Today In History with The Retrospectors The Retrospectors

The renowned author of "War and Peace," Count Leo Tolstoy, set off on a pilgrimage to Optina Monastery on 10th June, 1881, disguised as a peasant.

Accompanied by his valet, Sergei Arbuzov, Tolstoy traipsed 130 miles from his vast estate; his feet bleeding from blisters thanks to his insistence that he be dressed in authentically threadbare sandals.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly assess whether Tolstoy’s pilgrimage should be considered a spiritual journey, mid-life crisis, or poverty tourism; consider the impact his impulses had upon his poor wife, Sophia; and uncover the great author’s final moments, seeking ‘solitude’ at a railway station, as the world’s news cameras whirred away… 

Further Reading:
• ‘Tolstoy disguises himself as a peasant and leaves on a pilgrimage’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tolstoy-disguises-himself-as-a-peasant-and-leaves-on-a-pilgrimage
• ‘A.N. Wilson on Tolstoy's life and work, 100 years on’ (Financial Times, 2010): https://slate.com/culture/2010/11/a-n-wilson-on-tolstoy-s-life-and-work-100-years-on.html
• ’1908-10: Footage of the life and death of Leo Tolstoy’ (Public Domain Archive, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQO9HQAWqu4

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 ❤️
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Nordic countries, Donald Duck’s popularity trumps even Mickey Mouse’s - as The Retrospectors reveal in this bonus four minutes, exclusively for 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon.

Thanks for supporting our show!

In this week’s Sunday’s episode, exclusively for 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon, Arion, Rebecca and Olly check out ‘The Wise Little Hen’, the Silly Symphonies short from 9th June, 1934 that introduced a new Disney character: Donald Duck.

With his distinctive strangled quacking (born from the unique talents of Clarence Nash - a man who’d spent his childhood mimicking barnyard sounds), Donald's hot-tempered, accident-prone slapstick sensibilities brought a welcome unpredictability to the sanitised world the studio had constructed around their hero, Mickey Mouse.

But Donald wasn’t just a cartoon character. He soon became a symbol of resilience during World War II, when he starred in morale-boosting shorts like Donald Gets Drafted - and even donned a swastika to parody Nazi Germany in the Oscar-winning Der Fuehrer's Face.

In this episode, The Retrospectors unpick the particular appeal of Donald’s vain, cocky, and boastful appearances; explain why it took years for him to truly earn his iconic sailor’s outift; and reveal how Duck Tales has its roots in military service…

Further Reading:
• ‘A Duck for All Seasons’ (The Washington Post, 1984): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1984/06/24/a-duck-for-all-seasons/36253ddd-a547-47ab-9c50-b0ff696f707e/
• ‘50-Year Career : Clarence Nash, Donald Duck's Voice, Dies’ (Los Angeles Times, 1985): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-02-21-mn-619-story.html
• ’The Wise Little Hen’ (Disney, 1934): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLFyNRuEkCM

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 2024.

Rerun: Edgy, gritty and sexy, the Broadway production of ‘Grease’ opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on 7th June, 1972, beginning what would become a record-breaking eight-year run. 
Despite NOT featuring some of the most well-known hits from the movie - including ‘Grease Is The Word’, ‘You’re The One That I Want’ and ‘Hopelessly Devoted To You’ - the production attracted an unusually high proportion of blue-collar audiences, keen to see working-class and ethnic immigrant subculture portrayed in a musical.
In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the origin of the word ‘greasers’, explain why ‘50s nostalgia played little part in the original success of the show, and consider whether the Grease Megamix is an appropriate choice for 10 year olds to sing at a Summer Ball…
Further Reading:
• The Playbill from the original production:
https://www.playbill.com/article/playbill-archives-grease-1972-com-143094
• ‘It’s The Longest-Running Show on Broadway’ - a 1970s TV commercial for the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phxb5K7jUUw
• The original dialogue from ‘Grease’ c/o New Line Theatre:
http://www.newlinetheatre.com/grease-dialogue.html
‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’
Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 
… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: George Williams, 22, created the Young Men’s Christian Association to provide somewhere for London’s young men to escape the vices and stress of rapid urbanization (translation: get yourself clean, hang out with all the boys). The group’s first meeting was above a draper’s shop in St Paul’s on 6th June, 1844.
The mission aligned perfectly with the burgeoning movement for ‘muscular Christianity’, and before long, multiple groups were sprouting all over Europe, and then the United States - where YMCA affiliates invented body-building, volleyball and basketball. 
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the YMCA then became associated with cruising; reveal how the Village People got together; and consider what George Williams had in common with Milton S. Hershey… 
Further Reading:
• ‘15 Things You Might Not Know About the YMCA’ (Mental Floss, 2018): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/57095/facts-about-the-ymca
• ‘#DidYaKnow? For 50+ Years the YMCA & Most Schools REQUIRED Males to Swim Naked!?’ (World of Wonder, 2021): https://worldofwonder.net/didyaknow-for-50-years-the-ymca-most-schools-required-males-to-swim-naked/
• ‘Village People - YMCA’ (1978): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9OO0S5w2k
‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’
Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 
… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Lord Byron’s 17 year-old daughter, Ada Lovelace, attended a soirée at the home of academic Charles Babbage on 5th June, 1833, the pair hit it off immediately. He invited her to see his ‘Difference Engine’ - an early mechanical calculator - kicking off a correspondence that lasted throughout her life.
Their lively, intellectual correspondence, and Ada's deep understanding of mathematics and science, lead to her championing of Babbage’s ‘Analytical Engine’, a groundbreaking proto personal computer for which Ada even wrote an algorithm.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly debate whether Ada deserves her 21st century acclaim as the godmother of computer programming; expose her extramarital affairs and gambling habit; and consider whether Babbage himself even fully understood the applications for what he had invented…
Further Reading:
• ‘Charles Babbage’s Difference Engines and the Science Museum’ (Science Museum, 2023): https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-difference-engines-and-science-museum
• ‘How Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage Invented the World’s First Computer: An Illustrated Adventure in Footnotes and Friendship’ (The Marginalian, 2015): https://www.themarginalian.org/2015/06/15/the-thrilling-adventures-of-lovelace-and-babbage-sydney-padua/
• ‘Ada Lovelace in “Victoria” (ITV, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOoCOUDdoeA
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. Edit producer: 
Ollie Peart
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices