Podcast appearances and mentions of Olly Mann

Irish popstar Sinéad O'Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II during her performance of Bob Marley's ‘War' on NBC's TV show ‘Saturday Night Live' on 3rd October, 1992. The unexpected act was meticulously planned by O'Connor; a protest against child abuse within the Catholic Church.  The performance left the audience almost silent, and, although she faced significant backlash, O'Connor remained unapologetic, writing in her memoirs that it was one of her proudest achievements. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a Top of the Pops performance by Bob Geldof first inspired the stunt; reveal where precisely O'Connor got the photo of the Pope from; and ask if, when it comes to this divisive moment, SNL have fallen on the right side of history… Further Reading: • ‘The day Sinead O'Connor tore up a photo of the Pope on Saturday Night Live' (The Independent, 2022): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/sinead-oconnor-snl-pope-photo-b2191296.html • ‘Sinead O'Connor's Legacy With Sex Abuse Survivors in Catholic Church' (Rolling Stone, 2023): https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/sinead-oconnor-catholic-church-abuse-legacy-1234797102/ • ‘Sinéad O'Connor rips up picture of Pope John Paul II' (NBC, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGFj1WClin4 #90s #Religion #Protest #TV #Irish #Catholic CONTENT WARNING: child abuse This episode first aired in 2023 Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer:  Ollie Peart Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is Russia losing its influence campaign? What's behind Tony Blair's comeback? And will British filmmakers survive Trump's tariffs? 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 MarsdenImage credit: Daniel Milhailescu / AFP / Getty Images

Happy 75th birthday, ‘Peanuts'! Charles Shulz' iconic comic strip made its debut (although Snoopy had yet to appear) on 2nd October, 1950.  Peanuts would grow into a global phenomenon, running in 2,600 papers across 75 countries. At its peak, it was translated into 21 languages - but never lost its bittersweet mix of humour, disappointment, and charm, making Charlie Brown and the gang cultural touchstones for decades. The first words of the strip? “Here comes good ol' Charlie Brown… How I hate him.” This tone was a notable departure from the loud, chaotic, adventure stories that dominated ‘the funny pages' at the time. Schulz' characters weren't fighting villains or chasing treasure: they were kids, wrestling with life's quiet frustrations, hopes, and existential questions. It was postwar suburban America in miniature, disguised as a children's comic, but also aimed at the grown-ups reading the paper over their morning coffee. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why the strip became such a hit; reveal how Schulz's own childhood got reflected in his characters; and marvel at how, despite his IP becoming a massive merchandising juggernaut, the cartoonist kept control over his creations until the day he died…  Further Reading: • ‘Peanuts Comic Strip Debut October 2 1950' (TIME, 2014): https://time.com/3445127/peanuts/ • ‘Peanuts' Creator Charles Schulz Dies' (The Washington Post, 2000): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/02/14/peanuts-creator-charles-schulz-dies/f742958c-dffe-4cef-a481-b9d2cd2749c2/ • ‘Charles M. Schulz on CHARLIE BROWN | Everyman' (BBC, 1977): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzu8aLpzIKw #Comics #50s #Publishing #US Love the show? Support us!  Join 

A 12 x 8.5cm ‘Correspondenzkarte', the earliest progenitor of the modern-day postcard, was created by the Austrian Post on 1st October, 1869. Cheaper and more practical than sending long-form letters, the new medium was an instant sensation with the public - with three million postcards being sent in the first three months. But cultural conservatives felt it would lead to poor grammar, a capitulation of individuality, and a brash new form of self-expression... In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca reveal the indomitability of the Isle of Man's postcard censorship committee; revisit the career of the ‘King of the Saucy Seaside', Donald McGill; and  unearth the frustrated adventures of ‘the wronged true inventor of the postcard', Dr. Heinrich Von Stephan. Further Reading: • ‘The Story of the Postcard' (Postimuseo Finland, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjFTxJi66e8 • ‘Tweeting by mail: The postcard's stormy birth'(LA Times, 2013): https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2013-jun-22-la-oe-cure-postcards-twitter-20130623-story.html • ‘History of the Saucy Postcard' (Donald McGill Museum, 2020): https://saucyseasidepostcards.com/?page_id=89 This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Literature's most famous castaway, Robinson Crusoe, was washed up on a desert island - where he would remain for 28 years - on 30th September, 1659. By selecting this date, author Daniel Defoe ensured that his fictional protagonist's fate pre-dated the real-life estrangement of Royal Navy man Alexander Selkirk, who was stranded some 46 years later: 14 years prior to Defoe writing his novel. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how his story pioneered not only the English novel, but also the movie trailer; ask whether Crusoe's narrative voice sounds like an authentic young man of the period, or betrays the fact that Defoe was nearly sixty when he created him; and dig around in the writer's early career (including, but not limited to, creating perfume from civets)... Further Reading: • Daniel Defoe profile (The British Library): https://www.bl.uk/people/daniel-defoe • ‘Debunking the Myth of the ‘Real' Robinson Crusoe' (National Geographic, 2016): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/robinson-crusoe-alexander-selkirk-history • The Shipwreck scene from ‘Robinson Crusoe' (1927): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCaYAD1ZGuM This episode first aired in 2021Love the show? Support us!  Join 

A tiny microstate nestled between Spain and Portugal, Couto Misto existed for centuries until its dissolution on 29th September, 1864. The final act of the Portuguese Restoration War, a treaty in Lisbon saw Spain claim the lion's share of the land, while Portugal reclaimed its independence after 60 years of Spanish rule. The Misto people were something special. They didn't fully identify as either Spanish or Portuguese, but rather Galician, speaking a dialect that wasn't quite one or the other. Despite it's size, Misto had its own legal system, its own customs, and even a chest of important state documents protected by three locks, opened by senior politicians from each of the nation's three major villages. Arion, Rebecca and Olly agonise about whether to carve a “P” for Portugal or a “G” for Galicia on their own homes; explain how traders and smugglers thrived on ‘the Privileged Path' through the tiny country; and reveal how its people's split loyalties would manifest at weddings… Further Reading: • ‘The Couto Misto - A nearly forgotten story' (European Heritage Days): https://www.europeanheritagedays.com/Story/The-Couto-Misto-A-nearly-forgotten-story • 'Princely Tongues: The Languages of Europe's Five Smallest Countries' (Macro Neves, 2022): https://marconeves.substack.com/p/princely-tongues-the-languages-of • 'Little Europe: Five Micro-Countries' (Rick Steves' Europe, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6sz8ysrNJU This episode was first published in 2024 Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer:  Ollie Peart Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pushing the boundaries of human flight to hitherto unknown extremes, Swiss aviator Yves Rossy entered the record books on 26th September, 2008, becoming the first person ever to cross the English channel using a jet-propelled wing strapped to his back, equipped with four kerosene-fueled turbine engines.  To embark on his flight, Rossy first ascended to 2,500 feet over Calais in a support plane. From there, he tumbled out, and, after free-falling and stabilizing, jetpacked over the White Cliffs of Dover in under ten minutes: the result of years of work and multiple prior attempts. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, despite being a popular movie trope, jet-packs have yet to catch on; consider whether Rossy's crash-landing ruined the aesthetics of his bird-like descent; and reminisce about Michael Jackson's rocket-powered exit from the Dangerous world tour… Further Reading: • 'Jet Man flies across Channel on a wing' (The Guardian, 2008): https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/sep/26/aeronautics • ‘The Great American Jet Pack - The Quest for the Ultimate Individual Lift Device, By Steve Lehto' (Chicago Review Press, 2013): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Great_American_Jet_Pack/ycr1HSRzRuIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=yves+rossy&pg=PA169&printsec=frontcover • ‘Fly with the Jetman' (TED, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2sT9KoII_M #00s #Switzerland #Inventions #Strange Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Could US trans activists be classified as terrorists? And what's in store for the Church of England? Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Jess Hullinger and Felicity CaponImage credit: The Austin American-Statesman / Hearst Newspapers / Getty Images

Henry III of England and Alexander II of Scotland met in York to settle the whole "where does England end, and where does Scotland begin?" question on 25th September, 1237. The consequent ‘Treaty of York' (mostly) settled the map of the borders right up to the present day. Alexander agreed to give up claims on northern English counties like Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland in return for a small chunk of land and the right to hand over one falcon a year as a symbolic payment. Yes, a falcon. Medieval politics loved a bit of flair. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how future English kings could spin Scotland's resultant ‘fealty' as an admission that England was the natural powerhouse; discover the lawlessness of the borderlands for the centuries afterwards; and reveal just how many times Berwick-upon-Tweed has caused a cartographical headache… Further Reading: • ‘A History of Scotland, Series 1, Hammers of the Scots, The Treaty of York, 1237' (BBC, 2013): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0198xmq • ‘Magna Carta, Scotland and Scots Law' (University of Edinburgh, 2025): https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/31216033/Magna_Carta_Scotland_and_Scots_Law_LQR_version.pdf • ‘The world's oldest border?' (Jay and Mark, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DqZYsckBwI #Scotland #Medieval #Royals Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Christine Jorgensen began gender reassignment surgery in Copenhagen on 24th September 1951. The New York Daily News later heralded the event with a headline splash - “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty!” - thereby creating America's first transgender celebrity. Writing to friends, she said: “As you can see by the enclosed photos, taken just before the operation, I have changed a great deal. But it is the other changes that are so much more important. Remember the shy, miserable person who left America? Well, that person is no more and, as you can see, I'm in marvellous spirits.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how surprisingly tolerant her parents and much of the media were; how she was strong-armed into showbiz but used the notoriety to campaign for trans rights; and reveal that - amongst her many memoirs - she also penned a Scandinavian cookbook... Further Reading: • ‘Christine Jorgensen – Queer Icon' (Queer Icons, 2020): https://queericons.home.blog/2020/02/27/christine-jorgensen/ • ‘The Hour Magazine with Gary Collins: guest Christine Jorgensen' (1980s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDlGUeF1Bg0 • ‘Dec. 1, 1952: Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty' (WIRED, 2010): https://www.wired.com/2010/12/1201first-sex-change-surgery/ This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The BBC's teletext information service, Ceefax, launched on 23rd September, 1974 - providing the British public with a way to look up headlines, football results and TV listings, some twenty years before the launch of Internet Explorer. Countless National Lottery winners discovered their victories via the analogue service, which was discontinued in 2012. To this day, devotees still share ancient samples of it by uploading old VHS tapes to the web. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why teletext never caught on in France; revisit the 1,445-episode ‘soap opera' ITV Oracle ran on its rival service; and play a Teletext-style Bamboozle quiz of their very own…  Further Reading: • ‘The Editors: Goodbye Ceefax' (BBC, 2012): https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2012/10/goodbye_ceefax.html • ‘Minitel: The Old New Thing' (WIRED, 2001): https://www.wired.com/2001/04/minitel-the-old-new-thing/ • ‘Pages from Ceefax - Three and a half hours of outdated news, sport and weather' (No Data Available, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU8P5G-GM_g This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Operation Little Vittles" - an initiative during the Berlin Airlift to drop Allied sweets and chocolates from planes as a gift to the German children below - began on September 22, 1948. Lt. Gail Halvorsen, a 27-year-old U.S. pilot, had been moved to the gesture by a group of children he encountered one day near Tempelhof airport. After seeing their eagerness to share even the most meagre of resources, he decided to drop sweets for them during his next flight, signalling his arrival by waggling his plane's wings. The drop soon became a weekly event, remembered by a generation of Berliners, some of whom had never tasted chocolate before. In this week's Sunday's episode, exclusively for our

When German hikers Erika and Helmut Simon stumbled upon a dead body in the Oertzel Alps on 19th September, 1991, they believed it to be a recently fallen mountaineer, whose cadaver had been preserved in the ice. In fact, the specimen turned out to be 5,300 years old - older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids. The man, nicknamed ‘Ötzi' by the press, had been struck down in mid-stride, and was discovered surrounded by his possessions, which included a copper axe. His remains are now on permanent display in Italy. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly probe into the various theories about how ‘the Iceman' died; reveal what the post-mortem told us were the contents of his last meal; and consider the ‘Curse of the Frozen Mummy'... Further Reading: • 'The Discovery of Otzi the Iceman and Its Significance' (ThoughtCo, 2020): https://www.thoughtco.com/otzi-the-iceman-1779439 • ‘Who killed Oetzi the Iceman? Italy reopens coldest of cases' (BBC News, 2017): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40104139 • ‘Was Otzi the Iceman a Victim of Human Sacrifice?' (Smithsonian Channel, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUVtJ8oqRWA #Discoveries #Italy #Switzerland #BC This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Why did Nepali voters use a gaming app to pick their next PM? Was life sent to Earth by aliens? And will a new national park boost the case for Welsh independence? Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Felicity Capon, Jamie Timson and Harriet MarsdenImage credit: Tobias Roetsch / Future

Tiffany, now a $16 billion jewelry empire, opened their first store at 259 Broadway, New York, on 18th September, 1837. Their first day's sales total was $4.98. Co-founded by 25 year-old Charles Lewis Tiffany (thanks to a $1,000 loan from his father), the ‘fancy goods emporium' initially sold disparate luxury items including perfumes, dinner sets, and, er, dog whips - but eventually settled upon gems as their core offering, expanding the brand through collaborations with P. T. Barnum and ‘The Blue Book', America's first mail-order catalogue.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how, despite his business nous, Tiffany fell victim to the Great Diamond Hoax of 1872; explore how his design influence extends to the $1 bill and the New York Yankees' logo; and reveal how ‘robin egg' blue became so synonymous with the company.... Further Reading: • ‘Jewelry House Histories: Tiffany' (Invaluable, 2022): https://www.invaluable.com/blog/jewelry-house-histories-tiffany/ • ‘Tiffany Is More Than a Store' (The New York Times, 2019): https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/28/business/tiffany-history.html?searchResultPosition=4 • ‘Deconstructing The Tiffany Setting' (Forbes, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2RVMgMAaPw #1800s #NewYork #Fashion #Business  This episode first aired in 2023. Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The first Black Miss America, Vanessa Williams, was crowned in Atlantic City on 17th September, 1983, with the usual fanfare. But within ten months, she had returned her crown, following a nude photo scandal. She had already received hate mail and even death threats - some from racist whites who hated seeing a Black Miss America, others from Black critics who felt her light skin and blue eyes played into white beauty standards. But then, without her consent, Penthouse announced it would publish explicit photos of Vanessa taken years earlier when she was an aspiring teenage model.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Williams rebuilt her career from scratch, via Disney, Broadway, hit songs, and movies; discover the moment the pageant formally apologised to her, after 32 years; and trace the overt and covert racism in Miss America's long history… Further Reading: • ‘On Saturday night Vanessa Williams became the first black woman crowned Miss America' (UPI, 1983): https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/09/18/On-Saturday-night-Vanessa-Williams-became-the-first-black-woman-crowned-Miss-America/9839432705600/ • ‘Why Vanessa Williams Gave Up Her Miss America Crown' (TIME, 2015): https://time.com/3961120/miss-america-scandal-vanessa-williams/ • ‘Miss America 1984: Crowning Moment' (NBC, 1983): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwBmoNXrr0w Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The Cornell Daily Sun - the oldest continuously independent college daily newspaper in the United States - published its first issue on 16th September, 1880. It featured some campus sports reports, some horrible amateur poetry, and even some jokes. It wasn't until seven years later that a British University caught up with its own equivalent: The Student, at Edinburgh University; although it did have celebrity founder Robert Louis Stevenson up its sleeve. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the difference between UK and US student journalism; speak to the Sun's current Editor about how she can possibly do her degree at the same time as running a daily paper; and discover what an Autophone was... Further Reading: • ‘About The Sun' (The Cornell Daily Sun): https://cornellsun.com/about/ • ‘About The Student' (Edinburgh Student Newspaper): https://studentnewspaper.org/about • ‘The Cornell Daily Sun: A Documentary: Part 4 (Oliver Bundy, 2007): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIucgSBrWKk For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The start of World War I featured officers in white gloves, leading troops in neat lines, and cavalry charges complete with sabres and lances. But this changed on 15th September, 1914 - when soldiers began digging into the earth, laying the groundwork for the trench warfare that would come to define the conflict. By that November, trenches covered 400 miles along the Western Front, in two opposing lines that were often as close as 50 metres, with "No Man's Land" in between—a deadly strip of land covered in barbed wire. Soldiers lived in constant fear of artillery, sniper fire, and brutal night raids. The trenches were muddy, disease-ridden, and teeming with rats and lice. Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the physical and psychological toll of trench life; explain how flamethrowers, ‘trench clubs' and even helmets all became more popular over the course of the conflict; and discover that the process of rotation meant soldiers were in the trenches only for short bursts, yet long enough to leave lasting trauma… Further Reading: • ‘First trenches are dug on the Western Front | September 15, 1914' (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-trenches-are-dug-on-the-western-front • 'Trench tactics: how was war fought in the WW1 trenches?' (History Extra, 2023): https://www.historyextra.com/period/first-world-war/trench-warfare-ww1-tactics-what/ • ‘Conditions in Trenches - Dan Snow's Battle of the Somme' (Discovery UK, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvYIIuxh2kY This episode was first published in 2024 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The secret wedding of poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning on September 12th, 1846, was witnessed by just two people. Elizabeth was so nervous about the ceremony, held at Marylebone Parish Church, that she needed smelling salts to calm her.  Barrett was already an acclaimed poet, while Browning was relatively unknown at the time. But their correspondence, comprising almost 600 letters exchanged over less than two years, is considered one of literature's great romances.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Brownings' marriage inspired their greatest works; probe into Browning's pet name for Barrett, ‘the Portuguese'; and consider whether, contrary to all appearances, Browning may have had sinister intentions for his new wife…  Further Reading: • ‘Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Life, Poetry, Relationship & ‘How Do I Love Thee?'' (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/elizabeth-barrett-browning-who-life-love-poetry-relationship-robert/ • ‘What we can learn from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's years in lockdown' (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/15/what-we-can-learn-from-elizabeth-barrett-brownings-years-in-lockdown •'The life and work of Elizabeth Barrett Browning' (The British Academy, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkSWGqMDBEY #Literature #Victorian #Romantic #Wedding #UK This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Will the women who worked in state-run brothels set up for US soldiers succeed in court? Why is horse-racing going on strike? And what's behind a surge in surgical height enhancement? Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Rebecca Messina, Jamie Timson and Harriet MarsdenImage credit: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

Construction of the Virginia headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense began on September 11th, 1941 - spookily, the same date it was attacked by al-Qaeda six decades later.  The massive five-sided building, a potent symbol of America's military strength, became known as the Pentagon. Featuring 4 million square feet of office space, the building was designed by George Bergstrom under the supervision of Leslie R. Groves, who was later chosen to head the Manhattan Project and build the atomic bomb. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca, and Olly explain why the building's racially segregated bathrooms were installed, but never used; reveal why, for a while, a ‘Pentagon project' became a by-word for a white elephant; and consider whether a hot dog stand in the complex foxed the Soviets…  Further Reading: • ‘10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About the Pentagon' (U.S. Department of Defense, 2019): https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/1650913/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-pentagon/ • ‘Pentagon Hot Dog Stand – Arlington, Virginia' (Atlas Obscura, 2017): https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pentagon-hot-dog-stand • ‘FOX Business reveals 'stunning' new details about Pentagon's construction' (FOX Business, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tK6gIsMAgc This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The guillotine claimed its last victim on 10th September, 1977, when murderer Hamida Djandoubi was executed in Marseille, his grim end marking the closing chapter of nearly two centuries of clinical beheading, stretching back to the French Revolution.  Overseen by France's last official executioner Marcel Chevalier, the event was private and hushed - a far cry from the raucous public spectacles that had once drawn huge crowds. Witness accounts described Djandoubi drinking rum, smoking his final cigarettes, and even stalling for time before being led to the blade. Adding to the eerie symbolism, he was made to fix his prosthetic leg before kneeling at the block. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how beheading was initially considered a humane and egalitarian form of execution; consider the French public's support for the death penalty throughout the seventies, even as Mitterand stood on an electoral platform to abolish it; and reveal what it all had to do with Star Wars… CONTENT WARNING: rape, murder, description of execution Further Reading: • ‘This Will Be the Last, by Monique Mabelly, Translated by Ryann Liebenthal' (Harpers, 1977): https://harpers.org/archive/2014/02/this-will-be-the-last/ • The History of the Guillotine (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-guillotine-p2-1991842 • ‘The French Revolution' (dir. Robert Enrico, 1989): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKNqP_kYV4 #Macabre #Crime #France #70s #Revolution Love the show? Support us!  Join 

'The Hank McCune Show' - an otherwise unremarkable footnote in American TV history - became the first single-camera sitcom to deploy a pre-recorded laugh track (aka ‘canned laughter') on 9th September, 1950. The giggles and applause came courtesy of Charlie Douglass, who made a career of capturing audience reaction in his ‘laff box', and then expertly sprinkling it across other shows, including Bewitched, The Munsters and The Flintstones.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look back at Red Skelton's ‘pantomimes', the origin of much of Douglass' recorded laughter; explain why live studio audiences are sometimes even more enthusiastic clappers than pre-recorded ones; and reveal how the Bolshoi Ballet STILL employ professional audience reactionaries… Further Reading:  • ‘The invention of laughter: Charley Douglass and the laff box' (The Verge, 2013): https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/13/5207136/Charley-Douglass-laff-box-laugh-track • ‘How we fell in and out of love with the Laff Box, the laugh track machine that changed sitcoms forever' (ABC, 2020): https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-16/history-of-the-laugh-track-laff-box-charles-douglass/12117866 • ‘How Do Laugh Tracks Work?' (How Stuff Works, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-suD4KbgTl4 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Now celebrated as the most famous statue in the world, Michelangelo's David was first unveiled in Florence's Piazza della Signoria on 8th September, 1504. Originally intended for the roofline of Florence's cathedral, David's immense size and weight—over five meters tall and weighing more than five and a half tons—was relocated to the square. But its creation had been a tale of perseverance: the marble block Michelangelo used had been rejected by other sculptors for 35 years. In this episode The Retrospectors reveal that contemporary critics weren't all awed by the masterpiece; explain why David was finally moved indoors; and compare Michelangelo's temperament with that of his Teenage Ninja Turtle namesake… This episode first aired in 2024 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

oday, the small town of Leavenworth in Washington is known for its Bavarian-themed hotels, restaurants, shops and festivals, but when it was incorporated on 5th September, 1906, its main claim to fame was that it had a train line and a fledgling logging industry. After the train hub that had put it on the map in the first place was moved, Leavenworth went into near terminal decline, until some savvy townspeople got together in the 1960s to give it a themed makeover. “Bavarian” was the chosen theme, and the rest was history. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look at the other themes that had been considered before Leavenworth settled on Bavarian; explain why Leavenworth guarantees incredibly Instagrammable backdrops regardless of what time of year you visit; and lament that Kinderfest decorations seem to be going up earlier and earlier with each passing year…  Further Reading: • ‘All Over the Map: How Leavenworth became the PNW's own slice of Bavaria' (My North West, 2019): https://mynorthwest.com/1488483/all-over-the-map-leavenworth-history/  • ‘America's Best 'European Villages'?' (National Geographic, 2012): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/where-are-americas-best-european-villages  • ‘Leavenworth: Your Winter Wonderland' (Visit Leavenworth; 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTyVydTNRqI  #US #1900s #architecture  This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

What does Bake Off tell us about a channel in decline? Why are Scottish drug deaths so stubbornly high? And are women in their 30s too anxious about their eggs? Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Scott Bryan, Jamie Timson and Catriona StewartImage credit: Ki Price / Getty Image

On 4th September, 1998, the debut episode of the world-conquering game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? aired in the UK.  Initially titled Cash Mountain, the show format had been offered to nearly all the major UK networks with no success, but eventually it found its home on ITV after a legendary pitch that has gone down in television history.   In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the excitement in the crowd during the recording of the very first episode; discuss how the show went from being a local TV success story to a worldwide phenomenon; and explain why hosts of the show the world over were required to wear Armani suits… Further Reading: • ‘Three wise men, a star and a miracle' (The Independent, 1999): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/three-wise-men-a-star-and-a-miracle-743157.html  • ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire past winners: When was £1million last won?' (The Sun, 2022): https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/11604768/who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-winners/  • ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? First Episode' (ITV; 1998): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtxh2wb38FM  #UK #1990s #TV  This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Fred van der Weij, a Dutch electronics engineer with a craving for healthier chips, spent years tinkering in his garage to create the “frit air” - launched by Philips as the “Air Fryer” at Berlin's IFA technology trade show on 3rd September, 2010. The inventor's prototypes were made from wood and chicken wire - and produced fries that were burnt on the outside and frozen in the middle. But, by the time its “Rapid Air Technology” had been perfected, this mini convection oven took over the world. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how social media, FOMO and lockdown all contributed to the air fryer phenomenon; explain how the device's deliciousness is due to ‘the Maillard reaction'; and head to the skies to uncover the gadget's mile-high predecessors…  Further Reading: • ‘Philips debuts the Airfryer – crispy fries without the fat' (New Atlas, 2010): https://newatlas.com/philips-debuts-airfryer/16229/ • ‘How the Air Fryer Crisped Its Way Into America's Heart' (The New York Times, 2022): https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/dining/air-fryer.html • ‘Philips Airfryer first look' (Which?, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnJ9xZWC054 #Inventions #Netherlands #2010s #Technology #Food Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad was 64 years old when she became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the use of a shark cage for protection on 2nd September, 2013. Nyad completed the 110-mile swim from Havana to Key West in approximately 53 hours. It was her fifth attempt to swim through the jellyfish-and shark-infested waters of the Straits of Florida. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Nyad used music and recall to keep her focus; review the conspiracy theories that question if she managed the feat; and consider whether the ‘English Channel Rules' that govern the sport are in need of an update… Further Reading: • ‘Diana Nyad Arrives in Key West After 111-Mile Swim From Cuba' (FlordaKeysTV, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcvjiw582G0 • The Diana Nyad Cheating Conspiracy Theory (Business Insider, 2013): https://www.businessinsider.com/diana-nyad-cheating-conspiracy-theory-2013-9?r=US&IR=T • ‘It's about having a steel-trap mind' (The Guardian, 2016): https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jul/10/endurance-swimmer-diana-nyad-its-about-steel-trap-mind This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

How come baseball, that most American of games, is even more popular in Japan than in its home country?  It's a story with roots into the nineteenth century, as Arion, Olly and Rebecca discover while  they investigate the events of September 1st, 1964, when the San Francisco Giants introduced their newest player, Masanori Murakami, during a game against the New York Mets: the first Japanese player in Major League Baseball. His remarkable composure earned him a standing ovation at Shea Stadium. What made this even more impressive was the fact that Murakami had only signed his contract a few hours before - after the Giants found a Japanese translator to ensure he understood what he was agreeing to.  The Retrospectors explain how Murakami's journey to the Major Leagues was almost accidental; discover how an American educator caught a wave of openness in Japan to establish baseball as a martial sport; and reveal why ‘Banzai' Babe Ruth felt personally betrayed by Pearl Harbor…  Further Reading: • ‘How MLB's First Japanese Player Made it to Big Leagues' (HISTORY, 2021): https://www.history.com/news/masanori-murakami-first-japanese-major-league-baseball-player • ‘Opinion | Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, & Assassination During the 1934 Tour of Japan” by Robert K. Fitts' (The Washington Post, 2012): https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/banzai-babe-ruth-baseball-espionage-and-assassination-during-the-1934-tour-of-japan-by-robert-k-fitts/2012/06/08/gJQAqxTZOV_story.html • ‘Japanese Baseball is Awesome and You Need to Know More About it' (Stark Raving Sports, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA4f9uKqsFI #Sport #Japan #60s This episode first aired in 2024 as a Sunday exclusive for members of Club Retrospectors Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Ishi, a native American man who was widely acclaimed as the “last wild Indian” emerged from the wilderness on 29th August, 1911. His arrival came as a huge surprise to the people of Oroville, California, who had thought that his entire tribe had become extinct a good 40 years earlier. He was immediately taken to a jail cell and locked up, not because he had committed a crime but because authorities simply had no idea what to do with him. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore the relationship between Ishi and the anthropologists that took him in; discuss why he preferred to be photographed in a suit and tie rather than Native American dress; and speculate on what Ishi must have made of the vaudeville shows his handlers took him to see…   Further Reading: • ‘The Story Of Ishi, The ‘Last' Native American' (All That's Interesting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/ishi-last-native-american  • ‘America honours its debt to Ishi, last of the Yahis' (The Guardian, 2000): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/aug/10/duncancampbell  • ‘A Man Called Ishi' (Advanced Laboratory for Visual Anthropology at CSU, Chico, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEmqOCta3NU  #US #1910s #Indigenous This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Could robotic dogs help clear landmines? What can we learn from a new approach to urban renewal? And how much power rests with political spouses? 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: Anadolu / Getty Images

Over 1,300 athletes from 12 countries gathered at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco for the first-ever Gay Games, on 28th August, 1982.  Intended as the “Gay Olympics,” the event had to change its name at the last minute after the US Olympic Committee sued. But the opening ceremony was electric, with none other than Tina Turner performing at a pivotal moment in her career - a bold and unprecedented move for a superstar at a gay event in the early ‘80s. The brainchild of Olympic decathlete Tom Waddell, the Games were intended to show that you could be openly gay and still achieve greatness - even in a city and community plagued by HIV. Waddell prioritized inclusion over nationalism, having athletes march by city instead of country, and selected a Black gay man and cancer survivor, Richard Hunter, to light the cauldron - symbolizing unity and resilience. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly marvel at the diversity of the opening parade; reveal the child that was conceived as a direct result of the event; and consider why the Games have never been televised…  Further Reading: • ‘Tom Waddell, the amazing man behind Gay Games' (ESPN, 2014): https://www.espn.com/story/_/id/11305954/tom-waddell-amazing-man-gay-games • ‘The Gay Games are still relevant. Here's why' (The Conversation, 2018): https://theconversation.com/the-gay-games-are-still-relevant-heres-why-101104 • ‘Remembering the first Gay Games' (BBC World Service, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVVD0Ww3qmo Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The shortest war in history began at 09:02 on 27th August, 1896 - and was over 38 minutes later - when The British Empire, at the peak of its power, flexed its military might over the African island of Zanzibar. The drama began when the pro-British Sultan Hamad suddenly died, and his cousin Khalid bin Barghash decided to seize the throne without British approval. The British, who technically managed Zanzibar as a protectorate, issued an ultimatum: leave the palace or face the consequences. Khalid, full of confidence (or denial), refused. He barricaded himself inside with about 2,800 defenders, a handful of artillery, and a single yacht serving as the entire navy. When the Royal Navy opened fire, the beautiful wooden palace quickly turned into splinters. The Sultan's forces were completely outgunned, and by the end of the barrage, over 500 defenders were killed or wounded, the palace was in ruins, and the "navy" had been sunk. On the British side, one sailor sprained his shoulder. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal what happened to Barghash after he slipped out of a back door; explain why the War proved a turning point in Zanzibar's relationship to slavery; and ask whether the wannabe Sultan had poisoned his predecessor… Further Reading: • ‘The Shortest War In History: How Long Was The 1896 Anglo-Zanzibar War?' (HistoryExtra, 2024): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/shortest-war-history • ‘Sultanate of Zanzibar (1856–1964)' (BlackPast, 2016): https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/sultanate-zanzibar-1856-1964/) • ‘Coast and Conquest - History Of Africa with Zeinab Badawi [Episode 12]' (BBC News Africa, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hKeMgH6A34 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Equally beloved at office boardrooms and toddler birthday parties, Colin the Caterpillar - a £7 swiss roll cake with white and milk chocolate and buttercream - was launched at an unsuspecting public by Marks and Spencer on 26th August, 1990. At the product development stage, he was going to be a fish - even though fishcake is a TOTALLY different foodstuff. Luckily, the Colin we know and love made it to M&S shelves, where he has since sold more than 15 million units, and spawned dozens of high street imitators. (And an infringement claim against Aldi.) In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how Colin's popularity coincided with the trend for ‘illusion cakes'; dig up the horrifying sweet/savoury pile-up that is Jane Asher's ‘Mary Mary' cake; and consider Colin's enduring place in British popular culture... Further Reading: • ‘Colin the Caterpillar: A brief history' (New Statesman, 2018): https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/food-drink/2018/12/colin-caterpillar-brief-history • ‘This is the original M&S Colin the Caterpillar cake back in 1990' (Good Housekeeping, 2020): https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/a33631942/original-colin-the-caterpillar-cake-1990/ • ‘Colin v Cuthbert The Caterpillar: Can M&S Sue Aldi For Copyright Over A Cake?' (Good Morning Britain, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZrjPL8p874 This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The ‘Great Moon Hoax' was published by the New York Sun on 25th August, 1835, claiming over six instalments that renowned English astronomer John Herschel had spotted bat-men, unicorns, and bipedal beavers on the lunar surface. Despite the absurdity of the claims, the tale was so wild and well-written that many readers bought into it. The mastermind behind the hoax, Richard Adam Locke, later tried to justify his actions by claiming it was a satire meant to expose the ridiculousness of some contemporary scientific theories. Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Sun used the horrors of slavery to account for its deception; consider how the story spread all the way to Italy; and reveal why Edgar Allen Poe was particularly unimpressed by the gag… Further Reading: • ‘The Great Moon Hoax Was Simply a Sign of Its Time' (Smithsonian, 2015): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/great-moon-hoax-was-simply-sign-its-time-180955761/ • 'Belief, Legend, and the Great Moon Hoax | Folklife Today' (Library of Congress, 2014): https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/08/the-great-moon-hoax/ • 'The Great Moon Hoax' (The Folklorist, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azlz163nN-A This episode first aired in 2024 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Established in 1852, Devil's Island, one of six penal colonies in French Guiana, was finally closed on 22nd August, 1953. Nicknamed the ‘Green Hell' and the ‘Dry Guillotine', it earned a reputation as ‘The Alcatraz of South America': the world's most brutal prison. Established by Emperor Napoleon III to remove political opponents and jumpstart France's programme of colonisation, the horrors of the islands became more understood in France following the publication of memoirs by René Belbenoît and Henri ‘Papillon' Charrière. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why a spell on Devil's Island was potentially preferable to elsewhere in Guiana; reveal what the guards did with rebellious prisoners and their cadavers; and check out some contemporary perspectives - on TripAdvisor… Further Reading: • Why Devil's Island Was The World's Most Feared Prison (All Thats Interesting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/devils-island • ‘Notorious French Prison Turns Into a No-Man's Land' (LA Times, 2002): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-15-adfg-devilisle15-story.html • ‘Devil's Island Prison Colony' (British Pathé, 1947): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_xCHbpkDss This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Who gets a place in the papal digs? Can a map change the way we see the world? And why are seagull 'muggings' on the rise? Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Rebecca Messina, Arion McNicoll and Felicity CaponImage credit: Heritage Art / Heritage Images / Getty Images

CCTV footage captured middle-aged bank worker Mary Bale dropping friendly tabby cat Lola into a Coventry wheelie bin on 21st August, 2010. The video went viral, and Bale was disgraced on the front page of The Sun.  Despite her initially nonchalant response, Bale faced the full force of internet mob mentality, not to mention a court trial for animal cruelty. One tantalising, unanswered question remained: WHY DID SHE PUT THE CAT IN THE BIN? In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Bale's behaviour was actually quietly condoned by millions of her contemporaries; uncover the classist dog whistles in the reporting of the event; and explain how ‘Cat Bin Lady' became a rapid international sensation… Further Reading: • ‘Is Mary Bale the most evil woman in Britain?' (The Independent, 2010): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/is-mary-bale-the-most-evil-woman-in-britain-2064733.html • ‘The trial of Mary Bale' (Financial Times, 2011): https://www.ft.com/content/36396618-54ef-11e0-96f3-00144feab49a • ‘Woman throws cat in wheelie bin' (Daryl Mann, YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbMt82yVj24 This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

I Can't Get No Satisfaction was released in Britain on 20th August, 1965 - having already reached No. 1 for four weeks Stateside.  With its distorted guitar riff, raw energy, and thinly veiled sexual frustration, it became the Rolling Stones' biggest global hit - but initially could only be heard on pirate radio stations in the UK, thanks to the band's label wanting the Stones back from their US tour to promote it in person; and it was banned by the BBC from mainstream airplay for being too sexually suggestive.  Satisfaction wasn't just a smash hit; it was a cultural shift, setting the Stones apart from their fellow British Invasion stars, the Beatles, by establishing them as a lurid, horny counterpoint to Lennon and McCartney's more wholesome music-hall stylings.  And the story of that famous riff? Keith Richards literally dreamed it up, woke in the middle of the night, grabbed his cassette recorder, played the now-iconic “da-da-da da-da-da-da” line, and promptly fell back asleep - leaving an hour of his own snoring on the tape. In this episode, recorded to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of this iconic single, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why Richards wanted a horn section, not a fuzzy guitar; unpick  Mick Jagger's surprising and satirical lyrics; and consider how, with Satisfaction, the Rolling Stones finally found their sound… Further Reading: • ‘The Story Behind The Song: ‘(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction', The Rolling Stones' classic they wrote in their sleep' (Far Out Magazine, 2020): https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/rolling-stones-satisfaction-story-jagger-richards-song/• ‘(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' (Library of Congress, 2006): https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/CantGetNoSatisfaction_LeRoy.pdf • ‘The Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' (ABKCO Music & Records, Inc., 1965): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrIPxlFzDi0 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Tippi Hedren, star of Hitchcock's ‘The Birds' and ‘Marnie', was already known for her activism - primarily rescuing big cats - when, on 19th August, 1975 she visited a Vietnamese refugee camp in Sacramento, California Her nail art dazzled many of the women she met - so she set about helping them retrain as Hollywood manicurists, disrupting an industry which had previously been seen as a Beverly Hills luxury. Today, over half of nail technicians in the USA are of Vietnemese descent. In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider if Hedren's template for celebrity ambassadorship has ever been bettered; uncover the story of Ted Ngoy, the Cambodian ‘Donut King'; and discover who turned up to a charity event sporting the most expensive manicure of all time... Further Reading: • ‘How Tippi Hedren made Vietnamese refugees into nail salon magnates' (BBC, 2015): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32544343 • 'Nailed It: A Documentary On How Vietnamese Workers Took Over U.S. Nail Salons' (NPR, 2019): https://www.npr.org/2019/05/19/724452398/how-vietnamese-americans-took-over-the-nails-business-a-documentary?t=1628758439044 • ‘Kelly Osbourne wears $250k nail varnish by Azature to the Emmys' (HELLO!, 2012): https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/201209259431/kelly-osbourne-wears-worlds-most-expensive-manicure/ Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned South Africa from competing in the upcoming Tokyo Games on 18th August, 1964, after the nation had signalled its intention to send only white athletes to the competition. South Africa attempted to make concessions - such as proposing to hold team trials abroad or including a token number of black athletes - but these were rejected as insufficient, especially with newly independent African nations and the Soviet Union pushing for a boycott, reflecting the growing international condemnation of apartheid. This episode first premiered in 2024, for members of

Immortalised by Shakespeare, Scottish king Macbeth was killed in battle near Lumphanan, Aberdeenshire on 15th August 1057; a demise that brought significant changes to Scotland's monarchy. But the real Macbeth, contrary to his portrayal in the play, ruled for 17 relatively peaceful years and displayed generosity toward the church. That said, his relationship with the real Lady Macbeth - Gruogh, widow of Gilear, the previous king - was, let's agree, rather complicated.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why witches were included in the script to satisfy King James I; offer a pragmatic explanation for the superstition that actors must never speak the name "Macbeth" in a theatre; and reveal the, er, creative way the Danish minister for finance once escaped responsibility for a nasty shipwreck… Further Reading: • ‘The Real Macbeth: King of Scots, 1040-1054' (History Today, 1957): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/real-macbeth-king-scots-1040-1054 • ‘Macbeth (r. 1040-1057)' (The Royal Family): https://www.royal.uk/macbeth-r-1040-1057 • ‘Who Was The Real King MacBeth?' (Timeline, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq75Cl_osxk This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

A decades-long manhunt closed in on international terrorist Illich Ramirez Sanchez, aka Carlos the Jackal, on 14th August, 1994 - when he was sedated and kidnapped by French intelligence agents in Khartoum, Sudan, following a tip-off by the CIA. Affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Organization for Armed Arab Struggle, and the Japanese Red Army, the Venezuelan militant had been responsible for a slew of major terrorist attacks in the 1970s and 80s, notably the storming of an OPEC meeting in 1975, during which he took hostages and demanded ransoms, and was widely considered the world's most-wanted man.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how ‘Carlos' came to acquire not just one, but two nicknames; consider how the politics of the day enabled both his terrorism and his womanising; and reveal why his sperm count ultimately cost him his freedom… Further Reading: • ‘SUDAN SEIZES TERRORIST 'CARLOS THE JACKAL'' (The Washington Post, 1994): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/08/16/sudan-seizes-terrorist-carlos-the-jackal/4e8d3daa-b064-4ca7-ba16-e6f0d68744aa/?itid=sr_2 • ‘Carlos the Jackal: The Extraordinary Life of the Most Notorious Terrorist Before Bin Laden' (Vice, 2022): https://www.vice.com/en/article/4awdbq/carlos-the-jackal-communist-terrorist • ‘'Carlos the Jackal' convicted in France' (AlJazeera English, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2sUuxYcdro This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Berliners awoke on 13th August, 1961 to find their city divided in half. East German troops had worked overnight to roll out barbed wire and barricades, turning neighbourhoods into no-go zones. It became known as ‘Barbed Wire Sunday'  Before the wall's construction, East Germans had been bolting westward at the unsustainable rate of nearly 2,000 a day; notably skilled professionals the East couldn't afford to lose.  The Berlin wall stopped the flow of people, but also turned the city into a dystopia, complete with ghost train stations, split families, and a massive fortified structure with a deadly no-man's-land of guard dogs, watchtowers, and landmines.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how the wall wasn't actually finished until the 1970s; reveal the escape routes travailed by daring civilians; and uncover the “Wall woodpeckers” who took souvenirs home with them when the wall finally fell...  Further Reading: • ‘Why the Berlin Wall rose—and how it fell' (National Geographic, 2019): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/why-berlin-wall-built-fell • ‘Berlin Wall History: Everything You Need To Know' | HistoryExtra: https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/berlin-wall-history-facts-fall-why-built-destroyed-how-long-deaths-killed-graffiti-east-west-life-today/ • ‘The Berlin Wall - How it worked' (DW Documentary, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khXGMcX59YE Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The ‘Get Rich Quick' scheme pioneered by scamster Charles Ponzi came to an end with his arrest on 12th August, 1920 - but ‘Ponzi schemes' remain a popular form of swindling to this day.  After promising his victims he could double their money in 90 days, Ponzi was charged with 86 counts of mail-fraud - yet he may not have even initially realized his scheme was illegal. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Cryptocurrency is the modern-day Ponzi scheme; explain the difference between a Ponzi scheme and a Pyramid scheme; and reveal the ingenious way Ponzi told his Mum he was in prison…  This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Clive Campbell, better known as DJ Kool Herc, soundtracked his sister Cindy Campbell's back-to-school party in the Bronx on 11th August, 1973 - and in doing so, laid down the musical tropes that would become known as hip hop. With his ‘Herculoids' sound system, Campbell pioneered speaking over records in a Jamaican style; switching between two tracks on the decks, in a process he called the "merry-go-round"; and extending the drum breaks of songs, creating continuous beats that kept the crowd dancing. This episode first aired in 2024 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The dollar emerged as the official currency of the United States at a meeting of the Continental Congress on 8th August, 1786. During the American Revolution, various international coins had remained in circulation - alongside commodities like tobacco and cod. The transition to paper money faced challenges due to counterfeiting concerns, which persisted until the Civil War. The green colour was chosen to prevent easy replication using black and white photography. The value of the dollar was linked to gold until as recently as 1971. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly applaud Benjamin Franklin's far-sighted interest in creating a new currency; marvel at the extraordinary success the dollar has achieved as the world's reserve; and reveal the country's first experiments with a decimal system: Nova Constellatio coins… Further Reading: • ‘History of U.S. Currency' (U.S. Currency Education Program): https://www.uscurrency.gov/history • ‘Why Is the U.S. Dollar the World's Currency?' (HowStuffWorks): https://money.howstuffworks.com/us-dollar-worlds-currency.htm • ‘The Continental Dollar: How the American Revolution Was Financed with Paper Money' (US National Archives, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05mhUlofB_8 This episode first aired in 2023 This episode first premiered in 2024, for members of

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