby, and supported in part by the Tourist Board. Participants, including helicopter pilot Dudley Stokes, were recruited via the pair's connections to the Jamaican military. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pick out fact from fiction in the Hollywood retelling of the saga; consider the legacy of Jamaica's first-time involvement with this cold-weather sport; and reveal how reggae music really did help the team make it to the competition…  Further Reading: • 'I Was in The Jamaican Bobsled Team That Inspired 'Cool Runnings'' (Newsweek, 2022): https://www.newsweek.com/i-was-jamaican-bobsled-team-that-inspired-cool-runnings-1675732 • ‘Jamaican bobsleigh team: Everything you need to know about Cool Runnings, the 1988 Olympic Games, and more' (Olympics, 2021): https://olympics.com/en/news/jamaican-bobsleigh-team-1988-winter-olympics • ‘Jamaican Bobsleigh Team Debut At Calgary Winter Olympics' (Olympics, 1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm4DjRcmoPY 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: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have televised confessions quelled protests in Iran? Why has Elon Musk turned from Mars to the Moon? And will the BBC prove to be a puzzles champ? Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Felicity Capon, Arion McNicoll and Harriet Marsden.Image credit: Atta Kenare / AFP / Getty Images

Just nine days before he was assassinated, Malcolm X visited an unlikely place on 12th February, 1965: Smethwick, the industrial suburb of Birmingham that had recently gained a grim reputation as ‘the most racist town in Britain'.  Having been refused entry to France, Malcolm X had been speaking at the London School of Economics when he was invited by Avtar Singh Jouhl of the Indian Workers' Association to come to Smethwick's Marshall Street, an ordinary residential road which had become a flashpoint for informal housing segregation.  White residents shouted racist abuse at him. He saw signs advertising jobs declaring “coloured people need not apply”. He went to the Blue Gates pub, where a ‘colour bar' restricted service to non-white customers. After being denied service, he remarked that Smethwick felt “worse than America”. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the toxic politics of the 1964 general election, in which the notorious “If you want a n****r for a neighbour, vote Labour” slogan had surfaced in Smethwick; explain how the Conservative candidate Peter Griffiths entered Parliament under a cloud, with Prime Minister Harold Wilson labelling him a “parliamentary leper”; and consider how, just weeks before the Race Relations Act 1965 would ban discrimination in public places, Malcolm X's visit to Smethwick took place at pivotal moment in British race relations… CONTENT WARNING: racism, historical racist terminology Further Reading: • ‘The day Malcolm X came to Smethwick 60 years ago' (BBC News, 2025): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq8yy312xkxo • ‘Malcolm X in “the most racist town in Britain” (Black Country Living Museum): https://bclm.com/our-museum/blog/malcolm-x-in-the-most-racist-town-in-britain/ • ‘Malcolm X: 60 years on from special Smethwick visit' (ITV, 2025): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eLVik05Wrs #UK #60s #Black #Racism  Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The first women's public toilets in London opened on Bedford St on 11th February, 1852 - attempting to capitalize on the success of George Jennings' ‘monkey closets', used by over 800,000 visitors to the 1851 Great Exhibition. Unfortunately, even though the facility had been fought for by campaigning women's sanitary organizations, middle and upper class Victorian ladies were not yet prepared to pee in public - and the toilets closed a year later. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain where the phrase ‘spending a penny' (probably) comes from; reveal why ‘the urinary leash' came to describe the predicament of women's lives; and investigate why the number of 21st century public toilets continues to fall…  Further Reading: • ‘Pamphlets of the Ladies Sanitary Association' (Wellcome Collection): https://wellcomecollection.org/works?query=%22Ladies+Sanitary+Association.%22 • ‘London's long-term lav affair: A history of public toilets in the capital' (BBC News, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-59785477 • ‘Victorian realities - how did they use the toilet??!' (Prior Attire, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUHeSTDv_24 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Hanna-Barbera's classic cat-and-mouse cartoon series Tom and Jerry kicked off when their debut short, ‘Puss Gets The Boot', was released by MGM on 10th February, 1940.  But, at that time, the stars of the film were known as ‘Jasper and Jinx'. And studio bosses very nearly canned the whole concept - until the audience feedback, and awards nominations, started rolling in… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the chase-based slapstick of this hilariously violent double act empowered MGM to rival the might of Disney and Warner Bros; reveal how Tom and Jerry got their names; and explain how the racist depiction of ‘Mammy Two Shoes' evolved from an African-American caricature into an Irish one…  Further Reading: • ‘The 50 MGM Films that Transformed Hollywood - Triumphs, Blockbusters, and Fiascos, By Steven Bingen' (Lyons Press, 2022): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_50_MGM_Films_that_Transformed_Hollyw/bYh0EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Puss+Gets+the+Boot&pg=PA87&printsec=frontcover • ‘The Untold Truth Of Tom And Jerry' (Looper, 2020): https://www.looper.com/196800/the-untold-truth-of-tom-and-jerry/ • ‘Puss Gets the Boot' (MGM, 1940): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiHulAQmdqI Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Just three months after Magic Johnson retired from basketball due to his HIV diagnosis, he made a triumphant return on 9th February, 1992 - at the NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida. The sports world was divided—some players, like Michael Jordan, welcomed him back, while others, like Karl Malone, were hesitant, voicing concerns about physical contact on the court. But when Johnson stepped out, fans and fellow players alike cheered him on, and Johnson racked up 25 points, dished out nine assists, and lead the West to a dominant 153-113 victory over the East, becoming named Most Valuable Player. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how Johnson became the face of basketball's golden era; explain why misunderstandings and ignorance about HIV was so widespread; and uncover the career Johnson built beyond basketball... Further Reading: • ‘Magic Johnson returns for All‑Star Game | February 9, 1992' (HISTORY, 2024): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/magic-johnson-returns-for-all-star-game • ‘Magic Johnson Talks About How He 'Needed' His Historic 1992 All-Star Game' (UpRoxx, 2016): https://uproxx.com/dimemag/magic-johnson-1992-all-star-game-hiv/ • The Announcement: Magic Johnson (NBA, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMMWLS8D4OU Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia was executed by the Bolsheviks in 1917 - yet, on 6th February, 1928, a mentally troubled Polish factory worker claiming to be her was welcomed to New York by Romanov associates. Anna Anderson's claim to be the Tsar's daughter climaxed in a 32-year legal saga, the longest in German history. But posthumous DNA testing debunked her claim, revealing no connection to the Royal family.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover how decades of Soviet misinformation contributed to the conspiracy; reveal how Prince Philip himself became involved in debunking it; and consider a reboot of the animated version of her life…  Further Reading: • ‘Did Anastasia Survive The Romanovs Massacre? The Real History Explained' (HistoryExtra, 2023): https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/did-anastasia-survive-massacre-romanovs-real-history-facts-conspiracy/ • ‘How Anna Anderson Became The Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia' (All That's Interesting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/anna-anderson • ‘Royal Runaway? Ultimate Fate of Duchess Anastasia REVEALED' (History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYRMHKC9xMA 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: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why does Russia send so many ships through the Channel? What does a ‘feminist' approach to cancer involve? And who is Mickey's new boss? Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Felicity Capon, Hariet Marsden and Jamie Timson.Image credit: Damien Meyer / AFP / Getty Images

United Artists, a new company formed by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith - four of the most powerful figures in early cinema - was announced on 5th February 1919. The movie trade press quickly labelled it a ‘rebellion' against the mainstream studios. Declaring their new enterprise would exist to “protect the industry from itself”, the Hollywood quartet took aim at an industry that depended on long contracts, vertical integration and strict talent control. They hoped to see a greater degree of creative autonomy and financial reward, but perhaps underestimated the difficulty of running a distribution company and the risks the studio system itself had absorbed. Existing contracts delayed releases, investors were wary, and the promise of artistic freedom collided with the realities of inconsistent output, experimental failure and changing technology, including the arrival of sound. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider UA's eerily prescient ambition to counter ‘machine-made entertainment'; discover how an experience selling war bonds helped inspire  the idea for the studio; and explain why, despite their success, the studio still missed out on ‘Gone With The Wind'...  Further Reading: • ‘United Artists: The studio that challenged and revolutionised Hollywood' (Far Out, 2021):  https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/united-artists-studio-revolutionised-hollywood/ • ‘Artists Unite Against the Studios' (Celebrate California): https://celebratecalifornia.library.ca.gov/february-5-1919-artists-unite-against-the-studios-2/ • ‘Chaplin, Fairbanks, Pickford & Griffith Signing United Artists Contract' (1919): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEBZU_KHSM0 #Hollywood #1910s #Business #Film Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Disguised variously as a baseball umpire, NFL referee, pro golfer, and even Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, Barry Bremen earned his reputation as America's greatest pitch invader - a career that kicked off on 4th February, 1979. Dressed as a player for the Kansas City Kings, the 32 year-old insurance salesman crashed the court of an NBA All-Star basketball game - much to the delight of fellow players and spectators. Hey, it was the Seventies! In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why top sportsmen of the day were so keen to support him; reveal how the media encouraged his efforts to become a sporting celebrity; and explain why his behaviour pushed the broadcasters of the 1985 Emmys to cut quickly to a puzzled David Hasselhoff… Further Reading: • ‘From Ali Dia to Karl Power: the greatest impostors in sporting history' (The Guardian, 2016): https://www.theguardian.com/sport/shortcuts/2016/oct/18/from-ali-dia-barry-bremen-greatest-fakers-in-sporting-history • 'When Barry Bremen Tried to Infiltrate the Dallas Cowgirls, the Team Found It a Drag' (People, 1980): https://people.com/archive/when-barry-bremen-tried-to-infiltrate-the-dallas-cowgirls-the-team-found-it-a-drag-vol-13-no-2/ • ‘The Great Imposter Barry Bremen' (NBC, 1979): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNjZni1yQ90 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

With a cast of over 800, and a budget equivalent to £3 million, James Shirley's extravagant masque ‘The Triumph of Peace' was performed on 3rd February, 1634. Unusually, it was such a popular show that, despite the enormous cost of staging it, King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria requested that it be repeated. Though replete with all the arse-kissing allegorical tableaux that typified these celebrations of the monarchy - and requisite set designs by Inigo Jones - this spectacular was also markedly different from its predecessors in that it was especially designed to appease Henrietta, who had been slurred by polemicist William Prynne.    In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly come to terms with the ‘17th century immersive theatre' experience; explain why legendary playwright Ben Jonson WASN'T involved in this one; and reveal how a masque was once responsible for the destruction of Shakespeare's Globe…  Further Reading: • ‘Masque and music at the Stuart court' (Royal Museums Greenwich): https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/masque-music-stuart-court • ‘Inigo Jones designs for masque costumes' (The British Library): https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/inigo-jones-designs-for-masque-costumes •  ‘The History of the British Masque' (Heidi Kobara, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G22UED2yJ_Q Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Leonarde Keeler, inventor of the modern polygraph, first showcased his device in a courtroom on 2nd February, 1935. The wooden box, which measured physiological responses like blood pressure and respiration, took the stand alongside him, and, while Keeler emphasized the machine wasn't infallible, he later told journalists assembled outside the venue that his invention would soon revolutionise criminal justice. Keeler's innovations built upon earlier work by others, including Scottish cardiologist James McKenzie, who created a device to detect heart arrhythmias, and Dr. William Moulton Marston, who later linked blood pressure changes to emotional responses - and, inspired by his "truth-telling" research, would go on to create Wonder Woman. But Keeler's talent for self-promotion, using dramatic applications of his polygraph, made his name, and cemented the device's reputation as a “lie detector” (a term he never actually used). In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how the polygraph - now discredited as evidence in US courts - once put a Death Row inmate to the electric chair; reveal how Keeler's mentors gradually drifted away from the ‘monster' they had created; and explain how the men who invented the ‘truth machines' of the 20th century had an uncanny talent for meeting their wives at work… Further Reading: • 'Will Lie Detectors Ever Get Their Day in Court Again?' (Center for Law, Brain & Behavior, Harvard University, 2015): https://clbb.mgh.harvard.edu/will-lie-detectors-ever-get-their-day-in-court-again/ • ‘He Met His Wife Over a Lie Detector. Then Things Got Interesting' (PBS American Experience, 2022): https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/lie-detector-1000-words/ • ‘Neurologist Trashes "Lie Detector" Tests' (Dr. Brandon Beaber, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_08b7Y7DgI Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Revolutionary leader Oliver Cromwell was executed on 30th January, 1661 - despite having been dead for more than two years. His body was exhumed from its tomb in Westminster Abbey on the instruction of King Charles II, who sought retribution for those involved in the trial and execution of his father, Charles I. Along with other Regicides, Cromwell's corpse was disinterred and subjected to public abuse. On the anniversary of Charles I's beheading, Cromwell's head was mounted on a spike and stuck on the roof of Westminster Hall - where it remained for thirty years. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly track the illustrious history of Cromwell's head from that date forth; consider whether the crowd in attendance at the ‘execution' really hated their former Lord Protector as much as their jeering suggests; and explain how the intervention of a future Prime Minister prevented Cromwell's relic being put on public display as recently as the 19th Century… Further Reading: • ‘Oliver Cromwell: Hero or Villain?' (HistoryExtra, 2014) : https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/oliver-cromwell-hero-or-villain/ • ‘The Strange Saga of Oliver Cromwell's Head' (Mental Floss, 2019): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/585591/oliver-cromwells-head-history • ‘Opening The Coffin Of Oliver Cromwell' (The Fortress, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR0_DE2zQgU 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: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why is China clearing out its generals? Can the Conservatives win back the centre? And what's gone wrong with Britain's hearing aids? Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Jamie Timson, Felicity Capon and Harriet MarsdenImage credit: Lintao Zhang / Getty Images

The BBC broadcast the first ever edition of Roy Plomley's ‘Desert Island Discs' - the world's longest-running interview programme - on 29th January, 1942.  Opening, as the show still does, with Eric Coates's theme music ‘By the Sleepy Lagoon', the episode welcomed comedian Vic Oliver as the series' first ‘castaway'. Plomely would go on to present a further 1,785 editions of the show until his death in 1985. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the metaphor of an abundant and sunlit desert island in the context of the horrors of the Blitz; discover how BBC censors ensured early episodes lacked the free-wheeling quality modern listeners expect; and reveal the most-chosen artists across the show's incredible archive…  Further Reading: • ‘The History of Desert Island Discs' (BBC): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/59YrnYM0Tw8J7WJ0MGKVfh7/the-history-of-desert-island-discs • ‘Seven Decades of Desert Island Discs' (The New Yorker, 2012)' https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/seven-decades-of-desert-island-discs • ‘Kirsty Young introduces Desert Island Discs: 70 Years of Castaways' (Waterstones, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7NwCAAAgM #40s #Celebrity #Arts Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Stud-and-tube bricks, which paved the way for Lego to become one of the most successful companies in Denmark, were patented on 28th January, 1958. But this family business had already been in existence for 26 years, mostly making wooden toys. It later emerged, however, that the plastic self-locking bricks that brought them so much success had in fact already been invented - and patented - by British toymaker Hillary Page in 1940. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Lego's lawyers stay one step ahead of their imitators; unconvincingly demonstrate how to pronounce ‘Skoda'; and reveal how branded toys - a controversial pivot for the company in the ‘90s - helped save the business… Further Reading: • ‘LEGO Brick Timeline: 50 Years of Building Frenzy and Curiosities' (Gizmodo, 2008): https://gizmodo.com/lego-brick-timeline-50-years-of-building-frenzy-and-cu-349509 • ‘Self-Locking Building Bricks, Lego precursor, Kiddicraft (1944-)': https://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/index/Category:Self-Locking_Building_Bricks_(Kiddicraft) • ‘60 years of LEGO: capturing the world's imagination' (5 News, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZTiAarAOqw Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The corpse of Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union, was placed on display in Moscow's Red Square on 27th January, 1924 - where, astonishingly, he remains viewable to this day.  He'd wanted to be buried next to his mother in Saint Petersburg, but after he suffered a series of strokes, the Soviet government instead secretly planned to build a mausoleum for his body, in part to deify him as a quasi-religious figure. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how pioneering embalming techniques were created by ‘The Lenin Lab' to look after the cadaver; ponder how mausoleum architect Alexey Shchusev contented with the January freeze; and consider whether an embalmed Queen Victoria would be just as popular a tourist attraction… Further Reading: • ‘Death of Lenin' (The Guardian, 1924): ⁠https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/23/death-of-lenin-archive-1924⁠ • ‘Lenin's Body Improves with Age' (Scientific American, 2015): ⁠https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lenin-s-body-improves-with-age1/⁠ • ‘Russia: 100 Years on from Revolution' (BBC News, 2017): ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPmlX4kWgjs⁠ Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The U.S. Postal Service permitted parcel delivery for packages under 11 pounds in 1913 - parameters which were pushed to their limits on 26th January, 1913, when Ohio couple Jesse and Matilda Beagle set a bizarre precedent by mailing their baby, James, a mile up the road to his grandmother. As Parcel Fever swept the nation, other parents began to use the Postal Service as an affordable alternative to train tickets. Most famously 4-year-old Charlotte May Pierstoff was mailed 73 miles to her grandparents for 55 cents, inspiring a popular children's book. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate the “self-mailing” antics of various adult eccentrics; reveal how the Postal Service had to intervene to terminate this troublesome trend; and highlight the demand and enthusiasm that initially greeted the great revolution of a rural postal service… Further Reading: • ‘When People Used the Postal Service to 'Mail' Their Children' (HISTORY, 2018): https://www.history.com/news/mailing-children-post-office • The strangest things sent in the post (BBC News, 2017): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42272052 • ‘How the Post Office Made America' (Wendover Productions, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu2WOxXxsHw Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Elephants have played a surprisingly important role on the battlefield, even before the birth of Christ; notably in 5th Century BCE India, and during the Punic Wars in Africa.  But on 23rd January, 971, the Southern Han division of the Chinese military retired their famous elephant corps forever - after facing a massive aerial assault from crossbowmen from the Song Dynasty, who had defeated them in battle. War elephants were not just formidable attackers, but also served as platforms for archers, vantage points, and even provided cover for advancing troops. Despite their effectiveness, the inherent volatility of the animals - susceptible to spooking and turning on their own side -  led to their eventual decline. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how some elephants continued to serve in the military, even after the development of gunpowder; consider the awesome psychological impact of being attacked by a troupe of elephants; and reveal how the Romans learned to defend themselves from elephants - with the aid of some squealing pigs… Content Warning: animal cruelty. #China #Animals #War #Medieval #BC Further Reading: • ‘Elephants, kingship and warfare in Southeast Asia' (British Library, 2017): https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2017/05/elephants-kingship-and-warfare-in-southeast-asia.html • ‘In Ancient Rome flaming war pigs were used to counter elephants' (The Vintage News, 2016: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/09/15/ancient-rome-flaming-war-pigs-used-counter-elephants/ ‘War Elephants' (Royal Armouries, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI3-f8ebLlk This episode first aired in 2024 FRIDAY - MEGAPHONE COPYWe'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: Ollie PeartCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have we reached ‘peak billionaire'? When should troops disobey their superiors? And what can we learn from a tool-wielding cow? Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Felicity Capon, Arion McNicoll and Jamie Timson.Image credit: William West / AFP / Getty Images

George Metesky's campaign of terror as ‘the Mad Bomber of New York' ended abruptly on 22nd January, 1957. Between 1940 and 1956, he had planted at least 32 bombs in public places, including theatres, railway stations, libraries, and landmarks such as Grand Central Terminal.  Police arrived just before midnight at his modest home in Waterbury, Connecticut, which he shared with his two sisters, and asked him for a handwriting sample. A search of his garage revealed bomb components matching those used in attacks across the city, along with a partially-assembled device larger than any found before. His arrest brought relief to a city that had lived with an intermittent but persistent threat for over a generation. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain Metesky's long-simmering grievance against his former employer, the Consolidated Edison Company; discover how the  breakthrough in the case came only when police consulted psychiatrist James Brussel; and reveal how Metesky underwent a surprising recovery in institutional care…  Further Reading: • ‘Unmasking the Mad Bomber' (Smithsonian, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unmasking-the-mad-bomber-180962469/ • ‘Decades before Cesar Sayoc, Mad Bomber George Metesky terrorized New York City' (The Washington Post, 2018): https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/10/27/unhinged-unrelenting-mad-bomber-who-terrorized-new-york/ • ‘How New York's First Terrorist Led to the Birth of Criminal Profiling' (The New Yorker, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdLNbsoPD5c #NewYork #Crime #50s #Strange Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Henri Littière and his adulterous wife Suzanne thought they'd come up with a novel way to combat her philandering - by commissioning a custom-made chastity belt. But on 21st January, 1934, Littière was sentenced to three months in prison for cruelty to his spouse. It's a strange story, but not half as weird as how the myth of chastity belts gained traction in the first place - not from medieval days, but in fact thanks to Victorian prudishness. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pick holes in 1934 Parisian court reporting; discover the trend for 21st century chastity belts; and explain how widespread belief in the belts can be traced back to a wacky German author's offbeat sense of humour…  Further Reading: • ‘FRANCE: Infibulation' (TIME, 1934): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,787768,00.html • ‘Are They Real? The Dubious History Of Chastity Belts' (Ripleys, 2019): https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/dubious-history-chastity-belts/ • ‘10 Myths You Still Believe About Medieval Life' (Alltime 10s, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoRqiTlGfGs Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Celebrated medium Helen Duncan was arrested on 19th January, 1944, when, midway through one of her séances, an undercover policeman dramatically revealed her "spirit" to be nothing more than… herself draped in white fabric.  Initially charged with minor fraud, her case took a wild turn when she became the last woman imprisoned under the 1735 Witchcraft Act. Duncan's trial, steeped in wartime paranoia and media frenzy, spotlighted her peculiar career, from her regurgitated "ectoplasm" performances to an unfortunate séance where she revealed the sinking of a British warship, inadvertently ruffling governmental feathers. Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Duncan's "physical manifestations" worked (it's not for the faint-hearted); consider why public sentiment was on her side, even from Winston Churchill himself; and explain what happened to a controversial bronze bust of Duncan, initially donated to her hometown of Callander… Further Reading: • ‘The Strange, Freakish Story of Britain's 'Last Convicted Witch'' (Vice, 2017): https://www.vice.com/en/article/helen-duncan-the-strange-freakish-story-of-britains-last-convicted-witch/ • 'The truth about the UK's last witch Helen Duncan' (The National, 2018): https://www.thenational.scot/news/16209915.truth-uks-last-witch-helen-duncan/ • ‘Alan Crossley talks about his experiences of materialisation seances with Helen Duncan and Alec Harris' (The Psychic Times, 2007): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuEBASIrDGk Love the show? Support us!  Join 

It had a budget of just $1 million, a lead actor wearing a toupee, and the baddie in the first draft of the script was a monkey. But the first James Bond film, ‘Dr. No', which began shooting in Jamaica on 16th January, 1962, kicked off a phenomenally successful franchise that's still a staple of cinema today. Its star, Sean Connery, had been picked out by producers after his appearance in a Disney production, but was marketed as a former lorry driver with little acting experience. Concerned that Connery lacked the sophistication of Bond's background, director Terence Young took him on a tour of swish casinos, posh members clubs and his Savile Row tailors. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Connery came to improvise one of the movie's most iconic moments; explain why Ian Fleming was first dismissive, then delighted by his casting; and trace the origins of the 007 formula that endures through all of Cubby Broccoli's subsequent productions… Further Reading: • The Bond bunch: the failed contenders for coveted role (The Independent, 2006): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-bond-bunch-the-failed-contenders-for-coveted-role-423454.html • ‘The Making of DR. NO: A 60th Anniversary Retrospective' (Cinema Scholars, 2022): https://cinemascholars.com/the-making-of-dr-no-a-james-bond-60th-anniversary-retrospective/ • ‘Bond, James Bond' (Eon Productions, 1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b15-P12gIf0 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: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will Uganda's pop-star politician prevail? Is dodgy data undermining medical research? And what does a new app reveal about Chinese society? Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Jamie Timson, Felicity Capon and Harriet MarsdenImage credit: Michel Lunanga/Getty Images

A roaring wave of syrup swept through the North End of Boston on 15th January, 1919, in an event that claimed 21 lives, including 2 children, and came to be known as the “Great Molasses Flood”.  At the heart of the disaster was a rushed, badly built industrial tank: the steel was too thin, the materials were faulty, leaks were ignored (and literally painted over), and warning signs were dismissed. The explosion hurled molasses at around 35 miles an hour, piling up in waves as high as eight meters. People were knocked off their feet, buildings were crushed, and one man famously woke up on the top floor of his house submerged in syrup. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the tragedy led to a raft of health and safety laws, and America's first class action lawsuit; reveal how emergency workers finally found a way to clean up after the destruction; and consider how Bostonians felt the aftermath of the explosion for decades to come…  Further Reading: • ‘What Was the Great Molasses Flood?' (Food and Wine, 2025): https://www.foodandwine.com/great-molasses-flood-boston-8773840 • ‘Boston's Great Molasses Flood Resurfaces' (Italian Sons and Daughters of America, 2024): https://orderisda.org/culture/stories/a-most-unusual-disaster-bostons-great-molasses-flood-resurfaces/ • ‘Great Molasses Flood: animated retelling of Boston's molasses tank catastrophe of 1919' (TomoNews, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLXPD6OlwzI #Macabre #1910s #US #Mistakes #Business Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Disney's long-awaited feature ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' was rapturously received at Radio City, New York, inspiring three-hour queues for tickets. The reviews that America woke up to on 14th January 1938 were euphoric: a masterpiece had landed. “It is a classic as important cinematically as The Birth Of A Nation”, Frank Nugent wrote in The New York Times.  “You'll not, most of the time, realise you are watching animated cartoons”, he continued. “And if you do, it will only be with a sense of amazement”. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the technical feat of creating the world's first feature-length animation (nicknamed ‘Disney's Folly') was all the more remarkable considering the inexperienced cartoonists on the crew; reveal why the UK censors very nearly classified it as unsuitable viewing for children; and challenge the notion that the Disney version of the Grimm tale is any less morbid than its literary forebears…  Further Reading: • ‘THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; The Music Hall Presents Walt Disney's Delightful Fantasy, 'Snow hite and the Seven Dwarfs'-Other New Films at Capitol and Criterion' (The New York Times, 1938): https://www.nytimes.com/1938/01/14/archives/the-screen-in-review-the-music-hall-presents-walt-disneys.html • ‘The Making of Snow White' (Disney, 1994): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7X8u-EjADw&t=4s • ‘Disney's Folly: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' (Neatorama, 2012): https://www.neatorama.com/2012/06/13/disneys-folly-snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs/ This episode first aired in 2022 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

It was today in history in 1404 that Henry IV issued the Act Against Multipliers, a ban on the mysterious art of creating or duplicating gold, more commonly known as alchemy. It came at an odd time for European science because the widespread efforts to transform so-called base metals, such as lead or copper, into noble metals, such as silver or gold, while futile, actually aided the discovery of things like combustion and gunpowder. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss the connection between the science of multiplying metals and religion; explain why the Ancient Greek notion of the four elements – fire, earth, air, and water – was so resilient; and reveal why plenty of people before Harry Potter were interested in the Philosopher's Stone… Further Reading: • ‘When Chemistry Was Outlawed' (Vice, 2015): https://www.vice.com/en/article/3dk7mj/when-chemistry-was-outlawed • ‘The Day England Outlawed Alchemy' (Forbes, 2018): https://www.forbes.com/sites/kionasmith/2018/01/13/the-day-england-outlawed-alchemy/?sh=11c1170539bd • ‘How Alchemy Led to Modern-Day Chemistry & Medicine' (SciShow, 2022):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maQ_Gd7TapI #1400s #UK #Science This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Octavia Hill, Hardwicke Rawnsley, and Sir Robert Hunter founded The National Trust on January 12, 1895, with an intention to preserve Britain's natural beauty and historic treasures for the public and future generations. The founders' efforts reflected the late Victorian spirit of social and environmental reform, championed by figures like John Ruskin and William Morris. Rawnsley led early efforts by opposing a Lake District construction project, rallying support to protect its pristine landscapes. This campaign highlighted the growing realization that industrial progress could irreparably harm Britain's natural treasures. Over the decades, the National Trust evolved into the cultural powerhouse it is today, with over 5.5 million members and 65,000 volunteers. Arion, Rebecca and Olly sniff a whiff of benevolent paternalism; consider whether the Trust offered a form of socialism by the back-door; and discover how shockingly long it took before the Trust started shilling its own merch… Further Reading: • '100 years on, Octavia Hill's battles are not won' (The Times, 2012): https://www.thetimes.com/article/eb932ff9-3810-4598-9bdd-e9a17feefa5d • ‘Cream teas and home truths: the National Trust at 125' (Financial Times, 2020): https://www.ft.com/content/24fee86a-3818-4769-929a-41b604010917 • ‘National Trust in the Lake District' (National Trust NW, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7588bsTQq8 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Is Elon Musk's AI tool a platform for abuse? Can Mumsnet predict who will be the next PM? And who is still watching Avatar sequels? Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Harriet Marsden, Jamie Timson and Felicity CaponImage credit: Vincent Feuray / Hans Lucas /AFP / Getty Images

John Stewart was elected MP for Lymington, Hampshire on 8th January, 1833.  On paper, he seemed a textbook member of Britain's elite: wealthy, well-connected, educated in England, and a plantation owner.  But Stewart's mother was an enslaved woman, making him considered by many to be Britain's first Black MP. Yet Stewart did not enter Parliament to challenge slavery or injustice. Rather, he was an unapologetic defender of the plantation system, opposed the abolition of slavery, fought taxes on sugar, and later resisted ending the exploitative “apprenticeship” system that replaced slavery after 1833.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how Stewart campaigned to benefit financially from the ending of slavery; uncover the other mixed-race MPs who could qualify as Britain's ‘first' non-white Parliamentarians; and consider how it wasn't until 1987 that Parliament truly became more racially representative…   Further Reading: • ‘Who were the first MPs from ethnic minority backgrounds?' (Commons Library, 2020): https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/who-were-the-first-mps-from-ethnic-minority-backgrounds/ • ‘John Stewart, politician' (They Did, I Can Too) : https://theydidicantoo.org/john-stewart-politician • ‘Black British History - the Labour black sections and Britain's first black MPs' (Simeon Brown, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEMnQs1quNo #Black #Politics #Victorian #Person Love the show? Support us!  Join 

All-Black basketball team the Harlem Globetrotters travelled to Hinckley, Illinois on 7th January, 1927 - setting them on a barnstorming journey through the Midwest, the nation, and eventually the world…  Their manager, Abe Saperstein, was obsessed with basketball, stitching together tours at a time when Black athletes were locked out of most professional leagues. His re-brand of the team to the “Harlem Globetrotters” symbolised Black culture and creativity at a time of sports segregation, even though the team were actually from Chicago. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly compare contrasting stories of how ‘the Savoy Big Five' evolved into the Globetrotters; explain why showboating, humour and spectacle were always part of the group's demonstrations, despite their immense talent; and examine how the team helped introduce America to Black sporting excellence…   Further Reading: • ‘The Harlem Globetrotters: 99 years of basketball, variety and ‘Showtime'' (The Athletic, 2025): https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6118506/2025/02/10/harlem-globetrotters-black-history-month-99-years/ • ‘How Harlem Globetrotters founder Abe Saperstein shaped basketball as we know it today'  (The Times of Israel, 2024): https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-harlem-globetrotters-founder-abe-saperstein-shaped-basketball-as-we-know-it-today/ • ‘Best of the Harlem Globetrotters' (Guinness World Records, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDQLhK-flVE #Sport #20s #Black #Racism #US Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Roller skates, most readily associated with the 1970s, were actually first patented in the US on 6th January, 1863, by New York furniture salesman James Plimpton. Plimpton developed the shoes after being advised by his doctor to take up ice skating, yet finding himself with nowhere to skate in the Spring and Summer months. He guarded his innovation zealously, and created a leasing model for the novelty boots in specially sanctioned roller parks. America's first ‘rinking' craze - dubbed by the press “Rink-O-Mania!” - was born. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn about an earlier skate-maker, who literally ‘crashed the party' in 1760s London; explain why roller-skating found a market in the prudish Victorian dating scene; and recall how the first ‘Roller Derbies' would test their participants to grim exhaustion…  Further Reading: • ‘Wonderful Things: Roller Skates, 1880' (Science Museum, 2015): https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/wonderful-things-roller-skates-1880/ • ‘Roller Skating in the 1900s - Hilarious Photos of Humanity on Wheels' (The Vintage News, 2018): https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/10/03/photos-of-roller-skating-1900s/?edg-c=1 • ‘Charlie Chaplin in “The Rink”' (Mutual Film Corporation, 1916):  https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx9i4KwCz0Sz1pmewu_KA5fA8YdPEmoM4O #1800s #inventions This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

An angry crowd hurled abuse and antisemitic slurs at Captain Alfred Dreyfus on 5th January, 1895, as he stood in the courtyard of the École Militaire in Paris to have his insignia torn away and his sword ceremonially snapped. He had been falsely convicted of treason. The case against him rested almost entirely on a memorandum - the bordereau - found torn up in a German embassy waste-paper basket. Investigators claimed the handwriting resembled Dreyfus's, and his trial was held behind closed doors, shielding the weakness of their case.  Dreyfus was sent to Devil's Island in French Guiana, where he was kept in near-total isolation, confined to a small hut, shackled at night, poorly fed, and forbidden meaningful human contact.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how evidence quietly emerged pointing to the real author of the bordereau: Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy; discover how public outrage finally broke through after Émile Zola's famous open letter, “J'Accuse…!”; and consider how smears about Dreyfus's sexuality were also used against him…  Further Reading: • ‘The Dreyfus affair: 100 years on' (BBC News, 2006): https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5166904.stm • ‘The Dreyfus Affair: The Scandal And Anti-Semitism That Divided France' (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/modern/dreyfus-affair-what-happened-france-scandal-anti-semitism/ • ‘J'ACCUSE - Trailer' (Gaumont, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iwqFo1B7nM #Scandal #France #Jewish #Racism #1800s Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Rebecca's favourite episode of 2025 is “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 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 #Sport #Mistakes #70s #Strange Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Arion's favourite episode of 2025 was “Land Rover's Rugged Beginnings” A British motoring icon made its debut at the Amsterdam Motor Show on 30th April, 1948: the Land Rover. The UK's first off-road vehicle (that wasn't a tractor!) had been sketched in sand by its creator, Maurice Wilks.  Heavily inspired by the American Willys Jeep, the first Land Rovers were simple, no-frills workhorses with no roof, no heater, and barely any doors — just half-height flaps to keep you from falling out. And at £450, they were priced for farmers, not aristocrats. But the car soon caught on, with everyone from Winston Churchill to Bob Marley. Despite being noisy, leaky and slow, the Land Rover's charm wasn't about comfort — it was about practicality, reliability, and an unmistakably rugged, "real" vibe that everyone could get behind. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick how the marque inspired explorers, aid workers, and adventurers; consider why the British Army abandoned the vehicle in the 21st century; and discover why the steering wheel on the first models was placed in the middle… Further Reading: • ‘Why everyone wants a classic Land Rover' (The Times, 2022): https://www.thetimes.com/article/7e9e5d1e-7dec-11ec-b216-7a521e8f125c • ‘Land Rover Design - 70 Years of Success by Nick Hull' (David & Charles, 2018): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Land_Rover_Design_70_Years_of_Success/w9IjEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=maurice+wilks&pg=PT19&printsec=frontcover • ‘History Of Land Rover: Discover the Amazing Story Behind the Land Rover!' (Land Rover World, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV3BIQ6WfR8 #Motoring #Design #40s #UK #Inventions Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Happy New Year, Retrospectors! We'll return with new episodes from Monday 5th January, but in the meantime the team have been choosing their favourite episodes from 2025 that are worthy of a second listen. First up, Olly has selected our conversation about ‘New Coke'. Coca-Cola was approaching its 100th birthday on 23rd April, 1985, when it unveiled a new beverage at New York City's Lincoln Center: the ‘smoother, rounder, bolder' flavour of ‘New Coke'. The success of Diet Coke had fragmented the market, and, in response to Pepsi's aggressive marketing campaigns targeting younger consumers, Coke had sought to introduce a sweeter formula. But, instead of offering the new formula alongside the original, they made the catastrophic decision to discontinue their classic recipe, known as Merchandise 7X.  The company had conducted extensive taste tests involving 190,000 consumers, which indicated a preference for the new formula. However, these tests overlooked the deep emotional connection many had with the original Coke. Protest groups like the Society for the Preservation of the Real Thing and Old Cola Drinkers of America, founded by Gay Mullins, emerged, reflecting the public's dissatisfaction, and, just 79 days after the launch, on July 11th, 1985, Coca-Cola held a press conference to announce the return of the original formula - now branded as "Coca-Cola Classic."  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal those hardcore cola fans who stockpiled soda like it was gold; uncover the psychiatrist's opinion that Coke's most committed customers were behaving as if they'd experienced a bereavement; and consider the conspiracy theories that suggest Coca-Cola engineered the whole debacle deliberately… Further Reading:  • ‘Coke, The Taste That Distresses' (The Washington Post, 1985): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/06/07/coke-the-taste-that-distresses/1f0758dd-98a2-4a9d-ae1c-c188c2228354/ • ‘New Coke Didn't Fail. It Was Murdered' (Mother Jones, 2019): https://www.motherjones.com/food/2019/07/what-if-weve-all-been-wrong-about-what-killed-new-coke/ • ‘1985: Coca-Cola launches new Coke' (CBS Evening News, 1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8j97dOLsyk #80s #Advertising #Mistakes #Food Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Why are we so willing to bond with AI bots? How will appetite suppressants change society? And is Britain back on the main stage? Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past 12 months. With Harriet Marsden, Felicity Capon and Holden FrithImage credit: Jim Dyson / Getty Images

Mistletoe and Wine became the UK's Christmas Number One on 18th December, 1988; the first of three singles Cliff Richard would take to the top of the festive charts. What makes its triumph so curious is that the song began life as a sardonic showtune written in 1976 for a small musical based on The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen. Originally, it underscored a scene in which the impoverished heroine is literally kicked into the snow by the heartless middle classes. Its journey to yuletide staple began with Twiggy's 1987 performance in an ITV adaptation of the musical. By then the number had morphed into a lively pub singalong, catching the ear of Terry Britten, long-time Cliff collaborator, who passed the tune along.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover why Leslie Stewart, one of the songwriters, disliked Cliff's canonical version; explain why British ears appreciate the song with simultaneous earnestness and irony; and reveal what links this festive classic to the iconic theme tune for ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?'... Further Reading: • ‘I Wrote That: Cliff Richard's ‘Mistletoe and Wine'' (PRS, 2024):  https://www.prsformusic.com/m-magazine/features/mistletoe-and-wine-cliff-richard-leslie-stewart-keith-strachan-christmas-i-wrote-that • ‘Mistletoe and Wine's political beginnings' (BBC News, 2013): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25333691 • ‘Cliff Richard - Mistletoe and Wine' (Official Video, 1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZCEBibnRM8 #Music #Christmas #Christian #80s #Theatre Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Hello! Here is this month's edition of Answer Us Back, full of your feedback on AMTs old and new - mostly pretty new. On today's menu: Olly Mann himself has a change of heart about Elf On The Shelf since AMT392. Laura found a variety pack of stock, as yearned for by Olly in AMT407 - although is two flavours enough to count as 'variety'? Several people wrote in to chip in on AMT412's discussion of people with your same name using your email address; here we hear from Margaret and Daniel. After hearing AMT411's question from Charlie from Canberra - whose mother had lately found out she was the biological child of a prolific sperm donor and thus has 600+ siblings - we heard from many of you reflecting upon your similar experiences of finding you were the child of a sperm donor, or your parent learning that they were. David, Breanne and Jo share some remarkable responses.  If you've been storing thoughts about AMTs 1-412, send them to us for future episodes of Answer Us Back.  And as always, send in your questions, in voicenote or written form to answermethispodcast@googlemail.com, for all new AMT413 which will be in your podfeed 24 December 2025.  And keep AMT going by signing up at patreon.com/answermethis, where highest tier gets access to our ENTIRE back catalogue, including the paywalled episodes, the special albums, the Bonus Bits of Crapp on the AMT App (RIP) and all the Retro AMT episodes. Thanks to Naked Wines for sponsoring AMT, and for providing bottles straight from world-class winemakers, cutting out the middleman, delivered to your door. Head to nakedwines.co.uk/answer to get a £30 voucher on your first 6 pack, including free delivery.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices