Episodes

  • I Discovered Pluto

    I Discovered Pluto
    Feb 18 2025
    Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto - 84 years after star-spotters first began their hunt for a ninth planet in our solar system, the elusive ‘Planet X’ on 18th February 1930. The 24-year-old made the groundbreaking discovery at the Lowell Observatory, Arizona, just one week into a task that had mired other researchers for decades. That said, it was later realised that Pluto had been spotted on previous occasions, yet astronomers had mistakenly overlooked its significance. In this episode, The Retrospectors reveal how the ‘planet’ came to be named by an 11-year-old British girl; explain why it is no longer a planet at all, but has been downgraded to ‘dwarf planet’; and consider Walt Disney’s influence on its place in the public affections… Further Reading: ‘Clyde Tombaugh: the astronomer who discovered Pluto’ (BBC Sky at Night Magazine, 2020): https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/clyde-tombaugh-astronomer-discovered-pluto ‘Obituary: Clyde W. Tombaugh, 90, Discoverer of Pluto’ (The New York Times, 1997): https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/20/us/clyde-w-tombaugh-90-discoverer-of-pluto.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare ‘How Clyde Tombaugh Discovered Pluto’ (Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_UPCOOuNg8 This episode first premiered in 2024, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    12 mins
  • Britain Goes To School

    Britain Goes To School
    Feb 17 2025
    The 1870 Education Act was the first to deal specifically with the provision of British schools. Speaking in the House of Commons, William Edward Forster MP proposed: "I believe that the country demands from us that we should… cover the country with good schools, and get parents to send their children to those schools.” But there was opposition: from Christians concerned about the religious nonconformity of these new institutions; ideologues who thought the state simply couldn’t afford to fund them; and families who relied on their children bringing home a wage from work. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Prime Minister William Gladstone was disappointed by the reforms; examine whether the intention was really as philanthropic as it seemed; and reveal why it was only in living memory that Britain’s education policy truly provided the nation’s kids with full-time schooling… Thanks to James Plunkett’s book, End State (2021) for inspiring this topic. Check out the audiobook (read by Olly!) here: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/End-State-Audiobook/1398702218 Further Reading: • ‘LEAVE. FIRST READING: Elementary Education Bill’ (Hansard, 1870): http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1870/feb/17/leave-first-reading • ‘The 1870 Education Act’ (UK Parliament): https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/school/overview/1870educationact/ • ‘What was life like at a Victorian Reformatory School?’ (BBC Teach): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erYwMz5rdW0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    12 mins
  • The Night of 206 Stars

    The Night of 206 Stars
    Feb 14 2025
    The Rockettes kicked off a celebrity line-up including Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minelli, Jimmy Stewart, Al Pacino and Miss Piggy at ‘The Night of 100 Stars’, a benefit for the Actors Fund of America recorded on 14th February, 1982 at Radio City Music Hall, New York. A night of sheer glitz and excess, the true tally of stars on-stage totalled 206 - but perhaps that’s what you’d expect for $1000 per ticket and a bum-numbing running time of five-and-a-half hours. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly question the star-counting mechanic for the New York Yankees; explain how the assasination of Abraham Lincoln inspired the foundation of the Actor’s Fund in 1882; and marvel at the long-windedness of this televised tribute to the charity’s centenary… Further Reading: • ‘Bask in the Bewildering '80s Glamour of 'Night of 100 Stars'’ (Jezebel, 2016): https://jezebel.com/bask-in-the-bewildering-80s-glamour-of-night-of-100-sta-1759236215/amp • ‘Glamor Glut’ (The Washington Post, 1982): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/02/16/glamor-glut/7ff21880-5540-4c20-acb4-fa5832781184/ • ‘VIDEO: The Night of 100 Stars’ (ABC, 1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkgaJobbIPg Love the show? Support us! Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content. Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ Go to proton.me/todayinhistory to receive a 38% discount on Proton Mail 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    12 mins
  • The 500,000 Year-Old Spark Plug

    The 500,000 Year-Old Spark Plug
    Feb 13 2025
    The Coso Artifact - a man-made, cylindrical object apparently encased in a geode - was discovered by Wallace Lane, Virginia Maxey and Mike Mikesell while prospecting for gems in Olancha, California on February 13th, 1961. The OOPArt (or ‘out-of-place artifact’) caused a sensation amongst Creationists, Forteans and conspiracists, who believed it might be up to half a million years old - but has since been identified as a 1920s-era Champion spark plug. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether the ‘Rock Hounds’ were deliberately defrauding people, or were just open-minded enthusiasts; ask why their find had such resonance with Creationists, when its existence cannot be consistent with the world being merely thousands of years old; and reveal how the ‘mystery’ was conclusively debunked… Further Reading: • ‘When Some 1920s Garbage Was Mistaken for an Ancient Artifact’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1920s-garbage-or-ancient-artifact-probably-1920s-garbage-180962081/ • ‘Hidden History - Lost Civilizations, Secret Knowledge, and Ancient Mysteries, By Brian Haughton’ (Red Wheel/Weiser, 2007): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Hidden_History/295EDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=coso+artifact&pg=PT173&printsec=frontcover • ‘Coso Artifact: Science Triumphs Over Theorists’ (Science For Everyone, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GawHMQpIGrU Love the show? Support us! Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content. Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    12 mins
  • The Forbidden City's Final Emperor

    The Forbidden City's Final Emperor
    Feb 12 2025
    Henry Puyi, the six-year old Emperor of China, abdicated the throne on 12th February, 1912 —but of course it was his adoptive mother, Empress Dowager Longyu, who did the paperwork. With tears in her eyes, she dramatically whispered, “I am the sinner of a thousand years.” Meanwhile, young Puyi had only pressing question: “Does that mean I don’t have to study anymore?” Plucked from his home at age two, Puyi grew up as ruler in The Forbidden City, the centre of ancient traditions, even as the empire was crumbling. By the time he was 12, it was time for another surreal experience—marriage. Meanwhile, his Scottish tutor, Reginald Johnston, introduced him to movies and Western culture. But the imperial bubble popped for good in 1924 when soldiers finally kicked him out of the Forbidden City, and for the first time in centuries, China had no emperor. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain what Puyi did into exile; reveal how he coped when the Chinese Communist Party decided to rebrand him as a model citizen; and discover what Bertolucci’s acclaimed movie of his life got wrong... Further Reading: • ‘The Last Emperor's Humble Occupation’ (TIME, 1999): https://time.com/archive/6955501/the-last-emperors-humble-occupation/ • ’Pu Yi, last Emperor of China, is pardoned’ (History Today, 2009): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/pu-yi-last-emperor-china-pardoned • ‘CHINA: Emperor Puyi crowned in Manchukuo’ (BRITISH PARAMOUNT NEWSREEL, 1934): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwApqUm1KkI Love the show? Support us! Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content. Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    13 mins
  • The Monstrous Gerrymander

    The Monstrous Gerrymander
    Feb 11 2025
    Elbridge Gerry, a founding father and governor of Massachusetts, rearranged the electoral districts of a map in order to give his Democratic Republican party an electoral advantage on 11th February 1812 Despite Gerry's other, more noble, contributions to American politics, this act of “gerrymandering” has brought him unintended infamy - though the history of this dubious practice predates him, with political operatives in 18th-century England creating "rotten boroughs" to secure seats in parliament. In this episode, The Retrospectors reveal how the outrageous ‘tradition’ continues today, involving techniques like "cracking" and "packing" to split or concentrate voter bases; uncover the dirty joke Gerry once made about the U.S. military; and explain how a dinner party full of newspapermen created a confusing origin story for the first ‘gerrymander’ cartoon… Further Reading: • ‘Elbridge Gerry and the Monstrous Gerrymander’ (Library of Congress, 2017): https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2017/02/elbridge-gerry-and-the-monstrous-gerrymander/ • ‘Elbridge Gerry, namesake of gerrymandering, was a Founding Father’ (The Washington Post, 2021): https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/11/09/elbridge-gerry-gerrymandering-founding-father/ • ‘Gerrymandering: Elbridge Gerry gets the blame for election fixing’ (BBC News, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g84qurCBgKM This episode first premiered in 2024, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    12 mins
  • Trouble at the Tavern

    Trouble at the Tavern
    Feb 10 2025
    Violent ‘town versus gown’ confrontations have been part of Oxford life ever since the University was founded - but reached an ignominious peak on 10th February, 1355, when almost 100 people were massacred in what became known as the ‘St Scholastica’s Day Riot’. The killing spree began as a brawl in a bar. When a pair of students at the Swindlestock Tavern complained about the quality of the wine, the Landlord responded with “saucie language” - and the students by bottling him. Then, it escalated. A lot. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate how the blood-letting was preceded by decades of tension in the city; explain why such events explain the foundation of Cambridge University; and reveal why the fight was still being discussed in Parliament, some six hundred years later… Further Reading: • ‘Rioting over wine led to 90 deaths’ (Oxford Mail, 2011): https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9200746.rioting-wine-led-90-deaths/ • ‘St. Scholastica Day Riot: When English People Killed Dozens Over The Taste Of Wine’ (History Daily): https://historydaily.org/st-scholastica-day-riot-facts-stories-trivia • ‘The St. Scholastica's Day Riot’ (The History Guy, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3qPzNcJKQM Love the show? Support us! Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content. Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    12 mins
  • Preventing Technological Surprise

    Preventing Technological Surprise
    Feb 7 2025
    Inventing the internet and pioneering satellite navigation, U.S. government agency DARPA has had an illustrious history since being founded by President Eisenhower (as the Advanced Research Projects Agency) on February 7th, 1958. Created in response to the Soviets launching Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite, its mission, which continues to this day, is ‘to prevent technological surprise.’ In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover how DARPA helped create the humble computer mouse; explain how former Nazi Wernher von Braun found his way to the head of this supposedly All-American organisation; and look forward to a world of self-sustaining surveillance robots eating us out of house and home… Further Reading: • ‘Fifty years of DARPA: A surprising history’ (New Scientist, 2008): https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13908-fifty-years-of-darpa-a-surprising-history/ • ‘The Nazi Science That Fed the Apollo 11 Moon Landing’ (Time, 2019): https://time.com/5627637/nasa-nazi-von-braun/ • ‘3 of the strangest projects DARPA has worked on’ (Tech Insider, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hSs0S5FVx8 Love the show? Support us! Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content. Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    12 mins